"Harry Harrison - Bill 2 - On The Planet Of Robot Slaves" - читать интересную книгу автора (Harrison Harry)

this flight is the first experiment." "Return to base!" Praktis screamed.
"I want out!' "Too late!" Captian Bly chortled in reply, stabbing a
button. "Too late by far. We're all in this to28gether-and I have nothing to
lose-since I've already lost everything, everything..." Quick tears of
self-indulgence blinded him. But not so much that he didn't see Praktis creep
forward to grab him. A blaster sprang into his hand, its gaping muzzle pitted
and scarred. "Sit," he commanded. "And enjoy. Up until now Faster Than Light
travel has been by Bloater drive. Now, for the first time ever-that I know
about-we will be trying out the Spritzer drive. It was installed by that
creepo Admiral Lubyanka. Told me that if I would try it out he would clear my
name of all shame. Too late! I told him. I live with shame and will die with
shame if I must. Nowhere we go!" One grimy thumb stabbed the large red
button and a gasp ran through the ship as they felt themselves squeezed in an
implacable grip. "That's the . . . first part. A black hole has been opened in
space in front of the ship. Now we are... being squeezed down. . . so we can
be squirted through the hole at . . FTL speed. That's why it is named the
Spritzer drive. We are being pumped under light pressure and spritzed through
spa-a-a-ce..." It was a thoroughly disgusting and uncomfortable way to
travel, Bill decided, and yearned for the old Bloater drive. But at least they
lived through it, and that was something. When they had become unsqueezed and
space outside had returned to normal, Cy turned to his tracker and fiddled
with the controls. "Bang on, baby. The track is still there, stronger and
clearer even. And it heads towards that planet you see over there. The one
with the concentric rings, an oblate moon and a black spot at the north pole.
Do you see it?"29 "Hard to miss," Praktis sniffed, "since it is the only
planet around. So chart its position and let's get the hell out of here before
we are noticed." "That comes under the heading of famous last words,"
Captain Bly blubbered, gaping at the viewscreen which was filled with flying
dragons. "Hit the Spritzer drive and let's get spritzing!" Praktis
screamed. But even as the words left his lips it was too late. Well before the
soundwaves reached Captain.Bly's ears it was too late. Lightning bolts of
ravening energy poured from the dragons' mouths and engulfed the ship. All
the fuses blew, all the lights went out. And they were falling. "Getting
mighty close to that planet," Bill observed, then drew back before the barrage
of curses. "Temper, temper," he said. "Does anyone know how we can get out of
this one?" "Pray," Cy said, rolling his eyes heavenward, or in any
direction, which was the same thing. "Pray for salvation and succor."
Captain Bly sneered at that. "You are the only sucker here if you think that
is going to help us. We've got one chance and one chance only. Our fuel is
gone, our batteries drained..." "Then we are dead!" Praktis wailed and
tore out handfuls of hair. "Not quite yet. I said we had a chance. The
forward hold is filled with garbage and is ready for ejection. This is done by
a giant spring that has been coiled up by the compression of the garbage when
it was packed aboard. At the very last instant before we crash I will eject
the garbage. By the Newtonian principle that for every action there is an
equal and30opposite reaction our speed will be neutralized and we will come
to rest." "A garbage drive," Bill moaned. "Is this the end? What a way to
die. . ." But his complaint went unheard for they were already in the
planet's atmosphere and the molecules of air pummeled the spacer cruelly. They
smashed into the outer skin, heated it into incandescence while the garbage