"Peter Watts - Bulk Food" - читать интересную книгу автора (Watts Peter)

Waves surge back and forth across the tank, playing themselves out
against the walls. Doug, standing on tiptoes, can just barely make
out the black-and-white shape lurking near the bottom of the tank
like a squad car at a radar trap.
Peripheral movement. Doug glances up as a great chocolate-
colored shape lumbers out onto the deck. It's twice the size of the
man who herds it onstage with a little help from an electric cattle
prod.
"Some of you may recognize this big bruiser." Ramona's
switched back to English. "Yes, this is a Steller sea lion. When
he was just a pup, scientists from the North Pacific Fishing
ConsortiumтАФone of the aquarium's proudest sponsors-- rescued
him and some of his friends from the wild. They were part of a
research project that was intended to promote the conservation of
sea lions in the North Pacific."
The sea lion darts its head back and forth, snorting like a horse.
Its wet, brown eyes blink stupidly.
"And not a moment too soon. As you may know from our ever-
popular Pinniped habitat, Stellers were declared extinct in the wild
just five years ago. This is now one of the only places in the world
where you can still see these magnificent creatures, and we take
our responsibility to our charges very seriously. We go to great
lengths to ensure that everything about their environment is as
natural as possible.
"IncludingтАж"
8 Peter Watts

Ramona pauses for effect.
"тАжPredators."
A ragged cheer rises up from the bleachers. Spooked, the sea
lion bobs its head like a fat furry metronome. The animal wheels
around the way it came, but the guy with the prod is blocking its
way.
"Please try not to make any loud noises or sudden moves,"
Ramona smiles belatedly.
With a few final nudges from the cattle prod, the sea lion slides
into the water. It dives immediately, finally curious about its big
new home.
Apparently it discovers all it wants to in about half a second,
after which it shoots from the center of the pool like a Polaris
missile. It doesn't quite achieve escape velocity and hits the water
running, lunging for the edge as fast as its flippers can churn.
Shamu rises up like Shiva. One effortless chomp and the Steller
explodes like a big wet pi├▒ata. A curtain of blood drenches the
plexi barriers. Streamers of intestine fly through the air like shiny
pink firehoses.
The audience goes wild. This is the kind of award-winning
educational display they can relate to.
Shamu surges back and forth, mopping up leftover sea lion. It
takes less than a minute. By the time he's finished, Ramona has the