"Alan Dean Foster - Flinx 5 - Flinx in Flux" - читать интересную книгу автора (Foster Alan Dean)

differed in coloring, though there was nothing unusual about that. They were of
different ages. They came from different backgrounds and different worlds.
What had brought them together in this small room at this particular time was a
burning fanaticism, a bond stronger than epoxene or duralloy cable‑ a cause each
was willing to die for. They were true believers, and they knew without a shadow
of a doubt that their cause was just.
When discussing it they were transformed. At such times they sloughed off their
daily personas and lives as easily as a lizard sheds old skin. They sat before
one another fresh and gleaming, like the holy crusaders they knew they were.
Each brought something different to the cause. The man who was speaking
contributed money. Another brought strength and physical skills. The man seated
beside her was naturally cunning. The six complemented one another even as they
shared the same passion.
They were the leaders of a growing band, having been chosen by their associates
to make the hard decisions, to determine targets and courses of action.
The man who was speaking was known to his compatriots as Spider. It was an
accurate description of his mind, not of his physique. When he spoke of the
Cause, he no longer looked so genial‑ His eyes seemed to bulge from his face,
and his mouth contorted in a humorless grimace.
None of them knew each other's real names. It was safer that way. The others had
adopted names such as Flora and Lizard and Ormega‑identification borrowed from
the natural world that they were dedicated to preserving. Ecology was their
creed, worshiped without question or hesitation. They had created unnatural
relationships in order to better maintain the natural ones between species.
Relationships that the civilization of the Commonwealth was dedicated to
destroying. Such was their perception.
They were not alone in these beliefs, but they were alone in their methods. They
had moved beyond reason into the realm of religion, a place where nonbelievers
were heretics to be stopped by whatever means necessary. For years they had been
biding time, gathering strength, testing the limits of their organization with
subtle probes here, tiny strikes elsewhere. A chemical plant sabotaged,
construction of a shuttleport abruptly delayed, a few crucial votes influenced
by money, persuasion, or occasional blackmail: all in the name of the Cause.
With each new success, each achievement, their confidence blossomed and new
recruits were gleaned.
Until recently. The organization had grown beyond being a nuisance. It was now
officially classified as a Problem, albeit still a minor one. Higher visibility
meant more scrutiny by the authorities, more difficulty in soliciting adherents.
They were no longer preaching to the already converted. The organization had
reached a plateau. They could collapse in upon themselves, stagnate, or take the
great leap forward. It was time to metamorphose from a cause into a movement.
Making that transition meant announcing themselves to the Commonwealth at large.
It meant making a statement that could not be ignored, showing how far they were
willing to go to support their beliefs. It was time at last for a major effort,
for a spectacular display that would bring them the kind of universal
recognition they had heretofore shunned but now demanded. Time for a
demonstration on a scale sufficient to bring double, triple the usual number of
doubters flocking to their banner.
Time to show the forces of destruction that they were a power to be reckoned