"Timothy Zahn - A Coming of Age" - читать интересную книгу автора (Zahn Timothy)

But I'm almost a teen, she reminded herself firmly... and now that she thought about it, she couldn't
remember anyone ever saying that a preteen couldn't try to learn reading. If she could even just learn
all the letters it would give her something to build on later. It was certainly worth a try, anyway.

And with unusually good timing the idea had even come to her when she could take advantage of the
extra free time the weekend provided. None of the books in the hive's entertainment center had
anything but pictures, but the Barona Library was open to anyone; and while Lisa had been above
the first two floors only once, she knew kids were allowed up there. Provided the library opened
early enough on Saturdays, she should be able to get busy right after breakfast.

For a moment she frowned, and her thoughts went back to the man in the car. What sort of job did he
have, she wondered, where he had to work on Saturday but not on Friday? The mines in the
Tessellate Mountains near Rand worked eight days a week, she'd heardтАФa few of them a full twenty-
one hours a dayтАФbut he hadn't looked much like a miner. Perhaps he was a supervisor of some kind.
Certainly he'd sounded educated enough to be somebody important.

And that apparently was the secret of adult life. Education is power... and power means not being
pushed around. Smiling to herself, Lisa increased her speed, hoping to get to bed early for a change.
Tomorrow was going to be a busy day.



Dr. Matthew Jarvis let his car coast to a stop by the cabin wall and breathed a sigh of relief as he
flicked off the headlights. For a moment he sat in the darkness, letting his eyes adjust. Then, opening
the door, he reached over and scooped up the sleeping boy beside him. Maneuvering carefully to
avoid banging either of their heads, he got out of the car and carried the child into the dark building.

Inside, he headed straight for the kitchen table, the only flat surface he was willing to try and get to
in complete darkness. He made it without running into anything and laid the boy down. Feeling his
way to the nearest door jamb, he flicked on a light and then reached around the door to his study to
turn on the lights there. Picking up the boy, he transferred him to the study couch and then went back
to the car to retrieve his small travel bag, confirming on the way that the lights didn't show from
outside the cabin. Back in the study, he collected the vials and hypodermics he would need and set
them out neatly on the end table by the couch. Finally, he pulled a chair alongside the sleeping boy
and sat down.

For a long moment he gazed into the child's face as an odd mix of emotions swirled inside him. The
decision on whether to proceed was still not irrevocable... and the fact that he'd made it this far
without getting caught meant that choice was now solely in his hands. Even at this late stage that
wasn't something he could casually dismiss.

But the moment passed. Reaching over to the end table, he carefully prepared the three hypos he
would need: the first with a chemical to neutralize what remained of the sleeping drug in the boy's
system, the second with a mild hypnotic. In the third... Jarvis squinted at the clear brown fluid,
marveling again at how innocent the stuff seemed. Certainly there was nothing in its appearance to

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A Coming of Age