"Jack Vance - Demon Prince 05 - The Book Of Dreams" - читать интересную книгу автора (Vance Jack)

such niceties of comparison carry any shred of conviction).
Certainly he is attended by the most extravagant contradic-
tions. His cruelty is wanton and horrid, so that his occa-
sional magnanimities are cast into sharp relief. Judged by
the elaborate methodtcalness of his programs, he would
seem passionless, absolutely logical. Against a different per-
spective, he is seen to be volatile and as frivolous as a circus
clown. He is a mystery, and his ultimate purposes cannot
even be guessed.

Howard Alan Treesong! A name of magic, instilling dread
and wonder! W^hat, precisely, is known of him? The few
nodes of fact are made ambiguous by a luminous dust of
rumor. He is declared to be the most solitary person alive;

by other reports he is the ultimate ruler of all criminals.
His person is said to be unremarkable: tall, thin, with well-
shaped if gaunt features and pale gray eyes of exceptional
clarity. His expression is often described as droll and his
manner vivacious. He dresses most usually in ordinary gar-
ments, without ostentation. By all accounts he enjoys the
company of beautiful women, none of whom seems to profit
from the association either spiritually or financially. To the
contrary, the romances of which anything is known all end
tragically, if not worse.

748 THE DEMON PRINCES

The events which finally brought Howard Alan Treesong to bay
ran an erratic courseтАФtwisting, forking, making confused halts and
unlikely linkagesтАФa consequence of the mystery in which Treesong
shrouded himself. According to the few extant descriptions, Tree-
song stood rather taller than ordinary with a luminous gaze, a broad
forehead, a narrow jaw and chin, and a foxy rueful mouth. His
manner was usually described as gracious with a metallic undertone.
Almost every account mentioned a "curious field of suppressed en-
ergy," or "unpredictable extravagance," and in one case the word
"madness" was used.

Treesong's obsession with mystery extended far. No photo-
graphs, representations, or likenesses were known to exist, on or
off the public record. His origins were unknown; his private life
was as secret as the far end of the universe; he regularly disappeared
from public notice for years on end.

Treesong's zone of operations encompassed the Oikumene; he
rarely ventured Beyond. He was known to have used for himself
the title "Lord of the Overmen."*

Gersen picked up the track of Howard Alan Treesong essen-