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

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УAll right,Ф Pierce said after the technical discussion had gone on for nearly
an hour, Уnow that we have all reviewed the new information, what do we do about
it?Ф
УLuna makes their announcement!Ф
УIТm sorry, Miss Bronson,Ф Sadibayan said, Уbut that is not going to happen. My
orders from Earth are that no mention will be made of this discovery for the
time being.Ф
УWhy the hell not?Ф Pierce demanded.
УWe need time to study the implications of the situation. We donТt know how
people will react.Ф
УBut thatТs censorship!Ф
УNevertheless, that is the way things are going to be. Anyone who divulges a
word about the light sail beyond this room will not be allowed to participate in
the investigation. Is that clear?Ф
The three scientists in the room nodded, grudgingly.
УPerhaps we should look to our defenses,Ф Contreras said.
УDonТt be paranoid!Ф Hunsacker snapped. УSurely you donТt think they crossed
twelve light years of space to attack us!Ф
УWho knows what they intend?Ф
УHow many soldiers do you think one ship can carry, for GodТs sake?Ф
УHow many men did Cortez have?Ф Contreras replied dryly. УSome of my ancestors
thought they could handle him. History proved them wrong.Ф
УNot the same situation at all.Ф
УIsnТt it? These are refugees from an exploded star. What are they going to do
when they discover their chosen refuge already inhabited?Ф
УBut they must have known this system was occupied before Tau Ceti exploded,Ф
Tory said. УBy the late twentieth century, Earth was the center of a bubble of
radio noise that stretched more than 70 light years in all directions.Ф
УWould an alien have found comfort in twentieth century news broadcasts?Ф
Contreras mused.
УI tend to agree with Boris,Ф Pierce said. УThis ship has been in space 250
years. They are fleeing the destruction of their star, looking to start over. If
we were to abandon Mars, would we fill our vessel with weapons or seed corn?Ф
ContrerasТ jaw set stubbornly. УDepends on how many potential slaves there were
where we were going.Ф
УDo we know theyare refugees?Ф Ben asked.
УThat,Ф Pierce replied, pointing toward the light ring that surrounded the image
of Tau Ceti, Уis a very persuasive argument. Rather than preparing for conflict
with these aliens, I think we should make plans how we can help them. After so
much time in space, no telling what shape their ship is in.Ф
УPerhaps their life support system has already failed,Ф Hunsacker responded.
УThey may all be dead and we are arguing about nothing.Ф
УThen who unfurled the sail?Ф
УAn automatic sequence triggered when the ship closed to within a predetermined
distance.Ф
УWe are speculating in a vacuum,Ф Praesert Sadibayan replied. УWhat we need is
information, as quickly as we can get it. Obviously, we can no longer send
theStarhopper probe out to rendezvous with them. They might mistake it for a
weapon.Ф