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

creature.тАЭ

тАЬAnd thatтАЩs where youтАЩre wrong.тАЭ Peregrine laughed and shrugged. тАЬJust as I
hoped, I climbed into her bed. And during one of our slow moments, she admitted
who she was.тАЭ

тАЬAnd she is?тАЭ

тАЬAn engineer during the War. She was working in the repair yards while my
mother was serving as a pilot. So like you, my new girlfriend is one of the original
founders.тАЭ

тАЬInteresting,тАЭ his friend responded.

тАЬFusillade is her name,тАЭ he mentioned. тАЬAnd she seems to know you.тАЭ

тАЬYet I do not know her.тАЭ

Then Peregrine added, тАЬAnd by the way, she very clearly remembers your
arrival here.тАЭ

Fourteen moon-sized rocket nozzles stood upon the Great ShipтАЩs aft, and
during the fighting, the center nozzle served as the gathering place for tired pilots and
engineers and such. Once the fighting ended, representatives of twenty different
species found themselves trapped in this most unpromising location, utterly isolated,
with few working machines, minimal data sinks, and no raw materials. Facing them
was the daunting task of building some kind of workable society. Hawking was a
rarityтАФthe rich passenger who had visited the hull before the comets began to fall,
and who managed to outlive both his guides and fellow tourists. Alone, this solitary
creature had scaled one of the outlying nozzles, and then his luck lasted long enough
to find passage with a harum-scarum unitтАФthe final group of refugees to make it to
this poor but safe place.

тАЬShe feels sorry for you, Hawking.тАЭ

тАЬWhy would she?тАЭ

тАЬBecause youтАЩre a species with a population of one.тАЭ

The alien was unimpressed with that assessment. He cut the air with two
limbs, his natural mouth rippling before leaking a disapproving click.

тАЬI know better than that,тАЭ Peregrine continued. тАЬI told her that youтАЩre a loner,
that itтАЩs difficult for you to share breathing space with me, and you know me and
approve of me far more than you know and approve of anyone else.тАЭ

The creature had no reply.

тАШтАЬWhy call him Hawking?тАЩ she asked me. тАШNobody else does.тАЩтАЭ