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

So for a long time after my father died my mother slept through the days and wouldnТt go out. We had breakfast at midnight and lunch at three in the morning, and dinner at the cold dim hour of 6 A.M. We went to all-night shows and went to bed at sunrise.

And, for a long while, the only days we ever went out to walk were the days when it was raining and there was no sun.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Fire Balloons


FIRE exploded over summer night lawns. You saw sparkling faces of uncles and aunts. Skyrockets fell up in the brown shining eyes of cousins on the porch, and the cold charred sticks thumped down in dry meadows far away.

The Very Reverend Father Joseph Daniel Peregrine opened his eyes. What a dream: he and his cousins with their fiery play at his grandfatherТs ancient Ohio home so many years ago!

He lay listening to the great hollow of the church, the other cells where other Fathers lay. Had they, too, on the eve of the flight of the rocket Crucifix, lain with memories of the Fourth of July? Yes. This was like those breathless Independence dawns when you waited for the first concussion and rushed out on the dewy sidewalks, your hands full of loud miracles.

So here they were, the Episcopal Fathers, in the breathing dawn before they pinwheeled off to Mars, leaving their incense through the velvet cathedral of space.

УShould we go at all?Ф whispered Father Peregrine. УShouldnТt we solve our own sins on Earth? ArenТt we running from our lives here?Ф

He arose, his fleshy body, with its rich look of strawberries, milk, and steak, moving heavily.

УOr is it sloth?Ф he wondered. УDo I dread the journey?Ф

He stepped into the needle-spray shower.

УBut I shall take you to Mars, body.Ф He addressed himself. УLeaving old sins here. And on to Mars to find new sins?Ф A delightful thought almost. Sins no one had ever thought of.

Oh, he himself had written a little book: The Problem of Sin on Other Worlds, ignored as somehow not serious enough by his Episcopal brethren.

Only last night, over a final cigar, he and Father Stone had talked of it.

УOn Mars sin might appear as virtue. We must guard against virtuous acts there that, later, might be found to be sins!Ф said Father Peregrine, beaming. УHow exciting! ItТs been centuries since so much adventure has accompanied the prospect of being a missionary!Ф

УI will recognize sin,Ф said Father Stone bluntly, Уeven on Mars.Ф

УOh, we priests pride ourselves on being litmus paper, changing color in sinТs presence,Ф retorted Father Peregrine, Уbut what if Martian chemistry is such we do not color at all! If there are new senses on Mars, you must admit the possibility of unrecognizable sin.Ф

УIf there is no malice aforethought, there is no sin or punishment for sameЧthe Lord assures us that,Ф Father Stone replied.

УOn Earth, yes. But perhaps a Martian sin might inform the subconscious of its evil, telepathically, leaving the conscious mind of man free to act, seemingly without malice! What then?Ф

УWhat could there be in the way of new sins?Ф

Father Peregrine leaned heavily forward. УAdam alone did not sin. Add Eve and you add temptation. Add a second man and you make adultery possible. With the addition of sex or people, you add sin. If men were armless they could not strangle with their hands. You would not have that particular sin of murder. Add arms, and you add the possibility of a new violence. Amoebas cannot sin because they reproduce by fission. They do not covet wives or murder each other. Add sex to amoebas, add arms and legs, and you would have murder and adultery. Add an arm or leg or person, or take away each, and you add or subtract possible evil. On Mars, what if there are five new senses, organs, invisible limbs we canТt conceive ofЧthen mightnТt there be five new sins?Ф

Father Stone gasped. УI think you enjoy this sort of thing!Ф

УI keep my mind alive, Father; just alive, is all.Ф