"Robert Reed - Sister Alice" - читать интересную книгу автора (Reed Robert)

Done with that duty, Ord jogged up to the house, entering through one of its smaller doorways. Over the
door hung a thick granite slab. тАЬPRIDE AND SACRIFICE,тАЭ said the ageless letters engraved into that
exceedingly pink stone. He touched the words with his right hand, always. The gesture was a habit,
almost a reflex. Then he ran to the first stairwell and rode up to his floor and sprinted to his apartment,
finding a pair of mothering robots waiting for him. They were at least as smothering as the bears. They
asked about his day and his accomplishments. Was there enough snow? тАЬPlenty,тАЭ he allowed; it had
fallen all night. Good for forts, was it? тАЬPerfect,тАЭ he told them, removing his warm snowsuit. тАЬGood wet
stupid snow.тАЭ The pasture was close to the lowlands, and that gave it a milder climate. тАЬWe built a strong
fort,тАЭ he boasted. тАЬWe broke three presses, squeezing the snow down to glacial ice, nearly. So it could
be the best everтАжтАЭ

The robots paused, saying nothing where they might have said, тАЬWeтАЩre so glad to hear it.тАЭ

Ord hesitated, alert to the silence.

тАЬLyman just asked to see you,тАЭ said synchronized voices.

Lyman was the oldest brother living in the house.He wants to see me? Ord assumed that something was
wrong. And he would have been in trouble, if he had bashed Xo with that rockтАжbut he was innocent,
and nothing else remarkable had happened during the last few days. тАЬWhat does Lyman want?тАЭ

тАЬWeтАЩre curious, too,тАЭ they replied, ruby eyes winking. тАЬYouтАЩre supposed to go to his apartment as soon
as you are clean and dressed.тАЭ

Ord looked outside. His longest wall faced east, and it was set to show what he would see if there was
an old-fashioned window in place of the granite. Somewhere below, hidden in the gathering darkness,
was his new fort. On clear nights he watched the glow of the cities, wondering about the people living
beneath the mountains. Everyone on Earth was rich to some degree; space was too crowded and far too
expensive for those without means. But only the Families could afford having winters, putting their trees
and lakes to sleep. These werenтАЩt mountains so much as enormous sculptures, and like any artwork, they
were not meant to produce meaningful food; nor had they ever housed more than a very few people.

тАЬLyman sounds impatient,тАЭ the robots warned.

Ord nodded and ran through his bath, then dressed and left. His brother lived several stories above him.
He had visited enough to know the way, and enough to hesitate at the door. Lyman liked to entertain
girlfriends; caution was required. Ord announced his presence, and the door opened instantly, a distant
voice telling him, тАЬWait out there. IтАЩm almost done.тАЭ

It was OrdтАЩs voice, only deeper. Older. Lyman had a larger apartment complete with several universal
walls and a vast bed, plus a swimming pool as big as a pond. There were flourishes meant to sayLyman
but always felt moreChamberlain than anything. Chamberlains liked mementos. Where Ord would have
displayed his collection of alien fossils, his brother had set up small light-statues of the
girlfriendsтАФwomen of every variation, uniformly disrobed. The girlish faces smiled at Ord, showing him
how pleased they were to stand before him. One of the universal walls was activated. A live feed showed
some banded gas giant, each moon encased in a warm atmosphere, the nearest moon blued by an ocean.
Had a Chamberlain built that ocean? It was likely. Lyman was training to become an apprentice
terraformer. Once he was declared an adult, probably in less than a century, he would embark on his first
assignment. Something easy, no doubt. Probably work on some little comet between the stars, most
likely for a semiwealthy client who wanted a vacation homeтАФ