"Frank Herbert - Seed Stock" - читать интересную книгу автора (Herbert Brian & Frank)

Kroudar felt such a love for her then that he wondered if it went up through her fingers into her body.

'We filled the boats,' he said.

'I was told today that we'll soon need more storage huts,' she said. 'They're worried about sparing the
labor for the building.'

'Ten more huts,' he said.

She would pass that word along, he knew. Somehow, it would be done. The other technicians listened
to Honida. Many among the scientists scoffed at her; it could be heard beneath the blandness of their
voices. Perhaps it was because she had chosen Kroudar for mate. But technicians listened. The huts
would be built.

And they would be filled before thetrodi run stopped.

Kroudar realized then that he knew when the run would stop, not as a date, but almost as a physical
thing which he could reach out and touch. He longed for the words to explain this to Honida.

She gave his back a final kneading, sat down beside him and leaned her dark head against his chest. 'If
you're not too tired,' she said, 'I have something to show you.'

With a feeling of surprise, Kroudar became aware of unspoken excitement in Honida. Was it something
about the hydroponic gardens where she worked? His thoughts went immediately to that place upon
which the scientists pinned their hopes, the place where they chose the tall plants, the beautiful, engorged
with richness from Mother Earth. Had they achieved something important at last? Was there, after all, a
clear way to makethis place arable?

Kroudar was a primitive then wanting his gods redeemed. He found himself full of peasant hopes for the
land. Even a sea peasant knew the value of land.

He and Honida had responsibilities, though. He nodded questioningly toward the twins' bedroom.

'I arranged ... ' She gestured toward their neighbor's cubicle. 'They will listen.'

She had planned this, then. Kroudar stood up, held out his hand for her. 'Show me.'
 Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html




They went out into the night. Their town was quieter now; he could hear the distant roistering of the
river. For a moment, he thought he heard a cricket, but reason told him it could only be one of the huts
cooling in the night. He longed wordlessly for a moon.

Honida had brought one of the rechargeable electric torches, the kind issued to technicians against
emergency calls in the night. Seeing that torch, Kroudar sensed a deeper importance in this mysterious
thing she wanted to show him. Honida had the peasant's hoarding instinct. She would not waste such a
torch.