"Tuf Voyaging - 07 - Manna From Heaven" - читать интересную книгу автора (Martin George R R)

УThis assumes I remained alive after the seizure,Ф pointed out Tuf. УA doubtful proposition at best.Ф
УYouТre alive now, and IТll still buy the damned ship. You could stay aboard, work with our people. IТm prepared to offer you lifetime employment-name your own salary, anything you want. You want to keep that eleven million standards? ItТs yours. You want us to rename the puling planet in your honor? Say the word, and weТll do it.Ф
УPlanet SТuthlam or Planet Tuf by any name would be as overcrowded,Ф Haviland Tuf replied. УShould 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.Ф
УOf course,Ф said Tolly Mune.
TufТs face was blank and serene. УI 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.Ф
УThatТs quite a goddamned implication,Ф snapped Tolly Mune. УLife is sacred to the SТuthlamese, Tuf.Ф
УIndeed. Yet, poisonous cynic that I am, I cannot help but suspect that ultimately the SТuthlamese may decide that some lives are more sacred than others.Ф
УYou know me, Tuf,Ф she said, her tone crisp and chilly. УI would never allow anything like that.Ф
УAnd if any such plan was enacted over your objections, I have no doubt that your letter of resignation would be quite sternly worded,Ф Tuf said flatly. УI find this insufficiently reassuring, and have a hunch, yes, a hunch, that the allies might share my sentiments on this point.Ф
Tolly Mune chucked Blackjack under the chin. The cat began to growl deep in his throat. Both of them stared at Tuf. УTuf,Ф she said, Уmillions 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.Ф
УAs I do not, this is obvious hyperbole,Ф said Tuf.
УIf youТd consent to shuttle in to Spiderhome, we could take the elevators downstairs to the surface of SТuthlam-Ф
УI 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 SТuthlam. 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 SТuthlam.Ф
УI donТt want to threaten you, TufЧФ
УNonetheless, you are about to.Ф
УYou will not be allowed to depart the system, IТm afraid. DonТt try to hoodwink me like you did Ober. That business with the bomb is a goddamned fabrication and we both know it.Ф
УYou have found me out,Ф Tuf said expressionlessly.
Blackjack hissed at him.
Tolly Mune looked down at the big cat, startled. УItТs not?Ф she said in horror. УOh, damn it to hell.Ф
Tuf engaged the silver-gray feline in a silent staring contest. Neither of them blinked.
УIt doesnТt matter,Ф Tolly Mune said. УYouТre here to stay, Tuf. Resign yourself to it. Our new ships can destroy you, and they will if you try to pull out.Ф
УIndeed,Ф said Tuf. УAnd 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. SТuthlam 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.Ф
Blackjack sat down and began to purr. УYou have?Ф Tolly Mune said dubiously.
УTwice the SТuthlamese have looked to me for a miraculous salvation from the consequences of their own reproductive folly and the rigidity of their religious beliefs,Ф Tuf said. УTwice I have been called upon to multiply the loaves and fishes. Yet it occurred to me recently, while engrossed in a study of that book which is the chief repository of the ancient myths from which that anecdote is drawn, that I was being asked to perform the wrong miracle. Mere multiplication is an inadequate reply to an ongoing geometric progression, and loaves and fishes, however plentiful and tasty, must in the final analysis be found insufficient to your needs.Ф
УWhat the hell are you talking about?Ф Tolly Mune demanded.
УThis time,Ф Tuf said, УI offer you a lasting answer.Ф
УWhat?Ф
УManna,Ф said Tuf.
УManna,Ф said Tolly Mune.
УA truly miraculous foodstuff,Ф said Haviland Tuf. УThe details need not concern you. I will reveal all at the proper time.Ф
The First Councillor and her cat looked at him suspiciously. УThe proper time? And when will it be the proper puling time?Ф
УWhen my conditions have been met,Ф Tuf said.
УWhat conditions?Ф
УFirst,Ф said Tuf, Уas the prospect of living out the rest of my life in orbit about SТuthlam is one I find unappealing, it must be agreed that I am free to go after my labors here are completed.Ф
УI canТt agree to that,Ф Tolly Mune said, Уand if I did, the High Council would vote me out of office in a puling second.Ф
УSecondly,Ф Tuf continued, Уthis war must be terminated. I fear I will be unable to concentrate properly on my work when there is every likelihood of a major space battle breaking out around me at any moment. I am easily distracted by exploding starships, webs of laser fire, and the screams of dying men. Moreover, I see little point in exerting great efforts to make the SТuthlamese ecology balanced and functional once more when the allied fleets threaten to deposit plasma bombs all over my handiwork, and thereby undo my small achievements.Ф
УIТd end this war if I could,Ф Tolly Mune said. УIt isnТt that damned easy, Tuf. IТm afraid what you ask is impossible.Ф
УIf not a permanent peace, then perhaps at least a small cessation in hostilities,Ф Tuf said. УYou might send an embassy to the allied forces and petition for a short armistice.Ф
УThat might be possible,Ф Tolly Mune said tentatively. УBut why?Ф Blackjack gave an uneasy meow. УYouТre plotting something, damn it.Ф
УYour salvation,Ф Tuf admitted. УPardon me if I deign to interfere with your diligent joint efforts to encourage mutation through radioactivity.Ф
УWeТre defending ourselves! We didnТt want this war!Ф
УExcellent. In that case, a short delay will not unduly inconvenience you.Ф
УThe allies will never buy it. Neither will the High Council.Ф
УRegrettable,Ф said Tuf. УPerhaps we ought to give SТuthlam some time to consider. In twelve years, the surviving SТuthlamese might have more flexible attitudes.Ф
Tolly Mune reached out and scratched Blackjack behind the ears. Blackjack stared at Tuf, and after a minute uttered a small, strange, peeping sound. When the First Councillor stood abruptly, the huge silver-gray cat leapt nimbly from her lap. УYou win, Tuf,Ф she said. УLead me to a comm set and IТll set the damned thing up. YouТre prepared to wait forever and IТm not. People are dying every moment we delay.Ф Her voice was hard, but inside, for the first time in months, Tolly Mune felt hope mingled with her unease. Maybe he could end the war and solve the crisis. Maybe there was really a chance. But she let no hint of that creep into her tone. She pointed. УBut donТt think youТre going to get away with anything funny.Ф
УAlas,Ф said Haviland Tuf, Уhumor has never been my forte.Ф
УIТve got Blackjack, remember. Dax is too freaked out and intimidated to do you any good, and Jack will let me know the instant you start thinking about treachery.Ф
УAlways my best intentions are met with suspicion.Ф
УBlackjack and me, weТre your puling shadows, Tuf. IТm not leaving this ship until things are settled, and IТm going to look hard at everything you do.Ф
УIndeed,Ф said Tuf.