"Larry Niven - Building Harlequin's Moon" - читать интересную книгу автора (Niven Larry)

Apollo's rise woke her. Her father had already gone. Rachel reviewed her notes again until she heard
Ursula call from outside.

"Coming." Rachel grabbed up some carrots and a hunk of bread for lunch, and grinned to see her
willowy friend bouncing impatiently up and down in the path. Ursula was even thinner than Rachel,
light-colored everywhere, with freckles and blue eyes. The light morning rain slicked the girls' hair down
so it hung in wet strings, and they shivered in the cool air. Ursula worried them up the path, keeping them
from flying so she could practice vocabulary answers out loud until Rachel wanted to scream at her. If
anyone besides Ursula babbled on so, Rachel would have stopped it, or walked ahead, but Ursula
covered insecurities with noise. Ursula had been her friend as long as she could remember, the only other
girl her age in the immediate circle of tents. They'd helped each other learn to walk, and then to fly.

Halfway up, two shadows flew over them. Rachel nudged Ursula in the side. "Hey, look, it's Ice and
Silence." They heard the clank of bald Andrew's homemade cable armbands against his wings. Harry
flew quietly and expertly, pacing but not following Andrew. Ursula grimaced and made as if to duck.

"Hey," Rachel said. "They won't throw anything today. Even Andrew's not stupid enough to risk making
Gabe angry on test day."

"Quit calling him Gabe! You'd think you were friends!"

"Well-"

"No Moon Born is a friend with Council. My brother Rich says they're just using us."

"Nah," Rachel said. "Sure, they have a plan, and sure, we're part of it. But they're teaching us how to be
what we want to be anyway. At least, I want to work with plants! Besides, who made Selene? Where
does all our tech come from? Why fight something you have to have? It would be like fighting air."

"Don't think too hard. You'll break your head. Think about tests. Let's review pod functions again ..."

When they finally arrived, Harry and Andrew were already bending over their plantings from the
afternoon before. Rachel grimaced at Ursula, whispering, "Of course, those two are looking good to
Council." The rain had stopped, and the grove smelled fresh and clean.

"Always," Ursula whispered back, making small kissing gestures behind her hand where only Rachel
could see. Rachel stifled a laugh.

Ali waved at them. The tiny Councilwoman was all energy and flow, teaching and correcting and
sometimes even laughing. The kids never said anything bad about Ali, even when they complained about
Council. She got respect. No one talked back to any Council, ever, but sometimes Rachel could relax
just a bit with Ali.

Ali and Gabriel were both of a type, except Ali's hair and eyes were darker, but Ali's eyes danced above
a ready smile. Ali seemed like a tiny ball of energy that rotated around the taller and more serious Chief
Terra-former. Rachel felt awkward around Ali, too tall, too spare, too angular.

When she got to her plot, Rachel drew her breath in sharply, barely managing not to draw attention by
crying out. Her cecropia tree was missing.