"Finch,_Sheila_-_Communion_of_Minds" - читать интересную книгу автора (Finch Sheila)

After a moment's hesitation, Jaez introduced the team. They stood awkwardly now in the fierce sun, none of them sure what to do first. The talk turned to the colony in trouble.
"We ran out of food. Nothing we brought with us would grow here," Sharnov said. "And our systems didn't tolerate the native vegetation."
"Hostile ents too?" Iversen asked.
"No. No aliens at all."
"That lets you out," Dedrick said to Greer. "Too bad! I'd hoped to get to see you do some work for once."
She knew he was scornful of the Guild's work. Well, so was she right now. She'd expected so much more of her career -- adventure, excitement, a chance to make a difference. How juvenile her ambitions seemed now. The Guild had been too successful; there were no adventures left for a lingster in the Orion Arm. Certainly not one so untalented that she'd graduated bottom of the class.
Something brushed against her shin; she glanced down. A large dog with thin, matted coat and prominent rib cage gazed up at her. It looked sick. She moved a few inches away.
"Where'd that come from?" Jaez asked.
"That's Sammy," Sharnov said. He smiled as if he'd learned to pull up the corners of his mouth but not to experience any emotion behind the gesture. "We weren't supposed to bring pets along, but one of the women smuggled him in her personal luggage. He was only a puppy then, of course."
"Hey -- I like dogs!" Iversen said. But he made no move to touch it.
The dog flopped down on the coarse sand, large amber eyes staring at Greer.
"We brought some food supplies," Jaez said. "Not much, though. Couldn't tell what you might need. But we'll get you a meal right away."
"I'm all right," Sharnov said.
"But you look -- "
"I said I'm all right!"
Jaez opened his mouth to reply. Shut it again.
"So how'd _you_ manage to survive when the others didn't?" Dedrick wanted to know.
Sharnov's mouth pulled sideways in an odd grin. "Guess I'm better at adapting."
"We couldn't see your compound coming in," Iversen said.
"South of here -- about a kilometer. In a larger stand of trees for shade."
The dog whined softly at her. She overcame her reluctance and stroked the fur behind his ears. She'd had plenty of dogs as a child, hybrids most of them, products of domestic bitches in heat and amorous coyotes that roamed the desert she'd grown up in. They'd had a lot to offer that pure-breeds lacked. This dog was about the size of a Labrador, with a short, brindled coat and drooping ears. His eyes were huge and luminous.
"Ought to search for possible survivors anyway," Jaez said. "Iversen, go ahead with Doctor Sharnov. Dedrick -- "
But Dedrick was already striding away with the other two. Jaez muttered at the engineer's retreating back, then opened the cargo hatch and contemplated the meager emergency supplies they'd brought with them. She felt embarrassed for him, but it wasn't her job to put Dedrick in his place.
She strapped on the small field pack that contained the vials of neurotransmitters every Guild lingster used when working. She obviously wasn't going to need it here, but training dictated it not be left behind.
The dog followed her to the compound which was hidden in a denser stand of the broomstick trees; she didn't see it until she was almost on top of it. She doubted the sparse foliage offered much real shade to the small group of low buildings.
When she reached the first hut, Sharnov leaned out the doorway, bowing, the rictus grin on his face again.
"Welcome to my humble home."
Again his oddness prickled. She went past him into the interior where Dedrick and Iversen were inspecting a rumpled printout. The hut contained little other than a folding table where an old computer terminal sat beside a pile of empty dishes. Probably too old to do the work a lingster would need to achieve interface, she thought. Just as well there were no indigenous entities around.
It was cooler in here than outside but not much; the air was stale, carrying the faint traces of decay. Looking up, she saw gaping holes in the roof through which the sun poked arrows of light. Jaez followed her and set down the small crate just inside the doorway.
"Look at this," Iversen said.
"I want you two to make a sweep of this compound," Jaez said. "Make _certain_ there's nobody else here. Don't want to leave anybody behind."
"Take a look at this first!" Iversen pointed to an entry.
"D -- D -- Damned c -- cur!"
Startled, she glanced round in time to see Sharnov kick the dog in the ribs. The mongrel yelped sharply and jumped away from the man's twitching leg.
"G -- G -- Get away from m -- me! Leave m -- m -- me alone!"
Sharnov appeared to be in the throes of a seizure. His entire body spasmed; his mouth opened and shut, gulping air; his eyes rolled back in his head. The dog raced away, tail between his legs, almost knocking down Jaez who still stood in the doorway.
Then the jerking movements stopped. The man turned away from the fleeing dog and spoke almost apologetically.
"He brought fleas with him."
* * * *
Sharnov was only pretending to eat.
Greer studied him; in the absence of ents, she applied her training to observe this strange human. The scientist held the nutriwafer to his lips, his jaw moved, but she was certain no crumb entered his mouth. She'd heard of starving men lacking strength to eat, but the man who'd aimed that kick hadn't been weak.
"You mentioned 'rats' earlier," she said. "Some kind of little animal?"
Sharnov stared at her blankly.
"That's right," Iversen agreed. "When we first got here. You said 'Rats.'"
"You obviously misunderstood," Sharnov said.
The medtech looked as if he were about to say something, then thought better of it.
"There's nothing that big around here," Sharnov said. "A few bugs. Otherwise, not much."
That couldn't be true, she thought. Obviously the dog had found something to keep himself alive when the food ran out.
"Elsewhere, perhaps?" Jaez mused. "In other climate zones?"
"We came to do astrophysics. Not zoology."