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"It seems to work for you," she said to the queen.
"For millenniums it has been so. Now, join us. Be ourguests. Be well fed, well entertained. What you
need, merely ask for it. Be content."
"She's not just a-kidding," Starbuck said. "You think thisbanquet is something, wait'll you get a look at
the casino acouple levels above."
"Casino?" Apollo said.
"Yep. I'm on my way back there as soon as I getsustenance."
"Lieutenant Starbuck, there're peoplestarving back onthe-"
"1 know, I know, Captain. Ease off. These people'reassembling food for us right now. And fuel. Our
problems'resolved."
"It sounds good, Starbuck, but-"
"But nothing, Captain. C'mon, have you ever tried thisorange wine? Take a sip."
"I'll pass for the moment."
Lotay, watching their conversation, smiled at the humans benignly. To Apollo and Serina, the queen's
smile seemed tocontain just as much mystery as ever. There seemed to be more meaning in it than she
was willing to exhibit. Apollo had sensed a tone of command in her invocations to enjoyment. Serina was
not sure what she sensed, but whatever it was, was cloying. She desperately wanted to return
aboveground, to be in the comforting, though spare,confines of theGalactica.
The executive officers around Imperious Leader'spedestal transmitted nothing but trivialities through their
communications webs. At first-brain level a Cylon hatedinactivity. By the time he achieved a
second-brain, the Cylonhated confusion. Third-brain Cylons despised both inactivity and confusion, but
even more they hated triviality. Thecenturion officer that he had dispatched to the planetCarillon to
rendezvous with their Ovion allies and to check out the rumors about human ships in that sector had not
yetreported in. The leader felt disused, as if he might decay if nothing important happened soon.
His mind was burdened with inconsequentialities that hedid not even have to correlate. He kept finding
himselfmaking random connections which, though accurate, weremeaningless.
He remembered a conversation he had once had with ahuman captive. The man had been a scientist, a
short,somewhat plump fellow who fancied long sideburns tocounter his thinning hair. Suspecting the man
might be a fitconversationalist for a Cylon, the leader had made someattempts in that direction. While
they talked theory andtechnology, their communication level remained higher thanthat of the average
interaction between Cylon and human.However, tne scientist had grown lethargic after several days,and
had begun to provide answers in a monotone.
When the Leader asked the reason for the scientist'schange in mood, the man tried to explain the
concept ofboredom to the Cylon. It was a concept that was soloathsome to the leader that he refused to
accept it. Hebecame quite incensed with rage. The man copied the Cylon'smood and spoke back angrily,
defending boredom as acommon, even acceptable, human trait. Nobody liked to be bored, the man said
stridently, but it was a necessary part ofhuman life that often led to the kind of contemplation which
eventually resulted in revolutionary insights. Boredom couldeven be beneficial for humanity, the man said.
The leadercommented that, since starting the discussion of boredom,the man seemed much less bored,
therefore talking aboutboredom must not be boring. The man screamed that he wasmore bored than
ever, that the Leader and all the rest of theCylons were such smug hypocrites with such infinitesimal
variance in attitude or personality that any sensible human could nothelp but be bored after a few days in
theircompany. Although the leader did not believe in boredom as a useful or even genuine state, he
resented the man's claim ofboredom in Cylon company, and he banished the scientist from his presence
forever. He had probably put the man todeath, although that was a piece of information that hewould not
have bothered to preserve in any of his brains. Now he wondered if such accumulations of trivial dataas
that under which he presently suffered were roughlycomparable to what that scientist had called
boredom. Hedid not have to consider this offensive proposition for long,since some important new [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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"It seems to work for you," she said to the queen.
"For millenniums it has been so. Now, join us. Be ourguests. Be well fed, well entertained. What you
need, merely ask for it. Be content."
"She's not just a-kidding," Starbuck said. "You think thisbanquet is something, wait'll you get a look at
the casino acouple levels above."
"Casino?" Apollo said.
"Yep. I'm on my way back there as soon as I getsustenance."
"Lieutenant Starbuck, there're peoplestarving back onthe-"
"1 know, I know, Captain. Ease off. These people'reassembling food for us right now. And fuel. Our
problems'resolved."
"It sounds good, Starbuck, but-"
"But nothing, Captain. C'mon, have you ever tried thisorange wine? Take a sip."
"I'll pass for the moment."
Lotay, watching their conversation, smiled at the humans benignly. To Apollo and Serina, the queen's
smile seemed tocontain just as much mystery as ever. There seemed to be more meaning in it than she
was willing to exhibit. Apollo had sensed a tone of command in her invocations to enjoyment. Serina was
not sure what she sensed, but whatever it was, was cloying. She desperately wanted to return
aboveground, to be in the comforting, though spare,confines of theGalactica.
The executive officers around Imperious Leader'spedestal transmitted nothing but trivialities through their
communications webs. At first-brain level a Cylon hatedinactivity. By the time he achieved a
second-brain, the Cylonhated confusion. Third-brain Cylons despised both inactivity and confusion, but
even more they hated triviality. Thecenturion officer that he had dispatched to the planetCarillon to
rendezvous with their Ovion allies and to check out the rumors about human ships in that sector had not
yetreported in. The leader felt disused, as if he might decay if nothing important happened soon.
His mind was burdened with inconsequentialities that hedid not even have to correlate. He kept finding
himselfmaking random connections which, though accurate, weremeaningless.
He remembered a conversation he had once had with ahuman captive. The man had been a scientist, a
short,somewhat plump fellow who fancied long sideburns tocounter his thinning hair. Suspecting the man
might be a fitconversationalist for a Cylon, the leader had made someattempts in that direction. While
they talked theory andtechnology, their communication level remained higher thanthat of the average
interaction between Cylon and human.However, tne scientist had grown lethargic after several days,and
had begun to provide answers in a monotone.
When the Leader asked the reason for the scientist'schange in mood, the man tried to explain the
concept ofboredom to the Cylon. It was a concept that was soloathsome to the leader that he refused to
accept it. Hebecame quite incensed with rage. The man copied the Cylon'smood and spoke back angrily,
defending boredom as acommon, even acceptable, human trait. Nobody liked to be bored, the man said
stridently, but it was a necessary part ofhuman life that often led to the kind of contemplation which
eventually resulted in revolutionary insights. Boredom couldeven be beneficial for humanity, the man said.
The leadercommented that, since starting the discussion of boredom,the man seemed much less bored,
therefore talking aboutboredom must not be boring. The man screamed that he wasmore bored than
ever, that the Leader and all the rest of theCylons were such smug hypocrites with such infinitesimal
variance in attitude or personality that any sensible human could nothelp but be bored after a few days in
theircompany. Although the leader did not believe in boredom as a useful or even genuine state, he
resented the man's claim ofboredom in Cylon company, and he banished the scientist from his presence
forever. He had probably put the man todeath, although that was a piece of information that hewould not
have bothered to preserve in any of his brains. Now he wondered if such accumulations of trivial dataas
that under which he presently suffered were roughlycomparable to what that scientist had called
boredom. Hedid not have to consider this offensive proposition for long,since some important new [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]