"Edmond Hamilton - Captain Future 23 - The Harpers of Titan" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hamilton Edmond)

"There is no need to be. You will not
let me die."
He held out a glittering instrument.
Slowly, like a man in a dream, Curt
took it.
Otho's bright gaze softened. He
nodded to Simon, across Curt's
shoulder, and smiled. There was
admiration in that smile, for both of
them.
Simon busied himself with other
things.
"Pay particular attention, Curtis, to
the trigeminal, glossopharyngeal,
facial -"
"I know all about that," said Curt,
with a peculiar irritation.
"-pneumogastric, spinal accessory,
and hypoglossal nerves," Simon
finished. Vials and syringes were laid
in a neat row. "Here is the anaesthetic
to be introduced into my serum-
stream. And immediately after the
operation, this is to be injected
beneath the dura and pia mater."
Curt nodded. His hands had stopped
shaking, working now with swift, sure
skill. His mouth had thinned to a grim
line.
Simon thought, He'll do. He'll
always do.
There was a moment, then, of
S
waiting. Simon looked down at the
man John Keogh and of a sudden fear
took hold of him, a deep terror of what
he was about to do.
He was content as he was. Once,
many years before, he had made his
choice between extinction and his
present existence. The genius of Curt's
own father had saved him then, given
him new life, and Simon had made
peace with that life, strange as it was,
and turned it to good use. He had
discovered the advantages of his new
form - the increased skills, the ability
to think clearly with a mind unfettered
by useless and uncontrollable
impulses of the flesh. He had learned