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

think she believes that. I know she does it!тАЭ
тАЬтАШFraid so,тАЭ Leo said.
тАЬWell, weтАЩll know just what EC to check when something unusual pops out of
RowenaтАЩs plants, wonтАЩt we?тАЭ I sighed. The superstitions really were adding to our
problems.
тАЬMama Jason,тАЭ said SusanтАФwith a look that accused me of making a joke much
too low for her age levelтАФтАЬHow many authentics need tobacco-spit ECs to pop
up?тАЭ
тАЬNo joke, honey. ItтАЩs not authentic species IтАЩd expect under conditions like that.
ItтАЩd be DragonтАЩs Teeth plain and probably not so simple.тАЭ I looked from one to the
other. тАЬKeep an eye on those plants for me. Anything suddenly flowers in a different
color or a slightly different form, snag a sample and send it to me fast!тАЭ
They nodded, Susan looking pleased with the assignment, Leo slightly puzzled.
At last Leo said, тАЬIтАЩm afraid IтАЩve never understood this business of DragonтАЩs
TeethтАжтАЭ He broke off, suddenly embarrassed.
тАЬFine,тАЭ I said, тАЬas long as you donтАЩt spit tobacco on the ragweed or piss on the
petunias or toss the soapy wash water on the lettuce patch.тАЭ
Susan eyed me askance. I said, тАЬLast year the whole town of Misty Valley
decided that pissing on the petunias was the only way to stabilize them.тАЭ I threw up
my hands to stave off the question that was already on the tip of SusanтАЩs tongue. тАЬI
donтАЩt know how that got started, so donтАЩt ask me. IтАЩm not even sure I want to
know! The end result, of course, was that the petunias seeded ladybugs.тАЭ
тАЬAuthentic?тАЭ Susan asked.
тАЬNo, but close enough to be valuable. Nice little insectivores and surprisingly
well-suited for doing in ragmites.тАЭ The ragmites are native and a bloody nuisance.
тАЬAnd before you ask,тАЭ I added, тАЬthe things they might have gotten in the same EC
included a very nasty species of poisonous ant and two different grain-eaters, one of
which would chain up to a salamander with a taste for quail eggs.тАЭ
тАЬOh, my!тАЭ said Susan. тАЬMisty ValleyтАЩs where we get our quail eggs!
тАЬSo does everybody on Mirabile,тАЭ I said. тАЬNobodyтАЩs gotten the quail to thrive
anywhere else yet.тАЭ For LeoтАЩs benefit, I added, тАЬSo many of our Earth-authentic
species are on rocky ground, we canтАЩt afford to lose a lot of individuals to a
DragonтАЩs Tooth.тАЭ
Leo still looked puzzled. After a moment, he shook his head. тАЬIтАЩve never
understood this business. Maybe for once I could get a simple explanation, suitable
for a bellmakerтАж?тАЭ
I gestured to Susan. тАЬMy assistant will be glad to give you the short course.тАЭ
Susan gave one of those award-winning grins. тАЬIt goes all the way back to before
we left Earth, Leo.тАЭ Leo arched an eyebrow: тАЬтАШWeтАЩ?тАЭ Susan punched
himтАФlightlyтАФon the arm and said, тАЬYou know what I mean! Humans!тАЭ
She heaved a dramatic sigh and went on in spite of it all. тАЬThey wanted to make
sure weтАЩd have everything we might possibly need.тАЭ
тАЬI thought thatтАЩs why they sent along the embryo and gene banks,тАЭ Leo said.
Susan nodded. тАЬIt was. But at the time there was a fad for redundancyтАФevery
system doubled, tripled, even quadrupledтАФso just to make sure we couldnтАЩt lose a
species we might need, they built all that redundancy into the gene pool too.тАЭ
She glanced at me. She was doing fine, so I nodded for her to go on.
тАЬLook, Noisy. They took the genes for, say, sunflowers and they tucked тАЩem into
a twist in wheat helices. Purely recessive, but when the environmental conditions are
right, maybe one one-hundredth of your wheat seeds will turn out to sprout