"The Fittest" - читать интересную книгу автора (Maclean Katherine)

The native's eyes widened in the universal sign of puzzlement, and he let out an involuntary supersonic beep, unconsciously trying to make out a dim meaning by sonic reflection. Terry felt the gulf of misunderstanding between them. He shook the furry body gently, trying to convey his meaning. "But that was murder," he said. 'That was cowardiceЧsending someone else to take the danger!"

Gottlieb laid a hand on his arm. "Please, Terry. You are not fair to him. He is a superior type, with better genes. He must be careful of himself."

Terry felt the familiar rage rising in him and tried to check it in a mental pause, making his mind blank. In the brief silence came a feeling of peace., The natives were going back to work, but they were disturbed by the disturbance of his feelings and trying to soothe him as they would soothe a fretful child, wanting him to feel thatЧeverything was all right, everything was all right, single deaths, individual hurts cannot matter to life in the long run, everything was the way it should be. . . . It was like a lullaby, a song of reassurance and strength, the enfolding protecting arms of time and fate ...

"They are hellish persuasive," said Terry. Gottlieb was tugging at his arm.

"We must go back now and make ready for the return. Come on, Terry."

They went back through the long corridors, leaving their heavy alien footprints in the fine overtracked sand, and the children scattered excitedly back from the entrance as they reached it, then drew in again to watch them work. After a time the leader and some of the other adults came shyly out of the caves to help.

"Remember what I told you," remonstrated Gottlieb's voice in Terry's earphones.

"You didn't waste those lessons." Terry grinned, looking around the storage compartment, and understanding its construction from remembered lessons. He had emptied it of the surplus emergency equipment, and now he began dismantling a fuel compartment, stripping its surplus weight from the spaceship for the return trip. He unbolted a heavy plate, slid it to a hatch door and looked down before throwing it out.

There was nothing in sight but the usual barren drifting sand and the comically foreshortened figure of Anton Gustav Gottlieb below and to one side, happily pow-wowing with a gang of small, square, interested teddy bears.

Terry grinned and released the wide metal plate. As it slid from his hands a sudden dusty gust of wind slewed it in the direction of the group. It looked as if it would fall too close.

"Look out!" he called. The plate sliced through the air, turning at an angle directly toward the leader native.

"Look out!Ф Only Gottlieb could hear the call in his earphones, only Gottlieb looked up and saw the whole thing. There was no time for the engineer to do anything. It was too late to reach the native.

Very clearly, as in a nightmare, Terry saw the foreshortened space-suited figure step deliberately into the path of the plate, and try to catch it with his hands. The sound of impact came clearly. First through his earphones, then like an echo a fractional instant later through the air, sounding very far away. Terry took a deep breath and went for a first-aid kit.

As he reached the ground and passed through the ring of natives towards the still figure in the space suit he could hear Gottlieb whispering something.

Hoping for word of what to do, Terry bent closer, tuning up his earphones, listening.

"Survival of the fittestЧthe fittestЧthe fittest," whispered Anton Gustav Gottlieb, and died.

Terry touched his shoulder, but there was no sound of breathing, and a swirl of dust came and settled on the glass of the faceplate.

He understood suddenly.

"Papa" Gottlieb. He had not been very smart in some things. His table manners may not have been perfect, but he was a man. He had seen some hard things and he had not liked the way life was lived on Earth; he had wanted to have it done better, and he didn't care by whomЧby men, or by calm, enduring, intelligent teddy bears. . . .

"You damned fool." Terry raised his face to the dusty sky and tried not to think for a while.

It was easy. Soothing thoughts came from somewhereЧthat there were many other people left on Earth, many to be friends if one only came to know themЧmany to spareЧno great lossЧwe all die eventuallyЧno matterЧno reason for shockЧeverything normalЧeverything all right.

Terry choked and looked around at the concerned ring of small brown bears. "Everything is not all right, dammit!"

They said nothing, but they were contradicting him with their calm and strength and certainty of the futureЧthe long future and the stars which be knew about and they could not yet foreseeЕ

"Чthe fittestЧ" he said wildly. The leader one climbed up on Gottlieb's chest, and peered worriedly into Terry's face with brown intelligent eyes. His ears were flattened back to his head to keep out the dust, and he looked almost like a man.