DonNews #08 05 июля 1999

Story - The story "Persona Grata".

     Lost Angel / Last Bit unLimited.


Frederick Brown


        *** *** Persona grata


    So: there lived a fared Henley
Al Henley, and if you saw him, then
never would have thought that it may have
be at least some proc. But if More
found out about his lifestyle, how much more do not
thought it would be - if you have enough
patience to read the story to end -
thanking him for life.

    On this day, Al was drunk as usual. He
was constantly drunk, and his motto was - no
days without drinking, though it is to embody
aspiration in life every day
getting harder and harder. Friends
he had long lost, and friends who have
could borrow the cash, avoiding
him. He compiled a long list of friends
poluznakomyh and barely familiar and Day
Happy methodically bypassed them in the hope
get hold of at least a couple of dollars. If this
managed, Henley was happy. But the most
unpleasant was the fact that during these
forced forced marches, he inevitably
sober, though not entirely, not before
dangerous limit when a delay Smarty
alike. In its quest to be constantly
tipsy Henley resembled Alice in
Through the Looking Glass: raced hard for the
to remain in place.

    One could, of course, be
professional beggar, but in the position of Ala
This work was fraught with exorbitant
risk: Instead of the tavern was easily
thunder in the area where a drink, certainly,
not podnesut, although hang ...

    Henley has long been on the stage
when the day without alcohol was fraught with
purple nightmare, next to which white
Devils looked like a runny nose for easy
compared with the bubonic plague. It has long been
not afraid of glitches that accompanied the fever.
If you look - what's terrible? Clear
is that all is not present, if you look
horror film. Another thing - purple
nightmares. But to get to know them,
to absorb excessive whiskey
amounts to absorb over the years, and then
abruptly terminated, as is the case with those
who goes to jail.

    Alou was worth Henley remember the purple
nightmare, as he immediately shook hands.
The truth of the it's not too rushed
in the eye, because at this very moment he
just shook the hand of his bosom
boyfriend, with whom he met before as much
twice. Both meetings were accompanied by
absorption of the huge amount "of milk
from mad cow ", so to Henley
every reason to believe that it is necessary
the counter is kind of like foster-brother.

    Longtime sidekick named Kid Iglstoun -
tall, with a crumpled face of a man, a former
boxer and now a bouncer at a diner, where
and took them to the Henley acquaintance.
However, we should not ignore it
the reader's attention, because the Kid has no
no relation to what happened to
Scarlet Henley. In addition, only
and a half minutes he does get away from the scene:
scream as if he cuts, in grohnetsya
faint and disappear forever from our
story.

    However, for the sake of objectivity, it is necessary
recognize that if the Kid is not Iglstoun
yelled as bitten a scorpion, and not
lost consciousness, then you would not now
sat in his chair and did not read this
opus, and stick to a blinding rays
green sun glanitovom mine
planet at the edge of the galaxy. Large
enjoy this activity you would not
delivered, and trust that has protected you from
This is Al Henley. Incidentally, he
and to this day continues to save us all.
After all, if the three and nine instead
taken away from the Earth Iglstouna, our whole life
probably would have gone differently. And because no
bydte it too harsh.

    Three and Nine came to us from the planet
Dar, the second (and the only suitable
for life) of the planet already mentioned
green sun at the edge of the galaxy. Three and
Nine - it's certainly not their full names.
In fact, their name was 389057792 and
9869223, if you translate the numbers from which
are the names of Darian, in decimal
system.

    I count on your
indulgence, when exactly one of
pisheltsev Three and another - Nine and
forcing them into the story, calling each
other as well. Their forbearance and
I can not count, because dariane,
naming each other, called the number
entirely, and miss or confuse
figure - it is not just rude, but
monstrous insult. I will say in his
excuse that dariane live much
longer than we and they, unlike us,
enough time to observe this
bulky etiquette.

    At that moment, when Henley delight
shaking the hand of his friend Kid, Three and Nine
hovered about a mile above the ground.
About any aircraft, spacecraft and
even a flying saucer is not the question.
(Of course, I know what a flying
plates, and can detail the van about them
to tell, but just as some other
again, because now we are talking about
darianah.) In short, they are quite
hovered comfortably in some
space-time volume.

    You, of course, ask what is it
is. Try to explain podostupnee.
Sariene opened (we are yet to be
do if you're lucky) that Albert
Einstein proved right on all one hundred
percent. Matter can not move
faster than light, not
turning while in power.
Dubious pleasure - to become a
energy, is not it? Dariane were such
same opinion and still have to travel
Guide to the Galaxy with super light speed.

    Dara scientists have proved that you can
move in space with any
velocity if simultaneously move
in time. In short, the movement must
not occur in space, as in
but rather in the space-time
continuum. On the way from Dar to Earth
dariane covered the distance in 163000
light-years. And while they are for
compensation for 1630 centuries shifted
past. On the way back they are moving
in space at the speed of light, too
make the jump to 163,000 years into the past, then
there in the end will be in the original
point of the space-time
continuum. Thus, the actual
during their journey to be equal to zero.
Phew! Well, now, I hope you all understand?

    In short, the invisible cube hovered over
Land, specifically a mile over Philadelphia.
(Just do not ask me why
of Philadelphia, I do not understand
why they have chosen, and do not know
what the hell they needed it
Philadelphia ...) Cube hung over
Philadelphia is the fourth day. All this
during the three and nine listened to local
radio and studied our language. On
fourth day, they have freely on
him to express himself.

    Naturally, they were unable
understand nor in our culture, nor in our
relationships. After all, do not you think you are,
that the hodgepodge of radio concert, scraps
soap operas, scenes from the primitive
cowboy serials can give a true
panorama of life on the planet?

    And in truth, they do not care
like our civilization; they just
it was necessary to ascertain whether or not to fear
Earthlings as a potential enemy. Not
have to blame them for having spent
only four bottom dariane concluded
for our complete harmlessness. Especially
if we recognize that they are absolutely right.

    - We get down? - Asked the three.

    - It's about time - said Nine.

    And three obvilsya around the remote
management.

    - Hey, I saw you in the ring! -
ranted passionately Henley. - Do you
real talent, Kid! Be with you
decent trainer, you would be highly soared.
Okay, and went to wet his throat, eh?

    - And who will pay vipivku? You or I?

    - M-m-m ... Case, Kid, I do today
the money, but I desperately need vmazat,
and then the rot ... Well, Kid, we did my friends!

    - You are now temples like a shark -
chaise longue. You're already so buhoy that if
not going slept soon see
devils.

    - Yes, I see them now, - said
Henley - but they did not sway. there they are
behind you are looming.

    Ignoring common sense, Kid
turned. And immediately, with a wild scream fell,
deprived of the senses. They approached three and
Nine. And behind them resplyvalis
vague contours of a giant cube, each
face which was not less than twenty
feet. And this was like a cube
reality, but on the other hand, as if
would not have existed. The outlines of his then
manifested themselves clearly, then disappeared,
if dissolved in air. Probably
namely cubic knocked Kyd, because
Three and nine, in truth, looked
quite innocuous.

    They were pretty vermiform
image do, rolled into a spiral. If
someone shot a mind of their full
deploy, they would have long feet
in fifteen. Their pleasant tala
nezhnogolubogo colors were a foot thick, and
symmetrically rounded at both ends.
They were absolutely smooth, no
visible mouths, noses or ears, so that
it was impossible to understand where the rear, where the
before, but it had no
fundamental importance, since one and the other
was completely identical.

    As they approached the
our couple to consider, where do they
head, and where the tail and could not.
Especially because they were floating through the air
usual for a collapsed form.


       *** To be continued ***