"Jerry Davis - Dna Prospector" - читать интересную книгу автора (Davis Jerry)

cylindrical water storage tank off one of the first colony ships.
The crops and the animals were all Vern's test subjects -- he was a
certified Ecesist, specially trained in adapting Earth life to
alien environments. Vern was nowhere in sight, but his teenage
kids, Bethany and Frank, were on the front porch with their dog.
"James!" Bethany called. "You're just in time. I made an extra
portion just in case you showed up." Bethany, who Gregson had been
courting for several months now, was 19 years standard, with
olive-brown skin, brown eyes, and long straight brown-black hair.
The top of her head didn't quite make it to Gregson's shoulders, so
she had to look up at him to show him her smile.
Her younger brother, Frank, wasn't smiling. He was 17 and
shared his sister's hair and complexion. He was a head taller than
her, however, and almost as tall as Gregson. He was huskier than
Gregson, with square shoulders and a beefy chest. He reached down
as Gregson approached and touched a button on the digital panel
embedded in the dog's head. The dog began to growl.
"Frank!" Bethany said. She touched the animal's head, and the
growling stopped.
Frank reached for the dog again and she slapped his hand. They
glared at each other for a moment, and he turned and stomped off.
She turned and smiled at Gregson again, ushering him up to the
house and inside.
The food tasted wonderful, and the coffee was nice and strong.
As he ate, Bethany walked lightly around the table, talking. "...
and since we haven't seen any large tracks of any kind, we don't
think it's really an animal at all. Dad thinks it's spoor from one
of the plants. And I was thinking, if we could find what the source
is before my Dad does, you and I could share the title."


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Gregson sipped his coffee, watching her walk, admiring her
soft curves and listening happily to her disarming voice. "If I
agreed to something like that," he told her, "your father would
have your brother kill me."
Bethany stopped, cocking her head to one side and looking at
him through whisps of her hair. "I don't think so."
"Besides, if it's a psycho-reactive agent then it's probably
useless to us. It can be reproduced artificially. The only thing
that would be valuable is if it's something that can only be
produced by a living thing, and we get the rights to the DNA code.
That's the key. If only the DNA can produce it, if the living thing
in and of itself is of value, can we profit."
"Like, if it's a psychic effect."
Gregson nodded. He stabbed the last bit of egg with a fork and
put it in his mouth.
"Dad doesn't believe in that sort of thing."