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

They, too, reproduce themselves. Permit me to point out that, in a very short time, we have arrived at a
situation whereby you have more cats than I do, though you started with but a single pair.тАЭ
She scowled. тАЬWhat are you saying?тАЭ She punched off the sound, so TufтАЩs words would not transmit.
Wald Ober gestured in sudden silence.
Haviland Tuf pressed the tips of his fingers together. тАЬI am merely pointing out that, as much as I relish
the properties of the feline, I nonetheless take steps to control their breeding. I reached this decision after
careful consideration, and the weighing of all the alternatives. Ultimately, as you yourself will discover,
there are but two fundamental options. You must either reconcile yourself to inhibiting the fertility of your
cats, entirely without their consent, I might add, or, failing that, some day most assuredly you will find
yourself about to cycle a bag full of newborn kittens out your airlock into the cold vacuum of space.
Make no choice, and you have chosen. Failure to decide, because you lack the right, is itself a decision,
First Councillor. In abstaining, you vote.тАЭ
тАЬTuf,тАЭ she said, her voice agonized, тАЬdonтАЩt! I donтАЩt want this damned power.тАЭ
Dax jumped up on the table, and turned his golden eyes upon her. тАЬGodhood is a profession even more
demanding than ecology,тАЭ Tuf said, тАЬthough it might be said that I knew the job to be hazardous when I
accepted its burdens.тАЭ
тАЬItтАЩs not,тАЭ she started. тАЬYou canтАЩt say,тАЭ she fumbled. тАЬKittens and babies arenтАЩt,тАЭ she tried. тАЬTheyтАЩre
people, they, they have the power of, that is, minds, minds and hearts as well as gonads. TheyтАЩre rational,
itтАЩs their choiceтАФtheirs, not mine. I canтАЩt possibly make it for themтАФthe millions, the billions.тАЭ
тАЬIndeed,тАЭ said Tuf. тАЬI had forgotten about the good people of SтАЩuthlam and their long history of rational
choice. Undoubtedly they will look in the face of war, of famine, and of plague, and then in billions they
will change their ways and deftly avert the shadow that threatens to engulf SтАЩuthlam and its proud towers.
How strange that I failed to see this.тАЭ
They stared at each other.
Dax began to purr. Then he looked away, and began to lap up cream-of-mushroom bisque from TufтАЩs
bowl. Blackjack rubbed up against her leg, keeping a wary eye on Dax as he stalked across the room.
Tolly Mune turned back to the console very slowly; it took her a day to make that turnтАФa week, a year,
a lifetime. It took her forty billion lifetimes, but when she had completed that turn, it had only taken an
instant, and those lives were gone as if they had never been.
She looked at the cold silent mask confronting her over the comm link, and in that dark shiny plastic she
saw reflected all the faceless horror of war, and behind it burned the grim, fevered eyes of starvation and
disease. She turned the sound transmission back up.
тАЬWhatтАЩs going on there?тАЭ Wald Ober was demanding, over and over. тАЬFirst Councillor, I canтАЩt hear you.
What are your orders, do you hear me? WhatтАЩs going on there?тАЭ
тАЬCommander Ober,тАЭ Tolly Mune said. She forced a broad smile.
тАЬWhatтАЩs wrong?тАЭ
She swallowed. тАЬWrong? Nothing. Nothing at all. Puling hell, everything is incredibly right. The warтАЩs
over and soтАЩs the crisis, Commander.тАЭ
тАЬAre you under coercion?тАЭ Wald Ober barked.
тАЬNo,тАЭ she said quickly. тАЬWhy do you say that?тАЭ
тАЬTears,тАЭ he replied. тАЬI see tears, First Councillor.тАЭ
тАЬOf joy, Commander. Tears of joy. Manna, Ober, thatтАЩs what he calls it. Manna from heaven.тАЭ She
laughed lightly. тАЬFood from the stars. TufтАЩs a genius. Sometimes...тАЭ She bit her lip, hard. тАЬSometimes I
even think he might be...тАЭ
тАЬWhat?тАЭ
тАЬ...a god,тАЭ she said. She touched a button: the screen went dark.
Her name was Tolly Mune, but in the histories they call her all sorts of things.