"Emil Petaja - Alpha Yes, Terra No!" - читать интересную книгу автора (Petaja Emil)

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Alpha Yes, Terra No! by
Emil Petaja


PART ONE
THE SEARCH
I
Francisco is a great town for tourists and this tourist came a long way.
He arrived about ten one brisk November night, without baggage, without
notice. First there was only the silent fog and the low wind mourning
through the bulky pier sheds along the Embarkadero. Then he was there.
He looked out at the dark befogged waters, listened to tugboat hoots and a
symphony of foghorns from Hunter's Point to the Farallons, smelled the
salt chemical ocean smells, felt the windy wetness on the bare parts of his
body. The fog, the waters gurgling in the piles below, the iodine tang, even
the sharp windтАФnone of this was unpleasant to him.

It was incredible to be standing here like this. He could hardly believe
he'd made it. A rustling and crunch of un-seen boots at the entrance to the
large building with the tower clock on it reminded him with a thrill who
he wasтАФ where he was, and that it wasn't prudent to stand here in the fog,
gawking tourist-like. He'd better change, quickly. They must not see him
as he was. The mission that had brought him here, in defiance of the High
Tribunal itself, was too important for him to mess it up now. He had work
to do.
 He darted back into dark shadows for a final breath before the initial
plunge into the life-stream of this sadistic, inimical world. At this moment
he experienced a sudden clutch of cold fear. 'They were so primitive.

He must be careful. Nobody must suspect.

He decided on an amorphous all-purpose body just for now, setting a
hypnotic aura to work in his immediate vicinity. Dodging a hurtling taxi
and an empty Number 8 bus, he crossed the Embarkadero under the
shadow of the overhead freeway and started down Market Street under
the diffuse lemon glow of the street lamps. Like a chameleon, his
appearance would be that which was expected in the milieu; soon he
would have to take on a specific personality, for individual contact.
Meanwhile, he would feel his way. Very carefully.

"Got a butt, buddy?"