"Gordon R. Dickson - The Cloak and the Staff" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dickson Gordon R)

existent human underground in opposition to the Aalaag, an underground he had never suspected. The
very fact that it existed at all forecast bloody tragedy for any human foolish enough to be related to it. By
their own standards, the Aalaag were unsparingly fair. But they considered humans as тАЬcattleтАЭ; and a
cattle owner did not think in terms of being тАЬfairтАЭ to a sick or potentially dangerous bull that had become
a farm problemтАж

тАЬEccolo!тАЭ said the cab driver.

Shane looked as bidden and saw the alien HQ. A perfectly reflective force shield covered it like a
coating of mercury. It was impossible to tell what kind of structure it had been originally. Anything from
an office building to a museum was a possibility. Lyt Ahn, First Captain of Earth, in his HQ overlooking
St. AnthonyтАЩs Falls in what had once been the heart of Minneapolis, scorned such an obvious display of
defensive strength. The grey concrete walls of his sprawling keep on Nicollet Island had nothing to
protect them but the portable weapons within, though these alone were capable of leveling the
metropolitan area surrounding in a handful of hours. Shane paid the driver, got out, and went in through
the main entrance of the Milan HQ.

The Ordinary Guards inside the big double doors and those on the desk were all human. Young for the
most part, like Shane himself, but much bigger; for the largest of humans seemed frail and small to the
eight-foot Aalaag. These guards wore the usual neat, but drab, black uniforms of servant police. Dwarfed
among them, in spite of his five feet eleven inches of height, Shane felt a twinge of perverse comfort at
being within these walls and surrounded by these particular fellow humans. Like him, they ate at the
alienтАЩs tables; they would be committed to defend him against any non-servant humans who should
threaten him. Under the roof of masters who sickened him, he was physically protected and secure.

He stopped at the duty desk and took his Key from the leather pouch at his belt, leaving the documents
within. The human duty officer there took the Key and examined it. It was made of metalтАФ metal which
no ordinary Earth native was allowed to own or carry тАФand the Mark of Lyt Ahn was stamped on the
square handle.

тАЬSir,тАЭ said the officer in Italian, reading the Mark. He was suddenly obliging. тАЬCan I be of assistance?тАЭ

тАЬI sign in, temporarily,тАЭ answered Shane in Arabic, for the officerтАЩs speech echoed the influence of the
throat consonants of that language. тАЬI am the one who delivers messages for the First Captain of Earth,
Lyt Ahn. I have some to deliver now to the Commander of these Headquarters.тАЭ

тАЬYour tongue is skilled,тАЭ said the officer in Arabic, turning the duty book about and passing Shane a pen.

тАЬYes,тАЭ said Shane and signed.

тАЬThe Commander here,тАЭ said the officer, тАЬis Laa Ebon, Captain of the sixth rank. He accepts your
messages.тАЭ

He turned and beckoned over one of the lesser human guards.

тАЬTo the outer office of Laa Ehon, with this one bearing messages for the Commander.тАЭ

The guard saluted, and led Shane off. Several flights of stairs up beside an elevator which Shane would
have known better than to use even if the guard had not been with him brought them to a corridor; down
which, behind another pair of large carved doors, they reached what was plainly an outer room of the