"Frank Herbert - Old Rambling House" - читать интересную книгу автора (Herbert Brian & Frank)

take the child to reach adult stature.'
'Then what?' insisted Martha Graham.
'The child will take its position in society - according to its ability.'
'Will we ever see our child after that?'
'Possibly.'
Ted Graham said, 'What's the joker in this?'
Again the cold, superior smile. 'You will receive conditioning similar to that which we gave
the Raimees. And we will want to examine your memories to aid us in our search for your
planet. It would be good to find a new inhabitable place.'
'Why did they trap us like this?' asked Martha Graham.
'It's lonely work,' the man explained. 'Your house is actually a type of space conveyance
that travels along your collection route - and there is much travel to the job. And then - you
will not have friends, nor time for much other than work. Our methods are necessarily severe
at times.'
'Travel?' Martha Graham repeated in dismay.
'Almost constantly.'
Ted Graham felt his mind whirling. And behind him, he heard his wife sobbing.


The Raimees sat in what had been the Grahams' trailer.
'For a few moments, I feared he would not succumb to the bait,' she said. 'I knew you
could never overcome the mental compulsion enough to leave them there without then- first
agreeing.'
Raimee chuckled. 'Yes. And now I'm going to indulge in everything the Rojac never
permitted. I'm going to write ballads and poems.'
'And I'm going to paint,' she said. 'Oh, the delicious freedom!'
'Greed won this for us,' he said. 'The long study of the Grahams paid off. They couldn't
refuse to trade.'
 'I knew they'd agree. The looks in their eyes when they saw the house! They both had ... '
She broke off, a look of horror coming into her eyes. 'One of them did not agree I'
'They both did. You heard them.'
'The baby?'
He stared at his wife. 'But - but it is not at the age of decision.'
'In perhaps eighteen of this planet's years, it will be at the age of decision. What then?'
His shoulders sagged. He shuddered. 'I will not be able to fight it off. I will have to build a
transmitter, call the Rojac and confess!'
'And they will collect another inhabitable place,' she said, her voice flat and toneless.
'I've spoiled it,' he said. 'I've spoiled it!'