"Robert Sheckley. Pilgrimage to Earth" - читать интересную книгу автора He wanted to go in. But across the street was a war film. The billboard
shouted, THE SUN BUSTERS! DEDICATED TO THE DAREDEVILS OF THE SPACE MARINES! And further down was a picture called TARZAN BATTLES THE SATURNIAN GHOULS! Tarzan, he recalled from his reading, was an ancient ethnic hero of Earth. It was all wonderful, but there was so much more! He saw little open shops where one could buy food of all worlds, and especially such native Terran dishes as pizza, hotdogs, spaghetti and knishes. And there were stores which sold surplus clothing from the Terran spacefleets, and other stores which sold nothing but beverages. Simon didn't know what to do first. Then he heard a staccato burst of gunfire behind him, and whirled. It was only a shooting gallery, a long, narrow, brightly painted place with a waist-high counter. The manager, a swarthy fat man with a mole on his chin sat on a high stool and smiled at Simon. "Try your luck?" Simon walked over and saw that, instead of the usual targets, there were four scantily dressed women at the end of the gallery, seated upon bullet-scored chairs. They had tiny bull-eyes painted on their foreheads "But do you fire real bullets?" Simon asked. "Of course!" the manager said. "There is a law against false advertising on Earth. Real bullets and real gals! Step up and knock one off!" One of the women called out, "Come on, sport! Bet you miss me!" Another screamed, "He couldn't hit the broad side of a spaceship!" "Sure he can!" another shouted. "Come on, sport!" Simon rubbed his forehead and tried not to act surprised. After all, this was Earth, where anything was allowed as long as it was commercially feasible. He asked, "Are there galleries where you shoot men, too?" "Of course," the manager said. "But you ain't no pervert, are you?" "Certainly not!" "You an outworlder?" |
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