"Charles Stross - Missile Gap" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stross Charles)

some of those Russian astronomer guys who are clearly under the thumb of the KGBтАЩs First Department.
And heтАЩs expressed doubtsтАУmuted, of courseтАУabout the thrust of current foreign policy, which is a serious
no-no under the McNamara administration.
тАЬA CAB is a joint committee feeding into the Central Office of InformationтАЩs external bureaux on behalf of a
blue-ribbon panel of experts assembled from the intelligence community,тАЭ Gregor recites in a bored tone of
voice. тАЬStripped of the bullshit, weтАЩre a board of wise men whoтАЩre meant to rise above narrow bureaucratic
lines of engagement and prepare a report for the Office of Technology Assessment to pass on to the Director
of Central Intelligence. ItтАЩs not meant to reflect the agenda of any one department, but to be a Delphi board
synergizing our lateralities. Set up after the Cuban fiasco to make sure that we never again get backed into
that kind of corner by accidental group-think. One of the rules of the CAB process is that it has to include at
least one dissident: unlike the commies we know weтАЩre not perfect.тАЭ Gregor glances pointedly at Fox, who
has the good sense to stay silent.
тАЬOh, I see,тАЭ Sagan says hesitantly. With more force: тАЬso thatтАЩs why IтАЩm here? Is that the only reason youтАЩve
dragged me away from Cornell?тАЭ
тАЬOf course not, Doctor,тАЭ oozes Brundle, casting Gregor a dirty look. The East German defector, Wolff,
maintains a smug silence: I are above all this. тАЬWeтАЩre here to come up with policy recommendations for
dealing with the bigger picture. The much bigger picture.тАЭ
тАЬThe Builders,тАЭ says Fox. тАЬWeтАЩre here to determine what our options look like if and when they show up, and
to make recommendations about the appropriate course of action. Your background in, uh, SETI
recommended you.тАЭ
Sagan looks at him in disbelief. тАЬIтАЩd have thought that was obvious,тАЭ he says.
тАЬEh?тАЭ
тАЬWe wonтАЩt have any choice,тАЭ the young professor explains with a wry smile. тАЬDoes a termite mound negotiate
with a nuclear superpower?тАЭ
Brundle leans forward. тАЬThatтАЩs rather a radical position, isnтАЩt it? Surely thereтАЩll be some room for maneuver?
We know this is an artificial construct, but presumably the builders are still living people. Even if theyтАЩve got
green skin and six eyes.тАЭ
тАЬOh. My. God.тАЭ Sagan leans forward, his face in his hands. After a moment Gregor realizes that heтАЩs
laughing.
тАЬExcuse me.тАЭ Gregor glances round. ItтАЩs the German defector, Wolff, or whatever heтАЩs called. тАЬHerr Professor,
would you care to explain what you find so funny?тАЭ
After a moment Sagan leans back, looks at the ceiling, and sighs. тАЬImagine a single, a forty-five RPM record
with a centre hole punched out. The inner hole is half an astronomical unitтАУforty-six million milesтАУin radius.
The outer edge is of unknown radius, but probably about two and a half AUsтАУtwo hundred and forty five million
miles. The diskтАЩs thickness is unknownтАУseismic waves are reflected off a mirror-like rigid layer eight hundred
miles downтАУbut we can estimate it at eight thousand miles, if its density averages out at the same as
EarthтАЩs. Surface gravity is the same as our original planet, and since weтАЩve been transplanted here and
survived we have learned that itтАЩs a remarkably hospitable environment for our kind of life; only on the large
scale does it seem different.тАЭ
The astronomer sits up. тАЬDo any of you gentlemen have any idea just how preposterously powerful whoever
built this structure is?тАЭ
тАЬHow do you mean, preposterously powerful?тАЭ asks Brundle, looking more interested than annoyed.
тАЬA colleague of mine, Dan Alderson, did the first analysis. I think you might have done better to pull him in,
frankly. Anyway, let me itemise: item number one is escape velocity.тАЭ Sagan holds up a bony finger. тАЬGravity
on a disk does not diminish in accordance with the inverse square law, the way it does on a spherical object
like the planet we came from. We have roughly earthlike gravity, but to escape, or to reach orbit, takes
tremendously more speed. Roughly two hundred times more, in fact. Rockets that from Earth could reach the
moon just fall out of the sky after running out of fuel. Next item:тАЭ another finger. тАЬThe area and mass of the
disk. If itтАЩs double-sided it has a surface area equal to billions and billions of Earths. WeтАЩre stuck in the
middle of an ocean full of alien continents, but we have no guarantee that this hospitable environment is