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

on ChrisтАЩs shrimp. I doubt theyтАЩll make you a formal call when theyтАЩre done. Their
names are Emile Pilot Stirzaker and Francois Cobbler Pastides and, right now, they
canтАЩt spell either without dropping letters.тАЭ
So he thought theyтАЩd both been smoking dumbweed. Fair enough. I simmered
down and reconsidered him. IтАЩdтАЩve bet money he was the one who sidetracked
Pastides and Stirzaker into the eating binge.
Recognition struck at last: this was the guy EllyтАЩs kids called тАЬNoisy.тАЭ The first
thing heтАЩd done on moving into the neighborhood was outshout every one of тАЩem in
one helluva contest. He was equally legendary for his stories, his bells, and his ability
to keep secrets. I hadnтАЩt met him, but IтАЩd sure as hell heard tell.
I must have said the nickname aloud, because Denness said, тАЬYes, тАШNoisy.тАЩ Is
that enough to get me a hearing?тАЭ
 тАЬIt is.тАЭ It was my turn to apologize. тАЬSorry. What more do you want me to hear?тАЭ
тАЬYou should, I think, hear Stirzaker imitate his monsterтАЩs bellow of rage.тАЭ
It took me a long moment to get his drift, but get it I did. тАЬIтАЩm on my way,тАЭ I
said. I snapped off and started repacking my gear.
Mike stared at me. тАЬAnnie? What did I miss?тАЭ
тАЬYou ever know anybody who got auditory hallucinations on dumbweed?тАЭ
тАЬShit,тАЭ he said. тАЬNo.тАЭ He scrambled for his own pack.
тАЬNot you,тАЭ I said. тАЬI need you here to coddle those daffodils, check the
environmental conditions that produced тАЩem, and call me if DragonтАЩs Teeth pop up
anywhere else.тАЭ I shouldered my pack and finished with a glare and a growl: тАЬThat
should be enough to keep you out of bonfires while IтАЩm gone, shouldnтАЩt it?тАЭ
By the time I grounded in the clearing next to EllyтАЩs lodge, IтАЩd decided I was on a
wild moose chase. Yeah, I know the Earth-authentic is wild goose, but тАЬwild mooseтАЭ
was Granddaddy JasonтАЩs phrase. HeтАЩd known JasonтАФthe original first generation
JasonтАФwell before the DragonтАЩs Teeth had started popping up.
One look at the wilderness where EllyтАЩs lodge is now and Jason knew she had the
perfect EC for moose. She hauled the embryos out of shipsтАЩ storage and set them
thawing. Built up a nice little herd of the things and turned тАЩem loose. Not a one of
them survivedтАФdamn foolish creatures died of a taste for a Mirabilan plant they
couldnтАЩt metabolize.
Trying to establish a viable herd got to be an obsession with Jason. She mustтАЩve
spent years at it, off and on. She never succeeded but somebody with a warped
sense of humor named the lake Loch Moose and it stuck, moose or no moose.
Loch Moose looked as serene as it always did this time of year. The water lilies
were in full bloomтАФpatches of velvety red and green against the sparkles of sunlight
off the water. Here and there I saw a ripple of real trout, Earth-authentic.
On the bank to the far right, SusanтАЩs troop of otters played tag, skidding down
the incline and hitting the water with a splash. They whistled encouragement to each
other like a pack of fans at a ballgame. Never saw a creature have more pure fun than
an otterтАФunless it was a dozen otters, like now.
The pines were that dusty gold that meant IтАЩd timed it just right to see Loch
Moose smoke. ThereтАЩs nothing quite so beautiful as that drift of pollen fog across
the loch. It would gild rocks and trees alike until the next rainfall.
Monster, my assтАФbut where better for a wild moose chase?
I clambered down the steps to EllyтАЩs lodge, still gawking at the scenery, so I was
totally unprepared for the EC in the lobby. If that bright-eyed geneticist back on
Earth put the double whammy on any of the human genes in the cold banks they sent
along (swore they hadnтАЩt, but after the kangaroo rex, damnify believe anything the