"Henry Kuttner - Clash by Night" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kuttner Henry)

as brilliant as the Sun. A star -all that remained of Earth, since atomic power had been unleashed
there two centuries ago. The scourge had spread like flame, melting continents and levelling
mountains. In the libraries there were wire-tape pictorial records of the Holocaust. A religious
cult - Men of the New Judgment -had sprung up, and advocated the complete destruction of science;
followers of that dogma still existed here and there. But the cult's teeth had been drawn when
technicians unified, outlawing experiments with atomic power forever, making use of that force
punishable by death, and permitting no one to join their society without taking the Minervan Oath.
'-to work for the ultimate good of mankind . . . taking all precaution against harming humanity
and science . . . requiring permission from those in authority before undertaking any experiment
involving peril to the race ... remembering always the extent of the trust placed in us and
remembering forever the death of the mother planet through misuse of knowledge-'
The Earth. A strange sort of world it must have been, Scott thought. Sunlight, for one thing,
unfiltered by the cloud layer. In the old days, there had been few unexplored areas left on Earth.


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But here on Venus, where the continents had not yet been conquered - there was no need, of course,
since everything necessary to life could be produced under the Domes- here on Venus, there was
still a frontier. In the Keeps, a highly specialized social culture. Above the surface, a primeval
world, where only the Free Companions had their fortresses and navies- the navies for fighting,
the forts to house the technicians who provided the latter-day sinews of war, science instead of
money. The Keeps tolerated visits from the Free Companions, but would not offer them headquarters,
so violent the feeling, so sharp the schism, in the public mind, between war and cultural
progress.
Under Scott's feet the sliding way turned into an escalator, carrying him into the Administration
Building. He stepped to another way which took him to a lift, and, a moment or two later, was
facing the door-curtain bearing the face of President Dane Crosby of Montana Keep.
Crosby's voice said, 'Come in, captain,' and Scott brushed through the curtain, finding himself in
a medium-sized room with muralled walls and a great window overlooking the city. Crosby, a white-
haired, thin figure in blue silks, was at his desk. He looked like a tired old clerk out of
Dickens, Scott thought suddenly, entirely undistinguished and ordinary. Yet Crosby was one of the
great sociopoliticians on Venus.
Cine Rhys, leader of Doone's Free Companions, was sitting in a relaxer, the apparent antithesis of
Crosby. All the moisture in Rhys' body seemed to have been sucked out of him years ago by
ultraviolet actinic, leaving a mummy of brown leather and whipcord sinew. There was no softness in
the man. His smile was a grimace. Muscles lay like wire under the swarthy cheeks.
Scott saluted. Rhys waved him to a relaxer. The look of subdued eagerness in the cinc's eyes was
significant - an
eagle poising himself, smelling blood. Crosby sensed that, and a wry grin showed on his pale face.
'Every man to his trade,' he remarked, semi-ironically. Tsuppose I'd be bored stiff if I had too
long a vacation. But you'll have quite a battle on your hands this time. Cine Rhys.'
Scott's stocky body tensed automatically. Rhys glanced at him.
'Virginia Keep is attacking, captain. They've hired the Helldivers - Flynn's outfit.'
There was a pause. Both Free Companions were anxious to discuss the angles, but unwilling to do so
in the presence of a civilian, even the president of Montana Keep. Crosby rose.
'The money settlement's satisfactory, then?'
Rhys nodded. 'Yes, that's all right. I expect the battle will take place in a couple of days. In
the neighbourhood of Venus Deep, at a rough guess.'