"Philip E. High - These Savage Futurians" - читать интересную книгу автора (High Phillip E)

acceptance. There had been—so the Masters said—a great war which had
ravaged the entire world. Ventnor's education had been psycho-monitored
so the word 'war' conveyed very little to him. He had a blurred mental
picture of fire and destruction in some vague way engineered by evil men
but very little else.
 According to general opinion in these ravaged areas— forbidden
territories—were beasts, huge never-dying fires, dreadful diseases and
invisible creatures which struck one down without warning.

He shivered slightly. He could see no beasts or fires, but disease, like the
monsters, was invisible. He went grimly onwards with a fluttery feeling of
fear in his stomach.

He reached a rising slope and began to climb it. Half way up, a
detecting device embedded in the soil responded to his body heat and
immediately recorded a complete picture, height, weight, approximate
age, general characteristics and, to make quite sure, a photograph.

The information was transferred inland and a man spoke: "Hello! Looks
as though a specimen has escaped from the culture tray. Our friends won't
like that."

"Escaped or expelled? They're not particular."

"I know. I often wonder why they bother. They'll kill him before he gets
far anyway."

"My guess is that they like to make sure irrespective of the fact that his
chances of survival are ninety-five to one against. They like to stick to the
book—'deviants must be liquidated regardless'."

"You're probably right. Poor devil, I wonder if he's intelligent enough to
realize— Oh, hell, keep an eye on him anyway, Roger, perhaps he'll get
near enough for us to help him."

Roger said, "Sure"—and added pessimistically—"they never do, you
know, - Our friends will burn him down within three days at the latest."
He paused, frowning. "Haven't we a patrol out somewhere around there?"

"Twenty kilometers away. We can try them but I don't think they'll
make it in time. In the first place it's a damned dangerous area and, in the
second, he's still in Hubel's Kingdom."

"Think I'll try anyway, if only to spite our friends on the Island. In my
considered opinion, they not only think they own the world but played a
major part in its creation which, in view of history, is not a myth to be
encouraged…"
 Ventnor strode on but with increasing caution. Half an hour later he
found a length of substance which he thought was metal and weighed it
experimentally in his hand. It was clumsy but would serve as a useful club