"Arthur Tofte - Walls within Walls" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tofte Arthur)

"That is the reason why you must stay here," he said, pointing at my
four-toed feet.

I looked at them as if for the first time in my life. It was true that,
except for our feet, Ralf and I were identical twins. He had five toes on
each foot. I had four. We had often laughed about it. What great
difference did it make?

"It's time you knew the facts," my father said gently. "When the city
was destroyed in the great war of 1999, all but a few of the people were
killed outright. About half of the survivors, it was found, were seriously
affected by the nuclear radiation. The other half showed no apparent
effects.

"It was decided, if progress was to be made, that no mutants would be
allowed to live. I suppose those original leaders felt here, if ever, was a
chance to develop a super race. No taints would be permitted. Anyone
showing any sign of mutability would be killed.

"As babies were born, they were carefully examined by the city
examiner. Those showing defects were done away with. Some mutants
fled. Some flawed babies were born and hidden away by their parentsтАж
just as we are going to try to do for you.

"That, Rolf, is why you are here in this secret room. Six years ago today
when you and Ralf were born prematurely, we discovered before the
doctor-examiner arrived that you had only four toes on your feet. We knew
that as soon as the examiner saw this, you would be taken away and killed.
So we didn't tell the doctor-examiner we had a second boy."

"I would have been killed?" I cried in anguish. I looked down at my
four-toed feet. "Just because of this?"

"It was enough to brand you as a mutant. Not telling anyone we had
two boys was the only way to save you. That's why, in all these years, we
have always kept you out of sight when we had visitors or the examiner
came."

"So that's why you always hustled us out of the room when anyone
came?"

"That's why, Rolf. It was to save you. To your mother and me you are
just the same as Ralf. In our eyes you are both fine boys. We couldn't bear
to think that you should die simply because you lack a toe on each foot."

"Is it that importantтАФone toe on each foot?"

"The city authorities think it is. To them any sign of abnormality is a
deviation from the normal. They seem to be determined that the super
race they are developing will have no taint."