"C M Kornbluth - The Luckiest Man In Denv" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kornbluth C M)

"Only temporary," May muttered, and swallowed a fourth. "But you're right. You leave them alone.
There are big things to be done in your time, not in mine. I told you I needed a young man who could
claw his way to the top. Rudolph's a fool. He doesn't need the capsules because he doesn't ask
questions. Funny, I thought a coup like the double affair would hit me hard, but I don't feel a thing. It's
not like the old days. I used to plan and plan, and when the trap went snap it was better than this stuff.
But now I don't feel a thing."

He leaned forward from his chair; the pupils of his eyes were black bullets.

"Do you want to work?" he demanded. "Do you want your world stood on its head and your brains to
crack and do the only worthwhile job there is to do? Answer me!"

"Sir, I am a loyal May's man. I want to obey your orders and use my ability to the full."

"Good enough," said the general. "You've got brains, you've got push. I'll do the spade work. I won't
last long enough to push it through. You'll have to follow. Ever been outside of Denv?"

Reuben stiffened.

"I'm not accusing you of being a spy. It's really all right to go outside of Denv. I've been outside. There
isn't much to see at first-a lot of ground pocked and torn up by shorts and overs from Ellay and us.
Farther out, especially east, it's different. Grass, trees, flowers. Places where you could grow food.

"When I went outside, it troubled me. It made me ask questions. I wanted to know how we started.
Yes-started. It wasn't always like this. Somebody built Denv. Am I getting the idea across to you? It
wasn't always like this!
"Somebody set up the reactors to breed uranium and make pluto-nium. Somebody tooled us up for the
missiles. Somebody wired the boards to control them. Somebody started the hydroponics tanks.

"I've dug through the archives. Maybe I found something. I saw mountains of strength reports, ration
reports, supply reports, and yet I never got back to the beginning. I found a piece of paper and maybe I
understood it and maybe I didn't. It was about the water of the Colorado River and who should get how
much of it. How can

you divide water in a river? But it could have been the start of Denv, Ellay, and the missile attacks."

The general shook his head, puzzled, and went on: "I don't see clearly what's ahead. I want to make
peace between Denv and Ellay, but I don't know how to start or what it will be like. I think it must mean
not firing, not even making any more weapons. Maybe it means that some of us, or a lot of us, will go out
of Denv and live a different kind of life. That's why I've clawed my way up. That's why I need a young
man who can claw with the best of them. Tell me what you think."

"I think," said Reuben measuredly, "it's magnificent-the salvation of Denv. I'll back you to my dying
breath if you'll let me."

May smiled tiredly and leaned back in the chair as Reuben tiptoed out.

What luck, Reuben thought-what unbelievable luck to be at a fulcrum of history like this!

He searched the level for Rudolph's apartment and gained admission.