"Arthur Tofte - The Day the Earth Stood Still" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tofte Arthur)

aura.
Just as perhaps every other person in the huge crowd felt, so Cliff Sutherland
sighed in relief. The alien was no enemy. He brought no sense of menace with
him, no threat of danger.
Remembering belatedly why he was here, Cliff snapped several pictures of the
stranger as he moved down the ramp.
Then he saw a second figure emerge!
This one was completely different. He was half again as tall as the humanlike
being who had preceded him. He seemed to be a mechanical robot. Made
apparently of the same green material as the ship, he nevertheless moved
surely and smoothly as he took his place beside the other. The ramp behind
them slid back into the ship and the panel door closed.
For a long moment the two strange figures stood facing the silent crowd. Then
the man spoke up in a loud, clear voice: "I am Klaatu and this is Gnut."
A murmur arose from the people closest, obviously surprised that the alien
could speak English.
The alien raised his right arm, palm outward, in the universal symbol of
peace.
At that instant there was a sharp report. Turning quickly, Cliff Sutherland
saw tendrils of smoke rising from a tree nearby. A wild-eyed man was
descending. Two policemen grappled with him.
Cliff took one picture of the scuffle. When he saw that the gunman was being
dragged away, he turned back to look at the fallen figure of the alien. This
too he photographed.
Soldiers were surrounding the stranger as he lay on the ground. In a minute or
two they had picked him up and carried him to a nearby army car.
Stunned by the sudden turn of events, Sutherland moved toward the ship. The
robotlike creature had not changed his position in all the turmoil and
excitement. He stood stolidly, his two huge feet firmly placed on the ground.
Cliff approached and was startled to see the robot's eyes, like red beads,
glaring back at him.
Within minutes, the police and the soldiers had restored order. A rope cordon
was hurriedly placed around the ship to keep people away. Inside the area, the
robot, Gnut, never moved.
Exhausted by his long, 24 hour stint, Sutherland didn't object when a
policeman said he'd have to get back with the others in spite of his press
card. He desperately needed a shower, food, and sleep. And he wanted to get
back to his two-room apartment where he could develop the pictures he had
taken.
He was not too happy with the shots he had obtained. Every news photographer
in Washington probably had about the same. But most of all, right now he
needed sleep.

Chapter 2.

When the shot rang out, Klaatu felt the lead bullet as it tore into his side.
He was not surprised at what had happened. Wasn't it the purpose of his coming
to the third planet in this solar system to find out what kind of people they
really were? Past explorations had been merely superficial probes. His coming
with Gnut was supposed to go much further in getting exact and usable