"Kim Stanley Robinson - Forty Signs of Rain" - читать интересную книгу автора (Robinson Kim Stanley)

back of the mouth.
 As they crossed the atrium to Pizzeria Uno Anna said uncertainly, “Do you eat pizza where you come
from?”

The younger man smiled. “No. But in Nepal I have eaten pizza in teahouses.”

“Are you vegetarian?”

“No. Tibetan Buddhism has never been vegetarian. There were not enough vegetables.”

“So you are Tibetans! But I thought you said you were an island nation?”

“We are. But originally we came from Tibet. The old ones, like Rudra Cakrin here, left when the
Chinese took over. The rest of us were born in India, or on Khembalung itself.”

“I see.”

They entered the restaurant, where big booths were walled by high wooden partitions. The three of them
sat in one, Anna across from the two men.

“I am Drepung,” the young man said, “and the rimpoche here, our ambassador to America, is Gyatso
Sonam Rudra Cakrin.”

“I’m Anna Quibler,” Anna said, and shook hands with each of them. The men’s hands were heavily
callused.

Their waitress appeared. She did not appear to notice the unusual garb of the men, but took their orders
with sublime indifference. After a quick muttered consultation, Drepung asked Anna for suggestions, and
in the end they ordered a combination pizza with everything on it.

Anna sipped her water. “Tell me more about Khembalung, and about your new embassy.”

Drepung nodded. “I wish Rudra Cakrin himself could tell you, but he is still taking his English lessons,
I’m afraid. Apparently they are going very badly. In any case, you know that China invaded Tibet in
1950, and that the Dalai Lama escaped to India in 1959?”

“Yes, that sounds familiar.”

“Yes. And during those years, and ever since then too, many Tibetans have moved to India to get away
from the Chinese, and closer to the Dalai Lama. India took us in very hospitably, but when the Chinese
and Indian governments had their disagreement over their border in 1960, the situation became very
awkward for India. They were already in a bad way with Pakistan, and a serious controversy with China
would have been…” He searched for the word, waggling a hand.

“Too much?” Anna suggested.

“Yes. Much too much. So, the support India had been giving to the Tibetans in exile—”

Rudra Cakrin made a little hiss.