"Christopher Stasheff - Rogue Wizard 02 - Wizard in Mind" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stasheff Christopher)

as they waded through a yellow field with scythes, singing in time to the sweep
and lift of the blades. "The planet is eight percent greater in diameter than
Terra," Herkimer informed him, "but with ninety-eight percent of Terra's
gravity, presumably indicating fewer heavy metals in the planetary core. Its
rotation is twenty-two hours, forty minutes, Terran standard. The axial tilt is
nine degrees; distance from the sun is one-point-oh-five AU."
"So it's slightly colder that Terra?"
"Yes, and the ice caps are greater, as is the landmass. Still, there is no
shortage of free water, and maize, millet, barley, and wheat grow well."
"Presumably brought in by the early colonists."
"The records of the pioneers indicate that, yes," Herkimer confirmed. "The
economy is still agricultural, though with an increasing industrial base."
"So the majority of people are farmers?"


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"Yes-yeomen. Eighty percent of them own their own hectare or two. The remaining
twenty percent are approximately evenly split between merchants and agricultural
laborers employed by the largest landowners."
"Who are, of course, the government."
"Yes. The government is pyramidal, with small landowners governed by larger. The
wealthiest dozen men in each sovereign state constitute the highest authority.
They agree on legislation, but each acts as both judiciary and executive over
his own estates. Land ownership and rank are hereditary."
"An aristocracy, and a rather authoritarian one." Magnus frowned. "Let's see how
these noblemen live."
The picture of the field workers was replaced by an interior picture of a large,
circular room, paneled in wood but with the roof beams showing. Tapestries
adorned the walls, large windows let in sunlight, and a fire burned in a huge
fireplace. Half a dozen people were moving about. Magnus frowned. "They're all
dressed decently, but not richly. Where are the rulers?"
"The duke stands near the hearth. The others are his family."
Magnus stared. "I would scarcely say they were dressed sumptuously-and the room
is certainly not richly furnished! In fact, I'd call it rather Spartan. Let me
see a yeoman's house."
The picture dissolved into a view of a similar dwelling, except that the roof
was only a foot or two above the heads of the eight people. Three were obviously
teenagers, two middle-aged, and the other three, children. The windows were
smaller than in the duke's house, and the walls were decorated with arrangements
of evergreen branches instead of tapestries.
Magnus frowned. "It would seem that wealth is fairly evenly distributed. Is
there evidence of oppression?"
"Only in the punishment of criminals-which includes political dissenters. It is
not a wealthy planet."
"But most of the people are content." Magnus shook his head. "There isn't much I
can do there to make them richer, and they seem happy enough in any case; I
might make their lives worse. Let me see people who toil under a more oppressive
regime."