"Arthur C Clarke - Cradle" - читать интересную книгу автора (Clarke Arthur C)

Nick walked deliberately over to Troy and stood right in front of him. He spoke very slowly. УI should have made my Polonius speech to both of us when you asked me for a loan the first time. But here we are now, borrower and lender, and I donТt like it. I will lend you a hundred dollars but, Mister Troy Jefferson, this is positively the last time. Please donТt ever ask me again. These loans for your so-called inventions are making it hard for me to work with you.Ф
Troy was a little surprised by the unexpected harshness in NickТs tone. But he was also angered by the connotation of the last sentence. УAre you suggesting,Ф Troy said softly, suppressing his temper, Уthat IТm not telling the truth, that the money is not being spent on electronics? Or are you telling that you donТt believe an uneducated black man could possibly invent anything worth having?Ф
Nick faced Troy again. УSpare me your righteous racial indignation. This is not a question of prejudice or lies. ItТs money, pure and simple. My lending you money is fucking up our friendship.Ф Troy started to speak but Nick waved him off. УNow itТs been a long day. And a fascinating one at that. IТve said all I want to say on the subject of the loan and I consider the issue finished.Ф
Nick picked up his bag, said good night, and left the Florida Queen. Troy went behind the canopy to organize the diving gear. About ten minutes later, just as he was finishing, he heard someone calling his name. УTroy . . . Troy, is that you?Ф an accented voice said.
Troy leaned around the canopy and saw Greta standing on the jetty under the fluorescent light. Even though there was now a slight chill in the air, she was wearing her usual skimpy bikini that showed off her marvelous physique. Troy broke into a grand smile, УWell, well, if it isnТt superkraut! How the hell are you? I can see youТre still taking care of that wondrous body.Ф
Greta managed the beginnings of a smile. УHomer and Ellen and I are having a small party tonight. We noticed that you were working late and thought that maybe youТd like to join us when youТre done.Ф
УJust might do that,Ф Troy said, nodding his head up and down. УJust might do that.Ф


9

УOH, God, canТt we stop now? Finally? Please let us. ItТs so quiet here, now.Ф She was speaking to the stars and the sky. The old manТs head slumped forward in the wheelchair as he drew his last breath. Hannah Jelkes knelt beside him to see if he was indeed gone and then, after kissing him on the crown of the head, she looked up again with a peaceful smile. The curtain fell and rose again in a few seconds. The cast assembled quickly on stage.
УOkay, thatТs it for tonight, good job.Ф The director, a man in his early sixties, gray hair thinning on the top, approached the stage with a bounce. УGreat performance, Henrietta, try to can that one for the opening tomorrow night. Just the right combination of strength and vulnerability.Ф Melvin Burton nimbly jumped up on the stage. УAnd you, Jessie, if you make Maxine any lustier theyТll close us down.Ф He spun around with a flourish and laughed along with two other people at the front of the theater.
УOkay, gang,Ф Melvin turned back to address the cast, Уnow go home and get lots of rest. It was better tonight, looked good Oh, Commander, can you and Tiffani stay around for a moment after you change? I have a couple more pointers for you.Ф
He jumped back down from the stage and walked back to the fourth row of the theater where his two associates were sitting. One was a woman, even older than Melvin but with twinkling green eyes behind her granny glasses. She was wearing a bright print dress full of spring colors. The other person was a man, about forty, with a studious face and a warm, open manner. Melvin fretted as he sat down beside them. УI worried when we picked Night of the Iquana that it might be too difficult for Key West. ItТs not as well known as Streetcar or Glass Menagerie. And in some ways the characters are just as foreign as those in Suddenly, Last Summer. But it looks almost okay. If we can just fix the scenes between Shannon and Charlotte.Ф
УAre you sorry now you added the prologue?Ф the woman asked. Amanda Winchester was an institution in Key West. Among other things, she was the doyenne of the theatrical entrepreneurs in the revitalized city. She owned two of the new theaters near the marina and had been responsible for the formation of at least three different local repertory groups. She loved plays and theater people. And Melvin Burton was her favorite director.
УNo, IТm not, Amanda. It clearly adds to the play to get some kind of initial feeling for how frustrating it would be to lead a group of Baptist women on a tour of Mexico in the summer. And without the sex scene between Charlotte and Shannon in that small, stuffy hotel room, IТm not sure their affair is believable to the audience.Ф He paused a moment, reflecting. УHuston did the same thing with the movie.Ф
УRight now that sex scene doesnТt play at all,Ф the other man said. УIn fact itТs almost comical. The hugs they exchange are like the ones my brother gives his daughters.Ф
УPatience, Marc,Ф Melvin answered.
УSomething has to be done or we should take the prologue out altogether,Ф Amanda agreed. УMarcТs right, the scene tonight was almost comical. Part of the problem is that Charlotte looks like a child in that scene.Ф She paused a moment before continuing. УYou know, the girl has gorgeous long hair and we have it stacked on top of her head to look prim and proper. Clearly she wouldnТt wear it down all day in the heat of a Mexican summer. But what if she took it down when she went to ShannonТs room?Ф
УThatТs a great idea, Amanda. As I have often said, you would have made a fabulous director.Ф Melvin looked at Marc and they exchanged a warm smile. Then the director settled back in his seat and started thinking about what he was going to tell his two cast members in a few moments.
Melvin Burton was a happy man. He lived with his room-mate of fifteen years, Marc Adler, in a beach house on Sugarloaf Key, about ten miles east of Key West. Melvin had directed plays on Broadway for almost a decade and had been associated with the theater in one capacity or another since the mid-fifties. Always careful with his money, Melvin had managed to save an impressive amount by 1979. Worried about the impact of inflation on his savings, Melvin had sought advice from an accountant who was a friend of a close associate. It was almost love at first sight. Marc was twenty-eight at the time, shy, lonely, unsure of himself in the maelstrom of New York City. MelvinТs savoir faire and theatrical panache opened Marc up to aspects of life that he had never known.
As the stock market ratcheted upward in the mid-eighties, Melvin watched his net worth near a million dollars. But other factors in his life were not so bullish. The AIDS epidemic hit the theatrical community in New York with a vengeance and both Melvin and Marc lost many of their lifelong friends. And MelvinТs career seemed to have peaked; he was no longer in demand as one of the premier directors.
One night on his way home from the theater, Marc was mugged by a group of teenagers. They beat him up, stole his watch and wallet, and left him bleeding in the street. As a saddened Melvin ministered to his friendТs wounds, he made a major decision. They would leave New York. He would sell his stocks and convert his fortune to fixed income investments. They would buy a home where it was warm and safe, where they could relax and read and swim together. Maybe they would do some community theater work if it was available, but that was not the most important thing. What was important was that they share MelvinТs remaining years.
Melvin ran into Amanda Winchester one day while he and Marc were on vacation in Key West. They had worked together briefly on a project that had never panned out twenty years before. Amanda told him that she had just formed a local amateur repettory group to do two Tennessee Williams plays a year. Would he be interested in directing them?
Melvin and Marc moved to Key West and started to build their house on Sugarloaf Key. Both of them thoroughly enjoyed their work with the Key West Players. The actors were everyday people, dedicated and earnest. Some had had a little acting experience. But for the most part, the secretaries, housewives, and retail clerks, plus officers and enlisted men from the U.S. Naval Air Station, were all novices with one thing in common. Each of them viewed his few days on the stage as his moment of glory, and he wanted to make the best of it.
Commander Winters came out of the dressing room first. He was wearing his uniform (he had come right over to rehearsal from the base) and looked a bit stiff and uncertain. He sat down in one of the theater chairs next to Amanda Winchester. УI was really glad to see you back again,Ф said Amanda, taking his hand. УI thought your Goober last fall was just right.Ф
Winters thanked her politely. Amanda changed the subject. УSo how are things out at the base? I read an article the other day in the Miami Herald about all the modern weapons the Navy has these days, pilotless submarines and vertical takeoff fighters and search and destroy torpedoes. There seems to be no limit to our ability to build more powerful and dangerous toys for war. Are you involved with all that?Ф
УOnly in a limited way,Ф Commander Winters answered pleasantly. Then, anticipating the discussion with the director, he leaned forward so that he could see Melvin and Marc as well as Amanda. УI apologize if I was a little flat tonight,Ф he began. УWe have a couple of big problems out at the base and I may have been a bit distracted, but IТll be ready tomorrow Ч Ф
УOh, no,Ф said Melvin, interrupting him, УthatТs not what I wanted to talk to you about. ItТs your first scene with Tiffani . . . Ah, here she comes. LetТs go up on the stage.Ф
Tiffani Thomas was almost seventeen years old and a junior at Key West High School. A Navy brat all her life, Tiffani had gone to seven different schools in her eleven years since kindergarten. Her father was a noncommissioned officer who had been assigned to Key West about three months before. She had been recommended to Melvin Burton by the high school drama teacher when it became apparent that Denise Wright simply could not play the role of Charlotte Goodall.
УShe hasnТt done anything for me yet except rehearse,Ф the teacher had said of Tiffani, Уbut she learns her lines quickly and has a quality, an intensity I guess, that sets her apart from the others. And sheТs clearly been in plays before. I donТt know if she can get ready in three weeks, but sheТs my first choice by far.Ф
Tiffani probably would not have been called beautiful by her Florida classmates. Her features were too much out of the ordinary to be be properly appreciated by most high school boys. Her assets were olive eyes, quiet and brooding, light freckles on a pale complexion, long red eyelashes tinged with brown, and a magnificent head of thick auburn hair. Her carriage was proper and erect, not slumped like most teenagers, so she probably seemed aloof to her peers. УStriking,Ф Amanda called her, accurately, when she first saw Tiffani.
She was standing on the stage alone in her short-sleeved blouse and jeans as the two men approached. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail the way her father liked it. Tiffani was very nervous. She was worried about what Mr. Burton was going to say to her. She had overheard the buyer who was playing Hannah Jelkes say that Melvin might do away with the part of Charlotte altogether if Уthe new girl canТt hack it. УI have worked so hard for this part, Tiffani thought. Oh please, please, donТt let it be bad news.
Tiffani was looking down at her feet when Melvin Burton and Commander Winters joined her on the stage. УWell, now,Ф Melvin began, УletТs get straight to the point. The first scene with you two in the hotel room is not working. In fact, itТs a disaster. We must make some changes.Ф
Melvin saw that Tiffani was not looking at him. Gently he put his hand under her chin and lifted it until her eyes met his. УYou must look at me, child, for IТm trying to tell you some very important things.Ф He noticed that her eyes were brimming with water and his years of experience told him immediately what was wrong. He leaned forward and whispered so that nobody else could hear, УI said we would make some changes, not do away with the scene. Now get yourself together and listen up.Ф
Burton regained his directorТs voice and turned toward Winters. УIn this scene, Commander, your character Shannon and young Miss Goodall engage in foreplay that leads to intercourse later that night. In the following scene they are discovered, in flagrante delicto, by the confused Miss Fellowes. And that establishes the desperate situation causing Shannon to run to Maxine and Fred at the Costa Verde.
УBut our scene does not work right now because nobody watching it will recognize what you two are doing as foreplay. Now I can change the movement to make it easier Ч putting Shannan already on the bed when he discovers Charlotte behind the door would be one way Ч and I can change CharlotteТs clothing so that she looks less like a little girl, but thereТs one thing that I cannot do . . .Ф Melvin stopped and looked back and forth from Tiffani to Winters. They were both staring blankly at him.
УCome here, come here, both of you,Ф Melvin said, gesturing impatiently with his right hand. He dropped his voice again. He took TiffaniТs hand with his left and Commander WintersТ with his right. УYou two are lovers for one night in this play. It is essential that the audience believe this or they will not understand completely why Shannon is at the end of his rope, like the iguana. Shannon is desperate because he was originally locked out of his church for giving in to the same lust . . .Ф
They were both listening but MelvinТs directorТs intuition told him he was still not reaching them. He had another idea. He took TiffaniТs hand and put it into the commanderТs, closing his own hand over theirs for emphasis. УLook at each other for a moment. ThatТs right.Ф He turned to Winters. УSheТs a beautiful young woman, isnТt she, Commander?Ф
Their eyes were in contact. УAnd heТs a handsome man, isnТt he, Tiffani? I want you to imagine that you have an uncontrollable desire to touch him, to kiss him, to be naked with him.Ф Tiffani blushed. Winters fidgeted. Melvin was fairly certain that he saw a spark, albeit a fleeting one.
УNow tomorrow night,Ф he continued, looking at Tiffani and taking his hand off theirs, УI want you to capture that feeling when youТre hiding in his room. I want it to explode out of you when he notices that you are there. And you, Commander,Ф he looked back at the middle-aged naval officer, Уyou are torn between an overpowering passion to possess this young girl physically and the almost certain knowledge that it will be the final ruination of both your life and your soul. You are hopelessly trapped. Remember, you fear that God has already forsaken you for your past sins. But, despite that, you finally relinquish yourself to your lust and commit another unpardonable sin.Ф
Tiffani and Commander Winters both realized at virtually the same time that their hands were still intertwined. They looked at each other for a moment and then, embarrassed, awkwardly separated them. Melvin Burton slipped between his players and put his arms around their shoulders. УSo go on home now and think about what IТve said. And come back tomorrow and really break a leg.Ф

Vernon Winters drove the Pontiac into his driveway in suburban Key West just before eleven oТclock. The house was quiet, the only lights were in the garage and the kitchen. As regular as the stars, Vernon thought, Hap to bed at ten, Betty to bed at ten-thirty. In his mindТs eye he saw his wife go into his sonТs bedroom, as she did every night, and fiddle momentarily with his sheets and coverlet. УDid you say your prayers?Ф
УYes, maТam,Ф Hap always answered.
Then she would kiss him good night on the forehead, turn out his light as she left the room, and go into her bedroom. Within ten minutes she would have changed into her pajamas, brushed her teeth, and washed her face. She would then kneel beside her bed, her elbows on the top of the blanket and her hands clasped right in front of her face. УDear God,Ф she would say aloud, and then she would pray until exactly ten-thirty, moving her lips silently with her eyes closed. Five minutes later she would be asleep.
Vernon was aware of a vague disquiet as he walked through the living room toward the three bedrooms on the opposite side of the house from the garage. There was something stirring in him, something that he could not identify exactly, but he assumed it was associated with either the nervousness of opening night or the sudden return of Randy Hilliard to his life. He wanted to talk to someone.
He stopped at HapТs bedroom first Commander Winters walked in quietly in the dark and sat on the side of his sonТs bed. Hap was fast asleep, lying on his side. A tiny nightlight beside his bed illuminated his profile. How like your mother you look, Winters thought. And act. You two are so close. IТm almost a trespasser in my own home. He put his hand gently against HapТs cheek. The boy did not stir. How can I make up for all the time I was gone?
Winters gently nudged his son awake. УHap,Ф he said softly, УitТs your dad.Ф Henry Allen Pendleton Winters rubbed his eyes and then sat up quickly in bed. УYes, sir,Ф he said, Уis anything wrong? Is Mom all right?Ф