"Resnick, Mike - Kirinyaga 5 - The Manamouki" - читать интересную книгу автора (Resnick Mike)

"They have many cattle?" asked Ndemi.
"Many," I said.
"And goats?"
I nodded.
"Will he bring them with him?"
"No. He will come empty-handed, as we all did." I paused, frowning. "Why would a man who owned a large farm and had many tractors and men to do his work turn his back on all that he possessed? That is what troubles me."
"You make it sound like the way he lived on Earth was better," said Ndemi, frowning.
"Not better, just different."
He paused for a moment. "Koriba, what is a tractor?"
"A machine that does the work of many men in the fields."
"It sounds truly wonderful," offered Ndemi.
"It makes deep wounds in the ground and stinks of gasoline," I said, making no effort to hide my contempt.
We sat in silence for another moment. Then the Maintenance ship came into view, its descent creating a huge cloud of dust and causing a great screeching and squawking by the birds and monkeys in the nearby trees. "Well," I said, "we shall soon have our answer."
I remained in the shade until the ship had touched down and Thomas Nkobe and his wife emerged from its interior. He was a tall, well-built man dressed in casual Western clothes; she was slender and graceful, her hair elegantly braided, her khaki slacks and hunting jacket exquisitely tailored.
"Hello!" said Nkobe in English as I approached him. "I was afraid we might have to find our way to the village ourselves."
"Jambo," I replied in Swahili. "Welcome to Kirinyaga."
"Jambo," he amended, switching to Swahili. "Are you Koinnage?"
"No," I answered. "Koinnage is our paramount chief. You will live in his village."
"And you are?"
"I am Koriba," I said.
"He is the mundumugu," added Ndemi proudly. "I am Ndemi." He paused. "Someday I will be a mundumugu too."
Nkobe smiled down at him. "I'm sure you will." Suddenly he remembered his wife. "And this is Wanda."
She stepped forward, smiled, and extended her hand. "A true mundumugu!" she said in heavily-accented Swahili. "I'm thrilled to meet you!"
"I hope you will enjoy your new life on Kirinyaga," I said, shaking her hand.
"Oh, I'm certain I will," she replied enthusiastically, as the ship disgorged their baggage and promptly took off again. She looked around at the dry savannah, and saw a trio of maribou storks and a jackal patiently waiting for a hyena to finish gorging itself on the wildebeest calf it had killed earlier in the morning. "I love it already!" She paused, then added confidentially, "I'm really the one who got Tom to agree to come here."
"Oh?"
She nodded her head. "I just couldn't stand what Kenya has become. All those factories, all that pollution! Ever since I learned about Kirinyaga, I've wanted to move here, to come back to Nature and live the way we were meant to live." She inhaled deeply. "Smell that air, Tom! It will add ten years to your life."
"You don't have to sell me any more," he said with a smile. "I'm here, aren't I?"
I turned to Wanda Nkobe. "You yourself are not Kikuyu, are you?"
"I am now," she replied. "Ever since I married Tom. But to answer your question, no, I was born and raised in Oregon."
"Oregon?" repeated Ndemi, brushing some flies away from his face with his hand.
"That's in America," she explained. She paused. "By the way, why are we speaking Swahili rather than Kikuyu?"
"Kikuyu is a dead language," I said. "Most of our people no longer know it."
"I had rather hoped it would still be spoken here," she said, obviously disappointed. "I've been studying it for months."
"If you had moved to Italy, you would not speak Latin," I replied. "We still use a few Kikuyu words, just as the Italians use a few Latin words."
She was silent for a moment, then shrugged. "At least I'll have the opportunity to improve my Swahili."
"I am surprised that you are willing to forego the amenities of America for Kirinyaga," I said, studying her closely.
"I was willing years ago," she answered. "It was Tom who had to be convinced, not me." She paused. "Besides, I gave up most of those so-called amenities when I left America and moved to Kenya."
"Even Kenya has certain luxuries," I noted. "We have no electricity here, no running water, no -- "
"We camp out whenever we can," she said, and I placed a hand on Ndemi's shoulder before he could chide her for interrupting the mundumugu. "I'm used to roughing it."
"But you have always had a home to return to."
She stared at me, an amused smile on her face. "Are you trying to talk me out of moving here?"
"No," I replied. "But I wish to point out that nothing is immutable. Any member of our society who is unhappy and wishes to leave need only inform Maintenance of the fact and a ship will arrive at Haven an hour later."
"Not us," she said. "We're in for the long haul."
"The long haul?" I repeated.
"She means that we're here to stay," explained Nkobe, putting an arm around his wife's shoulders.
A hot breeze sent the dust swirling around us.
"I think I should take you to the village," I said, shielding my eyes. "You are doubtless tired and will wish to rest."
"Not at all," said Wanda Nkobe. "This is a brand-new world. I want to look around." Her gaze fell upon Ndemi, who was staring at her intently. "Is something wrong?" she asked.
"You are very strong and sturdy," said Ndemi approvingly. "That is good. You will bear many children."