"Mike Resnick - Tales Of The Galactic Midway 03 - The Wild Alien Tamer" - читать интересную книгу автора (Resnick Mike)

beast, too, meaning no offenseтАФ and when I was a kid I used to read about a hero called Batman.тАЭ
тАЬ I don't like it,тАЭ said the Sabellian.
тАЬ It's that or Bruce WayneтАФ take your choice. Or better still, use тАШ em both.
Thatought to give you some variety.тАЭ
The creature uttered a very audible sigh. тАЬ Batman,тАЭ it said at last.
тАЬ By the way,тАЭ said Monk, taking another swallow, тАЬ are you a boy or a girlтАФ or ain't it applicable to
Sabellians?тАЭ
тАЬ I am a male,тАЭ responded Batman.
тАЬ Good. Then I won't feel awkward when I have to take a shower on the ship.тАЭ
тАЬ You speak as if everything's settled. I have a number of questions yet to ask.тАЭ
тАЬ Ask away,тАЭ said Monk expansively, puffing happily on his cigar. тАЬ But before you do, let me ask you one
first: why the hell do you want to be part of an animal act?тАЭ
тАЬ I don't. But I have spent my entire life on Sabellius III. I have seen sentient beings of all shapes and sizes
come and go. I have heard them speak of exotic worlds and distant places, and I have always remained
behind when they went to their next port of call.тАЭ Batman turned his gaze out the window and looked up into
the sky. тАЬ Did you not ever want to see what was beyond the next hill, what strange and unique civilizations
lay beyond your own?тАЭ
тАЬ Until I got there,тАЭ answered Monk. тАЬ Let me tell you up front: one world is pretty much like the next.тАЭ
тАЬ I know for a fact that this is not true.тАЭ
тАЬ Then Mr. Ahasuerus has been holding out on us,тАЭ said Monk wryly. тАЬ Besides, we ain't exactly tourists.
Whatever the worlds may look like, I guarantee that the inside of the ship and the inside of the tent don't
change from one planet to the next, and that's ninety percent of what you'll be seeing.тАЭ
тАЬ Nevertheless, I want the opportunity to see for myself.тАЭ
тАЬ Well, far be it from me to talk you out of it,тАЭ said Monk, finishing his drink and mixing another. тАЬ You'll have
to forgive that little outburst of honesty, it won't happen again.тАЭ He looked up at the Sabellian. тАЬ You gonna get
in any trouble for walking out on your jobтАФ or, more to the point, can you getme in any trouble for taking you
along?тАЭ
тАЬ My job, as you have doubtless noticed, consists of taking visitors to and from the spaceport. I rather
suspect that the Corporation will survive without me.тАЭ
тАЬ If you're so all-fired hot to see other worlds, and the Corporation hasn't got you tied up in some long-term
contact, why the hell are you still here?тАЭ asked Monk.
тАЬ My work is far from demanding, and my salary is commensurate with the demands of my job. Under normal
circumstances I would never manage to accumulate enough money to visit more than one or two nearby
worlds. As yet, I do not even havethat much.тАЭ
тАЬ And you figure this is the cheapest way to see the galaxy?тАЭ
тАЬ That is correct,тАЭ said Batman.
тАЬ Well, to business: what can you do besides talk and scare the hell out of little kids?тАЭ
тАЬ I have never seen a carnival, although I have read about them in my encyclopedia. I feel that I certainly can
perform feats equal to those of an unintelligent animal.тАЭ
тАЬ I sure as hell would hope so, considering that Bruno still wasn't housebroken when he died.тАЭ Monk stood up,
hands on hips, and studied the Sabellian with an expert eye. тАЬ Well, you look the part, I'll give you that. And
as long as you got hands, I ought to be able to teach you a little juggling.тАЭ
He walked once around the creature. тАЬ With feet like yours, you ought to be able to walk a tightrope, too. I
don't suppose you can fly or glide with those big flaps of yours?тАЭ
тАЬ No,тАЭ said Batman. тАЬ They are from an earlier period in my race's evolutionary cycle.тАЭ
Monk grunted and stared at him in silence for another minute. тАЬ What else can you do? Haveyou got any
questions?тАЭ
Batman shrugged. тАЬ I can probably do just about anything you yourself can doтАФ except consume alcohol,
that is.тАЭ
тАЬ Yeah? And what do you thinkI can do?тАЭ