"Michael Swanwick - The Feast of Saint Janis" - читать интересную книгу автора (Swanwick Michael)

little speed to do it, though.тАЭ
The idiom was beyond him. тАЬYou meanтАФyou were late waking up?тАЭ
тАЬWhat? Oh, hey, man, you can beтАФlook, forget I said a thing. No.тАЭ She
pondered a second. тАЬLook, Wolf. ThereтАЩs this stuff called тАШspeed,тАЩ it can
wake you up in the morning, give you a little boost, get you going. Ya
know?тАЭ
Awareness dawned. тАЬYou mean amphetamines.тАЭ
тАЬYeah, well this stuff ainтАЩt exactly legal, dig? So IтАЩd just as soon you
didnтАЩt spread the word around. I mean, I trust you, man, but I wanna be
sure you know whatтАЩs happening before you go shooting off your mouth.тАЭ
тАЬI understand,тАЭ Wolf said, тАЬI wonтАЩt say anything. But, you know that
amphetamines areтАФтАЭ
тАЬGotcha, Ace. Hey, you gotta meet the piece of talent I picked up last
night Hey, Dave! Get your ass over here, lover.тАЭ
A young, sleepy-eyed blond shuffled around the edge of the train. He
wore white shorts, defiantly it seemed to Wolf, and a loose blouse
buttoned up to his neck. Giving Maggie a weak hug around the waist, he
nodded to Wolf.
тАЬDavieтАЩs got four nipples, just like me. How about that? I mean, itтАЩs
gotta be a pretty rare mutation, hah?тАЭ
Dave hung his head, half blushing. тАЬAw, Janis,тАЭ he mumbled. Wolf
waited for Maggie to correct the boy. but she didnтАЩt. Instead she led them
around and around the train chatting away madly, pointing out this, that,
and the other thing,
Finally, Wolf excused himself, and returned to his hostel. He left Maggie
prowling about the train, dragging her pretty boy after her. Wolf went out
for a long lunch, picked up his bags, and showed up at the train earlier
than most of the entourage.



The train lurched, and pulled out of the station. Maggie was in constant
motion, talking, laughing, directing the placement of luggage. She darted
from car to car, never still. Wolf found a seat and stared out the window.
Children dressed in rags ran alongside the tracks, holding out hands and
begging for money. One or two of the party threw coins; more laughed and
threw bits of garbage.
The the children were gone, and the train was passing through endless
miles of weathered ruins. Hawk sat down beside Wolf. тАЬItтАЩll be a slow trip,тАЭ
he said. тАЬThe train has to go around large sections of land itтАЩs better not to
go through.тАЭ He stared moodily at the broken-windowed shells that were
once factories and warehouses. тАЬLook out there, pilgrim, thatтАЩs my
country,тАЭ he said in a disgusted voice. тАЬOr the corpse of it.тАЭ
тАЬHawk, youтАЩre close to Maggie.тАЭ
тАЬNow if you go out to the center of the continent. . .тАЭ HawkтАЩs voice grew
distant. тАЬThereтАЩs a cavern out there, where they housed radioactive waste.
It was formed into slugs and covered with solid goldтАФanything else
deteriorates too fast. The way I figure it, a man with a lead suit could go
into that cavern and shave off a fortune. ThereтАЩs tons of the stuff there.тАЭ
He sighed. тАЬSomeday IтАЩm going to rummage through a few archives and