"The Summer Of The Seven" - читать интересную книгу автора (Melko Paul)

No, it isnТt!
I shushed them with a whiff of baby pheromone, a poke at their childish behavior.
We all knew the history. The first pods had been duos, created almost fifty years ago, the first to use the chemical memory and pheromones to share feelings between two separate humans. Since then, the order of the pods and complexity of the chemical signaling had grown. We were a sextet, the largest order weТd ever seen. All our classmates were sextets. Everyone in the space program was a sextet.
УBecause sextets are the largest order. TheyТre the best,Ф Strom said.
Not anymore! Candace is a seven, a septet!
It made sense. Genetic engineers were always trying to add to the power of an individual. Why wouldnТt they try to build a seven? Or an eight?
УThey succeeded in building one, finally.Ф
УHow old is she?Ф
УYounger than us. Maybe twelve.Ф
I hope sheТs not staying all summer.
But we knew she was. We wouldnТt have turned out the guest room if she wasnТt.
Maybe we can make her leave.
I said, УWe have to be nice. We have to be friends.Ф
We have to be nice, but we donТt have to be friends.
Why be nice?
I looked at Meda, and she said, УOh, all right. LetТs go be nice. At least there isnТt eight of her.Ф
Though how far away would that be?
* * * *
We tried to be nice.
I was the one whoТd advised it, and even I chafed at the manners of that arrogant septet.
УFifteen point seven five three,Ф Candace said, while we were still scribbling the problem. One of her was looking over QuantТs shoulder as we sat at the great room table.
I knew that, Quant sent.
Still, Meda wrote the problem down and we worked through to the answer, while Candace tapped seven of her feet.
УFifteen point seven five three three,Ф Meda said.
УI rounded down,Ф she said. УOne of usЧФ She nodded at the identical girl to her leftЧФis specialized in mathematics. When you have seven, you know, you can do that. Specialize.Ф
We were specialized too, we wanted to say, but I sent, Humble.
SheТs specialized at being a git.
УYouТre very smart,Ф Meda said diplomatically. I hadnТt even had to remind her.
УYes, I am.Ф She was standing so close that the pungent smell of her chemical thoughts tickled our noses and distracted us. It was almost rude to stand so close that our memories mingled. We couldnТt understand her thoughts, of course, just a bit of self-satisfaction from the pheromones. The chemical memories that we passed from hand to hand, and, to some extent, by air, were pod-specific, most easily passed by physical touch at the wrists, where our pads were. Pheromones were more general, and indicated nuance and emotion. These were often common across all pods, especially those from the same creche. So even though our thoughts didnТt mix together, it felt weird for her to be so close.
She doesnТt know any better, I sent, touching the pad on ManuelТs left wrist. SheТs young.
We knew better at that age.
We should try to be friendly, I sent.
УDo you want to go swimming this afternoon?Ф Meda asked.
Candace shook her head quickly, then she paused for a consensus. We smelled the chemical thoughts, pungent and slick in the air, and wondered why she had to consense on going swimming.
УWe donТt swim,Ф she said finally.
УNone of you?Ф
Another pause. They touched hands, tap, tap, tap, pads sliding together. УNone of us.Ф
УOkay. Well, weТre going swimming in the pond.Ф
The smell was stronger. The heads turned inward, and they held palms together for ten seconds. What was so complicated about going swimming?
Finally, she said, УWeТll come and watch, but we wonТt swim in dirty water.Ф
Meda said, УOkay,Ф and we shrugged.
After physics, we studied biology, and, in that, Mother Redd instructed us closely. The farmhouse was not just a farmhouse; attached were a greenhouse and a laboratory with gene-parsers and splicers. The hundred hectares of woods, ponds, and fields were all Mother ReddТs experiment, and part of it she let us work on. We were rebuilding the local habitat, reintroducing flora and fauna in a close facsimile to what had been there before the Exodus and the Gene Wars. Mother Redd was building beaver pods. She was letting us build pods of ducks.
Candace followed us to observe our latest version of duck: a clutch of ducklings that had been gengineered to share chemical duck memories, supposedly. ThereТd been success in modifying some mammals for chemical memories, but none for other classes of Chordata. We were trying to build a duck pod for the Science Fair at the end of the summer.
WeТd released our ducklingsЧtwo different modified clutchesЧby a pond on the farm, and every morning, we went and watched how they worked together.
Bola slid between the reeds while the rest of us hunched down and listened to his thoughts on the wind. The chemical memories were fragile and diffused over distance, but still we could understand what he was seeing and thinking if we concentrated.
УWhere are the ducks?Ф Candace asked.
УShh!Ф
УI donТt see them.Ф
УYouТre going to scare them!Ф
УFine.Ф The seven of her folded her arms across her chests.