"Myst - 02 - The Book Of Ti'ana" - читать интересную книгу автора (Miller Rand)

front of him.

There was a moment's silence and then a vibration rippled along the shaft toward
the tapered tip of the cone.

A single, pure, clear note sounded in the tiny chamber, like an invisible spike
reaching out into the rock.

* * *

"What is he doing?"

Guild Master Telanis turned from the observation window to look at his guest.
Master Kedri was a big, ungainly man. A member of the Guild of Legislators, he
was here to observe the progress of the excavation.

"Guild Master Geran is surveying the rock. Before we drill we need to know what
lies ahead of us."

"I understand that," Kedri said impatiently. "But what is the problem?"

Telanis stifled the irritation he felt at the man's bad manners. After all,
Kedri was technically his superior, even if, within his own craft, Telams's word
was as law.

"I'm not sure exactly, but from the mark he made I'd say he's located a patch of
igneous material. Magma-based basaltic rocks from a fault line, perhaps, or a
minor intrusion."

"And that's a problem?"

Telanis smiled politely. "It could be. If it's minor we could drill straight
through it, of course, and support the tunnel, but we're still quite deep and
there's a lot of weight above us. The pressures here are immense, and while they
might not crush us, they could inconvenience us and set us back weeks, if not
months. We'd prefer, therefore, to be certain of what lies ahead."

Kedri huffed. "It all seems rather a waste of time to me. The lining rock's
strong, isn't it?"

"Oh, very strong, but that's not the point. If the aim were merely to break
through to the surface we could do that in a matter of weeks. But that's .not
our brief. These tunnels are meant to be permanent-or, at least, as permanent as
we can make them, rock movement willing!"

Still, Kedri seemed unsatisfied. "All this stopping and starting! A man could go
mad with waiting!"

One could; and some, unsuited to the task, did. But of all the guilds ofD'ni,
this, Telanis knew, was the one best suited to their nature.