"Terry Dowling - Flashmen" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dowling Terry)

Something has landed. Something has come in, been sent.тАЭ Talk jumping
all over the place, but obvious stuff, common with any newbie.

тАЬSurely seems like it, Thomas.тАЭ

тАЬBut not ships? Heard Mr Senny say loose lips sink ships. What it
sounded like. DidnтАЩt like to bother тАШim.тАЭ

тАЬNot as easy as that. But youтАЩre right in a way. ItтАЩs where something
has come in. Arrived. Best to think of them as nodes. Accretion points.тАЭ

тАЬScusing, gov.тАЭ

тАЬSampling probes, some say.тАЭ

тАЬNot tracking, Mr Aitch.тАЭ

тАЬPlaces where things appear. Gather things to them.тАЭ

тАЬTheyтАЩll go someday, you think?тАЭ Jumping again.

тАЬTwenty-three years this summer. They may simply go, like you say.
But something is needed now. To get us through. ThatтАЩs why the scout
picked you.тАЭ

тАЬThey bombed them.тАЭ

тАЬThey did, yes. Lots of times. They keep trying in some places, trying
new things, sending troops in, poor sods. Hit squads. But it gooses them,
gets them active. Regardless of what people say, World HealthтАЩs way is
better. ThereтАЩs the other thing to consider too. When they go active, start
locking on to folks, a Landing in Australia locking onto a street, a town,
maybe half a world away, you bomb them then, all the downers die, every
one of them. Some sort of broadband trauma. We think weтАЩre ahead of
things there. Better itтАЩs done gently. Flash crews are told which Landing has
struck down a community somewhere, we go in, target the particular
flashpoint, tweak and twist things there in little bits so the Landing never
quite knows whatтАЩs happening and switches modes. It seems. ThatтАЩs all we
ever hope to do. Switch modes.тАЭ

тАЬBut in those towns - whole groups of downers come back.тАЭ

тАЬRight. So better to keep the WHO quarantine, track which Landings
become active, go in and tweak. ThatтАЩs the extent of it, Thomas, though
some will tell you otherwise. The WHO authorities track which communities
have been targeted, counted out -тАЭ

тАЬWhole communities. ItтАЩs like theyтАЩve been assigned or something.тАЭ

тАЬ- then we go in, tweak and retrieve. ThatтАЩs all it is, all we do. We get