"Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle - Fallen Angels" - читать интересную книгу автора (Niven Larry)

Line moved a few more miles toward civilization. She began to shiver
uncontrollably, even though she was wearing a thick down coat and the car
heater was running full blast.
Thor noticed and smiled. He blew a few plaintive notes on his whistle;
then declaimed:
shimmering horizon. After a while, he continued in a voice so soft she had
to strain to hear him.

"But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice."

The farther west they drove, the closer the Ice came to the highway.
What had begun as a distant white smear on the horizon crawled closer
and closer. She knew that the movement was an illusion, that the Ice was
not actually moving toward them. It was only that the highway and the Ice
Line were converging. Still, it was creepy to watch that slow, implacable
approach. Mike started singing "The White Cliffs of Dover," but no one
joined in, and he soon fell silent.
with its oversized tires was an ice breaker on a frozen sea. The snow made
eerie crackling sounds in the night as the van drove through it.
Brandon was deserted. Everything in town was dark, except the few
streetlights. The moon reflecting off the crusted snow cast a dim, pearly
light over the blank houses. There was not so much as a porch light on.
Sherrine didn't suppose that Brandon had ever been very lively at
four-thirty in the morning, but this felt different. Not just sleepy, but
empty.
Bob pulled into the General Mills station and honked the horn, but no
one responded. After a minute or so, Thor said the hell with it and climbed
outside. His boots broke through the crust and he sank into the snow to his
knees. He waded through the snow to the row of pumps. "Premium okay?"
he asked. He unhooked the hose and flipped the switch. "Power's still on."
When he squeezed the pump handle nothing happened.
"Mechanism's frozen," he called out. He unscrewed the gas cap and
stuck the nozzle in. Then he stood there squeezing and releasing, squeezing
and releasing until the gasohol began to flow into the tank. Mike gave a
huzzah and he and Bruce slapped each other's hand.
"Sherrine," Bob said, "there's a two-gallon Jerry can back there
somewhere. Pass it up, would you? We might as well get as much gas as
we can."
She rummaged around under the greasy blanket and tool kit and came
up with a sturdy, red plastic container. She passed it up and Bob rolled
down the window and gave it to Thor.
Thor climbed back inside a few minutes later. He handed the gas can to
Steve, who stowed it in the back.
"Shouldn't we pay for the alcohol?" she asked.
"Pay who?" said Thor, clapping his hands together. "This town is dead.
Everyone's gone. The Ice chased 'em out."