"E. C. Tubb - Dumarest 04 - Kalin" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tubb E. C)

method to shorten the apparent time of the journey, to shrink
the tedious hours.

He leaned back, looking at the lounge, seeing the duplicate of
a hundred others he had known on as many similar ships. Soft
padding, a table, chairs, an overhead light. The inevitable
furnishings of a small ship catering to few passengers.

"That one." Her finger touched a stack of cards.
Unconsciously he had dealt for highest, lowest, man-in-between.
He turned it over. Again she had picked the winner.

He rose, crossed to the spigots, drew two cups of Basic,
handed one to the girl as he returned. Sitting, he sipped the
thick, warm liquid. It was sickly with glucose, heavy with
protein, laced with vitamins; a cupful contained enough
nourishment to supply a spaceman's basic needs for a day. A
heating element in the base of the container kept the liquid
warm during its long journey from wall to table, from table to
mouth.

Dumarest put down his empty cup and looked at the girl.
"The people of Logis were right," he said. "You are a witch."

Her eyes clouded. "You too?"

He shrugged. "What else can you call someone who can see
the future?"

"A freak," she said bitterly, and then, "How did you know?"

Dumarest reached out and touched the cards. "You won too
often. It couldn't have been telepathy because I took care not to
see the pips. You couldn't have cheated because you didn't touch
the cards. Teleportation would serve no purpose unless you knew
which stack to move where. And it couldn't have been simple
luck, not with such a high score. So," he ended quietly, "there
can only be one explanation."

Kalin was a clairvoyant.
***

The mirror was made of a lustrous plastic, optically perfect,
yet cunningly designed to flatter the user when seen in a special
light. Sara Maretta had no time for such deceit. Irritably she
snapped on the truglow tube and examined her face. Old, she
thought, and getting older. Too old and stamped with time and
experience for ordinary cosmetics to be of much use, no matter
how thickly applied. A complete face transplant was what she
needed.