"Anderson, Poul - Eutopia UC" - читать интересную книгу автора (Anderson Poul)

Soon weТll confer, Jason understood, and IТll have to be most careful if IТm to live. But the health which had been restored to him glowed so strong that he felt no need to suppress worry.
A bell chimed within. He re-entered the room, which was spacious and airy however overornamented. Recalling that custom disapproved of nudity, he threw on a robe, not without wincing at its zigzag pattern. УBe welcome,Ф he called in Magyar.
The door opened and a young woman wheeled in his breakfast. УGood luck to you, guest,Ф she said with an accent; she was a Tyrker, and even wore the beaded and fringed dress of her people. УDid you sleep well?Ф
УLike Coyote after a prank,Ф he laughed.
She smiled back, pleased at his reference, and set a table. She joined him too. Guests did not eat alone. He found venison a rather strong dish this early in the day, but the coffee was delicious and the girl chattered charmingly. She was employed as a maid, she told him,
and saving her money for a marriage portion when she returned to Cherokee land.
УWill the Voivode see me?Ф Jason asked after they had finished.
УHe awaits your pleasure.Ф Her lashes fluttered. УBut we have no haste.Ф She began to untie her belt.
Hospitality so lavish must be the result of customal superimposition, the easygoing Danskar and still freer Tyrker mores influencing the austere Magyars. lason felt almost as if he were now home, in a world where individuals found delight in each other as they saw fit. He was tempted, too-that broad smooth brow reminded him of Niki. But no. He had little time. Unless he established his position unbreakably firm before Ottar thought to call Bela, he was trapped.
He leaned across the table and patted one small hand. УI thank you, lovely,Ф he said, Уbut I am under vow.Ф
She took the answer as naturally as she had posed the question. This world, which had the means to unify, chose as if deliberately to remain in shards of separate culture. Something of his alienation came back to him as he watched her sway out the door. For he had only glimpsed a small liberty. Life in Westf all remained a labyrinth of tradition, manner, law and taboo.
Which had well-nigh cost him his life, he reflected; and might yet. Best hurry!
He tumbled into the clothes laid out for him and made his way down long stone halls. Another servant directed him to the VoivodeТs seat. Several people waited outside to have complaints heard or disputes adjudicated. But when he announced himself, Jason was passed through immediately.
The room beyond was the most ancient part of the building. Agecracked timber columns, grotesquely carved with gods and heroes, upheld a low roof. A fire pit in the floor curled smoke toward a hole; enough stayed behind for lasonТs eyes to sting. They could easily have given their chief magistrate a modern office, he thoughtЧbut no, because his ancestors had judged in this kennel, so must he.
Light filtering through slit windows touched the craggy features of Bela and lost itself in shadow. The Voivode was thickset and grayhaired; his features bespoke a considerable admixture of Tyrker chromosomes. He sat a wooden throne, his body wrapped in a blanket,
horns and feathers on his head. His left hand bore a horse-tailed staff and a drawn saber was laid across his lap.
УGreeting, Jason Philippou,Ф he said gravely. He gestured at a stool. УBe seated.Ф
УI thank my lord.Ф The Eutopian remembered how his own people had outgrown titles.
УAre you prepared to speak truth?Ф
УYes.Ф
УGood.Ф Abruptly the figure relaxed, crossed legs and extracted a cigar from beneath the blanket. УSmoke? No? Well, I will.Ф A smile meshed the leathery face in wrinkles. УYou being a foreigner, I neednТt keep up this damned ceremony.Ф
Jason tried to reply in kind. УThatТs a relief. We havenТt much in the Peloponnesian Republic.Ф
УYour home country, eh? I hear things arenТt going so well there.Ф
УNo. Homeland grows old. We look to Westfall for our tomorrows.Ф
УYou said last night that you came to Norland as a trader.Ф
УTo negotiate a commercial agreement.Ф Jason was staying as near his cover story as possible. You couldnТt tell different histories that the Hellenes had invented the parachronion. Besides changing the very conditions that were being studied, it would be too cruel to let men know that other men lived in perfection. УMy country is interested in buying lumber and furs.Ф
УJIm. So Ottar invited you to stay with him. I can grasp why. We donТt see many Homelanders. But one day he was after your blood. What happened?Ф
Jason might have claimed privacy, but that wouldnТt have sat well. And an outright lie was dangerous; before this throne, one was automatically under oath. УTo a degree, no doubt, the fault was mine,Ф he said. УOne of his family, almost grown, was attracted to me and
ЧJ had been long away from my wife, and everyone had told me the Danskar hold with freedom before marriage, andЧwell, I meant no harm. I merely encouragedЧBut Ottar found out, and challenged me.Ф
УWhy did you not meet him?Ф
No use to say that a civilized man did not engage in violence when any alternative existed. УConsider, my lord,Ф Jason said. УIf I lost, IТd be dead. If I won, that would be the end of my companyТs project. The Ottarssons would never have taken weregild, would they?
No, at the bare least theyТd ban us all from their land. And Peloponnesus needs that timber. I thought IТd do best to escape. Later my associates could disown me before Norland.Ф
strange reasoning. But youТre loyal, anyhow. What do you ask of me?Ф
УOnly safe conduct toЧSteinvik.Ф Jason almost said УNeathenai.Ф He checked his eagerness. УWe have a factor there, and a ship.Ф
Bela streamed smoke from his mouth and scowled at the glowing cigar end. УIТd like to know why Ottar grew wrathful. DoesnТt sound like him. Though I suppose, when a manТs daughter is involved, he doesnТt feel so lenient.Ф He hunched forward. УFor me,Ф he said harshly, Уthe important thing is that armed Norlanders crossed my border without asking.Ф
УA grievous violation of your rights, true.Ф
Bela uttered a horsemanТs obscenity. УYou donТt understand, you. Borders arenТt sacred because Attila wills it, whatever the shamans prate. TheyТre sacred because thatТs the only way to keep the peace. If I donТt openly resent this crossing, and punish Ottar for it, some hothead might well someday be tempted; and now everyone has nuclear weapons.Ф
УI donТt want war on my account!Ф Jason exclaimed, appalled. УSend me back to him first!Ф
УOh no, no such nonsense. OttarТs punishment shall be that I deny him his revenge, regardless of the rights and wrongs of your case. HeТll swallow that.Ф
Bela rose. He put his cigar in an ashtray, lifted the saber, and all at once he was transfigured. A heathen god might have spoken: УHenceforward, Jason Phiippou, you are peace-holy in Dakoty. While you remain beneath our shield, ifi done you is ill done me, my house and my people. So help me the Three!Ф
Self-command broke down. Jason went on his knees~ and gasped his thanks.
УEnough,Ф Bela grunted. УLetТs arrange for your transportation as fast as may be. IТll send you by air, with a military squadron. But of course IТll need permission from the realms youТll cross. That will take time. Go back, relax, IТll have you called when everythingТs ready.Ф
Jason left, still shivering.
He spent a pleasant couple of hours adrift in the castle and its courtyards. The young men of BelaТs retinue were eager to show off before a Homelander. He had to grant the picturesqueness of their riding, wrestling, shooting and riddling contests; something stirred in him as he listened to tales of faring over the plains and into the forests and by river to UnnborgТs fabled metropolis; the chant of a bard awakened glories which went deeper than the history told, down to the instincts of man the killer ape.
But these are precisely the bright temptations that we have turned our backs on in Eutopia. For we deny that we are apes. We are men who can reason. In that lies our manhood.
I am going home. I am going home. I am going home.
A servant tapped his arm. УThe Voivode wants you.Ф It was a frightened voice.
Jason hastened back. What had gone wrong? He was not taken to the room of the high seat. Instead, Bela awaited him on a parapet. Two men-at-arms stood at attention behind, faces blank under the plumed helmets.
The day and the breeze were mocked by BelaТs look. He spat on JasonТs feet. УOttar has called me,Ф he said.
УIЧ Did he sayЧФ