"Procyon's Promise" - читать интересную книгу автора (McCollum Michael)

the shipТs computer interrupted the soft music that filled the cabin.
УWe are being challenged.Ф
Chryse leaned forward, her manner suddenly alert. УIdentify challenger.Ф
УAutomated Guard Station, Department of Antiquities Registration Number 7155.Ф
УPut it on the speaker.Ф

У...WARNING. WARNING. YOU ARE APPROACHING THE RESTRICTED ZONE OF A PROTECTED
HISTORIC MONUMENT. YOU ARE HEREBY ADVISED TO TURN BACK IMMEDIATELY. FAILURE TO
COMPLY MAY LEAD TO CIVIL OR CRIMINAL PENALTIES BEING ASSESSED AGAINST YOU.
WARNING...Ф

УTransmission, please.Ф
УReady to transmit.Ф
УAttention, Guard Station 7155. I am Chryse Lawrence Haller, Ident MZH-93587116.
I am countermanding you. Return to standby mode.Ф

УORDER RECEIVED AND ACKNOWLEDGED. RETURNING TO STANDBY. BE ADVISED, CITIZEN
HALLER, THAT YOUR ACTIVITIES WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF THIS PROTECTED HISTORIC
MONUMENT WILL BE MONITORED. ANY ATTEMPT TO DAMAGE OR DEFACE THE MONUMENT WILL BE
IMMEDIATELY REPORTED TO EARTH.Ф

УAcknowledged,Ф Chryse said. She called for library function from the computer.
УReference: Life probe, visitation of same. Reference date: Twenty first
Century.Ф
УData retrieved.Ф
УShow me a picture.Ф
A thirty-centimeter, translucent black cube materialized in front of her.
Centered in the body of the cube, filling its interior, was a mighty spacecraft.
Its structure consisted of two spheres - each two hundred meters in diameter -
connected by a long central column. One sphere, labeled CONTROL SECTION in the
hologram, was an open latticework of small beams arranged in the familiar
pattern of geodesic trusses. There were gaps in the sphere where bits and pieces
of machinery poked through, but it was otherwise whole. Arrayed around it were a
number of long booms tipped with irregularly shaped sensing mechanisms.
Chryse shifted her attention to the sphere labeled DRIVE SECTION.As she did so,
she let her gaze sweep along the full eight hundred meters of the probeТs
length. A number of long cylindrical tanks were strapped to the thrust frame
between the two major spheres. The drive sphere at the probeТs stern was much
more massive than the control sphere at its prow. The framework of beams was
heavier, giving an impression of massive strength. The sphere itself was more
densely crammed with machinery. Chryse recognized the central bulge of a mass
converter and the familiar shape of an electromagnetic nozzle among the
unfamiliar bits and pieces of alien machinery.
УBig, isnТt it?Ф she muttered aloud.
УNull program. Please repeat,Ф the computer responded.
УCancel,Ф Chryse said absentmindedly. Her eyes were suddenly drawn to a bright,
starlike point inside the cube. УCenter on Coordinates X-3, Y-5, Z-2. Expand
view one hundred times.Ф
УAcknowledged.Ф
The view moved to one side and expanded to resolve the spark of light into a