"Brad Ferguson - To Tell The Troof" - читать интересную книгу автора (Ferguson Brad)

тАЬYouтАЩre ilantha by association, Father,тАЭ Edith said. тАЬYou hired Zweebl!
You were neutral as a newborn Troof babe when you arrived here, but
hiring Zweebl тАФ as your assistant, no less тАФ put you over the line.тАЭ
McAleerтАЩs jaw dropped. тАЬOh! That means the Troof think IтАЩm a total
liar?тАЭ
тАЬRight. And here you are, trying to tell them about Orthodox
Catholicism тАФ and no oneтАЩs having any of it. Why should they? YouтАЩre
ilantha! Anything you say is a lie. To the Troof
тАФ yerega and ilantha both тАФ everything you are represents a falsehood.
Of course they havenтАЩt been paying any attention to you тАФ from their
point of view, youтАЩre trying to make them into stooges, yerega and ilantha
both!тАЭ
тАЬSo IтАЩm guilty by association,тАЭ McAleer breathed. тАЬIтАЩll be damned. But,
wait тАФ youтАЩre living here. How come you havenтАЩt been tarred with the
same brush? Why arenтАЩt you considered, er, ilantha?тАЭ
Edith smiled. тАЬI just got here and IтАЩve been sick, remember? To the
Troof, thatтАЩs okay. I hadnтАЩt yet chosen a path тАФ but I did today, without
knowing it.тАЭ
тАЬHow?тАЭ
тАЬI told a Troof friend of mine тАФ a yerega, as I soon found out тАФ that I
was looking for a place to live.тАЭ
тАЬAnd that was it?тАЭ
Edith grinned. тАЬIt was more than enough. Every day IтАЩve been out, each
Troof IтАЩve met has asked me how my health was. I thought they were being
polite, but it wasnтАЩt that. They were waiting for me to choose which path
IтАЩd walk тАФ something I wouldnтАЩt be expected to do until I felt completely
well. In fact, I managed to impress my pals in the square by choosing
anyway, before I had to.тАЭ
тАЬJust by saying you intended to move out of the mission?тАЭ
тАЬSure. You see, while I was ill, I had no choice in where I was living, any
more than a child does. I incurred no, er, penalty for living under the same
roof as a couple of ilantha. ThereтАЩs plenty of precedent for that. However,
once I could choose, I chose to get out тАФ and that automatically made me
yerega. An honest woman.тАЭ Edith smiled at that. тАЬTheyтАЩre finding me a
place now.тАЭ
McAleer nodded. тАЬI think I see. I take it the explorers and traders who
used to be here were also considered ilantha?тАЭ
тАЬYes. Zweebl worked for them, too, pretty much doing what he does for
you. Since the exploration team and traders were ilantha because they
had тАШadoptedтАЩ Zweebl, no one would trade with them; the Troof of either
sect were sure theyтАЩd be cheated. The yerega Troof wouldnтАЩt even speak to
the Terrans unless it was an emergency. For their part, the ilantha Troof
didnтАЩt think talking to a bunch of Terrans stupid enough to employ one of
their own was worth their time.тАЭ
Edith scratched her head. тАЬEvery survey report on Troof sociology thatтАЩs
ever been made is going to have to be rewritten. IтАЩm the only Terran the
Troof have ever met who wasnтАЩt ilantha ... and that means IтАЩm the only
Terran whoтАЩs ever been able to talk to the yerega Troof and find out
whatтАЩs really been going on here.тАЭ
McAleer nodded, then sighed. тАЬWell, I guess congratulations are in