"Alan Dean Foster - Humanx 5 - Sentenced To Prism" - читать интересную книгу автора (Foster Alan Dean)

he could gain everyone's respect but not their affection. He was friendly and
outgoing, always willing to help anyone with a problem. Could he help it if he
was smarter than them? His tall frame didn't help in cozying up to
acquaintances. Tall people intimi-dated, short people ingratiated. We're still
primitives at heart, he always reminded himself.
A few close friends understood him well enough to take his daily Olympian
pronouncements with a grain of salt and to joke with him about the drawbacks
of
his personality. They were there to congratulate him on his summons. It might
involve a big step up the corporate ladder.
At least Evan's size wouldn't put Machoka on the defensive. The company
president was as tall as Evan, though much darker of skin and scarcer of hair.
He wore spiral tattoos on his forehead and neck, and big round metal earrings.
A
titanium arrowhead was glued to his shaved forehead. His personal adornment
was
confined to the skull. He wore no rings or bracelets and nothing on his suit.
The suit was all business.
Eventually Machoka turned away from the storm to regard his visitor. " Do sit
down, Orgell."
Despite the office owner's admirable efforts to convey a feeling of ease and
relaxation, Evan sensed the tense-ness in the president's voice.
He folded himself into the couch. It was close to the transparent wall. A
couple
of meters from his left side the gale smashed raindrops against the plexalloy.
Something in Machoka's suit beeped softly. Irritated, he threw Evan an
apologetic half smile while his fingers danced over the rightside controls. He
whispered toward his chest and Evan heard him say quietly, "No more calls for
the next hour, please." There was no way of telling whether he was commanding
a
machine or a person.
Several telltales on the right side of his suit immediately went dark. Only
one
remained active. It glowed a steady red.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," Orgell said politely. He had not expected
to
be more relaxed than the company president, but it was becoming clear such was
the case. It only left him feeling that much more confident. He had not the
slightest doubt he would be able to carry out whatever assignment the company
had in mind for him. He always had.
There is a small group of people who are convinced that they can do anything,
absolutely anything asked of them. Evan Orgell was one of them. Of course, he
wasn't omnipotent. He couldn't do everything. But he was con-vinced that he
could. That kind of conviction carries a power all its own.
Machoka tugged at his left sleeve until he'd revealed a slim bracelet. So Evan
had been wrong about the absence of body jewelry.
"What do you think of this?"
Evan leaned forward to study the bracelet. It was bright yellow and faceted
all
the way around. "I'm not a gem-ologist. I couldn't tell you if it was a