"James E. Gunn - Station In Space" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gunn James E)

veil. You'd know then that we belong out here."

We know, Rev. You led us out. You showed us the way.

We listened and we watched. It seems to me now that we held our breath for thirty days.

At last we watched the fuel pumping into the shipтАФnitric acid and hydrazine. A month ago, we did not
know their names; now we recognize them as the very substances of life itself. It flowed through the long
special hoses, dangerous, cautiously grounded, over half a million dollars worth of rocket fuel.

Statisticians estimate that more than a hundred million Americans were watching their television sets that
day. Watching and praying. . .

Suddenly the view switched to the ship fleeing south above us. The technicians were expert now. The
telescopes picked it up instantly, the focus perfect the first time, and tracked it across the sky until it
dropped beyond the horizon. It looked no different now than when we had seen it first.

But the voice that came from our speakers was different. It was weak. It coughed frequently and paused
for breath.

"Air very bad. Better hurry. Can't last much longer. . . Silly!. . . Of course you'll hurry.

"Don't want anyone feeling sorry for me. . . I've been living fast. . . Thirty days? I've seen 360 sunrises,
360 sunsets. . . I've seen what no man has ever seen before. . . I was the first. That's something. . . worth
dying for. . .

"I've seen the stars, clear and undiminished. They look cold but there's warmth to them and life. They
have families of planets like our own sun, some of them. . . They must. God wouldn't put them there for
no purpose. . . They can be homes to our future generations. Or, if they have inhabitants, we can trade
with them: goods, ideas, the love of creation. . .

"ButтАФmore than thisтАФI have seen the Earth. I have seen itтАФas no man has ever seen itтАФturning below
me like a fantastic ball, the seas like blue glass in the sun. . . or lashed into gray storm-peaks. . . and the
land green with life. . . the cities of the world in the night, sparkling. . . and the people. . .

"I have seen the EarthтАФthere where I have lived and loved. . . I have known it better than any man and
loved it better and known its children better. . . It has been good. . .

"Good-by. . . I have a better tomb than the greatest conqueror Earth ever bore. . . Do not disturb. . ."

We wept. How could we help it?

Rescue was so close and we could not hurry it. We watched impotently. The crew were hoisted far up
into the nose section of the three-stage rocket. It stood as tall as a 24-story building.Hurry! we urged.
But they could not hurry. The interception of a swiftly moving target is precision business. The takeoff
was all calculated and impressed on the metal and glass and free electrons of an electronic computer.

The ship was tightened down methodically. The spectators scurried back from the base of the ship. We
waited. The ship waited. Tall and slim as it was, it seemed to crouch. Someone counted off the seconds
to a breathless world: tenтАФnineтАФeight. . . five, four, three. . . oneтАФfire!