"Connie Willis - Even The Queen" - читать интересную книгу автора (Willis Connie)

accusingly. "Carol was convinced the medical community had discovered some terrible side-effect of
ammenerol and were covering it up. I cannot believe you didn't tell me, Traci."
And I cannot believe I didn't have Bysshe tell her I was in court, I thought. "I told you Mother. I
thought it was Perdita's place to tell you. After all, it's her decision."
"Oh, Traci!" Mother said. "You cannot mean that!"
In the first fine flush of freedom after the Liberation, I had entertained hopes that it would change
everything--that it would somehow do away with inequality and matriarchal dominance and those
humorless women determined to eliminate the word "manhole" and third-person singular pronouns from
the language.
Of course it didn't. Men still make more money, "herstory" is still a blight on the semantic landscape,
and my mother can still say, "Oh, Traci!" in a tone that reduces me to pre-adolescence.
"Her decision!" Mother said. "Do you mean to tell me you plan to stand idly by and allow your daughter
to make the mistake of her life?"
"What can I do? She's twenty-two years old and of sound mind."
"If she were of sound mind she wouldn't be doing this. Didn't you try to talk her out of it?"
"Of course I did, Mother."
"And?"
"And I didn't succeed. She's determined to become a Cyclist."
"Well, there must be something we can do. Get an injunction or hire a deprogrammer or sue the Cyclists
for brainwashing. You're a judge, there must be some law you can invoke--"
"The law is called personal sovereignty, Mother, and since it was what made the Liberation possible in
the first place, it can hardly be used against Perdita. Her decision meets all the criteria for a case of
personal sovereignty: it's a personal decision, it was made by a sovereign adult, it affects no one else--"
"What about my practice? Carol Chen is convinced shunts cause cancer."
"Any effect on your practice is considered an indirect effect. Like secondary smoke. It doesn't apply.
Mother, whether we like it or not, Perdita has a perfect right to do this, and we don't have any right to
interfere. A free society has to be based on respecting others' opinions and leaving each other alone.
We have to respect Perdita's right to make her own decisions."
All of which was true. It was too bad I hadn't said any of it to Perdita when she called. What I had said,
in a tone that sounded exactly like my mother's, was "Oh, Perdita!"
"This is all your fault, you know," Mother said. "I told you you shouldn't have let her get that tattoo
over her shunt. And don't tell me it's a free society. What good is a free society when it allows my
granddaughter to ruin her life?" She hung up.
I handed the receiver back to Bysshe.
"I really liked what you said about respecting your daughter's right to make her own decisions," he said.
He held out my robe. "And about not interfering in her life."
"I want you to research the precedents on deprogramming for me," I said, sliding my arms in the
sleeves. "And find out if the Cyclists have been charged with any free choice violations-- brainwashing,
intimidation, coercion."
The phone sang, another universal. "Hello, who's calling?" Bysshe said cautiously. His voice became
suddenly friendlier. "Just a minute." He put his hand over the receiver. "It's your daughter Viola."
I took the receiver. "Hello, Viola."
"I just talked to Grandma," she said. "You will not believe what Perdita's done now. She's joined the

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Cyclists."
"I know," I said.