"Heinlein, Robert A - All You Zombies (2)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Heinlein Robert A)

"But the surgeon was talking. "Tell me, uh-" He
avoided my name. "did you ever think your glandular setup was
odd? "
"I said, "Huh? Of course not. What are you driving at?
"
"He hesitated. I'll give you this in one dose, then a
hypo to let you sleep off your jitters. You'll have "em. "
"'Why? I demanded.
Ever hear of that Scottish physician who was female
until she was thirtyfive? -then had surgery and became legally
and medically a man? Got married. All okay. "

'What's that got to do with me? "
"'That's what I'm saying. You're a man. "
"I tried to sit up. What? "
"Take it easy. When I opened you, I found a mess. I
sent for the Chief of Surgery while I got the baby out, then we
held a consultation with you on the table-and worked for hours
to salvage what we could. You had two full sets of organs, both
immature, but with the female set well enough developed for you
to have a baby. They could never be any use to you again, so we
took them out and rearranged things so that you can develop
properly as a man. He put a hand on me. "Don't worry. You're
young, your bones will readjust, we'll watch your glandular
balance - and make a fine young man out of you. "
"I started to cry. "What about my baby? "
"Well, you can't nurse her, you haven't milk enough for
a kitten. If I were you, I wouldn't see her-put her up for
adoption. "
"'No! "
"He shrugged. "The choice is yours; you're her mother -
well, her parent. But don't worry now; we'll get you well
first. "
"Next day they let me see the kid and I saw her daily -
trying to get used to her. I had never seen a brand-new baby
and had no idea how awful they look - my daughter looked like
an orange monkey. My feelings changed to cold determination to
do right by her. But four weeks later that didn't mean
anything. --
"Eh? --
"She was snatched. --
"'Snatched? --
The Unmarried Mother almost knocked over the bottle we
had bet. -- Kidnapped - stolen from the hospital nursery! " He
breathed hard. -- How's that for taking the last a man's got to
live for? --
"A bad deal, " I agreed. -- Let's pour you another. No
clues? --
"Nothing the police could trace. Somebody came to see
her, claimed to be her uncle. While the nurse had her back