"Joanna Russ - Invasion" - читать интересную книгу автора (Russ Joanna)

anything that might interfere with efficient single-mindedness. (She over-compensated for her
bringing-up.) The little one (she thought) should like a jingling bunch of keys, while for the other she took
off the shelf a torus toy, made of rubber and filled with nothing stranger than plain water ... that crawled
out of your hand no matter how you held it. She mimed dramatic dismay. The small little crawled with
amazing speed out of the duct, its plump rear switching from side to side. It pounced on the fallen torus,
only to have the older little pounce on it, in turn, and pull the toy out of the baby's grasp. The younger
proceeded to mourn its loss with loud screams of anguish. The Engineer picked it up, like the expert she
was, and jiggled the little. Then she jiggled both the little and the keys against her shoulder. It grabbed for
the keys and inspected them. It made them jingle. The bigger one looked calculatingly at her as if to say,
You want this back, don't you? and she shook her head. Then, wondering if the creature could
understand any human speech or behavior, she spread both hands out, palms front, meaning It's yours if
you wish. The little went to its companion, picked it up (staggering under the other little's weight) and
made its way to the corridor. The Engineer, enormously relieved, punched the complicated signal that
locked the Engine Room. Now the doors would open only to her voice command or that of her primary
assistant.
There was a tap on her knee.
Looking down, she saw number two, the bigger one, politely handing her back the torus toy. She
took it.
The little vanished.


Now I will tell of the time the yoomin beans catched us, it was sad but o so fine. Kick Mwres, bash
Mwres, no more soundings. Quiet, Mwres. I am to tell. It was big ship, big shape looming and glooming
in the starlite whenтАФno, not G'lydd, I meтАФsaw and took all in. Funny on outside, spidery things and
bumps and "numbers," G'lydd say. Sh, Mwres. So we all swarm in, it being allalonetime now and You
Know Who not here, he/she in sun, not knowing what we doing baddie stuff. Oof! into metal wall, ping!
inside metal, streaming on to round plastipak cover, can see within.
Creatures! A whole round of creatures is ambulating, zizzing, flesh voice-boxes (such they have, to
be sure) et cetera. Yick! says Ulf. Beans, say I. So we go all ways into different places, full of interest, to
see beans do such, so we become beanshape, in yellow, to do bean-suches acts, as: Crawling, yelling,
jumping, shrieking, et cetera. We fell on hair and lap, got told story like real little crittur, went in and out
of water, sat on big, wood-eny thing, pulled a toy from littler bean, we yelled, we gave it back, we rolled
between "sheets" on "bed," and so on.
Then a tall, goldy-topped bean SAT on us. Shriek! Shriek! Help! Haw, goes Gr, was sat upon. The
beans all shake up, another do a bean thing called "laff," others too but hide tee-hee under hands.
Short, round-shape bean with front bumps say, "Why is my ship infested with babies and small
children in yellow overalls?" and other person reply, "Mam, we receive distress call from planet Ulp, is
terrible disease ramping among adults, must be send up kiddies to be safe."
(This is not lie exactly. Maybe not so true, either, says G'lydd. Yes it is, I say indignants. Horrible
rigidity disease all over down below, can be ONLY ONE THING AT TIME, can think of worse?)
Tall story-teller bean say, "Mam, I attempted to verify distress call with"тАФhere Gr interrupt,
tweedled and twaddled, but tall bean really say with all cryptograms and codes and distortions and
what-not but cannot find no signal except planet Ulp's (sent, as WE know, by YOU KNOW WHO) so
Ulpians send up all these babies and small children to ship to be safe.
Starey-eyed Second-person mutter to self, Yes, but will we be safe from them? Mwres snicker.
Says, I slummed down pretty wall hanger, ho ho, will never be same.
Nasty! says G'lydd.
Funny skinny little person with front bumps say Oh Mam, oh, mam, they is only innocent little beans,
kiddies and such, let us be kind to them, feed them broth and cookings, give them nice place to sleep,
&c. We all haw haw at bumpy person; we want eat cherry pie, whipt cream, pickled herrings, wiener