"Jean and Jeff Sutton - Lord Of The Stars" - читать интересную книгу автора (Sutton Jean and Jeff)

Lord Of The Stars -- Jean and Jeff Sutton -- (1969)

(Version 2002.10.31 -- Done)


For the four Kicklighters -- Kurt, Andy, Nathan and Laurie


1

TOWARD DUSK, when the great emerald sun dipped below the horizon and the
heat of day was past, but before the chill of night seeped in, Danny liked to
walk out on the meadow and talk with Zandro. He could talk with Zandro while
in the forest, of course, or even when inside the big ship; but somehow it was
more fun when he was in the meadow.
Although they talked of many things -- of galaxies and small, furry
creatures that scurried through the tall grasses and hideous dangers that
lurked in the nearby swamp -- he had never seen Zandro. Danny didn't find that
strange, for in his short memory life took many forms -- or no form at all.
Zandro was one of the no-form ones.
He never wondered that Zandro's voice was silent, that it came into his
mind in almost the same way his own thoughts came. Yet, when he considered it,
there was a difference. He could feel Zandro enter his mind; it was almost
like a physical touch. Often, at night, he would awaken to the sensation, but
then Zandro would quickly withdraw, leaving him more lonely than ever in the
solitude of the big ship.
Neither did he wonder that he communicated with Zandro in the same way,
without speech, for words and images projected mentally came quite naturally.
By projecting images, he could express thoughts for which he had no words.
Besides, although he often spoke aloud to himself, it didn't make sense to
speak aloud to someone he couldn't see.
Danny got a warm feeling whenever he thought of Zandro. Zandro was his
friend, his protector! That idea had come to him...how long ago? He wasn't
certain, for at first he'd had but a vague concept of time. But it was true;
without Zandro...
The thought frightened him. Without Zandro he wouldn't have known of the
danger in the swamp. Neither would he have known about the food-yielding trees
and vines, how to find the edible plants that grew in the forest shade, or how
to use the tough cloth material he had found stowed away in the big ship to
protect his body against the hot sun and the thorns of trees.
He still remembered how Zandro first had warned him of the storms. He
had started toward the meadow when Zandro touched his mind and said, "You must
return to the ship."
"Now?" he asked disappointedly. The pleasant half-light had just
commenced.
"A big storm is coming," Zandro warned.
"Storm?" Danny was puzzling over the word when Zandro projected a mental
picture of great trees whipping back and forth, their branches tossing wildly
against a darkened sky. Brilliant spears of light stabbed downward. With them
came swirling balls of water, so closely packed they formed huge pools on the