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

then, with no warning, it hurled itself straight out into space.
For just an instant Lennox thought it might actually fly, but then it began plummeting down, its wings still
fluttering with blinding speed. Halfway down it careened off the side of the pyramid, shot out fifteen feet, and
continued falling to the ground, where it landed with a sickening thud.
Soon a second Firefly appeared atop the pyramid, and the entire pageant was repeated until it, too, lay dead
upon the ground.
Lennox waited for a third enactment, but after a moment he realized that the crowd was no longer looking up,
and he assumed that this part of the ceremonyтАФif that was the right name for itтАФwas over.
Lennox tried to get to his feet, but the pain was too great, and he instantly fell to the ground, cursing. He
forced himself to think about something else, anything else, to take his mind off the excruciating agony.
The ceremony. Concentrate on the ceremony. Try to make sense of it.
Ritual suicide? Probably not. He didn't know much about the FirefliesтАЩ culture, but suicide didn't jibe with the
bits he did know.
His feet began throbbing as the blood continued to ooze out of them.
Concentrate!
If not suicide, then what? If the Fireflies didn't plan to die, then they must have thought they could fly. But of
course they couldn't; their bones were too solid, their wings too flimsy, their entire structures wrong. Butif ...
Could it be a test for a messiah of sorts? That if one of them actuallydid fly, he would become the leader?
But that was ridiculous. Those wings had never been able to hold a Firefly body in flight. After eons of Fireflies
diving to their death from atop the pyramid, they'd have to know none of them would stay airborne.
The pain began seeping back into his consciousness. He tried to fight it back.
Both of the plungers had been males. Did that have anything to do with it? And if so,what did it mean?
Or were they criminals? But why would criminals be involved in a religious ceremony?
Suddenly a Firefly in a gold robeтАФnot Chomanche, but one he hadn't seen beforeтАФintruded on his thoughts
by chanting in a high voice. Then, when the chant stopped, the entire assemblage began racing around the
base of the pyramid.
Chomanche instantly grabbed Lennox by the back of his robe and began dragging him away from the
pyramid. A moment later the fastest of the Fireflies rounded a corner of the pyramid and raced over the spot
where Lennox had been lying.
тАЬWhy did those two jump off the pyramid?тАЭ asked Lennox.
Chomanche summoned an armed warrior.
тАЬOur prisoner insists upon asking questions,тАЭ he said. тАЬTake his mind off his curiosity.тАЭ
The Firefly stepped behind Lennox, who struggled to turn and see what he was doing. Chomanche laid a
heavy hand on his shoulder to hold him still. For a brief moment Lennox thought nothing could be worse than
the uncertainty of what would happen next. Then a sharp blade come down across the fingers of his right
hand, and as he fell to his side, cursing in agony, he knew he had been wrong, that the fact was worse than
the anticipation.
тАЬNo more questions?тАЭ said the Firefly sardonically.
тАЬYou'd better kill me, you bastard!тАЭ snarled Lennox as blood gushed from the stumps where his fingers had
been. тАЬBecause if you don't, I'll come back for you. I swear it!тАЭ
Chomanche made a clicking sound. тАЬYou are a very slow learner, Xavier William Lennox.тАЭ
He nodded to the warrior, and Lennox felt an alien hand hold his left hand steady for a moment, and the blade
came down again. Lennox bellowed an obscenity, almost fainted, bit his lip until the blood flowed freely, and
glared silently at Chomanche.
тАЬIf I were you, Xavier William Lennox,тАЭ said Chomanche, тАЬI would hold my tongue while it was still in my
head.тАЭ
Lennox felt his wrists being tightly bound with a soft cloth. The cloth cut into them, causing them to bleed,
but it was tight enough to cut off the flow of blood to his severed fingers. Then the ropes that held his hands
behind him were severed, and he painfully moved his arms until his mutilated hands were in front of him. He
wanted to clutch them, but realized that he no longer had anything to clutch them with. As the flow of blood