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

"Yes? What of it?"
"He squints. Is his vision impaired?"
"It is not."

"Then why does he squint?"
"To better study the seed."
"Study? That is not the Way, as once he taught it. Yet he does study.
He does not meditate, seeking within the object that which leads to release
of the subject. No."
"What then does he do?"
"The reverse."
"The reverse?"
"He does study the object, considering its ways, in an effort to bind
himself. He seeks within it an excuse to live. He tries once more to wrap
himself within the fabric of Maya, the illusion of the world."
"I believe you are right, Tak!" It was Ratri who had spoken. "How can
we assist him in his efforts?"
"I am not certain, mistress."
Yama nodded, his dark hair glistening in a bar of sunlight that fell
across the narrow porch.
"You have set your finger upon the thing I could not see," he
acknowledged. "He has not yet fully returned, though he wears a body, walks
upon human feet, talks as we do. His thought is still beyond our ken."
"What then shall we do?" repeated Ratri.
"Take him on long walks through the countryside," said Yama. "Feed him
delicacies. Stir his soul with poetry and song. Find him strong drink to
drink-- there is none here in the monastery. Garb him in bright-hued silks.
Fetch him a courtesan or three. Submerge him in living again. It is only
thus that he may be freed from the chains of God. Stupid of me not to have
seen it sooner . . ."
"Not really, deathgod," said Tak.
The flame that is black leapt within Yama's eyes, and then he smiled.
"I am repaid, little one," he acknowledged, "for the comments I, perhaps
thoughtlessly, let fall upon thy hairy ears. I apologize, ape-one. You are
truly a man, and one of wit and perception."
Tak bowed before him.
Ratri chuckled.
"Tell us, clever Tak-- for mayhap we have been gods too long, and so
lack the proper angle of vision-- how shall we proceed in this matter of
rehumanizing him, so as to best serve the ends we seek?"
Tak bowed him then to Ratri.
"As Yama has proposed," he stated. "Today, mistress, you take him for a
walk in the foothills. Tomorrow, Lord Yama conducts him as far as the edge
of the forest. The following day I shall take him amidst the trees and the
grasses, the flowers and the vines. And we shall see. We shall."
"So be it," said Yama, and so it was.

In the weeks that followed, Sam came to look forward to these walks
with what appeared at first a mild anticipation, then a moderate enthusiasm,
and finally a blazing eagerness. He took to going off unaccompanied for