"Bradbury, Ray - The Illustrated Man" - читать интересную книгу автора (Bradbury Ray)

УNo, now IТm lying to myself. This is one of those times when youТve got to lie. I canТt take much more of this.Ф

They walked down the jungle trail, now and then looking at their compasses. There was no direction anywhere, only what the compass said. There was a gray sky and rain falling and jungle and a path, and, far back behind them somewhere, a rocket in which they had ridden and fallen. A rocket in which lay two of their friends, dead and dripping rain.

They walked in single file, not speaking. They came to a river which lay wide and flat and brown, flowing down to the great Single Sea. The surface of it was stippled in a billion places by the rain.

УAll right, Simmons.Ф

The lieutenant nodded and Simmons took a small packet from his back which, with a pressure of hidden chemical, inflated into a large boat. The lieutenant directed the cutting of wood and the quick making of paddles and they set out into the river, paddling swiftly across the smooth surface in the rain.

The lieutenant felt the cold rain on his cheeks and on his neck and on his moving arms. The cold was beginning to seep into his lungs. He felt the rain on his ears, on his eyes, on his legs.

УI didnТt sleep last night,Ф he said.

УWho could? Who has? When? How many nights have we slept? Thirty nights, thirty days! Who can sleep with rain slamming their head, banging away. . . . IТd give anything for a hat. Anything at all, just so it wouldnТt hit my head any more. I get headaches. My head is sore; it hurts all the time.Ф

УIТm sorry I came to China,Ф said one of the others.

УFirst time I ever heard Venus called China.Ф

УSure, China. Chinese water cure. Remember the old torture? Rope you against a wall. Drop one drop of water on your head every half-hour. You go crazy waiting for the next one. Well, thatТs Venus, but on a big scale. WeТre not made for water. You canТt sleep, you canТt breathe right, and youТre crazy from just being soggy. If weТd been ready for a crash, weТd have brought waterproofed uniforms and hats. ItТs this beating rain on your head gets you, most of all. ItТs so heavy. ItТs like BB shot. I donТt know how long I can take it.Ф

УBoy, me for the Sun Dome! The man who thought them up, thought of something.Ф

They crossed the river, and in crossing they thought of the Sun Dome, somewhere ahead of them, shining in the jungle rain. A yellow house, round and bright as the sun. A house fifteen feet high by one hundred feet in diameter, in which was warmth and quiet and hot food and freedom from rain. And in the center of the Sun Dome, of course, was a sun. A small floating free globe of yellow fire, drifting in space at the top of the building where you could look at it from where you sat, smoking or reading a book or drinking your hot chocolate crowned with marshmallow dollops. There it would be, the yellow sun, just the size of the Earth sun, and it was warm and continuous, and the rain world of Venus would be forgotten as long as they stayed in that house and idled their time.

The lieutenant turned and looked back at the three men using their oars and gritting their teeth. They were as white as mushrooms, as white as lie was. Venus bleached everything away in a few months. Even the jungle was an immense cartoon nightmare, for how could the jungle be green with no sun, with always rain falling and always dusk? The white, white jungle with the pale cheese-colored leaves, and the earth carved of wet Camembert, and the tree boles like immense toadstoolsЧeverything black and white. And how often could you see the soil itself? WasnТt it mostly a creek, a stream, a puddle, a pool, a lake, a river, and then, at last the sea?

УHere we are!Ф

They leaped out on the farthest shore, splashing and sending up showers. The boat was deflated and stored in a cigarette packet. Then, standing on the rainy shore, they tried to light up a few smokes for themselves, and it was five minutes or so before, shuddering, they worked the inverted lighter and, cupping their hands, managed a few drags upon cigarettes that all too quickly were limp and beaten away from their lips by a sudden slap of rain.

They walked on.

УWait just a moment,Ф said the lieutenant. УI thought I saw something ahead.Ф

УThe Sun Dome?Ф

УIТm not sure. The rain closed in again.

Simmons began to run. УThe Sun Dome!Ф

УCome back, Simmons!Ф

УThe Sun Dome!Ф

Simmons vanished in the rain. The others ran after him.

They found him in a little clearing, and they stopped and looked at him and what he had discovered.