"George R. R. Martin -- Second Helpings" - читать интересную книгу автора (Martin George R R)

years ago, by .0072 persons, and your average citizen becomes a parent sooner by .0102 years. Small
changes, you may protest, but when factored into the enormous base population of your world, and
modified by all other relevant parameters, they make a dramatic difference. The difference, to be precise,
between ninety-four years and eighteen.тАЭ
Tolly Mune stared at the lines crossing upon the screen. тАЬPuling hell,тАЭ she muttered. тАЬI should have
figured, goddamn it. This sort of information is classified, for obvious reasons, but I should have known.тАЭ
Her hands clenched into fists. тАЬGoddamn it to hell,тАЭ she said. тАЬCreg made such a newsfeed carnival out
of the goddamned Flowering, no wonder this is happening. Why should anyone refrain from birthingтАФthe
food problem has been solved, right? The goddamned First Councillor said so. Good times had arrived,
right? All the damned zeros had turned out to be puling anti-life alarmists once more, the technocrats had
worked another miracle. How could anyone doubt that theyтАЩd do it again, and again, and again? Oh, yes.
So be a good church member, have more kids, help humanity evolve to godhood and defeat entropy.
Hey, why not?тАЭ She made a disgusted noise. тАЬTuf, why are people such puling idiots?тАЭ
тАЬThis quandary is even more perplexing than the dilemma that is SтАЩuthlam,тАЭ said Tuf, тАЬand I fear I am not
equipped to answer it. So long as you are engaged in the division of blame, you might also assign some to
yourself, Portmaster. Whatever misleading impression might have been given by First Councillor Cregor
Blaxon was most certainly confirmed in the popular mind by that unfortunate final oration delivered by my
impersonator in Tuf and Mune.тАЭ
тАЬAll right, damn it. IтАЩm guilty, I helped gnarl it up. ThatтАЩs past now. The question is, what can we do
about it?тАЭ
тАЬYou can do little, I fear,тАЭ said Haviland Tuf, his face expressionless.
тАЬAnd you? You worked the loaves and fishes miracle once. Can we get a second helping, Tuf?тАЭ
Haviland Tuf blinked. тАЬI am a more experienced ecological engineer now than when I first attempted to
deal with the problem of SтАЩuthlam. I am more familiar with the full range of species contained within the
ArkтАЩs cell library, and the effect of each upon individual ecosystems. I have even increased my stock in
trade to a certain extent during the course of my travels hither and yon. Indeed, I can be of service.тАЭ He
cleared the screens and folded his hands atop his stomach. тАЬThere will be a price.тАЭ
тАЬA price? We paid your damn price, remember? My spinnerets fixed your goddamned ship.тАЭ
тАЬIndeed they did, even as I repaired your ecology. I do not require any further repairs or refitting of the
Ark at this time. You, however, appear to have damaged your ecology once again so you have further
need of my services. It strikes me as only equitable that I be compensated for my efforts. I have many
operating expenses, chief among which is my still-formidable debt to the Port of SтАЩuthlam. By dint of
exhausting and unremitting labor on numerous scattered worlds, I have raised the first half of the
thirty-three million standards you assessed me, but an equal amount remains to be paid, and I have but
five additional years to earn it. How can I say if this will be possible? Perhaps the next dozen worlds on
which I call will have ecologies without blemish, or will be so impoverished that I will be forced to grant
them severe discounts if I am to serve them at all. Day and night the size of my debt preys upon my mind,
often interfering with the clarity and precision of my thoughts and thus making me less effective at my
profession. Indeed, I have a sudden hunch that when wrestling with a challenge of the vast magnitude of
that posed by SтАЩuthlam, my performance might be far superior were my mind to be clear and
untroubled.тАЭ
Tolly Mune had expected something like this. She had told Creg as much, and heтАЩd given her limited
budgetary discretion. Still, she managed a frown. тАЬHow much do you want, Tuf?тАЭ
тАЬThe sum of ten million standards leaps to mind,тАЭ he said. тАЬBeing a round number, it might be deducted
from my bill easily without posing any knotty problems of arithmetic.тАЭ
тАЬToo damn much,тАЭ she said. тАЬMaybe I could get the High Council to agree to lop off, say, two million.
No more.тАЭ
тАЬLet us compromise on nine million,тАЭ said Tuf. A long finger scratched Dax behind a small black ear; the
cat silently turned its golden eyes on Tolly Mune.
тАЬNine isnтАЩt much of a compromise between ten and two,тАЭ she said drily.