"Zelazny, Roger - Collector sFever" - читать интересную книгу автора (Zelazny Roger)

one-eyed man in a kingdom of the blind, if I may venture an
inappropriate metaphor."
"Please don't do that, whatever it is. It sounds awful. Tell me,
how did your uncle learn of our world?"
"One of my instructors read about this place in an old space log.
_He_ was an old space log collector. The log had belonged to a
Captain Fairhill, who landed here several centuries ago and held
lengthy discourses with your people."
"Good old Foul Weather Fairhill! How is he these days? Give him
my regards--"
"He's dead."
"What?"
"Dead. Kaput. Blooey. Gone. Deeble."
"Oh my! When did it happen? I trust it was an esthetic
occurrence of major import--"
"I couldn't really say. But I passed the information on to my
uncle, who decided to collect you. That's why I'm here--he sent me."
"Really, as much as I appreciate the compliment, I can't accompany
you. It's almost deeble time--"
"I know, I read all about deebling in the Fairhill log before I
showed it to Uncle Sidney. I tore those pages out. I want him to be
around when you do it. Then I can inherit his money and console
myself in all manner of expensive ways for never having gone to the
Space Academy. First I'll become an alcoholic, then I'll take up
wenching--or maybe I'd better do it the other way around..."
"But I want to deeble here, among the things I've become attached
to!"
"This is a crowbar. I'm going to unattach you."
"If you try it, I'll deeble right now."
"You can't. I measured your mass before we struck up this
conversation. It will take at least eight months, under Earth
conditions, for you to reach deebling proportions."
"Okay, I was bluffing. But have you no compassion? I've rested
here for centuries, ever since I was a small pebble, as did my fathers
before me. I've added so carefully to my atom collection, building up
the finest molecular structure in the neighborhood. And now, to be
snatched away right before deebling time, it's--it's quite unrock of
you."
"It's not that bad. I promise you'll collect the finest Earth
atoms available. You'll go places no other Stone has ever been
before."
"Small consolation. I want my friends to see."
"I'm afraid that's out of the question."
"You are a very cruel human. I hope you're around when I deeble."
"I intend to be far away and on the eve of prodigious debaucheries
when that occurs."

Under Dunghill's sub-E gravitation Stone was easily rolled to the side
of the space sedan, crated, and, with the help of a winch, installed
in the compartment beside the atomic pile. The fact that it was a