"Barry Longyear - Adagio (2)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Longyear Barry)

Tobias lowered himself into the chair to Forrest's right, sipped at the acid-tasting hot beverage,
and gnawed on a nutribar as Cage leaned back, his voice becoming brittle. "We can use the computer-
"
"For what?" Tobias shook his head as he bit again at the nutribar. "Except for getting rescued,
all our solvable problems are solved. We have oxygen, water, rations, and a livable temperature
spread. The only things in short supply are patience and sanity. Do you have any games you can
play on that thing? We could use some entertainment."
Cage snorted and sat back in his chair. "Games," he repeated in disgust. He looked over at Lady
Name. "At least I know who you are now."
She looked away from Forrest for a split second. As she resumed her watch on the pebble persecutor
she replied, "Cage, you haven't a clue who I am."
Cage smirked. "Barbara Striker. Doctor Barbara Striker. I managed to retrieve the passenger
manifest. It says you are Doctor Barbara Striker, a biologist formerly with the Dison System
colonization effort, currently relieved of your post because you are a fucking crazy."
"Words." She slowly turned her head toward Cage. "I'll be using the computer."
"You will not! I just finished repairing it."
Lady Name grinned as she stood and walked from
the dome, obviously headed for the wreck and the computer. Cage leaned toward Tobias. "You must do
something!"
Forrest chuckled and shook his head. "Calm down. Let her play with the machine. It's got to be
better than having her perched like a vulture on my shoulder all the time."
"What if she breaks it?"
"Then you can fix it again. It really isn't very important."
Cage stood abruptly and walked rapidly from the dome. Again Forrest chuckled. "Cage is on his way
to the ship to lay down the law to Lady Name."
"Yeah, and when she flashes that blade of hers he'll be back with a wet crotch." Tobias pointed
with his thumb toward the door. "How come you aren't out playing with your rocks?"
"Things are arranged."
"What's that mean?"
"I have initiated certain things out there. I'm teaching them to serve. When it becomes light
again you should be able to see how my subjects have responded."
Tobias finished off the remaining portion of his nutribar and tossed the wrapper on the plastic
floor. If Forrest wants to play god, at least he doesn't make a lot of noise. But they're all
crazy, he thought. Every single last one of them. Am I?
There was a scream from the wreckage, and a moment later Cage could be seen, holding his arm,
running toward his individual shelter. Forrest nodded, his eyes still closed. "It looks as though
they've decided that Lady Name gets to use the computer."
He opened one eye and aimed it at Tobias. "Is it true that you piss on Mikizu's grave?"
Tobias finished his beverage and placed the cup on the table. He sat back, clasped his hands over
his belly, and watched Mantchee slip a little lower behind the horizon. "Every chance I get."
"now we kill"
"the not green should know why we kill"
"tell them to ask this thing"
The dark came. Tobias tossed beneath his thermal blanket, trying to sleep, flying in the face of
the fact that he was all slept out. Had been slept out for hours. Probably days-those twenty-four-
hour spans of time they call days on a planet whose memory had grown dim. Back on a planet in a
time when there was youth, ideals, dreams, plans. The excitement of school and training.
The monotony of space. All of it reduced to keeping the power plants in second-rate ships coughing
along in exchange for a paycheck and a pension that he didn't think he'd live long enough to
collect -