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

everything will work.тАЭ
David didnтАЩt know whether he was sorry or glad that he had told Walt. No more secrets, he
thought. Never again. тАЬIтАЩll stop them somehow,тАЭ he said. тАЬI donтАЩt know how, or when. But soon.тАЭ
A Four brought WaltтАЩs breakfast, and David returned to his room. He rested and slept
fitfully for a few hours, then showered and went to the cave entrance, where he was stopped by a
Two.
тАЬIтАЩm sorry, David,тАЭ he said. тАЬJonathan says that you need a rest, that you are not to work
now.тАЭ
Wordlessly David turned and left. Jonathan. W-l. If they had decided to bar him from the
lab, they could do it. He and Walt had planned it that way: the cave was impregnable. He thought
of the elders, forty-four of them now, and two of that number terminally ill. One of the remaining
elders insane. Forty-one then, twenty-nine women. Eleven able-bodied men. Ninety-four clones.
He waited for days for Harry Vlasic to appear, but no one had seen him in weeks, and Vernon
thought he was living in the lab. He had all his meals there. David gave that up, and found D-1 in
the dining room and offered his help in the lab.
тАЬIтАЩm too bored doing nothing,тАЭ he said. тАЬIтАЩm used to working twelve hours a day or more.тАЭ
тАЬYou should rest now that there are others who can take the load off you,тАЭ D-l said
pleasantly. тАЬDonтАЩt worry about the work, David. It is going quite well.тАЭ He moved away, and David
caught his arm.
тАЬWhy wonтАЩt you let me in? HavenтАЩt you learned the value of an objective opinion?тАЭ
D-l pulled away, and still smiling easily, said, тАЬYou want to destroy everything, David. In
the name of mankind, of course. But still, we canтАЩt let you do that.тАЭ
David let his hand fall and watched the young man who might have been himself go to the food
servers and start putting dishes on his tray.
тАЬIтАЩm working on a plan,тАЭ he lied to Walt, as he would again and again in the weeks that
followed. Daily Walt grew feebler, and now he was in great pain.
DavidтАЩs father was with Walt most of the time now. He was gray and aged but in good health
physically. He talked of their boyhood, of the coming hunting season, of the recession he feared
might reduce his profits, of his wife, who had been dead for fifteen years. He was cheerful and
happy, and Walt seemed to want him there.
In March, W-l sent for David. He was in his office. тАЬItтАЩs about Walt,тАЭ he said. тАЬWe should
not let him continue to suffer. He has done nothing to deserve this.тАЭ
тАЬHe is trying to last until the girls have their babies,тАЭ David said. тАЬHe wants to know.тАЭ
тАЬBut it doesnтАЩt matter any longer,тАЭ W-l said patiently. тАЬAnd meanwhile he suffers.тАЭ
David stared at him with hatred and knew that he couldnтАЩt make that choice.
W-l continued to watch him for several more moments, then said, тАЬWe will decide.тАЭ The next
morning Walt was found to have died in his sleep.


Chapter 9


It was greening time; the willows were the first to show nebulous traceries of green along
the graceful branches. Forsythias and flaming bushes were in bloom, brilliant yellows and scarlets
against the gray background. The river was high with spring runoffs up north and heavy March
rains, but it was an expected high, not dangerous, not threatening this year. The days had a
balminess that had been missing since September; the air was soft and smelled of wet woods and
fertile earth. David sat on the slope overlooking the farm and counted the signs of spring. There
were calves in the field, and they looked the way spring calves always had looked: thin legs,
awkward, slightly stupid. No fields had been worked yet, but the garden was green: pale lettuce,