"James Tiptree Jr. -10000 Light Years From Home" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tiptree James Jr)

Vivyan recalled sadly that he had noticed such feelings before. Certainly he must go soon to visit his
friend. He hoped it was not becoming time to move on from this place too. He wolfed the delicious
clams, soothing himself with the names of peaceful things, Tethys, Alcyonaria, Coniatities, Coccolobis,
Nantli.
But Nantli was not a sea-creature, she was the brown man’s girl and suddenly she was here in the
silsmoke by herself, coming to him smiling and still. All at once he felt better. Maybe the badness had
gone now, he thought, stroking her hair. They went out together.
When they reached their place in the dune he felt the tension under her stillness.
“You wouldn’t hurt us, would you Vivyan?” She held his sides, peering at his face. The stress inside
her was disgusting to feel. He tried to help her, to let his calm flow into her. Her talking was like claws.
Something about his friend. Patiently he recounted to her some of his new knowledge of the reef world.
“But about us,” she persisted. “You didn’t talk with him about us, about Cox?”
He stroked her breast, automatically registering the news that the brown man’s name was Cox.
Wrongness. He concentrated on the beautiful flow of his palms on her body. Nantli, Nantli. If only he
could ease this frenzy that was eating at her. His body guided him and presently she quieted and let him
mold them together, let the life rhythm rise in peace. When it had crested and spent itself he stood up into
the moonlight, pointing his beard at the sea.
“No, you go,” she smiled. “I’m sleepy.”
He touched her gratefully and went down to the silver water. As he dived he heard her call.
Beyond the surf he turned and began to swim along the coast. It was better this way; no one could
bother him here as they had on the beach. His friend lived in a small cove, beyond the far point; to swim
would mean only taking more tune and the tide was running with him toward the setting moon. It drew
him strongly, but not more strongly than his desire for the peace that only the long quiet talk would bring.
In the rhythm of his swimming he mused. Always there had been a friend for him, as the brown
man—Cox?—had said. But that was good, that was necessary. How else could he understand a new
place? On Horl there had been his friend on the mountain, and before that in another part of Horl where
the mines were he had known a man who told him about the folding of mountains and the alien relics at
which so many people came to wonder. That had been interesting but somehow troubled; he had not
stayed long. And before that on the stations there had been the friends who taught him the names of stars
and the large ways of suns. And before that, on the ships... so many lives to learn, such a universe of
marvels to remember. His arms rose and thrust tirelessly, carried on the moon tide. He was just feeling
the long swells off the point when the strange heads rose around him.
At first Vivyan thought they were McCarthy’s seals, or a kind of dugong. Then a streaming crest
came up alongside and he saw moonlight on intelligent eyes and knew at once what they were: the natives
of McCarthy’s World.
He wasn’t in the least frightened, only intensely curious. The moon was so bright he could see wet
mottlings on the the stranger’s pelt, like a seal pup. It touched his arm with webbed fingers, pointing to
the reef. They wanted him to go there. But he couldn’t, not now. He shook his head regretfully, trying to
tell them he would come back when he had talked with his friend.
The sealman pointed again, and the others came closer. Then he saw they had weapons. A kind of
spring-load spear. As they closed in Vivyan shot downward with all his power. It would have carried him
far from any Terran but the sealmen were easily before him in the glimmering darkness, herding him back.
It was not in his nature to fight. He surfaced and swam with them, debating what to do. Was it
possible that it was intended for him to bring this too to his friend? But that did not seem fair, when he
was already so burdened.
 He swam mechanically, watching the strangers’ eyes film and clear. They seemed to have
transparent inner lids like certain fish which could focus either in water or air. Their eyes were huge, too;
undoubtedly they were nocturnal.
“N’ko, n’ko!” The leader hooted, the first sound they had made. They were motioning him to dive.
He did so and found himself being pulled under the reef. Just as his lungs began to knot he saw,