"Robert A. Heinlein - To Sail Beyond the Sunset" - читать интересную книгу автора (Heinlein Robert A)

morgue.’
‚Oh, I’m sorry! I’m taking my assistant to the Mayor’s Orgy.’
‚No fuss. Zenobia would never miss the first big party of Fiesta; we’ll all go
together. So bring her with you.’
‚Him, not her.’
‚Pardon my raised eyebrows; I thought you had sworn off. Very well; bring
him.’
‚Eric, don’t you find it depressing to be so cynical? He’s a satyr, not a goose.’
‚So much the better. With Fiesta starting at sundown, Zenobia will welcome
any gallant indecency he offers her, as long as he does not break her bones.’
This silly chatter had told me one thing: I was not in New Liverpool. New
Liverpool does not celebrate Fiesta - and this local festival sounded like
Fasching in Munich combined with Carnival in Rio, with a Brixton riot thrown
in. So, not New Liverpool. What city, what planet, what year, and what
universe remained to be seen. Then I would have to see what could be done
about my predicament. Clothes. Money. Status. Then, how to get home. But I
was not worried. As long as the body is warm and the bowels move regularly
no problem can be other than minor and temporary.
The two doctors were still sneering at each other when I suddenly realized
that I had heard not one word of Galacta.
Not even Spanglish. They were speaking English, almost the harsh accent of
my girlhood, with idiom and vocabulary close to that of my native Missouri.
Maureen, this is ridiculous.
While flunkies were getting ready to move the body (disguised as a nameless
something draped in dust covers) the medical examiner (coroner?) got a
signed release from the house physician, and both started to leave. I stopped
the latter.
‚Dr Ridpath!’
‚Yes? What is it, Miss?’
‚I’m Maureen Johnson Long. You are on the staff of the hotel, are you not?’
‚In a manner of speaking. I have my offices here and am available as house
physician when needed. Do you wish to see me professionally? I’m in a
hurry.’
‚Just one quick question, Doctor. How does one get the attention of a flesh
and blood human being on the staff of this hotel? I can’t seem to raise
anyone but moronic robots - and I’m stranded here with no clothes and no
money.’
He shrugged. ‚Someone is certain to show up before long, once I report that
Judge Hardacres is dead. Are you worried about your fee? Why don’t you
call the talent agency that sent you to him? The judge probably had a running
account with them.’
‚Oh! Doctor, I’m not a prostitute. Although I suppose it does look like it.’
He cocked his left brow so high that it disturbed the tilt of his toupee, and
changed the subject. ‚You have a beautiful pussy.’
I assumed that he was speaking of my feline companion, who is a most
beautiful pussy - a flame-coloured tomcat (just the colour of my hair) in a
striking tiger pattern. He has been much admired in several universes.
‚Thank you, sir. His name is Pixel and he is a much traveled cat. Pixel, this is
Dr Ridpath:
The doctor put out a finger close to the little pink nose. ‚Howdy, Pixel.’