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The Lovers :: Фармер Филип Хосе
Страница: 56 из 127But if that is true, they left Earth and went to that other system over two hundred years ago. And they could not have been Canadian French, for there were too few of them left after the Apocalyptic War. They must have been European French. But the last speaker of French in Europe died two and a half centuries ago. So–'
'It is confusing, nespfa? All I know is what my father told me. He said he and some others from Wuhbopfey found Ozagen during an exploration. They landed on this continent, his comrades were killed, he found my mother–'
'Your mother? Worse and worse,' Hal said, groaning.
'She was an indigene. Her people have always been here. They built this city. They–'
'And your father was an Earthman? And you were born of his union with an Ozagen humanoid? Impossible! The chromosomes of your father and of your mother could not possibly have matched!'
'I do not care about these chromosomes!' said Jeannette in a quavering voice. 'You see me before you do you not? I exist, do I not? My father lay with my mother, and here I am. Deny me if you can.'
'I did not mean... I mean... it seemed...'He stopped and looked at her, not knowing what to say.
Suddenly, she began sobbing. She tightened her arms around him, and his hands pressed down on her shoulders. They were soft and smooth, and her breasts pressed against his ribs.
'Save me,' she said brokenly. 'I cannot stand this any more. You must take me with you. You must save me.'
Yarrow thought swiftly. He had to get back to the room in the ruins before Pornsen woke up. And he couldn't see her tomorrow, because a gig from the ship was picking up the two Haijacs in the morning. Whatever he was going to do would have to be unfolded to her in the next few minutes.
Suddenly, he had a plan; it germinated from another idea, one he had long carried around buried in his brain. Its seeds had been in him even before the ship had left Earth. But he hadn't had the courage to carry it out. Now, this girl had appeared, and she was what he needed to spark his guts, make him step onto a path that could not be retraced.
'Jeannette,' he said fiercely, 'listen to me! You'll have to wait here every night. No matter what things haunt the dark, you'll have to be here. I can't tell you just when I'll be able to get a gig and fly here. Sometime in the next three weeks, I think. If I'm not here by then, keep waiting. Keep waitingl I'll be here! And when I am, we'll be safe. Safe for a while, at least. Can you do that? Can you hide here? And wait?'
She nodded her head and said, 'Fi'.
'It is confusing, nespfa? All I know is what my father told me. He said he and some others from Wuhbopfey found Ozagen during an exploration. They landed on this continent, his comrades were killed, he found my mother–'
'Your mother? Worse and worse,' Hal said, groaning.
'She was an indigene. Her people have always been here. They built this city. They–'
'And your father was an Earthman? And you were born of his union with an Ozagen humanoid? Impossible! The chromosomes of your father and of your mother could not possibly have matched!'
'I do not care about these chromosomes!' said Jeannette in a quavering voice. 'You see me before you do you not? I exist, do I not? My father lay with my mother, and here I am. Deny me if you can.'
'I did not mean... I mean... it seemed...'He stopped and looked at her, not knowing what to say.
Suddenly, she began sobbing. She tightened her arms around him, and his hands pressed down on her shoulders. They were soft and smooth, and her breasts pressed against his ribs.
'Save me,' she said brokenly. 'I cannot stand this any more. You must take me with you. You must save me.'
Yarrow thought swiftly. He had to get back to the room in the ruins before Pornsen woke up. And he couldn't see her tomorrow, because a gig from the ship was picking up the two Haijacs in the morning. Whatever he was going to do would have to be unfolded to her in the next few minutes.
Suddenly, he had a plan; it germinated from another idea, one he had long carried around buried in his brain. Its seeds had been in him even before the ship had left Earth. But he hadn't had the courage to carry it out. Now, this girl had appeared, and she was what he needed to spark his guts, make him step onto a path that could not be retraced.
'Jeannette,' he said fiercely, 'listen to me! You'll have to wait here every night. No matter what things haunt the dark, you'll have to be here. I can't tell you just when I'll be able to get a gig and fly here. Sometime in the next three weeks, I think. If I'm not here by then, keep waiting. Keep waitingl I'll be here! And when I am, we'll be safe. Safe for a while, at least. Can you do that? Can you hide here? And wait?'
She nodded her head and said, 'Fi'.