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

recognize, or it is bringing matter in from elsewhere.

Or it isnтАЩt growing itself. It is revealing itself, as I feared.

And I find a lot of evidence to support that theory. At least, evidence
that part of me wants to believe.

When we left the Dignity Vessel, we left one of our
diversтАФJuniorтАФinside. Because we were worried that he might still be alive
but in some kind of time dilation, Karl and I went back to see if we could
rescue him. Failing that, we hoped to find a way to help him die.

We learned that, indeed, Junior had gone through a time dilation, but
not the kind we thought. He had aged so rapidly that the upper half of his
body, still in its dive suit had mummified.

His waist and legs had only been dead for a day but his upper half, his
torso and his face had been dead for centuries.
 I find myself wondering if the station isnтАЩt going through the same sort
of time split. Maybe the station is stuck in two different time frames. And
like some stuck objects, it is slowly sliding out of whatever held it.

Which would explain how it тАЬgrewтАЭ each time my father had visited,
and why the newer areas didnтАЩt seem to age. Maybe the time split here is
the opposite of the one weтАЩd found on the Dignity Vessel.

Instead of time progressing rapidly in the part we couldnтАЩt reach, it is
progressing slowly thereтАФor maybe not at all. Perhaps the parts of the
station being revealed are in a section between time, between dimensions.

IтАЩm no scientist, and I have no way to test my theories. I donтАЩt even
want to mention them to Karl. He has enough to worry about.

I do mention one worry, however. I tell him it concerns me that the
station expanded outward, and I make him promise no skip and no diver will
travel to the outer edges.

I donтАЩt want another Junior. I donтАЩt want someone to get stuck
between two times or two dimensions or two universes.

I want to be cautious and in this, as in everything else, Karl agrees.

****

Everything seems to be going fine, and despite my discomfort, my
mood has improved. The divers are enjoying their dives and no one has
had a close call or been injured.

WeтАЩre not lulled into complacency, however. We know that the worst
part of the dive is ahead, and that it belongs to me.