"Stephen Palmer - The Green Realm Below" - читать интересную книгу автора (Palmer Stephen)

that twisted like questing tentacles. Kytanquil shivered, her reserve of
bravery reaching its end.
Awanshyva led the way into another series of rooms, these carved from the
rock with chisels, or so it seemed from the deeply gouged surfaces.
Puddles of stinking water reflected the flashlight beam. Occasionally
small green creatures would leap from these puddles and scuttle away,
screeching with rage. In the last room Awanshyva pulled up another cover,
then let himself into the hole. Kytanquil dropped down after him, to find
another room, and another manhole.
They dropped into a room lit by blue fungi, glued to the walls in stripes
as if they had dripped from the coving over the centuries. A smell of dead
meat made Kytanquil retch. They hurried on into another tunnel, leading
down, the slime on the floor making them slip and slide.
In desperation, Kytanquil whispered, "How much further?"
"We are almost there."
At the end of the tunnel lay a cavern, its roof a single dome of blue
fungi, so that for a few seconds Kytanquil had to squint, until her eyes
became used to the illumination. A single column lay central, surrounded
by items of junk, litter, fungi, and pale creatures like rats, with
whiskers longer than their own bodies.
Kytanquil jumped. Three people walked from behind the column.
They were naked, their skin deep green, their black eyes defocussed, with
matted hair and black lips. Awanshyva turned to her and said, "These are
three of the Slow People."
Kytanquil took a step back, so that he stood between her and the
creatures. "Ugh, what are they?"
"In the Green Quarter, deep now under cushions of fungi and twisted vines,
lies the Venus Heart, an ancient plant that thinks. But it lives on a
different time scale. A minute of its time is a year of ours. Its winter
is our ice age. Certain personages need to communicate with the Venus
Heart-"
"Wait, wait," Kytanquil interrupted, "I didn't come to this
Goddess-forsaken pit to hear a lecture. What's this to do with me?"
"Those of the secret societies-"
"But you're one of them."
"I am the Advocate of the Plants, the seed of communication used by the
societies when they wish to interact with the outside world. This is why
they sent you the Garden fret. You are the one who will communicate with
the Slow People, who will in turn communicate with the Venus Heart, who-"
"I doubt it very much," Kytanquil retorted.
After a pause Awanshyva observed, "It is true you cannot be forced." There
was no menace in his voice.
"That's right. I won't be told to do anything."
"Do you wish to escape Kray?" Awanshyva asked.
"Yes! But I'm verging on reveller. What's the point in looking? This is
the final year."
Awanshyva considered this, then said, "A year on your time scale maybe.
But suppose you were offered the chance of life on another?"
"How? And who by, the secret societies of the Garden?"
"Perhaps."