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

"You don't need to, 'cause I'll be carrying you. Come on; you're going to love it."

And love it she did. From her gasp of wonder at takeoff to their first wet pass through a low-lying
cloud, the little girl was entranced, alternately looking around in awed silence and excitedly pointing
out brand-new discoveries. For her part, Lisa found herself caught up in the child's fascination, able
to see with some of her same delight things that she had stopped noticing years ago. It was like being
a child again herself.

They flew around over Barona for a long time, until the rush of Jessy's excitement began to wane a
bit. Then, dropping to just above the city's tallest buildings, Lisa unobtrusively began Jessy's first
lessons in aerial navigation. "Okay, now the first thing you'll need to recognize is the hiveтАФit's that
building there, the one with two towers and the fenced-in area behind it. Over there is the city
buildingтАФthat's where the mayor works and where the police are; that star near the top always
means police. Right below us is the shopping area where you'll get to go sometimesтАФnot by
yourself, but with another preteen. See?тАФif you fly straight toward the city building from the hive
you'll come right here."

"Uh-huh." Jessy squirmed abruptly in Lisa's arms, a sure sign that she was getting restless. That
posed no physical danger, of course; Lisa's teekay was holding the child as securely as batling's
talons. But like most Fives, Jessy was bursting with energy, and Lisa preferred that she expend it at
ground level. They could drop down to the shopping center, perhaps, and Lisa could show her how
to tell what each of the stores sold by the picture in the window. Or else they could walk around the
city's business area and look at the tall buildings, orтАФ

Lisa had a flash of pure genius. "Jessy," she said, turning smoothly and heading toward a spot north
of the city building, "have you ever been to the library?"

Jessy hadn't; and she was delighted. She had, of course, seen TVs and tape players beforeтАФthough
the headphones connected to the latter seemed new to herтАФbut the flashing lights of the video
games were a source of instant fascination. She ran back and forth among the machines, standing on
tiptoe to see over players' shoulders, occasionally trying to touch the images or teek them through
the screens, and generally making a minor nuisance of herself. The preteens playing the machines,
most of whom had probably fled the game rooms at their hives for the express purpose of getting
away from younger kids, were not inclined to be patient, and after a few minutes Lisa corralled her
young charge and took her upstairs to the second floor. Much of that level was taken up by nature
exhibits, and Jessy wandered among them for nearly twenty minutes, stopping by each exhibit and
listening to part of its accompanying information tape before moving on to the next. The exhibits
ranged from dioramas of Tigris's native plants and animals to cages housing small, furry animals,
both earthstock and native; and as she watched Jessy's exploration, Lisa was again reminded of her
own girlhood. She could still spend hours here, watching the gerbils and furheads in their cages and
imagining what it must be like for them in the wild. Today, though, her mood was more one of
impatience than interest as she waited for Jessy's excitement to wane.


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A Coming of Age

Finally, she couldn't wait any longer. Soon they would have to head back to the hive. "Jessy, there's
one more place I want to show you," she said, dropping to one knee beside Jessy and the ant farm