"David Gerrold - Chtorr 3 - A Rage for Revenge" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gerrold David)

proceed until each and every one of us takes responsibility for his or her participation. That means you
don't get to hide behind `I have to think it over' any more."
"Wait-" she said, holding up her hands as if to push him away. "Just one minute."
Foreman stopped himself from speaking too quickly. He waited a moment and then asked politely,
"Yes?"
"I want to know," she began slowly, "just what it is that we're doing here. I mean, what's the purpose?"
"That's a good question," Foreman said, "and I'm going to answer it. But first I want you to notice
something. This is another delaying tactic." He turned around to face the rest of us, to include us. "I want
you all to pay attention here. Because this is about all of us. This is a demonstration of what we do
instead of making choices. This isn't about Dorothy: It's about you. Dorothy's just acting it out for you."
Then he turned back to Dorothy Chin. "I'm going to answer your question now. Then I'm going to ask
you to answer mine."
And then he was back up on the dais, addressing all of us again: "The government of the United
States-acting in conjunction with the governments of twenty-three other allied nations-has authorized this
project. Its continuing purpose is to train the members of the core group.
"The core group is not an official designation. It is not a select or a privileged group. It is a distinction
applied to that class of individuals who have demonstrated their ability to produce results and who are
committed to expanding that ability. The core group are those people who we expect to carry the
greatest burdens in the war against the Chtorr. You do not have to do this training to be a member of the
core group. It is neither honor nor burden. It is a distinction which we have made only for the purposes of
large-scale project management.
"The training is designed to support you in succeeding in your various projects. You are not the first
group of trainees, you will not be the last. There is no honor in your participation, only in your results.
"Let me stress that this course is not a political orientation. It is not intended to be one; it should not be
approached as one. We are not interested in your various political belief systems. What we are offering
here is a course in management. Personal management. Management for results. What you are being
offered here is the opportunity to become a part of a continually expanding body of individuals who have,
and I quote the course description, 'committed ourselves to the essential human question.'
"What is that question'?"
Foreman stopped. He looked around the room, looking to see if we were following him. His eyes looked
sorrowfully down from the screens. He studied us like a father. We waited for him to go on.
Foreman stepped off the dais and crossed to Dorothy Chin. "You asked, `What is the purpose?'
"Very simply: How do we survive?"
Foreman turned outward to include the rest of us. "Sounds obvious, doesn't it? Indeed, it is deceptively
obvious. But the question would be the essential human question even if our planet weren't under assault
by the Chtorran infestation. The only difference is that the infestation has forced us to confront this
question."
Foreman turned back to Dorothy Chin and looked her straight in the eye. "Dorothy Chin. I make this
assertion-do you know what an assertion is? It's a starting point. It may or may not be true, it hasn't been
tested yet, it's just a place to start. I assert that what we as individuals, and as a species, do in the name
of survival is not always what is necessary to ensure survival. I say that we do that because we, as
individuals, and as a species, are confusedhave made false connections-as to what real survival is."
Turning again to all of us: "We have confused survival of the mind with survival of the individual. We have
confused survival of the political ideology with survival of the nation. We have confused survival of the
species with survival of the world-view. And the imperatives inherent in all of those various survivals have
destroyed the survival of the self."
Turning back to Dorothy Chin: "The larger purpose of the core group is to explore the options for
humanity. The group will be responsible for creating an operating context, so that humanity can choose
directions, commit to them, and implement them. Additionally, the purpose of the core group will be to
create an alignment of will throughout the scientific, political, and military branches of the human family.