"Walter Jon Williams - City on Fire" - читать интересную книгу автора (Williams Walter John)

It's 10:31, according to Aiah's watch. She guesses she's missed her bath for
the day.
There is a communications jack but no telephone. Aiah finds she can rent
one by the hour and does so. It's an unusual piece, with a pair of heavy
brass earphones and a trumpet-shaped mouthpiece braced up in front of her face
by a butter-smooth brass prop in the shape of a human arm.
Constantine, she knows, is Minister of Resources in the new government. She
calls the ministry in Government Harbor, but all they will do is take a
message, so she phones the Aerial Palace and asks to be connected to his
suite. She can't even get anyone who will promise to take a message to him.
"Not unless you're on the list," she's told.
"Can I speak to Mr. Khoriak, then?тАЭ
"Who's he?тАЭ
"He's a member of Constantine's suite." One of his guards.
"I'll see.тАЭ
Aiah waits for ten minutes, hoping that Khoriak wasn't killed in the fighting.
"This is Khoriak.тАЭ
Relief pours through Aiah, relieving tension she hadn't realized she'd
possessed.
"Khoriak, this is Aiah. Aiah from Jaspeer. You remember?тАЭ
"Of course.тАЭ
Of course. Idiot. It had only been a few days since she'd seen him.
"I'm in Caraqui. Hotel Oceanic. I would like to see the Metropolitan
Constantine, but I can't seem to reach him.тАЭ
"I'll tell him.тАЭ
Half an hour later, she's on Constantine's private launch.
Fast work. She's been in Caraqui less than two hours.
TRIUMVIR PARQ CALLS FOR DAY OF PRAYERDALAVANS TO FAST ON FRIDAYThe launch
seems to have been liberated from the Kere-maths or their supporters: the hull
is a shiny black polymer composite with silver trimтАФnot chrome but actual
silver, kept bright by the endless polishing of the crew, or perhaps through
some hermetic process.
There is a deep whine as the boat accelerates, hydrogen burning through its
turbines. It clearly has a lot of power to spare.
The captain is a black-skinned Cheloki, a newcomer. He drives the boat well
but doesn't know the territory: he constantly refers to the map pinned to the
chart table next to the wheel. There is a soldier who places a fine white
wine and a basket of sandwiches atop the table on the fantail. He is clearly
uncomfortable in the role of servantтАФless than a week ago he was probably in
combatтАФbut he's gracious enough, all things considered. Aiah realizes she
hasn't eaten since second shift yesterday, and she tries not to bolt the
sandwiches.
The sleek motorcraft arrows neatly through the green water. The pontoons that
loom on either side are painted with fading slogans and the images of dead
Keremaths. Our family is your familyтАФthe slogan arches above dead, flaking
faces. Aiah finds herself looking for dolphinsтАФshe had met one once, and
spoken with him, and she knows they inhabit these waters. But no pale
dolphins break the surface of the water.
Aiah is startled to see a large tram car float overhead along a set of cables.
The green car, with its rounded, aerodynamic corners, is big as a bus, and