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

time in dispatching a message to Luna observatory asking that they delay any
announcement of the discovery. Then, after a quick survey of the computer
records, he had placed several calls to terrestrial sponsors of the Starhopper
Project. Since most of these were high on the ministryТs grant list, obtaining
their proxies had been a relatively easy matter. Once heТd obtained their
proxies, he had dispatched Praesert Sadibayan to Mars to negotiate for the
probe.
As he congratulated himself on the foresight he had shown, de Pasqual considered
how best to proceed now that the light sail turned out to be manned. It seemed
obvious that if the Ministry for Science were to maintain control of the
discovery, he would have to ensure that the alien starship remained a secret.
Otherwise, powerful men on the System Council would contrive to take the glory
of discovery for themselves. After passing the new data on to Sadibayan, along
with orders to maintain strict security, de Pasqual sat back to consider whom
else to let in on the secret.
First Minister Hoffenzoller would have to be told, of course. He was de
PasqualТs chief patron and a man who never forgot a snub. There were a few
others in the administration whose cooperation he needed, but was unlikely to
get unless he let them know what was going on. In addition, despite De PasqualТs
distaste for all things military, someone from the admiralty would have to be
co-opted to obtain a ship with which to meet the aliens. Knowing the military,
they would undoubtedly insist on one of their own to command the expedition.
Mostly, however, the council and the bureaucracy would have to be kept in the
dark, at least until after the survey craft was safely on its way.
Luckily, a previous minister for science had the foresight to convene a
conference regarding first contact with aliens. De Pasqual turned to his
workstation and spent ten minutes reviewing the results of that long ago
gathering. He finished with a grin. It was almost as though someone had foreseen
the precise situation in which he now found himself. The regulations were
written loosely enough so that they could be bent to his own personal needs.
#
Captain First Rank Garth Van Zandt, Terrestrial Space Navy, frowned as he
plodded down the ramp from the landing boat at Olympus Spaceport. Seventy-two
hours earlier he had been aboard his ship in Earth orbit, preparing to go on
leave. Instead of immersing himself in the Hawaiian surf, he had spent the last
three days strapped to an acceleration couch aboard a navy speeder.
Anti-acceleration drugs had burned his eyes, dried out his nasal passages, and
kept him from more than a few hours of fitful sleep. The journeyТs discomfort
was the primary cause of his current irritation. His mood was not helped by the
fact that he had been given no clue why heТd been summoned to Mars.
A lanky, blond haired man with a self-important air waited just beyond the
security gate that separated customs from the main spaceport concourse.
УCaptain Van Zandt?Ф
УYes, sir.
УIТm Benjamin Tallen, Subminister SadibayanТs assistant.Ф
УPleased to meet you.Ф
УGood flight?Ф
Van Zandt laughed for the first time in three days. УObviously, Mr. Tallen,
youТve never experienced the many luxuries to be found aboard a navy speeder.
They consist primarily of relief tubes fore and aft, rations that taste like