"Alan Dean Foster - Flinx 10 - Sliding Scales" - читать интересную книгу автора (Foster Alan Dean)

тАЬThen,тАЭ declared the ship conclusively, тАЬit is time you did so. Every one of my relevant stored medical
texts attests to the therapeutic value of such an undertaking. You need to go somewhere interesting and
expend some energy in doing nothing. It is necessary for your health.тАЭ

Could he? he found himself wondering. Could he set everything aside: thoughts of Clarity, of Bran
Tse-Mallory, and Truzenzuzex and the steadily approaching evil that lurked behind the Great
Emptiness, of the Tar-Aiym weapons platform and all those who sought him, and really do nothing for
any appreciable period of time? Could he, dare he, attempt the seemingly impossible? A vacation? Of
everything he had done in his short but full life, that struck him as being among the most alien. Even as
a child he had not been able to engage in such non-activity. He had been too busy stealing, to keep
himself and Mother Mastiff alive.

He had been on the verge of saying to hell with everything. Here was his ship advising him to do
essentially that, only without the attendant rancor. For a little while, at least. But where to seek such
mental and physical succor? He asked as much of the Teacher.

тАЬI have devoted almost a full minute of thought to the matter,тАЭ the synthetic voice replied, clearly
gratified by FlinxтАЩs decision. тАЬGiven the inauspicious interest in your person by everyone from several
independent inimical organizations to the Commonwealth authority itself, it is clear that you would not
be able to relax and refresh yourself on any developed world within the Commonwealth.тАЭ

Now thereтАЩs an understatement, Flinx thought.

тАЬPersisting with this line of reasoning,тАЭ ship continued, тАЬit is also plain that if you are forced to spend
time on an undeveloped, unexplored world, you will similarly be unable to unwind, as all your mental
acuity will perforce be focused on staying alive. This would seem to leave you with few options.тАЭ

тАЬIndeed it would.тАЭ Flinx watched as Pip coiled around a dark-sided shrub and slid sinuously down the
oddly patterned bark. It did not appear to bother the bush.

тАЬWhat is required is a comfortably habitable world that lies not only beyond the reach of
Commonwealth authority but of those other groups that seek to incommode you. A world where you
can move about without, as humans like to put it, having to constantly peer over your shoulder. I do
not have any shoulders to peer over, but I am able to grasp the philosophical conceit.тАЭ

тАЬI always said you were full of conceit,тАЭ Flinx riposted. His heart wasnтАЩt really in the verbal sparring,
though. He was, as ship had persisted in pointing out, very tired. тАЬYouтАЩre going to tell me that youтАЩve
found such a refuge?тАЭ Near the pond, Pip was bobbing and weaving like a serpentine boxer as a thorny
flower struck reflexively in her direction.

тАЬI do not possess sufficient information to so categorize it, but the world I have settled upon seems a
promising candidate. Certainly it appears to fulfill the requisite conditions.тАЭ

With a sigh he sat up straight on the edge of the lounge, trying hard not to think of Clarity Held and
whether she was recovered from her injuries. He refused to countenance the possibility that she might
not have survived. Without a doubt he needed to find something to divert himself from incessantly
dwelling on such dark possibilities.

тАЬWhatтАЩs the name of this handy haven youтАЩve found?тАЭ he asked dubiously.