"Asimov, Isaac - 1. Foundation" - читать интересную книгу автора (Asimov Isaac)

to a man as to a child, and there was a lump in Gaal's throat. He had never seen
Trantor spread out in all its incredibility, as large as life, and he hadn't
expected to have to wait longer.

2.
The ship landed in a medley of noises. There was the far-off hiss of the
atmosphere cutting and sliding past the metal of the ship. There was the steady
drone of the conditioners fighting the heat of friction, and the slower rumble
of the engines enforcing deceleration. There was the human sound of men and
women gathering in the debarkation rooms and the grind of the hoists lifting
baggage, mail, and freight to the long axis of the ship, from which they would
be later moved along to the unloading platform.
Gaal felt the slight jar that indicated the ship no longer had an independent
motion of its own. Ship's gravity had been giving way to planetary gravity for
hours. Thousands of passengers had been sitting patiently in the debarkation
rooms which swung easily on yielding force-fields to accommodate its orientation
to the changing direction of the gravitational forces. Now they were crawling
down curving ramps to the large, yawning locks.
Gaal's baggage was minor. He stood at a desk, as it was quickly and expertly
taken apart and put together again. His visa was inspected and stamped. He
himself paid no attention.
This was Trantor! The air seemed a little thicker here, the gravity a bit
greater, than on his home planet of Synnax, but he would get used to that. He
wondered if he would get used to immensity.
Debarkation Building was tremendous. The roof was almost lost in the heights.
Gaal could almost imagine that clouds could form beneath its immensity. He could
see no opposite wall; just men and desks and converging floor till it faded out
in haze.
The man at the desk was speaking again. He sounded annoyed. He said, "Move on,
Dornick." He had to open the visa, look again, before he remembered the name.
Gaal said, "WhereЦ whereЦ"
The man at the desk jerked a thumb, "Taxis to the right and third left."
Gaal moved, seeing the glowing twists of air suspended high in nothingness and
reading, "TAXIS TO ALL POINTS."
A figure detached itself from anonymity and stopped at the desk, as Gaal left.
The man at the desk looked up and nodded briefly. The figure nodded in return
and followed the young immigrant.
He was in time to hear Gaal's destination.
Gaal found himself hard against a railing.
The small sign said, "Supervisor." The man to whom the sign referred did not
look up. He said, "Where to?"
Gaal wasn't sure, but even a few seconds hesitation meant men queuing in line
behind him.
The Supervisor looked up, "Where to?"
Gaal's funds were low, but there was only this one night and then he would have
a job. He tried to sound nonchalant, "A good hotel, please."
The Supervisor was unimpressed, "They're all good. Name one."
Gaal said, desperately, "The nearest one, please."
The Supervisor touched a button. A thin line of light formed along the floor,
twisting among others which brightened and dimmed in different colors and