"Anthony,.Piers.-.Mute (2)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Anthony Susan)

"If he survives that long!"

"Yet the snird gives fair warning. A faint buzz before strikingЧ" Knot paused. "How good is your hearing?" "Excellent. And my courage. How bad is a snird strike?" "Not fatal, if treated in time. We do have excellent treatment facilities, and an alert, attractive and solicitous nurse. But it is better to avoid itЧwhich an experienced harvester can normally do."

"You figure I'll rise to the challenge?" "You do strike me as that sort of man." "You play me like a violin," Flas said. Then he decided. "I'll give it a try."

"Excellent." Knot activated the intercom. This was a redundant gesture, as it was already on, but he preferred not to advertise that fact. "Have a courier conduct Mutant Flas to the Foraging Unit, and notify them that he will essay the egg harvesting, snird division." "He's got nerve," York remarked.

"The women of MM58 appreciate nerve," Knot told Flas. "I believe you will like it here. The Foraging foreman will brief you thoroughly, of course."

The courier entered the office. She was a young lady whose arms were linked together by fused hands; she could move them only as a unit. They couid not be surgically separated because the bones were merged, palm to palm; she would have to have both hands on one arm, and nothing on the other, and the hand would not have functioned well enough to be worthwhile,

Flas stood, tracking her by the sound. "This way, Mutant," the girl said. Her voice was dulcet, and her pronunciation of "mutant" made it sound like a badge of honor.

Knot relaxed. He had put together a good crew here, trained to make clients respond positively and feel welcome. Nevertheless, there was always a certain tension, and the first interview of the day was the worst. This one had gone very well. The Foraging Unit had been bugging him for another harvester for some time.

The next client entered. This was an older woman. She had large bright eyes, but instead of ears her head sprouted a stout pair of horns. The lower part of her face projected forward, like the muzzle of a sheep, and her mouth was obviously unsuitable for human speech. She wore a rather voluminous robe that concealed any other mutations she might have, except for hands that were callused and hooflike.

Knot held up his right fist in the clubfoot signal of greeting. A number of mutants had problems with their extremities, so this sublanguage was useful. Knot was familiar with a great many forms of communication.

The woman perked up when she recognized the gesture. She brought up her own fist.

Knot introduced himself, speaking aloud at the same time as he signaled, so York could transcribe it. "I am Knot, the placement officer of MM58." There was no problem with the pronunciation of the name in sign language. "You are"Чhe read the -signals she returnedЧ "Greta, transferred here at your request because"Чhe smiled warmlyЧ"because you received news of our stature and wanted to participate." He made an expansive gesture. "That is a very positive attitude, Greta. What do you have in mind to do here?"

Now Greta was doubtful. She had been employed before as a water carrier, but had not been very efficient because it was hard for her to pick up the buckets. Also, there had been no need for the service, since water was pumped in to central locations of that enclave. Thus it had been mere make-work, useless. She preferred to find better employment before she met with a UAЧUntimely AccidentЧbut did not know what that might be. Yet she
had heard that MM58 seemed to be charmed that way, with everyone there finding good jobs.

Knot pondered briefly. She had paid him a considerable compliment, unknowinglyЧbut it also showed the challenge. He had a high level to maintain, and not every mutant could be made useful. His chief skill was the ability to align mutants with employments no one else would have thought of, but a certain amount of luck was important

"Most of our tasks are menial, but they are necessary to'our best functioning as an enclave," Knot said/signaled. "You don't object to routine physical labor, so long as you know it is productive?"

Greta agreed with a forceful motion of her hoofed fist

"Let me see your foot," Knot said.

Surprised, she showed her feet. Her legs were human, and fairly good ones at that, but the extremities were indeed like hooves. They were cloven in three or four places, marking where the toes should be, but the nails were so gross as to dominate the entire digits.

"We have a local winery," Knot said/signaled. "We don't like the tax burden on imported beverages, but we have to process all our water anyway, and we do like our relaxation. So we do for ourselves. Perhaps some year MM58 vintage will be renowned in the galaxy. But since at the moment the authorities governing the good planet of Nelson frown on such activity, we operate quietly. We use no power equipmept, no foreign additives. We just press the grapesЧthey're not really grapes, but we like to call them thatЧwe press them in ancient and time-honored fashion. WeЧ"

"Trample out the vintage?" she asked, catching on.

"Your feet would seem to be admirably suited to the labor. Our grapes have small spines that make it difficult for ordinary human feet to press them properly, and of course we don't use footwear for this. So if you don't find it offensive or morally objectionableЧ"

"I'm thrilled!" she signaled. "It's much better than carrying buckets of water nowhere!"

Knot tapped the intercom. He had made another good placement. "After a day's hard work, our men grow
lusty and thirsty," he concluded. "They like anything associated with their drink."

Greta, obviously starved for male companionship, seemed to be considering the prospects as she left. Knot never neglected the social angle; here where every person was mutant, deformities and differences that were prohibitive elsewhere became negligible. In general, the more closely a person approached human norm, the more attractive he or she was considered to beЧbut there was an extremely broad middle ground, and almost anyone could find a partner if he or she really wanted to.