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

half-span thickness of special D'ni rock, more durable than marble Last, but not
least, they fitted heavy stone brackets into the ceiling of each section
-brackets that carried air from the pumping stations back in D'ni.

Between each straight-line section was one of these spherical "nodes"-these
resting places where they could carry on experiments while Master Geran and his
assistants charted the next stage of their journey through the earth-each node
fitted with an airtight gate that could be sealed in an instant.

The rumbling grew to a roar. For a moment the sound of it filled the node, then
the engines cut out and there was the downward whine of the turbines as the
Messenger slowed.

Aitrus turned and stood, watching as the metal snout of the machine emerged from
the entry tunnel, passing through the thick collar of the node-gate, its pilot
clearly visible through the transparent front debris shield

It was a large, tracked vehicle, its three long segments making it seem clumsy
in comparison to the sleek excavators, but as ever Aitrus was glad to see it,
for besides bringing them much-needed supplies-it being impossible to "link"
supplies direct from D'ni into the tunnels-it also brought letters from home

"Aitrus? What time is it?"

Aitrus turned. His friend Jemr had woken and was sitting up.

"Ninth bell," he answered, bending down to retrieve his boots and pull them on
again

Others had also been woken by the Messenger's arrival, and were sitting up or
climbing from their beds, knowing there was unloading to be done.

He himself had been temporarily excused from such duties; even so, as the others
drifted across to the laSders and began to ascend, he followed, curious to see
if anything had come for him.

When the last Messenger had come, three days back, it had brought nothing but
the Observers-those unexpected "guests" billeted upon them by the Council.
Before that it had been almost three weeks since they had had contact with D'ni.
Three solid weeks without news.

The Messenger had come to rest between the two excavators. Already its four-man
crew were busy, running pipelines between the middle segment of their craft and
the two much larger vehicles, ready to transfer its load of mechanical parts,
equipment, drill bits, fuel, and cooling fluid to the excavators.

Aitrus yawned, then walked across. The young men of the Messengers Guild were of
nature outward, friendly types, and seeing him, one of them hailed him.

"Ho! Aitrus! There's a parcel for you!"