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

the best of terms.

Indeed, everyone else talks to him more than I do.

Including Riya, who daily complains that we are wasting her time and
money. From the moment we arrived, she wanted us to go into the Room
and do nothing else.

Fortunately, Karl is in charge of this part of the mission, and Karl must
talk to her, reminding her that caution is our byword, and even if we donтАЩt
recover her father on this trip, the information we gather might make it
possible to recover him on the next.

One night, she came to me to complain. I waved her off. тАЬYou gave
me as much time as I needed,тАЭ I reminded her.

тАЬYes,тАЭ she said. тАЬI gave you that, not him.тАЭ

тАЬAnd I placed him in charge while weтАЩre at the station. I trust him.тАЭ

She glared at me. тАЬI hope that trust isnтАЩt misplaced.тАЭ

So far, it doesnтАЩt seem misplaced. I approve of the way heтАЩs handling
the teamтАФdividing assignments based on experience and on interest. It
soon becomes clear who likes going through debris-crowded destroyed
habitats, and who prefers a minute exploration of the pristine edges of the
station.

He has also kept track of the pilotsтАФwho handles the skip best in tight
quarters and who is the most observant. And he hasnтАЩt lost track of the
Room.

Once a week, he and I have gone around its exterior. The first time,
we mapped it. The second time, we mapped again to see if it had
expanded. The third, we just observed.

The station hasnтАЩt grown while weтАЩve been here. And weтАЩve seen
nothing untoward about the Room, although on that first dive I was
surprised to learn that the Room is encased on all sides.

For some reason, I thought part of it was open to space. IтАЩm
assuming thatтАЩs because I saw the lights and they seemed to lead
somewhere. And also, IтАЩm sure I thought the Room had unlimited space
because it has taken so many bodies.

When you peer through the main window, you can see none of those
bodies. In fact, you canтАЩt even see the lights. It looks dark and empty, like
the still-intact habitats.

Only when you shine a light inside, it disappears into the darkness. It