"Daniel Marcus - Heart of Molten Stone" - читать интересную книгу автора (Marcus Daniel)

molten flow. Her head bobbed in the current as I left her behind. Moments later, far behind me, I saw the
flash as her e-field failed.
****

I drifted downstream on a river of bloody fire. I thought about Leilani's words. Love not power. Did she
mean that she loved Flint but that didn't give her the power of life and death over him? Or that what he
thought was love for her was power, and she rejected it? Or was it an admonition? I didn't know. I didn't
think I ever would.

By the time the cluster of crude shacks that was Deep Station came into view, all I knew was that I
wanted it to be over.

There was a head on a titanium pole in front of the largest shack. It was mummified by the thin, corrosive
atmosphere, but it was recognizably human. Orbison.

I found Schwartz behind the buildings on a small rise, overlooking the base and the river. He was
stretched out on a crude fullerene cross, his arms and legs secured to the beams by loops of wire. His
e-field flickered around his head like a halo. I recognized the symbolism, of courseтАФI'd studied archaic
forms of worship.

He'd been out there a long timeтАФhe was almost dead from dehydration. I cut him down and brought
him into the main shack. There were no andys about, but the whole time, I had the feeling I was being
watched.

I laid him down on a bunk, tried to dribble some water between his cracked lips. Held somewhere in the
lines of those ravaged features, I could see the face from my dream. Lean, aristocratic cheekbones. A
deep sadness.

тАЬWhat happened here?тАЭ I asked. тАЬDid they do this on their own or did you put them up to it?тАЭ

His eyes fluttered open and his pupils wandered, not tracking on anything, then they seemed to focus on
me. He grabbed my shirt and pulled me close to him. He struggled, as if trying to summon up the strength
to speak.

тАЬThey ... suffer.тАЭ Each word came with an incredible effort. тАЬLive... in us ... manifest ... expiate.тАЭ

He let go of my shirt and closed his eyes. He shuddered once and was still.

I sat there looking at him for what seemed like a long time. I didn't understand, I didn't understand
anything, but I knew what I had to do.

I found the station's fusion plant, knocked out the safety interlocks, and set it to overload. I had about an
hour. It wouldn't be much of a bang, maybe a kiloton, but it would be enough.

When I reached the top of the ramp to the jumpship, I turned around. They were coming out onto the
landing field, about twenty of them, identical except for the one at the lead. She had a long ascetic face,
lean aristocratic features, a deep intelligence burning in her eyes.

We looked at each other for a long moment, then I turned around and closed the hatch behind me.
****