"James P. Hogan - Leapfrog" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hogan James P)

there in the next couple of weeks than IтАЩll have down on the surface.тАЭ
тАЬThereтАЩll need to be, with all these people showing up,тАЭ Halloran
said.
Even before the arrival of the two previous manned missions, a
series of unmanned flights had left all kinds of hardware parked in
orbit around Mars. In a frenzy of activity to prepare for the arrival
of the third mission, the construction teams from the first two had
expanded the initial station into a bewildering Rube-Goldberg creation
of spheres, cylinders, boxes, and domes, bristling with antennas, laser
tubes, and microwave dishes, all tied together by a floating web of
latticeworks and tethering cables. And the next ship from Earth, with
another six hundred people, was only two months behind.
There was a brief period of free-fall, and then more disorienting
feelings of unbalance came and went as the shuttle reversed and
decelerated to dock at MARSMOS. When Halloran unfastened his
restraining straps, he found himself weightless, which meant that they
were at the nonrotating section of the structure. Using handrails and
guidelines, the newcomers steered themselves out through an aft
sidedoor into an arrivals area where agents were waiting to give
directions and answer questions.
After receiving an information package on getting around in
MARSMOS, Halloran called Moscow-Chase-ManhattanтАЩs number and asked for
Mr. Vusiloy.
тАЬDa?тАЭ
тАЬMr. Vusilov?тАЭ
тАЬSpeaking.тАЭ
тАЬThis is Ed Halloran.тАЭ
тАЬAh, Mr. Halloran! Excellent!тАЭ The voice sounded genial and
exuberant. тАЬSo, you are arrived now, yes?тАЭ
тАЬWe docked about fifteen minutes ago. IтАЩve just cleared the
reception formalities.тАЭ
тАЬAnd did you have a pleasant voyage, I trust?тАЭ
тАЬIt dragged a bit at times, but it was fine.тАЭ
тАЬOf course. So you are still liking the idea of working with us
at MCM? No second regrets, yes?тАЭ
A reception agent murmured, тАЬMake it brief, if you wouldnтАЩt mind,
Mr. Halloran. There is a line waiting.тАЭ
тАЬNone,тАЭ Halloran said. тАЬEr, I am holding up the line here. Maybe
if I could come on through?тАЭ
тАЬYes, of course. What you do is ask directions to a transit
elevator that will bring you out here to Red Square, which is a ringтАФa
joke, you see, yes? This is where I am. It is the part of MARSMOS that
rotates. First we have a drink of welcome to celebrate, which is the
Russian tradition. You go to the south elevator point in Red Square,
then find the Diplomatic Lounge. Our gentlemenтАЩs club here, comfortable
by Martian standardsтАФno hard hats or oily coverups. There, soon, I will
be meeting you.тАЭ
With no gravity to define a preferred direction, the geometry
inside the free-fall section of MARSMOS was an Escherean nightmare of
walls, planes, passages, and connecting shafts intersecting and going