"Michael Flynn - Wreck of The Rivers of Stars" - читать интересную книгу автора (Flynn Michael)

First Officer Stepan Gorgas barely glanced up from his laptop. тАЬOf course, youтАЩre floating. The engines
are shut down. WeтАЩre not under acceleration.тАЭ He wondered en passant why Corrigan had not yet
reported on the reason.

тАЬNote this in the log, Mr. Gorgas: As a man is dying, his soul floats off. The observation may be
profound. See that it is posted.тАЭ

Gorgas sighed. тАЬSo noted,тАЭ he said as he moved his Austrian infantry closer to Austerlitz. The little
regimental squares wriggled across the map board on his clipscreen. It had fallen to his lot to sit with the
captain during the dog watch this night, but that did not mean he relished the duty or that it demanded

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his full attention. There was little enough to engage the mind in watching a man die. Gorgas had served
with Hand for eight years, longer than anyone in the crew save Satterwaithe and Ratline, and he had
detested Hand for ninety-five months of that.

The captain became absorbed in a study of the ventilator grill. There were a great many squares in the
grill, Hand thought. Perhaps countlessly many. An absurd notion, of course. They were discrete and so
must be countable. The tally seemed somehow an important thing to do, and so Hand began to
enumerate them. It grew cold in the cabin and he wanted to draw the covers up, but his arm would not
move. It was as if he no longer had an arm. тАЬNow, this is a curious thing,тАЭ he said.

Gorgas was not paying close attention, but he realized after a few more minutes had gone by that Hand
had not explained what the curious thing was. Glancing across the room, he noted the relaxed features
on the captainтАЩs face, the eyes staring into the void. Gorgas sighed in irritation. тАЬShip,тАЭ he said, rather
curtly, as if the artificial intelligence had neglected a duty.

тАЬWaiting,тАЭ replied Ship.

тАЬMessage. To: Dr. Wong. Text: Hand has died. Send.тАЭ

тАЬAcknowledged.тАЭ

Gorgas saved his screen with the French in mid-move and unbuckled from the seat so that he floated
across the cabin. The Farnsworths boosted at just over four milligees, barely enough acceleration to give
the room a vague notion of up and down, but Bhatterji had shut the engines down and Gorgas floated
like an angel and hovered over the captainтАЩs bunk.

I have risen above the captain, he thought. So often true metaphorically and intellectually, the statement
was now true literally. Gorgas did not touch the body or straighten its clothing or even close its eyes, but
he did peer into the slack and peaceful face and note how those eyes seemed fixed on some distant sight.
What was Hand looking at ? he wondered.And why is he smiling ?

At relinquishing command, probably. Consumed with the humor of sticking Gorgas with the gallimaufry
that he had collected for crew at every port in the Middle System.