"Jack Vance - The Sorcerer Pharesm" - читать интересную книгу автора (Vance Jack)

nature. Clasping his abdomen, Cugel took himself aside and, while the Chief Chade watched in
perplexity, argued heatedly with Firx. "How may I proceed without sustenance?" Firx's response was an
incisive motion of the barbs. "Impossible!" exclaimed Cugel. "The amulet of Iucounu theoretically suffices,
but I can stomach no more spurge; remember, if I fall dead in the trail, you will never rejoin your
comrade in Iucounu's vats!"
Firx saw the justice of the argument and reluctantly became quiet. Cugel returned to the lectern,
where the Chief Chade had been distracted by the discovery of a large tourmaline opposing the flow of a
certain complicated helix. Finally Cugel was able to engage his attention. "While I weigh the proffer of
employment and the conflicting advantages of diminution versus elongation, I will need a couch on which
to recline. I also wish to test the perquisites you describe, perhaps for the period of a day or more."
"Your prudence is commendable," declared the Chief Chade. "The folk of today tend to commit
themselves rashly to courses they later regret. It was not so in my youth, when sobriety and discretion
prevailed. I will arrange for your admission into the compound, where you may verify each of my
assertions. You will find Pharesm stern but just, and only the man who hacks the rock willy-nilly has
cause to complain. But observe! Here is Pharesm the Sorcerer on his daily inspection!"
Up the trail came a man of imposing stature wearing a voluminous white robe. His countenance was
benign; his hair was like yellow down; his eyes were turned upwards as if rapt in the contemplation of an
ineffable sublimity. His arms were sedately folded, and he moved without motion of his legs. The
workers, doffing their caps and bowing in unison, chanted a respectful salute, to which Pharesm returned
an inclination of the head. Spying Cugel, he paused, made a swift survey of the work so far
accomplished, then glided without haste to the lectern.
"All appears reasonably exact," he told the Chief Chade. "I believe the polish on the underside of
Epi-projection 56-16 is uneven and I detect a minute chip on the secondary cinctor of the nineteenth
spire. Neither circumstance seems of major import and I recommend no disciplinary action."
"The deficiencies shall be repaired and the careless artisans reprimanded: this at the very least!"
exclaimed the Chief Chade in an angry passion. "Now I wish to introduce a possible recruit to our
workforce. He claims no experience at the trade, and will deliberate before deciding to join our group. If
he so elects, I envision the usual period as rubble-gatherer, before he is entrusted with tool-sharpening
and preliminary excavation."
"Yes; this would accord with our usual practice. HoweverтАж" Pharesm glided effortlessly forward,
took Cugel's left hand and performed a swift divination upon the fingernails. His bland countenance
became sober. "I see contradictions of four varieties. Still it is clear that your optimum bent lies elsewhere
than in the hewing and shaping of rock. I advise that you seek another and more compatible
employment."
"Well spoken!" cried the Chief Chade. "Pharesm the Sorcerer demonstrates his infallible altruism! In
order that I do not fall short of the mark I hereby withdraw my proffer of employment! Since no purpose
can now be served by reclining upon a couch or testing the perquisites, you need waste no more
irreplaceable time."
Cugel made a sour face. "So casual a divination might well be inaccurate."
The Chief Chade extended his forefinger 30 feet vertically in outraged remonstrance, but Pharesm
gave a placid nod. "This is quite correct, and I will gladly perform a more comprehensive divination,
though the process requires six to eight hours."
"So long?" asked Cugel in astonishment.
"This is the barest minimum. First you are swathed head to foot in the intestines of fresh-killed owls,
then immersed in a warm bath containing a number of secret organic substances. I must, of course, char
the small toe of your left foot, and dilate your nose sufficiently to admit an explorer beetle, that he may
study the conduits leading to and from your sensorium. But let us return to my divinatory, that we may
commence the process in good time."
Cugel pulled at his chin, torn this way and that. Finally he said, "I am a cautious man, and must
ponder even the advisability of undertaking such a divination; hence, I will require several days of calm