"Will Hubbell - Cretaceous Sea" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hubbell Will)

As if on cue, Green entered the room. James instantly fell silent. One look at Green and Rick abandoned
all ideas of complaining. Green's expensively sculpted face bore an in-timidating look. His cold eyes fixed
on Pandit and Rick, siz-ing them up. "I'm Peter Green, CEO of Temporal Transport. Welcome aboard."

With those minimal pleasantries aside, Green addressed die group. "This evening, we will leave on our
first paying excursion downwhen. All of you need to know how impor-tant this trip is. It's much more
than a maiden voyage. The future of time travel and the future of mankind are at stake. This is no
exaggeration.

"If this trip seems shrouded in secrecy and hurried, it is because of our situation. Consider for a moment
how truly dangerous time travel is. I'm not referring to any danger to the travelerтАФthat's negligible. But
think of the effects such travel could have on history itself. It does not take much imagination to conceive
how even a minor alteration of the past could cause unpredictable changes to the present. If those
alterations were motivated by greed or a political agenda, catastrophe could result. I feel so strongly
about this, I would halt all development in this technology if it were in my power. Unfortunately, it is not.
Others, without my scru-ples, are also working on time travel.

"One of the paradoxes of this technology is that, even though I am far ahead of my competitors, being
first means nothing. If they ever succeed in discovering its secrets, they can go back in time, destroy my
research, and gain sole con-trol over the technology. With additional capital and re-search, I believe that
I can prevent that. I am working on a system for Temporal Field Stabilization. To put it simply, it will
prevent anyone from altering the time continuum. The future will unfold without interference.
"At the present, this field is not in place. This is the reason why your nondisclosure agreements are so
important. Up-when, people are researching history to pinpoint our precise location in time. Talk to your
grandchildren years from now about this trip, and these people may find out. With that information, they
might travel downwhen to kill your mother."

Green paused to let the implications sink in. Already, Rick regretted his talk with Tom. Have 1 already
said something that might be traced in the future? he wondered. Was that the real cause of Mom
and Dad's auto accident? I was in that car. Was someone trying to get me? This convoluted chain of
causation was as confusing as it was ominous. It meant that there would have been an unaltered past
where the accident did not occur. Yet somehow, Rick would have spoken to his brother in that time line
also. But why? puzzled Rick. My life would have been completely different.

Rick became aware that Peter Green was staring at him. He hoped he did not look guilty and was
relieved when Green continued his talk. "The real purpose of this trip is to gain money to fund my
research into temporal stabilization. I chose our destination, aside from its obvious appeal, be-cause it's
far enough downwhen to prevent us from affecting the present. Our first client will be the billionaire John
Greighton, along with his fiance'e and daughter. I hope to demonstrate the potential of time travel to him,
both for good and ill, and obtain his backing for my research."

"Your jobs are to make "this trip as enjoyable as possible for Greighton and his party. That's all you
need to do, noth-ing more and nothing less. Everything I just said stays in this room. Remember, they're
on vacation. I'll broach die fund-ing matters with Greighton myself. That's my job. Just do your parts and
it will be easier."

As Green finished talking, Nick entered the room pushing a cart laden with food and a huge bottle of
champagne. "That's enough of business," said Green as his expression softened. He popped a cork and
started filling glasses. "We have something to celebrate." He handed out glasses to everyone, then raised