"Whitley Strieber - Cat Magic" - читать интересную книгу автора (Strieber Whitley)

тАЬNow, you take it easy. I'll get it. You stay put.тАЭ

тАЬNot in here.тАЭ He got out of bed. In four spider steps he was across the room. He took his robe from the
closet.

She followed him into the game room, where he had already started pouring Black Label into a highball
glass.

тАЬCheers,тАЭ he said. тАЬHere's to reunion!тАЭ

She had accumulated a fair number of questions in the past few minutes. But she did not press him now.
He needed space to calm himself down. Although he was talking instead of screaming, she saw the
wildness of his panic still in his eyes. тАЬCome here,тАЭ she said, patting the couch beside her. He sat down.
She laid her arm around his shoulders.

Soon enough, he began to explain. тАЬThis was undoubtedly the work of a religious fanatic named Pierce.
He has one of these fundamentalist churches here. Brother Simon Pierce. A Bible-thumping charlatan.тАЭ

тАЬYes?тАЭ

тАЬHeтАФthey, I should sayтАФthey've demonstrated against my work. He preaches against it. Death is God's
business, that sort of thing.тАЭ

тАЬThe mess in your bedтАФтАЭ

He snorted out a bitter laugh. тАЬYou don't understand, do you?тАЭ

тАЬNo.тАЭ

тАЬThat is the skin of a frog I killed and brought back to life this afternoon.тАЭ

So that had been the triumph he had referred to earlier. тАЬYou actually succeeded?тАЭ

тАЬYou bet I did. Well-nigh perfectly.тАЭ He uttered a sharp laugh. тАЬOf course you know we're already
virtually canceled by the Stohlmeyer Foundation?тАЭ

He said it like it should have been general knowledge. тАЬI didn't know that. Why in the world would they
cancel such an incredible project?тАЭ

тАЬPrecisely because it is incredible. The academic world doesn't like breakthroughs. It doesn't like upset
and bother. It wants nice, safe confirmations of old theories. The unusual is frowned on, the extraordinary
actively discouraged. So my grant money runs out in a couple of weeks. Unless, of course, I should
produce a result so spectacular that it gets massive press attention. Then Stohlmeyer'd be forced to
renew my funding or face embarrassment. This frog was to be my spectacular.тАЭ

тАЬYou can repeat the experiment on another frog.тАЭ

тАЬNot in the time I have. It takes a lot of prep. To satisfy the protocols the review committee imposed on
us, we have to prove the animal to be completely healthy before we use it. That takes a good week of
observation and testing.тАЭ He paused, stared into his drink. тАЬOh, God, when I think of how close I came.тАЭ