"George R. R. Martin - A Peripheral Affair" - читать интересную книгу автора (Martin George R R)

тАЬI'll be the judge of that,тАЭ Mandel said. тАЬIs there anything else that could account for
this? Besides a malfunction, that is.тАЭ

тАЬNo, sir,тАЭ the lieutenant replied. тАЬNot to my knowledge. The computer on every one
of our starships is in constant linkage with our monitor computer here by subspace
radio; so we know the location of each ship at all times. When a light goes red here, it
means one of our ships has stopped signaling.тАЭ
 Mandel nodded. тАЬNothing else that could stop the signal besides an attack on the
ship?тАЭ

тАЬAn attack wouldn't stop the signal,тАЭ the lieutenant said. тАЬNothing short of total
destruction would. The ship's computer is in the heart of a starship, heavily armored
by duralloy plates and shielded by special force screens. Even the crew would have
difficulty getting at it. And there are two independent backups in case of malfunction.

тАЬNo, sir,тАЭ he concluded, shaking his head. тАЬA ship's computer will continue to
function and to signal as long as that ship is intact.тАЭ

Mandel looked over at the red light again. тАЬThen it's war,тАЭ he said savagely.

The lieutenant looked aghast. тАЬSir!тАЭ he protested. тАЬIt's notтАФI meanтАФwe don'tтАФyou
can'tтАФтАЭ

тАЬSpit it out, Lieutenant,тАЭ the admiral said sternly.

The lieutenant pulled himself together. тАЬThere's no cause to talk about war, sir. It
can't be a KwanDellan attack. It can't be. We've been at peace with the KwanDellans
for fifty years, sir. They'd have no reason to attack our ships. Besides, these scouts
have elaborate sensors. That's why they're out there. If a KwanDellan fleetтАФorany
kind of unauthorized vesselтАФhad been detected, the crew would have plenty of time
to notify us. All we have here is a signal suddenly cut off. Probably a flaw in the
monitor computer or the monitor panel itself. We're checking that, sir.тАЭ

тАЬYou're naive, Lieutenant,тАЭ the admiral said. тАЬYou haven't seen war. I have. Maybe
these KwanDellans disguised their ship as a friendly merchantman until they got in
range. Or maybe they've discovered a new gimmick to blank our sensors. All sorts of
possibilities, Lieutenant. And this incident stinks of KwanDellan treachery. Those
bastards have never forgotten the licking we gave them, you know.тАЭ

The lieutenant's mouth was hanging slightly open. тАЬButтАФbut, even so, sir, it might
have been some sort of accident. An explosion in the warpdrives, or something. Or
maybe the attacker wasn't a KwanDellan. If there was an attacker.тАЭ

Mandel considered that. тАЬHmmmph,тАЭ he said. тАЬWe'll be playing right into
KwanDellan hands, but I suppose we had better check thoroughly first, before
mobilizing.тАЭ

тАЬYes, sir,тАЭ the lieutenant said smartly, looking enormously relieved. He glanced over
the catwalk railing, down at the holomap. тАЬWe can get a couple of scouts to the last
location of the missing craft in an hour, sir.тАЭ