"Walter Jon Williams - The Crown Jewels" - читать интересную книгу автора (Williams Walter John)

Their sense of humanity, sad to say, is that they're all
like that. Frivolous and amusing, possibly, but not to be
taken seriously. Their stereotype of humanity is unjust—

22 / WALTER JON WILLIAMS

there are of course zillions of individuals who would fulfill
every Khosali idea of a responsible citizen, and a lot of
them found their way into Imperial service and won com-
mendations from dutiful and exacting superiors. Some
were more fanatical Imperialists than most K-hosati—look
at the excesses of Robert the Butcher, who indiscrimin-
ately slaughtered hundreds of thousands of humans in the
name of the Emperor, something no Khosali governor ever

contemplated.

Our own stereotype is likewise incomplete. There are
Khosali who behave with frivolity and irreverence, and a
lot more who would be frivolous and irreverent if they
ever got the chance. In their secret souls, the Khosali
dance drunkenly in the moonlight and sport with wet-
muzzled damosels. They just don't talk about it much.

For the Khosali are not without their own secret depravi-
ties. They have a large popular literature involving rebels
and tricksters, and possess a sneaking admiration for those
who can flout convention and actually get away with it.


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They are kinder to their wayward cousins than the cousins
probably deserve, and are no less vulnerable to charisma
than humanity.

There is a place for waywardness in High Custom, and
anyone who has ever seen a Khosalikh do an Elvis imper-
sonation can scarcely disagree. There are places in High
Custom for drunkards and charlatans and fools, provided
that their behavior is suitably outrageous and performed
with sufficient style- Style is largely the point—no one
enjoys a drunkard who is not witty or a charlatan whose
schemes do not entertain. There's a lot more to High
Custom than ear-sniffing and stately dances.

If you can do it with adequate style, the law will even
let you steal for a living.