"Smith, E E Doc - d'Alembert 8 - Eclipsing Binaries" - читать интересную книгу автора (Smith E. E. Doc)

The office was quite dim after the bright lighting of the corridor outside. Three of the
walls were covered with cream-colored raw silk but were otherwise bare of adornment.
The fourth wall, opposite the door, was one large triscreen bearing the image of a
mist-shrouded stream tumbling between ancient eroding mountains.

The floor was hard and black, polished smooth as ice; it was difficult to walk on it without
making noise, and impossible to move quickly without slipping. Two black lacquered
chairs-neither very comfortable-and a black lacquered table between them were the only
concessions to a visitor's comfort.

At the far end of the room near the left-hand corner stood a large, glowing green egg.
Carved from solid jade, it pulsated slightly from internal illumination. As the egg pivoted
slowly, Boros could see a computer terminal and keyboard built into the interior, which
had been hollowed out to form a comfortable seat. The computer terminal, it was
rumored, allowed instant access to all the conspiracy's files as well as a direct telecom
link to the mysterious person known only as C. That immense jade egg represented the
very heart of the conspiracy-and seated within this egg, back straight and looking as
though she'd been born to rule the universe, was Lady A.

The woman who ran the greatest conspiracy in human history was of average height-but
that was the only thing average about her. Tanya Boros, never modest and renowned for
her own attractiveness, always felt plain in the presence of this magnificent woman. Her
figure and face were of classic beauty, mature but unwrinkled, and there was something
inhumanly cold about them. She wore a tight-fitting dress of jade green silk one shade
darker than the egg about her, with gold and silver phoenixes embroidered on the
shoulders and sleeves. Her jet black hair, tightly braided, was draped casually across her
left shoulder, and her green eyes peered out from beneath those arching black brows
with painful intensity.

As the door closed behind her, Tanya Boros stood in this regal presence not knowing
what to say. Even though she'd been raised in the upper echelons of galactic nobility,
she'd never met anyone else who was as awe-inspiring as Lady A.

"Don't just stand there, child," Lady A said. "Have a seat." She gestured with a perfectly
manicured hand at one of the two black lacquered chairs.

"Thank you," Boros said, taking the indicated seat. The two women sat in silence for a
long moment. Boros grew increasingly uncomfortable at the appraising scrutiny she was
being given. It felt as though Lady A were weighing her very soul and finding it a feather's
weight this side of perfection.

"We haven't had much chance to talk recently, have we?" Lady A said at last, breaking
the unbearable silence. "No, ma'am."

"Not since Gastonia, really."

Boros's eyes widened a little. "That really wasn't my fault. I did everything expected of
me. . . ."