"Greg Egan - Glory" - читать интересную книгу автора (Egan Greg)

тАЬYouтАЩve seen my ship. I flew it from Baneth.тАЭ

тАЬAnd how did you reach Baneth?тАЭ

тАЬIтАЩm not free to discuss that,тАЭ Joan replied cheerfully.

тАЬNot free?тАЭ PiritтАЩs face clouded with silver, as if she were genuinely per-plexed.

Joan said, тАЬYou understand me perfectly. Please donтАЩt tell me thereтАЩs noth-ing youтАЩre not free to discuss
with me.тАЭ

тАЬYou certainly didnтАЩt fly that ship twenty light-years.тАЭ

тАЬNo, I certainly didnтАЩt.тАЭ
Pirit hesitated. тАЬDid you come through the Cataract?тАЭ The Cataract was a black hole, a remote partner
to the NoudahтАЩs sun; they orbited each other at a distance of about eighty billion kilometers. The name
came from its telescopic appearance: a dark circle ringed by a distortion in the back-ground of stars, like
some kind of visual aberration. The Tirans and Ghahari were in a race to be the first to visit this
extraordinary neighbor, but as yet neither of them were quite up to the task.

тАЬThrough the Cataract? I think your scientists have already proven that black holes arenтАЩt shortcuts to
anywhere.тАЭ

тАЬOur scientists arenтАЩt always right.тАЭ

тАЬNeither are ours,тАЭ Joan admitted, тАЬbut all the evidence points in one direction: black holes arenтАЩt
doorways, theyтАЩre shredding machines.тАЭ

тАЬSo you traveled the whole twenty light-years?тАЭ

тАЬMore than that,тАЭ Joan said truthfully тАЬfrom my original home. IтАЩve spent half my life traveling.тАЭ

тАЬFaster than light?тАЭ Pirit suggested hopefully.

тАЬNo. ThatтАЩs impossible.тАЭ

They circled around the question a dozen more times, before Pirit finally changed her tune from how to
why?

тАЬIтАЩm a xenomathematician,тАЭ Joan said. тАЬIтАЩve come here in the hope of collaborating with your
archaeologists in their study of Niah artifacts.тАЭ

Pirit was stunned. тАЬWhat do you know about the Niah?тАЭ

тАЬNot as much as IтАЩd like to.тАЭ Joan gestured at her Noudah body. тАЬAs IтАЩm sure youтАЩve already surmised,
weтАЩve listened to your broadcasts for some time, so we know pretty much what an ordinary Noudah
knows. That in-cludes the basic facts about the Niah. Historically theyтАЩve been referred to as your
ancestors, though the latest studies suggest that you and they really just have an earlier common ancestor.
They died out about a million years ago, but thereтАЩs evidence that they might have had a sophisticated
culture for as long as three million years. ThereтАЩs no indication that they ever developed space flight.