"Edward M. Lerner - Part II of IV - A New Order of Things" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lerner Edward M)

the equipment. The Snakes wanted, in short, the crown jewels of the deeply classified UP antimatter
project. It would not be an easy decision.
"Blaine, your position is now fine, but point your nose directly at the package."

"Changing orientation will tweak our position. This could take a while."

"Blaine, this is a hell of an expensive demo," Eva said. If anything, that was an understatement. They
were expecting a decigram of antihydrogen. "Our new friends are grumpy at us for insisting on this proof.
We need to do it right the first time."

"Tough," interjected Carlos. "Himalia isn't Six Flags over Jupiter. They are not getting near Himalia or our
real experts--no offense--until we know they have antimatter of their own."

"Assuming this demo goes as advertised, it will convince even you and Art." Mutter, mutter. "Goshawk,
maintain your position!"

Art tuned out the bickering and nervous chatter. The Snakes refused to show the UP their containers.
Keffah, when her superiors weren't around, was smugly superior--which made it productive to spend
time with her. Among her boasts were occasional hints and oblique clues to K'vithian technology. Their
antimatter containment seemed to derive from the same underlying physics as their interstellar drive.
More ambiguous was a clue Eva had picked up on: that the common denominator might involve tapping
and manipulating zero point energy.

Eva and Carlos had lapsed into Spanish. Cursing is always more satisfying in your native tongue. A
glance at the holo showed Art that now Actium had drifted slightly off-station.

Physicists had speculated since the twentieth century about a linkage between zero point energy, the
quantum-mechanical fluctuation energy of a vacuum, and gravity or inertia. Common sense--and two
centuries of frustrated theorists--suggested you couldn't extract useful work from energy already at the
lowest possible level. To find otherwise smacked of perpetual motion, of getting something for nothing.
Still....

Any asymmetric interaction with ZPE would be inherently propulsive. And plausibly, an asymmetric
interaction could confine antimatter fuel. Few of the scientists on Himalia knew of this development, but
the prospect of access to ZPE propulsion technology had those few salivating. Art thought he understood
their interest: For too long, they had been all fueled up with no place to go. A technology deal with the
Snakes could really be win-win.

Finally, all ships were in position. "Set," announced Eva to the ship's captains. On a separate link, she
contacted Keffah. "On my mark. Deactivate in ten, nine...."

A fraction of a second past zero, Actium's readouts jumped on their virtual console. An instant later,
slaved readouts from the other ships followed. Computer-corrected for ship positions and signaling
delay, all measurements were simultaneous and consistent.

Had the meters shown instantaneous rather than cumulative measurements, the counts would have
plummeted to zero faster than the eye could see. But the brief squall of neutrinos and mesons and very
specific frequencies of gamma rays was unambiguous.

The Snakes had, and could control, antimatter.