"George R. R. Martin - Loaves and Fishes" - читать интересную книгу автора (Martin George R R)

Against that, what are the rights of this one man?”
“I won’t argue that point, Josen, though there are those who would, you know that. But never mind. You
want to be practical, I’ll give you some goddamned practical things to think over. Even if we buy this ship
from Tuf legally, there’s going to be hell to pay with Vandeen and Skrymir and the rest of the allies, but I
doubt that they’d try anything. If we grab it by force, though, that’s a set of coordinates to a whole
different place—a hard place, too. They can say piracy, maybe. They can define the Ark as a military
craft—which it was, by the way, and a puling world-buster, too—and say we’re in violation of the treaty
and come after us again.”
“I’ll speak to their envoys personally,” said Josen Rael wearily. “Assure them that as long as the
technocrats are in power, the colonization program will not be resumed.”
“And they’ll take your puling word? Like goddamned horny hell they will. And will you assure them that
the technocrats are never going to lose power, that they’ll never have the expansionists to deal with
again? How will you do that? Are you planning to use the Ark to establish a benevolent dictatorship?”
The councillor pressed his lips together tightly, and a flush crept up the back of his long, dark neck. “You
know me better than that. Agreed, there are dangers. The ship is a formidable military resource,
however. Let us not forget that. If the allies mobilize against us, we will hold the trump card.”
“Nonsense,” said Tolly Mune. “It has to be repaired and we have to master it. The technology involved
has been lost for a thousand years. We’ll be studying it for months, maybe years, before we can really
use the goddamned thing. Only we won’t get the chance. The Vandeeni armada will arrive within weeks
to take it away from us, and the others won’t be far behind them.”
“None of this is your concern, Portmaster,” said Josen Rael coldly. “The High Council has discussed the
issue thoroughly.”
“Don’t try and pull rank on me, Josen. Remember the time you got drunk on narco-blasters and decided
you’d go outside and see how fast urine crystallized in space? I was the one who talked you out of
freezing off your hose, esteemed First Councillor. Clean out your puling ears and listen to me. Maybe
war isn’t my concern, but trade is. The port is our lifeline. We import thirty percent of our raw calories
now—”
“Thirty-four percent,” Rael corrected.
“Thirty-four percent,” Tolly Mune agreed. “And that is going to go nowhere but up, we both know it.
We pay for that food with our technological expertise—both manufactured goods and port profits. We
service, repair, and build more starships than any other four worlds in the sector, and you know why?
Because I’ve busted my puling buns to make sure we’re the best. Tuf himself said it. He came here for
repairs because we had a reputation—a reputation for being ethical, honest, and fair, as well as
technically competent. What’s going to happen to that reputation if we confiscate his puling ship? How
many other traders are going to bring in their ships for repairs if we feel free to help ourselves to any we
like? What’s going to happen to my goddamned port?”
“It would certainly have an adverse effect,” Josen Rael admitted.
Tolly Mune made a loud crude noise at him. “Our economy will be destroyed,” she said bluntly.
Rael was sweating heavily now, trickles of moisture running down the broad, domed forehead. He
mopped at the moisture with a pocket cloth. “Then you must see that it doesn’t happen, Portmaster
Mune. You must see that it doesn’t come to that.”
“How?”
“Buy the Ark,” he said. “I delegate full authority to you, since you seem to understand the situation so
well. Make this Tuf person see reason. The responsibility is yours.” He nodded, and the screen went
black.


On S’uthlam, Haviland Tuf played the tourist.
It could not be denied that the world was impressive, in its way. During his years as a trader, hopping
from star to star in the Cornucopia of Excellent Goods at Low Prices, Haviland Tuf had visited more