"Donald Westlake - SH6 - Here's Looking At You" - читать интересную книгу автора (Westlake Donald E)

am the real Hafter Kass,тАЭ the man said, leaning forward, staring intensely at the
camera. Then rage broke through. тАЬDo you hear me? The real Hafter Kass!
Goddam it, the real one!тАЭ
тАЬI believe you,тАЭ Ensign Benson murmured. тАЬHonest, I do.тАЭ
As though reassured, Hafter Kass subsided into his chair. He was about 40,
wearing a rough plaid old-fashioned tunic. He lifted a shaking hand to rub his
mouth, then said, тАЬWhoever you are, if anybody ever sees this, get off Matrix. Get
off now! Before---тАЬ
He stopped and looked quickly over his shoulder, then back at the camera.
тАЬHave to get hold of myself,тАЭ he said.
тАЬGood idea,тАЭ agreed Ensign Benson.
тАЬWe arrived three years ago,тАЭ Kass went on, тАЬand almost immediately lost
contact with the mother ship. ThatтАЩs the worst of it, knowing there wonтАЩt be any
help, ever. Not ever. Stuck here, doomed here---тАЬ
Again, Kass visibly brought himself under control. тАЬThey didnтАЩt come out right
away,тАЭ he said. тАЬThe---the things. But then they-- No, wait, IтАЩm not making any
sense.тАЭ
тАЬTrue,тАЭ Ensign Benson said.
тАЬAbout two weeks after we landed,тАЭ Kass said, voice trembling, тАЬthey
appeared. Creatures that looked exactly like us. Like specific ones of us.тАЭ He
gestured toward the door behind him. Out there, hundreds of Hafter Kasses.
Hundreds of Magla Damerons. Hundreds of---тАЭ He ran both hands through thinning
hair. тАЬTheir clothing is exactly like ours, they look exactly like us, they have some
kind of low-level telepathy, so they have our memories, our gestures, our
expressions. Stee Venking, our zoographer тАУ well, amateur zoographer тАУ anyway,
he says these creatures developed this as a defense against predators. Become the
predator and it canтАЩt eat you without being a cannibal.тАЭ
Kass gestured helplessly, looking around, then back at the cameras. тАЬAt first,
we didnтАЩt realize the horror of it. But then we found out what it means. You never
know if youтАЩre talking to a human being like yourself or one of them. YouтАЩre alone.
Every one of us is alone, surrounded by thousands of . . . whatever they are.тАЭ He
shook his head. тАЬWell, we know what they are. If you kill one, it reverts to its real
shape, a kind of fat eight-foot-long worm.тАЭ
тАЬUgh,тАЭ said Ensign Benson.
тАЬThere will never be a child born in this colony,тАЭ Kass went on. тАЬHow could
any of us, any of us human beings, go to bed with-- Never knowing if-- ThatтАЩs a
part of the creaturesтАЩ defense mechanism, too. They make the predators die out,
cease to reproduce.тАЭ
A chill ran through Ensign Benson at that; a life without even the possibility of
sex? CouldnтАЩt you just go along with what you saw, if what you saw was built the
way, uh . . .
But then he frowned, thinking it through. What you saw might be shaped any
way at all, but if you knew the odds were hundreds to one that the person in bed
with you was really an eight-foot-long worm, even the horniest human being would
begin to lose enthusiasm. Bad news.
Hafter Kass was going on, saying, тАЬIs it any wonder most of us chose suicide?тАЭ
тАЬNo,тАЭ Ensign Benson told him. An odd, uncomfortable feeling had crept over
him, a warmth he rarely experienced. Could it be sympathy? He watched the
long-gone Hafter Kass with suspiciously moist eyes.
тАЬThatтАЩs the only way, finally, we can tell us from them,тАЭ Kass went on. тАЬWhen