"R. Garcia Y Robertson - Oxygen Rising" - читать интересную книгу автора (Robertson R Garcia Y)

"Really?" The Charter of Universal Rights said that internees must be kept in conditions "approximating"
their home worldтАФand Greenies scrupulously obeyed such conventions, not wanting to deny anyone
their rights. "Earth is not like this?"

"Parts of it are." Tammy's smile faded, and she stared evenly at him, an intense questioning look that
surprised DerekтАФit seemed like Tammy needed something from him, but would not say what. Which
Derek found strange. Greenie females were very upfront about their needs; if they wanted something they
said so. All Tammy said was, "What are you doing here?"

Good question. Derek was not sure what he was doing, but he did want to see more of Tammy, so he
tried to start on a positive note. "You were amazing, standing up to the court like you did, saving that
boy's lifeтАж"

"But not his father and brother." Tammy sounded bitter, looking back at Brad, another orphan. By utterly
wiping out the Gekkos, Pender and company had assured that the blame would forever fall on Tammy's
people.

"You did wonderfully." Derek meant it; he had talked to Tammy on a whim, but everything she did since
drew him in. Her plea for peace, her caring for homeless kids, her bravery before armed SuperCats.
"Leo would have killed that boy, as easily as the others. You saved him, when I was afraid to even try."

"You, afraid?" Tammy's smile returned, as if she could not really believe him. "I thought you were the
nerveless negotiator who walked unarmed into the muzzles of machine cannon."

"Only in my spare time," Derek explained. "Normally I'm a vacuum hand, a pilot. Greenies grabbed me
for this job because I was the only human they could easily get a hold of."

"Yet you took the job," Tammy reminded him, "idiotically going into grave danger just to save complete
strangers."

And winning points with Tammy. Derek could tell by how her smile widened, making this the moment to
ask, "Idiotically? I hope not, because I fancied you might join me."

"Join you?" Taken aback, Tammy acted like she had started to trust him, but now was not sure.
"Working for Greenies?"

"Photo sapiens do pay me," Derek admitted, "but that's not why I do it." He nodded toward Brad,
splashing in the surf with the other children. "That's who I do it forтАФthere are still a lot of innocents
dirtside, and a woman would be very helpful in getting them out safely, especially an Earth-woman."

Tammy looked at him with that same questioning stare, like she wanted something from himтАФbut all she
said was, "Do you know how hard it is to lose everything? To see good friends blown to bits for no
reason?"

Looking out to sea, Tammy watched hydraulically produced waves roll out of the hologram horizon that
hid her prison wall. "This all started out as a grand adventure, founding a new world beyond the
starsтАФbut when we got here someone else had moved in, and no one would honor our claim." Gekkos
had gotten in ahead of the human colonists, and there was no law to make them leave. Human attempts
to assert their centuries-old claim had led to friction, then fighting, and finally genocide. "Sure it's all our