"Alan E. Nourse - Morley's Chain" - читать интересную книгу автора (Nourse Alan E)

were, just the way you wanted them to be."
The big man stopped, breathing heavily, a sudden sadness creeping into his eyes, his voice taking on
a softer tone. "You were such fools," he said softly. "You waxed and grew strong, and clever, and
confident, and the more power you had, the more you wanted. You fought wars, and then bigger and
better wars, until you couldn't be satisfied with gunpowder and TNT any longer. And finally you divided
your world into two armed camps, and brought Fury out of her box, fought with the power of the atoms
themselves, you clever Sharkies, and when the dust settled, and cooled off, there weren't very many of
you left. Lots of usтАФit was your war, rememberтАФbut not very many of you. Of course there was a
Revolt then, and all the boxed up, driven in hatred and bloodshed boiled up and over, and you Sharkies
at long last got your chain tied right around your waists. You were a long, long time building it, and now
you can wear itтАФ"

TAM'S face was chalky. "DaveтАФthere were some of usтАФyou know there were many of us that
hated it as much as you did, before the Revolt. Some of us fought, some of us at least triedтАФ"
The big man nodded his head, bitterly. "You thought you tried, sure. It was the noble thing to do, the
romantic thing, the good thing to do. But you didn't really believe it. I knowтАФI thought there was some
hope, back then, some chance to straighten things out without a Revolt. For a long time I thought that
you, and those like you, really meant all you were saying, I thought somehow we could find an equal
footing, an end to the hatred and bitterness. But there wasn't any end, and you never really thought there
ever would be. That made it so safeтАФit would never succeed, so when things were quiet it was a nice
idea to toy around with, this equality for all, a noble project that couldn't possibly succeed. But when
things got hot, it was a different matter." He stared at Tam, his dark eyes brooding. "Oh, it wasn't just
you, Tam. You were my best friend, even though it was a hopeless, futile friendship. You tried, you did
the best you could, I know. But it just wasn't true, Tam. When it came to the pinch, to a real jam, you
would have been just like the rest, basically. It was built up in you, drummed into you, until no amount of
fighting could ever scour it outтАФ"
Dave Hawke stood up, walked over to the window, staring out across the great city. Tam watched
him, the blood roaring in his ears, hardly able to believe what he had heard from the big man, fighting to
keep his mind from sinking into total confusion. Somewhere a voice deep within him seemed to be
struggling through with confirmation, telling him that Dave Hawke was right, that he never really had
believed. Suddenly Dave turned to him, his dark eyes intense. "Look, Tam," he said, quickly, urgently.
"There are jobs you can get. Go to Mercury for a while, work the minesтАФnot long, just for a while, out
there in the sunтАФthen you can come backтАФ"
Tam's ears burned, fierce anger suddenly bursting in his mind, a feeling of loathing. "Never," he
snapped. "I know what you mean. I don't do things that way. That's a coward's way, and by God, I'm no
coward!"
"But it would be so easy, TamтАФ" Dave's eyes were pleading now. "PleaseтАФ"
Tam's eyes glinted. "No dice. I've got a better idea. There's one thing I can do. It's not very nice, but
at least it's honest, and square. I'm hungry. There's one place where I can get food. Even Sharkies get
food there. And a bed to sleep in, and books to readтАФmaybe even some Sharkie books, and maybe
some paper to write onтАФ" He stared at the big man, oddly, his pale eyes feverish. "Yes, yes, there's one
place I can go, and get plenty to eat, and get away from this eternal rottennessтАФ"
Dave looked up at him, his eyes suspicious. "Where do you mean?"
"Prison," said Tam Peters.
"Oh, now see hereтАФlet's not be ridiculousтАФ"
"Not so ridiculous," snapped Tam, his eyes brighter. "I figured it all out, before I came up here. I
knew what you were going to say. Sure, go to Mercury, Tam, work in the mines a whileтАФwell, I can't
do it that way. And there's only one other answer."
"But, TamтАФ"
"Oh, it wouldn't take much. You know how the courts handle Sharkies. Just a small offense, to get