"E. C. Tubb - Dumarest 29 - Angado" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tubb E. C)

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Angado by E. C. Tubb

Chapter One

Once, the place had been bright with the froth of
make-believe; domes, minarets, spires, towers, soaring arches
and sweeping promenades all blazing with variegated colorsтАФa
skillful illusion created with paint and plastic, lying like a jewel
in the cup of rounded hills. The circus of Chen Wei was gone
now, leaving only an expanse of torn and barren ground, a
scatter of debris, the crusted surface of a fetid lagoon.

A monument to emotional waste, which Avro pondered as his
raft circled the area. How many work-hours had been poured
into its construction, operation and maintenance? How many
more had been squandered by those visiting the circus for the
sake of transient thrills? Time, effort, resources, skills all
dissipated to the wind. Leaving nothing but a raw devastation.
Time would heal the wound and soon the hills would seem as if
they had never been touched. More waste. Under correct
guidance things of lasting worth could have been constructed for
the benefit of humanity. Testimonials to the efficiency of the
Cyclan.

Instead the place was evidence as to its failure.

"Master?" The acolyte was deferential, the title more than an
acknowledgment of Avro's superiority. "Would you care to go
lower?"

"No." Avro had seen enough. "When did they leave?"
 "Five days ago." Cardor added, "A week after the accident."

When Tron had died, and Valaban, and most important of all,
Dumarest. Avro looked again at the place where it had
happened, assessing, extrapolating, knowing the mental
bitterness of defeat. Too late. He had arrived too late. A matter
of days and his search would have been over, his mission
accomplished. Dumarest, taken and helpless in his charge.
DumarestтАФand the precious secret he owned. One which had
made Avro into an angel.