"Nancy Kress - Dancing on Air" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kress Nancy)

Canine Protection Agency, herein referred to as the party of the first part,
and the New York City Ballet, herein referred to as the party of the second
part, in fulfillment of the requirements of Columbia Insurance Company, herein
referred to as the party of the third part, as those requirements are set
forth in Policy 438-69, Section 17, respecting prima ballerina Caroline Olson.
The party of the first part shall furnish genetically-modified canine
protection to Caroline Olson under, and not limited to, the following
conditions..."
The words are hard.
I think words I can understand.
 My name is Angel. I am a dog. I protect. Eric tells me to protect. No
people can touch the one I protect except safe people. I love people I
protect. I sleep now.
"Angel," Eric says from his chair, "Wake up now. You must protect."
I wake up. Eric walks to me. He sits next to me. He puts his voice in
my ear.
"This is Caroline. You must protect Caroline. No one must hurt
Caroline. No one must touch Caroline except safe people. Angel -- _protect
Caroline_."
I smell Caroline. I am very happy. I protect Caroline.
"Jesus H. Christ," Caroline says. She walks away.
I love Caroline.
****
We go in the car. We go very far. Many people. Many smells. John drives the
car. John is safe. He may touch Caroline. John stops the car. We get out.
There are many tall buildings and many cars.
"You sure you're going to be okay?" John Cole says.
"You've protected your investment, haven't you?" Caroline snarls. John
drives away.
A man stands by the door. The man says, "Evening, Miss Olson."
"Evening, Sam. This is my new guard dog. The company insists I have
one, after ... what's been happening. They say the insurance company is
paranoid. Yeah, sure. I need a dog like I need a knee injury."
"Yes, ma'am. Doberman, isn't he? He looks like a goooood ol' dog. Hey,
big fella, what's your name?"
"Angel," I say.
The man jumps and makes a noise. Caroline laughs.
"Bioenhanced. Great for my privacy, right? Rover, Sam is safe. Do you
hear me? Sam is _safe_."
I say, "My name is Angel."
Caroline says, "Sam, you can relax. Really. He only attacks on command,
or if I scream, or if he hasn't been told a person is safe and that person
touches me."
"Yes, Ma'am." Sam smells afraid. He looks at me hard. I bark and my
tail moves.
Caroline says, "Come on, Fido. Your spy career is about to begin."
I say, "My name is Angel."
"Right," Caroline says.
We go in the building. We go in the elevator. I say, "Sam has a cat. I
smell Sam's cat."