"E. C. Tubb - Space Born" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tubb E. C)

The Space-Born
By E.C.Tubb

CAST OF CHARACTERS
THE SPACE-BORN
JAY WEST
He was on the horns of a dilemma-and they were dangerously sharp.
SUSAN CURTWAY
She wanted children, but she loved a man-and she couldn't have both.
GEORGE CURTWAY
He knew enough to kill him-but knew too little to save himself.
GREGSON
The price of his life was the death of another.
MERRILL
He was a dangerous tool-with a double edge.
QUENTIN
One thing they couldn't forgive him-his age.

CHAPTER ONE
JAY WEST, psych-policeman, arrived at headquarters just in time to see a case
brought for trial at Ship's Court. As usual Gregson, his chief, was acting as
judge and, aside from Kennedy and the communications man, the office was
empty. Jay grinned at the operator, nudged his fellow officer to make room on
the bench, and nodded towards the sheet of one-way glass separating them from
the courtroom.
"What goes on?"
"Waste charge. " Kennedy didn't shift his gaze from the scene. "Sector four.
Know him?"
"No. " Jay looked at the accused, a gardener by his green shorts, still
marriageable and with the thin limbs and delicate skin of one who had spent
most of his life in the low-gravity upper levels. He was nervous, his eyes
wide as he stared at the starkly simple appointments of the courtroom; looking
at him Jay was reminded of an animal, one of the small, brown, helpless
animals of distant Earth A deer, perhaps? Or was it a rabbit? He couldn't
remember, then forgot the problem as Gregson shifted in his chair
The chief of psych-police was a big, compact man with black eyes matching the
gleaming slickness of his uniform. At least twice as old as the accused, he
dominated the court by the sheer force of his personality, and as he leaned a
little forward over his wide desk, Jay was reminded of yet another animal. A
tiger-or was it a cat? He frowned as he tried to recall just when and on what
tape he had seen the creatures, and made a mental note to pay more attention
to the educational tapes in future. He leaned forward as Gregson's voice came
over the speakers.
"Goodwin, " snapped Gregson coldly. "15-3479. Charge of criminal waste. Who
accuses?"
"I do, sir. " An older man, also a gardener, shuffled forward, a large plastic
bag in his hands. "My name is Johnson, sir. 14-4562. I'm head gardener of
sector four. I caught young Goodwin here throwing the plant trimmings into the
inorganic waste disposal chute. I wouldn't have believed it of him if I hadn't
seen it with my own eyes. I'd always liked him and I never guessed that he was