Henry Lyon Oldie Child of the Ecumene. henry lyon

Child of the Ecumene

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Title: Child of the Ecumene
Author: Henry Oldie
Year: 2010
Genre: Foreign Fiction, Space Fiction, Science Fiction

About Henry Oldie's book "Child of the Ecumene"

Regina van Frassen - a gift of fate! - was born a telepath. At the age of six, the child first learned the sweetness of power - and the bitterness of prohibitions. At twelve she was introduced to terror and violence. At sixteen - with rivalry and lies. Yes, the cosmic world of the Oikumene treasures its mentals as a desperate rarity, but the force field will not protect you from the cold winds of reality. Dance in the hills, flute child! Childhood is over, and we must move on - into youth, full of surprises.

The new novel by G. L. Oldie reopens to us the galactic expanses of the Oikumene, already known to the reader from the adventures of Luciano Borgotta, director of the Nativity Theatre.

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Quotes from the book "Child of the Ecumene" by Henry Oldie

The jet-black diving suit turned the diver into a charred, but quite vigorous corpse.

He was so used to living with this fear that they became friends.

Cruelty is the underside of resentment.
Hate is the underside of weakness.
Pity is the other side of looking in the mirror.

Aggression is the rear of pride.
Now let's take all this - plus much more - divide it into paper lots, throw it in a hat, shake it, mix it well and start drawing tickets in a different order. Do you think something will change? Nothing like this. From a change in the places of terms, even if not numbers, but feelings are added ...
Banality is the underside of wisdom.

Pure, unclouded joy enveloped him like a radiant cloud. Joy sparkled with bubbles of apple cider, turned his head and pushed him to cheerful madness, from which van Frassen could hardly resist.

People quickly learn good things, even sharpen fangs and give two dozen claws to everyone.

Sometimes it seems that the ultimate dream of most is a keyhole into which they will peep without permission, drooling. There, in the keyhole - dozens of ways to get rich, hundreds of opportunities to become famous, thousands of chances to take revenge.

Constraints define the scope of the relationship.
Restrictions guarantee physical and emotional security.
Constraints link ideals to reality.
Limitations allow you to express negative feelings without fear of retribution.
Constraints are the basis of stability and solvency.

Cowardice threw off shameful clothes, turning into sanity. Courage suspiciously resembled idiocy.

Everyman is jealous of us telepaths. He secretly dreams: I wish I could!.. He dries with grief: why not me? Makes plans: I would!.. With the same passion, which deserves a better application, the layman envies the billionaires, whose capital they inherited, without any effort. Sometimes it seems that the ultimate dream of most is a keyhole into which they will peep without permission, drooling. There, in the keyhole - dozens of ways to get rich, hundreds of opportunities to become famous, thousands of chances to take revenge. Poor kids! - stupid, greedy, loved ...

Your envy is mutual.

Terauchi Oe, Rustle in the Leaves

Prologue

Fish, Anna Maria thought.

Rainbow seven-tails from Yutasa-IV. Fringed catfish. Peacocks with muzzles of amazed fools. Orange-and-white clowns, like children's mittens, frolicked between the tentacles of purple anemones. Stiletto fish swam past them with the greatest caution - the twists of trihedral bodies, the quivering of "notches". Snake-headed shuttles hung at the very bottom, dark as a museum penny and sleepy as a student at a morning lecture. Their bright crests bristled like a crown.

chains of bubbles. The swaying of algae, the glitter of shells...

Duke Rauchenbaum, head of the Department of Coenolbology, was distinguished by his peculiar, not to say extravagant taste. When the duke gets promoted, Anna Maria thought, and I get the chair, I'll redo everything. First of all, the aquarium. Everything will be different in my office.

Thick whips trembled on the window. Star-shaped leaves stirred with a flash of yellow edging. The angle of each sheet has changed to match the standby mode. The sun peeked through the gaps. Another half an hour, a maximum of an hour, and it will disappear behind a beech grove.

- Open the window!

The ivy spread out in different directions, freeing up space. The glass shattered in the middle and the doors went into the wall. Another whim of Rauchenbaum. When the office is inherited by Anna Maria, the ivy will simply disappear. No annoying swirling. Unless, of course, Anna-Maria leaves the ivy. Wild grapes are much prettier. In autumn, glossy, blue-black clusters hang on it ...

She fed the fish. An optional but soothing process. Psyters recommend: anti-stress and all that. “Feeding from your hand is not a big job, but in it you find the core of those transformations that reign in your soul silently and embarrassed ...” Once she had to memorize the Prince’s monologue. Tragedy "Black Castle"; stupid, sentimental girl.

Laugh who's funny.

Outside the window dozed off the university. Educational buildings are gingerbread houses in a sea of greenery. Dormitories empty at this time of year. Above the river are the teachers' houses. The students flew away for the holidays. Lectures on vacation. Those few who, like Anna-Maria, were still busy with correspondence students, spent their evenings with their families, and not in their offices. Eccentrics lingering after a working day were out of the question. For example, Count Jacobi is a galactic scale foronomicist, the author of "Reference trigization of quarks", a young dandy. He was smoking in the laboratory opposite, on the balcony of the third floor, looking as if he was sitting in the Royal Council of Largitas.

In response to Anna Maria's thoughts, the count drew himself up and twisted his mustache. Last winter, Jacoby decided to hit on a colleague, and it took a lot of effort to remain friends. Why are you not married yet, Mom asks. What to answer her? Freedom? The science? Career?

"Time to go home. We need to call a robot rickshaw…”

By a strange association with her mother, Anna-Maria remembered her first lecture. She went to the pulpit, looked around the hushed audience - those who were sitting in the hall, and those whose faces were lined up on the hyperactive panel ... Introduction to the course. Memorized, the only true words suddenly seemed strange. They had to be re-created.

– As you know, science is divided into two empires: cosmology and noology. Noology, as a spiritual discipline, is in turn divided into two kingdoms: the philosophical and nootechnical sciences and the social sciences...

She quickly managed to gather attention.

– … sub-branch of ethnogenetic sciences includes two sciences of the 1st order: nomology, i.e. jurisprudence, and politics. Politics is made up of two sciences of the 2nd order: the theory of power and cenolbology, otherwise the science of public happiness. Count Rauchenbaum will read to you comparative cenolbology, whose subject is the study of the conditions conducive to the happiness of society and individuals. I will take the course of fundamental cenolbogeny - the study of the causes that give rise to these conditions ...

Great Cosmos, how time flies! Others go out to freshmen with the words: “Science is divided into two empires…” Dissertation, title, promotion; monographs, methodical works. Articles in academic journals. Recognition from colleagues. The respect of a duke who is stingy with praise. Days, months, years. A dream about the hour when Anna-Maria will change the aquarium in her study - and ivy will give way to grapes.

Does she not know the causes that give rise to the conditions for happiness?

The external surveillance sensor played the tune from Come Back, Adele. Celesta, bass, flute. Someone was approaching the office. Cleaner, of course. A death-combine rolls ahead of itself, changing settings on the go ...

- I'm sorry. Is this the department of cenolbology?

A young officer stood at the door. White tunic, gold shoulder strap. Cords with silver tips. Dagger with a twisted handle. On the cockade is an attacking falcon. VKS Lieutenant Commander Largitas, concluded Anna-Maria. Her paternal uncle was Rear Admiral Reinecke, an old bachelor who doted on his niece. She learned the signs of distinction before the alphabet.

- Yes. Are you looking for someone?

The captain looked at Anna Maria in a way that does not happen in life, and cannot be. He even sweated, poor thing. In dismay, he pushed his cap to the back of his head. A dashing, boyish forelock broke out, rinsed in a draft. The banner of humility - I surrender to mercy ...

- I? I'm looking, of course...

“Found it,” read the plain face. - Have already found."

“Beate van Frassen… wanted to ask…”

— Van Frassen? We don't teach like that. I would know.

- Correspondence student ... today I flew to Largitas, on vacation ...

- Your fiancee?

- Sister. I was hoping to find out where she settled.

- Contact your sister on the communicator.

- Doesn't answer. Most likely doing it. Doesn't want to be distracted.

Or secluded herself with her lover, Anna Maria thought. She had a good idea of the morals of correspondence students who relieved tension from the session.

- Are you also a student? Graduate student?

In both cases, no.

- Cavalry lady?

“You are a flatterer, Captain. I already forgot when I was a cavalier lady ...

"Don't tell me you're the dean of the faculty!" I still don't believe it.

- I will not say. I am Countess Reinecke. Deputy head of the department.

- Countess? The captain chuckled. He had a nice, open smile. - At your age? In that case, I'm an admiral. You know, I was nervous at first. Beata complained that the local masters were beasts. With fangs and claws. So, I think, I’ll come to the department, I won’t like it ... Then someone beat Beat in the standings - once, and into ashes. It's good that I met you. You're joking, so everything is in order.

He is ten years younger than me, Anna-Maria estimated. When excited, becomes talkative. Nice figure. A word from cheap logo serials is okay. But in this case, it's very accurate. Too bad it's not big enough.

"Do you think I'm not fit to be a countess?"

- Fit perfectly. In twenty years.

- It's a compliment?

- This is a statement of fact.

Having recovered from the first shock, the captain before our eyes turned into a note heartthrob. I must say, without much success. Heartthrobs don't blush. And certainly no heartthrobs have such cute, such childish dimples on their cheeks.

- Now fine. At first I thought it was an opinion about my professional abilities. You predicted a good career for me...

- Do not be embarrassed. Wait, I'll find out now. Request!

– Beata van Frassen, the place of registration?

The acoustic lens coughed in bass. Still, the Duke of Rauchenbaum was a great original. Under Anna Maria, the lens will acquire a marvelous soprano voice. And forever forget about the cough. It's already decided.

“Second hostel,” the informant reported. - Room seven, first floor.

See how easy it is? Hurry to your sister, captain.

He didn't leave.

– Cenolbology? What do you teach, my Countess?

“Public and individual happiness,” Anna-Maria again felt herself at the first lecture. To be honest, it's a nice feeling. – Its conditions and cause-and-effect relationships. Here you are, captain... What do you need to be happy?

“For you to agree to dine with me,” he rattled off without hesitation.

- Fine.

- Do you agree?

- No. Good in the sense that we will take your answer as a basis. This is the condition of your momentary happiness. Pretty silly condition, mind you.

- Oh, what is, - the captain was offended.

What is the reason for this condition?

“I like you, Countess.

- I readily believe it. My uncle claimed that his officers liked all women on their first day of leave, including the statue of Despair at the Kart Memorial.

- Your uncle?

- Rear Admiral Reinecke.

At the mention of Rear Admiral, he shuddered. Glory ran far ahead of Reineke the Bloodsucker. It was even said that for breakfast the Rear Admiral would eat wiry staff chief boatswains, soaking them in boatswain's tears. Anna Maria knew it was a lie. Uncle preferred lieutenant commanders.

Like this handsome guy.

“Back to your happiness, Captain. The reason is you like me. The condition of achievement is my agreement to have dinner with you. Did I understand you correctly?

- Yes! Do you agree?

- In no case. You didn't pass the test. I am still ready to accept the reason, having strengthened it with sexual tension after a long abstinence ...

The blush on the captain's cheeks turned crimson.

– But the condition... According to the basics of cenolbology, what you have named as a condition is one of the external stimuli of desire. I agree, and for your happiness you will immediately need to treat me with wine. Look at my neckline. Dance with me. Further happiness, this insatiable monster, will require you to invite me to the hotel. Or ask to visit me.

“Looks like, Countess, I failed the test mediocrely.

- Exactly. Your false happiness is a dynamic process. He is fundamentally unsatisfactory. And we are primarily talking about genuine, fundamental happiness. Its conditions are defined by a single word.

- What kind?

He waited and waited.

– Restriction.

- Are you joking?

- Not at all. Do you like me. You desire to possess me. Immediately. But restrictions interfere: morality, doubt about my consent, criminal liability for violence ... Let's say all restrictions are lifted. Let's say you knocked me to the floor and reached the goal. Will you be happy?

- What are you talking about? Of course no!

- Answer accepted. You will be satisfied. And you are happy now. This very minute. Due to restrictions. Turning every indulgence into happiness. I spoke to you - happiness. You dissolve the peacock tail - happiness. Hope, count, make plans - happiness. I will not delve further, you are an officer of the space fleet, and not my student. Just think and answer: Am I right?

"I'll be waiting for you downstairs," he replied.

- And your sister?

“We will visit my sister together, Countess. And then we'll go to dinner.

- What if I'm married?

- It does not matter.

Restrictions, Anna Maria thought. Age difference. Gossip: an affair with a young officer. Sideways glances in the back. Oh, roll it all into a black hole ...

“I’m leaving,” she told the office, marveling at herself, the one she didn’t know until today. Acquaintance was dizzying, like a swoon. – Turn off the power. Take protection!

“Goodbye, Countess,” the informant replied. - Have a good evening.

The projection of the window ivy vanished, its leaves fluttering. The glass has acquired the color of ripe cherries. The lights of the working sphere went out. The aquarium shook. The fish began to dissolve one by one, turning into tiny rainbows. Peacocks and seven-tails, stilettos and clowns, fringed catfish, snake-headed ones - everything turned into a shining kaleidoscope, spun, dissolved ...

Wirth Aquarium went into standby mode. "Feed safely disposed of," the panel said. And in the second line: "Jala-Maku XVI, decorative set."

Come on, my hero. I'll take you to the hostel.

- Dinner? he recalled.

- And do not hope. Have dinner with your sister.

“Restriction,” laughed the captain. - Yes I remember.

They honeymooned on Kitta. Theodor and Anna-Maria van Frassen. He persuaded her to take her husband's surname. He could twist ropes out of it, although from the side it seemed that the brave Theodore was a pure henpecked. "Van Frassen? Rear Admiral Reinecke asked his niece when he received an invitation to the wedding. - From "Gromoboy"? Look, my dear, you have to live with him ... "

In the mouth of my uncle, this was the highest praise. If Reinecke the Bloodsucker didn't find a single insulting remark for the lieutenant commander... A direct road to the academy, no less.

Blue ocean. Yellow sand. Bungalow in the shade of palm trees. He is thirty-two. She is forty-three. Who cares? Coral reefs. Fishing from antigrav platforms. Trampoline on the beach. Theodore is the champion of the VKS. His back somersault kick is incomparable. Envy. Don't try to flirt - I'll scratch your eyes out. Black guitarists. The tenderness of the strings. Flutes in the dark Passion. Peace. Laughter. It's not for long. Three weeks, no more. Him to the ship. She is at the university.

Limitation.

condition of true happiness.

Here, on Kitt, she took a rudimentary pill. Wanted a child. The medicine of Largitas - the best medicine of the Oikoumene - has long deprived women born on this blessed planet of their eternal problems. No critical days. No harmful effects. Everything is fine, the body is alert, and love does not require dull precautions. If you decide, Flerlevit pills are at your service.

A weary Theodore snorted beside him.

Part one
Largitas

Chapter first
wedding in kindergarten

I

Eliza Solinger breathed on the Wirth Sensor. The cocoon of the Holosphere surrounding the girl became transparent. Through the playground, where the middle group frolicked, the walls of the remote control room appeared. Eliza did not need to change the permeability of the sphere. She just liked the layered perception. When the world around you splits into two, gets confused, unfolds - and you find yourself in all the worlds at the same time...

Children's fun? Under the "children's fun" in the Pedagogical allocated a special course - three semesters. And the virtual workers at the Institute of Secondary Realities have five in general. Kurt spoke. According to the layered perception, Elizabeth was "excellent." Three layers - in full, and up to five - visually. Geniuses like Montellier are said to be able to hold up to twelve layers without mixing. The girl sighed softly. Nothing, three or five is also good. In the end, Montellier is not just a famous director, but also a telepath. It is foolish to envy a kangaroo that he jumps better than you. As she peered into the venue, she increased the frontal sound, pushing into the background the string quartet playing Van Der Link's Preludes.

- Wedding! Wedding!

Let's get better at being pirates!

We played pirates yesterday. And today is the wedding!

- Then - on the ship! In space!

- Chur, I'm the groom! The captain of the ship is the groom!

- And I'm the bride!

No, I'm the bride!

- So what?

Smiling, Eliza watched the skirmish. Emo-dominant conflict, second level. Conflicts up to the third level inclusive are good for children. Let them learn to defend their opinion, show the qualities of a leader, make arguments ...

Yep, seems to be in agreement.

The polymorph dolls set into motion, changing their appearance. One of the biomechs turned into a courageous captain. The other is a beautiful bride. The teacher turned down the frontal. Only the selfless trills of the blacktail, singing in the leaves of the magnolia, remained. Birds are a peace for the child's psyche and a wonderful counterpoint to Van Der Link.

The Fourth Prelude is her favorite.

There were limiters in the kindergarten projectors. Think of Eliza in parallel with watching the pupils to watch a movie or chat with a friend through Wirth - nothing would have happened. The projector was connected to the external network by target service channels, and there were no books and films in the internal memory. Just background music and an aromatherapy program.

The interactive holograph has already created a copy of the cabin, which are on cruise ships. Transformed dolls crowded into small groups, automatic stewards bustled about, tables burst with delicacies, and fireworks of stars blazed on the reviewers. She was in charge of the game, loudly shouting out commands, a snub-nosed girl with a scattering of hemp on her plump cheeks. Regina van Frassen, daughter of the head of the department at the university. Six years ago, Countess Reinecke quickly flew out - you can’t say otherwise! - Married a young VKS officer Largitas. However, the countess not only did not quit her scientific work, but even advanced in her career, taking the office of the Duke of Reichenbaum - he went on promotion as dean of the faculty of ethnogenetics.

The fruit of the romantic marriage was a success. Regina is a fidget, Regina is a prankster, clever Rea! It remained to guess who the daughter went to: father or mother? The "space wolf" or the "star of science"? And now: the snub-nosed one has achieved her goal!

Defended the role of the bride ...

“Restriction,” wrote the mother of the “bride” in the “Boundaries of Contact,” recommended by the Ministry of Education to future teachers, “is one of the most important aspects of life experience. It defines, characterizes and highlights the framework of relationships. Constraint is a unique form of direct relationship. In interpersonal relationships (especially when it comes to children), restrictions set the area within which personal growth is stimulated ... "

“And I am the chief gunner!”

- No, I am! I'm from the plasma...

The puppet wedding unfolded like clockwork. Calming down, Eliza plunged into the depths of her own self. Here she had an action unfolding, no less interesting than a wedding - but categorically not recommended for children's viewing. Curiously, will it be possible to repeat all this "in real life"? Will have to try.

It is unlikely that Kurt will object!

II

- ... Chur, I'm the groom! The captain of the ship is the groom!

Yay, wedding! Kos-mi-ches-ka-ya! Tired of these stupid pirates.

- And I'm the bride!

No, I'm the bride!

Again this asshole Trudy spoils everything!

- No, I am! I said first!

- And you did not shy away! I am a bride! Chur, me!

- And my dad is the captain of the ship!

What did you eat?!

And my sister got married! I was at the wedding!

- So what?

- I know how to get married! Do not you know!

- I also know...

- Do not you know! Dunno! Dunno!

Trudy jumped around Regina on one leg, sticking out her tongue in disgust. Mom says good girls don't act like that.

“Girls don’t get married!” They are getting married!

- Dunno!

- And the brides do not show their tongues!

- Show! I'm still the bride!

Trudy continued to jump like a clock. Regina pouted. The boys paid no attention to them. They were busy with an important matter: they shared the remaining positions on the ship.

- ... mind you, I'm a senior assistant!

“And I am the chief gunner!”

- No, I am! I'm from the plasma...

“Come on, will you be my sister?” Trudy relented, out of breath. “Will you put jewelry on me, yes?” Keep a veil?

- I do not want - sister! I want a bride! I am the first…

- I'll be your sister!

Flossie was right next to her, peering faithfully into Trudy's mouth.

“But the captain won’t want to marry you anyway!” Regina found. - You show your tongue. They don't marry like that.

- And they're getting married! Here they are getting married! He won't want to marry you! Hemp-mud, hemp-mud!

- And you! .. You are a spitting tongue!

This word Regina herself came up with. Trudy was at a loss for a moment, unable to find an answer. Taking advantage of the pause, Regina went on the offensive:

“Let’s ask Nick who he wants to marry!” The groom is always asked!

- Let's! He will choose me!

The cunning Trudy built such a touching face that even Regina was convinced that Nick, the fool, would choose this teaser. But it was too late to retreat. She suggested it, no one forced her! What to do?

Magic word!

Yesterday the multinanny was reading a bedtime story to Regina. In fact, Regina herself knew how to read ... But the multi-nanny is much better! With music and expression. The story was about a helper boy who helped everyone. Helped friends, helped enemies, helped mom and dad. And the wretched sister, and the grandfather - the hero of the war. Only he couldn't do anything. And then a good fairy flew to him from the Center of the Galaxy, where fairies live, and taught him the magic words: “Initi-finiti-krams!” “These words will not work for you,” the fairy warned the boy. - You have to do everything yourself. But as soon as you utter the magic words, you will succeed.

The boy was obedient. He was not lazy to do everything himself, and always said the magic words. And he got it all right! And when he grew up, he became a great scientist, he was elected king, and he married the main beauty of the universe.

Regina will do everything herself. The main thing is to say the magic words!

Initi-finity-crams!

“Nick, you want me to be your bride.”

Regina said it quickly, quickly, without letting Trudy open her mouth. She didn't ask Nick - she announced her desire with full confidence in the result. Why ask? Magic words will not fail.

- Yeah, I want to! Nick rejoiced.

Trudy was taken aback.

“And you will be my sister!” Cousin. Hold my veil!

"Okay," Trudy agreed. - I will.

And blinks, just like Flossie.

- And you, Flossy ... You will be the groom's mother, here!

I'm kind, thought Regina. I'm not like Trudy. Being the mother of the groom is even better than being the cousin of the bride. As if hearing her thoughts, Flossie smiled happily. Of course it's better!

The boys have already divided who will be who. Regina didn't mind. Only Gustav the fighter, who was stubborn and shouted that he was a pirate, she appointed cook. Why does she need pirates at her wedding? And the cook on the ship is the main person. That's what dad says, and dad knows everything. Gustav really, really wanted to be a cook. Regina, just in case, repeated the magic words - and, having got a taste, identified the three girls as “distant relatives”. She liked the way it sounded: "distant relatives." In an adult way, honestly, honestly.

Nobody objected.

A month ago, dad flew in on vacation, and took his wife and daughter to alive concert at the Philharmonic. Mom was afraid that Regina would ask to go home, but Regina did not ask. She sat and listened. And she hardly even spoke. Only once she loudly asked: why doesn’t my uncle with a stick play anything? Is this a fairy wand? Dad explained to her in a whisper that her uncle was a conductor. He's in charge here. He controls the orchestra, like a father controls a ship, and shows with a stick how to play.

Uncle di-re-ger Regina liked it very much. She asked her mother: are there any aunts of the conductor? Mom shushed her, but still answered: there are. Regina immediately decided that when she grows up, she will become an aunt conductor. Will command the musicians.

- Wedding!

She di-ri-ji-ro-wa-la with children, and the children, listening to her, controlled the puppets. Here the bride and groom go to the guests. Guests clap their hands, congratulate, give gifts. The mother of the groom invites everyone to the table. Kok-Gustav lists all sorts of goodies: chocolate ice cream, strawberry ice cream, polyfruit ice cream, cakes with candied fruit, with cream, with kuna-kuna nuts, with mango icing ...

And then Nick suddenly took her by the arm. Like an adult aunt. Like... a bride! He looked at her in a special way like dad to mom, and sniffed too in a special way. And all the kids lined up just like dolls and congratulated them on Nick, and...

Regina was confused for a moment.

Annotation:

The new novel by G. L. Oldie reopens to us the galactic expanses of the Oikumene, already known to the reader from the adventures of Luciano Borgotta, director of the Nativity Theatre.

Child of the Ecumene
Henry Lyon Oldie

Urbi et Orbi, or City and World #1
Regina van Frassen - a gift of fate! - was born a telepath. At the age of six, the child first learned the sweetness of power - and the bitterness of prohibitions. At twelve she was introduced to terror and violence. At sixteen - with rivalry and lies. Yes, the cosmic world of the Oikumene treasures its mentals as a desperate rarity, but the force field will not protect you from the cold winds of reality. Dance in the hills, flute child! Childhood is over, and we must move on - into youth, full of surprises.

The new novel by G. L. Oldie reopens to us the galactic expanses of the Oikumene, already known to the reader from the adventures of Luciano Borgotta, director of the Nativity Theatre.

Henry Lyon Oldie

Child of the Ecumene

Everyman is jealous of us telepaths. He secretly dreams: I wish I could!.. He dries with grief: why not me? Makes plans: I would!.. With the same passion, which deserves a better application, the layman envies the billionaires, whose capital they inherited, without any effort. Sometimes it seems that the ultimate dream of most is a keyhole into which they will peep without permission, drooling. There, in the keyhole - dozens of ways to get rich, hundreds of opportunities to become famous, thousands of chances to take revenge. Poor kids! - stupid, greedy, loved ...

Your_envy_is_mutual._

Terauchi Oe, Rustle in the Leaves

Prologue

Fish, Anna Maria thought.

chains of bubbles. The swaying of algae, the glitter of shells...

- Open the window!

Laugh who's funny.

Henry Lyon Oldie

Child of the Ecumene

Your envy is mutual.

Terauchi Oe, Rustle in the Leaves

Fish, Anna Maria thought.

chains of bubbles. The swaying of algae, the glitter of shells...

- Open the window!

Laugh who's funny.

"Time to go home. We need to call a robot rickshaw…”

She quickly managed to gather attention.

Does she not know the causes that give rise to the conditions for happiness?

- I'm sorry. Is this the department of cenolbology?

- Yes. Are you looking for someone?

- I? I'm looking, of course...

“Found it,” read the plain face. - Have already found".

“Beate van Frassen… wanted to ask…”

— Van Frassen? We don't teach like that. I would know.

- Correspondence student ... today I flew to Largitas, on vacation ...

- Your fiancee?

- Sister. I was hoping to find out where she settled.

- Contact your sister on the communicator.

- Doesn't answer. Most likely doing it. Doesn't want to be distracted.

Or secluded herself with her lover, thought Anna Maria. She had a good idea of the morals of correspondence students who relieved tension from the session.

- Are you also a student? Graduate student?

In both cases, no.

- Cavalry lady?

“You are a flatterer, Captain. I already forgot when I was a cavalier lady ...

"Don't tell me you're the dean of the faculty!" I still don't believe it.

I remembered the already distant 1997 ... or maybe 1998. A friend gave me a collection to read, which, among other things, contained the story "Living for the Last Time" - a book that took us prisoner seriously and for a long time. The captivity was black, silver, gothic, harsh, symphonic, salty, cruel, beautiful ... The name that stood above the title - Henry Lyon Oldie - sounded with the restrained roar of the drum and the exciting notes of the cello, promised breathtaking new pages ... “He is Russian, you understand, Russian! I got excited. - A foreigner can't write like that! And even if he writes, now no one will translate like that! "But why? - the friend objected. - You never know good foreign authors now ... ”- and he began to pour names. “Well, interesting, and which of your foreigners will quote Balmont?” - I laid out the trump card ...

That was a long time ago. Excitedly, in parallel and sequentially, were read "Stained Glass of the Patriarchs", "Risen from Paradise", "Messiah cleanses the disk", "Stepsons of the Eighth Commandment", "The Road", "Enter the Image", "The Hero Must Be One" ... We another, more and more neophytes were drawn into the circle of Sir Oldie's admirers ... "The Way of the Sword", "Noperapon", "Black Troublemaker" ... By this time, one pseudonym for two was no longer a secret for anyone - Dmitry Gromov and Oleg Ladyzhensky.

And now, I'm afraid, my time has come. The dull dissatisfaction with the way favorite authors are scattered is becoming more and more distinct. For a long time I was unsettled by the mocking story “We are sailing to the west”, published, in my opinion, already in two collections.

But I don't give up :)

And here is a new book in hand: “Urbi et orbi, or to the city and the world. Book one. Child of the Ocumene. Last hope, one might say. I doubted it, though: if I hadn’t read “Ecumene” (already in three books), maybe it wouldn’t work out? Maybe that's why it didn't work.

"Urbi et orbi..." seemed to me cold, pale, mocking - like a contemptuous smile. Stories from early childhood, adolescence and youth of Regina Van Frassen, the main character of the upcoming epic, are interspersed with her own "adult" conclusions - or rather, reflections on what is still unknown to us. A poor plot (or rather, nine separate plots - each for a story) is spread in a thin layer over 350 pages and promises nothing at the end. The characters are sketched with careless strokes and lurid strokes, which reminds of the generals - by no means class A (c) Jasper Fforde.

The feeling of loss - no, the old friend did not die, just went to far, far away lands - did not stop me from taking on another book by Oldie. But about her - next time, okay?

Score: 5

Well, the epilogue is finished, and you can systematize the sensations. The book is DIFFERENT once again. Yes, this is the world of Oikumene, but from a slightly different angle. The first trilogy was built on contrasts of delightfully alien, peculiar and amazing possibilities (energy races, contact impersonation, antises) and humanly understandable reactions, and its spirit was boundlessness. The racial conflicts between the energy and technologists were visible here too, but in the new trilogy the authors offer us to look at them not just from the inside or from the other side - I would say, from the VERY different side, once again puzzling the reader and turning his ideas about the already beloved universe. Both technologists and their system of the world, it turns out, are no less interesting than exotic races. The main line of the new book is perhaps even tougher than Luciano's story. True, for my taste, in some places overly politicized - but only for my taste. The atmosphere also changes: infinity is replaced by Limitation. Not like the ritual restrictions of the Vehdens or Brahmins, but essentially aimed at the same thing: cutting off the superfluous, gaining one's true essence, liberation through the awareness of boundaries - and sometimes very painful. The growing up of telepaths and empaths in the world of ordinary (and unusual) people is not such an easy process, and the authors here, as always, are at their best: you feel the experiences of the characters with your skin, sharing both the restraint of memories and the emotional flurry. And the “thought-reading” itself is a phenomenon that is so common in science fiction that it has already become boring - the authors manage to present it from a completely unusual angle ...

And, as always, the text is polished and verified, like a musical phrase: from the “scholarly titles” and the hard-to-pronounce sciences of Largitas, the yellow-green demantoid of Mondong, the ancient motif of Regina’s “reverse reality” – to the colorful commandos and the specific ovakurua cosmogonies. Author's handwriting, to be sure...

That's just all the same disgrace turns out, gentlemen. I had to resist the temptation and not read until all three books were on the shelf. Now sit back and think about what's next. And still you can't guess. :smile:

Score: 9

very high quality text, well-constructed narration. and all. this is a narrative, there is, in fact, no plot, no standard components. although no, it is one never-ending plot.

despite the good professional language, the only epithet that was spinning all the time reading in the head was a tedious drag. but what an idea - the main character is an active telepath, opposing ... (however, I will not arrange spoilers). in general, there was no particular confrontation, just what - a drag. the only interesting episode with Mondong, worthy of a separate novel, and that the authors managed to reduce in the end to not the best magazine article. and the phrase "we liked your reaction to watching Mondong" (I can't vouch for the accuracy, but the meaning is correct) - it's good. only the reader did not recognize any reaction, the authors forgot to state it.

then - ethnic worlds with political allusions. Ascomina has already been stuffed wherever you go, oil and great-power chauvinism are everywhere (it may be true, but it’s already tired). incomprehensible "energy", absolutely not explained either from the standpoint of science, or simply - common sense. they are all here.

This is the first GL Oldie book I've read. perhaps not from the beginning. but, probably, it will be the last in this series.

Score: 6

The "Child of the Oikoumene" itself is a prologue and an exposition. Structurally, it consists of 3 "short stories" more or less completed, in principle, but playing the role of "chapters" of one novel, the first third of which was included in the book :)

This is the story of a telepathic girl who was born on the most "technological", "scientifically advanced" planet of Oikumene. Three time periods - the discovery of abilities, training in the special Internet "Swan", the release and receipt of a "certificate of social adaptation", gaps of 5 years between parts.

On the pages of the book, a somewhat utopian world is drawn in front of us: a society that has devoted itself to technological progress, and, among other things, put the “production of happiness”, personal and social, on a scientific basis. But under the bright fabric of the "cover" there are many sharp edges and public, as well as personal, problems.

One of the main themes is in some way a continuation of the problem of tolerance "explored" in "Harpy", as well as the relationship between "magic and technology", "evolutionary-natural" and "progressive-scientific" ways of development of society. Attitude towards telepaths, people with a "pathology of perception" and a natural gift, in a society accustomed to remaking nature for themselves. And the relationship of this society with the “energetics” who rejected the “path of progress” and follow the “path of animals”.

And once again: this is a prologue, an exposition, an arrangement of figures. The figures are placed, conflicts and problems are indicated, but there is a lot of what is outlined by dotted lines, strokes, and contours. Although there seems to be a lot of details, in an Oldev way, but the picture (except for the main characters) appears fuzzy. There are many reticences, the foundation is not visible, the global goal and meaning of what is happening is not clear. At the tactical level, everything is fine, but what it will lead to strategically is not clear.

I liked the book and look forward to the sequel. The bar of the "oecumenical" cycle has not been lowered, it has been expanded and shifted to the side of the area under consideration.

Score: 10

Apparently you have to be a "white crow". Even if you crack, I didn’t read the first book, I’m not even in a hurry to read the sequel. Many value this cycle even higher than the Oikoumene. Maybe that's why he was waiting for something special, because the Puppeteer captured it right away, but then he held back so as not to skip paragraphs. Somehow everything seemed long and not in essence. -series already planned...

Score: 7

Perhaps this book is part of a large and interesting idea of the authors, but I can’t evaluate this, since I read only this part and I will review it as an independent work.

The Child of the Oikumene is a bad text. The characters are not real, the dialogues are dubious, and sometimes even funny (especially, it's funny to read the phrases that Regina's parents will exchange), the events do not cause any interest. In addition, the authors have constant excesses: in some places they lack pictorial power, in others, on the contrary, there is an inappropriate redundancy.

There are also individual pearls worthy of mention, such as certificates from a drug and psycho dispensary that ended up on the pages of a fantastic work.

The choice of the central character is at least strange. Judging by this book, this is quite an ordinary unremarkable telepath. Why did Regina get into the center of the story? Unclear. Perhaps the rationale will be in other books of the cycle, but I, for example, am not going to read them. Would you like to show some important points in the development of a telepath who is just about to become outstanding? So why don't these events affect Regina in any way?

Among other things, there is the so-called "philosophy", a la Lukyanenko. This is when the author inserts some insoluble or controversial philosophical maxim into the text and throughout the book makes the poor characters argue (sometimes even with themselves) on the topic of this philosophy. Sometimes one philosophical idea turns out to be not enough and another, some far-fetched absurdity appears in the work. At the same time, all this has nothing to do with the plot of the novel, or with the characters or anything else. It's just that the author suddenly decides, and here I will insert philosophy! In fairness, it is worth saying that Lukyanenko sometimes manages to do this organically. Oldie, in this case, did not cope at all.

To summarize in one word - boredom.

There is nothing more to add to the above. This is probably the last book by the authors that I have read.

Score: 3

This book is a collection of episodes from the life of a young person, not connected in any way by a single storyline. Throw away any - and the book will not suffer.

Yes, well written. But personally, I respect books first for an interesting plot and only then for the style of the author. I read it to the end with great difficulty. There was a feeling of annoyance and disappointment. A very poor introduction to the author's work.

Score: 5

This book was kind of hard to read. I abandoned it for two months, read stories, then pulled myself together and read it. Of course, it's nice to meet the familiar world again, but that's where all the enthusiasm for the book ends for me. If in "The Dollmaker" the action literally flies and you have to keep up with it, then everything flows somehow like this: "Not shaky, not rolled." In addition, somehow I didn’t find anything new for myself in the description of telepaths, yes there are gradations, but the methods of learning at the Lebed boarding school are described, but the topic itself is beaten down, so much has been written about telepaths. Yes, I agree, maybe not like here, but these are just subtleties. "The Puppeteer" - was a discovery for me, crashed into my memory and overshadowed the plots of other, mediocre books. I expected the same from this book. Alas, I am disappointed. I wanted to put "7", but out of love for the world of "The Dollmaker" I put "8".

Score: 8

I don’t know if this is good or bad, but there are books that evoke in me not thoughts, but feelings, images, sensations, emotions. "Ecumene" - from these books.

There are such pictures, you look at them from one angle and see one thing, and look at them from another - you see another. Cycle "Ecumene" like these pictures. Probably, many, starting to read about Regina, are waiting for the same thing that was in the cycle about Borgotta. But in fact, the authors, without changing the world, change the angle of perception, and the reader suddenly sees something else. Completely different problems, goals and objectives are faced by the heroes of the first book about Regina. Who would have thought that social problems, terrorism, blatant xenophobia, pride and snobbery thrive in the world of Oikoumene. Being a significant person in the vastness of this world is difficult and dangerous.

Urbi et Orbi is a world of telepaths, empaths, and tight control, with no room for weakness at all. The first book is an introduction to Regina. From the very beginning it is clear that this is a strong and strong-willed character who faces difficult trials in life. Will she deal with them? Further events will put everything in its place ...

Score: 9

Everything is as simple as it seems: the distant future or just a parallel reality with the mastered space, with the League, with different races, with the division into "scientists", "technologists" and "energy", who, unlike the first, made the main direction of their development natural, with the accumulation of animal energy... And the further development of man. If in the first trilogy about the Oecumene these were leaders who had already ceased to be people and easily passed from the body to the wave and back, and all against the backdrop of endless space, wars and short fights in a vacuum, spies, killers on all planets, now there is a story about the the richest, most advanced, most “best” planet, which was not “lit up” in the first trilogy. This is a good planet, kind. Scientists are at the head of everything. For scientific achievements, they become barons, counts, dukes and even kings of their science. They are ahead of the Universe in terms of the development of their technology... Well, only if you don't count the counters-gematras and those who still own the best energy storage devices, and even the slave-owners of the Pompillians, well, and in some places a little bit more...

But in general, they are the best, richest, most developed, well-organized. The equality of all is proclaimed on the planet. Happiness is studied in schools and is a recognized discipline. It’s just that sometimes telepaths and empaths are born with nose wings tattooed so that it can be seen from afar - a telepath. Only behind the scenes it is forbidden to admit energy specialists to universities. Just to get a visa, just to visit this paradise in reality, you need to go through a long and painstaking check and prove that you have the right to visit.

The girl Regina learns how to manage people. Gets acquainted with the horror stored in everyone's subcortex. Performs a feat. trains in hiding his abilities. And she looks around with wide eyes, trying to understand from what moment the restrictions, without which there can be no happiness - so says her mother, the Duchess of Science, become infringing, crushing walls, converging closer and closer and crushing a person.

Oldie has again written a novel that is not easy to read. He is topical. And if you think, opening the volume with the words "Worlds of the Ocumene", that there will again be a wide cosmos, humor, laughter, the joy of victories and the happiness of love, then you will be deeply mistaken. There will be crowding, prohibitions, terrorists, racism, and at the same time the teaching that there is no happiness without restrictions.

Sometimes thoughts jump to something that is sharper, and the threads of the story are torn. It is still not clear to me who were the special forces - were they people? And if not people, then who? Who cannot be tested by an experienced telepath? At whom the very edges of the wound grow together, and the commando, who covered the bomb with his body, is again ready for battle? You cling to a trifle and expect that in the next volumes, it seems, Regina will again meet with the saviors. And I'm afraid now they will not save her ...

I look forward to the second and third books.

Because interested. Because some thoughts coincided with mine. Because on some issues you want to sit and discuss, argue.

Score: 9

The distant future, mankind spread across the stars, the Galactic Commonwealth and... people with feelings and emotions that are no different from ours. The world invented by Oldie is well thought out, beautifully written, and most importantly, it appears to the reader as completely real - you believe in it one hundred percent. And this very realistic and incredibly interesting world is in itself one of the main advantages of the book.

But, apart from everything else, the novel is also remarkably fascinating. Moreover, the fascination of some kind of intelligent, without any fights, shooting and chases. Just a few episodes from the life of a girl, then a girl, Regina van Frassen, an active telepath, which is not such a rarity in the expanses of Oikoumene. Episodes, it seems, are not very dynamic, but it is sometimes very difficult to break away from acquaintance with them.

It will be difficult to understand the problems of the second book without reading the book about the puppeteer. I mistakenly started reading the third part ("The Exile") and realized my mistake only when I read 1/3. Thanks to this oversight, the first two parts ("Child" and "Queen") were read voraciously, but "The Exile" had to be re-read from the beginning - many nuances became clear. Naturally, the division into books into parts is very conditional and, of course, the culmination in the third part, where all the lines are woven into one pigtail.

The characteristics given in the standard classification of FantLab are clearly not enough to describe this book, since here we are dealing with a separate direction - I would call it "mental fiction" (the tags "superpowers and superheroes" and "mind exchange" are not good enough in my opinion) .

Score: 8

Oldies, as always, are brilliant and seem to be unattainable. Behind the book you see much more than you read in the lines: a world thought out up to the scientific theories of the future, deep images, philosophical problems. Issues that translate perfectly into our real world, such as the topic of racial superiority.

The first book is a book of growing up, a book about understanding yourself and the world as an unusual girl. Not just special - a telepath - but also special among other special ones. We observe the most important episodes of her childhood and adolescence, which shaped her and her friend as a person. What will happen to them next? It is not known, but one thing is clear: Regina and Linda are waiting for an unusual fate.

I want to add that this trilogy is still better to read after the first trilogy about "Ecumene" - simply because the world is described more voluminously and clearly there. It’s better to plunge into the “Child of the Oikumene” when you have an idea about races, stories, and so on, because here we don’t see such explanations, the plot and theme of the book simply don’t have them.