"George R. R. Martin - Manna From Heaven" - читать интересную книгу автора (Martin George R R)

single spore in each habitat was all that was required; I have neither watered nor fertilized in the interim.
Had I done so, the plants would not be nearly so small and stunted as these poor examples you see
before you.тАЭ
Tolly Mune got to her feet. She had lived for years in zero gee, so it was a strain to stand under full
gravity, but there was a tightness in her chest and a bad taste deep in the back of her mouth, and she felt
she had to grasp for every psychological advantage, even one as small and obvious as standing when the
rest of them were seated. Tuf had taken her breath away with his manna-from-the-hat trick, she was
outnumbered, and Blackjack was life-knows-where while Dax sat by TufтАЩs ear, purring complacently
and regarding her with large golden eyes that saw right through every puling artice. тАЬVery impressive,тАЭ
she said.
тАЬI am pleased you think so,тАЭ Tuf said, stroking Dax.
тАЬExactly what are you proposing?тАЭ
тАЬMy proposition is thus: we will immediately commence seeding SтАЩuthlam with manna. Delivery may be
effected through use of the ArkтАЩs shuttlecraft. I have already taken the liberty of stocking the shuttle bays
with explosive air-pods, each containing manna spores. Released into the atmosphere in a certain
predetermined pattern that I have devised, the spores will ride upon the winds and distribute themselves
about SтАЩuthlam. Growth will commence immediately. No further effort will be required from the
SтАЩuthlamese but that they pick and eat.тАЭ His long still face turned away from Tolly Mune, toward the
envoys from the allied worlds. тАЬSirs,тАЭ he said, тАЬI suspect that you are presently wondering as to your own
part in this.тАЭ
Ratch Norren pinched his cheek and spoke for them all. тАЬRight,тАЭ he said. He looked around uneasily.
тАЬComes back to what I said before. So this weed feeds all the Suthies. So what, thatтАЩs nothing to us.тАЭ
тАЬI would think the consequences obvious,тАЭ said Tuf. тАЬSтАЩuthlam is a threat to the allied worlds only
because the SтАЩuthlamese population is perpetually threatening to outstrip the SтАЩuthlamese food supply.
This renders SтАЩuthlam, an otherwise peaceful and civilized world, inherently unstable. While the
technocrats remained in power and kept the equation in an approximate balance, SтАЩuthlam has been the
most cooperative of neighbors, but this balancing, however virtuoso, must eventually fail, and with that
failure inevitably the expansionists rise to power and the SтАЩuthlamese become dangerous aggressors.тАЭ
тАЬIтАЩm no puling expansionist!тАЭ Tolly Mune said hotly.
тАЬSuch was not my implication,тАЭ said Tuf. тАЬNeither are you First Councillor for life, despite your obvious
qualifications. War is already at hand, albeit a defensive war. When you fall, should an expansionist
replace you, the struggle will become a war of aggression. In circumstances such as those the
SтАЩuthlamese have created for themselves, war is as utterly certain as famine, and no single leader,
however well-intentioned and competent, can possibly avoid it.тАЭ
тАЬExactly,тАЭ the boyish young woman from HenryтАЩs World said in a precise voice. Her eyes had a
shrewdness in them that belied her adolescent body. тАЬAnd if war is inevitable, we had just as well fight it
out now, and solve the problem once and for all.тАЭ
тАЬThe Azure Triune must agree,тАЭ came a whispered second.
тАЬTrue,тАЭ said Tuf, тАЬgranting your premise that war must come inevitably.тАЭ
тАЬYou just told us the bloody expansionists would start a war inevitably, Tuffer,тАЭ Batch Norren
complained.
Tuf soothed the black tomcat with a large white hand. тАЬIncorrect, sir. My statements as to the inevitability
of war and famine were predicated upon the collapse of the unstable balance between the SтАЩuthlamese
population and SтАЩuthlamese food supplies. Should this tenuous equation be brought back into alignment,
SтАЩuthlam is no threat whatsoever to the other worlds in this sector. Under these conditions, war is both
unnecessary and morally unconscionable, I would think.тАЭ
тАЬAnd you avow this pestilential pop-weed of yours will be the thing to do the job?тАЭ the woman from
Jazbo said contemptuously.
тАЬIndeed,тАЭ said Tuf.
The ambassador from Skrymir shook his head. тАЬNo. A valid effort, Tuf, and I respect your dedication,