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

transfer. тАЬYou will find him none the worse for his wanderings,тАЭ Tuf declared. тАЬI took the liberty of giving
him a full medi-probe, to ascertain that he had suffered no misadventures, and determined that he is in the
best of health. Imagine my surprise when I also chanced to discover that all the various bionic
augmentations of which you informed me have somehow mysteriously and inexplicably vanished. I am at
a loss to explain it.тАЭ
Tolly Mune hugged the cat to her chest. тАЬSo I lied,тАЭ she said. тАЬHeтАЩs telepathic, like Dax. Maybe not as
powerful. But thatтАЩs all. I couldnтАЩt risk him fighting with Dax. Maybe heтАЩd have won, maybe not. I didnтАЩt
want him cowed.тАЭ She grimaced. тАЬSo you got him laid instead. WhereтАЩs he been?тАЭ
тАЬHaving left the manna chamber by a secondary entrance in pursuit of the object of his affections, he
subsequently discovered that the doors were programmed to deny him readmittance. Therefore, he has
spent the intervening hours roaming through the Ark and making the acquaintance of various other feline
members of my shipтАЩs company.тАЭ
тАЬHow many cats do you have?тАЭ she asked.
тАЬFewer than you,тАЭ Tuf said, тАЬyet this is not entirely unanticipated. You are SтАЩuthlamese, after all.тАЭ
Blackjack was warm and reassuring in her arms, and all at once Tolly Mune was struck by the fact that
Dax was no longer in evidence. She had the edge again. She scratched Jack behind an ear; he turned his
limpid silver-gray eyes upon Tuf. тАЬYou donтАЩt fool me,тАЭ she said.
тАЬI thought it unlikely that I could,тАЭ Tuf admitted.
тАЬThe manna,тАЭ she said. тАЬItтАЩs some kind of a trap, isnтАЩt it? You fed us a batch of lies, admit it.тАЭ
тАЬEverything I have told you of the manna is the truth.тАЭ
Blackjack uttered a peep. тАЬThe truth,тАЭ said Tolly Mune, тАЬoh, the puling truth. That means there are things
you havenтАЩt told us about the manna.тАЭ
тАЬThe universe abounds in knowledge. Ultimately, there are more facts to be known than humans to know
them, an astonishing realization considering that populous SтАЩuthlam is included in humanityтАЩs tally. I could
scarcely hope to tell you everything concerning any subject, however limited.тАЭ
She gave a snort. тАЬWhat are you going to do to us, Tuf?тАЭ
тАЬI am going to resolve your food crisis,тАЭ he said, his voice as flat and cold as still water, and as full of
secret depths.
тАЬBlackjackтАЩs purring,тАЭ she said, тАЬso youтАЩre telling the truth. But how, Tuf, how?тАЭ
тАЬThe manna is my instrument.тАЭ
тАЬBladder bloat,тАЭ she said. тАЬI donтАЩt give a puling wart how tasty and addictive the manna fruit is, or how
fast the damned things grow, no plant is going to solve our population crisis. YouтАЩve tried all that. WeтАЩve
been around those coordinates with omni-grain and the pods and the wind-riders and the mushroom
farms. YouтАЩre holding something back. Come on, piss it out.тАЭ
Haviland Tuf regarded her in silence for well over a minute. His eyes locked with hers, and it seemed
briefly as though he were looking deep inside her, as if Tuf too were a mind reader.
Perhaps it was something else he read; finally, he answered. тАЬOnce the plant has been sown, it will never
be entirely eradicated, regardless of how diligently you may attempt to do so. It will spread with
inexorable rapidity, within certain parameters of climate. Manna will not thrive everywhere; frost kills it,
and cold is inimical to its growth, but it shall indeed spread to cover the tropical and subtropical regions
of SтАЩuthlam, and that will be enough.тАЭ
тАЬEnough for what?тАЭ
тАЬThe manna fruit is extremely nutritious. During the first few years, it will do much to relieve the pressures
of your present caloric shortfalls and thereby improve conditions upon SтАЩuthlam. Eventually, having
exhausted the soil in its vigorous spread, the plants will expire and decay, and you will of necessity be
forced to employ crop rotation for a few years before those particular plots are capable of sustaining
manna once again. Yet, meanwhile, the manna shall have completed its real work, First Councillor Mune.
The dust that collects upon the underside of each leaf is in actuality a symbiotic microorganism, vital to
manna pollination, yet with certain other properties. Borne upon the wind, carried by vermin and human
alike, it shall touch every cranny and nook upon the surface of your globe.тАЭ