"Chad Oliver - Blood's a Rover" - читать интересную книгу автора (Oliver Chad)

eyes of Fritz Gottleib following him, cold and deep like the frozen waters of an arctic sea.


The ship stood on Earth but she was not of Earth. She was poised, a mighty lance of silver, a creature
of the deeps. She waited, impatient, while Conan Lang slowly walked across the vast duralloy tarmac of
Space One, Admiral White at his side. The sun was bright in a clean blue sky. It touched the ship with
lambent flame and warmed Conan LangтАЩs shoulders under his uniform. A slight puff of breeze rustled
across the spaceport, pushing along a stray scrap of white paper ahead of it.
 тАЬHere we go again,тАЭ said Conan Lang.
тАЬThatтАЩs what you get for being good,тАЭ the admiral said with a smile. тАЬYou get good enough and youтАЩll
get my jobтАФwhich ought to be a grim enough prospect even for you. If youтАЩre smart, youтАЩll botch this
job six ways from Sunday and then weтАЩll have to give you a rest.тАЭ
тАЬYeahтАФplay a little joke, strictly for laughs, and give тАЩem an atom bomb or two to stick on the ends
of their hatchets. Or take тАЩem back to the caves. There are plenty of delicious possibilities.тАЭ
The two men walked on, toward the silver ship.
тАЬEverythingтАЩs set, I suppose?тАЭ asked Conan Lang.
тАЬYep. Your staff is already on board and the stuff is loaded.тАЭ
тАЬAny further instructions?тАЭ
тАЬNoтАФyou know your business or you wouldnтАЩt be going. Just try to make it as quick as you can,
Cone. TheyтАЩre getting warm over on Research on that integration-acceleration principle for correlating
dataтАФitтАЩs going to be big and IтАЩll want you around when it breaks.тАЭ
Conan Lang grinned. тАЬWhat happens if I just up and disappear one day, Nels? Does the galaxy moan
and lie down and quit?тАЭ
тАЬSearch me,тАЭ said Admiral Nelson White. тАЬBut donтАЩt take any more risks than you absolutely have
to. DonтАЩt get the idea that youтАЩre indispensable, either. ItтАЩs just that itтАЩs tiresome to break in new men.тАЭ
тАЬIтАЩll try to stay alive if youтАЩre positive thatтАЩs what you want.тАЭ
They approached the ship. Kit and Rob were waiting. The admiral touched his cap and moved on,
leaving Conan Lang alone with his family. Kit was lovelyтАФshe always was, Conan Lang thought. He
couldnтАЩt imagine a life without her.
тАЬBye, darlinтАЩ,тАЭ he whispered, taking her in his arms: тАЬOne of these days IтАЩm coming back and IтАЩm
never going to leave you again.тАЭ
тАЬThis is till then,тАЭ Kit said softly and kissed him for keeps.
Much later, Conan Lang released her and shook hands with his son.
тАЬSo long, old-timer,тАЭ he said.
тАЬHurry back, Dad,тАЭ Rob said, trying not to cry.
Conan Lang turned and joined Admiral White at the star cruiser. He did not look back.
тАЬGood luck, Cone,тАЭ the admiral said, patting him on the back. тАЬIтАЩll keep the medals warm and a light
in the cabin window.тАЭ
тАЬO.K., Nels,тАЭ said Conan Lang.
He swung aboard the great ship and stepped into the lift. There was a muted hum of machinery as the
car whispered up through the pneumatic tube, up into the hollowness of the ship. Already it seemed to
Conan Lang that he had left Earth far behind him. The endless-loneliness of the star trails rode up with
him in the humming lift.
The ship rested, quiescent, on Earth. Ahead of her, calling to her, the stars flamed coldly in an infinite
sea of night.
 II.

Conan Lang walked down the long white corridor to the afterhold, his footsteps muffled and almost
inaudible in the murmur of the atomics. It would be a long white corridor, he thought to himself.
Wherever man went, there went the long white corridorsтАФoffices, hospitals, command posts. It was