"Jeff Hecht - The Crystal Highway" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hecht Jeff)

======================
The Crystal Highway
by Jeff Hecht
======================

Copyright (c)1997 by Jeff Hecht
First published in Odyssey, December 1997

Fictionwise
www.Fictionwise.com

Science Fiction


---------------------------------
NOTICE: This work is copyrighted. It is licensed only for use by the original
purchaser. Duplication or distribution of this work by email, floppy disk,
network, paper print out, or any other method is a violation of international
copyright law and subjects the violator to severe fines and/or imprisonment.
---------------------------------


I long to walk the Crystal Highway that soars out of reach beyond the
poison sky above the barren land -- Vaxila
****
"Go," the dean of the school of literature told Axel Cormier when his
fortieth birthday brought his first sabbatical. "You can spend the rest of
your life in the library, after time catches you and ties you down," he
gestured toward the wheeled robot that carried the gas exchanger and power
pack for his artificial heart and lungs. His long arm moved with a grace that
belied his 82 years. "Now is your chance to chase your dreams, to get off old
Earth and explore the universe."
"But words are my life," protested Axel, as strongly as he dared. The
old man had wandered a dozen worlds and written novels before he became a
scholar. He still wrote eerie songs about the Age of Engineers and Generals,
and sang them to synthesized music that he programmed himself. The dean's
accomplishments scared Axel, who analyzed the structure of poetry, and hoped
someday to find the courage to try to publish his own poems.
"Life is out there, Professor Cormier, and it goes beyond words. Learn
how the poets lived. Visit their worlds. Find out who your mysterious Vaxila
she really was. Walk her Crystal Highway. But go..."
****
"Why do you want to visit Lambrecht Station?" asked Hannah Hsu, as she
walked with Axel beneath the giant trees that lined the worn stone walkway
across campus.
"Vaxila worked there. She wrote about a vision that always lingered
just out of reach. She called it the Crystal Highway."
"I came across a crystal called Lambrechtite last week." Hannah's dark
eyes twinkled, warming Axel's soul, and washing the gray from her hair. "It
comes from Lambrecht Station and makes beautiful colors."