"Barry B. Longyear - The Hangingstone Rat" - читать интересную книгу автора (Longyear Barry)

тАЬWhy, Harry,тАЭ said Val as she looked at my face, тАЬyouтАЩre crying.тАЭ

I raised my right hand and rubbed my eyes. My fingers came away
wet. тАЬIтАЩm afraid I am.тАЭ
 Nadine jumped over onto the bed and the three of us did what we
could then for poor Shad, which was bugger all. Perhaps we helped each
other a little.

****

That night, by the grace of a strong sedative, I slept without dreams.
The next day I tried walking on my balloon cast and hearing with my new
implants. The implants worked perfectly; the balloon cast, aided by
sufficient medication, was almost adequate. I avoided my roomтАЩs telly at
first. I knew what would be on. When Shad had been the slapstick funny
insurance duck he had children around the world quacking out тАЬaflak-aflakтАЭ
at particularly serious interludes in classes, during church sermons, political
campaign speeches, and funerals. Not entirely restricted to children,
moreover. I confess to issuing a rude little тАЬaflakтАЭ or two myself back in
Metro when the detective chief superintendent would descend from
Valhalla and portentously deign to address тАЬyou chaps,тАЭ concerning some
high profile case that was drawing heat from the commissioner. One of
several reasons I was let go, I suspect.

I eventually gave in and watched one of the reports: a few clips from
his adverts and interviews; a laudatory comment from Chief Constable
Crowe of the Devon & Cornwall Constabulary, concerning ShadтАЩs brief
career in ABCD; followed by a computer-generated eulogy delivered by the
lizard who had replaced ShadтАЩs duck when his insurance firm was merged
with another. Instead of his usual nakedness, the lizard was somberly
dressed in black tie and suit and oozed virtual sincerity. He concluded his
tribute to Shad by making a tasteful pitch for his firmтАЩs term life insurance
plan. тАЬYou never know,тАЭ he concluded as an image of Shad appeared on
the screen, surrounded by a wreath of daisies.

I always hated that lizard.

The newscasters moved over to stories of more pressing matters:
the latest mutation of E. drupi, the erectile dysfunction virus; the
possibilities of latest teen musical fad Cragsuck Funk destroying all life on
this planet as we know it; and the electrifying results of the latest
government-funded weight-loss study (weight loss can be achieved most
effectively by consuming moderate amounts of a well-balanced diet in
combination with a regular program of exercise). I changed the channel and
found the same Law & Order reruns that had been on the telly the previous
time IтАЩd been in hospital.

After a few more tests the following morning, I was released, an
ambulance delivering me home finally after a heated debate about the
necessity of me being strapped down upon their little roll-around before