"Keith Laumer - Hybrid" - читать интересную книгу автора (Laumer Keith)

"Two weeks down and fourteen to go," Gault said. "Why don't you break
down and tell me what happened back there?"
"How's Malpry?" Pantelle asked.
"He's all right. Broken bones knit, and you only broke a few."
"The book was wrong about the Yanda spores," Pantelle said. "They don't
have the power in themselves to reconstruct the host-creature--"
"The what?"
"The infected animal; the health and life span of the host is improved.
But the improvement is made by the tree, at the time of propagation, to
insure a good chance for the spores."
"You mean you--"
"We made a deal. The Yanda gave me this-" Pantelle pressed a thumb
against the steel bulkhead. The metal yielded. "-and a few other
tricks. In return, I'm host to the Yanda spores."
Gault moved away.
"Doesn't that bother you? Parasites--"
"It's an equitable deal. The spores are microscopic, and completely
dormant until the proper conditions develop."
"Yeah, but you said yourself this vegetable brain has worked on your
mind."
"It merely erased all the scars of traumatic experience, corrected
deficiencies, taught me how to use what I have."
"How about teaching me?"
"Sorry, Gault." Pantelle shook his head. "Impossible."
Gault considered Pantelle's remarks.
"What about these 'proper conditions' for the spores?" he asked
suddenly. "You wake up and find yourself sprouting some morning?"
"Well," Pantelle coughed. "That's where my part of the deal comes in. A
host creature transmits the spores through the normal mating process.
The offspring gets good health and a long life before the
metamorphosis. That's not so bad--to live a hundred years, and then
pick a nice spot to root and grow and watch the seasons turn..."
Gault considered. "A man does get tired," he said. "I know a spot,
where you can look for miles out across the Pacific..."
"So I've promised to be very active," Pafiitelle said. "It will take a
lot of my time, but I intend to discharge my obligation to the
fullest."
_Did you hear that, Yanda?_ Pantelle asked silently.
_I did,_ came the reply from the unused corner he had assigned to the
Yanda ego-pattern. _Our next thousand years should be very
interesting._