День триффидов
The Coming of the Triffids
Hismindworked,Ithink,thisway:noheadforfigures=noideaoffinance=nomoney.
"Ireallydon’tknowwhatweshalldowithyou.Whatdoyouwanttodo?’hewouldask.
AnduntilIwasthirteenorfourteenTwouldshakemyhead,consciousofmysadinadequacy,andadmitthatIdidnotknow.
Itwastheappearanceofthetriffidswhichreallydecidedthematterforus.Indeed,theydidalotmorethanthatforme.Theyprovidedmewithajobandcomfortablysupportedme.Theyalsoonseveraloccasionsalmosttookmylife.Ontheotherhand,Ihavetoadmitthattheypreservedit,too,foritwasatriffidstingthathadlandedmeinhospitalonthecriticaloccasionofthe‘cometdebris."
Inthebooksthereisquitealotofloosespeculationonthesuddenoccurrenceofthetriffids.Mostofitisnonsense.Certainlytheywerenotspontaneouslygenerated,asmanysimplesoulsbelieved.Nordidmostpeopleendorsethetheorythattheywereakindofsamplevisitation—harbingersofworsetocomeiftheworlddidnotmenditswaysandbehaveitstroublesomeself.Nordidtheirseedsfloattousthroughspaceasspecimensofthehorridformsfifemightassumeuponother,lessfavoredworlds—atleastIamsatisfiedthattheydidnot.
Ilearnedmoreaboutitthanmostpeoplebecausetriffidsweremyjob,andthefirmIworkedforwasintimately,ifnotverygracefully,concernedintheirpublicappearance.Nevertheless,theirtrueoriginstillremainsobscure.
