"Jim Farris - Pandora's Box" - читать интересную книгу автора (Farris Jim)

A humanoid shape appeared silhouetted against the bushes. They tried to push through, but the
bushes were a particularly thorny variety. The wyrm and I had found the seeds of them inside the cave
about eight hundred years ago, and we'd been carefully collecting them and planting them near the
entrance ever since. We shared a little of our precious water with those bushes, just to maintain our
camouflage. That was our mission - stay alert, stay hidden, defend the cave against all intrusion, wait for
further orders. "Ow! Ow!" the intruder commented, trying to get through the bushes.


"Comment: We'll need to give the bushes a little extra water the way they're damaging them.
Observe - that's nine leaves they've knocked off. Approximately 1.6 meters tall, and the voice sounds
pretty young. Probably a boy. No armor - look how they're struggling to get through the bushes. No
visible weapons, either. Question: What's your opinion?"


"Reply: I disagree. Comment: Observe the upper frontal torso. The individual is either
female or armed with a detonator pack and on a suicide mission to destroy us. Observe the length
of the hair. Shoulder-length hair is uncommon among the enemy forces. The individual is either a
civilian or a nonstandard soldier, again possibly a suicide bomber. Assessment: Possible threat to
survival, definite threat to mission parameters. Recommendation: Open fire immediately." the
wyrm quietly hissed in my mind.


"Comment: I think you're right. It could be female, but it also could be a suicide bomber. Probably a
suicide bomber. Command: Zoom in on that point there, it looks like the uniform's torn from the bushes.
If it's a det-pack, we'll be able to tell." My view zoomed in, and shortly I had the answer.


"Comment: Observe - skin. I think that bump there is a nipple. They're bleeding, too. Looks like the
bushes scratched up that breast pretty good. Conclusion: It's a female. Command: Stand down the
weapons and ready the number three manipulator to capture her for interrogation. We'll terminate her
afterwards."


"By your command."


The female finally managed to thrust herself through the bushes, and stood there blinking at the
gloom of the cave. She was still 46.5 meters from the wyrm, and the number three manipulator only has a
reach of 20 meters. Ideally, we'd need to have her fifteen meters from us to capture her. "Comment:
Observe the way she's looking around. She can't see in the dark very well, possibly not at all. Combined
with the scratches I'm seeing under the torn uniform here, here and here, I'd say this is an unaugmented
female. Definitely a civilian. Command: Ready the legs, but do it quietly. We may need to rush up close
enough to use the number three manipulator if they spot us and try to run."


"By your command."


The female fished around in her pocket, pulling out a small cylinder. I was about to order the wyrm