"David Freer - Pyramid Scheme" - читать интересную книгу автора (Freer Dave)

T'nT: Telzey & Trigger
Trigger & Friends
The Hub: Dangerous Territory
Agent of Vega & Other Stories

BAEN BOOKS by DAVE FREER

The Forlorn



Prologue
The new NESOT (Near Earth Space Object Tracking) satellite paid dividends less than three months
after its launch. The computerized system spat a data stream on the incoming object to NORAD. It did
this for any detected object which would enter the Earth's atmosphere.

The level of NORAD tracking which dealt with objects that should burn up on atmospheric entry was
computerized. An alarm sequence was triggered by any anomaly. Twenty-three seconds after it took
over from NESOT, the alarm sounded.
***

Brigadier General Durham looked over the shoulder of the warrant officer at the screen display. He took
a deep breath.Chicago!

He took another deep breath. The procedures were laid down. It had been something of a joke. But the
NESOT data showed that it wasn't a joke. Notat all funny, in reality. This was incoming from deep
space. And it was decelerating. Falling objects don't naturally do that.

Incoming. Incoming andalien .
***

While on its final approach, the American Airlines flight inbound from New York abruptly lost radio and
radar contact for fifteen seconds with Chicago O'Hare's Tower Approach Control. The explosive
reactions of the pilot were mild compared to those at Chicago Air Traffic Control. And those in turn
were mild compared to the reaction at Cheyenne Mountain.

They'd lost the object. And they'd lost all radio contact with Chicago. Fortunately the fiber-optic link
between Cheyenne Mountain and Chicago Air Traffic Control remained functional.

Air traffic controllers are renowned for their imperturbability. The senior ATC on the other end of the
line managed a perfectly controlled level voiceтАФthat could have etched steel.

"NORAD? Ah!Right. Are you folks doing something we need to know about? Because we just nearly
lost a fully loaded heavy." Despite the angry tinge underlying her voice, the controller wasn't actually
snarling. Not quite. NORAD and Air Traffic Control centers worked closely together and were generally
on good terms.

Brigadier General Durham was able to reassure himself that whatever had happened, it hadn't included
destroying Chicago. But he was quite unable to reassure the woman on the other end of the line that it
wouldn't happen again. NORAD had no more idea than she did what had caused the temporary radio