"Arcady And Boris Strugatsky. Prisoners of Power" - читать интересную книгу автора

Reminded about radioactivity, Guy dug into his bag for the container of
yellow tablets. He swallowed two of them and writhed from the penetrating
burning sensation. The miserable stuff had to be taken; this place was
contaminated too. In the desert, he'd probably have to consume them by the
handful. Without these pills he'd be done for. He was grateful to the duke
for them. The duke was an unusual man. Nothing bothered him, nothing
discouraged him, even in this hell. He helped people, treated them, made
rounds, and even set up a plant to produce drugs and medicines.
The door burst open. Wearing only a pair of shorts, Maxim strode into
the room angrily.
"No excuses. Let's go!"
"I don't want to," replied Guy. "The hell with all of them! It makes me
sick to look at them. I can't."
"Nonsense. They're fine people and have a great deal of respect for
you. Stop acting like a child."
"Oh, sure, they respect me."
"They certainly do! Recently the duke asked that you remain here. He
said he would die soon and needed a real man to replace him."
"Oh, sure, replace him," muttered Guy, succumbing to Mac's pleading.
"Boshku is nagging me, too. He's too shy to speak to you directly. 'Let
Guy stay,' he says. 'He'll teach us, protect us, train some fine fighters.'
Do you know how Boshku talks about you?"
Guy gave in. "Well, all right. Should I take my gun?"
"Take it. You never can tell."
Guy put the gun under his arm and they left the room. They descended
the rotten staircase, stepped across some children playing in the dirt by
the door, and walked down the street toward the square. "How many people
perished here when that bomb was dropped! They say this once was a beautiful
city. Those bastards ruined the country. They not only killed and crippled
people, but bred evil, the like of which has never been seen. And not only
here."
The duke had told them that animals resembling dogs had lived in the
forest before the war. He forgot what they were called. They were
intelligent and well-behaved, and it was a pleasure to train them.
Naturally, they were trained for military purposes. Then a linguist turned
up who had deciphered their language. They actually had one, and a rather
complex one at that. They loved to imitate, and the physiology of their
throats made it possible to teach some of them some fifty to seventy words.
On the whole they were amazing animals. We should have befriended them, said
the duke, taught each other, and helped each other. "You'll hear they died
out, but that isn't true. They were trained to fight, to penetrate enemy
territory for military intelligence. Then war broke out and there was no
time for them, or for anything else. And they, too, mutated - so now we are
faced with the vampires. Very dangerous creatures." An order to fight them
was even issued in the Special Southern Zone, and the duke admitted quite
frankly: "This is the end for us. Vampires will eventually take over the
entire region."
Guy recalled how Boshku and his hunters had once shot a deer in the
forest. "It was being pursued by vampires, who decided to fight for it. And
what kind of fighters were Mac's friends? They fired a single shot from