"E. E. Doc Smith - The Galaxy Primes" - читать интересную книгу автора (Smith E. E. Doc)

'I am asking you,' he replied, carefully. 'For your information, when I know what should be done, I give orders.
When I don't know, as now, I ask advice. If I like it, I follow it Fair enough?'
'Fair enough. We're apt to need any number of specialists.' 'Lola?'
'Of course we shouldn't duplicate. What shall I study?' "That's what we'll have to figure out. We can't do it exactly, of
course; all we can do now is set up a rough scheme. Jim's job is the only one that's definite. He'll have to work full
time on nebular configurations. If we hit inhabited planets he'll have to add their star-charts to his own. That leaves
three of us to do all the other work of a survey. Ideally, we would cover all
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the factors that would be of use in getting us back to Tellus, but since we don't know what those factors are... Found
out anything yet, Jim?'
'A little. It's a Tellus-type planet, apparently strictly so. Oceans and continents. Lots of inhabitants - farms, villages,
all sizes of cities. We're not close enough to say definitely, but the inhabitants seem to be humanoid, if not human.'
'Hold her here. Besides astronomy, which is all yours, what do we need most?'
'We should have enough to classify planets and inhabitants, so as to chart a space-trend if there is any. I'd say the
most important ones would be geology, stratigraphy, paleontology, oceanography, xenology, anthropology,
ethnology, vertebrate biology, botany, and at least some ecology.'
That's about the list I was afraid of. But there are only three of us.'
'Each of you will have to be a lot of specialists in one, then. I'd say the best split would be planetology, xenology,
and anthropology - each, of course, stretched all out of shape to cover a dozen related and non-related specialities.'
'Good enough. Xenology, of course, is mine. Contacts, liaison, politics, correlation, and so on, as well as studying the
non-human life forms - including as many lower animals and plants as possible. I'll make a stab at it. Now, Belle,
since you're a Prime and Lola's an Operator, you get the next toughest job. Planetography.'
'Why not?' Belle smiled and began to act as one of the party. 'All I know about it is a hazy idea of what the word
means, but I'll start studying as soon as we get squared away.'
'Fine. That leaves anthropology to you, Lola. Besides, that's your line, isn't it?'
'Yes. Sociological Anthropology. I have my M.S. in it, and I was working for my Ph.D. But as Jim said, it isn't only
the one specialty. You want me, I take it, to cover humanoid races, too.'
'Check. You and Jim both, then, will know what you're doing, while Belle and I are trying to play ours by ear.'
'Where do we draw the line between humanoid and non-human?'
'In case of doubt we'll confer. That covers it as much as we 16
can, I think. Take us down, Jim - and be on your toes to take evasive action fast.'
The ship dropped rapidly toward an airport just outside a fairly large city. Fifty thousand - forty thousand - thirty
thousand feet.
Then a thought-message touched their minds: 'Calling strange spaceship - you must be a spaceship, in spite of your
incredible mass. Do you read me?'
'I read you clearly. This is the spaceship Pleiades, home planet Tellus, Captain Garlock commanding, asking
permission to land and information as to landing conventions.' He did not have to tell James to stop the ship; James
had already
done so.
'I was about to ask you to hold position; I thank you for having done so. Hold for inspection and type-test, please.
We will not blast unless you fire first A few minutes, please.'
A group of twelve jet fighters took off practically vertically upward and climbed with fantastic speed. They leveled
off a thousand feet below the Pleiades and made a flying circle. Up and into the ring thus formed there lumbered a
large, clumsy-looking helicopter.
'We have no record of any planet named "Tellus"; nor of any such ship as yours. Of such incredible mass and with no
visible or detectable means of support or of propulsion. Not from this part of the galaxy, certainly ... could it be that
intergalactic travel is actually possible? But excuse me, Captain Garlock, none of that is any of my business - which
is to determine whether or not you four human beings are compatible with, and thus acceptable to, our humanity of
Hodell... But you do not seem to have a standard televideo testing-box aboard."
'No, sir; only our own tri-di and teevee.' 'You must be examined by means of a standard box. I will rise to your level