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

vinyl greatcoat sweeping the floor, the sigil of the EEC upon his green billed cap.
тАЬFirst,тАЭ he said, тАЬpermit me to point out that I do not wear a mustache.тАЭ The statement provoked general
laughter. тАЬNor have your esteemed Portmaster and myself ever united in physical congress, vidshows
notwithstanding, though I have no reason to doubt that she is a skillful practitioner of the erotic arts
whose favors would be held in high esteem by any who enjoy that sort of diversion.тАЭ The horde of
newspeeps, like one clamorous hundred-headed beast, turned and fixed their third eyes upon Tolly
Mune. The Portmaster was slumped deep in her seat, with a hand rubbing her temples. Her sigh was
audible as far as the fourth row.
тАЬThese points of information are minor in nature,тАЭ said Tuf, тАЬand are advanced solely in the interest of
veracity. The major reason that I have insisted upon this gathering is professional rather than personal,
however. I have no doubt that each of you listening to this newsfeed is aware of the phenomenon that
your High Council called TufтАЩs Flowering.тАЭ
Cregor Blaxon smiled and nodded his head.
тАЬI must presume, however, that you are unaware of the imminence of what I will be so bold as to call
SтАЩuthlamтАЩs Wilting.тАЭ
The First CouncillorтАЩs smile wilted, too, and Portmaster Tolly Mune winced. The newspeeps swung back
to Tuf en masse.
тАЬYou are indeed fortunate that I am a man who honors his debts and obligations, since my timely return
to SтАЩuthlam has allowed me to intervene once more in your behalf. Your leaders have been less than
frank with you. But for the aid I am about to render you, your world would face starvation within the
short span of eighteen standard years.тАЭ
A moment of stunned silence occurred. Then a small riot began in the rear of the hall. Several people
were forcibly ejected. Tuf paid the incident no mind.
тАЬOn my last visit, the program of ecological engineering I initiated produced dramatic increases in your
food supply, through relatively conventional means, to wit, the introduction of new plant and animal
species designed to maximize your agricultural productivity without seriously altering your ecology.
Further efforts in this direction are undoubtedly possible, but I fear that the point of diminishing returns
has long been passed, and such schemes would avail you little. Accordingly, this time I have accepted as
fundamental the need to make radical alterations in your ecosystem and food chain. Some of you will find
my suggestions unpleasant. I assure you that the other options you faceтАФto wit, famine, plague, and
warтАФare even more disagreeable.
тАЬThe choice, of course, remains yours, and I would not dream of making it for you.тАЭ
The room was as cold as a cryonic storage facility, and deathly silent but for the whirring of the massed
third eyes. Haviland Tuf raised a finger. тАЬFirst,тАЭ he said. Behind him an image filled the telescreen,
broadcast directly from the ArkтАЩs computersтАФthe image of a swollen monstrosity as big as a hill, its skin
oily and glistening, its bulk shimmering like opaque pink gelatin. тАЬThe meatbeast,тАЭ said Haviland Tuf. тАЬA
significant portion of your agricultural land is devoted to the raising of herds of meat animals of various
sorts, whose flesh is the delectation of a very small, wealthy minority of SтАЩuthlamese who can afford such
luxury and enjoy eating cooked animal matter. This is extremely inefficient. These beasts consume far
more calories than they yield after slaughter, and being themselves the product of natural evolution, much
of their body mass is inedible. I therefore suggest you eliminate these species from your worldтАЩs
ecosystem immediately.
тАЬThe meatbeasts, as depicted, are among the most notable triumphs of genetic tailoring; except for a
small nucleus, these creatures are ever-replicating masses of undifferentiated cells, with no body mass
wasted on nonessentials like sensory organs, nerves, or mobility. If one chose to employ metaphor, one
might liken them to giant edible cancers. The flesh of the meatbeast contains all essential human nutrients
and is high in protein, vitamins, and minerals. One adult meatbeast, growing in the basement of a
SтАЩuthlamese apartment tower, will yield as much edible flesh in a standard year as two of your present
herds, and the grasslands now employed to raise these herds would be freed for agricultural cultivation.тАЭ
тАЬHow do the damn things taste?тАЭ someone shouted out from the back of the room.