"Gene Wolfe - Long Sun 3 - Calde Of The Long Sun" - читать интересную книгу автора (Wolfe Gene)

"Nor I."
Remora groped toward a point he had yet to discern. "A healthful
exercise, however. For those of, um, unaugmented years, eh? A hot
bath before sacrifice, Your Cognizance? Or--I have it!--springs.
There are, er, reborant springs at Urbs. Healing springs, most
healthful. Possibly, while--affairs are so--ah--unsettled here, eh?"
Quetzal shook himself. He had a way of quivering like a fat man
when he did that, although on the few occasions when Remora had
been obliged to lift him into bed, his body had in fact been light
and
sinuous. "The gods..." He smiled.
"Must be served, to be sure, Your Cognizance. I would be on the
spot--ah--ensuring that the Chapter's interests were vigilantly
safeguarded, hey?" Remora tossed lank black hair away from his
eyes. "Each rite carried out with--um--"
"You must recall the story, Patera." Quetzal swayed from side to
side, perhaps with silent mirth. "A-man and Wo-man like rabbits in
a garden. The--what do you call them?" He held up a thin,
blue-veined hand, palm cupped.
"A cobra, Your Cognizance?"
"The cobra persuaded Wo-man to eat fruit from his tree,
miraculous
fruit whose taste conferred wisdom."
Remora nodded, wondering how he might reintroduce the
springs. "I recollect the--um--allegory."
Quetzal nodded more vigorously, a wise teacher proffering praise
to a small boy. "It's all in the Writings. Or nearly all. A god
called
Ah Lah barred Wo-man and her husband from the garden." He
ceased to speak, apparently wandering among thoughts. "We seem
to have lost sight of Ah Lah, by the way. I can't recall a single
sacrifice to him. No one ever asks why the cobra wanted Wo-man to
eat his fruit."
"From sheer, er, wickedness, Your Cognizance? That is what I
had always supposed."
Quetzal swayed faster, his face solemn. "In order that she would
ditrib his tree, Patera. The man likewise. Their story's not over
because they haven't climbed down. That's why I asked if you had
considered the nature of humor. Is Patera Incus a strong swimmer?"
"Why, I've--ah--no notion, Your Cognizance."
"Because you think you know why the woman you sent him to
look for visited the lake with our scamp Silk, whose name I see on
walls."
"Why, er, Your Cognizance is--ah--great penetration, as always."
Remora fidgeted.
"I saw it scratched on one five floors up, yesterday," Quetzal
continued as though he had not heard, "and went wide."
"Disgraceful, Your Cognizance!"
"Respect for our cloth, Patera. I myself swim well. Not so well
as a