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

тАЬTwelve years,тАЭ said Tolly Mune.
Tuf raised a finger. тАЬTo dramatize your plight, perhaps you ought to assign Commander Wald Ober to
count down the remaining time over the vidnets. Such a demonstration would have a certain grim urgency
that might inspire the SтАЩuthlamese to mend their ways.тАЭ
Tolly Mune winced. тАЬSpare me your levity, Tuf. IтАЩm First Councillor now, goddamn it, and IтАЩm staring
right into the pimpled ugly face of catastrophe. The war and the food shortages are only part of it. You
canтАЩt imagine the problems IтАЩm facing.тАЭ
тАЬPerhaps not the fine detail,тАЭ said Tuf, тАЬyet the broad outlines are readily discerned. I make no claim to
omniscience, but any reasonably intelligent person could observe certain facts and from them draw
certain inferences. Perhaps these deductions thus arrived at are wrong. Without Dax, I cannot ascertain
the truth of that. Yet somehow I think not.тАЭ
тАЬWhat puling facts? What inferences?тАЭ
тАЬFirstly,тАЭ said Tuf, тАЬSтАЩuthlam is at war with Vandeen and its allies. Ergo, I can infer that the technocratic
faction that once dominated SтАЩuthlamese politics has yielded up power to their rivals, the expansionists.тАЭ
тАЬNot quite,тАЭ said Tolly Mune, тАЬbut youтАЩve got the right puling idea. The expansionists have gained seats
in every election since you left, but weтАЩve kept them out of power with a series of coalition governments.
The allies made it clear years ago that an expansionist government meant war. Hell of it is, we still donтАЩt
have an expansionist government, but we got the damned war anyway.тАЭ She shook her head. тАЬIn the last
five years weтАЩve had nine First Councillors. IтАЩm the latest, probably not the last.тАЭ
тАЬThe grimness of your current projections suggests that this war has not yet actually touched your
populace,тАЭ Tuf said.
тАЬThank life, no,тАЭ said Tolly Mune. тАЬWe were ready when the allied war fleet came calling. New ships,
new weapons systems, everything built in secret. When the allies saw what was waiting for them, they
backed off without firing a blast. But theyтАЩll be back, damn it. ItтАЩs only a matter of time. WeтАЩve got
reports that theyтАЩre preparing for a major strike.тАЭ
тАЬI might also infer,тАЭ said Tuf, тАЬfrom your general attitude and sense of desperation, that conditions upon
SтАЩuthlam itself are already deteriorating rapidly.тАЭ
тАЬHow the hell do you know that?тАЭ
тАЬIt is obvious,тАЭ said Tuf. тАЬYour projection may indeed indicate mass famine and collapse to be some
twelve standard years in the future, but this is hardly to say that SтАЩuthlamese life will remain pleasant and
tranquil until that moment, whereupon a bell will ring loudly and your world will fall to pieces. Such an
idea is ludicrous. As you are now so close to the brink, it is only to be expected that many of the woes
symptomatic of a disintegrating culture will already be upon you.тАЭ
тАЬThings areтАФpuling hell, where do I begin?тАЭ
тАЬThe beginning is frequently a good place,тАЭ said Tuf.
тАЬTheyтАЩre my people, Tuf. ThatтАЩs my world turning down there. ItтАЩs a good world. But latelyтАФif I didnтАЩt
know better, IтАЩd think insanity was contagious. Crime is up some two hundred percent since your last
call. Murder is up five hundred percent, suicide more than two thousand percent. Service breakdowns
become more common dailyтАФblackouts, systems failure, random strikes, vandalism. WeтАЩve had reports
of cannibalism deep in the undercitiesтАФnot isolated instances, but entire puling cannibal gangs. Secret
societies of all kinds, in fact. One group seized a food factory, held it for two weeks, and fought a
pitched battle with world police.
тАЬAnother bunch of crazies have taken to kidnapping pregnant women and...тАЭ Tolly Mune scowled;
Blackjack hissed. тАЬThis is hard to talk about. A woman with child has always been something special to
the SтАЩuthlamese, but these...I can hardly even call them people, Tuf. These creatures have cultivated a
taste forтАФтАЭ
Haviland Tuf raised a hand, palm outward. тАЬSay no more,тАЭ he said. тАЬI have grasped the inference.
Continue.тАЭ
тАЬLots of solitary maniacs, too,тАЭ she said. тАЬSomeone dumped highly toxic waste into a food factory
holding tank eighteen months ago. More than twelve hundred fatalities. Mass cultureтАФSтАЩuthlam has