"Gwyneth Jones - Divine Endurance" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jones Gwyneth)

small units high at the shoulder, and sixty-two small units long
from nose to tail tip. I am independent and it is therefore the more
flattering when I respond to affection. I am graceful, agile and
especially good at killing things prettily. I live with the Empress
and the Emperor. There are only three of us now. Once there were
more of them: more Empresses and Emperors, and other names too,
but things have been running down for a long time and gradually
people fade away and one sees them no more. But I have never liked
bustle, and I was perfectly happy until our troubles began. We have
a pleasant life. We have our extensive palace, and our gardens where
the light is always changing. We have outings to view the sunset
and the dawn and the moon; we have lizards and flowers, warm
rocks and cool shadows. There are certain restrictions: for instance,
we are not supposed to go outside the gardens. But most of the time
keeping the rules is simply common sense. I have explored the way
to the glass basin, but the air down there smells horrible, and the
light makes oneтАЩs head ache. I have also been out towards the glass
plateau, which is a shiny line on the sky to the west of our palace,
but I found nothing of interest, only a few dirty places where some
passing nomads had been camping. We are not to go near these
people. If ever somebody wants one of us they will approach through
the proper channels, and with some ceremony no doubt. Meanwhile,
if the gypsies come too close to the palace (they donтАЩt often dare) we
simply think discouraging thoughts and make ourselves scarce.
I should say that there is one rule that the Empress and the
Emperor obey, which I ignore because it is just silly. When one of
them grows past the point of being a child, they start taking what
they call medicine. It is an effluent from the Controller. Once, when
we all stayed inside, they used to line up and the Controller would
give it to them in little cups out of a wall. But I think the wall or the
cups faded away, and now they just drink it from their hands. It
does them nothing but harm. The effects are slow but horrible.
Their hair falls out, their muscles waste away, their skin grows
flabby and their teeth crumble. Eventually some accident happens
and the victim is too weak to recover, and that is the end. If they
waited till they were properly grown up it would do them no harm
тАФ if they must have the stuff, but they wonтАЩt. I do not remember ever
being told to take this medicine. I do not know why they keep on
doing it.
I think it was because of the medicine that I encouraged Em and
Emp when they began to talk about a baby. They were both
beginning to look quite sickly, and I do not think I would like to live
entirely alone. They could not decide which kind of baby to have тАФ
they can never agree about anythingтАФso they wanted one of each. I
thought that two was excessive and would spoil our quiet times, but
they went to the Controller anyway. There we had a shock: the
Controller said we could only have one baby, because there was only
one baby ability left. This was startling. It had seemed, I suppose,
that things could go on running down forever and never completely
stop. Could it be twins? asked Em. ThatтАЩs not allowed, said the