"Severna Park - The Three Unknowns" - читать интересную книгу автора (Park Severna)

that ridiculous rumor surfaced about human remains. Althea sipped. Hoshi'd had too much time to make
plans. Plotting was part of her nature, but this time she wasn't going to take Althea by surprise.

I look forward to seeing you again, Althea, said Hoshi. I'll send someone to meet you at the
Western entrance of the ground station. She smiled with terribly chapped lips and turned the recorder
off.

Althea smiled back at the dark screen. Those who had the power to exile also had the power to
appropriate whatever the exile managed to find. The hand that gives can also take away.




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Act II




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The J. Nessepah landed without fanfare and without serving dinner. It was midnight on Mars, and except
for a pair of disinterested security guards, the ground station was deserted. The lights were dimmed to
save power, and the heat had been turned way down. Althea could see her breath as she passed the
station's food court, which was closed for the night. Captain Rowanoake fell in beside her, and the two
of them followed the rest of the Nessepah's passengers past the famous First McDonald's on Mars, its
neighbor, a dingy looking Thai buffet, and then the darkened entrance of The Fourth World, which
served protein supplements in twelve flavors.
Althea's stomach growled. She shouldered her backpack, stumbling in the light gravity. The station was
built with low ceilings and hard angles. It made her feel claustrophobic, and she was afraid if she pushed
too hard against the floor she'd soar up and hit her head on the ceiling. The gravity on the J. Nessepah
had been reduced over the last few weeks to help the passengers make the adjustment. It gave Althea
indigestion while everyone else amused themselves with Galilean experiments with falling objects. She
eyed Rowanoake loping along beside her, as graceful as a dancer.

"How're you getting to the dig site?" asked the Captain in a tone that said I could drive you.

"They're sending someone to pick me up." Althea stopped at an intersection of low, unlit hallways. There
were signs, but they were impossible to see. She knew if she appeared the least bit indecisive,
Rowanoake would start giving her directions and the two of them would end up traveling to the Candor
dig site together. The prospect of hours of his company inspired her to make a quick left toward what
she hoped was the Western Exit of the station, where Hoshi had told her to go. Rowanoake jogged
lightly along beside her.

"I had a question about the other site," he said.