"Continuing Time - 98 - Lord November" - читать интересную книгу автора (Moran Daniel Keys)

УI hurt.
УI do not think the pain shows. Surely to my people I must seem tranquil;
confident in my faith; serene in the knowledge of my duty. Those who know me
wellЧFather OТDonnell, my sister JamieЧwould see the uncertainty that has taken
me; but with the exception of Bear Corona I am close to no one here, and Bear is
not the sort to whom one unburdens oneself.
УFather Donnelly is at St. PeterТs CityState in the Belt, Jamie is on Earth, and
there is nobody on Ganymede to hear my confession.
УIn three weeks, my Lord, I will observe the twentieth anniversary of my vows.
And I hurt inside and I have always hurt.
УBut until now I had always believed.
УIf You do indeed exist, be with me tomorrow.Ф
The voice from the other side of the screen said, УBless me, Father, for I have
sinned. It has been twenty-two years since my last confession.Ф
УЕBear?Ф
УYeah.Ф
УAre you sure you want to do this?Ф
УI guess.Ф A dry chuckle came from the other side of the screen. УYouТve been
after me for most of a year.Ф
УI had hoped for better circumstances.Ф
Silence. УYeah. Me too.Ф Another chuckle, packed with cynicism. УYou better get
comfortable. This is gonna take a while.Ф

Saturday, October 9, 2049:
The colony on Ganymede, like many other colonies throughout human history,
exists because of politics.
By 2049 all but three of the Belt CityStates have declared independence from the
Unification of Earth. The White Russian CityStates are two of them; and St.
PeterТs is the third. At the moment the UnificationТs Space Force lacks the
ability to prosecute a successful war against the breakaway CityStates; the
CityStates have threatened to throw asteroids at EarthЧand probably will if
pushed to it.
The Ganymede colony is EarthТs last attempt to contain the growing might of the
Belt CityStates. Earth and its billions have not been able to prevent the
establishment of free Luna, cheek and jowl with Unification Luna; have lost Mars
and the Belt to the CityStates; and seem all but helpless in dealing with the
anarchistic SpaceFarerТs Collective.
In February of 2048, the Unification made a last desperate bid to contain the
growing strength of its enemies; the Ganymede colony is the result.

In late 2049, Ganymede is as far as humanity has penetrated into the deep. The
colony is six hundred persons, a beachhead preparing the facilities that will
house and protect the first wave of true colonists. The six hundred include
engineers and physicists, an even dozen computerists, a dentist, several M.D.s
(and two medbots), two administrators, and one counselor.
Of course, most of the those on Ganymede come from St. PeterТs CityState; and
their Уcounselor,Ф so designated by ancient U.N. regulations, is in fact a
priest of the Roman Catholic Church.

УThey what?Ф