"Busby, F M - Demu 01-03 - The Demu Trilogy UC" - читать интересную книгу автора (Busby F M)

hands, the ritual prelude to any constructive activity be-
tween strangers.

"I know considerable languages, Barton," said Siewen,
"and some of them I hear in this place, but not many.
Also I hear people talking in languages I didn't think ex-
ist."

"I thought I knew a lot of ethnic types, myself, but
some of these people don't look like anything I've ever
seen, even in pictures."

'There is also that," Doktor Siewen began, but Just
then he and Barton were knocked apart. A woman pushed
between them; two men were chasing her. There were
strangenesses about all three. One man caught her; the
two sank to the floor together in tight embrace. But the
second man came upon them, kicking and clawing; soon
all three were battling viciously. Barton wasn't sure whose
side the woman was on.

He started to say something,to Siewen, but a great feel-
ing of heaviness came over him. ,His legs collapsed; the
impact half-stunned him. He rolled over painfully, and
was able to see that nearly everyone else was on the floor
also. The heaviness increased.

"This tells us where we are. Barton," Doktor Siewen
said, in great strain. "Or where we are not. You know
what is this? Artificial gravity, it has to be."

Barton tried to shake the moths out of his brain. "How
about just straight acceleration? I mean, on a spaceship
thing you could get that, couldn't you?"

"On a spaceship with a room this big," said Siewen,
"who could bother to disturb the navigation, only to stop
a little squabble in the zoo?" The heaviness increased into
blackout..,

Barton ached all over; someone was shaking him by the
shoulder. "Wake up, Barton; wake up." It had to be Dok-
tor Siewen, unless the whole thing had been a bad dream,
so Barton opened his eyes. It hadn't been a dream, or else

it still was. Standing beside Siewen was a woman, not like
any Barton had ever seen. Barton stood up; she was taller
than he and very slim.

"Barton, this is Limila," Siewen said. "You can see, she