"Kate Wilhelm - Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang" - читать интересную книгу автора (Wilhelm Kate)

longer what was happening to any part of the world that was not their small part. Avery finished
and sat down once more.
Walt looked small, David thought in surprise. He had always thought of him as a fairly large
man, but he wasnтАЩt. He was only five feet nine, and now he was very thin and hard-looking, like a
gamecock, trimmed of all excess with only the essentials needed to carry on the fight remaining.
Walt studied the assembled people and deliberately said, тАЬThereтАЩs not a person in this room hungry
tonight. We donтАЩt have any more plague here. The rain is washing away the radioactivity, and we
have food stores that will carry us for years even if we canтАЩt plant crops in the spring. We have
men capable of doing just about anything we might ever want done.тАЭ He paused and looked at them
again, from left to right, back again, taking his time. He had their absolute attention. тАЬWhat we
donтАЩt have,тАЭ he said, his voice hard and flat now, тАЬis a woman who can conceive a child, or a man
who could impregnate her if she was able to bear.тАЭ
There was a ripple of movement, like a collective sigh, but no one spoke. Walt said, тАЬYou
know how we are getting our meat. You know the cattle are good, the chickens are good. Tomorrow,
ladies and gentlemen, we will have our own babies developed the same way.тАЭ
There was a moment of utter silence, of stillness, then they broke. Clarence leaped to his
feet shouting at Walt. Vernon fought to get to the front of the room, but there were too many
people between him and Walt. One of the women pulled on WaltтАЩs arm, almost dragging him over,
screaming in his face. Walt yanked free and climbed onto a table. тАЬStop this! IтАЩm going to answer
any questions, but I canтАЩt hear any one of you this way.тАЭ
For the next three hours they questioned, argued, prayed, formed alliances, reformed them as
arguments broke out in the smaller groups. At ten Walt took his place on the table again and
called out. тАЬWe will recess this discussion until tomorrow night at seven. Coffee will be served
now, and I understand we have cakes and sandwiches.тАЭ He jumped from the table and left before any
of them could catch up with him, and he and David hurried to the cave entrance, locking the
massive door behind them.
тАЬClarence was ugly,тАЭ Walt muttered. тАЬBastard.тАЭ
DavidтАЩs father, Walt, and Clarence were brothers, David reminded himself, but he couldnтАЩt
help regarding Clarence as an outsider, a stranger with a fat belly and a lot of money who
expected instant obedience from the world.
тАЬThey might organize,тАЭ Walt said after a moment. тАЬThey might form a committee to protest
this act of the devil. WeтАЩll have to be ready for them.тАЭ
David nodded. They had counted on delaying this meeting until they had live babies, human
babies that laughed and gurgled and took milk from the bottle hungrily. Instead they would have a
room full of not-quite-finished preemies, certainly not human-looking, with no more human appeal
than a calf born too soon.
They worked all night preparing the nursery. Sarah had enlisted Margaret, Hilda, Lucy, and
half a dozen other women, who were all gowned and masked professionally. One of them dropped a
basin and three others screamed in unison. David cursed, but under his breath. They would be all
right when they had the babies, he told himself.
The bloodless births started at five forty-five, and at twelve thirty they had twenty-five
infants. Four died in the first hour, another died three hours later, and the rest of them
thrived. The only baby left in the tanks was the fetus that would be Celia, nine weeks younger
than the others.
The first visitor Walt permitted in the nursery was Clarence, and after that there was no
further talk of destroying the inhuman monstrosities.
There was a celebration party, and names were suggested and a drawing was held to select
eleven female names and ten male. In the record book the babies were labeled R-l strain;
Repopulation 1. But in DavidтАЩs mind, as in WaltтАЩs, the babies were W-l, D-l, and soon, C-l . . .
For the next months there was no shortage of nurses, male or female, no shortage of help