"Robert Reed - Decency" - читать интересную книгу автора (Reed Robert)

Decency
Robert Reed


THE VENERABLE old Hubble telescope saw it first. A silvery splash
moving against the stars, the object proved enormous тАФlarger than some
worlds тАФand it was faster than anything human-built, still out among the
comets but coming, the first touch of cold light just beginning to brake its
terrific fall. "It's a light sail," astronomers announced, giddy as children,
drunk by many means. "Definitely artificial. Probably automated. No
crew, minimal mass. Photons move the thing, and even accounting for
deceleration, it's going to make a quick flyby of the Earth."

By the time the sail crossed Saturn's orbit, a three-inch reflector cost its
weight in platinum. Amateur astronomers were quitting their day jobs in
order to spend nights plotting trajectories. Novice astronomers, some
armed with nothing but binoculars or rifle sights, risked frostbite for the
privilege of a glimpse. But it was the professionals who remained the most
excited: every topflight facility in the northern hemisphere studied the
object, measuring its mass, its albedo, its vibrations, and its damage
тАФragged mile-wide punctures scattered across its vast surface, probably
stemming from collisions with interstellar comets. The sail's likely point of
origin was a distant G-class sun; its voyage must have taken a thousand
years, perhaps more. Astronomers tried to contact the automated pilot.
Portions of the radio spectrum were cleared voluntarily for better
listening. Yet nothing was heard, ever. The only sign of a pilot was a
subtle, perhaps accidental, twisting of the sail, the pressure of sunlight
altering its course, the anticipated flyby of the Earth becoming an impact
event.

Insubstantial as a soap bubble, the sail offered little risk to people or
property. Astronomers said so. Military and political people agreed with
them. And despite Hollywood conventions, there was no great panic
among the public. No riots. No religious upheavals. A few timid souls took
vacations to New Zealand and Australia, but just as many southerners
came north to watch the spectacle. There were a few ugly moments
involving the susceptible and the emotionally troubled; but generally
people responded with curiosity, a useful fatalism, and the gentle
nervousness that comes with a storm front or a much-anticipated football
game.

The world watched the impact. Some people used television, others
bundled up and stepped outdoors. In the end, the entire northern sky was
shrouded with the brilliant sail. In the end, as the Earth's gravity
embraced it, scientists began to find structures within its thin, thin fabric.
Like a spiderweb, but infinitely more complex, there were fibers and veins
that led to a central region тАФ a square mile of indecipherable
machineryтАФand the very last images showed damaged machines, the sail's
tiny heart wounded by a series of swift murderous collisions.