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

Why bother?

And why would any enormous, wondrous soul want her presence to be kept secretтАж?

Four
тАЬConsider this. Our Families have never been wealthier, our reach never so great, yet in the same
moment, we have never been so weak. Our portion of humanityтАЩs worth has shriveled throughout the
Peace, which is exactly as it was planned. We are pledged to reproduce slowly. We patiently clone
archaic bodies, then in measured stages fit them with the latest talents. But while weтАЩve kept a monopoly
on many talents, other peoples and the aliens and even the machine intelligences grow in abundance each
day, in numbers and wealth and in their capacity for accomplishmentтАжtheir insectlike tenacity gradually
winning the Peace, which, of course, is precisely why they agreed to it in the first placeтАжтАЭ

тАФAliceтАЩs testimony

THEIR FORT WAS genuinely beautiful, tall and with a blue-iced skeleton draped with a heavy white flesh
left behind by last nightтАЩs snow. Yesterday, after the last drills and before the official inspection, everyone
had added some touch of his or her own. Except for Xo, that is. Decorating the parapets were snow fists
and starship prows and big-eyed skulls. Ord had fashioned a snarling wail-hail on his portion of the
wallтАФa fierce beast with spiked wings extended forward, its curved white teeth glowing in the early light.
He was standing behind his wail-hail, on the broad rampart, his squad flanking him and everyone at
attention. Ravleen was speaking, her voice coming through headphones embedded in their golden face
masks. тАЬFrom now on,тАЭ she promised, тАЬour enemies, these awful Blues, are going to suffer every flavor
of misery. WeтАЩll beat them once and again, and weтАЩll beat them so badly that a million years from now,
theyтАЩll still ache from what weтАЩve done to their miserable bodies today.тАЭ

It was a famous quote, the тАЬevery flavor of miseryтАЭ line. An old Sanchex general had uttered it on the eve
of victory, and Ravleen made a point of repeating it every year or two. She and Tule were sitting inside
the thick-walled keep set at the back of the courtyard, watching the countryside with hidden watchdogs.
Ord knew how much she wanted to win. The warтАЩs losers would make medals for the winnersтАФthe
standard ruleтАФand nobody would treasure her disk of iridium and diamond more than Ravleen. Some
said that the Ten-Million-Year Peace had only tempered her Family. Without question, when the Golds
grew too old to play war, nobody would miss the games more than Ravleen. Shutting his eyes, Ord
almost felt sorry for herтАжthen he let his mind drift back to the topic that had kept him sleepless all
nightтАж

тАЬWhat are you thinking?тАЭ asked Xo. Save for a few golden bruises, his face had healed. He was proud
that he healed so easily, and he showed his wounds to Ord before putting his mask back on. тАЬYou look
like youтАЩre thinking hard,тАЭ Xo observed. тАЬSo whatтАЩs in your head?тАЭ

That his sister was coming.Alice. My Twelve. The words surfaced in his consciousness, begging to be
spoken. But the news was still secret. Last night and twice this morning, he had promised Lyman to say
nothing. And maybe this was a wise restriction, he sensed. Alice had no genuine reason to come here.
None at all. And he would look horribly foolish if he ever told his enormous story, and then it turned out
to be untrue.

тАЬI wish weтАЩd start,тАЭ Xo groused, forgetting his question. тАЬWaiting is boring.тАЭ

Last night, following a long tense dinner with a dozen brothers and sisters, Ord returned to his apartment