"Robert A. Heinlein - Podkayne of Mars" - читать интересную книгу автора (Heinlein Robert A)

PODKAYNE OF MARS
By Robert A. Heinlein


This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book
are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely


For Gale and Astrid



I

All my life I’ve wanted to go to Earth. Not to live, of course-just to see it. As
evei body knows, Terra is a wonderful place to visit but not to live. Not truly
suited to human habitation.
Personally, I’m not convinced that the human race originated ~n Earth. I
mean to say, how much reliance should you place on the evidence of a few
pounds of old bones plus the opinions of anthropologists who usually
contradict each other anyhow when what you are being asked to swallow so
obviously flies in the face of all common sense?
Think it through- The surface acceleration of Terra is clearly too great for the
human structure; it is known to result in flat feet and hernias and heart
trouble. The incident solar radiation on Terra will knock down dead an
unprotected human in an amazingly short time- and do you know of any other
organisll which has to be artificially protected~from what is alleged to be its
own natural environment in order to stay alive? As to Terran ecolo~i-
Never mind. We humans just couldn’t have originated on Earth. Nor (I admit)
on Mars, for that matter-although Mars is certainly as near ideal as you can
find in this planetary system today. Possibly the Missing Planet was our first
home-even though I think of Mars as “home” and will always want to return to
it no matter how far I travel in later years . . . and I intend to travel a long,
long way.
But I do want to visit Earth as a starter, not only to see how in the world eight
billion people manage to live almost sitting in each other’s laps (less than half
of the land area of Terra is even marginally habitable) but mostly to see
oceans ... from a safe distance. Oceans are not only fantasically unlikely but
to me the very thought of them is terrifying. All that unimaginable amount of
water, unconfined. And so deep that if you fell into it, it would be over your
head. Incredible!
 But now we are going there!
Perhaps I should introduce us. The Fries Family, I mean. Myself: Podkayne
Fries-“Poddy” to my friends and we might as well start off being friendly.
Adolescent female: I’m eight plus a few months, at a point in my development
described by my Uncle Tom as “frying size and just short of husband high”-.a
fairenough description since a female citizen of Mars may contract plenary
marriage without guardian’s waiver on her ninth birthday, and I stand 157
centimeters tall in my bare feet and mass 49 kilograms. “Five feet two and
eyes of blue” my daddy calls me, but he is a historian and romantic. But I am