"Arkady & Boris Strugatsky - Tale of the Troika" - читать интересную книгу автора (Strugatski Arkady)

lowering the paper, removed the pince-nez agilely with his toes, wiped the lenses on his trousers, and put
it back. Then he set aside the paper and rose. He was tall, very hairy, and wore a clean white vest and
blue linen pants with suspenders. The gold-rimmed pince-nez squeezed the broad bridge of his nose and
gave him a foreign look. He resembled something out of a political cartoon in the central newspapers. His
big pointy ears twitched, and he took several steps toward us and spoke in a hoarse but pleasant voice:
"Welcome to Tmuskorpion, and allow me to present myself. I am Fedya the Abominable Snowman."
We bowed silently.
"You're from below, no? Thank God. I've been waiting for you for over a yearтАФever since I was
rationalized. Let's sit down. There's still an hour until the evening session of the Troika. I would very
much like, with your permission, for you to appear at the meeting with some preparation. Of course, I do
not know that much, but permit me to tell you all that I do."


CASE 42: OLD MAN EDELWEISS
We crossed the threshold of the meeting room exactly at five o'clock. We had been briefed, we were
prepared for anything, and we knew what to expect. Or so I thought. I must admit that Fedya's
explanations had calmed me somewhat. But Eddie had become depressed. I was surprised by his
depression, but I attributed it completely to the fact that Eddie had always been a man of pure science far
removed from lost shipments, paper punching, and expense forms. And so his depression made me, a
man of wider experience, feel superior. I felt more mature and I was ready to act accordingly.
 There was only one man in the roomтАФjudging by Fedya's descriptions, it was Comrade Zubo, the
Commandant of the Colony. He sat at a small table, holding an open folder, and was blinking with barely
repressed excitement. He was emaciated, his lips were in constant motion, and his eyes were white, like
an antique statue's. He did not notice us at first, and we quietly found seats under the sign on the wall that
said "Representatives." The room was three windows wide, and a bare demonstration table stood by the
door. Another table, a huge one covered with green baize, stood against the opposite wall. A hideous
brown safe towered in the corner; the commandant's table, littered with manila folders, huddled next to it.
There was still another table in the room, under the "Scientific Consultant" sign, as well as a gigantic cloth
banner, covering a wall and a half, that read: "The people do not need unhealthy sensationalism. The
people need healthy sensationalism." I looked over at Eddie. He was staring at the banner, utterly
crushed.
The commandant suddenly looked up, sniffed with his big nose, and unearthed our presence.
"Outsiders!"
We stood and bowed. The commandant, keeping his eyes fixed on us, got up from his little table,
took a few stealthy steps, and stopped before Eddie and extended his hand. Polite Eddie, smiling
weakly, shook hands and introduced himself, then stepped back and bowed once more. The
commandant seemed shaken. For a few seconds he remained in position, then brought his hand up to his
face and examined it suspiciously. Something was wrong. The commandant blinked rapidly and then
anxiously examined the floor at his feet, as though looking for something he had dropped. Then I got it.
"The documents! Show him the documents!"
The commandant, smiling nervously, kept looking around him. Eddie quickly shoved his ID and
requisition at him. The commandant came to life. His movements became rational. His eyes devoured the
requisition, then the photograph on the papers, and then Eddie himself for dessert. The resemblance
between the photograph and the original brought him obvious joy.
"Very pleased!" he exclaimed. "The name is Zubo. Commandant. Glad to welcome you. Make
yourself comfortable, Comrade Amperian, make yourself at home, you and I still have a lot of work
ahead of us." He stopped and looked at me. I already had my papers in my hand. The process of
devouring was repeated.
"Very pleased!" the commandant exclaimed with exactly the same intonation. "The name is Zubo.
Commandant. Glad to welcome you. Make yourself comfortable, Comrade Privalov, make yourself at