"Dragons Dawn" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dragon Stories)

room in a tight knot, each one with an eye out for the screens displaying
reports on his or her specialty.
Mar Dook, head agronomist, was a small man whose Earth Asiatic
ancestry was evident in features, skin tone, and physiology: he was wiry,
lean, and slightly bowed in the shoulders, but his black eyes gleamed with
eager intelligence and the excitement of the challenge.
╗The schedule has long been decided, my dear colleagues. We┤re in
the first wave down. The probes do not contradict any of the information we
already have. The dirt and vegetation samples match. There┤s some sort of
red and green algae reported along the shoreline.
Marine life has been sighted by the sea probe. One of the low probes has
caught a comforting variety of insects, which the EEC also found. The
aerial fax that came up with that flyer reported -- what did the team call
them? -- wherries.л
╗Why Сwherries┤?л Phas Radamanth asked. He scrolled through the
report searching for that particular annotation. ╗Ah,л he said when he
found it. ╗Because they resemble airborne barges -- squat, fat and full.л
He allowed himself a little smile for the whimsy of that long-dead team.
╗Yeah, but I don┤t see mention of any other predators,л Kwan
Marceau said, his rather high forehead creased, as usual, with a frown.
╗There┤s sure to be something that eats them,л Phas replied
confidently.
╗Or they eat each other,л Mar Dook suggested. He received a stern
frown from Kwan. Suddenly Mar Dook pointed excitedly to a new fax coming up
on one screen. ╗Ah, look! The scuttlebug got a reptiloid. Rather a large
specimen, ten centimeters thick and seven meters long. There┤s your wherry
eater, Kwan.л
╗Another scuttle has just run through a puddle of excretal matter,
semiliquid, which contains intestinal parasites and bacteria,л Pol Nietro
said, hurriedly tagging the report for later reference. ╗There do seem to
be plenty of wormlike soil dwellers, too. rather a significant variety, if
you ask me. Worms like nematodes, insectoids, mites that really wouldn┤t be
out of place in a Terran compost heap. Ted, here┤s something for you:
plants like our mycorrhizas -- tree fungi. Speaking of that, I wonder where
the EEC team found that luminous mycelium.л
Ted Tubberman, one of the colony botanists, gave a contemptuous
snort. He was a big man, not carrying any extra flesh after nearly fifteen
years in deep sleep, who tended to be overbearing. ╗Luminous organisms are
usually found in deep caves, Nietro, as they use their light to attract
their victims, generally insects. The mycelium reported by that team was in
a cave system on that large island south of the northern continent. This
planet seems to have a considerable number of cave systems. Why weren┤t any
scuttles scheduled for subterranean investigations?л he asked in an
aggrieved tone.
╗There were only so many available, Ted,л Mar Dook said
placatingly.
╗Ah, look! Now, this is what I┤ve been waiting for,л Kwan said his
usually solemn face lighting up as he bent until his nose almost touched
the small screen before him. ╗There are reef systems. And yes, a balanced
if fragile marine ecology along the ring islands. I┤m much encouraged.