"FWLS6" - читать интересную книгу автора (A Future We'd Like to See)

A Future We'd Like to See 1.6 - Belief in the Dollar
By Twoflower (Copyright 1993)

You can't really call them colonies. Sarens don't colonize
in the traditional sense of the word; that is, settle down on
some planet, plant crops, raise children, dull rural life. No,
'colonies' to Sarens are just like trading posts, only a bit
more-ground based and with kids running around.

A starbase is no place to raise a child, says the Guide. A
Saren child must be raised in the comfort of warm earth and light
housekeeping. The Guide had a great many things to say about
children, proper Saren behavior, and tips for better trading and
cargo deals. The Guide, after all, was to the Sarens what the
Scrolls of Ytt'iok are to the Ytts, what the Book of Errors is to
the Murfles, and what the Bible is to the Terrans.

Of course, not all Terrans subscribe to the beliefs in the
Bible, and sometimes would become very violent indeed upon
meeting someone who did. Of course, Terra has had more wars than
any other civilized race in the galaxy; non-Terrans learned long
ago that it's more fun to kill people on other worlds than to
kill yourselves.

Not that Sarens are bloodthirsty warmongers. Heck no, the
Guide knows that the proper Saren life is in the trade, the
business of commerce. We don't take sides; we supply both of
them.

I know a great deal about the Guide. It's my job, after
all. We Sarens take our religion more like a binding set of
traditions than any righteous spiritual holybook. My career in
life is to be an expert on the Guide, and explain its many
complex passages (not that the wording is complex, just that
sometimes passages contradict other passages) to the people at
large on Colony #37047734. I'm the official colony Guidereader.

We're stationed on the third moon of C'atel, a truly
lighthearted and joyful place despite the continual rainstorms
that plague its cities. I sometimes spot down there for the
nightlife scene and a quiet drink in some noisy club made out of
a converted warehouse. Whereas in other religions where the
spiritual leader is expected to be a fine member of society and
not partake in women, wine and song, my role is more of a job and
I can do all the drinking, wenching, and singing I want. My
singing voice is not what it used to be in my youth, however, and
I am seeing a nice girl named Mandy at the moment.

I do have to wear a sort of mauve robe, traditional of all
Guidereaders, but it doubles as a reversible raincoat with