"L. E. Modesitt - Corean Chronicles 4 - Alector's Choice" - читать интересную книгу автора (Modesitt L E)

"What about the ancient ones?" asked Viencet.

"There aren't any left. Just a few ruins here and there."

"How do they know? The Ancienteers say they're biding their time."

Mykel laughed dryly. "If the Myrmidons on their pteri-dons and the
recorders of deeds with their Tables can't find any trace of them, there
aren't any."

"Do the Tables really exist?" asked Sesalia. "Have you seen one?"

"No," Mykel admitted, "but I've been ordered places where we've found
exactly what the recorders said we'd find, and there hadn't been any
alectors or pteridons anywhere near."

"Maybe the Tables don't really exist," suggested Sesalia. "Maybe the
alectors just claim that they do so that they don't have to explain how they
know things."

Mykel shrugged. "That could be; but however they know, they do know.
I wouldn't want to try to keep anything hidden from them."

"Who are the alectors?" asked Viencet. "I mean... where did they come
from?"

"Where did we come from?" asked Olent. "We both came from the
Great Beyond in the time before time, and the alectors have been our
guides and mentors."

"You really believe that?" Viencet gave a laugh that was almost a snort.

Olent gave an embarrassed smile. "That's what we're taught, and I
don't have a better answer. Do you?"

`They're not that much smarter."

"Even a little brains means a lot, Viencet," countered Olent. `They're
also much, much stronger, and I've heard that arrows bounce off them. If
you have a better idea, what is it?"

"I don't know. I just don't think all that's true."

"Then where did we all come from?" asked Olent. "We've never found
any ruins used by people or alectors, and only a few things that were used
by the ancients."

Mykel tended to believe Viencet was right, but he'd already seen enough
of Corns to know that what his father had just said was also correct. But