"G. David Nordley - The Forest Between the Worlds" - читать интересную книгу автора (Nordley G. David)

"Dogs with hands smart enough to retroengineer the the robots and resent the intrusion. We arenтАЩt there
yet, and until we get there, our data gathering has to be open and in person."

"And that person is Sharada."

Jones smiled. "Look, I understand that much, about not wanting to leave everything to the robots. Maybe
she thinks she can do something before they arrive. SheтАЩs probably just ten kilometers up at their usual
meeting place. It should take us three hours to get there, max. A stroll through the park." Jones smiled.
"With a couple of surprises. YouтАЩll enjoy it."

"Like this?" He spread his arms to indicate his nakedness.

Jones shrugged. "She does."

Akil felt very uncomfortable about that.

Jones laughed. "You should see your face. I was just kidding. Grab your coveralls and the standard low
tech survival stuff. IтАЩll grab her kit, too; sheтАЩs been away too long and may need the supplies."
Akil was still nervous. "IтАЩm going to ask Stavros to follow up, just in case." The ground base geologist
had struck Akil as reliable.

Jones, who had started to gather SharadaтАЩs things, turned and shrugged. "Whatever. It shouldnтАЩt be
necessary. By the way, IтАЩm Marianne." She stuck out a hand.

He took it. "Ah-keel," he said with a forced smile. He was not going to put up with "ackle" for hours on
end. He looked into her eyes. He hardly knew her, but sheтАЩd been on the surface over a month. Was she
someone he could trust?

Her eyes were steady as if she were checking him out as well. "Ten minutes?" she asked.

He nodded. "Sure. IтАЩll meet you at the north end." Oshatsh vanished behind the limb of Shadow as he
said this, and the sounds of the surrounding forest changed as the light dimmed.

***

Akil returned to his hut and found a fresh set of coveralls; they were light and roomy and as tough as a
fabric made from local fibers could be. They had an open weave to allow plenty of circulation, but he
started sweating almost as soon as he put them on. He pulled on some lightweight boots made from a stiff
open weave with gripping soles made from some hardened local resin.

His field kit was still packed from his previous foray, but he double-checked it. It held nutrient
supplement pills, a roll of tissue, a pack of medical patches of various sizes, a polished obsidian knife in a
fabric sheath, a mesh water flask lined with a rubbery native leaf, and some other useful things made of
materials unlikely to surprise any natives. If, he reminded himself, they really had the wits to be surprised.
He slipped the kit onto his back.

Thinking of the nutrient pills, he took a couple and gulped them down with a glass of water. They could
forage for bulk; several Hazian fruits and leaves were edible, though of incomplete nutritional value. Thus
equipped, he hurried out the door to their rendezvous and waited.