"S. M. Stirling - Draka 05 - Drakas!" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stirling S. M)

the Mahdi. If you can get in there quickly, and find a somewhat more diplomatic, shall we say, solution to
the problem, I would say that undoubtedly your future would be assured."

"My dam?" Gordon asked.

Von Shrakenberg smiled. "I have the papers here."

He reached into a drawer of his desk, and handed Gordon a sheaf of documents. Gordon, well versed
in the bureaucratese of half a dozen nations, read through it carefully. It was couched in somewhat
cryptic, but ultimately satisfactory language. And it had already been signed by von Shrakenberg.

"When do I leave for Khartoum?" he asked.

The Draka smiled. "I like a decisive man," he said. "As I said, I have a dirigible waiting. You can leave at
your convenience."

Gordon stood. The thought of that woman waiting in his room was like a hand of ice clutching his guts.
He couldn't face her. He could notтАФ

"I'll leave now," he said, carefully folding the papers and putting them in his pocket.

***

April 23, 1883
Alexandria en route to Khartoum

My Dearest Augusta:
Your loving and humble brother does at times find himself in the oddest of circumstances in the oddest
places in all of the world. All of which you know quite well, of course, because I can go nowhere or do
nothing without imparting to you my thoughts, fears, and hopes via these epistles, which while not of the
same great significance of those letters of the four evangelists, at least warm the heart of this poor traveler
when he knows his dutiful sister is eager to hear of him and his humble doings in the world.
As I write I am, as incredible as it sounds, some thousands of feet in the air, borne aloft not by the angelic
wings as is the host of Our Lord, but a great big windbag. No, not a PM, or even an MP, but an actual
balloon some six hundred feet long filled with air. A Draka dirigible, called theArsinoe , gliding silently
and gracefully through the aether like an angel of Our Lord, but driven by propellers turned by steam
turbines and not our prayers. We sail through the air at speeds approaching forty miles an hour, and can
keep this up long enough to achieve our journey's end some 1100 miles distant. Imagine, I shall be in
Khartoum in less than two days! Remember how long it took me to make this same trip by Nile steamer
and camel? More than two months!
I am amazed at the scientific progress the Draka have made in such a short time. They are an amazing
people, though, personally I find them repellent. The only likable Draka I have met so far is Alexander
von ShrakenbergтАФand he is morally bankrupt. They are sinners all, though it is my job neither to save
them from Hell, or preach to them of Heaven. They will likely all burn forever. Some, like von
Shrakenberg, because of mere folly, others because of a deeper, more pervading evil.
But enough of that! I have, dearest Augusta, good news! Von Shrakenberg has agreed to The Plan, and
through him I have gotten the backing of the Alexandria Institute as well. The Nile dam will become a
reality! The greatest river in the world will be navigable from its source in the Lakes to its mouth in the
Mediterranean. This will be a task to consume my energies for many years (If only I can keep Agag
properly in check! He is like to swell up and burst into view at any moment, my pride feels so vast!). It