"Jean Marie Stine - Future Eves" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stine Jean Marie)

commenced to speak to her in most outlandish manner, contorting the red lips of his
mouth into various uncouth shapes and making sounds that fell upon our hearing so
unpleasantly that we immediately closed our senses to them. And without a word
Geble turned her back upon them, calling for Tanka, her personal secretary.
Tanka was instructed to welcome the Detaxalans while she herself turned to her own
chambers to summon a half dozen of her council. When the council arrived she
began to discuss with them the problem of extracting more of the precious tenix
from the waters of the great inland lake of Notauch. Nothing whatever was said of
the advent of the Detaxalans, for Geble had dismissed them from her mind as
creatures not worthy of her thought.
In the meantime Tanka had gone forth to meet the four who of course could not
converse with her. In accordance with the Queen's orders she led them indoors to
the most informal receiving chamber and there had them served with food and drink
which by the looks of the remains in the dishes they did not relish at all.
Leading them through the rooms of the lower floor of the palace she made a
pretence of showing them everything which they duly surveyed. But they appeared
to chafe at the manner in which they were being entertained.
The creatures even made an attempt through the primitive method of conversing by
their arms to learn something of what they had seen, but Tanka was as supercilious
as her mistress. When she thought they had had enough, she led them to the square
and back to the door of their flyer, giving them their dismissal.
But the men were not ready to accept it. Instead they tried to express to Tanka their
desire to meet the ruling head of Gola. Although their hand motions were perfectly
inane and incomprehensible, Tanka could read what passed through their brains, and
understood more fully than they what lay in their minds. She shook her head and
motioned that they were to embark in their flyer and be on their way back to their
planet.
Again and again Detaxalans tried to explain what they wished, thinking Tanka did not
understand. At last she impressed upon their savage minds that there was nothing for
them but to depart, and disgruntled by her treatment they reentered their machine,
closed its ponderous door and raised their ship to the level of its sister flyer. Several
minutes passed and then, with thanksgiving, we saw them pass over the city.
Told of this, Geble laughed. "To think of mere man-things daring to attempt to force
themselves upon us. What is the universe coming to? What were their women back
home considering when they sent them to us? Have they developed too many males
and think that we can find use for them?" she wanted to know.
"It is strange indeed," observed Yabo, one of the council members. "What did you
find in the minds of these ignoble creatures, O August One?"
"'Nothing of particular interest, a very low grade of intelligence, to be sure. There
was no need of looking below the surface."
"It must have taken intelligence to build those ships."
"None aboard them did that. I don't question it but that their mothers built the ships
for them as playthings, even as we give toys to our 'little ones,' you know. I recall
that the ancients of our world perfected several types of space-flyers many ages
ago!"
"Maybe those males do not have 'mothers' but instead they build the ships
themselves. Maybe they are the stronger sex on their world!" This last was said by
Suiki, the fifth consort of Geble, a pretty little male, rather young in years. No one
had noticed his coming into the chamber, but now everyone showed surprise at his
words.