"Ian R. MacLeod - Papa" - читать интересную книгу автора (Macleod Ian R)

Saul and Agatha turn again and wave before they vanish around the curve in the road. I wave back.
Then IтАЩm inside. The door is closed. The house is silent.
I head for Saul and AgathaтАЩs room.
TheyтАЩve stripped the beds and made a reasonable attempt at clearing up, but still I can almost feel my
vacuum cleaner itching to get in and finish the job. AgathaтАЩs left the dressing gown she borrowed on the
bed. I lift it up to my face. Soap and sea saltтАФa deeper undertow like forest thyme. Her scent will last a
few hours, and after that I suppose IтАЩll still have the memory of her every time I put it on. The vase that
Hannah bought all those years ago still sits on top of the dressing table: they never did get around to
telling me that they broke the thing. I lift it up, turning the glazed weight in my hands to inspect the
damage. But the cracks, the shards, have vanished. The vase is whole and perfect againтАФas perfect, at
least, as it ever was. In a panic, almost dropping the thing, I gaze around the room, wondering what else
IтАЩve forgotten or imagined. But itтАЩs still there, the fading sense of my grandchildrenтАЩs presence. A
forgotten sock, torn pages of the shuttle magazine. I put the vase gently down again. When so many other
things are possible, I suppose thereтАЩs bound to be a cheaply available gadget that heals china.
Feeling oddly expectant, I look under the beds. ThereтАЩs dust that the vacuum cleaner will soon clear
away. The greased blue inner wrapper of something I donтАЩt understand. A few crumpled tissues. And, of
course, SaulтАЩs taken the metacam with him. He would; itтАЩs his favorite toy. The wonderful promise of
those controls, and the green menus that floated like pond lilies on the screen. REVISE. CREATE.
EDIT. CHANGE. And Agatha turning. CHANGE. Agatha standing still. REVISE. Ghost-petals drifting
up from her hands, and a white yacht floating with the stars on the horizon. If you could change the past,
if you could alter, if you could amendтАж?
But IтАЩd always known in my heart that the dream is just a dream, and that a toy is still just a toy.
Perhaps one day, itтАЩll be possible to revisit the pharaohs, or return to the hot sweet sheets of first love.
But that lies far ahead, much further even than the nearest stars that the first big ships will soon be
reaching. Far beyond my own lifetime.
The broken VR machine sticks out from the top of the wastebin by the window. I take it out,
wrapping the wires around the case, still wondering if there is any way to fix it. Once upon a time, VR
was seen as a way out from the troubles of the world. But nobody bothers much with it any longer. It
was my generation that couldnтАЩt do anything without recording it on whatever new medium the Japanese
had come up with. Saul and Agatha arenтАЩt like that. TheyтАЩre not afraid of losing the past. TheyтАЩre not
afraid of living in the present. TheyтАЩre not afraid of finding the future.
I stand for a moment, clawing at the sensation of their fading presence, dragging in breath after breath.
Then the console starts to bleep along the corridor in my bedroom, and the front doorbell sounds. I
stumble toward it, light-headed with joy. TheyтАЩre back! TheyтАЩve changed their minds! There isnтАЩt a ferry
until tomorrow! I canтАЩt believeтАж
The door flashes USER NOT RECOGNIZED at me. Eventually, I manage to get it open.
тАЬYou are in. I thoughtтАжтАЭ
I stand there, momentarily dumbstruck. The pretty, grey-haired woman from yesterday evening at the
cafe gazes at me.
тАЬTheyтАЩre gone,тАЭ I say.
тАЬWho? Oh, your grandchildren. TheyтАЩre taking a ferry this morning, arenтАЩt they? Off to Brazil or
someplace.тАЭ She smiles and shakes her head. The wildnesses of youth. тАЬAnyway,тАЭ she points, тАЬthatтАЩs my
flyer. Rather than try to call it in, I thought IтАЩd walk over here and collect it.тАЭ She glances back at the blue
sea, the blue sky, this gorgeous island. She breathes it all in deeply. тАЬSuch a lovely day.тАЭ
тАЬWould you like to come in?тАЭ
тАЬWell, just for a moment.тАЭ
тАЬIтАЩm afraid I was a little drunk last nightтАжтАЭ
тАЬDonтАЩt worry about it. I had a fine time.тАЭ
I glance over, looking for sarcasm. But of course she means it. People always do.
I burrow into my hugely overstocked fridge. When I emerge with a tray, sheтАЩs sitting gazing at the