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

consultant, and later on to head a department of research.тАЭ
тАЬBut I havenтАЩt even finished my thesis yet,тАЭ David said, and he felt as if he had stumbled
into a pot party.
тАЬYouтАЩll do another year of donkey work for Selnick and eventually youтАЩll write the thesis, a
bit here, a dab there. You could write it in a month, couldnтАЩt you, if you had time?тАЭ David nodded
reluctantly. тАЬI know,тАЭ Walt said, smiling faintly. тАЬYou think youтАЩre being asked to give up a
lifetime career for a pipe dream.тАЭ There was no trace of a smile when he added, тАЬBut, David, we
believe that lifetime wonтАЩt be more than two to four years at the very most.тАЭ


Chapter 2



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David looked from his uncle to his father, to the other uncles and cousins in the room, and
finally to his grandfather. He shook his head helplessly. тАЬThatтАЩs crazy. What are you talking
about?тАЭ
Grandfather Sumner let out his breath explosively. He was a large man with a massive chest
and great bulging biceps. His hands were big enough to carry a basketball in each. But it was his
head that was his most striking feature. It was the head of a giant, and although he had farmed
for many years, and later overseen the others who did it for him, he had found time to read more
extensively than anyone else that David knew. There was no book, except the contemporary best
sellers, that anyone could mention that he wasnтАЩt aware of, or hadnтАЩt read. And he remembered what
he read. His library was better than most public libraries.
Now he leaned forward and said, тАЬYou listen to me, David. You listen hard. IтАЩm telling you
what the goddamn government doesnтАЩt dare admit yet. WeтАЩre on the first downslope of a slide that
is going to plummet this economy, and that of every other nation on earth, to a depth that they
never dreamed of.
тАЬI know the signs, David. The pollutionтАЩs catching up to us faster than anyone knows.
ThereтАЩs more radiation in the atmosphere than thereтАЩs been since HiroshimaтАФ French tests, ChinaтАЩs
tests. Leaks. God knows where all of itтАЩs coming from. We reached zero population growth a couple
of years ago, but, David, we were trying, and other nations are getting there too, and they arenтАЩt
trying. ThereтАЩs famine in one-fourth of the world right now. Not ten years from now, not six
months from now. The famines are here and theyтАЩve been here for three, four years already, and
theyтАЩre getting worse. ThereтАЩre more diseases than thereтАЩs ever been since the good Lord sent the
plagues to visit the Egyptians. And theyтАЩre plagues that we donтАЩt know anything about.
тАЬThereтАЩs more drought and more flooding than thereтАЩs ever been. EnglandтАЩs changing into a
desert, the bogs and moors are drying up. Entire species of fish are gone, just damn gone, and in
only a year or two. The anchovies are gone. The codfish industry is gone. The cod they are
catching are diseased, unfit to use. ThereтАЩs no fishing off the west coast of the Americas.
тАЬEvery damn protein crop on earth has some sort of blight that gets worse and worse. Corn
blight. Wheat rust. Soybean blight. WeтАЩre restricting our exports of food now, and next year weтАЩll
stop them altogether. WeтАЩre having shortages no one ever dreamed of. Tin, copper, aluminum, paper.
Chlorine, by God! And what do you think will happen in the world when we suddenly canтАЩt even
purify our drinking water?тАЭ
His face was darkening as he spoke, and he was getting angrier and angrier, directing his