"Vance, Jack - Alastor 2 - Trullion-2262" - читать интересную книгу автора (Vance Jack)

The Tyrants descended lower, and all during the night netted the sky with ominous beams of
crackling blue light In the morning the Tamrachists had broken all their camps and were nowhere to
be seen. Surface intelligence reported that they had taken cover in the forests.
Monitors flew to the area, and their voice-horns ordered the Ugly Folk to form orderly files and
march down to a nearby resort town. The only response was a spatter of sniper fire. With menacing
deliberation the Tyrants began to descend. The Monitors issued a final ultimatum: surrender or
face attack. The Tamarchists failed to respond.
Sixteen Armadillo sky-forts dropped upon a high meadow, intending to secure the area for a trooplanding.
They encountered not only the fire of small arms, but spasms of energy from a set of
antique blue radiants. Rather than destroy an unknown number of maniacs, the Armadillos returned
into the sky.
The Operation Commander, outraged and perplexed, decided to ring the Silver Mountain with
troops, hoping to starve the Ugly Folk into submission.
Twenty-two hundred landing craft, among them No. 191-539, commanded by Glinnes Hulden, descended
to the surface and sealed the Tamarchists into their mountain lair. Where expedient, the troops
cautiously moved up the valleys, after sending Stinger combat-boats ahead to flush out snipers.
Casualties occurred, and since the Tamarcho represented neither threat nor emergency, the
Commander withdrew his troops from zones of Tamarchist fire. For a month the siege persisted.
Intelligence reported that the Tamarchists lacked provisions, that they were eating bark, insects,
leaves, whatever came to hand.
The Commander once again sent Monitors over the area, demanding an orderly surrender. For answer
the Tamarchists launched a series of break-out attempts, but were repulsed with considerable harm
to themselves.
The Commander once more sent over his Monitors, threatening the use of pain-gas unless surrender
was affected within six hours. The deadline came and went; Vavarangi descended to bombard shelter
areas with cannisters of pain-gas. Choking, rolling on the ground, writhing and jerking, the
Tamarchists broke into the open. The Commander ordered down a "living rain" of a hundred thousand
troops, and after captives, numbered less than two thousand persons of both sexes. Glinnes was
astounded to discover that some were little more than children, and very few older than himself.
They lacked ammunition, energy, food and medical supplies. They grimaced and snarled at the Whelm
troops "Ugly Folk" they were indeed.
Glinnes' 'astonishment increased. What had prompted these young people to battle so fanatically
for a cause obviously lost? What, indeed, had impelled them to become Ugly Folk? Why had they
defiled and defouled, destroyed and corrupted? Glinnes attempted to question one of the prisoners
who pretended not to understand his dialect. Shortly thereafter Glumes was ordered back aloft
with his ship.
Glinnes returned to base. Picking up his mail, he found a letter from Shira containing tragic
news. Jut Hulden had gone out to hunt merling once too often; they had laid a cunning trap for
him. Before Shira could come to his aid, Jut had been dragged into Farwan Water. The news
affected Glinnes with a rather irrational astonishment. He found it hard to imagine change in the
timeless fens, especially change so profound.
Shira was now Squire of Rabendary. Glumes wondered what other changes might be in store.

Probably none-Shira had no taste for innovation. He would bring in a wife and breed a family; so
much at least could be expected-if not sooner, then later. Glinnes speculated as to who might
marry bulky balding Shira with the red cheeks and lumpy nose. Even as a hussade player, Shira had
found difficulty enticing girls into the shadows, for while Shira considered himself bluff,
friendly and affable, others thought him coarse, lewd and boisterous.
Glinnes began to muse about his boyhood. He recalled the hazy mornings, the festive evenings,
the starwatcbings. He recalled his good friends and their quaint habits; he remembered the look of