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

obviously early development. The absence of the skeletons
of children indicates that the race had developed personal
immortality."
The council came to look at the exhibits. It was, Enash
knew, a formal preliminary only. The decision was made.
There would be revivals. It was more than that. They
were curious. Space was vast, the journeys through it long and
lonely, landing always a stimulating experience, with its
prospect of new life forms to be seen and studied.
The museum looked ordinary. High-domed ceilings, vast
rooms. Plastic models of strange beasts, many artifactstoo
many to see and comprehend in so short a time. The life
span of a race was imprisoned here in a progressive array
of relics. Enash looked with the others, and was glad when
they came to the line of skeletons and preserved bodies.
He seated himself behind the energy screen, and watched
the biological experts take a preserved body out of a stone
sarcophagus. It was wrapped in windings of cloth, many of
them. The experts did not bother to unravel the rotted
material. Their forceps reached through, pinched a piece of
skullthat was the accepted procedure. Any part of the
skeleton could be used, but the most perfect revivals, the
most complete reconstructions resulted when a certain section
of the skull was used.
Hamar, the chief biologist, explained the choice of body.
"The chemicals used to preserve this mummy show a sketchy
knowledge of chemistry. The carvings on the sarcophagus
indicate a crude and unmechanical culture. In such a civili-
zation there would not be much development of the potential-
ities of the nervous system. Our speech experts have been
analysing the recorded voice mechanism which is a part of
each exhibit, and though many languages are involved
evidence that the ancient language spoken at the time the body
was alive has been reproducedthey found no difficulty in
translating the meanings. They have now adapted our uni-
versal speech machine, so that anyone who wishes to need
only speak into his communicator, and so will have his words
translated into the language of the revived person. The re-
verse, naturally, is also true. Ah, I see we are ready for
the first body."
Enash watched intently with the others as the lid was
clamped down on the plastic reconstructor, and the growth
processes were started. He could feel himself becoming tense.
For there was nothing haphazard about what was happen-
ing. In a few minutes a full-grown ancient inhabitant of this
planet would sit up and stare at them. The science involved
was simple and always fully effective. ~
.... Out of the shadows of smallness, life grows. The
level of beginning and ending, of life andnot life; in that
dim region matter oscillates easily between old and new