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

and disgrace.тАЭ
тАЬWhatever the hell I am, IтАЩm SтАЩuthlamese,тАЭ she said. тАЬThese are my people, Tuf. Big puling fools at
times, but still my goddamned people.тАЭ
тАЬYour loyalty is no doubt commendable. Since you are still Portmaster, I must assume that circumstances
changed.тАЭ
тАЬI changed them,тАЭ Tolly Mune said.
тАЬIndeed.тАЭ
тАЬHad to, if I didnтАЩt want to spend the rest of my life driving a weeder-wheel through the neograss while
gravity pulled me apart.тАЭ She made a face. тАЬAs soon as I got back to port, security grabbed me. IтАЩd
defied the High Council, broken laws, damaged property, and helped you escape with a ship they
wanted to confiscate. Damned dramatic, wouldnтАЩt you say?тАЭ
тАЬMy opinion has no bearing on the matter.тАЭ
тАЬSo dramatic, in fact, that it had to be either a crime of enormous magnitude or an act of enormous
heroism. Josen was sick about it. We went way back, him and me, and he wasnтАЩt a bad man really, I
told you that. But he was First Councillor, and he knew what he had to do. He had to try me for treason.
And IтАЩm no damned fool either, Tuf. I knew what I had to do.тАЭ She leaned forward. тАЬI wasnтАЩt that
pleased by my cards either, but I had to play them or fold. To save my bony ass, I had to destroy
JosenтАФdiscredit him and most of the High Council. I had to make myself a heroine and him a villain, in
terms that would be perfectly clear to every goddamned drooling slackjaw in the undercity.тАЭ
тАЬI see,тАЭ said Tuf. Dax was purring; the Portmaster was perfectly sincere. тАЬErgo the overblown
melodrama that was called Tuf and Mune.тАЭ
тАЬI needed cals for legal costs,тАЭ she said. тАЬThat was real enough, puling hell, but I used it as an excuse to
sell my version of events to one of the big vidnets. I, let us say, seasoned the story a bit. They were so
excited they decided to follow the newsfeed exclusive with a dramatized version. I was more than happy
to provide the script. Had a collaborator, of course, but I told him what to write. Josen never understood
what was happening. He wasnтАЩt as canny a pol as he thought, and his heart was never in it. Besides, I
had help.тАЭ
тАЬFrom what source?тАЭ Tuf inquired.
тАЬA young man named Cregor Blaxon, mostly.тАЭ
тАЬThe name is unknown to me.тАЭ
тАЬHe was on the High Council. Councillor for agriculture. A very crucial post, Tuf, and Blaxon was the
youngest man ever to fill it. Youngest man on the Council, too. YouтАЩd think heтАЩd be satisfied, right?тАЭ
тАЬPlease do not presume to tell me my thoughts, unless you have developed psionic abilities in my
absence. I would think no such thing, madam. I have found that it is almost always a mistake to assume
that any human being is ever satisfied.тАЭ
тАЬCregor Blaxon is and was a very ambitious man,тАЭ Tolly Mune said. тАЬHe was part of JosenтАЩs
administration. Both of them were technocrats, but Blaxon aspired to the First CouncillorтАЩs seat and that
was where Josen Rael had planted his buttocks.тАЭ
тАЬI grasp his motivation.тАЭ
тАЬBlaxon became my ally. He was quite impressed with what youтАЩd provided anyway. The omni-grain, the
fish and that plankton, the slime-molds, all the damn mushrooms. And he saw what was happening. He
used every bit of his power to cut short bio-testing and put your stuff in the field. Screamer priorities all
around. Did a smash-run on any puling fool tried to slow things down. Josen Rael was too preoccupied
to notice.тАЭ
тАЬThe intelligent and efficient politician is a species virtually unknown in the galaxy,тАЭ said Haviland Tuf.
тАЬPerhaps I might secure a scraping from Cregor Blaxon for the ArkтАЩs cell library.тАЭ
тАЬYouтАЩre getting ahead of me.тАЭ
тАЬThe end of the story is obvious. The appearance of vanity notwithstanding, I will venture a guess that my
small effort at eco-engineering was deemed a success, and that Cregor BlaxonтАЩs energetic
implementation of my solutions rebounded to his credit.тАЭ