"Kristine Kathryn Rusch - Dancers Like Children" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rusch Kristine Kathryn)

this area. If you have any questions about the investigative work prior to
this time, you should direct those questions to him."
Tanner's gaze darted around the room, touching everyone but settling on
no one. I wondered what made Tanner so nervous. He had worked with the others.
I was the only new person in the room.
"Most of what I will tell you is in your packet, for your own personal
review later," Netta said. "But let me give you a general briefing now before
we show the holos." She let go of Tanner's arm. He sat down next to me. He
smelled of sweat and cologne. "They found the first victim three Earth months
ago. Linette Bisson was eleven years old. She had been propped against the
front door of her home like a rag doll. Someone had removed her hands, heart,
and lungs.
"The next victim, David Tomlinson, appeared three weeks later. Same
M.O. Three more children -- Katie Dengler, Andrew Liser, and Henry Illn --
were found two weeks apart. Again, same M.O. These children all played
together. They were the same age. And, according to their parents, none of the
last three seemed too terribly frightened by the deaths of their friends."
She paused, glanced at me. Children often had no concept of death, and
the things they feared were not the things adults feared. That the children
were not frightened had less significance for me than it seemed to have for
Netta
"The Dancers mature differently than we do," Sanders said. Her voice
was soft and as delicate as she was. "They do grow, a little, but their heart,
lungs, and hands work like our teeth. The old ones must be removed before the
new ones can grow into place. They have developed an elaborate rite of passage
that ends with the ceremonial removal of the adolescent's organs."
I turned to Netta. "You said the Dancers interacted with the
colonists."
She nodded. "For decades we've had an informal relationship. They
develop the herbs we use in our exports. We haven't had any trouble, until
now."
"And the Dancers were allowed inside the dome?"
"We restricted them when the killings started, and now they're not
allowed at all."
"We also set up dome guards," Tanner said. "The dome doors have no
locks and can be operated from the inside or the outside. We had done that as
a precaution so no colonist would die trapped outside the dome."
Colonists, colony. Fascinating the way that language had not evolved
here. The "colony" had been settled for nearly a century. Gradually, it should
have eased into "settlement" or "city." The domed area had no name, and even
people like Tanner, who had lived on the planet their entire lives, felt no
sense of permanence.
"We have some holos we'd like to show you," Tanner said. He had set up
the equipment at the edge of the table. He moved chairs and a garbage can away
from the wall, leaving a wide, blank space. He flicked on the switch, and a
holo leaped into being before us.
Laughter filled the room, children's laughter. Twelve children huddled
on the floor, playing a game I did not recognize. The children all appeared
the same age, except for one, who sat off to one side and watched. He appeared
to be about eight. The older children would pound their fists on the ground