cjelli | Xenocide - Orson Scott Card

Дочитал-таки "Ксеноцид"

Муть, конечно, размазанная местами в мыльную оперу, но после "Тени Гегемона" кажется
просто захватывающим.

В принципе, исключая псевдокитайскую тянучку и затянутые диалоги, книга ОК...
Если бы не концовка. Вроде все аккуратно, по-толкиеновски закруглялось, но, видимо,
писателю предложили жирный контракт на продолжение, и пришлось дивным ad absurdum
способом выводить сюжет на новый, никому не нужный виток. Но, наверное, Children Of
The Mind куплю и прочитаю.

Однако, война с вирусом, и отношение изучающих его ученых к смертоносному организму
очень напомнило мне одну вполне реальную ситуацию.

I.

"The descolada," he said, "It's the most dangerous form of life anywhere." ...
"The piggies[1] can't live without the descolada, and if the descolada ever
spreads to another planet, it will destroy all life here. It will."

It was a pleasure to see that Valentine was capable of looking puzzled.
"But I thought the virus was contained." ...

"The descolada adapts," said Miro. "Jane told me that it's already changed
itself a couple of times. ... Sometimes it even looks like the descolada is
doing it deliberately, intelligently. ... What if the descolada finds a way to
go around all our barriers?"

"But what if we must destroy the descolada, and yet we can't destroy the
descolada without also destroying every living pequenino, the hive queen[2]
and every human being on Lusitania[3]."

II.

If that kills the piggies then we're sorry, but if it's us or them, we choose
us.

It was fine for Ender to take the long view, the philosophical perspective,
and say, Better for one small human colony to perish than to wipe out an
entire sentien species. ... I'm not sure I could make such a sacrifice
myself, thought Ender. ... And yet ... could I consent to the destruction
of the pequeninos? Could I permit another Xenocide?[4]'.

III.

"So far, we don't know anything" said Grego. "Except that descolada is
trying as hard as it can to kill us all, while we're still trying to figure
out whether we ought to fight back. I'll sit tight for a while longer, but
not forever."

"What about the piggies?" asked Quara. "Don't they have a right to vote on
whether we transform the molecule that not only allows them to reproduce, but
probably created them as sentient species in the first place?"

"This thing is trying to kill us," said Ender. "As long as the solution Ela
comes up with can wipe out the virus without interfering with the
reproductive cycle of the piggies, then I don't think they have any right to
object."

"Maybe they'd feel different about that."

"Then maybe they'd better not find out what we're doing," said Grego.

"We don't tell people - human or pequenino - about the research we're doing
here," said Novinha sharply. ...
"So, we humans are the judges of all other creatures," said Quara ....

IV.

"Telling secrets?" asked Ender. He had meant his remark as a mere banter.
Only when the words came out of his mouth and Quara got such a furtive look
on her face did Ender realize exactly what secret it might have been that
Quara had been telling. Her words confirmed his suspicion[5]."

... By the next nightfall the work of building a starship to leave Lusitania
had already began[6].

V.

"With people who forget that this world belongs to the pequeninos," said Quara.

"Worlds belong to the people who need them and know how to make them produce,"
said Grego.

... turned to Ela, "What do you say?" ...
"... we're on the verge of having the design for a version of descolada virus
that does everything neccessary to maintina the life cycles of the indigenous
species, but that is incapable of adapting to and destroying any new species."

"You're talking about a lobotomy for an entire species," said Quara bitterly.
"How would you like it if somebody found a way to keep all human alive, while
removing our cerebrums."

... "So you can sit here and contemplate destroying a sentient species without
even thinking of a way to communicate with them. I hope you all enjoy being
mass murderers." Then, like Grego, she [Quara] made as if to leave.

VI.

"Quara ... She's giving it [information about descolada neutralization]
directly to the descolada."

"What do you mean, giving it?"

"Those are her messages. That's what she's sending them on their precious
little message carriers. Now, whether those carriers are language or not
isn't going to be settled by a non-experiment like that. But sentient or
not we know that the descolada is a hell of a good adapter - and she might
well be helping them adapt to some of my best strategies to blocking them.

"Treason."

"Right. She's feeding our military secrets to the enemy."

Footnotes:

[1] Piggies, pequeninos - sentient species living on Lusitania[3]
[2] Hive queen - Queen, center mind of insect-like sentient species,
destroyed by Ender, revived by him again on Lusitania.
[3] Lusitania - the planet colonized by humans where most of the
drama is taking place.
[4] Xenocide was "committed" by Ender, when fighting a war against
Hive Queen and her people, he destroyed their entire race except
a single cocoon.
[5] Quara told pequeninos about descolada alteration plans.
[6] Pequeninos considered invading human-colonized worlds and infect
them with descolada.

Впрочем война с вирусом заканчивается его реконструкцией - решением с минимальными
потерями (типа, хэппи-энд)