"Christopher Rowe - The Voluntary State" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rowe Christopher)

marks.
"Sorry," said the painter.
"It's okay," said the Crow. "It's the fate of the noble
savage to be misunderstood by effete city dwellers."
Soma stared at the man for a minute. He said, "You guys
must watch a lot of the same TV programs as me."
The leader was looking around, counting his boys. He
lowered his mask and pulled Soma to his feet. "That could be.
We need to go."
****


It developed that the leader's name was Japheth Sapp. At
least that's what the other Crow Brothers called out to him
from where they loped along ahead or behind, circled farther
out in the brush, scrambled from limb to branch to trunk high
above.
Soma descended into a reverie space, sing-songing
subvocally and supervocally (and being hushed down by
Japheth hard then). He guessed in a lucid moment that the
paste the Kentuckians had dosed him with must have some
sort of will-sapping effect. He didn't feel like he could open his
head and call for help; he didn't even want to. But "I will take
care of you," Athena was always promising. He held onto that
and believed that he wasn't panicking because of the Crows'
drugs, sure, but also because he would be rescued by the
police soon. "I will take care of you." After all, wasn't that one
10
 The Voluntary State
by Christopher Rowe


of the Governor's slogans, clarifying out of the advertising
flocks in the skies over Nashville during Campaign?
It was good to think of these things. It was good to think
of the sane capital and forget that he was being kidnapped by
aliens, by Indians, by toughs in the employ of a rival
Veronese merchant family.
But then the warchief of the marauding band was throwing
him into a gully, whistling and gesturing, calling in all his boys
to dive into the wash, to gather close and throw their cloaks
up and over their huddle.
"What's up, boss?" asked the blue-eyed boy Soma had
noticed earlier, crouched in the mud with one elbow somehow
dug into Soma's ribs.
Japheth Sapp didn't answer but another of the younger
Crow Brothers hissed, "THP even got a bear in the air!"
Soma wondered if a bear meant rescue from this
improbable aside. Not that parts of the experience weren't
enjoyable. It didn't occur to Soma to fear for his health, even