"Robert L. Forward - Rocheworld 3 - Ocean Under the Ice" - читать интересную книгу автора (Forward Robert L)

promontory. The bulging mound of compacted snow loomed above the dark waters
below, themselves nearly frozen and greasy-looking with irregular sheets of
ice. The wind had created the huge lump it was now destroying; shaping and
scraping the surface with hard-frozen dust as abrasive as diamonds;
undercutting the exposed surfaces at the vulnerable base of the bulge. Finally
the critical point was passed. With a horrendous crack, the snowy mound
separated along a nearly vertical fissure, and splashed into the cold ocean
waters.
In the city, Silver-Rim heard the splash. The icerug had never seen an
iceberg form, but it was aware of what had caused the explosive sound. The
red-colored sunlight flooding down from the rising Sun-God onto Silver-Rim's
acre-sized carpet warmed and invigorated the icerug as its velvet textured




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cyan-colored body absorbed the weak red sunlight and turned the energy into
food.
On the opposite side of the sky from the Sun-God was the strange new
moon that had arrived from outer space many seasons ago. Almost as big as the
other moons, it was not a sphere, but a flat circle. And instead of orbiting
the Night-God like all the other moons, it wandered as it willed. Right now,
it seemed to be moving closer to Ice.
With its attention now directed outward, Silver-Rim noticed that it was
easy enough to move, this morning. Silver-Rim had been composing a new song,
so intently that it had paid no attention to the weather. Now it realized too
that the wind was not blowing ice-dust into its eye and that it was able to
stand upright on its pedestal without having to lean into the wind. An
unusually substantial meal of country-raised flesh added to the icerug's
sensation of comfort, and Silver-Rim noted that it was indeed a good day.
Silver-Rim glided across its carpet toward the massive stone Grand Portal that
led to the Great Meeting Hall; in the distance it could see Clear-Eye making
for the same entrance. Clear-Eye's carpet, a brilliant blue, was easy enough
to distinguish even at a great distance, and Silver-Rim's large orb was
unusually keen, even for an icerug. The two met at the entrance, glided side
by side down the glittering hall upon their parallel travel strands, and
entered the music room chatting companionably.
"Hear this, now, Clear-Eye, I've been working on this melody all
night." Silver-Rim flipped open its dressy cloak, and two of its four
tentacles reached for the long, narrow harp with the thick strings. The
tentacles stretched and shortened themselves as they plucked the strings, and
the deeply rumbling notes of the new melody sounded sweet to both of them.
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*CHAPTER 01 -- SAILING*
Six lightyears distant from the Sun, a spacecraft sailed through the
sparse "wind" of photons emanating from the red dwarf star Barnard. The most
visible portion of the spacecraft was its gigantic circular lightsail, a vast