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

3. The Warlord (5521 G.E.)

4. The Thief (5730 G.E.)
5. The Politician (2057 A.D.)

6. The Curator (16 G.E.)

7. The Hunter (1885 A.D.)

8. The Potentate (882 G.E.)

9. The Artist (1701 G.E.)

10. Himself (1898 A.D.)

11. The Maasai (6304 G.E.)

12. Ivory (6304 G.E.)

1. THE GAMBLER (3042 G.E.)
I had many names.

The Samburu called me Malima Temboz, The Mountain That Walks, for I towered above all
others of my kind, and always I would climb the next hill or cross the next valley to see what lay
beyond.

To the Kikuyu I was Mrefu Kulika Twiga, Taller Than Giraffes, for I could pick succulent
delicacies that were beyond the reach of the largest of animals, and no shadow was as long as
mine.

The Makonde knew me as Bwana Mutaro, Master Furrow, for wherever I went my tusks would
plow up twin furrows in the hard African earth, and my spoor could be mistaken for no other.

In Maasailand I was Fezi Nyupi, White Gold, for a veritable fortune protruded from my mouth, a
fortune such as no other member of my race had ever carried.

And now I am known only as the Kilimanjaro Elephant, my true name lost on the winds, my body
decayed, my bones turned to dust. Only my spirit remains, restless and incomplete.
****
It was a typical night on Athenia.

The storm had reached gale force. Dark clouds of methane swirled about the sky while tidal waves of
ammonia raced across the oceans and crashed resoundingly against the jagged cliffs. Bolts of blue
lightning gave the clouds an eerie glow, and the endless claps of thunder seemed to herald an imminent
and unpleasant Day of Reckoning.

Once, many centuries ago, the Democracy had possessed a mining colony on Athenia, and the tallest of
the planet's mountains, which had been given the less than original name of Mount Olympus, was still
honeycombed with hundreds of miles of tunnels and shafts as testimony to that bygone era. Then other
worlds had been opened up, richer worlds whose resources were easier to plunder, and the miners had