"Robert A. Heinlein - A tenderfoot in space (original version)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Heinlein Robert A)

13
He was bored silly in five days—and there were five months of it
ahead. He shared a cramped room with his father and mother and
slept in a hammock swung “nightly” (the ship used Greenwich time)
between their bunks. Hammock in place, there was no room in the
cubicle; even with it stowed, only one person could dress at a time.
The only recreation space was the messrooms and they were always
crowded. There was one view port in his part of the ship. At first it
was popular, but after a few days even the kids didn’t bother, for the
view was always the same: stars, and more stars.
By order of the Captain, passengers could sign up Tor a “sightseeing
tour.” Charlie’s chance came when they were two weeks out—a climb
through accessible parts of the ship, a quick look into the power
room, a longer look at the hydroponics gardens which provided fresh
air and part of their food, and a ten-second glimpse through the door
of the Holy of Holies, the control room, all accompânied by a lecture
from a bored junior officer. It was over in two hours and Charlie was
again limited to his own, very crowded part of the ship.
Up forward there were privileged passengers, who had staterooms as
roomy as those of the officers and who
enjoyed the luxury of the officers’ lounge~ Charlie did not find out that
they were aboard for almost a month, but when he did, he was
righteously indignant.
His father set him straight. “They paid for it.”
“Huh? But we paid, too. Why should they get—”
“They paid for luxury. Those first-class passengers each paid~ about
three times what your ticket cost, or mine. We got the emigrant rate—
transportation and food and a place to sleep.” -
“I don’t think it’s fair.”
Mr. Vaughn shrugged. “Why should we have something we haven’t
paid for’~”
“Uh, . . . well, Dad, why should they be able to pay for luxuries we
can’t afford?”
“A good question. Philosophers ever since Aristotle have struggled
with that one. Maybe you’ll tell me, someday.”
“Huh? What do you mean, Dad?”




14
“Don’t say ‘Huh.’ Chuck, I’m taking you to a brandnew planet. If you
try, you can probably get rich. Then maybe you can tell me why a
man with money can command luxuries that poor people can’t.”
“But we aren’t poor!”
“No, we are not. But we aren’t rich either. Maybe you’ve got the drive
to get rich. One thing is sure: on Venus the opportunities are all