"Larry Niven - Rainbow Mars" - читать интересную книгу автора (Niven Larry)

Ra Chen looked toward the Guide Pit. It looked impressive, and busy. He said, "Waldemar the Tenth
liked extinct animals. Waldemar the Eleventh likes planets and stars, they say, and he's not a
mental deficient."
Svetz flinched. Nobody would have dared to use that term when Waldemar the Tenth was Secretary-
General!
A whisper of wind from outside: limousines setting down in the drive.
"The Institute for Temporal Research has been transferred from Bureau of History to Bureau of the
Sky Domains-that's the new title for Space Bureau. Willy Gorky's the Director. He's our new boss.
Are you ready for that?"
Svetz smiled sourly. 'Time will tell."
Four Space Bureau guards flitted through the Center examining everything. One of them appeared
ready to shoot Wrona. As Svetz stepped in front of her he found Ra Chen and Zeera at his elbows.
The guard listened to Svetz's assurances, but he was looking at Wrona. Wrona looked back. On
command she sat, then lay down, snout on paws.
'Tie her up," the bodyguard said, and turned away.
"We will do no such thing," Ra Chen said.
The guard froze, then kept moving. Discussion must have taken place outside.
Willy Gorky entered with three more of his entourage. He was Svetz's height, centimeters shorter
than Ra Chen, but thick through the torso, arms and legs. He was half again Svetz's weight.
"Ra Chen, a pleasure to see you again! Lovely pond," he said.
He meant the rectangular pool outside. Ra Chen said, "It's not an extravagance. When we're pulling
an X-cage home we need somewhere to dump the heat. Otherwise expensive parts melt."
Svete's impression was that Gorky barely heard him. He bestowed a wonderful smile on one and all
and shook their hands. Svet2 felt bone-breaking strength held dormant
Wrona offered her paw. Gorky didn't notice. He was looking into the Guide Pit.
The Guide Pit was inside a knee-high wooden wall, symbol rather than barrier. There was room for
five to sit and work the instruments that guided extension cages into the past. From here the
Institute could run both X-cages at once, though that was rare. Gorky must have heard
descriptions. It was the heart of the Institute, and now it was his.
Two men with him wore tech uniforms, white coats lined with a score of bulging pockets, scanner
sets on their heads. The woman wore something else, a loose one-piece, brilliantly patterned and
covered with zipped pockets. She was an inch shorter than Svetz, and slender, topped with two
centimeters of ash-blond fuzz.
She came straight to Svetz, or maybe to Wrona. None of Bureau of the Sky Domains seemed to know
how to treat Wrona. They'd never seen a dog.
"I'm Miya Thorsven," she said, smiling at them both.
"Hanville Svetz, pleased to meet you. You're an astronaut?"
"Yes. And your... companion is a visitor from the past?"
"Somebody else's past. Wrona's people evolved from wolves. The X-cages sometimes veer sideways in
time when they're coming home. It's a quantum mechanical thing," Svetz said as if he understood
it.
"Why does she look so much like Dog?"
"You've been in the Vivarium?"
"Not yet. There's a web site that has holograms." Miya looked wistful. 'Tour achievements are
wonderful."
Svetz had captured most of the Vivarium's animals. He preened.


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