"Forward, Robert L - Rocheworld 02 - Return to Rocheworld - with Julie Forward Fuller 5.0" - читать интересную книгу автора (Forward Robert L)

^The light seems to be going toward the Islands of Thought. I will go see what it looks like from there.^
*The waves are going in that direction! Let's all surf there!* Roaring*Hot*Vermillion dissolved the crystalline lens in its surface and allowed its fluid body to form a more streamlined shape so it could skim along the top of Eau's waves, lifting tall in the weak gravity of the ocean planet. The sweeping beam of blue-green light passed over them a number of times during their long journey, each time directing them toward the distant Islands of Thought. It was the following sunset before the three gamboling flouwen approached the large ring-shaped islands on the outer pole of Eau. Reluctantly, they managed to pull themselves away from the joys of playing in the surf as the mystery of the flashing light beams called to them. The marching pattern of beams converged on a spot in the ocean in front of a tall cliff. On the cliff was a crude pattern of large spots of flickering light in differing colors. The flickering spots moved across the cliffside in various directions.
*It is a bunch of moving dots.* Roaring*Hot*Vermillion insisted. *Dumb.*
^The humans are not too smart,^ Clear^White^Whistle admitted, ^But I don't think they would send down a bunch of dots for no reason.^
()Maybe they mean the strings of dots to be a line,() Dainty()Blue()Warbler offered. ()That is the definition of a line. Try letting your eye get blurry and the lines look somewhat like a human swimming over to two spinning oblong shapes, one red and one blue.()
The other two tried defocusing their eyes. ^That looks like a StiffMover swimming, and the other looks like what the world and SkyRock would look like if you were looking at it from high above. I think the humans are trying to let us know that they are coming back to visit us here. I am going to greet them when they come.^
*If you want to send them a picture back, you should get Warm<>Amber<>Resonance to help you do a picture play!*
^Good idea.^
()But how are the humans going to be able to look at us from so far away?()
^I don't know, but maybe their winged pet FloatingRock can help them. It seems much smarter than they are.^
()How can the pet be both bigger and smarter than the master?()
^I do not know. That is why I want to study them more. Maybe FloatingRock is only smarter at learning, not thinking.^
()Is learning not the same as thinking?()
^Strong||Lavender||Crackle thinks, trying to find the fifth cardinal infinity; is that the same as you learning the first cardinal infinity? And what about the poems that Sweet$Green$Fizz makes? Do you suppose that Strong||Lavender||Crackle could compose such things? Or that the skill to make such poems could be learned?^
*I do not even understand the poems! Why try to make more poems when there is so many better things to be doing? Dumb! If you need any help with your picture play, you can find me over on the north shore. Come on Dainty()Blue()Warbler, surfing is even more exciting when there is the threat that you may get beached!*
()Wave!()
*Dumb!*
"How many times do you want this repeated?" Greystoke asked, as he monitored the two laser systems, one scanning the ocean in a insweeping radial pattern that converged on the outer islands, and one focused on a cliffside there.
"I don't know," Caroline said. "It's not like we're even sure that we're being received."
"There is something happening on the surface of the water near where we are beaming the message," James called through their imps. "I will transfer the picture from the high resolution telescope up to your screens."
On the screen, there appeared a view of the planet surface showing the relatively calm grey-green water on the south side of the Hawaiian Islands. A blue patch of something floating in the water resolved itself into an egg shape. Shortly after, an amber egg formed next to it. Slowly they two egg-shaped patches began to circle around each other in a credible imitation of Roche and Eau's heavenly ballet. Off to the side a white circle appeared. Then a small portion of white detached itself from the circle and moved in an arc down toward the blue lobe. As the small piece of white reached the blue "planet", the other shapes all flowed into a ring and more colors began to appear. Together, in all the colors of the various flouwen in the pod, a ring was formed around the white figure, surrounding it and circling it slowly.
"They've seen our message! They are telling us they will meet us!" Greystoke cheered. He quickly changed the animation pattern on the cliff-side to imitate the one that the flouwen had formed, letting them know their message had been received.
"Good," said Caroline. "Now we can get the crawler and a sonar communicator down there and talk in a real language instead of pictures. Despite what they say, you'll never get me to believe that a picture is worth a thousand words."
Greystoke laughed. With his long artistic fingers he formed an Ameslan symbol. Even Caroline could tell it suggested that she perform a physically impossible sexual act. She grinned wryly and began to dismantle the laser set up.
<>That was fun ... It was different trying to keep the picture oriented to the surface instead of toward a submerged audience. To work on a plane instead of in three dimensions presents unusual difficulties.<> Warm<>Amber<>Resonance relaxed into a more natural shape.
() When do you think they will be coming?()
^Not for a while, I expect.^ Clear^White^Whistle was feeling better now that the small piece that had portrayed the human spacecraft was rejoined with the rest of its body. The piece had only been separated from the main body of the white flouwen for a few moments, but it was glad to be back with the rest of itself and needed to be soothed.
() Why do you suppose they are coming back, and why would they come down here?() asked Dainty()Blue()Warbler, reluctant to rejoin Roaring*Hot*Vermillion surfing when there were so many interesting things to be learned here.
$They know that the elders are here,$ replied Sweet$Green$Fizz. $Obviously they want to come and try to talk to the deep thinkers rather than you children.$
Caroline reported the flouwen response to Jinjur. "I was thinking that it might be a good idea to send down with the crawler a touchscreen console like the one we are building for the flouwen. It would be disastrous for us to go all the way down and then find out the input board for the laser communicator is poorly designed."
"I doubt that you could design anything poorly," Jinjur laughed. "Do you and John have a prototype that you can spare?"
"Yes. Our first working model has a lot of rough edges, but it will let us know if we are on the right track. It is small enough to fit into the cargo hatch of the crawler and we will be able to get the parts back for salvage when we reach the surface."
"Good idea," Jinjur agreed. "How's everything else coming?"
"Fine and shiney," Caroline confirmed. "Although it _is_ a bit wearing to be working so closely with John."
"He does take that 'closely' seriously doesn't he?"
They both giggled.
"He just doesn't take no for an answer!"
"He doesn't even take later for an answer!"
"If his constant passes get too annoying, try just giving him more to do," Jinjur suggested. "Even _he_ can't make love while he's working."
"No, but he can make plans for later." Caroline said dubiously.
"So make a date for later. He's almost as good as he thinks he is, and it can help you relax enough to go to sleep." Jinjur looked critically at the circles under Caroline's eyes. "I bet you've spent the last couple rest periods thinking up better designs for that laser transmitter. Why don't you take a few hours off and try to relax."
"But I'd rather..."
"I know you would. Consider that an order."
Caroline slumped and gloomily left the cabin.
_You'd think I was punishing her_, though Jinjur wryly. _Everyone is acting oddly lately_.
The women had an excuse; it was always a bit of trouble with all the women having premenstrual syndrome at the same time, but at least you knew what the problem was. But while Thomas and John were acting normally except for the ordinary excitement, Tony and Nels were acting very weird. Nels had been hovering outside Jinjur's door for days now, but whenever she called out to him, he head vanished! As for Tony ...
Jinjur reviewed the talk she recently had with Tony. He had wanted her to know that Cinnamon could not be relied on to handle the heavy rocket thrusters in the SLAM II lander. All the time he was talking, Jinjur got the impression that while Tony wanted her to know about the problem, he desperately wanted Cinnamon to continue to be included on the away team.
Jinjur had already decided that Thomas and Tony would be the pilots for the rocket lander and Cinnamon would just be one of the back-up pilots for the _Dragonfly_. Apparently Tony had no doubts about Cinnamon being able to pilot the aeroplane and he had left her cabin much relieved. But Jinjur was curious why he was so anxious to include the lab assistant. _First Carmen and then Tony!_ She would have to spend more time with this Cinnamon.
Thomas was working out in the gym. Now that he knew he would be on the away team, he needed to get back into shape to handle the gravity on the planet. Although some simple medications inserted in their daily rations of algae shakes sufficed to counteract the calcium loss and other problems induced by living in their nearly free-fall environment aboard _Prometheus_, muscles still became flabby unless you exercised. The sweat glistened on his light brown skin, a Jamaican tan that even the years in space could not fade. The zero-gee exercise drills let Thomas work his body hard and soon drops of sweat were spinning off into the air, only to be carefully collected and herded off to the air conditioning ducts by the tiny cleaning imps. If only he could take a swim ... the pleasure of feeling his long lean body cut through the waters of Montego Bay was the thing Thomas missed most about leaving Earth. He thought wistfully about the possibility of swimming with the flouwen in the oceans of Eau, but it just wouldn't be the same in a spacesuit.
Richard Redwing and Sam Houston entered the gym together, laughing. The Indian stripped off his coverall, revealing his very muscular physique. Thomas felt his ego cringe at the display of muscle, but it was immediately revived by the sight of Sam Houston's pale, scrawny torso.