"William Morrison - The Haters" - читать интересную книгу автора (Morrison William)

that they would realize that he was lying, and had spoken so freely of his hate for the human race only
because he no longer hated.
These creatures had brains that were superior, he thought desperately. They had learned the human
tongue in a few days, but he had not the slightest idea of their own language. They were as grown men to
children. And could a child successfuly deceive a grown man in so important a matter?
 He might, thought Grayson. Once in a while he might. If he pretended selfish indifference to anything
but his own personal interests, if he pretended complete and unquestioning obedience, he might.
In the days that followed he realized that even his crew members, haters of their own kind though
they were, felt guilty at the thought of their great betrayal. Among others, Kerman came to him and said
uneasily, "Say, Captain, these lizards want us to tell them everything we know."
"You don't know much, Kerman," Grayson said.
"Yes, but Captain, there are some thingsтАФ"
"Do as they want," said Grayson, knowing that his own attitude would be reflected in the more
revealing attitude of the crewmen. "Don't volunteer information because that would be showing
disrespect. But don't hold back when they ask you."
"But, gosh, Captain, they're lizards and we're people. And if they learn how to handle the ship, and
make ships of their ownтАФ"
"What do we care? The only thing we're interested in is keeping alive, isn't it?"
Kerman nodded uncertainly.
"In that case, there's only one thing to do. Tell them what they want to know. Keep on the good side
of them."
"Okay, Captain," said Kerman resignedly. "Now, they've been asking about all this metal we got
stored on the ship. They figure that if we want it, it's valuable to them too. They want us to show them
how to get more."
"Show them. I thought I heard you yourself say, Kerman, that we'll show them."
Kerman grinned shamefacedly. "I didn't mean it that way, Captain. I meant the people back in the
System. But we'll show these lizards too."
We make good slaves, thought Grayson, perfect slaves. Fortunately there is a bit of critical
information that most of the men don't usually recall. I'll have to warn one or two of the technicians
though, not to pass it on. As for the rest, we toil away with hand and brain, and day by day the A-race is
learning most of the precious knowledge we have acquired, it is learning to work the machinery we have
so painfully built. An invulnerable race can't be stopped, he told himself bitterly, it can't be harmed, and it
can't be resisted.
You can only let them pick the treasures of your mind and take charge of the material treasures you
came here to gather. Wonder if the human race will appreciate what I'm up against, he thought. Of
course it will never know, but I wonder if it would appreciate if it did know.
Not likely. More likely every last one of them would damn me for what I've done. And they'd be
right. I hated them, and I'm paying for my hatred. Strange that now I hate the A-race more. Here it is,
concentrated in a few square miles around the ship, hemmed in by enemies on its own planet, prepared
to play the role of galaxy-conqueror. If only there were time for a warning
There wasn't. There was no time to spread the news, and even if there had been, there would have
been no time for a battle cruiser to arrive quickly enough to drop its atomic bomb and wipe out the core
of the A-race.
Of course, if such a bomb could have been droppedтАФthere would be the end of the ship that served
the A-race as model, of the human beings who served them as teachers. Those of the A-race who had
already acquired human knowledge would also be wiped out with them, and the scattered members left
on the outposts would probably be helpless against the onslaughts of their smaller relatives.
A big if, an impossible if. Was it, though? If you toiled faithfully, if you got your men to work hard,
and helped them concentrate and purify the precious metal, and collect it all in one spot, watching the
quantity grow and grow, untilтАФ