"Baxter, Stephen - Manifold 03 - Origin" - читать интересную книгу автора (Baxter Stephen)

'But they aren't squat and hairy.' Emma said hesitantly, 'We've been through a
lot. You're entitled to a nightmare or two.'

Doubt and hostility crossed Sally's face. 'I know what I saw.'

The kid was calm now; he was making piles of leaves and knocking them down
again. Emma saw Sally take deep breaths.

At least Emma was married to an astronaut; at least she had had her head stuffed
full of outre concepts, of other worlds and different gravities; at least she
was used to the concept that there might be other places, other worlds, that
Earth wasn't a flat, infinite, unchanging stage... To this woman and her kid,
though, none of that applied; they had no grounding in weirdness, and all of
this must seem unutterably bewildering.

And then there was the small matter of Sally's husband.

Emma was no psychologist. She did not kid herself that she understood Sally's
reaction here. But she sensed this was the calm before the storm that must
surely break.

She got to her feet. Be practical, Emma. She unwrapped her parachute silk and
started draping it over the trees, above Sally. Soon the secondary forest-canopy
raindrops pattered heavily on the canvas, and the light was made more diffuse,
if a little gloomier.

As she worked she said hesitantly, 'My name is Emma. Emma Stoney. And you -'

'I'm Sally Mayer. My husband is Greg.' (Is?) 'I guess you've met Maxie. We're
from Boston.'

'Maxie sounds like a miniature JFK.'

'Yes...' Sally sat on the ground, rubbing her injured arm. Emma supposed she was
in her early thirties. Her brunette hair was cut short and neat, and she wasn't
as overweight as she looked in her unflattering safari suit. 'We were only
having a joy ride. Over the Rift Valley. Greg works in software research. Formal
methodologies. He had a poster paper to present at a conference in Joburg...
Where are we, do you think?'

'I don't know any more than you do. I'm sorry.'

Sally's smile was cold, as if Emma had said something foolish. 'Well, it sure
isn't your fault. What do you think we ought to do?'

Stay alive. 'Keep warm. Keep out of trouble.'

'Do you think they know we are missing yet?'