"Kristine Kathryn Rusch - The Room of Lost Souls" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rusch Kristine Kathryn)

was the edge of the sector.

The last recorded place anyone saw Ewing Trekov alive.

****

By all rights, this little outpost should be famous. It is not only the last
place Ewing Trekov was seen alive, but it is also the place that he and the
other commanders planned their strategy.

Military outposts are security minded. They make places like
Longbow Station seem lawless. So IтАЩve come with letters of introduction
from a general whom I supervised on tourist dives, a colonel who has
known me since I began my career, and a government official who testifies
to the fact that my research is never for public purposes, only to find
important тАЬhistorical information.тАЭ

I also have a letter of explanation from Riya Trekov, giving me
permission to look into her familyтАЩs confidential files. I have no idea if such
a letter will open doors for meтАФI have never researched a human subject
beforeтАФbut I figure such a letter canтАЩt hurt.

This outpost is top of the line. The materials in the public areas are
new and smell faintly of recently assembled metal. The lighting is set higher
than any IтАЩve seen in a commercial outpost and the environmental systems
are running at maximum comfort.

My tax dollars keep these soldiers in relative luxury, at least for
space-farers. Most off-duty personnel walk around in shirt-sleeves and thin
pants. Anyone on Longbow wearing such flimsy clothing would freeze.

I am given a bracelet that opens doors to the sections of the outpost
IтАЩm allowed in. IтАЩve been given a guest suiteтАФthey donтАЩt call civilian quarters
berths hereтАФand with the suite comes the suggestion that I use it instead
of staying shipside.

The suite is larger than the captainтАЩs cabins on most luxury yachts. It
doesnтАЩt take me long to find out that IтАЩm in one of the VIP rooms, courtesy,
it seems, of my ties with the general. His letter, which I scan after I look at
my quarters, asks that the military treat me like one of their own.
 Apparently they take that to mean they should treat me as they would
treat him.

My roomsтАФand I have five of themтАФall have a view of the concentric
rings, as well as a private kitchen (along with a personal chef should I not
want cafeteria food), a valet should I require it, and a daily cleaning service.
I donтАЩt require a valet or room cleaning service (although I know they wonтАЩt
waive that entirely), and I stress, at every opportunity, how much I value my
privacy.