"Timothy Zahn - The Green and the Gray" - читать интересную книгу автора (Zahn Timothy)

The Green and the Gray




THE GREEN AND THE GRAY
Timothy Zahn


To my agent, editors, former editors, and publishers in New York
With thanks for all the advice, local information, and free lunches




file:///K|/eMule/Incoming/Timothy%20Zahn%20-%20The%20Green%20and%20the%20Gray.htm (1 of 424)22-12-2006 15:57:21
The Green and the Gray




PROLOGUE
The sun had long since set behind the trees of Riverside Park, on the western edge of Manhattan
Island, and the lights of the New Jersey coastline were glittering on the Hudson River. Melantha
Green found herself gazing at the lights, and the dark sky beyond them, as she and the two Warriors
on either side of her walked along the cool grass of the upper promenade toward the stone steps
leading down to the main part of the park. It had been the last sunset she would ever see, she knew,
and she felt a deep sadness that it hadn't been more spectacular. But it hadn't been, and it was over.
The sky was dark, and the marginal warmth of the daylight had given way to the chill of a New York
October evening. A steady northerly breeze ruffled through the last remaining leaves, and through
the fear and anguish pounding in her heart she could imagine that the trees themselves were saying
their farewells. Even as they settled into their yearly winter's rest, she, too, was about to settle into
the quiet nothingness of death.
Except that their death would end a few months from now with the warm sunlight and the glorious
renewal of spring. Her death would be forever.
The others were waiting at the top of the steps by the John Carrere Memorial as she and her escort
arrived, the two small clusters of Greens and Grays standing a little apart from each other. An uneasy
truce there might be right now, and genuine peace there might someday be, but that didn't mean
either group particularly trusted the other. Some of the faces she could recognize in the glow from
the Riverside Drive streetlights: Cyril and Aleksander, the leaders of the Greens, who had talked
long and earnestly with her before this decision had been made. Her parents were there, too, trying
valiantly to be stoic and loving and supportive even through the agony that was tearing their hearts
apart. A couple of the Grays were familiar, too, their wide faces staring silently and emotionlessly at
her from atop their squat bodies. The hope of both their peoples, they had called her, the one whose
sacrifice would mean peace.
She hoped they were right. It would be a terrible thing to die for nothing.
Her escort led her to a spot midway between the two small knots of people. Cyril had a few words of
greeting and encouragement, but it was clear that no one really felt like conversation, and thankfully
it was soon over. With the sun down and the night growing cold, even Melantha couldn't see any
point in postponing the inevitable any longer.