"George Alec Effinger - Bird of Time" - читать интересную книгу автора (Effinger George Alec)

scarab, which was inlaid with lapis lazuli; there was an
elaborate golden necklace with a lapis moon riding in a golden
boat; there were two beautiful earrings, made of gold with
cloisonn├й falcons, their wings arching to form perfect circles,
inlaid with quartz, faience, and colored glass; there was a
heavy gold ring depicting some Egyptian god or other. The
priceless jewelry contrasted with the simple, rough cotton
skirt. тАЬIs this real gold?тАЭ asked Hartstein.
тАЬCertainly is. You can't get out of this building without
giving it back. And we can always get more of that jewelry
anytime we want, just by going to Ancient Egypt and getting
it. Let me help you with that skirt.тАЭ
тАЬThat's all right,тАЭ said Hartstein, тАЬI can manage. But what
am I supposed to be?тАЭ
The uniformed man scratched his wispy beard. тАЬA scribe, I
suppose, or a valuable slave in a wealthy household. I don't
know. I've never been there myself.тАЭ
тАЬWell, in History 110 we had a couple of weeks about
Egypt, and I've seen this before.тАЭ Hartstein held up the lunar
pectoral. тАЬThis is one of the King Tut treasures.тАЭ
тАЬThey all are, honey.тАЭ
Hartstein stared for a moment, not understanding. тАЬBut
how am I going to get away with wearing all of this pharaoh's
stuff, walking around the streets pretending I'm just a
middle-class country boy with a yen to read the classics? And
anyway, I'm going to about 50 B.C., and King Tut lived
almost fifteen hundred years before that. All of this stuff, the
skirt and the jewelry, is an anachronism. And the headdress


14
 The Bird of Time
by George Alec Effinger


too. Where I'm going, they'll all be influenced by the Greek
occupation and the Romans.тАЭ
The costumer yawned. тАЬNo, they won't.тАЭ
тАЬThey won't? Why not?тАЭ
тАЬThey just won't, that's all. Wait until you get back there
and then take a look around. Just remember, sweetheart,
that the past isn't always the way you expect it to be, from
reading books. How dreary that would be.тАЭ
Hartstein was having more misgivings. тАЬYou can help me
with the earrings,тАЭ he said. тАЬDid they have screw bases
during the reign of the Ptolemies?тАЭ
тАЬNo, of course not, but do you want me to pierce your ears
instead?тАЭ