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

keep that eleven million standards? ItтАЩs yours. You want us to rename the puling planet in your honor?
Say the word, and weтАЩll do it.тАЭ
тАЬPlanet SтАЩuthlam or Planet Tuf by any name would be as overcrowded,тАЭ Haviland Tuf replied. тАЬShould I
agree to this proposed purchase, undoubtedly it is your intent to use the Ark only in these efforts to
increase your caloric productivity and thus feed your starving people.тАЭ
тАЬOf course,тАЭ said Tolly Mune.
TufтАЩs face was blank and serene. тАЬI am pleased to learn that it has never occurred to you or to any of
your associates on the High Council that the Ark might be employed in its original capacity as an
instrument of biological warfare. Sadly, I have lost this refreshing innocence, and find myself prey to
uncharitable and cynical visions of the Ark being used to wreak ecological havoc upon Vandeen,
Skrymir, Jazbo, and the other allied homeworlds, even to the point of genocide, thereby preparing those
planets for mass colonization, which I seem to recall is the population policy advocated by your
troublesome expansionist faction.тАЭ
тАЬThatтАЩs quite a goddamned implication,тАЭ snapped Tolly Mune. тАЬLife is sacred to the SтАЩuthlamese, Tuf.тАЭ
тАЬIndeed. Yet, poisonous cynic that I am, I cannot help but suspect that ultimately the SтАЩuthlamese may
decide that some lives are more sacred than others.тАЭ
тАЬYou know me, Tuf,тАЭ she said, her tone crisp and chilly. тАЬI would never allow anything like that.тАЭ
тАЬAnd if any such plan was enacted over your objections, I have no doubt that your letter of resignation
would be quite sternly worded,тАЭ Tuf said flatly. тАЬI find this insufficiently reassuring, and have a hunch, yes,
a hunch, that the allies might share my sentiments on this point.тАЭ
Tolly Mune chucked Blackjack under the chin. The cat began to growl deep in his throat. Both of them
stared at Tuf. тАЬTuf,тАЭ she said, тАЬmillions of lives are at stake, maybe billions. There are things I could
show you that would curl your hair. If you had any puling hair, that is.тАЭ
тАЬAs I do not, this is obvious hyperbole,тАЭ said Tuf.
тАЬIf youтАЩd consent to shuttle in to Spiderhome, we could take the elevators downstairs to the surface of
SтАЩuthlamтАФтАЭ
тАЬI think not. It would seem to me to be conspicuously unwise to leave the Ark empty and undefended, as
it were, in the light of the climate of belligerence and distrust that presently festers upon SтАЩuthlam.
Moreover, though you may think me arbitrary and overfastidious, with the passage of years I find I have
lost whatever small degree of tolerance I once had for swarming crowds, cacophony, rude stares,
unwelcome hands, watery beer, and minuscule portions of tasteless food. As I recall, these are the
principal delights to be found upon the surface of SтАЩuthlam.тАЭ
тАЬI donтАЩt want to threaten you, TufтАФтАЭ
тАЬNonetheless, you are about to.тАЭ
тАЬYou will not be allowed to depart the system, IтАЩm afraid. DonтАЩt try to hoodwink me like you did Ober.
That business with the bomb is a goddamned fabrication and we both know it.тАЭ
тАЬYou have found me out,тАЭ Tuf said expressionlessly.
Blackjack hissed at him.
Tolly Mune looked down at the big cat, startled. тАЬItтАЩs not?тАЭ she said in horror. тАЬOh, damn it to hell.тАЭ
Tuf engaged the silver-gray feline in a silent staring contest. Neither of them blinked.
тАЬIt doesnтАЩt matter,тАЭ Tolly Mune said. тАЬYouтАЩre here to stay, Tuf. Resign yourself to it. Our new ships can
destroy you, and they will if you try to pull out.тАЭ
тАЬIndeed,тАЭ said Tuf. тАЬAnd for my part, I will destroy the cell library if you attempt to board the Ark. It
appears we have arrived at a stalemate. Fortunately, it need not be of long duration. SтАЩuthlam has never
been far from my thoughts as I voyaged hither and yon across starry space, and during the periods when
I was not professionally engaged, I have engaged myself in methodical research in order to devise a true,
just, and permanent solution to your difficulties.тАЭ
Blackjack sat down and began to purr. тАЬYou have?тАЭ Tolly Mune said dubiously.
тАЬTwice the SтАЩuthlamese have looked to me for a miraculous salvation from the consequences of their
own reproductive folly and the rigidity of their religious beliefs,тАЭ Tuf said. тАЬTwice I have been called upon