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

тАЬSmooth and uneventful. About the greatest excitement was fleecing four riggers in a poker game
at the layover on Phobos. But I was a good boy and gave it back before we got off the shuttle. You
know I only cheat cheaters.тАЭ
тАЬOf courseтАФyouтАЩve always had that soft spot.тАЭ
тАЬJust keeping my hand in. Anyhow, what kind of a welcome is this, when a man comes a hundred
million miles and no one shows up to meet him? Things like that play havoc with this delicate
complex that I have.тАЭ
тАЬSure. Right,тАЭ June said with just the right note of mock sarcasm. тАЬKieran, you know we had
something big going on here yesterday. You just timed your arrival a couple of days too late. There
was no way I could get away.тАЭ That was evidently as much as she was prepared to be overheard
saying in her working environment. Kieran interpreted it as meaning that a crucial experiment he
knew Quantonix had been working up to over the past few months had gone ahead.
тАЬHowтАЩd it go?тАЭ he asked, dropping the flippancy.
She paused just long enough to convey prudence. тАЬJust fine.тАЭ
тАЬOkay, then I guess IтАЩll have to wait to know more. ItтАЩs too bad I couldnтАЩt have made it in earlier.
You know, sometimes I think that Triplanetary plans their schedule just to frustrate me.тАЭ Triplanetary
Spacelines was the carrier that had brought him from the Belt to Phobos.
тАЬAnd sometimes I think that God runs the rest of the universe just to suit you. . . . Anyhow, I take
it that Guinness is well?тАЭ
тАЬOf course. In fact, right now, slurping and drooling over your kitchen floor.тАЭ
тАЬWhat about the princess who owns the place?тАЭ
тАЬThrowing a fit and hurling death threats, preparing to defend the last bastion of her realm at the bedroom
door.тАЭ
тАЬOh dear. Well, sheтАЩll get over it. . . .тАЭ There was a pause as June seemed to take an interruption
from elsewhere. тАЬLook, Kieran, I have to go. Maybe you could use some time resting up. I should get
away, IтАЩd say, between six and six-thirty. Maybe we could meet for dinner out somewhere?тАЭ
тАЬHow about the restaurant of that new hotel that theyтАЩve added to the spaceportтАФthe Oasis? Have
you tried it yet?тАЭ
тАЬNo, I havenтАЩt. ItтАЩs only recently opened. Sounds good.тАЭ
тАЬHow about seven?тАЭ
тАЬSeven, it is. IтАЩve got some quick meals and a few snacks in the apartment if you need them. Or
thereтАЩs some salad, cheese, and a bit of leftover pasta thatтАЩs not bad. Help yourself. I got some dog
food in tooтАФunder the counter left of the sink.тАЭ
тАЬFine. So IтАЩll see you later.тАЭ
Kieran put the phone back in its slot, the comset back in his jacket pocket, and looked down to
find Guinness watching attentively. тАЬYes, that was Aunt June. You know she was talking about you,
donтАЩt you?тАЭ Guinness wagged his tail, then looked toward the closet below the counter. тАЬYouтАЩre right.
I could use a bite too. Come on, then. LetтАЩs see what sheтАЩs got for us.тАЭ
 3

The Oasis restaurant turned out to be pleasantly relaxing, with niches opening off a central area
and imaginative use of floral partitions among the tables providing a secluded atmosphere conducive
to talk. Kieran and June both settled for the seafood buffetтАФan odd-sounding offering to be
encountered on Mars, which was actually fresh, not frozen imported. тАЬFish-farm-food buffet would
be terminologically more exact,тАЭ Kieran remarked as they collected their plates and sampled the
offerings.
June had long, midnight-black hair that fell in a sweep to her shoulders, where it broke in an
upturned wave, and a finely formed, angular face with a straight nose and full mouth, which in its
natural state hovered just short of an impish pout. Her dark, alive eyes had always given Kieran the
feeling that anything short of outright candor with her would be pointless, since they could read his