"Gordon R. Dickson - The Forever Man" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dickson Gordon R)

in space, living on recycled air and nourishments until they
went mad, or died of natural causes.

--Or were found and brought back. The one-in-a-million
claance. Jim, now fully inside his suit, locked it closed.
"All set?" It was Mollen's voice coming at him over the
aud circuit of the suit. Through the transparent window of the
headpiece he saw the older man watching him.
"All set, General." He looked over at Mary and saw her
already suited and waiting. For a moment it struck Jim that
she might have been trying to suit up fast to show she was
something more than a weekend warrior, and he felt a tinge of
sympathy toward her. With the putting on of his own suit, the
old feeling of sureness had begun to flow back into him, and
he felt released. "Let's go, Ca-lain."
"Stick with -'Mary,"' she said, "and I'll stick with
'Jim.'"
"Good luck," said Mollen. Together, Jim and Mary
clumped across the room, waited for the tons-heavy explosion
door to swing open, then clumped through.
On the floor of the vast cavern that was the takeoff area,
five two-man ships sat like gray-white darts, waiting. Red
"manned" lights glowed by each sealed pon on the first four
they passed. Jim read their names as he stumped on forward
toward the open port of the lead ship, his ship, the AndFriend.
The other four ships were the Swallow, the Fair Maid. the

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Lela and the Fourth Helen. He knew their pilots and gunners


well. The Swallow and the Fourth Helen were ships from his
own command. They and the other two were good ships han-
dled by good people. The best.
Jim led the way aboard AndFriend and fitted himself into
the forward seat facing the controls. Through his suit's rece~
tors, he heard Mary sliding into the gunner's seat, behind and
to the left of him. Already, in spite of the efficiency of the
suit, he thought he could smell the faint, enclosed stink of his
own sweat; and, responding to the habit of many missions, his
brain began to clear and come alive. He plugged his suit into
the controls.
"Report," he said One by one, in order, the Sw~ the
Fair Maid, the Lela and the Fourth Helen replied. "-Trans-
mission Section," said Jim, "this is Wander Section, ready and
waiting for transmission."
"Acknowledged," replied the voice of the Transmission
Section. There followed a short wait, during which as always