"Alan Dean Foster - The Black Hole" - читать интересную книгу автора (Foster Alan Dean)

know I canтАЩt argue with the facts, Harry.тАЭ
тАЬIтАЩm never unnecessarily flip, Alex.тАЭ Booth slipped the recorder back
into a tunic pocket. тАЬYou know that IтАЩm as disappointed in the results as you
are. Probably more so. You can go back with the shipтАЩs banks full of valuable
data on new worlds, new phenomena, stellar spectra and all kinds of info
thatтАЩll have the research teams back on Earth singing hosannas to you for
years.тАЭ He looked glum.
тАЬSure, weтАЩve missed the big prize: finding substantial alien life. But you
have your astrophysical esoterica to fall back on. For me and my news
service, though, itтАЩs eighteen months down a transspatial drain. He thought
a moment, then added, тАЬDecember twenty-fourth. Not quite the way weтАЩd
expected to celebrate Christmas Eve, is it?тАЭ He turned again, looked back
out the port.
тАЬWe need reindeer and a fat man in a red suit. That would do for a
report on extraterrestrial life, wouldnтАЩt it?тАЭ He grunted. тАЬChristmas Eve.тАЭ
Durant forced a wider smile. тАЬBeats fighting the mobs of last-minute
shoppers. You couldnтАЩt order a thing about now. Order channels to the
outlets would be saturated.тАЭ Nearby, McCrae flipped a control on the
computer panel, concluded her programming, then laughed.
тАЬYou can both hang your stockings back by the engines. Maybe Santa
will leave you something unexpected.тАЭ
Booth eyed her challengingly. тАЬCan you fit an alien civilization into a
sock?тАЭ
тАЬIтАЩd settle for anything non-terran with more backbone than a semi-
permeable membrane.тАЭ DurantтАЩs smile melted his melancholy. тАЬOr some
stick chocolate,тАЭ he added cheerfully. тАЬI never will understand why the
galley canтАЩt synthesize decent chocolate.тАЭ
тАЬIтАЩll threaten it.тАЭ McCrae started toward the lab exit. тАЬMaybe thatтАЩll
produce results. IтАЩm going back to Power.тАЭ
тАЬBe back by Christmas.тАЭ Durant watched her depart, glanced down at
the calculations he had been doodling with and spoke without looking
across at Booth. тАЬWonder what Holland would say if I asked him to extend
the mission another two months. By widening our return parabola, we could
check out two additional systems, according to my figures.тАЭ
тАЬI donтАЩt think youтАЩll get much sympathy for that idea from our pilot,
Alex.тАЭ BoothтАЩs gaze had returned to the stiff but always fascinating ocean of
stars outside the port. тАЬPrivately, heтАЩd probably enjoy spending another year
exploring. But he wasnтАЩt picked to command this expedition because of a
penchant to indulge himself in personal pleasures.
тАЬSchedule says we return by such and such a date. HeтАЩll move heaven
and earths to dock in terran orbit on or before that date. Pizer, now тАж heтАЩd
steer us through a star if you could guarantee him a fifty-fifty chance of
making the run. But heтАЩs only first officer, not commander. He still smells of
the audacity of youth. And the foolishness.тАЭ Booth looked resigned.
тАЬLife is ruled by such subtleties, Alex. Commander or first officer,
experienced or brash and challenging. If thereтАЩs one thing IтАЩve learned in
three decades of reporting on developments in science, itтАЩs that the actions
of people and subatomic particles arenтАЩt as different as most folks would
think.тАЭ
тАЬIf you want my real opinion, IтАЩd rather have Vincent in charge than