"Sarah Zettel - Kingdom of Cages" - читать интересную книгу автора (Zettel Sarah)

тАж Thank heaven for wild birds
TheyтАЩre all dressed up in feathers, with colors
outrageous.
They soar from this earthly bound kingdom of
cages
On delicate wings, so small and courageousтАж
тАФJan Harmon, тАЬWild
Birds.тАЭ




PROLOGUE
Threats
Contents - Next

тАЬWe are aware there is a crisis,тАЭ said Father Mihran calmly. тАЬBut it is not
ours.тАЭ
TamтАЩs gaze flickered to Commander Beleraja Poulos, the representative
from the Authority. Her face faded to white, then flushed darkly.
Tam did not have a seat at the conference table. His place was in the
back of the room with the rest of the administrative apprentices. They
stood shoulder to shoulder in their best black shirts and white trousers,
all of them there to watch this historic meeting and learn how to deal with
outsiders. Jace, standing just to TamтАЩs left, looked bored, but then Jace
always looked bored. Haye, on the other hand, was staring so hard it
looked like her eyes were about to pop out of her skull.
The late morning sun streamed through the pillow dome, warming and
lighting the room, bringing the feel of springtime with it. A ring of
windows let in a view of the marshes outside with their swaying reeds
and stooping, moss-draped trees. This was Pandora, the most beautiful
and perfect world ever discovered since human beings left Old Earth,
and it was about to turn humanity away.
It is what we must do, his Conscience implant whispered to him.
Pandora must be protected.
Tam eyed Commander Poulos uneasily. She had no Conscience to tell
her this. She sat before Father Mihran, straight and strong in a tailored
blue coat with gold braid on its sleeves and collar. She and her three
colleagues were a blaze of color crowded at the end of the table facing
the family council, which was arrayed down either side. The council all
wore straight black jackets with white cuffs and collars. If Tam worked
hard and did well, heтАЩd eventually take his place at that table and wear
that coat for formal meetings.
Today, however, he was very glad to be standing well away from it.
Commander PoulosтАЩs dark eyes were full of poison as she stared Father
Mihran down. Was she really going to just accept their refusal and go
away?
Father Mihran seemed to think so, if his outward calm was any