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

The dive will follow a strict schedule. Because Karl doesnтАЩt have a lot
of distance to traverse between the skip and the RoomтАЩs door, we decided
on a two-hour diveтАФlonger than I would have liked, and shorter than he
wanted.

ItтАЩll only take him five minutes to get inside and, theoretically, five
minutes to get back. The rest of the time, he should be observing and
mapping.

Provided his equipment works inside. To our knowledge, no one has
filmed the interior of the Room, and we donтАЩt know if thatтАЩs because they
havenтАЩt thought of it or if they didnтАЩt succeed when they tried.

Just before he puts on his headpiece, he attaches the device to his
belt. Since we donтАЩt know much about how the device works, we donтАЩt want
it inside his suit. We want to give him as much protection as possible.

Then he slips on his headpiece. ItтАЩs as cautious as the rest of his
suitтАФseven layers of protection, each with a different function including
double night vision, and computerized monitors layered throughout the
external cover. He hands me the handheld, which will report everything the
cameras on the sides of his headpiece тАЬsee.тАЭ

We are the least confident in the handheld. The shield device might
disrupt the signals the cameras send back. We tested as best we could
near the Business and didnтАЩt have any trouble, but weтАЩre not sure if that was
an accurate test.

Like so much with wreck diving, this part of the dive gets tested only
in the field.

IтАЩm nervous. Karl is not. Roderick hasnтАЩt said anything, and Mikk acts
as if this is a normal dive. While heтАЩs curious about the Room, itтАЩs an
intellectual curiosity. He knows he wonтАЩt be able to dive it this trip, so itтАЩs not
the center of his attention.

In some ways, heтАЩs along for the ride, even more than I am.

We donтАЩt tether to the RoomтАФthat would be dangerous with the skip
powered downтАФbut we do extend a line. Karl is doing this as a courtesy to
me. I wonтАЩt dive without lines. IтАЩve seen too many divers get wreck
blindnessтАФthey turn on their headlamps in a small space, they take a laser
to the eyeball, their suitтАЩs visor malfunctionsтАФand they canтАЩt get back
without help.

The line is the simplest form of help. If they follow it from skip to
wreck, then they know how to get back. We donтАЩt use lines inside wrecks,
although I suggested it for the Room.