"Alastair Reynolds - Minla's Flowers" - читать интересную книгу автора (Reynolds Alastair)

medicines?тАЭ

тАЬTangible,тАЭ the man repeated.

тАЬYou need to come with me,тАЭ Merlin said. тАЬWhatever that stuff is, we can
synthesize it aboard Tyrant.тАЭ He held up the intact vial and then placed his index
finger next to it. Then he pointed to the parked form of his ship and spread his
fingers wide, hoping the pilot got the message that he could multiply the medicine.
тАЬOne sample,тАЭ he said. тАЬThatтАЩs all we need.тАЭ

Suddenly there was a commotion. Merlin looked around in time to see a girl
running across the apron, toward the two of them. In Cohort terms she could only
have been six or seven years old. She wore a childтАЩs version of the same greatcoat
everyone else wore, buckled black boots and gloves, no hat, goggles, or breathing
mask. The pilot shouted тАЬMinlaтАЭ at her approach, a single word that conveyed both
warning and something more intimate, as if the older man might have been her father
or grandfather. тАЬMinla oak tre-foil,тАЭ the man added, firmly but not without kindness.
He sounded pleased to see her, but somewhat less than pleased that she had chosen
this exact moment to run outside.

тАЬSpelter Malkoha,тАЭ the girl said, and hugged the pilot around the waist, which
was as high as she could reach. тАЬSpelter Malkoha, ursine Malkoha.тАЭ

The red-faced man knelt downтАФhis eyes were still dampтАФand ran a gloved
finger through the girlтАЩs unruly fringe of black hair. She had a small, monkeylike face,
one that conveyed both mischief and cleverness.

тАЬMinla,тАЭ he said tenderly. тАЬMinla, Minla, Minla.тАЭ Then what was clearly a
rhetorical question: тАЬGastric spar oxen, fey legible, Minla?тАЭ

тАЬGorse spelter,тАЭ she said, sounding contrite. And then, perhaps for the first
time, she noticed Merlin. For an anxious moment her expression was frozen
somewhere between surprise and suspicion, as if he were some kind of puzzle that
had just intruded into her world.

тАЬYou wouldnтАЩt be called Minla, by any chance?тАЭ Merlin asked.

тАЬMinla,тАЭ she said, in barely a whisper.

тАЬMerlin. Pleased to meet you, Minla.тАЭ And then on a whim, before any of the
adults could stop him, he passed her one of the indigo hyacinths that Tyrant had just
spun for him, woven from the ancient molecular templates in its biolibrary. тАЬYours,тАЭ
he said. тАЬA pretty flower for a pretty little girl.тАЭ

тАЬOxen spray, Minla,тАЭ the red-faced man said, pointing back to one of the
buildings on the edge of the apron. A soldier walked over and extended a hand to
the girl, ready to escort her back inside. She moved to hand the flower back to
Merlin.

тАЬNo,тАЭ he said, тАЬyou can keep it, Minla. ItтАЩs for you.тАЭ