"Jack Vance - Maske Theary" - читать интересную книгу автора (Vance Jack)

of which the first was Wysrod by Duskerl Bay. During the same period the population of the countryside
expanded, until presently the overflow was forced to seek employment elsewhere, sometimes in vain, and
young folk coming into their maturity, in either town or country, found little scope for their energies.
Imaginations turned outward, and the Mandate of Isolation began to seem a nuisance. A bitter-sweet
malaise hung over the land like an autumn haze, and the folk were affected by contradictory emotions;
love of the countryside, nostalgia, and the still-vital Credential doctrines disaccorded with a pervasive
staleness and spiritual claustrophobia. A certain number of folk considered emigration; a small fraction of
these put the tragic and irreversible process into effect; they were heard from no more.

Another influence troubled the public awareness: rumors of a secret organization known as the Pan-Djan
Binadary, apparently dedicated to the expulsion of the Thariots from Maske. The Binadary mystified
responsible officials, since neither Djan nor Saidanese were notably apt at intrigue. Who then had
instigated the Binadary? Who formulated its programs and supplied the militancy? Such questions
perturbed the Thariot intelligence agencies, since no meaningful information could be discovered.

* The conventions of galactic direction are like those of a rotating planet. The direction of rotation is
east, the opposite west. When the fingers of the right hand extend in the direction of rotation, the thumb
points to the north and opposite is south. тАШInwardтАЩ and тАШoutwardтАЩ refer to motion toward or away from the
center of the galaxy.


Chapter 1
The Marcative Mountains between Thaery and Djanad, extending to the west, became Glentlin: a barren
unproductive land of small population, but in proportion to its resources no less crowded than Thaery
proper.

The northwest tip of Glentlin, extending from Cape Junchion to the Hacksnaw Hills, was Droad land,
owned by Benruth, the Droad of Droad House and first of the ilk. His oldest son Trewe would eventually
come into total possession, by the rigid entailment laws of Thaery. For Jubal, the second son, the future
offered no such optimistic prospects.


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Nevertheless, blessed with a strong body and a confident disposition, Jubal passed a pleasant childhood,
enlivened by the weekly banquets at which Benruth entertained the Droad kindred and celebrated the
sweet fugacity of existence. The banquets often became boisterous. On one occasion, what might have
been a practical joke was carried too far. Benruth drank a flask of wine and fell to the floor in cramps. His
brother Vaidro instantly forced sugar and oil down BenruthтАЩs throat, then pounded BenruthтАЩs belly until
he vomited, unluckily upon a priceless Djan rug,*which ever after showed a yellow stain.

Vaidro tested a drop of BenruthтАЩs wine upon his tongue and spat it out. He made no comment; none was
needed.

Benruth suffered pain for several weeks, and for a year his pallor persisted. All agreed that the event had
transcended any reasonable definition of humor. Who had perpetrated the irresponsible deed?

The persons on hand included BenruthтАЩs immediate family: his wife Voira; Trewe, along with TreweтАЩs
young wife Zonne and daughters Merliew and Theodel; and Jubal. Also present were Vaidro; Cadmus off-