"Phillip Francis Nowlan - Buck Rogers 01 - Armageddon 2419" - читать интересную книгу автора (Nowlan Philip Francis)

the wreck. He busied himself with this after the three of us leaped down to the Han ship, serving as a
target himself, while he called on the men individually to aim their pieces and lock them in position.
In the meantime Wilma and I climbed into the wreckage, but did not find much. Practically all of the
instruments and machinery had been twisted out of an recognizable shape, or utterly destroyed by the
ship's disintegrator rays which apparenfly had continued to operate in the midst of its warped remains for
some moments after the crash.
 It was unpleasant work searching the mangled bodies of the crew. But it had to be done. The Han
clothing, I observed, was quite different from that of the Americans, and more like the garb to which I
had been accustomed in the earlier part of my life. It was made of synthetic fabrics like silks, loose
and comfortable trousers of knee length, and sleeveless shirts.
No protection, except that against drafts, was needed, Wilma explained to me, for the Han cities were
entirely enclosed, with splendid arrangements for ventilation and heating. These arrangements of course
were equally adequate in their airships. The Hans, indeed, had quite a distaste for unshaded daylight,
since their lighting apparatus diffused a controlled amount of ultraviolet rays, making the unmodified
sunlight unnecessary for health, and undesirable for comfort. Since the Hans did not have the secret of
inertron, none of them wore anti-gravity belts. Yet in spite of the fact that they had to bear their own full
weight at all times, they were physically far inferior to the Americans. They lived lives of physical inertia,
having machinery of every description for the performance of all labor, and convenient conveyances for
any movement of more than a few steps.
Even from the twisted wreckage of this ship I could see that seats, chairs and couches played an
extremely linportant part in their scheme of existence.
But none of the bodies were overweight. They seemed have been the bodies of men in good health, but
muscularly much underdeveloped. Wilma explained to me that they had mastered the science of gland
control,
and of course dietetics, to the point where men and women among them not uncommonly reached the
age of
a hundred years with arteries and general health in splendid condition.
I did not have time to study the ship and its contents ts carefully as I would have liked, however. Time
pressed, and it was our business to discover some clue tothe deadly accuracy with which the ship had
spotted the Wyoming Works.
The Boss had hardly finished his arrangements for the Ting barrage, when one of the scouts on an
eminence to the north, announced the approach of seven Han ships7 spread out in a great semicircle.
Hart leaped for the hillside, calling to us to do like-wise, but Wilma and I had raised the flaps of our
helmets and switched off our "speakers" for conversation between ourselves, and by the time we
discovered what had happened, the ships were clearly visible, so fast were they approaching.
"Jump!" we heard the Boss order, "Deering to the north. Rogers to the east"
But Wilma looked at me meaningly and pointed to where the twisted plates of the ship, projecting
from the; ground, offered a shelter.
"Too late, Boss," she said. "They'd see us. Besides I think there's something here we ought to look at.
It's It'sprobably their magnetic graph."
"You're signing your death warrant," Hart warned.
"We'll risk it," said Wilma and I together.
"Good for you," replied the Boss. "Take command then, Rogers, for the present. Do you all know his
voice, boys?"
A chorus of assent rang in our ears, and I began to do some fast thinking as the girl and I ducked into
the twisted mass of metal
"Wilma, hunt for that record," I said, knowing that b the simple process of talking I could keep the
entir command continuously informed as to the situation. "0n the hillsides, keep your guns trained on
the circles an stand by. On the hilltops, how many of you are there Speak in rotation from Bald Knob
around to the easi north, west."