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

almost as if he had spent half a lifetime walking through long white corridors, and now here was yet
another oneтАФcold and antiseptic, hanging in space eight light-years from Earth.
тАЬHalt.тАЭ
тАЬLang here,тАЭ he told the Fleetman. тАЬKindly point that thing the other way.тАЭ
тАЬIdentification, please.тАЭ
Lang sighed and handed it over. The man should know him by now; after all, the ship was on his
mission, and he was hardly a subversive character. Still, orders were ordersтАФa principle that covered a
multitude of sins. And they couldnтАЩt afford to take chances, not any chances.
тАЬAll right, sir,тАЭ the Fleetman said, returning the identification. тАЬSorry to bother you.тАЭ
тАЬForget it,тАЭ said Conan Lang. тАЬKeep your eye peeled for space pirates.тАЭ
The guard smiled. тАЬWhoтАЩd want to steal space, sir?тАЭ he asked. тАЬItтАЩs free and I reckon thereтАЩs enough
to go around.тАЭ
тАЬYour inning,тАЭ acknowledged Conan Lang, moving into the afterhold. The kid was already there.
тАЬHello, sir,тАЭ said Andrew Irvin.
тАЬHi, AndyтАФand cut the тАШsir,тАЩ what do you say? You make me feel like I should be extinct or
embalmed or something.тАЭ
The kid smiled almost shyly. Conan Lang had half expected to find him there in the hold; Andy was
always poking around, asking questions, trying to learn. His quick brown eyes and alert carriage
reminded Conan of a young hunting dog, frisking through the brush, perpetually on the verge of flushing
the grandfather of all jack rabbits.
тАЬIt doesnтАЩt seem possible, does it?тАЭ asked the kid.
Conan Lang raised his eyebrows.
тАЬAll this, I mean,тАЭ Andy Irvin said, gesturing at the neat brown sacks stacked row upon row in the
brightly lighted hold. тАЬTo think that a couple of sacks of that stuff can remold a planet, change the lives of
millions of peopleтАФтАЭ
тАЬItтАЩs not just the sacks, Andy. It took man a good many hundreds of thousands of years to learn what
to do with those sacks.тАЭ
тАЬYes, sir,тАЭ the kid said, hanging on every word.
тАЬNo тАШsir,тАЩ remember? IтАЩm not giving you a lecture, and you donтАЩt have to look attentive. IтАЩm sure that
elementary anthropology isnтАЩt too dumfounding to a guy who took honors at the Academy.тАЭ
тАЬWellтАФтАЭ
 тАЬNever mind.тАЭ Conan Lang eyed him speculatively. The kid reminded him, almost too much, of
someone elseтАФa kid named Conan Lang who had started out on a great adventure himself too many
years ago. тАЬIтАж um-m-mтАж guess you know youтАЩre going to work with me on Ten.тАЭ
Andy looked like Conan had just handed him a harem on a silver platter. тАЬNo, sir,тАЭ he said. тАЬI didnтАЩt
know. Thank you, sir.тАЭ
тАЬThe name is Conan.тАЭ
тАЬYes, sir.тАЭ
тАЬHellfire,тАЭ said Conan Lang. How did you go about telling a kid that you were happy to have
someone around with stars in his eyes again? Without sounding like a fool? The answer was simpleтАФyou
didnтАЩt.
тАЬI canтАЩt wait,тАЭ Andy said. тАЬTo really do something at lastтАФitтАЩs a great feeling. I hope IтАЩll do O.K.тАЭ
тАЬIt wonтАЩt be long now, Andy. Twenty-four hours from now you and I go to work. The buggy ride is
about over.тАЭ
The two men fell silent then, looking at the neat brown rows of sacks, feeling the star ship tremble
slightly under them with the thunder of her great atomics.


It was night on Sirius TenтАФa hot, humid night with a single moon hanging like frozen fire in the
darkness. A small patrol craft from the cruiser floated motionless in the night sky, her batteries pouring