"Morrison, William - Bedside Manner v1.0" - читать интересную книгу автора (Morrison William)

"IЧI hadn't thought of that. But heЧwe'll both be all right?"
"As a medical problem, you offer no insuperable difficulty. None at all."
"WhyЧwhy don't you give me eyes, if you can? Are you afraidЧafraid that I might see you and find youЧterrifying?"
Again a pause. There was amusement in the reply. "I do not think so. No, that is not the reason."
"Then it's becauseЧas you said about FredЧI might find myself horrifying?"
"That is part of the reason. Not the major part, however. You see, I am, in a way, experimenting. Do not be alarmed, pleaseЧI shall not turn you into a monster. I have too much knowledge of biology for that. But I am not too familiar with human beings. What I know I have learned mostly from your books, and I have found that in certain respects there are inaccuracies contained in themЧI must go slowly until I can check what they say. I might mend certain organs, and then discover that they do not have the proper size or shape, or that they produce slightly altered hormones. I do not want to make such mistakes, and if I do make them, I wish to correct them before they can do harm."
"There's no dangerЧ?"
"None, I assure you. Internally and externally, you will be as before."
"Internally and externally. Will IЧwill I be able to have children?"
"Yes. We ourselves do not have your distinctions of sex, but we are familiar with them in many other races. We know how important you consider them. I am taking care to see that the proper glandular balance is maintained in both yourself and your husband."
"Thank youЧDoctor. But I still don't understandЧwhy don't you give me eyes right away?"
"I do not wish to give you eyes that see imperfectly, and then be forced to take them away. Nor do I want you to watch imperfect arms and legs developing. It would be an unnecessary ordeal. When I am sure that everything is as it should be, then I shall start your eyes."
"And my husbandЧ"
"He will be reconstructed in the same way. He will be brought in to talk to you soon."
"And you don't want either of us to see the other inЧin imperfect condition?"
"It would be inadvisable. I can assure you now that when I have completed your treatment you will almost exactly be as you were in the beginning. When that time comes you will be able to use your eyes."
She was silent a moment.
He said, "Your husband had other questions. I am waiting to hear you ask them too."
"I'm sorry, Doctor . . . I wasn't listening. What did you say?"
He repeated his remarks, and she said, "I do have other questions. ButЧno, I won't ask them yet. What did my husband want to know?"
"About me and my race. How we happened to find you in time to save you. Why we saved you. What we intend to do with you after you are reconstructed."
"Yes, I've wondered about those things too."
"I can give you only a partial answer. I hope you do not find it too unsatisfactory. My race, as you may have gathered, is somewhat more advanced than yours. We have had a head start," he added politely.
"If you can grow new arms and legs and eyes," she said, "you must be thousands of years ahead of us."
"We can do many other things, of which there is no need to talk. All I need say now is that I am a physician attached to a scouting expedition. We have had previous contact with human beings, and have taken pains to avoid coming to their attention. We do not want to alarm or confuse them."
"But all the same, you rescued us."
"It was an emergency. We are not human, but we have, you might say, humanitarian feelings. We do not like to see creatures die, even inferior creaturesЧnot that you are, of course," he added delicately. "Our ship happened to be only a few thousand miles away when it happened. We saw, and acted with great speed. Once you are whole again, we shall place you where you will be found by your own kind, and proceed on our way. By that time, our expedition will have been completed."
"When we are whole againЧDoctor, will I be exactly the same as before?"
"In some ways, perhaps even better. I can assure you that all your organs will function perfectly."
"I don't mean that. I meanЧwill I look the same?"
She felt that there was astonishment in the pause. "Look the same? Does that matter?"
"Yes . . . oh, yes, it matters! It matters more than anything else."
He must have been regarding her as if she were crazy. Suddenly she was glad that she had no eyes to see his bewilderment. And his contempt, which, she was sure, must be there too.
He said slowly, "I didn't realize. But, of course, we don't know how you did look. How can we make you look the same?"
"I don't know. But you must! You must!" Her voice rose, and she felt the pain in her throat as the new muscles constricted.
"You are getting hysterical," he said. "Stop thinking about this."
"But I can't stop thinking about it. It's the only thing I can think of! I don't want to look any different from the way I did before!"
He said nothing, and suddenly she felt tired. A moment before she had been so excited, so upset; and nowЧmerely tired and sleepy. She wanted to go to sleep and forget it all. He must have given me a sedative, she thought. An injection? I didn't feel the prick of the needle, but maybe they don't use needles. Anyway, I'm glad he did. Because now I won't have to think, I won't be able to think--

She slept. When she awoke again, she heard a new voice. A voice she couldn't place. It said, "Hello, Margaret. Where are you?"
"Who ... Fred!"
"Margaret?"
"Y-yes."
"Your voice is different."
"So is yours. At first I couldn't think who was speaking to me!"
"It's strange it took us so long to realize that our voices would be different."
She said shakily, "We're more accustomed to thinking of how we look."
He was silent. His mind had been on the same thing.
"Your new voice isn't bad, Fred," she said after a moment. "I like it. It's a little deeper, a little more resonant. It will go well with your personality. The Doctor has done a good job."
"I'm trying to think whether I like yours. I don't know. I suppose I'm the kind of guy who likes best what he's used to."