"Charles Stross - Singularity Sky" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stross Charles)

insight, Felix Politovsky was deeply worried.

Men in uniform and the formal dress of his diplomatic staff stood to attention as he entered the richly
paneled room and marched to the head of the conference table. тАЬGentlemen. Please be seated,тАЭ he
grunted, dropping into the armchair that two servants unobtrusively held out for him. тАЬBeck, have there
been any developments overnight?тАЭ

Gerhard Von Beck, Citizen, head of the local office of the CuratorтАЩs Office, shook his head gloomily.
тАЬMore riots on the south bank; they didnтАЩt stay to fight when I sent a guard detachment. So far, morale
in the barracks seems to be holding up. Molinsk is cut off; there have been no reports from that town for
the past day, and a helicopter that was sent to look in on them never reported back. The DRтАЩs are raising
seven shades of merry hell around town, and so are the Radicals. I tried to have the usual suspects taken
into custody, but theyтАЩve declared an Extropian Soviet and refuse to cooperate. The worst elements are
holed up in the Corn Exchange, two miles south of here, holding continuous committee meetings, and
issuing proclamations and revolutionary communique on the hour, every hour. Encouraging people to
traffic with the enemy.тАЭ

тАЬWhy havenтАЩt you used troops?тАЭ rumbled Politovsky.

тАЬThey say theyтАЩve got atomic weapons. If we move inтАФтАЭ He shrugged.

тАЬOh.тАЭ The Governor rubbed his walrus moustache lugubriously and sighed. тАЬCommander Janaczeck.
What news of the Navy?тАЭ

Janaczeck stood. A tall, worried-looking man in a naval officerтАЩs dress uniform, he looked even more
nervous than the otherwise controlled Von Beck. тАЬThere were two survival capsules from the wreck of
the Sakhalin; both have now been recovered, and the survivors debriefed. It would appear that the
Sakhalin approached one of the larger enemy intruders and demanded that they withdraw from low orbit
immediately and yield to customs inspection. The intruder made no response, so Sakhalin fired across
her path. What happened next is confusedтАФnone of the survivors were bridge officers, and their reports
are contradictoryтАФbut it appears that there was an impact with some sort of foreign body, which then
ate the destroyer.тАЭ

тАЬAte it?тАЭ

тАЬYes, sir.тАЭ Janaczeck gulped. тАЬForbidden technology.тАЭ

Politovsky turned pale. тАЬBorman?тАЭ

тАЬYes, sir?тАЭ His adjutant sat up attentively.

тАЬObviously, this situation exceeds our ability to deal with it without extra resources. How much acausal

file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry%20kruiswij...en/spaar/Charles%20Stross%20-%20Singularity%20Sky.html (8 of 259)19-2-2006 17:16:19
 Singularity Sky

bandwidth does the Post Office have in hand for a televisor conference with the capital?тАЭ

тАЬUm, ah, fifty minutesтАЩ worth, sir. The next consignment of entangled qubits between here and New