"Justina Robson - Quantum Gravity 01 - Keeping it Real" - читать интересную книгу автора (Robson Justina)

cabinet. She patched the inside with a piece of sample tape which she carried along with the rest of her
field forensics kit in a capsule container that fitted inside her jacket pocket like a wallet, and went back to
the studio.
What she really wanted to do was get outside and trace the broadcast to its reception unit, but that
would mean getting too far out of range of His Highness. Lila had to settle for a seat next to Jelly in the
recording booth where she watched everyone except Zal do ten repeats of the same song whilst Jelly
fiddled levels and mix and his assistants dashed around making much of nothing to do.
During the repeats she watched everyone closely. The musicians were so used to the regime that they
patiently repeated everything. Poppy smiled once to Lila and they had to stop that take.
Jelly screamed at her, 'Stop grinning! We're self-destructing here, not selling hamburgers!'
Zal looked briefly at Lila through the glass, when he turned around from talking to the DJ between
takes of Luke's bass track. He mouthed something at her which she wasn't meant to hear, but Lila could
read his lips even if she hadn't been able to instantly recalibrate her hearing filters to pick up the actual
sound. It was elvish words saying a thing she was reasonably certain no elf had ever said before.
Zo na kinkirien. I love your pants.
She was puzzled for a moment but pleased she didn't actually look down as she realised the tear on
her seam must be visible and that he was taunting her for going off instead of sticking like glue to his side.
He'd turned away before she could give him her frosty look.
Jelly listened through his private headphones, jouncing on his seat. 'One more time. Everyone except
the lord of darkness himself - Zal, you're done,' he said through the connecting mike and added. 'Ear
bleeding effort ladies and gennlemen.' He cued the intricate, slamming drum line with a fingertip and
glanced at Lila. 'Hey, don't go getting ideas about Zal. You know I have to say it. Every girl comes in
here and the boys . . . okay they're like mostly engineers or admin and shit . . . they always end up getting
. . . you know what I mean?'
Lila had no idea but she could guess. She nodded, rather interested that this was still standard practice
after so many years - warn the new girl off, insult the bodyguard's intelligence, make sure she knows she
doesn't count. She smiled vacantly at him with agreement whilst inwardly seething.
'Good. Cos you have to like be around him all the time and that's not gonna be a picnic. Don't tell him
what to do. And don't tell him what to take. In fact, don't speak, because that all pisses him off and we
have to start touring on Monday and I can't hand him over to Jolene all pissed because good tour
managers are like rocking horse shit and if she quits we're all screwed. Don't let him go on another
goddamned bender. He missed two dates last month, off his head out in the woods somewhere, and it
took four days to find him even and we never found whatever it was he took, maybe it was mushrooms
or some elfy thing he dug up, you know? And he'll resent you. Oh man, he already resents you. He'd
resent you more if you was a guy, though, if that makes it any better. That's all I can say.' Jelly paused as
the music started and then turned back. 'Do you have to shower with him?'
'No,' Lila said.
Jelly made a face that said it was a sport he was sorry he was going to miss, and then he slapped his
headphones back on.
Lila tested her patience to the limit by sitting quietly for the next hour simply watching, learning that
when Jelly said it was the last take, it wasn't. She used the time to sharpen up her intelligence on Alfheim
and tried to use the extensive database of genealogical data given her by Incon to try and place Zal.
The only thing he'd ever said about where he came from was in the Vanity Fair piece and it read:
'There's no reason for me to be here other than the music. I like to sing.'
He'd lived in Queenstown, in the north of the Bay City area, for six months before The No Shows got
their act together. Before that there was no record of anything unusual. He'd entered Otopia from the
Alfheim gateway under the usual restrictions and all his paperwork
was in order. Lila thought Zal must be a shortened version of his real name, but the database contained
no elvish names beginning with a Z. He was good at talking in Otopian, but so were many elves, who
picked up languages and accents like good carpet picks up dog hair. Lila couldn't genome test him