"Carol Emshwiller - Childhood of the Human Hero (2)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Emshwiller Carol)

There are still some wishes left and crazy laughter and a secret handshake. But after a
while you face life at your own risk.
When, in the course of human events, evidence comes to light of evil forces overpowering
the good, give that boy three impossible tasks to do to restore the world to its proper place
among the respectable planets. Steadfast and true. Honorable unto the death, of course. Helper of
the helpless. Kind to animals. Honesty his best policy. Oh, incorruptible boy, I see the faint new
moon float past your head one midafternoon. The clouds hardly moving and you, blasting off into
one of those lazy Sundays with an Estes rocket. "Gentlemen, we're limping back to Aldebaran. We've
slipped out of space warp and into real time. We're lost in an out-of-the-way section of deep
space -and who knows what evil lurks among the stars? . ."
Back here we're waiting for all systems to be go, for all men to be safe and accounted for
and in real time and serving a different purpose. It's another world going on outside and might be
airless. Suit up, men, preferably in silver, then gasping (gasp, gasp), falling down. "Look, Ma,
honorable unto the death."
What's green and squashed and lies in the gutter? Well, there's a war on and it's this
world now and it could be you with your new yellow/brown mustache.
But that boy doesn't belong on this planet at all. Someday his real father and mother will
come down to claim him and take him back where he belongs. He'll be homesick for his former Earth
family for a while, but after a week or so it'll be all right. The new life will be hard, but
rewarding. He will accompany his new father in a ship, preferably all in silver, and go from
planet to planet doing one good deed every day, 365 good deeds every Earth year.
That last blast-off almost poked a hole right through the ceiling.

"I wouldn't do that in here again if I . . ."
Beaming down while the cosmic energy still burns within him, shouts, "Wait, I know just
what you're t going to say and I don't want to hear it."
(But maybe it's just one of those imitation bullet holes at nine for fifty cents.)
Husband, ours is indeed an admirable boy, but don't expose his secret identity: "Seven
toes to each foot and to either hand as many fingers; his eyes, bright with seven pupils. On each
cheek he has four moles, a blue, a red, a green, a purple. Between one ear and the other, long
yellow tresses that are as yellow as the wax of bees . . ."*




file:///G|/rah/Carol%20Emshwiller%20-%20Childhood%20of%20the%20Human%20Hero.txt (3 of 3) [2/14/2004 12:13:49 AM]