"Laumer, Keith - Hybrid-01" - читать интересную книгу автора (Laumer Keith)

_Observe, alien, thus, and thus...._
I SEE. IT IS A CLEVER TRICK.
The Yanda worked over the body of Pantelle, adjusting, correcting, reinforcing, discarding a useless appendix or tonsil here, adding a reserve air storage unit there. A vestigial eye deep in the brain was refurbished for sensitivity at the radio frequencies, linked with controls. The spine was deftly fused at the base; additional mesenteries were added for intestinal support. Following the basic pattern laid down in the genes, the tree-mind rebuilt the body.
When the process was finished, and the alien mind had absorbed the techniques demonstrated, the Yanda mind paused.
_It is finished._
I AM READY TO RE-ESTABLISH THE CONSCIOUS MIND IN OVERT CONTROL.
_Remember your promise._
I WILL REMEMBER.
The Yanda mind began its withdrawal. Troublesome instinct was served. Now it could rest until the end. с
WAIT. I'VE GOT A BETTER IDEA, YANDA...

"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._