"Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. The Final Circle of Paradise (англ.)" - читать интересную книгу автора

decorations, and then the commanding officer riding in a
special staff car and addressing the battalions, which respond
willingly and briefly like one man."
"No doubt," said I, "this has impressed many people."
"Yes! Very much indeed. We have always said that it is
necessary to disarm, but did we really need to destroy the
army? It is the last refuge of manhood in our time of
widespread moral collapse. It's weird and ridiculous - a
government without an army...."
"It is funny," I agreed. "You may not believe it, but I
have been smiling ever since they signed the Pact."
"Yes, I can understand that," said Aunt Vaina. "There was
nothing else for us to do, but to smile sarcastically. The
Major General Tuur" - she extricated a handkerchief - "passed
away with just such a sarcastic smile on his face." She applied
the handkerchief to her eyes. "He said to us: 'My friends, I
still hope to live to the day when everything will fall apart.'
A broken man, who has lost the meaning of life... he could not
stand the emptiness in his heart." Suddenly she perked up.
"Here, let me show you, Ivan."
She bustled into the next room and returned with a heavy
old-fashioned photo album.
I looked at my watch at once, but Aunt Vaina did not take
any notice, and sitting herself down at my side, opened the
album at the very first page.
"Here is the major general."
The major general looked quite the eagle. He had a narrow
bony face and translucent eyes. His long body was spangled with
medals. The biggest, a multi-pointed starburst framed in a
laurel wreath, sparkled in the region of the appendix. In his
left hand the general tightly pressed a pair of gloves, and his
right hand rested on the hilt of a ceremonial poniard. A high
collar with gold embroidery propped up his lower jaw.
"And here is the major general on maneuvers."
Here again the general looked the eagle. He was issuing
instructions to his officers, who were bent over a map spread
on the frontal armor of a gigantic tank. By the shape of the
treads and the streamlined appearance of the turret, I
recognized it as one of the Mammoth heavy storm vehicles, which
were designed for pushing through nuclear strike zones and now
are successfully employed by deep-sea exploration teams.
"And here is the general on his fiftieth birthday."
Here too, the general looked the eagle. He stood by a
well-set table with a wineglass in his hand, listening to a
toast in his honor. The lower left corner was occupied by a
halo of light from a shiny pate; and to his side, gazing up at
him with admiration, sat a very young and very pretty Aunt
Vaina. I tried surreptitiously to gauge the thickness of the
album by feel.
"Ah, here is the general on vacation."