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

тАЬIf you want,тАЭ she said, тАЬlater on, when itтАЩs convenient, I could show you some of the good lunch spots
in this neighborhood. IтАЩve worked here a long time.тАЭ

тАЬWhy, thank you,тАЭ he said. тАЬThat would be most kind.тАЭ

тАЬIs there a particular day that would be good?тАЭ

тАЬWellтАФwe will be getting hungry today,тАЭ he said, and smiled. He had a sweet smile, not unlike NickтАЩs.

She smiled too, feeling pleased. тАЬIтАЩll come back down at one oтАЩclock and take you to a good one then,
if you like.тАЭ

тАЬThat would be most welcome. Very kind.тАЭ

She nodded. тАЬAt one, then,тАЭ already recalibrating her work schedule for the day. The boxed sandwich
could be stored in her officeтАЩs little refrigerator.
Anna completed her journey to the south elevators. Waiting there she was joined by Frank Vanderwal.
They greeted each other, and she said, тАЬHey IтАЩve got an interesting jacket for you.тАЭ

He mock-rolled his eyes. тАЬIs there any such thing for a burnt-out case like me?тАЭ

тАЬOh I think so.тАЭ She gestured back at the atrium. тАЬDid you see our new neighbor? We lost the travel
agency but gained an embassy, from a little country in Asia.тАЭ

тАЬAn embassy, here?тАЭ

тАЬIтАЩm not sure they know much about Washington.тАЭ

тАЬI see.тАЭ Frank grinned his crooked grin, a completely different thing than the young monkтАЩs sweet smile,
sardonic and knowing. тАЬAmbassadors from Shangri-La, eh?тАЭ One of theUP arrows lit, and the elevator
door next to it opened. тАЬWell, we can use them.тАЭ



PRIMATES INelevators. People stood in silence looking up at the lit numbers on the display console,
as per custom.

Again the experience caused Frank Vanderwal to contemplate the nature of their species, in his usual
sociobiologistтАЩs mode. They were mammals, social primates: a kind of hairless chimp. Their bodies,
brains, minds, and societies had grown to their current state in East Africa over a period of about two
million years, while the climate was shifting in such a way that forest cover was giving way to open
savannah.

Much was explained by this. Naturally they were distressed to be trapped in a small moving box. No
savannah experience could be compared to it. The closest analog might have been crawling into a cave,
no doubt behind a shaman carrying a torch, everyone filled with great awe and very possibly under the
influence of psychotropic drugs and religious rituals. An earthquake during such a visit to the underworld
would be about all the savannah mind could contrive as an explanation for a modern trip in an elevator
car. No wonder an uneasy silence reigned; they were in the presence of the sacred. And the last five