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

тАЬCertainly.тАЭ She paused. тАЬHow would you like to go back to Medina?тАЭ
тАЬSeriously?тАЭ he said, surprised.
тАЬI didn't come all this way to be facetious, Mr. Lennox,тАЭ she replied.
Don't let her see how eager you are. Only a crazy man would want to go back, and the government doesn't
deal with crazy men.
тАЬThe Department of Alien Affairs doesn't have a military arm,тАЭ he noted. тАЬAnd I'm a marked man on Medina.тАЭ
тАЬWhat if I told you that we have ways of protecting you?тАЭ she persisted. тАЬWould you be interested?тАЭ
тАЬIt's possible,тАЭ he said noncommittally. тАЬWhat'syour interest in Medina?тАЭ
тАЬOur geological surveys tell us that there are at least six, and possibly as many as eight, diamond pipes in
the desert to the east of the city known as Brakannan. The Republic wants to set up a mining operation.тАЭ
тАЬThe Fireflies will never permit it.тАЭ
тАЬEven if we offer them a lease agreement that stipulates a percentage of the profits?тАЭ
What the hell is she talking about? Where do I fit in?
тАЬIt would be meaningless to them,тАЭ replied Lennox. тАЬThey still operate on a barter economy. Credits are just
so much useless paper to them.тАЭ
тАЬThat's our department's conclusion as well,тАЭ said Nora. тАЬWould you like to know the Republic's response?тАЭ
тАЬI can guess.тАЭ
тАЬYou don't have to guess, Mr. Lennox,тАЭ she said. тАЬThey have given the Department of Alien Affairs one year to
get the Fireflies to agree to a lease.тАЭ
тАЬAnd if they refuse?тАЭ
тАЬThen the Navy will move in with as much force as is required to pacify the natives and protect our mining
operation.тАЭ
"Pacify,"repeated Lennox, unable to keep the contempt from his voice. тАЬA polite euphemism for genocide.тАЭ
тАЬIn essence.тАЭ She leaned forward. тАЬThat's why I have been authorized to seek you out. I've heard you speak
about Medina, and you seem to bear the Fireflies no maliceтАФbut to be perfectly honest you are a masterful
showman, and I have no idea what your true feelings might be.тАЭ
тАЬEven if youcan protect me, I'm the last Man they'd listen to.тАЭ
тАЬWe're operating in a very limited time frame, and you know more about the Fireflies than any other Man.
Also, as far as I have been able to ascertain, you're one of the few Men who speaks their language fluently.тАЭ
тАЬThey've got hundreds of languages and dialects,тАЭ said Lennox. тАЬI speak only one.тАЭ
тАЬThe one they speak in Brakannan, right?тАЭ she asked.
тАЬYes.тАЭ
тАЬWell, there you have it. We'll be dealing with the Brakannan Fireflies.тАЭ
тАЬI'm curious to know how you expect me to negotiate with them when they probably have orders to kill me on
sight.тАЭ
тАЬI told you: we have means of protecting you.тАЭ
You'd better be rightтАФbecause if you make the offer, there's no way I'm going to refuse.
тАЬThis is a society with a warrior caste. Anything less than a heavily-armed regiment will be ineffective.тАЭ He
paused. тАЬAnd if you've got a regiment handy, then you don't need me. So what's the deal?тАЭ
Nora smiled. тАЬIf you agree to work for us, you will return to Medina alone and unarmed.тАЭ
Lennox laughed harshly. тАЬLady, you're crazier than I am!тАЭ
Quick correction:almostno way.
тАЬYou are quite right that if we wanted to use force, we'd have no need for you, Mr. Lennox. We want you
because of your intelligence and your experience.тАЭ She stared at him for a moment. тАЬIf you agree,тАЭ she
concluded, тАЬwe propose to invest more than one hundred million credits in you.тАЭ
тАЬThat's enough!тАЭ he snapped irritably. тАЬI thought you were making a legitimate offer. What kind of stupid joke
is this?тАЭ
тАЬI beg your pardon?тАЭ
тАЬNone of my books has ever earned as much as two million credits, and suddenly you're going to pay me fifty
times that much? I don't know who put you up to this, but you're wasting my time.тАЭ