"Judith Merril - Survival Ship" - читать интересную книгу автора (Merril Judith)

confusion cleared from some of the flushed faces. "What we are doing, our way of life now, has
the full approval of the authorities. We must never forget that.
"On Earth, survival of the race is best served by the increasing strength of family ties. It was not
thought wise to endanger those ties by letting the general public become aware of
our—unorthodox—system here on board. A general understanding, on Earth, of the true
meaning of the phrase, 'the Twenty and the Four,' could only have aroused a furor of discussion
and argument that would, in the end, have impeded survival both there and here.
"The knowledge that there are twenty of one sex on board, and only four of the other—that
children will be born outside of normal family groups, and raised jointly—I need not tell you
how disastrous that would have been." Melnick paused, raising a hand to dispel the muttering in
the room.
"I wanted to let you know, before the Four arrive, that I have made some plans which I hope will
carry us through the initial period in which difficulties might well arise. Later, when the groups of
six—five of us, and one of them in each—have been assigned their per-manent quarters, I think i
will be possible, in fact necessary, to allow a greater amount of autonomy within those groups.
But for the time being, I have arranged a—shall we call it a dating schedule?" Again the captain
paused, waiting for tension to relieve itself in laughter. "I have arranged dates for all of you with
each of them during convenient free periods over the next month. Perhaps at the end of that time
we will be able to choose groups; perhaps it will take longer. Maternity schedules, of course, will
not be started until I am certain that the grouping is satisfactory to all. For the time being,
remember this:
"We are not only more numerous than they, but we are stronger and, in our social placement
here, more fortunate. We must become accustomed to the fact that they are our responsibility. It
is because we are hardier, longer-lived, less susceptible to pain and illness, better able to
withstand, mentally, the difficulties of a life of monotony, that we are placed as we are—and not
alone because we are the bearers of children."
Over the sober silence of the crew, the captain's voice rang out. "Lieutenant Johnson," Melnick
called to the golden-haired, sun-tanned woman near the door, "will you call the men in from the
tank rooms now? They can finish their work after dinner."