"L. E. Modesitt - Adiamante" - читать интересную книгу автора (Modesitt L E)

<<< I


If the conversation had been offline and spoken, neither of which was possible
within the working systems contained in the adiamante hull of the Gibson, the
words would have followed old patterns, patterns based on the spoken words
that seldom echoed within the bulkheads and networks of the Vereal ship.

"Are you certain?"

"It's Old Earth, all right. The geography is within parameters," answered the
cybnav, but since all the crew members--especially the line marines--were cybs,
her tag on the net was nav, navigator, subcommander, or, less frequently, her
given name.

"The DNA has the same base across all the samples," added the environmental
officer. "And there was no hostile reaction to the samplers."

"They were scanned," interjected the weapons controller.

"I don't like those terms--base, within parameters. Does the DNA match or
doesn't it? What about the geography? A planet doesn't change that much in ten
thousand years, does it?" asked Commander Gibreal, knowing the answer, but
seeking, as do all those of human DNA-type, confirmation of the obvious.

"There have been what look to be deliberate genetic manipulations, some
subtle, some not so subtle," signaled the envoff to the Gibson's commander.
"Certainly not enough to account for the reputation of the place as the planet
of death."

"What about viruses, bacteria, that sort of thing?" Gibreal knew the answers,
again, before he received them.

"The former colonies were pretty clear about that. So were their records.
Whatever the effect was, it wasn't anything known to their medical science.
People died in full clean-suits and armor, in extreme trauma, and without any
form of radiation, or any other trackable internal or external cause."

"Of course, there aren't any real records or tissue samples left." Gibreal's
words smoked across the net with the bitterness of aqua regia. "What some
people won't believe. Healthy bodies just don't die."

"What about telepathic auto-suggestion?" asked the envoff.

"Another rumor lost in time. No one's ever been able--not even the demis--to
master telepathy. Anyway," added the commander, "that was thousands of years
ago, and the old colonies have sent traders and envoys without harm for
generations. They don't stay long, but their technology doesn't approach
ours--or that of the old Rebuilt Hegemony." The commander snorted soundlessly,
and his disgust colored the net with brown and the unsmelled odor of animal