"Bruce Holland Rogers - Big Far Now" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rogers Bruce Holland)

kilometers, the range of my sensors, the planet is composed chiefly of silicates and aluminum ores.
There's a iron-nickel layer underneath that is in evidence at some point on or near the surface. Under
that, who knows what makes this little ball so massive?" I looked at Meeker. "Could someone get me
some water?"
"Just finish," Meeker said.
I cleared my throat again. "The point is that the elements that are rare in our home system are present
in traces too small to be worth the expense of export. So overall, this is a poor planet for mining." I
looked at Joanna. "Except for Mount Meeker." The Shy was watching me with its dark, round eyes.
How much did it understand of what was going on?
"Sky Mountain," Joanna said.
"Pardon?"
"Sky Mountain. The proper name, the Shy name, is Sky Mountain."
A couple of people chuckled.
"O.K.," I said. "Sky Mountain. Anyway, it's an anomaly. Under a layer of unremarkable silicates, my
subsurface survey revealed a tremendous collection of metals there: gallium, mercury, chromium...."
It really is an anomaly, I thought. What's all this stuff doing lumped together like that? I rubbed my
temples.
"Dr. Balas?"
I looked up at Meeker.
I rifled through my notes. My hand was shaking ever so slightly. Rum was illegal for good reasons.
"Gold," I read from the sheet I was looking for, "and silver, tin, zinc, thallium, manganese, germanium,
cobalt, titanium. A few others in smaller concentrations. They're not all rare back home, but some of
them are. And we have them in sufficient quantities to turn a very large profit very quickly."
"I like that phrase," Meeker said: "'large profit very quickly.'"
About half the people in the room laughed.
"How certain are you," Joanna said, "that the metals are there?"
"Absolutely certain. We double-checked our readings, and we repeated them again two days ago to
be absolutely sure. The goods are down there. We just have to get them out."
"And how long would we have to work, probably, to get the metals out, refine them, and start them on
their way home?"
"A year," I said. There was a happy murmur in the room. "Maybe a year and a half."
"Then let's wait," Joanna said.
The murmur stopped.
"Wait?" said Meeker.
Joanna nodded. "Let's give Dr. Suhl and the others a chance to find an alternative resource."
The murmur picked up again. "But what on earth for?" Meeker said above the voices.
The Shy swayed under Joanna's hand. "For the sake of the Shies," Joanna said.
"I don't get it," I said.
Joanna shot me a glance that said, You're supposed to be on my side.
"I'd like Mowza to help me explain," Joanna said.
Then a small, scratchy voice said, "Pacho, Mowza talk now?"
And all fell silent. We had heard Shies speak, but on Joanna's audio chips, never live and in person
like this.
"Everyone," Joanna said, "this is Mowza. I hope you'll all appreciate what an act of will it has been for
him to come into an open place like this, to be around so many Bigs, as he calls us." Chuckles. "But he
has an important message to share, and he knows it.
"O.K.," she said to the creature. "Mowza talk now with Carpaccio."
The creature grinned at us.
"Who these?" Joanna said, indicating us.
"Big. Far far, Pacho."