"Robert Reed - Decency" - читать интересную книгу автора (Reed Robert)

voyage. And it didn't wake until it was over our heads, almost. Its one
maneuver might have been a doomed skydiver's attempt to strike a
mound of soft hay."

Caleb turned and asked, "Will it live?"

Hilton was tiring of the game. "Eventually, no. There's talk about
another freeze, but we can't even freeze humans yet."

"I said it was in pain, and you said, 'Are you sure?'"

"It's not us. We can't measure its moods, or how it feels. Empirical
evidence is lackingтАФ"

As if to debate the point, the alien screamed again. The eyes kept
shaking afterward, the closing mouth making a low wet sound. Watching
the eyes, Caleb asked, "Do you think it means, 'Hi, how are you?' "

Hilton didn't respond. She didn't have time.

Again the alien's mouth opened, black eyes rippling as the air was torn
apart; and Caleb, hands to his ears and undistracted by nasty gray
abstractions, knew exactly what that horrible noise meant.

Not a doubt in him, his decision already made.


For three days and several hours, a worldwide controversy had been
brewing, sweeping aside almost every other human concern.

What should be done with the alien?
 Everyone who would care knew about the wounds and screams. Almost
everyone had seen those first horrid tapes of the creature, and they'd
watched the twice-daily news conferences, including Dr. Hilton's extended
briefings. No more network cameras were being allowed inside the central
tent, on the dubious ground of cleanliness. (How did you infect such an
odd creature with ordinary human pathogens?) But the suffering
continued, without pause, and it was obvious that the people in charge
were overmatched. At least according to those on the outside.

The United Nations should take over, or some trustworthy civilian
agency. Said many.

But which organization would be best?

And assuming another caretaker, what kinds of goals would it try to
accomplish?

Some observers wanted billions spent in a crash program, nothing
more important now than the alien's total recovery. Others argued for a