JК
World Of Ptavvs :: Нивен Ларри
Страница: 58 из 127"Besides, the 'doc had okayed us both for parenthood. Then there was Jinx. We had to be sure neither of us got left behind."
"By me that was good thinking, Mrs. Greenberg. I'll quit now, while you've still got a voice. Thanks for the help."
"I hope it did help."
The speed at which she'd talked the detail. Luke sent the elevator straight to the top. He knew now why she'd painted so complete a portrait of Larry Greenberg. Whether she knew it or not, she didn't expect to see him again. She'd been trying to make him immortal in her memory.
The Jayhawk Hotel was the third tallest building in Topeka, and the rooftop bar had a magnificent view. As he left the elevator Luke met the usual continuous roar. He waited ten seconds while his ears «learned» to ignore it: an essential defense mechanism, learned by most children before they were three. The hostess was a tall redhead, nude but for double-spike shoes, her hair piled into a swirling, swooping confection which brought her height to an even eight feet. She led him to a tiny table against a window.
The occupant rose to meet him. "Mr. Garner."
"Nice of you to do this for me, Dr. Snyder."
"Call me Dale."
Garner saw a dumpy man with an inch-wide strip of curly blond hair down the center of his scalp. Temporary skin substitute covered his forehead, cheeks and chin, leaving an X of unharmed skin across his eyes, nose, and the corners of his mouth. His hands were also bandaged.
"Then I'm Luke. What's your latest word on the Sea Statue?"
"When the Arms woke me up yesterday afternoon to tell me Larry had turned alien. How is he?"
Avoiding details, Luke filled the psychologist in on the past twenty-four hours. "So now I'm doing what I can on the ground while they get me a ship that will beat Greenberg and the ET to Neptune."
"Brother, that's a mess. I never saw the statue, and if
I had I'd never have noticed that button. What are you drinking?"
"I'd better grab a milk shake; I haven't had lunch. Dale, why did you want us to bring the statue here?"
"I thought it would help if Larry saw it. There was a case once, long before I was born, where two patients who both thought they were Mary, Mother of God, showed up at the same institution. So the doctors put them both in the same room."
"Wow. What happened?"
"There was a godawful argument. Finally one of the women gave up and decided she must be Mary's mother. She was the one they eventually cured."
"You thought Greenberg would decide he was Greenberg if you showed him he wasn't the Sea Statue.
"By me that was good thinking, Mrs. Greenberg. I'll quit now, while you've still got a voice. Thanks for the help."
"I hope it did help."
The speed at which she'd talked the detail. Luke sent the elevator straight to the top. He knew now why she'd painted so complete a portrait of Larry Greenberg. Whether she knew it or not, she didn't expect to see him again. She'd been trying to make him immortal in her memory.
The Jayhawk Hotel was the third tallest building in Topeka, and the rooftop bar had a magnificent view. As he left the elevator Luke met the usual continuous roar. He waited ten seconds while his ears «learned» to ignore it: an essential defense mechanism, learned by most children before they were three. The hostess was a tall redhead, nude but for double-spike shoes, her hair piled into a swirling, swooping confection which brought her height to an even eight feet. She led him to a tiny table against a window.
The occupant rose to meet him. "Mr. Garner."
"Nice of you to do this for me, Dr. Snyder."
"Call me Dale."
Garner saw a dumpy man with an inch-wide strip of curly blond hair down the center of his scalp. Temporary skin substitute covered his forehead, cheeks and chin, leaving an X of unharmed skin across his eyes, nose, and the corners of his mouth. His hands were also bandaged.
"Then I'm Luke. What's your latest word on the Sea Statue?"
"When the Arms woke me up yesterday afternoon to tell me Larry had turned alien. How is he?"
Avoiding details, Luke filled the psychologist in on the past twenty-four hours. "So now I'm doing what I can on the ground while they get me a ship that will beat Greenberg and the ET to Neptune."
"Brother, that's a mess. I never saw the statue, and if
I had I'd never have noticed that button. What are you drinking?"
"I'd better grab a milk shake; I haven't had lunch. Dale, why did you want us to bring the statue here?"
"I thought it would help if Larry saw it. There was a case once, long before I was born, where two patients who both thought they were Mary, Mother of God, showed up at the same institution. So the doctors put them both in the same room."
"Wow. What happened?"
"There was a godawful argument. Finally one of the women gave up and decided she must be Mary's mother. She was the one they eventually cured."
"You thought Greenberg would decide he was Greenberg if you showed him he wasn't the Sea Statue.