"James Alan Gardner - League of Peoples 01 - Expendable" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gardner James Alan)

Did I ever eat with someone who was interested inme... not my soul, not my body, not the things I might
do for them, but for me? No. Never. Not one of them knew me.

After a few months of trying to mingle with the regular crew, I switched to eating alone in my quarters.
 Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html




Rank hath its privileges.




My Quarters


I spent much of the day in my quarters. I had little reason to go elsewhere. I was comfortable there.

My cabin had no traditional decorations. When I was assigned to this ship, the quartermaster offered me
a number of standard wall-hangings "to brighten the place up," but I refused. I also refused to take any of
his glass figurines that could be attached with magnets to any flat surface. Half the figurines were abstracts
that meant nothing to me; the other half were little better than kittens, mice, and children with large eyes.

My quarters had a practical desk, a practical cartography table, three relatively practical chairs, and a
fairly impractical bed. It was a double-sized bed with many active features, called The Luxuriator. I
requisitioned it in a moment of folly, thinking if I found the right man or woman, a good bed might give me
confidence.

Might make me feel prepared.

Might make me feel I had something to contribute.

No, I can't find the right words. It humiliates me to think about it.




My Collection


My quarters contained no ornamentation, but hidden in a closed metal locker was my collection. Most
Explorers had collections. We were paid well, and had few vices that could absorb our salaries.

I collected eggs. Many people found that amusing: Festina Ramos collected eggs. They pictured a cabin
filled with white hens' eggs, racks of them, bins of them, heaped hodgepodge wherever I had space. Not
one of them ever saw my collection. They laughed behind my back about something I would never show
them.

In my early days on the ship, I talked about my collection one day at the lunch table. I forget how the