"E. C. Tubb - Dumarest 01 - The Winds of Gath" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tubb E. C)

The Winds of Gath
#1 in the Dumarest series

E.C. Tubb



Chapter One


HE WOKE counting seconds, rising through interminable
strata of ebony chill to warmth, light and a growing awareness.
At thirty-two the eddy currents had warmed him back to
normal. At fifty-eight his heart began beating under its own
power. At seventy-three the pulmotor ceased helping his lungs.
At two hundred and fifteen the lid swung open with a pneumatic
hiss.

He lay enjoying the euphoria of resurrection.

It was always the same, this feeling of well-being. Each time
he woke there was the surge of gladness that once again he had
beaten the odds. His body tingled with life after the long sleep
during which it had been given the opportunity to mend minor
ills. The waking drugs stimulated his imagination. It was
pleasant to lie, eyes closed, lost in the pleasure of the moment.

"You okay?"

The voice was sharp, anxious, breaking into his mood.
Dumarest sighed and opened his eyes. The light was too bright.
He lifted a hand to shield his face, lowered it as something
blocked the glare. Benson stood looking down at him from the
foot of the open box. He looked the same as Dumarest
remembered, a small man with a puckered face, an elaborate
fringe of beard and a slick of black hair, but how much did a
man have to age before it showed?

"You made it," said the handler. He sounded pleased. "I didn't
expect trouble but for a minute back there you had me worried."
He leaned forward, his head blocking more of the light. "You
sure that you're okay?"

Dumarest nodded, reluctantly recognizing the need to move.
Reaching out, he clamped his hands on the edges of the box and
slowly pulled himself upright. His body was as expected, nude,
bleached white, the skin tight over prominent bone. Cautiously
he flexed his muscles, inflated the barrel of his chest He had lost
fat but little else. He was still numb for which he was thankful.