Готовый перевод Эпос Хищника / An Epos of a Predator: Эпос Хищника

As if nothing happened. A ceiling of the cabin was glowing brightly and the galaxy was turning soothingly on the window screen. Lilac. Harmless. Constellations were slowly gliding in circles. And the siren was wailing drearily far far away.

"Mammoths are dragons?" purred Glaya again.

"Sorry?", I snapped back to reality looking away from a jumble of stars.

"Giant exctinct reptiles. I have readed an Epos"

"Read", I corrected, "Speak properly!"

"Don't yell", said Glaya, "Everything will be fine".

I felt guilty. Glaya knew the language very well. When a technician brought her onboard in a wicker basket, she could only purr "Sun" and "Good day", referring to herself in the third person: "The Fluffy One". Communicated with gestures, waving her cute pudgy paws. She has learned the language during the first day in space. Buried herself in a cabin with her tablet, didn't even came out to eat. Me and the tech brought meals to her room. These aliens are so talented. Glaya curled up on cold plastic of a medical table, looking at me with her huge eyes. A mouse the size of a pooch. A cat in a coon's coat. Huge eyes. Solid chestnut pupils, no whites. Isn't she cold? I felt chilly despite wearing a telax suit. She's got fur though. The warmest fur in the world.

"I studied your epos", purred Glaya, "Your epos is several thousand years long, very short one. Can be learned in a day."

Glaya rested her head in her paws thinking. I turned away. The stars were flowing slowly on the screen. Cold and disgusting. I wanted to close my eyes, but I would be alone with the siren, desperate as a toothache.

"How old are you?" I asked quietly just to interrupt the dreary howl.

"In human years...", Glaya was thinking, twisting her fluffy tail around the table leg. "Chronologically I am six Earth years old. Socially - about seventeen"

"So you're under-age?"

"I am still a little one. But if I returned from Earth with the knowledge of epos and the language, I could become an adult"

Glaya folded her velvet ears down like two umbrellas. They dissappeared in the waves of her grey fur. This must be indicating an emotion. Despair? Sorrow? Or maybe she hates the siren too? What can be dumber than a siren telling something that we already know for a day?

"You did not answer",Glaya unfurled her ears, "Dragons are mammoths?"

"No. Mammoths... They were like elephants", I explained, "Huge shaggy beasts. Ancient people killed them all."

"Why killed?" Glaya stared with her huge eyes.

"Were stupid", I looked away, "And hungry"

"I forgot. You are carnivorous", Glaya thoughtfully looked at the autoclave in the corner.

"Dragons are fictional creatures, like giant reptiles", I went on. "There were real giant reptiles, but they went extinct millions of years before us. Nobody knows why. And the dragons aren't real."

I suddenly realized that I am talking as if she is a child. But she isn't.

"Looks complicated", Glaya said.

Maybe a child... I am not a xenopsychologist. I am just a paramedic onboard the very ordinary human ship. She waved her huge black and white striped tail again.

"Look, this damn siren... It means that many emergency systems are still working! Maybe we are worrying for nothing, the distress signal is already..."

Glaya jumped off the table landing softly on four paws. The next moment she was sitting by my chair.

"Don't. Didn't we agree not to talk about it? We'll tell each other stories with dragons, yes?

So child...

"But if they don't find us within twelve hours..."

"Don't", Glaya put warm paw on my knee, "If the talk won't change anything, why talk?"

"No need", I agreed and patted her back.

Amazingly soft. Earthlings don't have this kind of fur. Even sitting next to it is pleasing. Sitting and watching a lilac galaxy moving in circles.

"Just three million years ago", Glaya started, "we had dragons everywhere too. They attacked, but our ancestors built defencings. Do you have a word "defencings"? Then utahs multipleid and now the lizards only live in reservations. They are not sapient, but often speak in the folklore."

"I heard your species is very ancient", I recalled.

"The first epos is dated more than two million years ago", purred Glaya.

"You could be the first in the galaxy."

"We are"

"I mean the first space travellers. You are so smart."

Glaya turned her face and looked up to me. Huge chestnut eyes. Tiny black button of a nose. Elegant whiskers. And giant velvet ears.

"You're smart too. I'll tell you an old story of ours and you will understand everything".

"A fairy tale?" I got up from the chair and landed on the floor by her.

"Yes, a fairy tale. We have similar tales", Glaya said, "With dragons, princesses and knights."

"Our species are alike", I nodded, "Carbon-based, oxygen-breathing, even our cells are almost identical. There is a hypothesys that we are a single lifeform carried to our planets from outer space. And the metabolism. Remember you asked for a headache drops and we went to the medical chamber when..."

"You need to stop here", Glaya sternly tapped my knee with her paw. "Listen, I am telling a story. I will try to translate literally. This tale takes hours to tell, but I will only give you the plot. Once upon a time in a village N there lived a Princess..,"

"You mean in a castle? Princesses don't live in villages. Princess is a daughter of an elite family. Or don't you have these differences either?"

"Sure, we have. That's the point: the princess was born very beautiful. She had white furry belly, very fluffy back and the longest tail in the country. She had velvet ears and beautiful eyes. She was very smart. Even young she knew many stories. Grooms of the village liked her a lot. She was very pleasant to copulate with."

"You can't say that in fairy tales. Copulating is a taboo. I mean..."

"I know about taboo, I studied your Oceanian epos. Alright, I will be censoring from now on. One summer day the princess left the defencing and went to the dense pines"

"The woods?"

Glaya stopped and looked at me.

"Go on, I'm listening", I said.

"That's all."

"What? The end of a story?"

"Yes"

"And what's the point?"

"She wasn't afraid anymore."

"Didn't he fight a dragon or let her out?"

"It doesn't matter for us. Maybe he won, maybe not. Maybe he failed in opening prison. Maybe dragon gobbled them both in the morning. Or dragon ate princess and and the groom hid from him. But princess knew that she has a friend nearby. She wasn't afraid. He came to be near her. Because it's the most important thing -- to be with friend to the very end"

"Idiocy", I said. I raised myself from the floor and set in the chair.

"Of course, the story is very ancient", nodded Glaya, "But why idiocy?"

"Because in a fairy tale good actually should win over evil."

"Do you remember that utahs are not a predators?" She turned her face, "From where could we have an idea of a victory?"

"So, an idea of failure? What a good stories."

"Our culture doesn't have an idea of failure. Glorifying a sacrifice is a Predator's Epos too. We have an idea of help."

"Idea of a passivity!"

"No."

"Perfect! Glaya, do you know that you have the most valuable fur in the galaxy?"

"Yes."

"And do you know that only five years ago pothunters landed on Utah and shot your congeners? Bandits from Earth and other planets went to that secret hunt? Is it normal?"

"Not normal. There was only fifteen cases, then we planted system of traps. Today pothunters are being deported before they make a step on a planet."

"And is it normal that killers aren't punished?"

"Dead coats will not became alive utahs. What is the point of punishment?"

"I will try to explain", said Glaya, "Imagine that an avalanche buried a group of alpinists. You wouldn't inflict vengeance on the avalanche, don't you?"

"Idiocy", I mumbled, "Non-resistance to evil."

"Why non-resistance? There is a lot of stories in our Epos, where utahs prevent their friends' death in dragons claw. But they are just not a heroes, that's why they act rationally and jointly. Loner hero exists only in a Predator's Epos."

"Why?"

"Because hero is not the one who is stronger than his enemies. Hero is the one who is stronger than his friends. No one should be equal to hero in what he is doing, that's why predator's hero is acting alone. Our folklore usually doesn't include heroes and enemies. But I wanted to tell you this story, so you can compare it to yours."

"I see", I chuckled, "To show what a crappy tales we have and how genial are yours?"

"That is so amazing", Glaya purred, rubbed my knee with her velvet ear, turned back and looked into my eyes, "Every conversation you are turning into a battle. Do you seriously think that I want to offend your epos and glorify mine?"

"Sorry", I was ashamed.

"Sorry...", Glaya wistfully repeated, "This word was hard to learn. We don't have the word 'sorry' in our languages."

"And how do you ask for forgiveness?"

"We don't. We have the word 'scheuits' -- dellusion, mistake.You can tell 'My words were scheuits'. But you don't have to demonstrate absence of aggression and ask not to punish for an offense. Do you understand?"

"So you can abuse each other and you'll never even think of apologizing?"

"We are not able to abuse", Glaya stretched herself out, "If the words happen to be unpleasant, it is not an aggression. Maybe scheuits. Or maybe an unpleasant truth. Do you understand? We don't have the words 'equality', 'humility', 'reward' and 'retribution'. No one is seeking for a better place then everyone else has. Nobody is seeking at all. Do you understand? You have everything different. Wars, olympic games, economic competition, career growth, scientific disputes. Strong and weak, insult and apology, misdeed and punishment, obedience and leadership, betrayal and revenge. You have funny custom of greetings -- to touch each other with an open hand to show that you have no weapon. Or a custom to clink glasses to slosh liquid from one drink to the other, ensuring that beverage is not poisoned. You have money. You have crime and you struggle against it. It is not only on Earth, it is psychology of every predator's civilization. And it is very interesting, don't you think? I am very interested in your culture, and you are interested in ours, aren't you?"

"Interested. But I don't understand you."

"I don't understand either", Glaya stretched herself out, "For example, you abolished the death penalty..."

"I studied different eposes. I was on Volgle. They have recently abolished eating male after mating..."

"What?!", I dazed, "You were on Volgle? With wild spiders?

"They are not wild, they are sapient. Their instinct constrained by social norms for a long time. There is not much danger for a travellers", Glaya freezed and licked her right paw, "I studied their epos. It has dragons too. Do you want me to tell 'Tratanian'? It is the main epos of the most rich regent clan. An epos of the Firstborn."

"Well, yeah", I set down on the floor again and leaned against Glaya.

"At the dawn of the world knightess Tratanian went to a fight with dragon. Testaceous dragon was so mighty that he covered the half of the sky for a seven days of run."

"And what about stealing a princess?" - I said just to clarify.

"Why? Volgle spiders are lone predators, they don't have a tradition of a deed trading."

"Whaa???"

"A deed trading. When you help for a help and revenge for aggression. That is why they don't need a reason to attack an enemy. Do you understand?"

"It seems I do..."

"Knightess Tratanian walked for many days until a mountain blocked her way. 'Go away!' Tratanian shouted and bit the mountain. But the mountain didn't move. Tratanian immersed herself in a raging fury. She destroyed the mountain with her mighty chelicerae and the mountain turned into the pit. She relieved herself into the pit and went further."

"Idiocy", I said.

"Why idiocy?" Glaya excitingly turned, "Just a hyperbole. Of course spideress can't destroy entire mountain, they even smaller than me."

"But what's the point of destroying the mountain?"

"Well, how can you not understand! Mountain blocked her way. Mountain is an enemy. Enemy should be defeated, destroyed and humiliated. Imagine that mountain is a living creature, then Tratanian's behavior will be logical in human's sight."

"Human don't fight with inanimate nature!" I said.

"Human is not so sheer predator", Glaya retorted, "But even you have a battle against inanimate nature in your epos."

"Example, please", I took an umbrage.

"No, not this..." Glaya purred. "Here is the good example: a storm swept Xerxes' fleet away, and he showed his wrath by commanding his soldiers to give the sea three hundred lashes with whips. Ancient Greek epos."

"Pity, but I'm not familiar with it", I winced, "Probably it is a very ancient epos? But even if so, it complete idiocy!"

"Here is relatively new one: seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, Jesus Christ went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, he said to the tree, 'May no one ever eat fruit from you again'. And the fig tree withered at once."

"Completely inappropriate example!" I resented, "It is just an agriculture. Artificial selection."

"I will continue the tale, ok? Tratanian went further, but the field of floyah blocked her way. Floyah is a poisonous prickly plant with thick woody stems. It grows like solid wall. Can you imagine that? Tratanian shouted, 'Go away, floyah!' but floyah only rustled and condenced. Tratanian immersed herself in a raging fury. She started nipping the stems one by one and raping them."

"What she did?" I surprised.

"Enforced the sexual intercourse. In a predator's epos it is often used as a form of aggression and winning. For example, in human's, when..."

"How is that possible to rape a field of poisonous plants?"

"I don't really know either", Glaya mused, "But that is what epos says. Maybe it is figuratively. When the field was finished, Tratanian went further. The lake blocked her way."

"Oh, I see", I nodded, "She shouted 'get the hell out', but lake didn't listen. Then she immersed herself in a raging fury, drank the lake, shat in the pit, and also raped it somehow..."

"No", Gaya said, "In spider's folklore water never become an enemy. It is usually explained by a lack and value of water. But I think it is because water does not have a shape. It is hard to explain: exterior of an enemy is most important to a spiders. Tratanian saw a crank-clam grazing on a coast. She jumped on his back and ordered to carry her to the other coast. Shaking in fear, crank-clam carried her. She ripped his chest, ate his heart and went further."

"Gratitude", I snorted.

"Inherent only to the culture of herd predators", Glaya nodded, "Spiders don't trade deeds."

"Wait. So you don't have a gratitude either?"

"We don't. Does an act of helping really needs a reason? It was hard for me to understand. And for you it is probably difficult too?"

"Yeah."

"Also crank-clam is a prey. It is foolish to leave the food. Imagine that a can of stew helped you to hammer a detail into a mounting socket. Will you eat it after that or let it go in open space?"

"But the can isn't alive!"

"From a dragon?!"

"Listen to me, you little utah, don't you think..."

"Stop!" I shouted, "Stop!!! Enough!!! I don't want to talk about epos anymore! I want to discuss our situation one more time."

"As you wish..."

Glaya sighed, jumped on a medical table and lied down covering face with her paws. She looked even more fluffy than before, I found out that she's freezing too. I walked to the screen. My throat convulsively tightened, eyes became itching and water spread over my lower eyelids. Stars blurred and became shining radiant splats. Siren howled. <...>

"I think", uttered Glaya behind my back, "it was in lower storage. What was in there?"

"You asking me?!", I barked, "A paramedic! How could I know that?"

"Still think it is terrorists?"

"I think nothing!", I shouted, "Maybe it was your spiders from Wolgle! Maybe a murder-for-hire of some passenger! Maybe some random idiot stuffed industrial capacitor into his luggage, and idiot inspector let it go! And idiot robot unpacked it and turned off the circuit! What's the difference?"

"Crazy pulse", Glaya saddened and jumped off the table, "Just lay down and rest."

"Listen", Glaya said, "What if you put me to sleep?"

"If fluffy goes asleep, you will have a lot more oxigen", striped tail was thoughtfully moving on the floor.

"Stop it!", I barked.

"Just tell me how would you put me to sleep? Have you ever put to sleep fluffy animals?"

"I have", I choked, "There weren't enough places at the hospital so three students from our class were pushed to practice in a vet clinic."

"Needle won't ruin the coat?", she asked, "You will make a good dummy?"

"Promise me", Glaya said, "that you won't leave me and will make a good dummy. I have very valuable fur."

"I promise", I growled.

"Really?"

"Really."

"And this creature was telling me that I'm a predator and your culture doesn't have nor heroic deeds and nor sacrificial deaths?"

"Won't you leave the fluffy?" She purred sleepily.

"Of course not", I answered.

Gained consciousness from cold. Got up glanced at sleeping Glaya. Opened the safe with the drugs took out medical cotton and ether?. Soaked the cotton and put by her nostrils. She inhaled loudly and I got frightened that she might have gotten up. ...

October 24 — December 16, 2001

Russia, Moscow, Chertanovo.

Внимание! Этот перевод, возможно, ещё не готов.
Его статус: идёт перевод

Переведено на Нотабеноиде
http://notabenoid.org/book/38364/139779

Переводчики: theworst, StaticVoid, fat031c