"Robert Sheckley. The Day The Aliens Came (англ.)" - читать интересную книгу автора

Robert Sheckley.

The Day The Aliens Came

One day a man came to my door. He didn't quite look like a man, although he did
walk on two feet. There was something wrong with his face. It looked as though
it had been melted in an oven and then hastily frozen. I later learned that this
expression was quite common among the group of aliens called Synesters, and was
considered by them a look of especial beauty. The Melted Look, they called it,
and it was often featured in their beauty contests. "I hear you're a writer," he
said.
I said that was so. Why lie about a thing like that?
"Isn't that a bit of luck," he said. "I'm a story buyer."
"No kidding," I said.
"Have you got any stories you want to sell?"
He was very direct. I decided to be similarly so.
"Yes," I said. "I do."
"OK," he said. "I'm sure glad of that. This is a strange city for me.
Strange planet, too, come to think of it. But it's the city aspect that's
most unsettling. Different customs, all that sort of thing. As soon as I got
here, I said to myself, "Traveling's great, but where am I going to find
someone to sell me stories?"
"It's a problem," I admitted.
"Well," he said, "let's get right to it because there's a lot to do. I'd
like to begin with a ten thousand word novelette."
"You've as good as got it," I told him. "When do you want it?"
"I need it by then end of the week."
"What are we talking about in terms of money, if you'll excuse the
expression?"
"I'll pay you a thousand dollars for a ten thousand word novelette. I was
told that was standard pay for a writer in this part of Earth. This is
Earth, isn't it?"
"It's Earth, and your thousand dollars is acceptable. Just tell me what I'm
supposed to write about."
"I'll leave that up to you. After all, you're the writer."
"Damn right I am," I said. "so you don't care what it's about?"
"Not in the slightest. After all, I'm not going to read it."
"Makes sense, " I said. "Why should you care?"
I didn't want to pursue that line of inquiry any further. I assumed that someone
was going to read it. That's what usually happens with novelettes.
"What rights are you buying?" I asked, since it's important to be
professional about these matters.
"First and second Synestrian," he said. "And of course I retain Synestrian
movie rights although I'll pay you fifty percent of the net if I get a film
sale."
"Is that likely?" I asked.
"Hard to say," he said. "As far we're concerned, Earth is new literary
territory."
"In that case, let's make my cut sixty-forty."
"I won't argue," he said. "Not this time. Later you may find me very tough.