"Ken Rand - The Henry and the Martha" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rand Ken)

the crowds and they loved it.

The Martha had fans too, but not like the Henry.

But something happened. The Henry had killed the Martha.

“We should have...” A-nan tried to continue, but what could she say? Too
late? Too bad? We should have insisted on a budget that didn’t leave the museum at
the mercy of old, faulty power systems and the corrosive salt-sea air common to this
region? We should have checked the backup generator when the storm hit, or
before, when we tasted the storm in the air, and saw the clouds piling up over the
ocean rolling toward us? We should have acted the instant the power failed and the
exhibit remote monitors went blank?

But who could have expected—this?

I found the Henry in the toilet room.

“Forensics will tell us how,” I said. How was obvious. Strangulation. By the
Henry’s hands.

But why?

The Henry sat, still, naked, on the toilet seat. Limp. Head bowed. It smelled of
sweat and feces.

“Or I can ask it,” A-nan said. She was the resident expert.

“No.” I pointed with my light and she saw. “I don’t think the Henry is, well...”

“Oh, E-gar.” The Henry looked sick. “How sad.” The Martha was dead now,
and we had two hours before the museum opened to restore it and treat the Henry as
well. Could we restore the Martha, or would there be—what?—glitches? Behavior
lapses? Changes? Who knew?

We had to try. What choice was there?

A-nan knelt by the Henry, touched its scaleless skin and spoke to it. The
Henry made no response, and A-nan looked up at me, worry flushing her throat
pouch.
 “Come away from it,” I said. A-nan stood with a sigh, stepped away and
toward into the bedroom where the Martha lay. She hovered in the doorway between
the rooms, uncertain.

I tapped my comlink. The Director’s code. And medical.

Opening would be delayed. There would be recriminations. The Director
would start, pass the blame down to us. Then the media, then the public would join.
“The caretakers’ fault ... Negligence ... They let it die...”