"Harlan Ellison - Troublemakers" - читать интересную книгу автора (Ellison Harlan)

and over Shanghai. There was no great empty space left between them, for they girdled the Earth with a
band of discs. Where everyone could see them, so no one could doubt their power or their menace.

Yet they hung silently. As though waiting.

Waiting.

* * *

тАЬThe perplexing thing about it, General, is that every once in a while, one of them just goesflick! and
disappears. In a little while another oneflicks! and takes its place. Not the same one, either. We can tell.
There are different markings on them. Nobody can figure it out.тАЭ

Alberts was a Captain, properly deferential to the Commanding General. He was short, but dapper;
clothes hung well on him; hair thinning across his skull; eyes alert, and a weariness in the softness and line
of his body: a man who had been too long in grade, too long as Captain, with ColonelтАЩs rank out of
reach. He folded his hands across his paunch, finished his speech, and settled back in the chair.

He stared across the desk at the General. The General steepled his blocky fingers, rocked back and
forth in the big leather chair. He stared at his Adjutant with a veiled expression. Adjutant: the politically
correct word for assistant, second-in-charge, gopher, the guy who actually got the job done. The
General had found Alberts when he was a Second Looey, and knew he had a treasure when Alberts
solved ten thorny problems in two days. He wasnтАЩt about to upgrade this Captain . . . he needed him
right there, serving the GeneralтАЩs needs. Adjutant: it sounded better than slave.

тАЬHow long тАФ to the hour тАФ have they been here now, Captain?тАЭ His tone was almost chiding, definitely
aggressive.

He waited silently for an answer as the Adjutant leafed through a folder, consulted his watch, and closed
his eyes in figuring. Finally the Adjutant leaned forward and said, тАЬThree days, eight and one-half hours,
General.тАЭ

тАЬAnd nothing has been done about them yet,тАЭ the heavy-faced Air Force man replied. It was not a
question; it was a statement, and one that demanded either an explanation or an alibi.

The Adjutant knew he had no explanation, so he offered the alibi. тАЬBut, General, whatcan we do? We
donтАЩt dare scramble a flight of interceptors. Those things are almost four miles around, and thereтАЩs no
telling what theyтАЩd do if we made a hostile move . . . or even a move thatlooked hostile.

тАЬWe donтАЩt know where they come from or what they want. Or whatтАЩs inside them. But if they were
smart enough toget here, theyтАЩre surely smart enough to stop any offensive action we might take. WeтАЩre
stuck, General. Our hands are tied.тАЭ

The General leaned forward, and his sharp blue eyes caught the AdjutantтАЩs face in a vise-lock stare.
тАЬCaptain, donтАЩt youever use that word around me. The first thing I learned, when I was a plebe at West
Point, was that the hands of the United States Air Force arenever tied. You understand that?тАЭ

The Captain shifted uneasily, made an accepting motion with his hand. тАЬYes, but, General . . . what . . .тАЭ

тАЬI saidnever , Captain Alberts! And by that I mean youтАЩd better get out there and do something, right