"Jack Vance - Meet Miss Universe" - читать интересную книгу автора (Vance Jack)

on one score or another. Tony argued over Clydell's decisions.
"These Soteranians тАФ they're beautiful things! I've seen pictures! Great
filmy wings!"
"Too ticklish taking care of them," Clydell said. "They breathe flourine .
. . Same way with those porcelain insects that live in a vacuum."

Tony shrugged. "Okay. But hereтАФ" he pointed to one of Cly-dell's additions
"тАФMel. I don't get it. In fact I've never heard of the place."
Clydell nodded placidly. "Inter-esting race. I read an article about them.
Rigidly stratified; the males do the work and the females stay at home and
preen. Should make a fine addition."
"What do they look like?"
Clydell clipped the end from one of his cigars. Tony tried to appear busy,
but Clydell held out his cigar-case. "Here, Tony, have a smoke. You appreciate
'em; wouldn't waste them on anyone else."
"Thanks, Hardeman. About these MelsтАФ"
"To tell you the truth, I don't remember much about them. They live in
monstrous cities, they're said to be hospitable to a fault, extremely friendly
all around. Just the sort we want. Good-sized crea-tures."
"Okay," said Tony. "Mel, it is." The final list numbered thirty-one races.
It was at this point that Tony secured the ideal specifica-tions. He sent
coded space-wave messages to Earth representatives on each planet, describing
his prob-lem and requesting absolutely exact data on the local concept of
female beauty.
When the information had been returned and filed, Tony prepared
invitations, which were signed by Hardeman Clydell, and dispatched to each of
the planets. The value of the prize had been hiked to a million dollars, both
to entice con-testants and to make more of a splash in the news organs of the
world.
Twenty-three of the thirty-one worlds agreed to send representa-tives.
"Think of it!" marvelled Harde-man Clydell. "Twenty-three worlds confident
enough in the beauty of their women to pit them against the class of the
galaxy!"
And Tony LeGrand started grinding out publicity.
"The most beautiful creatures in the universe! Meet Miss Universe, at the
California Tri-Centennial Exposition!"
III

The California Tri-Centennial Exposition opened at eight o'clock on the
morning of Admission Day. During the first twenty-four hours well over a
million men, women, and children entered the grounds through turnstiles at the
heads of the four great boulevards, or up from the underground tube
termi-nals. Second day attendance was almost 900,000; the count on the third
day was 800,000. After the first week, attendance leveled off at a steady
half-million a day.
The Trans-Galactic Beauty Con-test was scheduled for the month of February,
when attendance might be expected to undergo a seasonal lull.
Twenty-three glass-walled cases, fifty-five feet long, thirty feet deep,
twenty feet high, were being con-structed under joint supervision of the
Astro-physical Society of Amer-ica and the World Bureau for Bio-logical