"Kim Stanley Robinson - Icehenge" - читать интересную книгу автора (Robinson Kim Stanley)

ships."
I let out a long sigh of relief. Yet sudden anguish filled me at the thought of the mess I
was suddenly in, of the fanatics who now had control of my life, and I cried out, "Eric,
you knew this was going to happen out here. Why didn't you arrange to keep me off this
flight?"
He looked away from me, pushed himself down to the floor. Red-faced, he said, "I did
the opposite, Emma."
"You what?"
"There are MSA people in the expedition scheduling office, and" -- still staring at the
floor -- "I told them to arrange for you to be aboard Rust Eagle this time."
"But, Swann!" I said, struggling for words. "Why? Why did you do that to me?"
"Well -- because, Emma, you're one of the best life-support systems designers there is
on Mars, or anywhere. Everyone knows that, you know that. And even though our
systems designers have got a lot of improvements for the starship, they still have to be
installed in those two ships, and made to work. And we have to do it before the
Committee police find us. Your help could make the difference, Emma."
"Oh, Swann."
"It could! Look, I knew it was imposing on you, but I thought, if we got you out here
ignorant of our plans, then you couldn't be held responsible. When you return to Mars
you can tell them you didn't know anything about the MSA, that we made you help us.
That was why I didn't tell you anything on the way out here, don't you see? And I know
you aren't that strong a supporter of the Committee, are you? They're just a bunch of
thugs. So that if your old friends asked you for help that only you can give, and you
couldn't be held culpable, you might help? Even if it was illegal?" He looked up at me,
his blue eyes grave.
"You're asking for the impossible," I told him. "Your MSA has lost touch with reality.
You're talking about travel across light-years, for God's sake, and you've got five-year
systems to do it with!"
"They can be modified," Swann insisted. "Davydov will explain the whole project
when you see him. He wants to talk with you as soon as you'd like to."
"Davydov," I said darkly. "He's the one behind this madness."
"We're all behind it, Emma. And it isn't mad."
I waved an arm and held my head in my hands, as it was pulsing with all the bad
news. "Just leave me alone for a while."
"Sure," he said. "I know it's a lot to take in. Just tell me when you want to see
Davydov. He's over on Hidalgo."
"I'll tell you," I said, and looked at the wall until he left the room.

I had better tell about Oleg Davydov here, for we were lovers once, and for me the
memory of him was marked with pain and anger, and a sense of loss -- loss that no matter
how long I lived could not be recouped or forgotten.
I was just out of the University of Mars, working at the Hellas Basin, in the new
settlement near the western edge of the Basin where underground reservoirs and aquifers
had been discovered. It was a good supply of water, but the situation was delicate, and
the use of the water caused ecologic problems. I was set to work with others to solve
these problems, and I quickly proved that I was the best among the systems people there.
I had a grasp of the whole Hellas set-up that seemed perfectly natural to me, but was (I
could see) impressive to others. And I was a good middle-distance runner -- so that all in
all, I was a confident youth, perhaps even a bit arrogant.
During my second year there I met Oleg Davydov. He was staying in Burroughs, the