"Tuf Voyaging - 06 - Call Him Moses" - читать интересную книгу автора (Martin George R R)

Tuf VoyagingЧ6: Call Him Moses
George Martin


Rumors were seldom of any concern to Haviland Tuf. For one thing, he seldom heard any. Tuf was not averse to acting the tourist on most of the worlds he visited, but even when he was mingling with others in public places he remained somehow apart and unapproachable. His chalk-white skin and utterly hairless face and body usually made him conspicuous among the peoples of the planets on which he plied his trade, and even on those infrequent occasions when his complexion might have allowed him to pass, his size made him stand out. Thus, though people might stare at Tuf and talk of him everywhere he went, few of them talked to him unless they had business to transact.
Given his nature, then, it was hardly remarkable that Haviland Tuf had never heard of the man called Moses until the evening that he and Dax were assaulted by Jaime Kreen in a restaurant on KТtheddion.
It was a small shabby place just off the spaceport. Tuf had finished a plate of smokeroots and neograss and was relaxing with his third liter of mushroom wine when abruptly Dax raised his head from the table. Tuf shook a bit, slopping some wine on his sleeve, and ducked his head quickly to one side, barely far enough so that the bottle Kreen was wielding smashed open against the back of TufТs chair instead of the back of TufТs skull.
Glass exploded, and the liquid withinЧa smelly local liquorЧwent everywhere, soaking the chair, the table, the cat, and both men. Jaime Kreen, a thin blond youth with drunken blue eyes, stood blinking stupidly, holding the broken bottle in a bleeding fist.
Haviland Tuf rose ponderously to his feet, his long white face singularly impassive. He glanced at his assailant, blinked, and then reached down to pick up Dax, who was wet and unhappy. УCan you fathom this, Dax?Ф he said in a deep bass. УWe have here a mystery, albeit an inconvenient one. Why does this odd stranger attack us, I wonder? Do you have any ideas?Ф He stroked Dax slowly as he cradled him in his arms, and only when the cat began to purr did he look at Jaime Kreen again. УSir,Ф he said. УIt might be wise of you to release the fragments of that bottle. It appears to me that your hand is full of glass and blood and that particularly noxious brew, and I have severe doubts that the combination will enhance your health.Ф
The stricken Kreen seemed to come alive. His thin lips drew back in anger, and he flung the bottle away from him. УAre you mocking me, criminal?Ф he said in a slurred, dangerous voice.
УSir,Ф said Haviland Tuf. The restaurant had grown very still: the other patrons were quiet and staring, and the proprietor had vanished. TufТs deep voice could be heard in every corner of the room. УI would venture that the title 'criminal' as more applicable to you than to myself, but perhaps that is not to the point. No, I am not mocking you. You appear to be upset. Under such conditions it would be folly to mock you, and I am not given to folly.Ф He placed Dax back on the table and scratched the tomcat behind the ear.
УYou are mocking me,Ф Jaime Kreen said. УIТll hurt you!Ф
Haviland Tuf betrayed no emotion. УYou will not, sir, although I believe you are thinking of attacking me once again. I do not approve of violence. However, your boorish behavior leaves me with little choice.Ф So saying, he stepped forward quickly, and lifted Jaime Kreen high off the floor before the younger man could react. Then, carefully, he broke both of his arms.

Kreen emerged pale and blinking from the tomblike dark of Kytheddene Prison into the bright street. His arms were in slings. He looked baffled and tired.
Haviland Tuf stood by the curbside, cradling Dax in one arm and petting him with the other. He looked up when Kreen came forth. УYour mood appears to have quieted somewhat,Ф Tuf commented. УMoreover, you are now sober.Ф
УYou!Ф Kreen looked more baffled than ever; his face was so screwed up that it threatened to collapse in upon itself. УDo I understand that you bought my freedom?Ф
УYou raise an interesting point,Ф Haviland Tuf said. УI did indeed pay a certain sum-two hundred standards, actually, if we want to be preciseЧand upon that payment you were handed over to me. Yet it is incorrect to say that I bought your freedom. The crux of the matter is that you are not free. Under Kytheddene law, you belong to me, a bound servant whom I may work as I see fit until such time as you have discharged your debt.Ф
УDebt?Ф
УI calculate it as follows,Ф said Haviland Tuf. УTwo hundred standards for the sum I paid to the local authorities in order to bask in your presence. One hundred standards for my suit, which was genuine Lambereen cotton, and which you quite ruined. Forty standards for the damage to the eatery, which damages I paid in order to settle the proprietorТs claims against you. Seven standards for the delightful mushroom wine that you gave me no opportunity to drink. Mushroom wine is a noted specialty of KТtheddion, and that was a particularly choice vintage. These total some three hundred forty-seven standards in actual damages. Furthermore, your unprovoked assault made Dax and myself the center of a highly unpleasant scene, and much disturbed our tranquility. For that I am assessing you an additional fifty-three standards, which is a generously low sum, to bring your total to an even four hundred standards.Ф
Jaime Kreen chuckled maliciously. УYouТll have a hard time getting even a tenth of that out of me, animal-seller,Ф he said. УI have no funds, and I wonТt be good for much in the way of work. My arms are broken, you know.Ф
УSir,Ф said Haviland Tuf. УIf you had any significant funds of your own, you could have paid your own fines, in which case my assistance would not have been necessary. And since I myself broke your arms, I am aware of that condition as well. Kindly do not belabor the obvious with statements that convey no meaningful information. Despite your handicaps, I intend to take you with me back to my ship, and work you until your obligation has been discharged. Come.Ф
Haviland Tuf turned and took two steps down the street. When Kreen made no move to follow, Tuf stopped and turned back to him. Kreen smiled. УIf you want me anywhere, you can carry me,Ф he said.
Tuf stroked Dax dispassionately. УI have no intention of carrying you,Ф he said in even tones. УYou forced me to touch you once, and that experience was sufficiently unpleasant that I have no intention of repeating it. If you decline to follow me, I will return to the authorities and hire two guards to take you bodily where I wish you to be. Their wages will be tallied to your debt. The choice is yours.Ф Tuf turned again and moved off toward the spaceport.
Jaime Kreen, suddenly docile, followed behind, muttering under his breath.

The ship that waited for them at KТtheddion Star Port was impressive enough to KreenТs eyes. An ancient, deadly looking craft of pitted black metal, with small rakish wings, it loomed half again as tall as the modern big-bellied trading ships that surrounded it. Like virtually all of Haviland TufТs infrequent visitors, Kreen was awed (though he did not admit it) to discover that the Griffin was only a shuttle, that the Ark itself waited above, in orbit.
The shuttle deck of the Ark was twice the size of the landing field at KТtheddion Star Port, and fall of ships; four other shuttles identical to the Griffin, an old cargo ship with the teardrop shape characteristic of Avalon sitting on its three bent landing legs, a wicked-looking military flyer, an absurd golden barge with baroque ornamentation and a primitive harpoon gun mounted atop it, two craft that looked alien and vaguely untrustworthy, another that appeared to be nothing but a large square plate with a pole in its center. УDo you collect spacecraft?Ф Jaime Kreen asked, after Tuf had docked the Griffin and they had emerged onto the deck.
УAn interesting concept,Ф Tuf replied. УBut no. The five landing shuttles are part of the Ark itself, and I retain the old trader for sentimental reasons, since it was my first ship. The others I have acquired along the way. Perhaps I should clean out the deck at some point, but there is the possibility that some of these vessels might have some commercial value, so I have refrained up to now. I will have to give the matter some thought. Now, come along with me.Ф
They moved past a series of reception rooms and down several corridors, to a motor pool where several small three-wheeled vehicles were parked side-by-side. Haviland Tuf ushered Kreen into one, set Dax between them, and drove them down a great echoing tunnel that seemed to go on and on for kilometers. The shaft was lined by glass vats of many different sizes and shapes, each filled with fluids and gels. In some vats, dark shapes moved sluggishly within translucent bags, and seemed to peer out at them as they passed. Kreen found the suggestive motions somehow terrible and frightening. Haviland Tuf never noticed; he looked neither right nor left as he drove.
Tuf stopped the vehicle in a room identical to the one that they had started from, gathered up Dax, and led his prisoner down another corridor into a cramped, dustily comfortable chamber fall of overstuffed furniture. He motioned Kreen to a seat and took one himself, setting Dax in a third chair since, when seated, he had no apparent lap. УNow,Ф said Haviland Tuf, Уwe shall talk.Ф
The vast dimensions of TufТs ship had left Jaime Kreen somewhat subdued, but now a bit of spirit returned to his face. УWe have nothing to talk about,Ф he said.
УYou think not?Ф said Haviland Tuf. УI disagree. It was not simply the generosity of my soul which bid me to rescue you from the ignominy of imprisonment. You pose a mystery to me, as I remarked to Dax when you first assaulted us. Mysteries disturb me. I desire some clarification.Ф
Jaime KreenТs thin face took on a calculating look. УWhy would I help you out? Your false charges put me in prison and now youТve bought me as a slave. And you broke my arms, too! I donТt owe you anything.Ф
УSir,Ф said Haviland Tuf, locking his large hands together on his immense paunch, Уwe have already established that you owe me four hundred standards. I am prepared to be reasonable. I will ask you questions. You will give me answers. For each answer, I will deduct one standard from the sum you owe me.Ф
УOne standard! Absurd. Whatever you want to know is worth more than that! Ten standards for each answer! Not a tenth less!Ф
УI assure you,Ф said Haviland Tuf, Уthat whatever information you possess is probably worth nothing at all. I am merely curious. I am a slave to curiosity. It is a fault of mine, one I am helpless to correct, and one that you are now in a position to take advantage of. Yet you should not attempt to press me too far. I refuse to be cheated. Two standards.Ф
УNine,Ф said Kreen.
УThree, and I will go no higher. I grow impatient.Ф TufТs face was completely emotionless.
УEight,Ф said Kreen. УDonТt try to bluff me.Ф
Haviland Tuf was silent. He sat unmoving except for his eyes, which wandered over to Dax. The big black tomcat yawned and stretched himself.
After five minutes of silence, Kreen said, УSix standards, and thatТs cheap. I know a lot of important things, things that Moses would want to know. Six.Ф
Haviland Tuf said nothing. Minutes passed.
УFive,Ф said Kreen, swearing.
Haviland Tuf said nothing.
УAll right,Ф Kreen said at last. УThree standards. You are a cheat and a scoundrel, as well as a criminal. You have no ethics.Ф
УI will ignore your bombast,Ф said Haviland Tuf. УThree standards is the agreed sum, then. A sudden hunch comes to me that you may attempt to give evasive or confusing answers, so that I would have to ask many questions in order to elicit a small particle of information. I warn you that I will brook no such nonsense. Nor will I tolerate any deception. For each lie you attempt to tell me, I will add an additional ten standards on to your debt.Ф
Kreen laughed. УI have no intention of lying, Tuf. But even if I did, how would you ever know? I am not that transparent.Ф
Haviland Tuf permitted himself a smile, a tiny tight-lipped smile that barely touched his face and then was gone again. УSir,Ф he said, УI assure you that I would know at once. Dax would tell me, in precisely the same manner that he told me how far you would come down from your absurd demand for ten standards, and warned me of your cowardly attack on KТtheddion. Dax is a feline, sir, as no doubt even you will perceive. All felines are at least partially psionic, as mankind has known throughout history, and Dax is the end product of generations of breeding and genetic manipulation that have greatly strengthened this trait in him. So you will save all of us a good deal of time and effort if you will give complete, honest answers. While DaxТs talents are not sufficiently sophisticated to pluck difficult abstract concepts from your mind, I assure you that he can easily tell if you are lying or holding something back. So, with this in mind, shall we begin?Ф
Jaime Kreen was glaring at the big tomcat with venom in his eyes. Dax yawned again. УGo ahead,Ф Kreen said sullenly.