"Matthew Hughes - The Meaning of Luff" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hughes Matt)

His faint presence did not disturb Tung, who had then gone through the house carefully, in case there
might be objects of value pining away for want of ownership. She had found two secret compartments,
one of which contained a number of odd items, including an ancient grimoire whose author assumed that
magical spells could be efficacious.
"It seems that denAarrafol dabbled in thaumaturgy," she said. "He was working on a book of his own
when he died. He believed that magic and rationalism alternated over the aeons in a great cycle and that
we are approaching a cusp at which the Wheel turns anew and spells and cantrips become operative,
while physics and chemistry become unreliable."

"I have heard of the theory," Imbry said. "It can be a useful construct when separating the gullible from
their assets."

"It turns out there is something to it," Tung said.

"Oh?"

"Along with the spell book and various paraphernalia, I found that," Tung said, indicating the stone on the
sideboard.

"And that is?" Imbry said, stepping into the room for a closer inspection of the black thing, though he
kept an eye on Welliver Tung.

"In denAarrafol's book, it was referred to as a 'salience indicator,'" Tung said. "It reveals the purpose of a
life."

"Of life in general?"

"No, of a specific life--yours, mine, anyone's."

Imbry peered more closely at the stone. It seemed to be a mere lump of black stuff, dull and unreflective.
"And how is this determined?"

"It is difficult to...." Tung broke off. "You're going to think that I am trying to slip a flat one under you."

"You would not want me to think that," Imbry said. He assessed the unconscious messages that came
from her face and posture, as well as the tiny beads of perspiration that appeared on her upper lip. "I
believe you are about to offer me what you, at least, believe to be the truth."

He saw honest relief wash over her. "I'm waiting," he said.

"DenAaarafol's notes say it is a portion of the consciousness--not an organ like the brain but the
'condition of being aware' was how he put it--of an entity that inhabits another continuum," she said. "This
entity comprehends the interlinkages of all life in our continuum. It knows the why of every creature's
existence."

"Some sort of god?" Imbry asked.

"No," she said, "for it can do nothing with the information. DenAarrafol likened it to a book on a shelf,
though the kind of intelligence that would open such a book and read what is written in it was beyond his
comprehension. This lump represents but a single 'page,' a page that nonetheless contains the meaning of