"Greg Egan - Oceanic" - читать интересную книгу автора (Egan Greg)

on the offer.
She said, "Is it just you and Daniel?"
"Yes."
"You must be close."
I shrugged. "What about you?"
"Two brothers. Both younger. Eight and nine. They're all right, I suppose." She rested her
chin on one hand and gazed at me coolly.
I looked away, disconcerted by more than my wishful thinking about what lay behind that gaze.
Unless her parents had been awfully young when she was born, it didn't seem likely that more
children were planned. So did an odd numberin the family mean that one had died, or that the
custom of equal numbers carried by each parent wasn't followed where she lived? I'd studied the
region less than a year ago, but I had a terrible memory for things like that.
Lena said, "You looked so lonely, off here on your own."
I turned back to her, surprised. "I'm never lonely."
"No?"
She seemed genuinely curious. I opened my mouth to tell her about Beatrice, but then changed
my mind. The few times I'd said anything to friends -- ordinary friends, not Drowned ones -- I'd
regretted it. Not everyone had laughed, but they'd all been acutely embarrassed by the revelation.
I said, "Mitar has a million people, doesn't it?"
"Yes."
"An area of ocean the same size would have a population of ten."
Lena frowned. "That's a bit too deep for me, I'm afraid." She rose to her feet. "But maybe
you'll think of a way of putting it that even a Firmlander can understand." She raised a hand
goodbye and started walking away.
I said, "Maybe I will."

****

The wedding took place in Ferez's Deep Church, a spaceship built of stone, glass, and wood.
It looked almost like a parody of the churches I was used to, though it probably bore a closer
resemblance to the AngelsтАЩ real ship than anything made of living hulls.
Daniel and Agnes stood before the priest, beneath the apex of the building. Their closest
relatives stood behind them in two angled lines on either side. My father -- Daniel's mother --
was first in our line, followed by my own mother, then me. That put me level with Rachel, who kept
shooting disdainful glances my way. After my misadventure, Daniel and I had eventually been
allowed to travel to the Prayer Group meetings again, but less than a year later I'd lost
interest, and soon after I'd also stopped going to church. Beatrice was with me, constantly, and
no gatherings or ceremonies could bring me any closer to Her. I knew Daniel disapproved of this
attitude, but he didn't lecture me about it, and my parents had accepted my decision without any
fuss. If Rachel thought I was some kind of apostate, that was her problem.
The priest said, "Which of you brings a bridge to this marriage?"
Daniel said, "I do." In the Transitional ceremony they no longer asked this; it was really no
one else's business -- and in a way the question was almost sacrilegious. Still, Deep Church
theologians had explained away greater doctrinal inconsistencies than this, so who was I to argue?
"Do you, Daniel and Agnes, solemnly declare that this bridge will be the bond of your union
until death, to be shared with no other person?"
They replied together, "We solemnly declare."
"Do you solemnly declare that as you share this bridge, so shall you share every joy and