"Steven Gould - Rory" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gould Stephen Jay)

RORY
Steven Gould

Dr. Anton Grebenchekov banged his head on a doorway for the fourth
time that day and swore, "Chyort vosmoi!" His clumsiness infuriated him
for many reasons, not the least being the several gymnastic medals he'd
earned in college.
"Mind your head, Anton," said Dr. Ruth McMillian, the section head in
biochemistry.
Anton winced again. She'd found nothing to approve of in him since his
arrival six hours earlier. Starting with a piece of research he'd published
four years before and finishing with his spoken opinions of minutes
before, she'd attacked every concept he'd ever voiced. And, more than
anything in the solar system, Anton wanted Dr. McMillian to approve of
him.
"Excuse me, Dr. McMillian, what were you saying?" He floated into the
lab, still rubbing his head.
"Granulopoietin, Anton. You have heard of granulopoietin?" She turned
to face him. Close-cropped, salt-and-peppered hair framed her unlined
face. She wore an off-white coverall with a stiff, almost Roman collar. She
was pretty in a stern way. Anton found her beautiful.
Anton blushed. "My degree is in bio-chemistry!" he said, almost
angrily.
"I wasn't sure. That last piece you did in the JBC was so vague."
Anton's blush turned into a slow burn. Damn her eyes! "If you
disap-prove of my work and qualifications, why did you approve of my
appointment here?"
"I didn't. That decision was made on Earth, by the head of the
Institute."
"Dr. Herzig," supplied Anton.
"Hmmph. She probably sent you out here to learn some
disciplineтАФsome precision in your thinking."
 "And perhaps she sent me out here to put some originality in yours!''
Anton cringed inwardly, wishing he hadn't spoken. He'd used all the
resources available to him to get this position with Dr. McMillian. "I'm
sorry, I didn'tтАФ"
She cut him off. "Perhaps you're right." Her face hadn't changed
expres-sion, but her voice was cooler. "I'll let you get settled in your cabin
before din-ner. Can you find your way?"
"Yes."
"Dinner at 1800." She turned and pulled a notepad from its clip on one
of the lab benches and began studying it.
Anton hesitated for a moment, then left. On the way out, he hit his head
on the doorway.



Rory flipped a switch on the diction-ary clipped to his belt and said,
"Define monarch."
The small black box hesitated an in-stant, then replied in a pleasant