"Connie Willis - Cibola" - читать интересную книгу автора (Willis Connie)

тАЬCarla, you grew up in Denver,тАЭ Jake said. тАЬHereтАЩs an
assignment that might interest you.тАЭ
This is his standard opening line. It means he is about to
dump another тАЬlocal interestтАЭ piece on me.
тАЬCome on, Jake,тАЭ I said. тАЬNo more nutty Bronco fans whoтАЩve
spray-painted their kids orange and blue, okay? Give me a real
story. Please?тАЭ
тАЬBronco seasonтАЩs over, and the NFL draft was last week,тАЭ he
said. тАЬThis isnтАЩt a local interest.тАЭ
тАЬYouтАЩre right there,тАЭ I said. тАЬThese stories you keep giving
me are of no interest, local or otherwise. I did the time machine
piece for you. And the psychic dentist. Give me a break. Let me
cover something that doesnтАЩt involve nuttos.тАЭ
тАЬItтАЩs for the тАШOur Living Western HeritageтАЩ series.тАЭ He
handed me a slip of paper. тАЬYou can interview her this morning
and then cover the skyscraper moratorium hearings this
afternoon.тАЭ
This was plainly a bribe, since the hearings were front page
stuff right now, and тАЬhistorical interestsтАЭ could be almost as bad as
localsтАФsenile old women in nursing homes rambling on about the
good old days. But at least they didnтАЩt crawl in their washing
machines and tell you to push тАЬrinseтАЭ so they could travel into the
future. And they didnтАЩt try to perform psychic oral surgery on you.
тАЬAll right,тАЭ I said, and took the slip of paper. тАЬRosa
Turcorillo,тАЭ it read and gave an address out on Santa Fe. тАЬWhatтАЩs
her phone number?тАЭ
тАЬShe doesnтАЩt have a phone,тАЭ Jake said. тАЬYouтАЩll have to go out
there.тАЭ He started across the city room to his office. тАЬThe hearings
are at one oтАЩclock.тАЭ
тАЬWhat is she, one of DenverтАЩs first Chicano settlers?тАЭ I called
after him.
He waited till he was just outside his office to answer me.
тАЬShe says sheтАЩs the great-granddaughter of Coronado,тАЭ he said, and
beat a hasty retreat into his office. тАЬShe says she knows where the
Seven Cities of Cibola are.тАЭ
 I spent forty-five minutes researching Coronado and copying
articles and then drove out to see his great-granddaughter. She
lived out on south Santa Fe past Hampden, so I took I-25 and then
was sorry. The morning rush hour was still crawling along at about
ten miles an hour pumping carbon monoxide into the air. I read
the whole article stopped behind a semi between Speer and Sixth
Avenue.
Coronado trekked through the Southwest looking for the
legendary Seven Cities of Gold in the 1540s, which poked a big
hole in RosaтАЩs story, since any great-granddaughter of his would
have to be at least three hundred years old.
There wasnтАЩt any mystery about the Seven Cities of Cibola
either. Coronado found them, near Gallup, New Mexico, and
conquered them but they were nothing but mud-hut villages.