"Mike Resnick - Birthright" - читать интересную книгу автора (Resnick Mike)

тАЬDo you know anything about force fields?тАЭ asked Nelson.

тАЬNo,тАЭ said Bowman. тАЬDo you?тАЭ
тАЬNope.тАЭ

тАЬI'll bet the Big Brain does, though,тАЭ said Bowman disgustedly. тАЬThere goes our other million. There's
more to this computer business than meets the eye.тАЭ

тАЬWhile you're at it,тАЭ said Nelson, тАЬyou'd better ask it how to chart the field as it travels through space.
We don't want any ships running into it, and we don't want it to collide with any stars or planets on way.
And you might also have the Big Brain figure out just how we're supposed to tap and utilize all this energy
once it gets where it's going.тАЭ

тАЬLet the Republic pay for that last answer,тАЭ said Bowman.

тАЬBefore you tie in again, Milt,тАЭ said Nelson, тАЬwe've got a little ethical problem that we're going to have to
solve first.тАЭ

тАЬYou mean the energy-eaters?тАЭ

Nelson nodded. тАЬThey'll starve, you know.тАЭ

тАЬNot right away,тАЭ said Bowman.

тАЬI didn't know slow starvation was any better than fast starvation,тАЭ said Nelson.

тАЬIt's not,тАЭ said Bowman. тАЬBut there's the other side of the coin to consider.тАЭ

тАЬOur money?тАЭ

тАЬThat, too,тАЭ agreed Bowman. тАЬBut I was thinking of the life expectancy of the race. After all, at the rate
it's blowing itself up, the planet can't last another five thousand years before there's nothing left of it. And
these creatures aren't ever going to migrate to anywhere else. Hell, thereis nowhere else for a race that
can live here.тАЭ

тАЬHow about a star?тАЭ

тАЬNot a chance. Any star the size of Zeta Cancri would sizzle them before they got close, and even if it
didn't, it's still a totally different environment. Besides, they're never going to come upon space travel. The
only fuel they've got is their food, and as long as they've got food, why leave?тАЭ

тАЬBecause you're not the only guy in the galaxy who knows the planet's dying.тАЭ

тАЬMaybe,тАЭ said Bowman. тАЬBut we're presupposing that they're intelligent. I think it's far more likely that
they're not.тАЭ

тАЬWhy?тАЭ

тАЬBecause this is obviously a young planet. It's going to die in its adolescence, so to speak. That's barely
enough time to develop life of any sort, let alone intelligent life. Besides, no creature could adapt so