"Mike Resnick - 43 Antarean Dynasties, The" - читать интересную книгу автора (Resnick Mike)

started."
"Yeah," chimes in the child. "They're piping in the game from Roosevelt III this
afternoon. I've got to get back for it."
"You can watch sports anytime," says the woman. "This may be your only chance to
see Antares."
"I should be so lucky," he mutters, returning his attention to his computer.
I recite my introductory speech almost by rote. "Allow me to welcome you to
Antares III, and to its capital city of Kalimetra, known throughout the galaxy
as the City of a Million Spires."
"I didn't see any million spires when we took the shuttle in from the
spaceport," says the child, whom I could have sworn was not listening. "A
thousand or two, maybe."
"There was a time when there were a million," I explain. "Today only 16,304
remain. Each is made of quartz or crystal. In late afternoon, when the sun sinks
low in the sky, they act as a prism for its rays, creating a flood of exotic
colors that stretches across the thoroughfares of the city. Races have come from
halfway across the galaxy to experience the effect."
"Sixteen thousand," murmurs the woman. "I wonder what happened to the rest?"
#
_No one knew why Antareans found the spires so aesthetically pleasing. They
towered above the cities, casting their shadows and their shifting colors across
the landscape. Tall, delicate, exquisite, they reflected a unique grandness of
vision and sensitivity of spirit. The rulers of Antares III spent almost 38,000
years constructing their million spires._
_During the Second Invasion, it took the Canphorite armada less than two weeks
to destroy all but 16,304 of them..._
#
The woman is still admiring the spires that she can see in the distance. Finally
she asks who built them, as if they are too beautiful to have been created by
Antareans.
"The artisans and craftsmen of my race built everything you will see today," I
answer.
"All by yourselves?"
"Is it so difficult for you to believe?" I ask gently.
"No," she says defensively. "Of course not. It's just that there's so _much..._"

"Kalimetra was not created in a day or a year, or even a millennium," I point
out. "It is the cumulative achievement of 43 Antarean Dynasties."
"So we're in the 43rd Dynasty now?" she asks.
#
_It was Zelorean IX who officially declared Kalimetra to be the Eternal City.
Neither war nor insurrection had ever threatened its stability, and even the
towering temples of his forefathers gave every promise of lasting for all
eternity. It was a Golden Age, and he could see no reason why it should not go
on forever..._
#
"The last absolute ruler of the 43rd Dynasty has been dust for almost three
thousand years," I explain. "Since then we have been governed by a series of
conquerers, each alien race superceding the last."
"Thank goodness they didn't destroy your buildings," says the woman, turning to