"Steven Gould - Rory" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gould Stephen Jay)

"Dr. Stan says his name really should be AlтАФAlgernon, I think. I don't
know what that means, do you?" Rory looked around at Anton.
Anton shook his head. "I don't know."
Rory continued. "Sometimes, I don't think Dr. Stan likes me."
In his cage Geary straightened out his tail, using it to push against one
side of the sphere. This propelled him to the other side of the cage, where
he hooked small claws in the mesh and squeaked.
"He wants food," said Rory. "Watch this." He traced his hand around
the outside of the mesh sphere slowly. Clinging to the mesh within, the
gerbil followed the hand around. Rory's hand moved faster and the gerbil
began running around the inside of the sphere, centripetal acceleration
keeping the creature against the mesh.
"See? Isn't he special?" Rory pulled his hand away. Geary continued to
circle the sphere for a few more circuits then stopped, watching Rory
expectantly.
"Yes, Rory. He's very special."
Rory took a small paper packet from a drawer and opened a door in the
cage. Sticking both hands in, he carefully tore the bag open. Almost
immediately the seeds and dried fruit within drifted to the side of the
sphere closest to the intake. The gerbil, already waiting there, started
eating.
Anton checked his watch. It was 1740, twenty minutes before supper,
and he hadn't the faintest idea how to get to the dining hall. "Rory, I need
another thing investigated. ..."



Life at the station soon became routine for Anton. He moved into the
lab vacated by Dr. Nielson, the biochemist he had replaced, and started
relearning every laboratory technique applicable to biochemistry. At least
centrifuges were still the same. But techniques like column
chromotography differed radically, requiring either separate centrifuges
or vacuum to pull solutions through the appropriate medium. Any
technique that required gravity to function properly had to be adapted.
Then again, some techniques worked better without gravity. Thin layer
chromotography, using capillary action to transfer fluids, worked better in
zero-g, and everybody knew about electrophoresis.
Still, the most minor tasks of handling fluids, powders, and mixing were
complicated by no gravity.
As if this weren't a large enough headache, Dr. McMillian would pop
into the lab to observe Anton's progress. Despite a growing skill in
handling zero-g, every time she showed up Anton started fumbling objects
or bumping into things. It also didn't help that she lived in C-pod, right
next to Rory in cabin number eight. He couldn't seem to avoid her.
He took to spending more of his off time with Rory. When he did that,
Ruth left him alone.
Rory constantly amazed Anton with bizarre combinations of insight and
misunderstanding.
"I heared Dr. Stan talking about millions of queens and kings flying
down the coast back on Earth,'' Rory said one day. "How do they fly? Is it