"Jerry Pournelle - Extreme Prejudice" - читать интересную книгу автора (Pournelle Jerry)

caught an economic saboteur and put him away at Lewisburg. Our director decided he knew too much
and would probably be exchanged, so they sent me in after him. I tagged him in two weeks, but it took
another six to spring me, and by the time I came out I looked like a slug. I felt like one, too. Ever since
then, IтАЩve been sure prisons donтАЩt rehabilitate anyone. Problem is, what does?
тАЬThis is Gideon Starr,тАЭ Peterson said. тАЬAdmiral Kingsley.тАЭ
We exchanged pleasantries and Kingsley offered drinks. I took mine and sat in a big
government-issue easy-chair, the kind they have in the Pentagon, or at Langley. It seemed like an old
friend.
тАЬMr. Starr,тАЭ said Kingsley, тАЬyouтАЩve got real pull. WeтАЩve never had a visitor here with an endorsement
like yours, from the Secretary.тАЭ
And if youтАЩre lucky you wonтАЩt again, I thought, but I said, тАЬWell, itтАЩs getting close to budget review
time. A few enthusiastic articles wouldnтАЩt hurt your research appropriation.тАЭ
He smiled at that, and Peterson practically beamed. тАЬThatтАЩs a fact,тАЭ Peterson muttered. тАЬActually, if
theyтАЩd just let us keep some of the profits weтАЩd be all right. How many research efforts actually make
money?тАЭ
I shrugged. тАЬIтАЩll do my best, anyway.тАЭ
Kingsley beamed this time. тАЬWell. WeтАЩre to show you around and then let you direct yourself,тАЭ he
said. тАЬOrientationтАЩll take a while, though. ThereтАЩs a lot here, Mr. Starr. And a lot of ways for a man who
doesnтАЩt know what heтАЩs doing to get killed.тАЭ
тАЬYeah.тАЭ There were a lot of ways for a man who did know what he was doing to get killed, too.
Most of тАЬem had been tried on me at one time or another. тАЭIтАЩve got a diverтАЩs, card, and some
underwater experience,тАЬ I said. тАЭI think I know what to look out for.тАЬ
тАЬItтАЩs a start,тАЭ Kingsley agreed. тАЬWell, you may as well begin sightseeing.тАЭ He reached out to his desk
console Sad pushed a button,. Curtains opened on the wall behind him.
There were artificial lights, as well as the sunlight filtering down to this depth. Big fronds waved in
slow motion, an underwater forest just outside his office. I could barely see the grid that held the kelp
below us. There were shelves sticking out of every structure and shaft, and lots of shafts. Coral in , bright
reds and blues grew from the shelves, and barnacles, and shellfishтАФthere and on long lines that dangled
down from the surface. Fish darted through тАЬthe kelp fronds. It was a dynamic color picture thatтАЩd never
come through on a TV. screen. I couldnтАЩt wait to get out there in it, and I told them so.
They exchanged grins. I expect every tourist says the same thing. If anybody could visit that place
and not want to get outside, he was dead or might as well be.
тАЬYes. Well, perhaps first an orientation tour?тАЭ Peterson said. тАЬI really donтАЩt know how familiar you
are with what weтАЩre doing here at Dansworth.тАЭ
тАЬNot at all,тАЭ I told him. тАЬIтАЩm primarily an aerospace writer. IтАЩve done some diving, but not much
serious study of seapower stations. YouтАЩd better assume I donтАЩt know anything at all.тАЭ
The nice part about it was I was telling the truth. Not all of it, but no lies.
The admiral hit another button and more curtains opened. There was a 3-D map behind them, a
holograph tank, and by manipulating his desk console he could show things at different levels. He started
with the bare floor of the Pacific. It was crosshatched with very regular lines, a checkerboard of racks in
the bottom, and about sixteen thousand feet deep. Dansworth Seamount rose steeply from the -floor to
within seven hundred feet of the surface. It stood there all by itself, with nothing around, at least not on
that map.
тАЬDansworth,тАЭ Peterson said. тАЬThe deep gash next to it is Shatterton Fissure. The geologists are
having a field day here.тАЭ
тАЬUm.тАЭ I wasnтАЩt really interested in the geology. The theories change every year, so whatтАЩs the point in
studying up on them? I like technology, though, and IтАЩm a pretty good writer. I think I could make a living
at it even if Langley didnтАЩt use influence to get my stuff placed in important magazines. IтАЩll never find out,
of course. You donтАЩt quit in my job. I didnтАЩt want to, anyway.
Kingsley did something to the console and the scale changed to show only Dansworth Seamount and