День триффидов
A Light in the Night
‘Inthecountryoftheblindtheone-eyedmanisking.’
"Ohyes—Wellssaidthat,didn’the?Onlyinthestoryitturnedoutnottobetrue."
"Thecruxofthedifferenceliesinwhatyoumeanbytheword‘country’—patriaintheoriginal,"Isaid."Caecoruminpatrialuscusreximperatomnis—aclassicalgentlemancalledFulloniussaidthat:it’sallanyoneseemstorememberabouthim.Butthere’snoorganizedpatria,nostate,here—onlychaos,Wellsimaginedapeoplewhohadadaptedthemselvestoblindness.Idon’tthinkthatisgoingtohappenhere—Idon’tseehowitcan.
"Whatdoyouthinkisgoingtohappen?"
"Myguesswouldbenobetterthanyours.Andsoonweshallbegintoknow,anyway.Bettergetbacktomattersinhand.Wherewerewe?"
"Choosingclothes."
"Ohyes.Well,it’ssimplyamatterofslippingintoashop,adoptingafewtrifles,andslippingoutagain.You’llnotmeetanytriffidsincentralLondon—atleast,notyet."
"Youtalksolightlyabouttakingthings,"shesaid.
"Idon’tfeelquitesolightlyaboutit,"Iadmitted."ButI’mnotsurethatthat’svirtue—it’smorelikelymerelyhabit.Andanobstinaterefusaltofacefactsisn’tgoingtobringanythingback,orhelpusatall.Ithinkwe’llhavetotrytoseeourselvesnotastherobbersofallthisbutmoreas—well,theunwillingheirstoit."
‘Yes.Isupposeitis—somethinglikethat,"sheagreedinaqualifiedway.
Shewassilentforatime.Whenshespokeagainsherevertedtotheearlierquestion.
