"Zach Hughes - The Book of Rack the Healer" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hughes Zach)

Webbers.

Truly, it was an arrangement to give wonder. The wisdom of nature was
proved by the infallibility of her scheme to sustain life in an atmosphere
that could eat a nugget of hard material in less than a sun circle. And
Rack was not really discontent. After he gained maturity he took pride in
his ability to gather more slime source than any other young Healer. He
gloried in his strength, his huge, billowing lungs that could store enough
air to outlast the most severe storm, his wonderful healing cells that
replaced themselves when damaged by hard projectiles or acid gases.

But there was much in his world to arouse his curiosity and he made
his contributions to the knowledge of the race by feeding his observations
into the blank mind of a Keeper after the exploration trips he took in his
free time. He was recognized as an authority on the vast, uninhabited area
of responsibility of Red Earth and was often consulted. He had come a
long way from being the feckless young rack-lover who had engendered
frowns of concern from his parents and teachers. In the prime of his
physical strength he was tall and had a chest thickness equal to half his
height. His scales were healthy, showing no damage from all his
wanderings. When he retracted his protective eyefilms in the safety of his
establishment his pupils glowed with a bright blue light and glittered with
a love of life that was contagious. He was considerate, never venting his
gills in the vicinity of an establishment, much less when in view of another
being. He was generous with his time, always willing to use his strength to
venture out for an extended period in the service of anyone who needed
help. He asked for nothing except, at times, a period of conversation.
Lying on his rack, breathing his sweet, Breather-produced air, he would
compare knowledge with a Far Seer, gossip with a fellow Healer, or carry
on a respectful exchange with a friendly Power Giver. At such times he
projected a completely relaxed and totally likable personality. There were
those among the young Power Givers who contacted him regularly, trying
to detect a hint that Rack was being readied by nature for a joining. But
they were continually disappointed; Power Giver after Power Giver, feeling
the approach of her own time, had to search elsewhere, for the gray scale
covering on Rack's lower abdomen remained rigid, showing no tint of the
tell-tale red of readiness.



III

"You are, I see, preparing," said Red Earth from his sanctuary, his
mind engaged with Rack's.

"Affirmative."

"A group of Breathers overworking," Red Earth sent.

"I have seen and am content with what I have stored," Rack said. He