"Simon Hawke - Time Wars 01 - The Ivanhoe Gambit" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hawke Simon)

skin with pigmentation treatments. When he rode out to do battle with Yellowhair, Lucas knew that
history did not report that a particular Indian had killed him, so if he was presented with a clear shot at
Custer, his course of action was entirely up to him. However, in battles that had been fairly well
documented, a soldier's options were limited considerably. In such cases, they were always placed in
relatively insignificant positions, historically speaking. They were, to all intents and purposes, expendable.
History was never especially strict about such things as body counts. Therefore, soldiers from Plus Time
fought side-by-side with their ancient counterparts and, if they were killed, their cybernetic implants
relayed that information to the observers in that time period. MIAs, soldiers sustaining injuries, all went
into the tally that became the basis for the complex point spread that governed the arbitration
proceedings of the referees.
Being a veteran of many cosmetic surgical procedures, Lucas knew that in this event the changes
made were subtle ones, rather than a general, superficial alteration. They were being made to resemble
specific individuals, people who were either known to history or to certain key people who would be
involved with them during their mission. This would not be a simple case of infiltrating a few
soldiersтАФinsignificant pawns from the point of view of historyтАФinto a Roman legion. This would be a
covert operation. He wondered what the mission was going to be. If the training had been so intensive,
what did the mission itself hold in store for them?
They had not been coached to play the part of certain individuals, at least not consciously. There
was, however, the implant programming. Much of that information was already at their beck and call, but
it made sense that a great deal of it was filed under "need to know," to be brought forth at the proper
time, probably the mission briefing, by a key word or a key phrase. It made Lucas very apprehensive.
Who were they supposed to be? When he found out, he almost wished that Hannibal had killed him back
in Carthage.

It was the last day of their training. They were led into a small prefabricated building that had been,
up to that moment, off limits to them. They were brought into a, room which contained nothing save
several chairs, a table, a couple of army cots and four cryotanks, with all the attendant readout screens
and servo-mechanisms. The two medical technicians paid them absolutely no attention as they entered
and the referee, in turn, did not acknowledge the technicians' presence. The cryotanks were occupied by
four men who looked exactly like them. Or, more to the point, they looked like the people in the
cryotanks.
They sat down in the chairs and the ref perched on the edge of the table, leaning forward toward
them, resting his hands upon his knees. He was the perfect picture of a kindly old professor. An old man
with snow white hair, blue eyes, sunken cheeks and crow's feet. An old man who had total control over
their lives.
"Gentlemen," he said, "in the year 1189, Richard the First, also known as Richard Plantagenet,
Coeur de Lion, ascended to the throne of England. While he was off fighting in the Third Crusade, his
brother, known as John Lackland, revolted against the justiciar, William Longchamp, and effectively took
the place of the king. He thereupon embarked upon a series of intrigues to keep his brother from the
throne. Richard had been captured and was held prisoner by the Duke of Austria. In time, the king was
ransomed and he returned to England to pardon his brother, John, and to resume the throne. When
Richard died at Chaluz in 1199, John finally realized his ambition and became the king of England.
"As king, John was, to put it mildly, something of a disaster. He warred on his nephew Arthur and
eventually murdered him. He quarreled with Pope Innocent III, succeeded in getting England placed
under an interdict in 1208, screwed up six ways from Sunday and generally bled the country dry to the
extent that his own barons finally rebelled against him, forcing him to sign the Magna Carta at Runnymede
on June 15, 1215. That, in a nutshell, is the story. Except, as you have doubtless deduced by now, we
have a problem.
"The year is 1194. Duke Leopold has delivered Richard to Emperor Henry VI, who has released
him for ransom and Richard is supposed to be on his journey back to England. Supposed to be. Here's