"Mike Resnick - A Miracle Of Rare Design" - читать интересную книгу автора (Resnick Mike)

тАЬI've been thinking of what I did wrong,тАЭ he said, flustered.
тАЬAnd how to do it right the next time?тАЭ said Angela. тАЬFor God's sakes, Xavier, there are bits and pieces of you
rotting on three different planets! Isn't that enough?тАЭ
тАЬYou don't understand!тАЭ he snapped. тАЬNone of you haveever understood!тАЭ
тАЬThen help me to,тАЭ she said. тАЬMake me understand the attraction that a hideous death on an alien world holds
for you.тАЭ
тАЬYou think I go there to die?тАЭ he shouted at her. тАЬI go there tolearn! тАЭ
тАЬAnd what do you think you've learned?тАЭ
тАЬRead my books,тАЭ he said caustically. тАЬIt's all there in black and white.тАЭ
тАЬIhave read them. All I've learned is that people who do foolish things usually pay a price for it.тАЭ
тАЬThey also accomplish things! Do you want me to sit in this room, staring at four walls, for the rest of my
life?тАЭ
тАЬOf course not.тАЭ
тАЬThen whatdo you want?тАЭ
тАЬI want you to write the books you're capable of writing,тАЭ she said. тАЬBut without trying to sneak into places
humans are forbidden to go, and without participating in the ceremonies humans aren't even permitted to
see.тАЭ She paused and stared at him. тАЬTell me, XavierтАФhave you ever gone to a world thatdidn't have taboos
for you to break?тАЭ
тАЬSometimes it's necessary to get the story I want.тАЭ
тАЬLike on Medina?тАЭ
тАЬPrecisely.тАЭ
тАЬThen answer me this,тАЭ said Angela. тАЬAccording to your manuscript, you had already stolen a copy of the
FirefliesтАЩ holy book. Leaving aside the morality of stealing anyone's bible, once you got your hands on it, why
was it necessary to risk your life going to the pyramid?тАЭ
тАЬYou can't understand a High Mass just by reading the New Testament,тАЭ answered Lennox. He paused. тАЬI
saw two Fireflies leap to their deaths from atop that pyramid, and I'll wager there's nothing in their bible that
tells me why they did it.тАЭ
тАЬI know. And it's preciselywhat you are willing to wager that I find so disturbing.тАЭ She paused again. тАЬDon't you
bear them any ill will at all for what they did to you?тАЭ
тАЬNot really,тАЭ said Lennox thoughtfully. тАЬYou've got to understand that I was invading their territory against their
wishes.тАЭ
тАЬYou shouldn't be trying to understand them, Xavier. You should either be doing your best to forget the
incident ever happened, or else urging the Navy to incinerate the whole damned planet. Your reaction isn't
normal.тАЭ
Lennox shrugged. тАЬIt feels normal to me.тАЭ
тАЬI know. That's the problem.тАЭ
тАЬIt's an interesting culture.тАЭ
тАЬIt's a brutal, barbaric culture.тАЭ
тАЬThat's one of the things that makes it interesting.тАЭ
She sighed. тАЬI wish you foundpeople half as interesting. You'd live a lot longer.тАЭ She got to her feet. тАЬI suppose
I should kiss you good-bye and tell you to come back with another bestseller, but I just can't bring myself to
do that.тАЭ She walked to the door, then turned to him. тАЬJust try not to act too irresponsibly when you go back
to Medina.тАЭ
тАЬI told you: I'm not going back.тАЭ
тАЬI know,тАЭ she replied. тАЬBut when you do, remember what I said.тАЭ
She turned and left the room.
Lennox stared at the door for a moment, then shrugged as if to physically remove the annoyance of the past
few minutes. Finally he turned to the computer and ordered it to bring up yet another text on Medina.

5.