"Michael McCollum - The Sails of Tau Ceti" - читать интересную книгу автора (McCollum Michael)

EarthCorp. If they hear youтАЩve been talking to nuts, they might decide you arenтАЩt the proper material for
them.тАЭ

BenтАЩs crack about тАЬlocal yokelsтАЭ irritated her. Like most Martians, Tory had a deep inferiority complex
when it came to anything concerning Earth. She was especially aware that the University of Olympus was
considered by some to be a cow college. Ben, on the other hand, was a terrestrial exchange student who
never tired of telling everyone he could have gone to New Yale or Harvard. When asked why he had
not, he always said something to the effect that he had wanted to improve the curve at Olympus U.
instead.

Tory still remembered the hot flash of anger that had surged through her at BenтАЩs crack. тАЬWell IтАЩmgoing
to interview with them and if the high and mighty corporations from Earth donтАЩt like it, tough!тАЭ

She would have forgotten all about it if Ben had not decided to taunt her one final time.

тАЬDonтАЩt say I didnтАЩt warn you!тАЭ

To her surprise, Tory found herself attracted to the idea of being part of humanityтАЩs first attempt to reach
the stars. The more she thought about it, the more attracted she became. Her interest, coupled with
BenтАЩs clumsy attempts to dissuade her, drove her to accept the offer -- at less than half the going pay
scale for newly minted synergists. She told Ben of her decision a week before graduation. The resulting
argument led to their breakup.

Two weeks later, they sat together in the lounge of Olympus spaceport, waiting for the ferry that would
take Ben up to the interplanetary liner docked at Deimos. They made small talk and promised to write
every week though both knew the promises were empty. Tory remembered how awkward it had been to
kiss Ben goodbye and the feeling of relief as his lanky form disappeared into the embarkation tube.

That had been three years ago. Since then, Tory had held a variety of jobs with the interstellar project.
Her latest made her responsible for the software that would fly the interstellar probe on its decades-long
journey. Since software was at the heart of the any modern system, her position placed her in de facto
command of construction on Phobos. There were others more senior, but no one with a clearer picture
of the state of the project at any given moment.

She was startled out of her contemplative mood by a silent voice that suddenly emanated from her
computer implant.

тАЬAre you awake up there?тАЭ

The voice belonged to Vance Newburgh. Vance, like Tory, was a synergist hired directly out of college.
His speech was marked by a strong Australasian accent, a hint of which made it through the implant.

тАЬIтАЩm awake,тАЭshe thought.тАЬWhatтАЩs up?тАЭ

Her custom of coming up to the surface once each week to viewStarhopper тАЩs progress was well
known. It was, she told the curious, her way of keeping one foot planted firmly in reality. An
occupational hazard for those who dealt with direct computer-to-mind interfaces was that they
sometimes became unsure of what comprised reality. More than one had fallen to his death because he
had forgotten that there is nothing theoretical about the concept of gravity.