"Janet Kagan - Mirabile" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kagan Janet)
тАЬI wanted it to be a surprise from Mama Jason.тАЭ She looked around the table.
тАЬYou know how hard it is to think up a birthday present for her!тАЭ She pushed away
from the table. тАЬWait! IтАЩll be right back. IтАЩll show you!тАЭ
I concentrated on the chowder. Birthday present, indeed! As if I needed some
present other than the fact of those kids themselves. If Susan hadnтАЩt opened her
mouth, Elly wouldтАЩve assumed I taken her along with us, as EllyтАЩd suggested earlier.
Glancing up, I saw Elly rest a sympathetic eye on me.
Well, I was off the hook, but Susan sure as hell wasnтАЩt.
There was a clamor of footsteps on the stairs and Susan was back with a huge
box, full to overspilling with papers and computer tapes. Chris shoved aside the pot
of chowder to make space for them.
Susan pulled out her pocket computer and plugged it into the wall modem. тАЬI did
it right, Mama Jason. See if I didnтАЩt.тАЭ
The photo album wasnтАЩt regulation but as the first page was a very pretty
hologram (I recognized IlanithтАЩs work) that spelled out тАЬHappy Birthday, Mama
Jason!тАЭ in imitation fireworks I could hardly complain. The second page was a holo
of a mother otter and her pups. The pup in the foreground was deformedтАФthe same
way the creatures Susan had fed ChrisтАЩs bread to were.
тАЬThatтАЩs Monster,тАЭ Susan said, thrusting a finger at the holo. She peeled a strip of
tape from beneath the holo and fed it to the computer. тАЬThatтАЩs his gene-read.тАЭ She
glanced at Chris. тАЬI lured his mother away with bread to get the cell sample. The
otters love your bread too. I never used the fresh bread, Chris, only the stale stuff.тАЭ
Chris nodded. тАЬI know. I thought it was all going to the otters, though.тАЭ
тАЬMore like тАШodders,тАЩтАЭ Leo put in, grinning. тАЬTwo dees.тАЭ
тАЬYour critters,тАЭ I said. тАЬNaming itтАЩs your privilege.тАЭ
тАЬOdders is right,тАЭ Chris peered over my shoulder and said to Susan, тАЬWhy were
you feeding DragonтАЩs Teeth?тАЭ
тАЬHeтАЩs so ugly, heтАЩs cute. The first ones got abandoned by their mothers.
SheтАЭтАФSusan tapped the holo againтАФтАЬdecided to keep hers. Got ostracized for it,
too, Mama Jason.тАЭ
I nodded absently. That happened often enough. I was well into the gene-read
Susan had done on her Monster. It was a good, thorough piece of work. I couldnтАЩt
have done better myself.
Purely herbivorousтАФand among the things you could guarantee itтАЩd eat were
water lilies and clogweed. That stopped me dead in my tracks. I looked up. тАЬIt eats
clogweed!тАЭ
Susan dimpled. тАЬIt loves it! ThatтАЩs why it likes ChrisтАЩs bread better than
crackers.тАЭ
тАЬWhy youтАФтАЭ Chris, utterly outraged, stood up so suddenly Elly had to catch at
her bowl to keep from slopping chowder on everything.
I laughed. тАЬDown, Chris! SheтАЩs not insulting your bread! You use brandyflour in
itтАФand brandyflour has almost the identical nutrients in it that clogweed has.тАЭ
тАЬYou mean I could use clogweed to make my bread?тАЭ The idea appealed to
Chris. She sat down again and looked at Susan with full attention.
тАЬNo, you canтАЩt,тАЭ Susan said. тАЬItтАЩs got a lot of things in it humans canтАЩt eat.тАЭ
Leo said, тАЬIтАЩm not following again. SusanтАФ?тАЭ
тАЬSimply, Noisy. ClogweedтАЩs a major nuisance. Mostly itтАЩs taken care of by sheer
heavy labor. Around Torville, everybody goes down to the canals and the irrigation
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