"Christopher Stasheff - Warlock 02 - The Warlock In Spite Of H" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stasheff Christopher)

Christopher Stasheff

Christopher Stasheff

The Warlock In Spite
of Himself

MAYFLOWER

GRANADA
London Toronto Sydney New York

PART ONE

VISIT TO A SMALL PLANTAGENET

The asteroid hurtled in from Capricorn, nosed around a G-type sun,
swerved off toward the fifth planet. Such a trajectory is somewhat
atypical for asteroids.
It slapped into the planet's gravity net, swooped around the globe
three times in three separate orbits, then stabbed into
atmosphere, a glorious shooting star.
At a hundred feet altitude it paused, then snapped to the surface -
but only to the surface. No fireworks, no crater - nothing more
drastic than crushed grass. It~ surface was scarred and pitted,
blackened by the friction-heat of its fall; but it was intact.
Deep within its bowels echoed the words that would change the
planet's destiny.
'Damn your bolt-.brained bearings!'
The voice broke off; its owner frowned, listening.
The cabin was totally silent, without its usual threshold hum.
The young man swore, tearing the shock-webbing from his body. He
lurched out of the acceleration chair, balanced dizzily on the
balls of his feet, groping till his hand touched the plastic wall.
Steadying himself with one hand, he stumbled to a panel on the
other side of the circular cabin. He fumbled the catches loose,
cursing in the fine old style of galactic deckhands, opened the
panel, pressed a button. Turning, he all but fell back to the
chair.
The soft hum awoke in the cabin again. A slurred voice asked, with
varying speed and pitch, 'Izzz awwl (Hic!) sadizfagtoreee. . .
M'lorrrr' Rodney?'


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Christopher Stasheff

'All the smooth, glossy robots in the galaxy,' muttered Milord,
'and I get stuck with an epileptic!'
'Ivv ut bleeezz m'lorr', thuh c'passsider c'n be-'