"Peter David - Sir Apropos 03 - Tong Lashing" - читать интересную книгу автора (David Peter)

"I've often told Apropos he had potential," Sharee admitted. "That he had a destiny. He never seemed
to believe it, though," and she looked at me sharply as if daring me to disagree.

I couldn't. Despite the fact that my late mother had said much the same thing, it was a notion I had
traditionally rejected, and then later fought against with every fiber of my being. I firmly believed that
"destiny" was the excuse given after the fact by people who were losers seeking a way of rationalizing all
the disappointments that were their life.

Lately, though, I had begun to wonder. The concept of free will versus what the gods have in store for
us had received a good deal of play in my life.

Furthermore, I found myself considering the fact that most men live their lives in quiet Desperation...
Desperation being the single largest city in all the world, and reputedly the most staggeringly boring.
Hence the "quiet" appellation. Situated west of the state of Isteria, quiet Desperation was the capital of
the state of Grace, named for the founder's wife (whose name was, curiously, Margaret). People flocked
there because of the easy living and usually balmy weather. And those who didn't live in quiet
Desperation often aspired to live long enough to earn enough money to move there.

I found myself comparing myself to those who lived in quiet Desperation, and considered that they
truly were destiny-free, because their lives were so damned dull. My life, by contrast, had been anything
but dull. Even when it had been dull, it was more along the lines of my life catching its breath before
hurling me headlong into the next series of insane events. It led me to wonder, then, whether the very
nature of perpetual warped activity that constituted my life more or less indicated that perhaps I did,
indeed, have a special fate that was above and beyond what other "mere mortals" faced.

The questions before me then, were twofold: What exactly was the kind of destiny I was faced with,
and how much of it was truly in my control? I had the answers to neither, and I think it was the lack of
knowing that simply added to my bitterness, rather than exciting me about the possibilities.

I discussed none of this with Mordant or Sharee, of course. Part of me was certain they wouldn't
understand, while part of me was certain they would. For the life of me, I'm not sure which prospect
bothered me more.

Instead I tried to focus purely on Mordant's background, with the reasoning that people usually like
talking about themselves. This notion was thwarted by the fact that Mordant wasn't people. He was
disinclined to talk about himself at all. Despite prodding from Sharee and myself, he would not go into
detail as to whether others of his species could converse, or how long he'd been speaking, or how he'd
come to learn the language.

"Why now?" I asked him. "Why did you suddenly start making it obvious to me now that you could
speak?"

"Because she's here," said Mordant, "which means it's unlikely that you'll be forthcoming about
yourself anymore. So I felt I might as well join future conversations. Although, frankly, I doubt you'll
enjoy hearing anyone converse as much as you enjoy hearing yourself."

"That's reasonably accurate," Sharee said.
 My famed glare had little effect on her and, unfortunately, did not reduce her to the puddle of goo I
was hoping it would.