"Monica Hughes - Devil On My Back" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hughes Monica)

Tomi looked sharply at him, but the workers face was blank. He was dressed in trousered
overalls and clogs. Now that Tomi looked at him closely he could see that his hands were covered with a
network of fine scars and scratches and that the back of his hands and the top of his bald head were
pink.
"Why is your skin that strange color?"
"It is the sun, Young Lord. By the end of summer these will be brown. Have you seen all you
wish, Young Lord?"
"No. Wait a minute." Tomi leaned far out across the wall. Below him was a cleft through which a
twisted grey ribbon of water rushed, flecked with spots of creamy white. His eyes followed it down and
to the south until it was lost among the folded hills.
"I wish to see more. Over there." Tomi pointed towards the east quad, and the worker
obediently led him along a curved path around the edge of the Dome. Here the river had been constricted
by concrete walls and buttresses, ending in a dam, over which it poured in a white torrent. It looked
frighteningly powerful.
"That structure must channel the river into the generator down on Level Five," Tomi said aloud,
awed at the skill of those early engineers who had built the City five floors deep into bedrock close to this
gorge down which the river poured.
"Perhaps, Young Lord. I do not know," said the man indifferently.
"Do you ever see animals close to the Dome?" Tomi had a sudden shivering memory of the
glowing eyes and the yawning snarl of his dream.
"Oh, no, Young Lord. That is not permitted. They might damage the Dome. See that fence?" He
pointed to a high mesh of silver that circled the concrete pad on which the Dome stood. "That has a
power to stop animals."
"An electric fence. Of course." Tomi felt very lordly and at ease now, standing in the warm damp
of the Dome, looking at the wilderness so very safely on the other side. Looking closely at the fence he
now noticed little rags and tags of bone and skin where animals had tried to reach the Dome and failed.
"It is a pity the sun is not shining. The view is very-grand when the sun shines." The worker
beamed as proudly as if it were his Dome, his view. Really, he was absurd.
Tomi couldn't help smiling. "You like your work here?"
The man's face glowed. "Oh, yes. It is wonderful."
"Do you not get bored with picking soybeans all day?"
"Why no, Young Lord. After all, there are also peas to pick and tomatoes and..."
"Yes, yes. I get the idea. It sounds very monotonous."
"It is important work, Young Lord. I pick the food you eat."
"So you do," Tomi laughed.
"Is there anything else yon wish to see." The man fidgeted from foot to foot.
"Why? What's the matter with you all of a sudden?"
"Nothing, Young Lord. But perhaps I should mention that in three minutes and forty seconds the
sprinklers will come on, Do you wish to get wet?"
Tomi glanced at the network of pipes hanging some ten meters above his head. "Of course not,
stupid oaf." He jumped up. "Don't you dare start them until I get back to the elevator!"
"They are automatic, Young Lord. I suggest you hurry, if you really do not wish to get wet."
Tomi waddled along the path as fast as his fat and his loose sandals would allow. Halfway to the
elevator block at the Dome's center he looked back. The worker was still standing where Tomi had left
him. Foolish fellow. He'd like to tell him off.
He had to run the last hundred meters. It was most unpleasant. His heart pounded against his
chest wall and he had to lean against the elevator housing to catch his breath. His robe was quite damp.
Disgusting. Before going down to the familiar comforts of Three he looked back. The vines were now a
brilliant green under the gentle mist coming from the sprinklers. The air felt fresh and lively. He felt
suddenly reluctant to return underground.