"Kim Stanley Robinson - Forty Signs of Rain" - читать интересную книгу автора (Robinson Kim Stanley)

Joe was beginning to get rowdy with Evelyn, he could hear the unmistakable sound of dinosaurs hitting
walls. All this language would get chopped up anyway; still, all the more reason to get it precise and
smooth, armored against attack, low-keyed and unobjectionable, invisibly effective. Bill language as
low-post moves to the basket, subtle, quick, unstoppable.

He rushed to a finish and took the revised bill in to Phil, with Joe leading the way in his stroller. They
found the senator sitting with his back directly against an air-conditioning duct.

тАЬJeez Phil, donтАЩt you gettoo cold sitting there?тАЭ

тАЬThe trick is to set up before youтАЩre all sweaty, and then you donтАЩt get the evaporative cooling. And I
keep my head above it,тАЭ banging the wall with the back of his noggin, тАЬso I donтАЩt catch as many a-c
colds. I learned that a long time ago, when I was stationed on Okinawa.тАЭ

He glanced over CharlieтАЩs new revision, and they argued over some of the changes. At one point Phil
looked at him: тАЬSomething bugging you today?тАЭ He glanced over at Joe. тАЬJoe here seems to be grooving.
The PresidentтАЩs favorite toddler.тАЭ

тАЬItтАЩs not Joe thatтАЩs getting to me, itтАЩs you. You and the rest of the Senate. This is it, PhilтАФthe current
situationrequires a response that is more than business as usual. And thatтАЩs worrying me, because you
guys are only geared to do business as usual.тАЭ

тАЬWellтАжтАЭ Phil smiled. тАЬWe call that democracy, youth. ItтАЩs a blessing when you think of it. Some give
and take, and then some agreement on how to proceed. How can we do without that? ThereтАЩs a certain
accountability to it. So if you have a better way of doing it you tell me. But please, meanwhile, no more
тАШIf I Were KingтАЩ fantasies. ThereтАЩs no king and itтАЩs up to us. So help me get this final draft as tight as we
can.тАЭ

тАЬOkay.тАЭ

They worked together with the speed and efficiency of old teammates. Sometimes collaboration could
be a pleasure, sometimes it really was a matter of only having to do half of it, and the two halves adding
up to more than their parts.

Then Joe got restive, and nothing would keep him in his stroller but a quick departure and a tour of the
street scene. тАЬIтАЩll finish,тАЭ Phil said.

So, back out into the stupendous heat. Charlie was knocked out by it faster than Joe. The world melted
around them. Charlie gumbied along, leaning on the stroller for support. Down an elevator into the
Metro. Air-conditioning again, thank God. Crash into pink seat cushions. As they rode north, slumped
and rocking slightly with their train, Charlie drowsily entertained Joe with some of the toys in the stroller,
picking them up and fingering them one by one. тАЬSee, this turtle is NIH. Your Frankenstein monster is the
FDA, look how poorly heтАЩs put together. This little mole, thatтАЩs MomтАЩs NSF. These two guys, theyтАЩre
like the guy on the Monopoly game, they must be the two parts of Congress, yeah, very Tammany Hall.
Where the hell did you get those. Your Iron Giant is of course the Pentagon, and this yellow bulldozer is
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The magnifying glass is the GAO, and this, what is it, like Barbie?
That must be the OMB, those bimbos, or maybe this Pinocchio here. And your cowboy on a horse is the
President of course, heтАЩs your friend, heтАЩs your friend, heтАЩs your friend.тАЭ

They were both falling asleep. Joe batted the toy figures into a pile.