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

The Sails of Tau Ceti

A Novel By

Michael McCollum


Sci Fi - Arizona, Inc.
Third Millennium Publishing
A Cooperative of Online Writers and Resources


PROLOGUE

Faslorn of the Phelan stood on the bridge of the starshipFar Horizons and
watched as thick bundles of gossamer thread poured forth from their storage
holds. The shroud lines had been streaming aft through half a dozen changes of
the watch. Now the first phase of the star brakeТs deployment was nearing its
end.
Faslorn let his eyes roam the shipТs instruments as the last fewkel of bundled
lines leaped free. His attention returned to the screens as the star brakeТs
millionkel long mass stretched to its full length and suddenly grew taut.
УSound the alarm,Ф Faslorn ordered. УRebound coming.Ф
The warning echoed through every corridor of the giant starship. Thousands of
crewmembers stopped what they were doing and anchored themselves. Faslorn
wrapped a six-fingered hand around a nearby stanchion and held on tight. Far out
along the star brake, he could see the reflection wave racing towardFar Horizons
.
The rebound wave struck the ship and caused the deck to jump beneath his feet.
He barely noticed the rolling motion as stresses redistributed themselves
throughout the starship. All of his attention was taken up by the screens. His
twin hearts beat a little faster as he scanned the giant construct on which
depended his own fate, and that of one hundred thousand crewmates.
УNo damage to brake or ship,Ф one of the deployment technicians reported.
Faslorn emitted the Phelan equivalent of a sigh. УVery well. Cut the restraining
straps.Ф
All along the folded brake, tiny glittering lights illuminated the eternal night
of space as the straps that kept the brake furled were cut. With the restraints
gone, centrifugal force took over. There was a vast rippling as the gossamer
fabric of the brake began to unfurl.
It was difficult to observe the progress of the deployment. The furled brake had
been a long line that twisted and turned on its way to the vanishing point. As
the mass unfolded, it revealed the reflective film that made up the bulk of its
surface area. There is nothing in space more difficult to see than a one hundred
percent reflective surface. It reflects the blackness of space, while distorting
the reflected images of stars. To an observer, it seems as though the universe
has been wrenched into convolutions by some giant, unseen claw.
Far behind the starship, a giant flower opened its petals to space, marking the
end of a voyage that had lasted more than three Phelan lifetimes. It was a
voyage that had begun in fire and would end by grazing the photosphere of the