"Resnick, Mike - Dispatches" - читать интересную книгу автора (Resnick Mike)

section of the body that seems crisscrossed with nerves, and it is conceivable
that if the creature can be slowed by shock, a bullet placed in the cluster of
nerves and blood vessels where the tentacle joins the trunk of the body will do
the trick . . .

The brain was a surprise to me. It is actually three to four times larger and
heavier, in proportion to the body, than a man's brain is in proportion to his
body. This, plus the fact that the creature used a weapon (which, alas, was lost
in the current of the river), leads me to the startling but inescapable
conclusion that what we have here is a species of intelligence at least equal
to, and probably greater than, our own.

Respectfully submitted on this 14th day of July, 1898, by
Theodore Roosevelt, Colonel
United States Armed Forces

Letter to Willis Maynard Crenshaw, of Winchester Rifles, July 14, 1898:

Dear Mr. Crenshaw:

Enclosed you will find a sample of skin from a newly discovered animal. The
texture is such that it is much thicker than elephant or rhinoceros hide, though
it in no way resembles the skin of either pachyderm.

However, I'm not asking you to analyze the skin, at least not scientifically.
What I want you to do is come up with a rifle and a bullet that will penetrate
the skin.

Just as importantly, I shall need stopping power. Assume the animal will weigh
just under a ton, but has remarkable vitality. Given the terrain, I'll most
likely be shooting from no more than twenty yards, so I probably won't have time
for too many second shots. The first shot must bring it down from the force of
the bullet, even if no vital organs are hit.

Please let me know when you have a prototype that I can test in the field, and
please make no mention of this to anyone except the artisans who will be working
on the project.

Thank you.
Yours very truly,
Theodore Roosevelt

Private hand-delivered message from Theodore Roosevelt to President William
McKinley, July 17, 1898:

Dear Mr. President:

Certain facts have come to my attention that make it imperative that you neither
recall the Rough Riders from the Island of Cuba, nor disband them upon signing
the Armistice with Spain.