"Jeff Verona - Field Day" - читать интересную книгу автора (Verona Jeff)

Field DayFIELD DAY
by Jeff Verona
© 2000 - All Rights Reserved



When Tevi said that she was a native speaker of Esperanto, I knew there was
going to be trouble. "Didn’t the EC office tell you we’re going to
Sovereignty?" I asked.
"They are not speaking English on Sovereignty?"
"Of course they do. It’s their only language"
"There will be no problems." Tevi’s small, dark face was calm. "I speak
English."
"Not like a native, you don’t. And these Sovereignty people will react
badly
to that."
"I see." She pursed her lips. "They are an old habitat, then."
"One of the oldest. Part of the first wave, in fact. Sovereignty went up
when
the Earth’s Lagrange points were still fashionable territory."
"No one is too old to learn wisdom," she said. "Also, they are to educate
their children, as everyone must."
"Just as our job is to make sure the kids are being taught. But that’s all
we’re here for, Tevi." I lifted a finger in warning. "These people have
made
their minds up. They don’t like bureaucracy or government, and they won’t
like
us. Don’t try to convert them."
Tevi floated before me, calm and placid. Light winked off the beads and
shells
braided into her thick hair. "Thank you for the advice, Doug. I shall
instruct
by example." Her eyes shifted in and out of focus as she consulted her
clock
implant. "We are three hours from the deceleration burn. I shall examine
our
records of Sovereignty’s curriculum." With the grace of the habitat-born,
she
twisted sideways and kicked herself across the module. The bright colors of
her clothing flashed like the feathers of a tropical bird.
I admired the ease of her motion. Small-breasted and wide-hipped, she had
the
perfect body for space. Compact with a good center of gravity. As a native
of
Luna, I could never be completely comfortable in zero-g, and I was too big
for
space. Two meters of height and an athlete’s build were great when I
competed
in the lunar pentathlon, but aboard ship my arms and legs were too far from
my