"Paul Preuss - Venus Prime 1 - Breaking Strain" - читать интересную книгу автора (Preuss Paul)

to him with a thin smile. The doctor smiled back. Though in fact they had met every week for the past
year, her point was takenтАУagain. Yes, any sane person would know she was in a doctorтАЩs office. Her
smile faded and she turned back to the window.

тАЬDo you know where you are?тАЭ

тАЬNo. They brought me here during the night. Usually IтАЩm in . . . the program.тАЭ

тАЬWhere is that?тАЭ

тАЬIn . . . Maryland.тАЭ

тАЬWhat is the name of the program?тАЭ

тАЬI . . .тАЭ She hesitated. A frown creased her brow.

тАЬ. . . I canтАЩt tell you that.тАЭ

тАЬCan you remember it?тАЭ

Her eyes flashed angrily. тАЬItтАЩs not on the white side.тАЭ

тАЬYou mean itтАЩs classified?тАЭ

тАЬYes. I canтАЩt tell anyone without a Q clearance.тАЭ

тАЬI have a Q clearance, Linda.тАЭ



file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry/Bureaub...0-%20Venus%20Prime%201%20-%20Breaking%20Strain.html (4 of 182)23-12-2006 18:54:42
 ARTHUR C. CLARKE'S VENUS PRIME: VOLUME I

тАЬThat is not my name. How do I know you have a clearance? If my father tells me I can talk to you
about the program, I will.тАЭ

He had often told her that her parents were dead. Invariably she greeted the news with disbelief. If he did
not repeat it within five or ten minutes, she promptly forgot; if, however, he persisted, trying to persuade
her, she became wild with confusion and griefтАУonly to recover her sad calm a few minutes after he
relented. He had long since ceased to torture her with temporary horrors.

Of all his patients, she was the one who most excited his frustration and regret. He longed to restore her
lost core and he believed he could do it, if her keepers would permit him to.

Frustrated, bored perhaps, he abandoned the script of the interview. тАЬWhat do you see out there?тАЭ he
asked.

тАЬTrees. Mountains.тАЭ Her voice was a longing whisper. тАЬSnow on the ground.тАЭ

If he were to continue the routine they had established, a routine he remembered but she did not, he