"ae2" - читать интересную книгу автора (Steele Allen)

This was the electrical conduit leading to the radar antenna,
and it should have been snugly fitted against the spar.
Having some problems out there? Lewitt asked.
Parnell glanced up at the personnel sphere looming above
him. A few people were watching him through the portholes,
more than likely, while listening to the exchange through
headsets or intercom speakers. On the other hand, thoy
wouldn't be able to see him clearly, because the spar itself w~s
in their way.
"Nothing to worry about," he replied, keeping his voice
even. "Just checking on something."
Hand over hand, he moved the rest of the way back down






THE TRANQUILLITY ALTERNATIVE 189

the spar, following the slender tapeworm with his helmet
lamp as it snaked its way to the hull of the personnel sphere.
Once he was on the catwalk again, he continued to trace the
cable as it led beneath the catwalk, then up again to a small
service panel about five feet from the airlock hatch. When he
reached its end, he involuntarily sucked in his breath.
The cable was dangling free of the panel, its end floating a
few inches from the junction box.
Certainly this would have been noticed by someone at the
hangar while Conestoga was being prepared for launch. If an
astronaut had accidentally pulled the cable loose, then either
he would have fixed it on the spot, or a last-minute inspection
of the moonship would have uncovered the problem.
No. It looked as if someone had deliberately pulled the cable
loose from the junction box just prior to launch.
Yet, save for a couple of Wheel technicians who had briefly
been inside Conestoga, the last people to come aboard the
moonship had been its own crew and passengers.
It would have been easy for any one of them to reach over
and give the cable a good, hard yank ...
Gene? You copy? What's going on out there?
Parnell almost said something, but once again he checked
himself. Too many people could be listening to this conversa-
tion. Besides, what he was thinking was absurd.
Why would anyone want to knock out the LRR? It didn't
make sense.
"Nothing, Jay," he said. "Just looking at the Moon, that's
all."
Nonetheless, as he spoke, he pulled the screwdriver from
his belt again and opened the service panel. "Nice night for a