"Asaro, Catherine - Echea" - читать интересную книгу автора (Asaro Catherine)

the pockmarks, the shattered dome open to
the stars. In the corner of the first
brochure I opened, at the very edge of the
reproduction, were blood-splotches. They
were scattered on the craters and
boulders, and had left fist-sized holes in
the dust. I didnТt need to be told what
had caused it. We saw the effects of high
velocity rifles in low gravity every time
we downloaded the news.

The brochures began with the Moon, and
ended with the faces of refugees: pallid,
worn, defeated. The passenger shuttles to
Earth had pretty much stopped. At first,
those who could pay came here, but by the
time we got our brochures, Earth passage
had changed. Only those with living
relatives were able to return. Living
relatives who were willing to acknowledge
the relationshipЦand had official hard
copy to prove it.

The rules were waived in the case of
children, of orphans and of underage war
refuges. They were allowed to come to
Earth if their bodies could tolerate it,
if they were willing to be adopted, and if
they were willing to renounce any claims
they had to Moon land.

They had to renounce the stars in order to
have a home.

We picked her up in Sioux Falls, the
nearest star shuttle stop and detention
center to our home. The shuttle stop was a
desolate place. It was designed as an
embarkation point for political prisoners
and for star soldiers. It was built on the
rolling prairie, a sprawling complex with
laser fences shimmering in the sunlight.
Guards stood at every entrance, and
several hovered above. We were led, by men
with laser rifles, into the main compound,
a building finished almost a century
before, made of concrete and steel,
functional, cold, and ancient. Its halls
smelled musty. The concrete flaked,
covering everything with a fine gray dust.