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

proved how trustworthy you were when you rearmed secretly, in express violation of the treaty. Talk
about bad faith!тАЭ
тАЬOh, sure, youтАЩd have preferred it if we were helpless when you came to occupy us. Puling hell, what a
damned hyprocrite!тАЭ Tolly Mune responded in disgust.
тАЬItтАЩs too late for pacts,тАЭ declared the Jazbot.
тАЬYou said it yourself, Tuf,тАЭ the Skrymirian said. тАЬThe longer we delay, the worse our situation becomes.
Therefore, we have no choice but an immediate all-out strike at SтАЩuthlam itself. The odds will never get
any better.тАЭ
Dax hissed at him.
Haviland Tuf blinked, and folded his hands neatly on his stomach. тАЬPerhaps you would reconsider if I
appealed to your love of peace, your horror of war and destruction, and your common humanity?тАЭ
Ratch Norren made a contemptuous noise. One by one, the other members of the delegation looked
away, demurring.
тАЬIn that case,тАЭ said Tuf, тАЬyou leave me no choice.тАЭ He stood up.
The Vandeeni frowned. тАЬHey, where are you going?тАЭ
Tuf gave a ponderous shrug. тАЬMost immediately to a sanitary facility,тАЭ he replied, тАЬand afterwards to my
control chamber. Please accept my assurances that no personal animosity of any sort is intended toward
any of you. Nonetheless it appears, unfortunately, that I must now go forth and destroy your respective
worlds. Perhaps you would like to draw straws, to determine where I might best start.тАЭ
The woman from Jazbo choked and sputtered.
Deep inside his haze of blurred holograms, the envoy from the Azure Triune cleared his throat, a sound
as small and dry as an insect scuttling across a sheet of paper.
тАЬYou would not dare,тАЭ boomed the cyborg from Roggandor.
The Skrymirian folded his arms in a chilly silence.
тАЬAh,тАЭ said Ratch Norren. тАЬYou. Ah. That is. You wonтАЩt. Yes, but surely. Ah.тАЭ
Tolly Mune laughed at them all. тАЬOh, he means it,тАЭ she said, though she was no less astonished than the
rest of them. тАЬAnd he can do it, too. Or the Ark can, rather. Commander Ober will be sure he gets an
armed escort, too.тАЭ
тАЬThere is no need for haste,тАЭ the woman from HenryтАЩs World said in precise, measured tones. тАЬPerhaps
we might reconsider.тАЭ
тАЬExcellent,тАЭ said Haviland Tuf. He sat back down. тАЬWe will proceed with all deliberate haste,тАЭ he said.
тАЬA one year armistice will go into effect, as I have outlined, and I shall seed SтАЩuthlam with manna
immediately. тАЬ
тАЬNot so fast,тАЭ Tolly Mune interjected. She felt giddy and triumphant. Somehow the war had just
endedтАФTuf had done it, SтАЩuthlam was safe for at least a year. But relief did not make her entirely
lightheaded. тАЬAll this sounds fine, but weтАЩll have to run some studies on this manna plant of yours before
you start dropping spores all over SтАЩuthlam. Our own biotechs and ecologists will want to examine the
damn thing, and the High Council will want to run a few projections. A month ought to do. And of
course, Tuf, what I said before still goesтАФyouтАЩre not just dumping your manna on us and leaving. YouтАЩll
stay this time, for the duration of the armistice, and maybe longer, until we have a good idea of how this
latest miracle of yours is going to work.тАЭ
тАЬAlas,тАЭ said Tuf, тАЬI fear I have pressing engagements elsewhere in the galaxy. A sojourn of a standard
year or more is inconvenient and unacceptable, as is a delay of a month before commencing my seeding
program.тАЭ
тАЬWait just one puling second!тАЭ Tolly Mune began. тАЬYou can t justтАФтАЭ
тАЬI can indeed,тАЭ said Tuf. He looked from her to the envoys, significantly, and then back again. тАЬFirst
Councillor Mune, allow me to point out the obvious. A rough balance of military force now exists
between SтАЩuthlam and its adversaries. The Ark is a formidable instrument of destruction, capable of
wasting worlds. Just as it is possible for me to throw in with your forces and destroy any of the allied
planets, so the converse is also within the realm of possibility.тАЭ