"A. E. Van Vogt - The Rat & the Snake & Other Stories" - читать интересную книгу автора (Van Vogt A E)

"The difference between an inorganic and an organic atom is the arrangement of the internal
structure. The hydrocarbon compounds being the most easily affected under certain conditions
are the most common form of life. But now that you have atomic energy you will discover that
life can be created from any element or compound of elements. Be careful. The hydrocarbon is a
weak life structure that could be easily overwhelmed in its present state of development."
THE CATAAAA
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13
I felt a chill. I could just picture the research that would be going on in government laboratories.
"You mean," I gulped, there are life forms that would be dangerous the moment they are
created?"
Dangerous to man," said the cat. It pointed suddenly. "Turn up that street, and then through a
side entrance into the circus grounds."
I had been wondering tensely where we were going. Strangely, it was a shock to realize the truth.
A few minutes later we entered the dark, silent tent of the freaks. And I knew that the final drama
of the cat on earth was about to be enacted. A tiny light flickered in the shadows. It came nearer,
and I saw that there was a man walking underneath it. It was too dark to recognize him, but the
light grew stronger, and I saw that it had no source. And suddenly I recognized Silkey Travis. He
was sound asleep. He came forward, and stood in front of the cat. He looked unnatural, forlorn,
like a woman caught without her makeup on. One long trembling look I took at him, and then I
stammered:
"What are you gong to do?"
The machine the cat carried did not reply immediately. The cat turned and stared at me
thoughtfully, then it touched Silkey's face, gently, with one finger. Silkey's eyes opened, but he
made no other reaction. I realized that one part of his consciousness had been made aware of
what was happening. I whispered:
"Can he hear?"
The cat nodded.
"Can he think?"
The cat shook its head; and then it said:
"In your analysis of the basic nature of human beings you selected a symptom only. Man is
religious because of a certain characteristic. I'll give you a clue. When an alien arrives on an
inhabited planet, there is usually only one way that he can pass among the intelligent beings on
that planet without being recognized for what he is. When you find that method, you have
attained understanding of the fundamental character of the race."
It was hard for me to think. In the dim emptiness of the freak tent, the great silence of the circus
grounds all around, what was happening seemed unnatural. I was not afraid of the cat. But there
was a fear inside me, as strong as terror, as dark as night. I looked at the unmoving Silkey with
all the lines of his years flabby on his face. And then I stared at the light that hovered above him.
And finally I looked at the cat, and I said:
THE CATAAAA
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14
"Curiosity. You mean, man's curiosity. His interest in strange objects makes him accept them as
natural when he sees them."
The cat said, "It seems incredible that you, an intelligent man, have never realized the one
character of all human beings." It turned briskly, straightening. "But now, enough of this
conversation. I have fulfilled the basic requirements of my domicile here. I have lived for a
period without being suspected, and I have told one inhabitant that I have been here. It remains
for me to send home a significant artifact of your civilization--and then I can be on my way . . .