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

angstroms thick. It and its brethren were the largest constructs every built by
man, and the flimsiest. The largest sail ever constructed measured a full 100
kilometers across, yet massed only a few hundred tons.
Tory searched for the cargo pod, but could not see it. Within a few minutes, the
giant apparition floated across her field of view and was gone. She noted with
approval that the shuttleТs pilot was giving the sail a wide berth. While the
monomolecular Уsail clothФ was as light as the scientists could make it, it
could do serious damage to even a warship if encountered at velocity
differentials of several kilometers per second.
The shuttle dropped lower. Minutes later their destination came into view over
the sharply defined horizon line. Olympus Mons was the largest volcano in the
Solar System; so large that it could be seen as a speck in Earth based
telescopes. It was one of the dots that Percival LowellТs subconscious had
strung together to produce the most famous optical illusion in the history of
science, the famous canals of Mars.
Most Earth dwellers expressed surprise when they learned that the capital of
Mars was located in the caldera of a volcano. Olympus had been a spectacular
volcano in its day. Luckily, its day was several billion years in the past. The
modern Olympus Mons spewed forth nothing more lethal than water vapor saturated
with carbon dioxide. These milder eruptions were the reason the Olympus colony
had been founded in the first place. For nothing is more precious on dry Mars
than water. Olympus Mons was a primary source of water on the planet.
The ferry dropped precipitously toward the spaceport tail first, oblivious to
the tug of the rarified atmosphere against its non-aerodynamic shape. A thousand
meters above the spaceport, the ferryТs engines came alive. Seconds later, it
grounded on a tail of plasma fire without a bump.

CHAPTER 2

Tory emerged from the airlock into a transparent debarkation tube that ran a
hundred meters across the fused sand of Olympus Spaceport. Beyond the tube, the
Martian night was lit by million-candle-power polyarcs. Another ferry lay near
the Phobos craft. Passengers and luggage streamed through that shipТs connecting
tube and into the subterranean passage that led to the main terminal. Tory
grimaced at the sight. It meant that the weekly liner from Earth was in orbit
and that the spaceport would be more than its usual madhouse.
As she entered the terminal, Tory willed her implant to synchronize with the
Olympus city computer. Once she received the connect signal, she sent a call to
Dardan Pierce.
УHello, Tory,Фcame back the immediate answer.УWhere are you?Ф
УSpaceport.Ф
УGood, get over here as soon as you can. The others will have gathered by the
time you arrive.Ф
УWhatТs up, Dard?Ф
УYouТll have to ask Hunsacker,Фcame the curt answer.УHe called the meeting.Ф
УBut heТs on Earth.Ф
УNot since noon, he isnТt. He showed up in my office and asked me to gather up
everyone within reach.Ф
УAll right, IТm on my way,Ф
УOne more thing,ФPierceТs silent voice said.УHunsacker brought some people with