"Роджер Желязны. Lord of Light (Лорд Света, engl) " - читать интересную книгу автора

He shivered.
He covered his eyes and ears and clenched his teeth, waiting. After a
time, it happened. It roared and blazed, going on and on until finally he
lost consciousness.
When he recovered his senses, there was only a grayness and a gentle
rain between himself and the sheltering rock. At its base only one figure
sat, and it did not wear horns or appear to possess more arms than the
customary two.
Tak did not move. He waited.

"This," said Yama, handing him an aerosol, "is demon repellent. In the
future, I suggest you annoint yourself thoroughly if you intend venturing
very far from the monastery. I had thought this region free of the Rakasha,
or I would have given it to you sooner."
Tak accepted the container, placed it on the table before him.
They sat in Yama's chambers, having taken a light meal there. Yama
leaned back in his chair, a glass of the Buddha's wine in his left hand, a
half-filled decanter in his right.
"Then the one called Raltariki is really a demon?" asked Tak.
"Yes-- and no," said Yama, "If by 'demon' you mean a malefic,
supernatural creature, possessed of great powers, life span and the ability
to temporarily assume virtually any shape-- then the answer is no. This is
the generally accepted definition, but it is untrue in one respect."
"Oh? And what may that be?"
"It is not a supernatural creature."
"But it is all those other things?"
"Yes."
"Then I fail to see what difference it makes whether it be supernatural
or not-- so long as it is malefic, possesses great powers and life span and
has the ability to change its shape at will."
"Ah, but it makes a great deal of difference, you see. It is the
difference between the unknown and the unknowable, between science and
fantasy-- it is a matter of essence. The four points of the compass be
logic, knowledge, wisdom and the unknown. Some do bow in that final
direction. Others advance upon it. To bow before the one is to lose sight of
the three. I may submit to the unknown, but never to the unknowable. The man
who bows in that final direction is either a saint or a fool. I have no use
for either."
Tak shrugged and sipped his wine. "But of the demons. . . ?"
"Knowable. I did experiment with them for many years, and I was one of
the Four who descended into Hellwell, if you recall, after Taraka fled Lord
Agni at Palamaidsu. Are you not Tak of the Archives?"
"I was."
"Did you read then of the earliest recorded contacts with the Rakasha?"
"I read the accounts of the days of their binding. . . "
"Then you know that they are the native inhabitants of this world, that
they were present here before the arrival of Man from vanished Urath."
"Yes."
"They are creatures of energy, rather than matter. Their own traditions
have it that once they wore bodies, lived in cities. Their quest for