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

"Get busy."
Guy ran out. More boots echoed through the stairway as platoon leaders
appeared to report that everything was proceeding according to plan. Two
suspicious characters had been arrested. The tenants, as always, had
rendered active assistance. The captain ordered them to finish up quickly
and, when they had completed their assignments, to radio the code word
"Tamba" to headquarters. When the platoon leaders had gone, he lit another
cigarette and remained silent for some time. He watched the legionnaires
remove books from the shelves, leaf through them, and fling them onto the
bed.
"Pandi," he called in a low voice, "get busy with the pictures. But be
careful with this one. Don't spoil it. I'll take it for myself." He turned
to Maxim again. "What do you think of it?"
Maxim looked at it. A seashore, a broad expanse of water without а
horizon, dusk and a woman emerging from the sea. It was windy, chilly. The
woman looked cold.
"A fine painting, sir," said Maxim.
"Do you recognize the place?"
"Not at all, sir. I've never seen that sea."
"Well, what sea have you seen?"
"A completely different one, sir. But it's my deceptive memory again,
sir."
"Nonsense. It's the same sea. Except that you weren't looking at it
from the shore, but from a ship's bridge. And below you was a white deck. At
the stem was another bridge, somewhat lower. On the shore, instead of this
dame, there was a tank. And you were aiming for the turret. Massaraksh."
"I don't understand," said Maxim coldly. "I've never aimed anything
anywhere."
"How can you be so sure of that? After all. Candidate Sim, you don't
remember anything!"
"But I do remember that I never aimed anything anywhere."
"Sir!"
"I do remember that I never aimed anything anywhere, sir. And I don't
understand what you're talking about, sir."
Guy entered, accompanied by two candidates. They began to place heavy
handcuffs on the prisoners.
"These people are human, too," the captain said suddenly. "They have
wives, children. They loved someone, someone loved them."
The captain was obviously mocking him, but Maxim said precisely what he
thought: "Yes, sir. They appear to be human, too."
"You didn't expect that?"
"No, sir. I expected something quite different."
Through the corner of his eye he could see Guy's frightened expression.
But he was sick and tired of lying, and he added: "I thought they would
really be degenerates, like naked... animals."
"Naked idiot," snapped the captain. "You're not in the forest, you
know. Here they look like people. Good, kind people who get excruciating
headaches when they're under stress - just like you do," he added
unexpectedly.
"I never get any aches or pains, sir. Do you?"