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

was dealt with "as an individual."
Tews read the document with amazement and amusement. He recalled
another saying of his mother's: "Don't ever worry about the idealists.
"The mob will cut their throats at the proper moment."
His amusement faded rapidly. These boys are really interfering in the
affairs of state in Linn itself, which is only remotely in their province.
As, the summer over, he made preparations to return to the city, Tews
scowlingly considered the threat "to the State," which - it seemed to him
- was building up with alarming speed.
On the second day after his return to Linn he received another letter
from Clane. This one requested an audience to discuss "those matters
relating to the defense of the empire, about which your deparments have
been gathering information."
What infuriated Tews about the letter was that the mutation was not
even giving him time to settle down after his return. True, the work of
reestablishment did not involve him - but it was a matter of courtesy to
the office he held. On that level, Tews decided in an icy rage, Clane's
persistence bore all the earmarks of a deliberate insult.
He sent a curt note in reply, which stated simply:

My dear Clane:
I will advise you as soon as I am free of the more pressing problems
of administration. Please await word from me.
Tews
 He slept that night, confident that he was at last taking a firm
stand and that it was about time.
He awoke to news of disaster.
The only warning was a steely glinting of metal in the early-morning
sky. The invaders swooped down on the city of Linn in three hundred
spaceships. There must have been advance spying, for they landed in force
at the gates that were heavily guarded and at the main troop barracks
inside the city. From each ship debouched two hundred-odd men.
"Sixty thousand soldiers!" said Lord Adviser Tews after he had
studied the reports. He issued instructions for the defense of the palace
and sent a carrier pigeon to the three legions encamped outside the city,
ordering two of them to attack when ready. And then he sat pale but
composed, watching the spectacle from a window that overlooked the hazy
vastness of Linn proper.
Everything was vague and unreal. Most of the invading ships had
disappeared behind large buildings. A few lay in the open, but they looked
dead. It was hard to grasp that vicious fighting was going on in their
vicinity. At nine o'clock, a messenger arrived from the Lady Lydia:

DearSon:
Have you any news? Who is attacking us? Is it a limited assault or an
invasion of the empire. Have you contacted Clane?
L.

The first prisoner was brought in while Tews was scowling over the
unpalatable suggestion that he seek the advice of his relative. The