"Modesitt, L E - The Hammer of Darkness" - читать интересную книгу автора (Modesitt L E)

green eyes, heroic body structure, wide shoulders and narrow
waist, under a gold tunic and trousers.
Martin nods for the man to continue.
"You're going to have more trouble than the others. There
are two reasons for that. The first is that you're an untrained,
full-range esper, and fully masked. The second is that you
have, shall we say, a certain potential."
The golden man clears his throat, and even that sounds
oddly musical, matching the light baritone of his clear voice.
"During the times ahead, for a while you'll know you're
going mad, Mattel. At times you will be. You have a great
deal to learn. A great deal."
The speech bothers Martin, but he cannot pin down why.
"Who are you?"
Who are you?
Martin winces.
"You can either sync your thoughts to your speech or put
a damper on them to eliminate the echo. The resonance
makes any long conversations impossible, not to mention the
headaches, until you get your thoughts under control. That's
a function of the field. It tends to amplify stray thoughts and
reflect them. Really only a nuisance, but without controls you
could upset the norms and the tourists pretty strongly."
Norms? Dampers? Field? And what about the glare from
outside?
He settles on the simplest question, trying to block his own
thoughts at the same time.
"Is it that bright outside all the time?"
"No. It isn't bright at all. Normally the intensity is about
that of early morning on Karnak. Bright, but nothing to worry
about."
"But ... when you came in?"
The golden man smiles. "It only seems bright to you. You
don't see me at all. You're perceiving paranormally, and any
light hurts your eyes. Except for the solidio cube, the belt
clasp, and the port light, your room is totally dark. We've
even screened out the glittermotes."
Martin gulps.
"I'll put it another way. Off Aurore, you have to make a
conscious effort to use esp. Here, you have to make a con-
scious effort not to. As I mentioned a moment ago, when you
really weren't paying attention, you are a full-range esper,
one of a double handful in the entire Empire. That's fortunate
in ways I'll not explain, and unfortunate in others. Unfortu-
nate because the Empire would want you dead off Aurore,
and because your adjustment to Aurore will be difficult at
best, assuming you do make it."
The golden man is lying. Martin cannot explain which
statement is wrong, decides to let it go, and tries to keep his
doubts about the man buried.