"Ian Watson - Cages" - читать интересную книгу автора (Watson Ian)

A big marquee comes into view.

тАЬTheyтАЩre brave, these kids,тАЭ says Svelte. тАЬI admire them.тАЭ

тАЬWhistling while Rome burns,тАЭ says Tony.

тАЬYouтАЩre excited. Enjoy the view.тАЭ

Grinning, Svelte says something that sounds like, тАЬSтАЩavem che bea
shi fute!тАЭ

тАЬWhatтАЩs that?тАЭ

тАЬA Romanian toast. It means: hereтАЩs to a drink and a fuck.тАЭ

тАЬLook,тАЭ says Tony, тАЬitтАЩs inconvenient for me to get excitedтАФnot to
mention unprofessional.тАЭ

Svelte doesnтАЩt know about TonyтАЩs groin truss. SheтАЩs so exotic, Svelte
is, though doubtless not to herself. Probably sheтАЩs hetero. Not necessarily,
though. Time will tell. Or will it? I really must keep my head clear.

LetтАЩs take a look in the vast marquee first, where things are warming
upтАФas in hot bodies and hot lights fanning through aroma-mists. However,
the music playing from big speakers right now is like cool liquid, kind of
distanced rather than intimate. WhatтАЩs playing at the moment are
recordings. On stage a quartet of machines wait, for later on.
Digi-keyboard, drum machine, hypersynth, and a whatnotтАФIтАЩve no idea
which is which, or what, though Svelte does.

тАЬNice backward reverb setting off the vocal line,тАЭ she comments
loudly, and I think I under-stand. тАЬJust donтАЩt overdo it! Aw shit, there we go.
ThatтАЩll excite the bats,тАЭ sneers Svelte.
 Now a different remix rivets me. Sighs and cries over a pulsing bass
lineтАФkosher kore, the piece I heard in the office:

Ev-ery-thing you
Ev-ery-thing you do
You do, you do, you do, you do...

Youngsters waggle their arms overhead and shuffle and shimmy,
frantic to enjoy. Lip-rings, nose-studs, belly-button trinkets make the impeds
seem like huge exotic piercings. The white girl in black bra and panties,
boots, and cowboy hat smooches with a black girl in white bra, et cetera. I
approve. A huge Hawaiian garland of bright plastic flowers hangs upon
another girlтАЩs brief blue cocktail dress. A blokeтАЩs T-shirt reads KISS MY
ARSE, SEXY, although the bum-cage bulking under his oversize jeans
makes this unlikely. Why doesnтАЩt he wear a kilt? Similarly impeded chaps
favor kilts. Older people are in the crowd too, so I donтАЩt feel far out of place.
We have two or three hours before QE perform live, plenty of time to nose