"Janet Kagan - Mirabile" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kagan Janet)

ditches once a month or so and pulls the clogweed out by hand. When I saw
Monster would eat clogweed, I figured heтАЩd be worth keepingтАФif we could, that is.тАЭ
тАЬNot bad,тАЭ said Ilanith. тАЬI wondered why the intake valves had been so easy to
clean lately.тАЭ She leaned over to look at MonsterтАЩs holo. тАЬTwo years old now,
right?тАЭ
тАЬFour,тАЭ said Susan. тАЬOnly one wouldnтАЩt have made much difference. Mama
Jason, I did a gene-read every year on them.
ThoseтАЩre on the next pages. In case I missed something the first time.тАЬ
I saw that. The whole EC was there too, along with more holos and her search for
matches with shipsтАЩ records. There were no matches, so the thing was either a
DragonтАЩs Tooth or an intermediate. Just this year, sheтАЩd started a careful check for
secondary and tertiary helices.
She saw how far IтАЩd gotten in her records and said, apologetically, тАЬThereтАЩs a
secondary helix, but I didnтАЩt have a clue where to look for a match in shipsтАЩ records,
so I had to do it by brute force.тАЭ
I handed her the sample IтАЩd gotten from Monster little over a half hour ago.
тАЬHere, a fresh sample is always helpful.тАЭ
She took it, then looked up at me wildly. тАЬYou mean me? You want me to keep
working on it?тАЭ
тАЬYou want me to work on my birthday present?тАЭ I might just as well have given
her a present, the way she lit up.
I yawnedтАФit was that or laugh. тАЬIтАЩm going to bed. But nobodyтАЩs to go down to
the loch until SusanтАЩs done with her gene-read.тАЭ
Elly frowned. тАЬAnnie? WeтАЩve got to net tomorrow or Chris wonтАЩt have anything
to cook.тАЭ
So there was no escaping it after all. тАЬTake a holiday, Elly. ThereтАЩs something in
the loch that isnтАЩt SusanтАЩs clogweed-eaters. Leo and I will do a little looking around
tomorrowтАФarmed.тАЭ
тАЬOh, Mama Jason!тАЭ Susan looked distraught. тАЬYou donтАЩt think Monster chained
up to a real monster, do you?тАЭ Her eyes squinched up; she was close to tears.
тАЬHey!тАЭ I pulled her into a hug. For a moment I didnтАЩt know what else to say, then
I remembered the first time Mike had gotten a nasty alternative instead of what he
wanted. тАЬIтАЩll tell you just what IтАЩve said to Mike: sometimes you have to risk the bad
to get the good.тАЭ
I pushed her a bit away to see if that had worked. Not really. тАЬListen, honey, do
you know how Mike and I planned to spend our winter vacation this year?тАЭ
When she shook her head I knew I had her attention, no matter how distressed. I
told her: тАЬCobbling together something that would eat clogweed. If all we have to do
is stabilize your monsters, youтАЩve saved us years of work!тАЭ
I pulled her to me for another hug. тАЬBest birthday present IтАЩve had in years!тАЭ
That, finally, brought a smile from her. It was a little wan, but it was there.
тАЬSo hereтАЩs the game plan. You load the sample tonight while itтАЩs fresh, then get a
good nightтАЩs sleep and do the gene-read tomorrow while youтАЩre fresh. Leo and I will
do a little tracking as soon as itтАЩs light enough. Everybody else gets to sleep late.тАЭ
That did nothing to take the worry out of EllyтАЩs or ChrisтАЩs eyes but I could see
theyтАЩd both go along with it, though they were still concerned somebody might
decide the kids should be evacuated. тАЬElly,тАЭ I said, тАЬweтАЩll work something out, I
promise.тАЭ
That eased the tension in her eyes somewhat, even though I hadnтАЩt the vaguest
idea what weтАЩd work out. Still, a good nightтАЩs sleepтАФeven a short oneтАФwas always