"Gordon Eklund - Serving in Time" - читать интересную книгу автора (Eklund Gordon)

"Drafted?" Phineas shook his head. "No, it wasn't that."

"ButтАФ"

Phineas suddenly yawnedтАФloudly. "It sure is a gorgeous night.
I feel like some fresh air. Let's go for a walk."

"But I wantedтАФ"

"A walk will do us both some good." Phineas started away
from the big house at a brisk pace. Jan hurried to follow. Ahead
of them to the left stood a high stand of evergreens, pine and
spruce, and beyond that first brief hint a thick forest more than
an acre deep. The forest served as a natural playground for the
younger children, which was why it had been allowed to remain
when the rest of the land was cleared for planting, but it was also
a splendid place for taking solitary walks. Jan often came this
way aloneтАФparticularly during the past few nights since the
message had come.

The path they followed was sufficiently wide so that both
could walk together. Between the high branches of the trees, Jan
could glimpse the stars shining impersonally down. The moon, in
its third quarter, had not yet risen. Phineas ignored all Jan's
attempts to discuss his personal problems and finally asked him
to keep quiet. A short time later, Phineas waved an expansive
hand at the stars:

"They make a person think, don't they?"

Jan wasn't feeling especially cordial. With all his own
problems, how was he supposed to have room to worry about the
stars? "I don't knowтАФdo they?"

"They do me. Of course, I wouldn't know about you. Tell me,
do they still teach astronomy in the school?"

"Only at the higher levels."

"Well, that's wrong. They ought to teach it to a person even
before he knows how to read. It doesn't take a single word to
describe any of this." He shook a fist at the stars. "It can't be
done in one word or a million."

"Maybe you could bring that up at the next council meeting."

"Maybe I could. But you know my opinion. Education is
falling to pot and ashes. There are times I fear we are fast
becoming a race of incipient morons. Which is another risk that
comes from dwelling in Utopia. People never did want to learn