"C. Sanford Lowe & G. David Nordley - Loki's Realm" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lowe C Sanford)

mission.тАЭ
 тАЬDavra?тАЭ I asked.
Emma rolled her eyes. тАЬIтАЩd guess life is very simple and uncomplicated for
people like her and Dagger. No need for anything deep or long term. No need to
waste time. She can get what she wants out of any man. So we off and do something
when we donтАЩt really know what weтАЩre dealing with.тАЭ
тАЬMaybe you should have a talk with Weaver, privately.тАЭ
тАЬWe call him G. P., Bruce.тАЭ Emma looked into the bottom of her cup, then
gave me one of those subtle but suave know-it-all looks that the English are so good
at. тАЬItтАЩs too late. DavraтАЩs already persuaded Dagger to go for her robotic solution
and G. P. goes with a majority.тАЭ
тАЬHe has no view of his own?тАЭ I asked.
Emma nodded and took another sip. тАЬHe can be disengaged at times. HeтАЩs a
widowerтАФhis wife was thrown from one of his horses. Awful thing and I imagine he
blames himself.тАЭ
тАЬAye, thatтАЩs a hard thing to get over.тАЭ
тАЬIsnтАЩt it? This star will likely settle down and stay that way for twenty billion
years. We donтАЩt die of natural causes anymore. So he may still be blaming himself
twenty billion years from now.тАЭ
I shook my head, raised my glass, and smiled. тАЬIf in that time he dinna fall off
a horse himself.тАЭ
Emma laughed slightly тАЬThe universe, I think, needs some stable people in it.
Those that donтАЩt fall off horses.тАЭ
тАЬAye.тАЭ
We sat for what must have been minutes not saying anything, then she sighed
and stood up. I missed the touch of her arm immediately, but couldnтАЩt think of a
thing to do.
тАЬI enjoyed this, Bruce. We should talk again some time.тАЭ
тАЬItтАЩs been a good conversation, yes.тАЭ I stood up. There was no walking her to
the door, as it was only a meter or so from us. So she simply walked out the door, it
closed, and I sat back on my couch. Two minutes ago a real woman had been sitting
next to me ready for anything as far as I could tell, and I had not as much as put my
arm around her. Sadly, such was typical of my history to that time, if the truth be
known.
I noted that weтАЩd done in a quarter of a liter. With several years to go, IтАЩd
need to be a bit more parsimonious from here on.
****
 The next day, Dickson and DavraтАЩs plan was adopted with a few technical
modifications. I had several more conversations with Emma, all in public places. I
felt awkward and the contacts grew less and less. Meanwhile, I learned how to
тАЬtouch the net,тАЭ to ask for information and send messages to people. IтАЩd been
perhaps too aware of the fears of how such communication would change us utterly,
and was relieved to find them so very unfounded. It was no group mind or anything
like thatтАФmuch more like using a wrist comp without having to raise your arm to
look at it or speak to it.
I ran into Weaver at the canteen.
тАЬMorning, Macready. I hear this is becoming your work area.тАЭ
He said that with a grin on his face the likes of which put you in mind of a
brilliant morning sun chasing the mists away from the bay at Portree, that or
twenty-year-old Talisker. He affected some rustic crudeness, but he could cut to the