"Joe Haldeman - A Tangled Web" - читать интересную книгу автора (Haldeman Joe)

тАФNeither are we that way now, Uncle.
тАФI die. My brain turns to maggots... .

I talked with Uncle for an hour or so but got nothing out of it save a sore soft palate.
When I got back to the hotel there was a message from Peter Lafitte, asking whether I would
like to join him at Antoine's for dinner. No, I would not like to, but under the circumstances
it seemed prudent. I had to rent a formal tunic from the bellbot.
Antoine's has all the joie de vivre of a frozen halibut, which puts it on a par with every
other French restaurant off Earth. We started with an artichoke vinaigrette that should have
been left to rot in the hydroponics tank. Then a filet of "beef" from some local animal that I
doubt was even warm-blooded. All this served by a waiter who was a Canadian with a fake
Parisian accent.
But we also had a bottle of phony Pouilly-Fuisse followed by a bottle of ersatz Burgundy
followed by a bottle of synthetic Chateau-d'Yquem. Then they cleared the table and set a
bottle of brandy between us, and the real duel began. Short duel, it turned out.
"So how long is your vacation going to last?" I made a gesture that was admirably
economical. "Not long at these prices."
"Well, there's always Slim Joan's." He poured himself a little brandy and me a lot. "How
about yourself?"
"Ran into a snag," I said. "Have to wait until I hear from Earth."
"They're not easy to work with, are they?"
"Terrans? I'm one myself."
"The !tang, I mean." He stared into his glass and swirled the liquor. "Terrans as well,
though. Could I set to you a hypothetical proposition?"
"My favorite kind," I said. The brandy stung my throat. "Suppose you were a peaceable
sort of fellow."
"I am." Slightly fuzzy, but peaceable.
"And you were on a planet to make some agreement with the natives."
 I nodded seriously.
"Billions of bux involved. Trillions."
"That would really be something," I said.
"Yeah. Now further suppose that there's another Terran on this planet who, uh, is seeking
to make the same sort of agreement."
"Must happen all the time."
"For trillions, Dick? Trillions?"
"Hyp'thetical trillions." Bad brandy, but strong.
"Now the people who are employing you are ab-solute-ly ruthless."
"Ma!ryso'ta," I said, the !tang word for "bonehungry." Close to it, anyhow.
"
That's right." He was starting to blur. More wine than I'd thought. "Stop at nothing. Now
how would you go about warning the other Terran?"
My fingers were icy cold and the sensation was crawling toward my elbows. My chin
slipped off my hand and my head was so heavy I could hardly hold it up. I stared at the two
fuzzy images across the table. "Peter." The words came out slowly, and then not at all: "You
aren't drinking...."
"Terrible brandy, isn't it." My vision went away, although it felt as if my eyes were still
open. I heard my chin hit the table.
"Waiter?" I heard the man come over and make sympathetic noises. "My friend has had a
little too much to drink. Would you help me get him to the bellbot?" I couldn't even feel
them pick me up. "I'll take this brandy. He might want some in the morning." Jolly.