"Anderson, Kevin J - Seven Suns 2 - 2003 - A Forest of Stars" - читать интересную книгу автора (Anderson Kevin J)

event were transmitted around the Galaxy by the green priest BENETO, a human
from the forested planet Theroc, who has a special symbiosis with semisentient
worldtrees. Green priests, like living telegraph stations, can send thoughts
anywhere through the interconnected forest network, providing the only form of
instant communication across vast distances.
At the end of the Oncier test, observers saw a cluster of diamond spheres race
away from the collapsing gas giant at incredible speed; scientists eventually
classified the sight as an unknown phenomenon of the Klikiss Torch. Back on
Earth, OLD KING FREDERICK, a glamorous figurehead ruler, led a celebration of
the successful test, while Adar KoriТnh returned to his capital of Ildira and
reported to his all-powerful leader, the MAGE-IMPERATOR. On hearing of the
strange diamond spheres, the Mage-Imperator was greatly disturbed.
Meanwhile, on Ildira, the Mage-ImperatorТs firstborn son, PRIME DESIGNATE
JORAТH, treated the human REYNALD, heir to the Theron throne, to a performance
of the grand epic, theSaga of Seven Suns. Afterward, as a token of friendship,
JoraТh invited Reynald to send two green priests from Theroc to Ildira to study
theSaga . The worldforest, which gathers knowledge through its human
intermediaries, is always hungry to learn about history.
Then Reynald left Ildira for a secret rendezvous in space with the Roamers,
fiercely independent space gypsies led by old SPEAKER JHY OKIAH and her
beautiful protщgщe, CESCA PERONI. They discussed a possible alliance to maintain
their freedom from the sprawling and greedy Hansa. Reynald even suggested the
possibility of marriage with Cesca, but she was already betrothed to a skyminer,
ROSS TAMBLYN.
At his Blue Sky Mine in the clouds of the gas giant Golgen, Ross Tamblyn met
with his younger brother, JESS. Roamer skymines harvest and convert hydrogen
into ekti, or stardrive fuel. Jess brought messages and gifts from his family,
including his young sister, TASIA. Though fast friends, the brothersТ meeting
was bittersweet, because (unknown to Ross) Jess and Cesca had fallen deeply in
love, despite her betrothal to Ross. Jess departed for the hidden Roamer capital
of Rendezvous.
Roamers have made large profits by fitting into dangerous niches, but because
of their stubborn secrecy, the space gypsies are not well liked by the Hansa.
When the head of the Earth Defense Forces (EDF), GENERAL KURT LANYAN, heard
about a rebellious Roamer space pirate, he used the merchant woman RLINDA KETT
and her ex-husband, pilot BRANSON ROBERTS, as bait, and captured and executed
the pirate.
Uneasy about LanyanТs brutal justice, Rlinda traveled to Theroc, where she
hoped to establish trade in exotic commodities. MOTHER ALEXA and FATHER IDRISS
(parents of Reynald and Beneto) were not interested, but their ambitious eldest
daughter, SAREINЧan occasional lover of Chairman WenceslasЧwas. After striking a
deal with Sarein, Rlinda agreed to transport two Theron green priests (stern old
OTEMA and her wide-eyed assistant, NIRA) to Ildira, where they could study
theSaga of Seven Suns. Later, at the Mage-ImperatorТs Prism Palace, Prime
Designate JoraТh became enamored with young Nira, though the Mage-Imperator
regarded the green priests as if they were mere specimensЕ
On Earth, Chairman Wenceslas and fellow officials discussed the increasingly
common gaffes made by Old King Frederick and secretly began searching for a
replacement. They snatched a malleable streetwise scamp, RAYMOND AGUERRA, then
staged a terrible fire in RaymondТs dwelling complex, which killed his mother