"Mike Resnick - Birthright" - читать интересную книгу автора (Resnick Mike)

тАЬThen what do you suggest?тАЭ

тАЬI don't know. We'll just keep trying. Sooner or later we've got to learn something about this goddamn
planet.тАЭ

Bowman was right. They did learn something, two days later. The Pioneers had sent off their last dozen
probes with very little hope of any results, but one of them remained functional long enough to report the
presence of life on or beneath the surface.

тАЬThat's crazy!тАЭ said Bowman. тАЬWhat in hell could possibly be living down there?'тАЩ

тАЬWe're not going to know until we can get our hands on some more probes,тАЭ said Nelson.

тАЬWe've got to find some way to make contact with them,тАЭ said Bowman. тАЬThey're the only way we're
ever going to beat this dizzy world. You know all that bitching I did about the Master Computer a few
days ago?тАЭ

Nelson nodded.

тАЬForget it,тАЭ said Bowman. тАЬThis time I think we're going to need it.тАЭ

Nelson offered no objection, and a few hours later their ship's computer was tied in. It fed the Master
Computer every piece of data available about the planet and waited far the gigantic machine to
hypothesize the makeup of the inhabitants. Its conclusion was less than comforting.

тАЬAccording to the Big Brain,тАЭ said Bowman, checking the readout, тАЬthe little bastards feed on energy.
Which figures, I suppose; I don't know what the hell else they could feed on. But it also means that
they're not going to bend over backwards to help us siphon it away from the planet.тАЭ He paused. тАЬAs
long as we're still tied in, and in hock for half the contract, we might as well see what it says about landing
our miners on the surface.тАЭ

It saidno about as emphatically as a computer can say anything.

There was still time for one more question, so Bowman decided to see if the Master Computer could
come up with any alternative to forfeiting the contract.

It could.

тАЬWell, I'll be damned!тАЭ said Bowman as he looked at the readout.

тАЬWhat does it say?тАЭ asked Nelson.

тАЬIt says, in effect, that since we can't bring Mohammed to the mountain, our alternative is to bring the
mountain to Mohammed.тАЭ

тАЬTranslated from the Biblical, what does that mean?тАЭ

тАЬIt means that instead of trying to land men on Bowman 29, we can funnel off the energy into a force
field and send it across the galaxy.тАЭ