"Jody Lynn Nye - The Grand Tour" - читать интересную книгу автора (Nye Jody Lynn)

life. It looked more like all of them. The concrete walkways between tracks were familiar, as were the
brick buildings with gingerbread-cutout eaves hanging from the edges of the shingled roofs. A huge
sign hanging overhead was painted with the word rem.
тАЬWhat does that mean?тАЭ Chuck asked, tugging on the angelтАЩs sleeve. He felt the cloth change to
gray homespun under his fingertips. Keir was turning back to his wise old sage to suit ChuckтАЩs needs.
He was a little sorry to see the glory of the angel vanish, but he felt far more comfortable with a plain
old man.
тАЬDo you ever get confused altering from one shape to another so rapidly?тАЭ Chuck asked.
тАЬNot so far,тАЭ Keir said, cheerfully. тАЬRem is the name of this station. Rem is the province of the
Dreamland that we are in. ItтАЩs the central hub for travel from the Waking World.тАЭ
тАЬDo seekers always arrive here?тАЭ Chuck asked.
тАЬNo, but they do pass through here,тАЭ Keir said, with an approving nod. Chuck was glad. It meant he
was asking good questions. He was anxious not to seem a fool. тАЬThis time, today, to launch your
experience properly, you begin here, but youтАЩve already passed through many places in the Dreamland
over the course of your life. Any living being that dreams does. All this you see around you is a
product of the Collective Unconscious. You think that things look very familiar to you. So they do. So
they are. You have seen some of them in your waking time, but some of them you have only seen in
your dreams. That is because the Dreamland has some constants about it that give you points of
reference from which to start.тАЭ
The ornate sign that said track 2 was unnecessary to direct Chuck. He was drawn to the train sitting
on the tracks as if it was a magnet. The hissing steam train had come straight out of a Victorian
fantasy. The original Orient Express must have been this beautiful. The engine was all brightly
polished brass and black steel. Every angle was cut cleanly, every arc perfectly round, satisfying the
soul of meticulousness in Chuck to the last degree. The smokestack belched white puffs into the
cloudless blue sky as if impatient to get moving.
The exterior panels of the cars were neatly painted dark green. Chuck gazed with admiration at the
fabulous curlicues, leaves and godsтАЩ heads carved into the woodwork and adorned with gold-leaf trim.
Metal flourishes and finials wound outward from the spokes of the great steel wheels. The car
windows were cut glass that twinkled in the sunshine. Through them Chuck got an intriguing glimpse
of fine, white curtains tied back in swags, and beyond, the shadows of heads bent together in
conversation.
тАЬItтАЩs been beautifully preserved,тАЭ Chuck said, whistling through his teeth. тАЬSomeoneтАЩs taken good
care of it.тАЭ
тАЬMemories like this are often cherished,тАЭ Keir said. тАЬIn this case, itтАЩs been stored in the Collective
Unconscious, where it will be safe for as long as there are minds to recall it. They wonтАЩt need to have
seen it themselves.тАЭ
тАЬItтАЩs just a memory?тАЭ Chuck asked, puzzled. He reached out a hand to touch the engine. The
smooth metal vibrated under his hand. тАЬHow real could it be if itтАЩs only a memory?тАЭ
тАЬSometimes more real, to some people,тАЭ Keir said. тАЬIn fact, it looks better than it did when it was
real. No soot or grease, at least not in this form. Trains are one of the glories of the Dreamland. They
go everywhere. They have held the world together for millennia.тАЭ
тАЬBut there havenтАЩt always been trains,тАЭ Chuck said, frowning.
тАЬNot steam or electric trains, as you or I have known them,тАЭ Keir said, тАЬbut there were always
numbers of people going the same way at the same time, with a common purpose, sharing common
goals and common symbols. They created the routes, the neural pathways, that the trains run on today.
Trains are a state of mind.тАЭ
Symbolism again, Chuck mused. Keir paused for a moment, then tapped his foot.
тАЬWhen youтАЩve finished rationalizing what youтАЩre seeing, can we go aboard?тАЭ he asked. тАЬTheyтАЩre
waiting for us.тАЭ Abashed, Chuck hoisted his bags and followed Keir.
тАЬExtry, extry, read allaboud it!тАЭ a small boy yelled, waving a handful of newspapers. тАЬWinds of