"Frankowski,.Leo.-.Tank.3.-.Kren.Of.The.Mitchegai" - читать интересную книгу автора (Frankowski Leo)

concentration of adult males in a closed room is annoying, and
because of this most of the second and third highest ranks prefer
to be female. There is no other difference between the sexes, but
the Mitchegai don't care. They have a love life comparable to that
of Earthly oysters. Love, marriage, and parental concern are not for
them.

Neither was long life, for this particular youngster. She was
released from her pen into a huge, grassy arena and looked about,
frightened at first. Fear soon passed, birdlike, for her small brain
could not entertain a single thought for long. She started to graze,
and hardly noticed when a seven-foot-tall adult vaulted into the
enclosed space. The cheering crowd did not bother her. Even the
sight of the adult's hands, with six clawed fingers arranged in a
rosette, left her unmoved. She had seen adults before, from a
distance. She had even seen them eat other juveniles on the open
plains, but they had never eaten her. She was unconcerned.

Superficially, the anatomy of the adult Mitchegai has much in
common with that of a human being. Both species have two legs,
two arms, two eyes, and two ears, although the Mitchegai lack the
external ear of a human. The brain, nose, mouth, and most of the
sensory apparatus is located in a head at the top of a spinal
column.

Internally, the differences are large, and on the whole, the
Mitchegai are better engineered. This is largely due to the three
million years of selective breeding that they have undergone.
Human beings have a basic structure more suited to a horizontal,
four-legged creature, than to an upright, two-legged one.

The five-year-old was to be an unnecessary meal for Duke Kren,
who was well fed, but she was a traditional one. The duke was
looking forward to his feast, since it was to be the last his body
would ever ingest. He didn't know, couldn't know, that his intended
prey was his own biological daughter. And had he known, he
wouldn't have cared in the least.

The seats surrounding the arena were filled with nine gross, two
dozen and one of the duke's trusted battle generals, all who were
left on the planet. There were two thousand three gross and six of
his master builders, and as many of his high officers, body guards
and other functionaries as could find room. All of these numbers
were in base twelve, of course, for since they have six claws on
each hand, the Mitchegai naturally developed a duodecimal
numbering system.

On the Stand of High Honor were his six best generals, resting in
the stupor that always follows a recent, large meal, as were eleven
of his finest master builders who were being similarly honored this