"Brin, David - Earth (UC)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Brin David)

of course. But I started thinking . . . might I have
accidentally created a new type of hole in space? One that's
stable? Able to grow by devouring mere rock?"
Stan gaped. Alex, too, had been numbed by that first
realization, then agonized for weeks before deciding to take
matters into his own hands, to defy his employers and
defang the tiny, voracious beast he'd helped create.
But Pedro Manella arrived first, amid a flurry of accusations,
and suddenly it was too late. Alex's world collapsed
around him before he could act, or even find out for certain
what he'd made.
"So it is a monster ... a taniwha," George Button
breathed. The Maori word sounded fearsome. The big man
drummed his fingers on the table. "Let's see if I've got this
right. We have a purported stable black hole, that you think
may orbit thousands of miles below our feet, possibly growing
unstoppably even as we speak. Correct? I suppose you
want my help finding what you so carelessly misplaced?"
Alex was nearly as impressed with Hutton's quickness
as he was irked by his attitude. He suppressed a hot response.
"I guess you could put it that way," he answered,
levelly.
"So. Would it be too much to ask how you'd go about
looking for such an elusive fiend? It's a little hard to go
digging around down there in the Earth's core."
Button obviously thought he was being ironic. But
Alex gave him a straightforward answer. "Your company already
makes most of the equipment I'd need . . . like those
superconducting gravity scanners you use for mineral
surveys." Alex started reaching for his valise. "I've written
down modifications--"
Button raised a hand. All trace of sardonicism was gone
from his eyes. "I'll take your word for now. It will be expensive,
of course? No matter. If we find nothing, I'll take the
cost out of your pakeha hide. I'll skin you and sell the pale
thing in a tourist shop. Agreed?"
Alex swallowed, unable to believe it could be so simple.
"Agreed. And if we do find it?"
Lines furrowed Hutton's brow. "Why . . . then I'd be
honor bound to take your pelt anyway, tohunga. For creating
such a devil to consume our Earth, I should ..."
The big man stopped suddenly. He stood up, shaking
his head. At the window, Button stared down at the city of
Auckland, its evening lights beginning to spread like powdered
gemstones across the hills. Beyond the metropolis lay
forested slopes slanting to Manukau Bay. Twilight-stained
clouds were moving in from the Tasman Sea, heavy with
fresh rain.
The scene reminded Alex of a time in childhood, when
his grandmother had taken him to Wales to watch the turning