"Smith, E E 'Doc' - SubSpace Vol 2 - Subspace Encounter" - читать интересную книгу автора (Smith E. E. Doc)

"You said `moved too fast,' Knu," Rodnar said. "Is there an implication that the cause
may be the mere passing of a postulated vehicle? That perhaps something in its
operation may inadvertently create our problem."

"Unlikely as it may sound, it's a possibility that must be considered. The fact that our own
operation does not interfere with communications does not preclude the possibility of
others doing so. That line of thought should be followed up."

Rodnar nodded. "It should. Marrjyl and I will follow it. Since Orm and Slaar have had
more X-storms of late than other planets, we're in the best position to do the job."

Work went on for hours; until, long after suppertime, the first courses of action had been
roughed out. They all had supper en masse, harnessed up (no one ever teleported if any
nonpsi could possibly catch him at it), and sped through the
air to a nearby spaceport, where they slotted the claim tokens for their subspeedsters.

Eighteen of them lined out for their home planets. Rodnar went to a point in space about
one-third of the way from Slaar to the planet Orm, to cover one of the locations where X-

storms had seemed most frequently to originate. Marrjyl, who as a top-flight designer
had been involved with Knuaire in the production of the counter-generators, went with
him; and shortly thereafter Knu 'ported aboard.

With Knuaire's entry, Marrjyl exclaimed fervently, "I can't stand that Wayrec! I don't trust
him one kinto's worth. He may be-no, he is-a strong psiontist, but he has only one
interest-Garsh."

"Let's not be influenced by his bad manners," Knuaire commented. "He can't help being a
Garshan."

Days passed, during which the three spent a lot of money. Other psiontists came, in
other subspace speedsters. Huge space-going machine-shops came, carrying hundreds
of mechanics. Weirdly-wired, terrifically-powered devices were planted, in a
carefully-computed four-dimensional pattern, throughout all "nearby" subspace-some of
them, of course, being many parsecs away in normal space.

"But suppose it is intelligent beings who are making these X-storms without even knowing
it?" Marrjyl demanded one day. "Beings who don't know anything about us any more than
we know about them? Don't even know we're here? We shouldn't kill intelligent
creatures, no matter how monstrous they are, just because they're using this sector of
the fourth dimension. We don't own all subspace, Rod; you know we don't."

"Of course we don't; but listen, Marr. First, I don't believe that X-storms are or can be
caused by subspacers. Not only Knu, but a dozen others of the best mathematicians
alive, with our biggest computers, have been working on it; and every answer comes out
N hyphen O dash in capital letters. They can't find any theoretical basis whatever for a
drive that can possibly make the stuff. Second, if you stretch your imagination enough to
imagine intelligent life completely unknown to
us.