"Philip Jose Farmer - Flesh" - читать интересную книгу автора (Farmer Phillip Jose)

By the time this incident had passed, the procession was halted at the foot of the steps to theCapitol
Building. Here there was some momentary confusion, as the Guards and priestesses tried to shove the
girls back. The Elks pulled the Sunhero off the stag and began to lead him up the steps.

тАЬHold on just a minute, Great Stag!тАЭ they said. тАЬHold on until you get to the top of the steps. And we
will let you go!тАЭ

Raving, the Sunhero glared at them, but he allowed them to hang on to him. He looked at the statue of
the Great White Mother on the top of the steps by the entrance to the building. Carved marble, it was
fifty feet high with enormous breasts. She was suckling her baby Son. One of her feet was crushing the
life out of a bearded dragon.

The crowd broke into a mighty roar, тАЬVirginia!Virginia!тАЭ

The high priestess ofWashingtonhad appeared from the shadows of the columns of the immense
porch that ran around the Capitol.

The light from the torches gleamed whitely on her long skirt and bare shoulders and breasts. It turned
dark her honey-colored hair, which fell to her calves. It turned dark the mouth which in the daylight was
red as a wound. It turned dark the eyes which in the sun were a deep blue.

The Sunhero bellowed like a stag who scents a female during rutting season. He shouted, тАЬVirginia!
YouтАЩll not put me off any longer! Nothing can stop me now!тАЭ

The dark mouth opened, and the teeth flashed white in the torchlight. A long slim white arm beckoned
to him. He tore loose from the many hands holding him and ran up the steps. He was only faintly aware
that the drums and bugles and pipes behind him had risen to a crescendo and that the screaming was the
high-pitched lust of a mob of young girls. He was only dimly aware of theseтАж and not at all aware that
his bodyguard was fighting for its life, trying to keep from being trampled underfoot or torn apart by the
long sharp nails of the virgins. Nor did he see that mingled with the fallen bodies of the men were the
white skirts and blouses of the girls, cast aside.

Only one thing made him pause for even a second. That was the sudden appearance of a girl in an
iron cage, set at the base of the statue of the Great Mother. She was a young woman, too, but clad
differently than the others. She wore a long-billed cap like a baseball playerтАЩs, a loose shirt with some
indistinguishable marking on it, loose calf-length pants, thick stockings, and thick-soled shoes.

Above the cage was a large sign with thick-limbed letters in Deecee spelling.



MAESST

GAKAETI REA KESILAE



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