"Janat Kagan - Hellspark" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kagan Janet)

a quick glimpse of the sprookje’s “sample tooth”—the single retractable needlelike organ that was
ordinarily concealed within its beak—as the sprookje nipped the golden scoffer.
It was an irrational response, he knew, but the sharp thrust of the beak, the bite, always seemed
aggressive. The first time they had seen crested sprookjes, van Zoveel had stepped forward to attempt to
communicate with them. He had been examined and bitten. And everyone assumed he was being
attacked. The resultant commotion had driven the sprookjes away.
Now he reacted not only to that, but to the thought of the dead golden scoffers as well. Eating
Oloitokitok’s flesh had poisoned them, as eating from the humans’ garbage dump had poisoned the
scavengers near base camp. With considerable relief, swift-Kalat remembered that he’d been bitten by
the sprookje when it first arrived at base camp, with no ill effects to either of them.
The sprookje lifted its brown cheek-feathers slightly, as if in surprise; then it walked away, out the
door and out into Lassti’s brilliant dusk. Swift-Kalat was too tired to follow, too tired to wonder at the
sprookje’s behavior. He sank into his chair, closed his eyes, and lay his head on his arms just for a
moment…
When he awoke, it was to the sound of thunder and the spray of rain streaming through the open
door. Stiffly, he crossed the room and drew the opaque membrane closed. Reflected patterns of dull
yellow light made him turn to the computer in the corner—he donned his spectacles and reluctantly called
up the message the computer was holding for him.
The image of Ruurd van Zoveel, the survey team’s polyglot, sprang into view. Van Zoveel was a
large, solidly built man with a smokewood face, shaggy dark blond hair, and shaggier sideburns. Even
seated before his computer console to tape a message, he was in constant motion. His gaudily
beribboned tunic rippled with his agitation.
He spoke Jenji without a trace of accent, however, and he spoke it with a high degree of reliability.
Swift-Kalat closed his eyes and found comfort in the sounds of his native tongue that he did not find in
the content of the message.
“Layli-layli calulan has finished the autopsy: she concludes that Oloitokitok died of heart failure due
to severe electric shock. I saw what I took to be burns on his chest and shoulder. His locator had been
fused; Megeve says in that condition even Oloitokitok’s death wouldn’t have set it off. The captain
concludes that Oloitokitok startled a shocker—”
At that, swift-Kalat found himself frowning. Several of the indigenous predators used an electric
charge to stun or kill their prey but the idea that a live-wire or a blitzen would mistake Oloitokitok for
prey seemed out of keeping with what he knew of the habits of the creatures the team had dubbed
shockers. A charger, perhaps? Unlikely in that area of the flashwood…
“—or perhaps was simply struck by lightning. The captain has therefore lifted Extraordinary
Precautions.”
Something in van Zoveel’s voice made swift-Kalat open his eyes. Van Zoveel brushed his sideburns
anxiously, then he swallowed hard and finished, “There will be no final rites—at least, no public ones.
Layli-layli calulan’s culture restricts death rites to the surviving family, in private.”
Apparently, layli-layli had broken one of the taboos of van Zoveel’s culture. For the sake of
understanding, swift-Kalat would have to look into the matter.
With visible effort, van Zoveel composed himself. After a moment, he said, “That’s not what I called
about. I must speak to you, swift-Kalat, as soon as you’ve rested. Captain Kejesli wants my formal
decision on the sprookjes.”
To swift-Kalat’s surprise, van Zoveel abruptly switched to GalLing’ and went on, “I apologize for
switching languages on you, swift-Kalat, but I can’t say this in Jenji without creating an untruth: I believe
that Kejesli wants the sprookjes found nonsentient. No! No, it’s not even that—I think he wants this
survey over and done with, and it doesn’t matter to him how sloppily he goes about it. It doesn’t matter
to him what the sprookjes are as long as we decide now.”
 Again, he made the effort to compose himself. Then he added, “Please understand that this statement
has no reliability whatsoever; it’s only the feeling I have. But I must discuss my report with you.”