Готовый перевод Тейлор Поттер и философский виал / Taylor Potter and the Philosophical Vial: Глава 2. Тойбокс - аллея

Chapter 2. Toybox Alley
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Swimming to shore on the back of a giant dog was the most amazing adventure of Taylor's eleven years. Beyond the excitement, the pleasure, the splashes in her face, there was something strangely familiar about the journey, as if Taylor had ridden giant dogs before. She also had a ton of questions, which she asked at breakneck speed. Rachel remained silent, making only monosyllabic sounds, while holding Taylor's hand.

"Words," the Keeper grumbled as the dog climbed ashore. "Too many words."

"But I'm interested!" Taylor cried. "They hid everything from me!"

Rachel sighed.

"Headmistress Dumbledore will explain everything to you at Wormwarts. She knows how to talk."

Taylor bit her lip. Wormwarts was still a month away, and it was enough to drive one crazy with curiosity! So young Potter decided to broach the other subject.

"And where are we heading... Toybox Alley?"

"This is one of the pocket dimensions where capes don't have to hide that they are capes."

"And who are the capes?"

"These are the ones who have superpowers."

"Why are they hiding then?"

"To keep the Earth from perishing, there's a Statute of Secrecy," Rachel cut herself off and growled. "We'll buy you some books, and then you'll find out!"

Then the dog jumped, and Taylor bit her tongue hard. So the rest of the journey to New York passed in silence. On the outskirts, Rachel transformed Fang back to his normal size, even if "normal" in this case meant the black dog's head was level with Taylor's chest.

"Did Mom Sophia miss when she shot at him?" Taylor ventured.

She and Rachel walked down the street, Fang running ahead, his tail wagging. Passersby glanced sideways, grumbled, and made way, but their reactions were more or less acceptable; no one rushed to call the police or panic.

"No, but Fang was safe," Rachel answered firmly. "That's my power."

“I see,” Taylor nodded.

So, in the silence broken only by the sounds of early New York and the monosyllabic question-and-answer exchanges, they walked on and on. Taylor, watching the surroundings through the insects, grew a little bored and decided to look at the list of things she would need to take to school. Rachel silently poked her finger at her mini-screen, and Taylor began to read, her mouth wide open and closed thoughtfully.

WORMWARTS SCHOOL OF CAPING AND PARAHUMANISM

Form

First-year students are required to:

1. Three sets of spandex training suits.

2. One simple helmet, with a protective visor or polyurethane face shield.

3. One pair of gloves and shin guards, with protection against electric shock.

4. One winter suit (with electric heating)

Please note that all student clothing must contain customizable RFID tags.

Textbooks

All students must have the following books with them:

"The Book of Standard Tactics, Patterns, and Powers (Level 1)" by Miranda Goskhock

"The History of Capes" by Bathilda Bagshot

"Shards Theory" by Adalbert Woffling

"The Beginner's Guide to Gun Care" by Emerick Switch

"A Thousand Plants Used in Pharmaceutics" by Phillida Spore

"Intrigue, Information, and the Art of Using Intelligence" by Arsenius Jigger

"Bio-Tech Creations and Genetically Modified Creatures" by Newt Scamander

"Dark Places: A Guide to Self-Defense" by Quentin Trimble

Other accessories

- 1 standard educational tablet

- 1 standard map with the ability to scale and model

- 1 набор инструментов и микросхем

- 1 universal detector

- 1 gun care kit

Students may also bring one ABC that does not violate Isaac's Laws.

PARENTS ARE REMINDERED THAT FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS ARE PROHIBITED FROM HAVING THEIR OWN JETPACKS OR OTHER TINKER FLIGHT DEVICES.

"What are the ABC and the Isaac Laws?" the question popped out.

To Taylor's surprise, this time Rachel Hagrid answered clearly and in detail.

"ABC, an artificially bred creature. Three laws of biotechnology, formulated at the dawn of cape existence by the famous bio-tinker Isaac. First: an artificially bred creature must not have the ability to reproduce. Second: the creature must obey all orders and not attack other capes. Third: the creature must not have superpowers."

"Does that happen?" Taylor asked, shocked.

"It happened," Rachel snapped and pointed her finger. "We're here!"

A grimy and stained sign above the basement read "The Leaky Scanner." Taylor tried to hide her disappointment, as she could clearly sense that there were only three rooms and two people inside. There was no sign of a school here, not to mention the fact that in this filthy space, it was impossible to buy all the wonderful equipment and supplies required for studying at Wormwarts.

However, Rachel, not at all embarrassed, began to descend the stairs with broken steps.

The room was stuffy and dirty, and light barely penetrated through the dark glass.

Two people were sitting in the room: a muscular black man in a cap, thoughtfully studying those who entered, and a fair-haired boy typing something at lightning speed on the keyboard, without taking his eyes off the ancient tube monitor.

“Messire LeBron,” Rachel nodded to the black man.

"Rachel Hagrid, Maste - 7, accompanied by Taylor Potter," LeBron narrowed his eyes, lifted his cap, and nodded to himself, "Master - 5."

The boy looked up from the monitor, then nodded and started typing even faster.

"Go over there, to the scanner!" he waved his hand.

Confused, Taylor stood where she'd been told — near the brick wall. Hagrid stood next to her, baring her teeth, and suddenly the scene around her changed. Gone was the dingy, dim room; it was spacious and sunny, with people in bizarre costumes flying, running, and clapping their wings. Something sparkled and flared, various animals darted past, and a huge face with bright green eyes smiled down from the sky.

"Welcome to Toybox Alley, Taylor!"

A street paved with some kind of gray material, and on both sides, shops and shops, glittering, shining signs, beckoning customers. And then a terrifying thought struck Taylor: she remembered she had no money. Of course, there were coins in a secluded piggy bank buried under an old oak tree a hundred meters from the house… but now, Taylor had nothing.

"Let's go," Rachel said, nudging the girl in the back, "you'll need a payment card."

"I don't have any money," Taylor said, her voice falling.

“You have,” Rachel waved it off.

Taylor followed obediently, trying to keep up and looking around. "3D Maps," read the nearest sign, above which a 3D image spun, which Taylor recognized with surprise as New York City. A little further on, a crowd of kids huddled in front of a display case of jetpacks, nudging each other.

"Look! Meteor – 25! Four nozzles!"

"Wow, look, there's an air surfing board!"

"O-o-o-o!!!" came a collective gasp of admiration from the children as the display case turned into a screen showing some sort of high-speed aerial battle involving a dozen people with backpacks on their backs.

Taylor would have stared and stared, her jaw dropped, but Rachel was already pulling her along. Noises, smells, and colors assaulted not only Taylor but also the insects around her, as the girl tried to see and embrace everything.

"Fifteen galleons for a kilogram of ultra-pure uranium, they're crazy!" exclaimed a plump woman in a bright pink leotard and a tight T-shirt to the right.

"Yeah, I'm telling you, it's a sure thing, Dan is Mover - teleporter, let's talk and head to the Bahamas next weekend, one-two, and we'll be there, and then," the teenager on the left spoke into the phone screen.

"We need a Blaster - 6, with laser specialization, no less, otherwise," some guy with an uneven beard said solemnly from behind.

"I need a weapon against Changers," came from the gun shop with the sign "The Longest Barrel."

"Bank Ellisburg," Rachel said, pulling Taylor out of the web of observation.

A strange, crooked, wrinkled dwarf stood in front of the door of a huge, snow-white building, looking haughtily at the capes scurrying around.

“Who is this?” Taylor asked.

"Goblin. Ellisburg Bank, the safest place for capes to keep their money and deposits, is run by goblins," Rachel explained.

"Ah... who are they?" Taylor tried, but no, her power did not affect the goblin.

"Their progenitor was Nilbog," Rachel said, frowning, "which is 'goblin' spelled backwards. He was a banker himself, lonely and very greedy, and his children were the same. They fought the capes many times, but lost. They are skilled Tinkerers, in their own way, and that's why their bank is the safest place."

The bank was quiet and cool, with discs gliding back and forth, bearing the important goblins. Rachel pointed to the huge screen on the wall and declared.

"I need access to Taylor Potter's account and box 713."

"Confirm your identity," said the goblin on the screen.

Confused, Taylor put her hand to the screen, then moved her face closer and allowed herself to be pricked on the finger.

"Identity confirmed," the goblin nodded. "Take the standard student card, Miss Potter."

A plastic rectangle popped out of the screen from the side. Taylor, familiar with payment cards, was surprised to note the absence of a magnetic strip, number, or other identifying marks.

"Our card is impossible to counterfeit," the goblin on the screen declared smugly, "and it's accepted everywhere. Now, regarding access to cell 713."

Rachel silently pulled a rectangular object out of her pocket and pointed it at the side of the screen. It took Taylor a moment to realize it was a key fob, and she wondered what was in that slot.

"It's Dumbledore's business, you can ask her," Rachel snapped in response to the question.

She wasn't gone long, about five minutes, and returned quite satisfied. Taylor tried to track her using insects... but to no avail. All the scouts Taylor sent were destroyed by the Ellisburg Bank's defense systems.

"Come on, let's get you everything you need," Hagrid said, and off they went.

"Here," Rachel pointed to the "Sabah Suits" shop, "they'll sew you everything you need, but I still have things to do."

"Sew?" Taylor blinked in confusion.

After all, sewing it would take a long time, wouldn't it? But Rachel had already galloped off on the newly grown Fang, and Taylor, reluctantly, entered the shop.

"Wormwarts?" a short, dark-skinned woman of about twenty asked with a strong accent.

“Yes,” Taylor nodded, not knowing what to do with her hands, the map in her hands, or what to do at all.

“So, here,” the owner pointed, “here, next to the young man.

On a dais, surrounded by mirrors, stood a boy about Taylor's age, looking bored. Fabric and needles flew around him, and clothes were being sewn before his eyes. Taylor was placed on a similar dais, and fabric and needles began to fly around her as well.

"Too much brown," the boy said, turning to Taylor. "Hey, also in Wormwarts?"

“Yes,” Taylor nodded, trying not to blink or flinch from the needles.

"Tell me, why can't freshmen have their own jetpacks?" the boy asked, running his hand through his white hair. "I'll have to tell my dad to buy one and then smuggle it into school. Do you have a jetpack?"

"No."

"Do you fight Quidditch?"

"No," Taylor said, throwing up her hands, wondering what Quidditch was.

"Of course, no one knows where they'll end up, but I'll definitely go to Eidolorin, my whole family went there," the boy continued, ranting about things unknown to Taylor. "If I went to Legendpuff, I'd have to quit school... oh, ugh, who let that animal in here?"

Fang's muzzle poked its way into the shop, and its huge nose noisily inhaled the air.

"This is Hagrid's dog, she is the Guardian of the Lands and Beasts of Wormwarts," Taylor smiled.

"Ah, I've heard of her... she's just like her animals," the boy said. "I can't even believe she's a cape."

Taylor snorted darkly, not knowing what to say.

"Your parents weren't they ours? Were they Capes?" the boy asked.

"They're dead," Taylor clenched her fists, already regretting entering the store.

But just then, Sabah returned, and Taylor suddenly realized that all four of her suits were ready. Glad to be able to end the unpleasant conversation, she left the store after paying ("just tap your card here, that's it"). Rachel was waiting for her outside, leaning against Fang, who was laden with a dozen bags.

"Dog food," Rachel said shortly. "Got the costumes? Let's move on!"

They stopped at the Tinker Shop, where they installed a built-in heating element in one of the suits and installed personalized RFID chips. They also bought a universal detector at a discount and a tool kit with microchips for their first year of school. Taylor really wanted to buy a robot protector, but they refused to sell it. Similarly, at the gun shop, Taylor couldn't find laser pistols or crossbows firing mini-rockets. Even a simple pistol with infinite ammo was out of reach. A collapsible baton and pepper spray ("new, improved mixture!") were the only weapons they were able to acquire.

"You'll be given weapons in class," Rachel replied when asked why a gun care kit was needed. "And you'll have to put them back together. Until you pass the exam, which will be in your fifth year, no one will give or sell you weapons. Too many underage capes have died; that's why they introduced these rules."

Taylor noted that Hagrid answered some questions in detail and concluded that Rachel knew how to talk and knew a lot. She just communicated peculiarly, but if you figured out how, you could ask her about anything.

But the clever plan failed, at least this time.

Taylor expected the textbooks to be traditional paper books, but they turned out not to be. They purchased a standard student tablet, a typical model designed for the wild behavior of young capes. They paid for the license and received the textbook files and the interactive map simulator program. Taylor immediately sent a letter to Wormwarts and received a ticket program in response.

"You need to arrive at Grand Central Station on September first," Rachel explained, "from there you'll be transported to Wormwarts. If those Dursleys bother you or refuse to let you go, email me at bitch@wormvarts.bet, and I'll be right there to help, okay?"

“I see,” Taylor nodded.

She felt a mix of noise, dizziness, tiredness and was overwhelmed by the beauty of the world around her. There was too much going on around her at once, plus all that was multiplied by the perception through insects. Her head ached, her body ached, and Taylor tried not to think about the enraged Dursleys waiting for her at home.

“Then come on, we need to send you home,” Rachel said, pointing to the huge sign.

"Travels with Strider," it said, and just below that, "three centuries in the cape teleportation market."

Taylor had no more strength left and just nodded silently, clutching the tablet and suits tighter to her.

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