"Connie Willis - All Seated on the Ground" - читать интересную книгу автора (Willis Connie)

Reverend Thresher was pointing at the panty-, bra-, and wing-clad
mannequins in the window of Victoria’s Secret and saying, “Look at that!
Sinful!”

“This way,” Dr. Morthman, ahead of the Altairi, said, waving his arm
like the leader of a wagon train. “I want them to see Santa Claus,” and I
stepped to the side to get around a trio of teenage boys walking side by
side who’d cut me off from the Altairi.

There was a sudden gasp, and the mall went quiet except for the
Muzak. “What—?” Dr. Morthman said sharply, and I pushed past the
teenage boys to see what had happened.

The Altairi were sitting calmly in the middle of the space between the
stores, glaring. Fascinated shoppers had formed a circle around them, and
a man in a suit who looked like the manager of the mall was hurrying up,
demanding, “What’s going on here?”

“This is wonderful,” Dr. Morthman said. “I knew they’d respond if we
just took them enough places.” He turned to me. “You were behind them,
Miss Yates. What made them sit down?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “I couldn’t see them from where I was. Did—?”

“Go find Leo,” he ordered. “He’ll have it on tape.”

I wasn’t so sure of that, but I went to look for him. He was just coming
out of Victoria’s Secret, carrying a small bright pink bag. “Meg, what
happened?” he asked.

“The Altairi sat down,” I said.

“Why?”

“That’s what we’re trying to find out. I take it you weren’t filming
them?”

“No, I told you, I had to buy my girlfriend—jeez, Dr. Morthman will kill
me.” He jammed the pink bag in his jeans pocket. “I didn’t think—”

“Well, start filming now,” I said, “and I’ll go see if I can find somebody
who caught it on their cellphone camera.” With all these people taking their
kids to see Santa, there was bound to be someone with a camera. I started
working my way around the circle of staring spectators, keeping away from
Dr. Morthman, who was telling the mall manager he needed to cordon off
this end of the mall and everyone in it.

“Everyone in it?” the manager gulped.

“Yes, it’s essential. The Altairi are obviously responding to something