"Alexander Jablokov - Deep Drive" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jablokov Alexander)

The underside of the flying Bgarth biopackage was packed with translucent cylinders, like giant butterfly
chrysalises.
DEEPDRIVE 11

Several had been bruised by the landing craft, and broken vesicles seeped yeasty-smelling fluid. The
underlayers that supported the landing craft creaked as the dirigible's airfoils shifted out in the night,
directing the biopackage to its destination.

"Look at this." Kun knelt by a swollen black mass at the base of a sagging chrysalis. "It's activated before
hitting the surface. Kind of a crude thing, really. Penetrant explosive fungus. Breaks up the surface
clinker."

Soph had been strolling with him while he examined the biopackage. "Explosive?"

He chuckled. "We don't have to worry about it. Takes a big electric charge to activate. Very specific.
The Bgarth usually use a calculated lightning storm after they've sown an area. But this sort of mistake is
unusual. This one is now useless."

Kun was the one who had arranged for them to conceal themselves in the Bgarth biopackage. He had
contacts with the dissident human ecoteams in Aphrodite, who often covertly placed their own
ecomodules aboard Bgarth airships.

Soph knew she should be asleep, charging herself up, instead of wandering around these distracting
mysteries with Kun. But there was something charming about the young bald man with the long
eyelashes. Despite all her efforts, Soph was still not sure whether he and the lovely Kammer were lovers.
She rather hoped not.

"It's hard to tell anymoreтАФwhat of Venus's life came from the Probe, what from the Bgarth, and what
from these crazed ecoteam researchers down in Aphrodite," Kun said. "And it keeps going. New
ecologies propagate themselves over the planet, each metastructure trying to bootstrap itself into dynamic
dominance. It's kind of fun to watch."

"There are bookmakers on Luna who bet on ecotones moving as different environments expand and
contract," Soph said.

Kun grinned, a little shyly. "Where do you think a lot of the money for the expedition came from?"

"I thought it was Kammer."

"Kammer spends money. She doesn't make it. I bet the lines and won big."
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Alexander Jablokov

"Money...." Soph said. "You know, Kun, I'm worried about these scapular credit stores of ours."

"The right of survivorship?" Kun looked surprised. "Surely, you don't thinkтАФ"

"When an expedition falls apart, anything can happen."