"Emil Petaja - The Prism" - читать интересную книгу автора (Petaja Emil)

masochistic! Didn't you mean sadistic? I mean, if I watched the little Drac
kids suck the blood out of his neck and like that. I mean—” She batted her
eyes and tittered helplessly.
“A semantic paradox,” Gold Dorff rumbled. “We Golds are permitted to
understand why, which is what makes us superior to the base-colors. Of
course you are sadistic! All women are, more than men, actually. They love
the sight of blood, and in the old days when their men went off to war,
they loved every minute of it. And quite properly, too! What I meant by
being masochistic is—how can you stand all that ridiculous guff, child? As a
Gold, why bother? Kor and the Purple Forest, as well as his battles, are
intended for base-color consumption, not for you, child.”
Gold Ambon looked worried. “You mean Sena oughtn't—?”
Gold Dorff waved a plump hand. “Chht! Chht! If Sena gets some mingled
satisfaction out of the more obvious Kingdoms, let her. After all, she's still
a child.”
 “I'm eighteen!”
“Exactly. A child.” His pinched eyes moved carefully over the lounging
length of her slim curves. “As I was saying, women need the sadistic outlet
and have always been more sensible about it than men, although they were
equally sensible about not letting the men know it. The death-fight-sex
parlay is perfectly normal. Livideo gives us all a vent for our completely
natural urges, even the lesser breed—or should I say lesser bred?” He
smiled at his cleverness. “Everyone, from Golds down to Blacks, needs
fulfillment in all directions. And Vicaria provides it for all. So you see—my
little kitten—those brainless oafs like Kor really do serve a very useful
purpose by their existence.”
“If one felt—umm—pity?”
Gold Dorff frowned. “That, of course, would be psychotic. These heroes
and the creatures they battle perform a necessary function. And that is
that. An outlet for our Own passions. Something for everybody within the
Seven Kingdoms of Vicaria. Have you tried Circe and her Palaces of
Unendurable Pleasure yet?”
“Father thinks I'm too young.” Sena stretched out kittenishly and gave
the white-haired man lying next to her a pettish toss. “We don't even have
Sixth yet.”
“Ah. The bypaths.”
“Tell Father I've got to visit Circe! Tell him!”
The white-haired man patted her shoulder. “Next year, Sena.” He turned
to their important guest. “You mustn't mind Sena, Gold Dorff. I mean, her
mentioning the sympathy syndrome. Of course she knows what Vicaria is all
about and how it isn't only for entertainment. Sena's a perfectly healthy
normal Gold.”
“I can see that.”
The old man's eyebrows met. “Gold Dorff, there is one thing.”
“Yes?”
“These new Lech groups? I don't quite understand them. Are they all
right? In my day—”
“Which was quite a while back.” Gold Dorff laughed. “No. The Lechs are
primarily for adolescent experimentation. Before even Golds settle down to
Vicaria and the permissible sex life, they go through a period of adjustment