"Michael McCollum - Maker 2 - Procyion Promise" - читать интересную книгу автора (McCollum Michael)

тАЬIтАЩll try to soothe him at dinner. Anything else?тАЭ

Chala nodded. тАЬThe technical staff has been going crazy searching for a malfunction in the high energy
monitoring equipment for the last two hours.тАЭ

тАЬWhat kind of malfunction?тАЭ

тАЬThey seem to be getting a ghost image of some sort. TheyтАЩve tried everything and it wonтАЩt go away.тАЭ

тАЬGhost?тАЭ Gruenmeier asked, suddenly happy to have something to think about other than the state of the
InstituteтАЩs dismal finances.

тАЬIтАЩd best let Doctor Bartlett explain it. As you well know, high energy optics ainтАЩt my field.тАЭ

Ten minutes later, Director Gruenmeier found himself listening to the explanation of the Watch
Astronomer.

тАЬWe first began picking it up on the cosmic ray monitors at 16:12, shortly after the start of Second
Watch. The monitors kept insisting that they had spotted a diffuse source of cosmic rays somewhere out
beyond Neptune. We ran the usual maintenance checks and found nothing, so I ordered the neutrino
scopes and X-ray equipment to take a look. They can see it, too.тАЭ

тАЬWhat makes you think itтАЩs a ghost then?тАЭ

тАЬBecause there isnтАЩt anything out there! Besides which, the source is moving.тАЭ

тАЬMoving?тАЭ

тАЬYes, sir. Moving fast. It appears to be traveling radially outward from the Sun.тАЭ

тАЬHave you asked Aeneas to do a parallax measurement?тАЭ

тАЬYes, sir. Two-and-a-half hours ago. I expect their reply momentarily.тАЭ As though to punctuate BartlettтАЩs
comment, several readout screens chose that moment to begin displaying data. The half dozen people in
the Operations Center turned to watch.тАЭ

тАЬWell, IтАЩll be damned!тАЭ Bartlett muttered incredulously a few seconds later. тАЬThey see it too.тАЭ

тАЬHave you got a velocity vector yet?тАЭ Gruenmeier asked.

The watch astronomer nodded, and then hesitated as he read the figures silently. He looked up at
Gruenmeier and gulped. тАЬIt says here that the radiation source is moving directly away from the sun,
toward Canis Minor, sir. The exact coordinates are: right ascension, 0738; declination, plus 0518. And
get this. Whatever it is, itтАЩs moving at exactly the speed of light!тАЭ

Gruenmeier blinked. тАЬItтАЩs movingaway from the sun?тАЭ

тАЬYes, sir.тАЭ

Gruenmeier turned to Chala Arnam. тАЬGet me a top priority line to Earth. I will be sending a coded