"Martin H. Greenberg & Larry Segriff - Far Frontiers [ss]" - читать интересную книгу автора (Greenberg Martin H)

report staring me in the face. ThatтАЩs why I sent you instead of going myself, remember?тАЭ
тАЬI know,тАЭ Matt said. тАЬI need your advice!тАЭ
I couldnтАЩt stop the groan. How I wanted to say no and finish my blasted reportтАФbut then
nothing about Delta Pavoms Two went fast. тАЬArenтАЩt you even going to give me more of a hint?тАЭ
тАЬNo, itтАЩll be more fun as a surprise. Remember, thatтАЩs why you get paid the big bucks.тАЭ
I almost didnтАЩt catch it. The keying phrase sent a shock through me. I could read a lot
between those few words, and I played my part. тАЬWatch your mouth, Matt.тАЭ I checked my desk
clock. тАЬWith travel time, mark it two hours from now. An hour, if possible.тАЭ
тАШThanks, boss.тАЭ Relief eased MallтАЩs voice back to its normal tone, although he was still
breathing heavily. тАЬI know itтАЩs your rec timeтАФтАЭ
Tune to change the subject.
тАЬYou sound out of breath.тАЭ I punched in the proper code and my computer brought up his
bio-vits and those of his team members. The stats looked reasonable; still, they could be wrong.
тАЬHave you checked your oxygen mixture recently?тАЭ
тАЬItтАЩs fine. Just rough terrain.тАЭ
тАЬAll right. Careful, Matt. I donтАЩt want any accidents.тАЭ
тАЬI know,тАЭ he said, тАЬno time for the paperwork.тАЭ
тАЬYouтАЩve got that right!тАЭ I closed the channel and was about to call transport when I
caught some move-тАШDent at the edge of vision.
тАЬNo!тАЭ I yelled, too late. I lunged forward and grabbed Angshu in mid-fall. The chair he
had been climbing on crashed against the shelves. The harsh sound of colliding chair and rocks
echoed through the plastic and metal office and sent shivers through me. The lowest six of the ten
shelves unhinged themselves and quickly dumped their contents.
тАЬOh-oh,тАЭ Angshu said as he clung to me in dismay in the now silent room.
тАЬOh-oh is right. Look at this mess.тАЭ
 тАШThey break pretty easy.тАЭ
I sighed and hugged him. My heart thumped in my chest. The shelves werenтАЩt broken,
only collapsible.
тАЬIf you had fallen among thatтАФ?тАЭ
тАЬIтАЩm sorry, Mommy.тАЭ
I surveyed the pile of rocks and poliglas. тАШThis will have to be cleaned up before we leave
orbit. I donтАЩt have the hour itтАЩll take just now.тАЭ I squeezed him again before setting him down. I
returned the chair back to its normal placement and snapped it into the floor locks, its secure
position, then turned to my son. тАЬAs I said, you can take one rock to school today.тАЭ I searched
through the pile on my floor, setting aside several limestones sporting new scratches. My prized
tholeiite from my very first planetfallтАФscuffed! I pulled out a fist-sized metallic rock.
тАЬFortunately for you, most rocks are durable. Here, you can take this one, and only this one
rock.тАЭ
He wrinkled his nose at the dark-brown, irregular lump. тАЬItтАЩs ugly!тАЭ
I forced it into his small hands. тАШTrue, but IтАЩve been to lots of solar systems and this is one
of the oldest rocks ever found, anywhere. A meteoroid from Luyten 97-12. ItтАЩs 5.8 billion years
old.тАЭ
тАЬWow!тАЭ Angshu examined the rock in awe.
тАЬFrom an asteroid belt.тАЭ
тАЬGreat-o!тАЭ He turned it over and over in his hands. тАШItтАЩs heavy! Did they find any
dinosaurs there? Can we go there next instead of Beta Hidee?тАЭ
тАЬBeta Hydri. No, we found only very simple life-forms, like we find everywhere. I keep
telling you,тАЭ I widened my eyes and pitched my voice lower, тАЬweтАЩre the only spacemen.тАЭ
The boyтАЩs smile vanished quickly. тАЬBut Airy told everyone at school you found
spacemen. WhereтАЩd you find them? I want to see them, too.тАЭ