JК
The Lovers :: Фармер Филип Хосе
Страница: 43 из 127Therefore, one or both was not thinking fertile. I petitioned for a divorce, even though I knew I might end up in H. Why didn't you insist on our divorce, as your duty required, instead of pigeonholing my petition?'
Pornsen blew out smoke nonchalantly enough, but he dropped one shoulder lower than the other as if something had caved inside him. Yarrow, seeing this, knew that he had his gapt on the defensive.
Pornsen said, 'When I first realized you were on the Gabriel, I was sure that you were not on it because of a desire to serve the Sturch. I [puff] thought at the time that you signed up for one reason. And now I am shib, shib to the bone, that your reason was your wicked desire to get away from your wife. And, since barrenness, adultery, and interstellar travel are the only legal grounds for divorce, and adultery means going to H, you [puff] took the only way out. You became legally dead by becoming a crewman of the Gabriel. You–'
'Don't talk about anything legal to me!' shouted Hal. He shook with rage and, at the same time, hated himself because he could not hide his emotion.
'You know you were not carrying out the proper functions of a gapt when you sidetracked my request! I had to sign up–'
'Ah, I thought so!' said Pornsen. He smiled and puffed out smoke and said, 'I turned it down because I thought it would be unreal. You see, I had a dream, a very vivid dream, in which I saw Mary bearing your child at the end of two years. It was not a false dream but one that had the unmistakable signs of a revelation sent by the Forerunner. I knew after that dream that your desire for a divorce was a desire for a pseudofuture. I knew that the true future was in my hands and that only by guiding your conduct could I bring it about. I recorded this dream the day after I had it, which was only a week after I reviewed your petition, and–'
'You proved that you were betrayed by a dream sent by the Backrunner and did not see a revelation sent by the Forerunner!' shouted Hal again. 'Pornsen, I am going to report this! Out of your own mouth you have convicted yourself!'
Pornsen turned pale; his mouth hung open so the cigarette dropped to the ground; his jowls quivered with fright. 'Wha – what do you mean?'
'How could she have my child at the end of two years when I am not on Earth to father it? So, what you say you dreamed can't possibly become a real future! Therefore, you allowed yourself to be deceived by the Backrunner. And you know what that means! That you are a candidate for H!'
The gapt stiffened. His lower left shoulder drew level with the other.
Pornsen blew out smoke nonchalantly enough, but he dropped one shoulder lower than the other as if something had caved inside him. Yarrow, seeing this, knew that he had his gapt on the defensive.
Pornsen said, 'When I first realized you were on the Gabriel, I was sure that you were not on it because of a desire to serve the Sturch. I [puff] thought at the time that you signed up for one reason. And now I am shib, shib to the bone, that your reason was your wicked desire to get away from your wife. And, since barrenness, adultery, and interstellar travel are the only legal grounds for divorce, and adultery means going to H, you [puff] took the only way out. You became legally dead by becoming a crewman of the Gabriel. You–'
'Don't talk about anything legal to me!' shouted Hal. He shook with rage and, at the same time, hated himself because he could not hide his emotion.
'You know you were not carrying out the proper functions of a gapt when you sidetracked my request! I had to sign up–'
'Ah, I thought so!' said Pornsen. He smiled and puffed out smoke and said, 'I turned it down because I thought it would be unreal. You see, I had a dream, a very vivid dream, in which I saw Mary bearing your child at the end of two years. It was not a false dream but one that had the unmistakable signs of a revelation sent by the Forerunner. I knew after that dream that your desire for a divorce was a desire for a pseudofuture. I knew that the true future was in my hands and that only by guiding your conduct could I bring it about. I recorded this dream the day after I had it, which was only a week after I reviewed your petition, and–'
'You proved that you were betrayed by a dream sent by the Backrunner and did not see a revelation sent by the Forerunner!' shouted Hal again. 'Pornsen, I am going to report this! Out of your own mouth you have convicted yourself!'
Pornsen turned pale; his mouth hung open so the cigarette dropped to the ground; his jowls quivered with fright. 'Wha – what do you mean?'
'How could she have my child at the end of two years when I am not on Earth to father it? So, what you say you dreamed can't possibly become a real future! Therefore, you allowed yourself to be deceived by the Backrunner. And you know what that means! That you are a candidate for H!'
The gapt stiffened. His lower left shoulder drew level with the other.