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

about conjecture and theory, but some of the others do. They squirm. HeтАЩs
lost the attention he worked so hard to gain.

It takes Karl a while to shut my father down, but he finally does. Then
Karl looks at me as if my fatherтАЩs lack of social graces are my fault.

I give Karl a half smile and a shrug.

Karl gets my father to sit. Then Karl sets up the dive roster for the
following dayтАФBria piloting one of the four-man skips (so that our teams
donтАЩt have to free dive to get into far sections of the station) and Davida,
Jennifer, and Mikk in the upper habitatsтАФwith a promise of more when we
meet that night.

The team shifts, but this time it isnтАЩt because of my fatherтАЩs
long-windedness. ItтАЩs because theyтАЩre excited.

ItтАЩs because theyтАЩre ready.

We all are.

****

For the next three weeks, we dive the station, making detailed maps,
exploring the new and old habitats, sharing small discoveries.

Every night we meet in the lounge and watch the captured imagery of
that dayтАЩs dives. The divers narrate and the others ask questions. That way,
we all have the same information.

We learn quite a few thingsтАФthe built-in furniture is the same in all of
the habitats, although in the тАЬnewтАЭ section, as Karl likes to call it, itтАЩs not
dented or warped or even scratched.

The new sections contain a few other thingsтАФremotes attached to
entertainment equipment, equipment that doesnтАЩt seem to work тАЬalthough it
might if we can find a good way to power the entire station,тАЭ my father says.
тАЬMaybe the entertainment programming is supposed to come from the
damaged central area.тАЭ

I donтАЩt like having my father in the lounge at night. HeтАЩs not methodical
and heтАЩs given to supposition. I think supposition is deadly. Karl finds it
fascinating, but he can separate out the supposition from fact.

IтАЩm not sure some of the younger divers can. Although they
occasionally find my father long-winded, they seem to like him. They may
even admire him.

I donтАЩt ask anyone what they think of him, not that theyтАЩd give me an
honest opinion. Everyone is aware that he is my father and that we arenтАЩt on