"Woods, Laurence - The Colossus Of Maia" - читать интересную книгу автора (Woods Laurence)

reached fifteen feet. I measured myself, too; when I came here, I was five feet
eleven; now I am six feet four. This is strange--a man of 37 doesn't grow any
taller, yet I am growing. It is quite slow as compared to David, but fast
enough. I cannot understand it.
--We have extended our crops, managing now to get a little more to eat than
before. We are now satisfactorily set for the first time, having found that we
can eat some of the natural minute growths of this planet. To do so, however,
would necessitate deforesting the globe eventually, so we content ourselves with
our own food. It grows monotonous, but we have to bear it. There is no meat at
all, so we are vegetarians. But we can fish; David walked five miles to the
ocean (it only takes a few minutes) and set a net of cheese cloth. We got quite
a number of whales. Yes, real whales, the size of minnows. We eat them as a rare
delicacy, prepared like sardines.
--I HAVE BEEN teaching David as usual, intending to educate him as best I can. I
am telling him about Earth and customs there. He remembers a great deal, of
course; still, a child's impressions are sometimes quite a bit garbled and
vague. He's a bright boy--an odd thing to say when he is taller than I am.
--It is now three yeare since we landed here; three Earthyears, that is. I have
to go on the basis of my watch which is still running well. A year on this
asteroid, I have calculated, must be around 1587 Earth days, but I cannot be
sure. Life has become very dull save for my teaching David. He has grown
astoundingly, now being ten feet high. I am six feet eight; the plants grew to
twenty feet, then stopped. I think I am beginning to solve the enigma of our
growth.
--It is due to the gravity or rather, the lack of gravity. On this world, we
weigh practically nothing. Actually, I weigh a little over a pound--although the
term has no meaning here. Now, what about growth: why do we grow to only six
feet on Earth? It is because, among other things, our weight slows down our
body. The glands of growth are impeded by this. Growth is a constant battle
between gravity and the glands; somewhere in the twenties we stop. This growth
is controlled by the pituitary gland at the base of the brain and aided somewhat
by other organs. On Earth, this gland is powerful enough to enable us to reach
six feet in twenty years; that is, of course, in round numbers. Now David is
growing; his glands are working at Earth speed and as strong as if he were on
Earth. But he isn't; the gravity here is so small as to be negligible, thus his
glands have it all their own way; his growth is unimpeded by weight. He will
continue to grow at a terrific pace till he is mature. How tall he will be then,
I hesitate to calculate.
As for myself: why do I keep growing although I matured long ago? It is because
the other glands also have something to do with growth. They help to rep]ace my
worn out body cells by growing new ones. Cells are always being worn out, a
natural process. But, with the loss of gravity, even this renewing of cells is
able to cause one to grow taller. Of course, it is nothing likie the pace at
which David is growing. My height will never be beyond that of the Earth giants.
--What about the natural inhabitants of Maia: why aren't they gigantic, too? It
is because they evolved here; a tiny creature is more natural to a tiny world.
They are about the same size in relation to Maia as Terrestrials are to Earth.
To them, Maia is as large as Earth, its atmosphere as thick, its oceans as deep
and as wide. It is we who are out of proportion. The idea is amazing, but
perfectly logical.