"Vernor Vinge - A Deepness in the Sky" - читать интересную книгу автора (Vinge Vernor)

Huh?тАЬI agree, Commissioner. So why didnтАЩt you let me bring them?тАЭ

тАЬIt wasnтАЩt my decision. I think they figured that constables would be more discreet.тАЭ The cop looked
away. тАЬLook, Fleet Captain. We know you Qeng Ho carry grudges a long time.тАЭ

Sammy nodded, although that truth applied more to customer civilizations than to individuals.

The cop finally looked him in the eye. тАЬOkay. WeтАЩve cooperated. We made sure that nothing about your
search could leak back to your. . .target. But we wonтАЩt do this guy for you. WeтАЩll look the other way; we
wonтАЩt stop you. But I wonтАЩt do him.тАЭ

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 A DEEPNESS IN THE SKY



тАЬAh.тАЭ Sammy tried to imagine just where in the moral pantheon this fellow would fit. тАЬWell,
Commissioner, staying out of my way is all that is required. I can take care of this myself.тАЭ

The cop gave a jerky nod. He stepped back, and didnтАЩt follow when Sammy opened the door тАЬto the
sunroom.тАЭ



The air was chill and stale, an improvement over the rank humidity of the hallway. Sammy walked down
a dark stairway. He was still indoors, but not by much. This had been an exterior entrance once, leading
down to street level. Plastic sheeting walled it in now, creating some kind of sheltered patio.

What if heтАЩs like the wretches in the hallway?They reminded him of people who lived beyond the
capabilities of medical support. Or the victims of a mad experimentory. Their minds had died in pieces.
That was a finish he had never seriously considered, but now . . .

Sammy reached the bottom of the stairs. Around the corner was the promise of daylight. He wiped the
back of his hand across his mouth and stood quietly for a long moment.

Do it.Sammy walked forward, into a large room. It looked like part of the parking lot, but tented with
semiopaque plastic sheets. There was no heating, and drafts thuttered past breaks in the plastic. A few
heavily bundled forms were scattered in chairs across the open space. They sat facing in no particular
direction; some were looking into the gray stone of the exterior wall.

All that barely registered on Sammy. At the far end of the room, a column of sunlight fell low and
slanting through a break or transparency in the roof. A single person had contrived to sit in the middle of
that light.

Sammy walked slowly across the room, his eyes never leaving the figure that sat in the red and gold light
of sunset. The face had a racial similarity to the high Qeng Ho Families, but it was not the face that
Sammy remembered. No matter. The Man would have changed his face long ago. Besides, Sammy had a
DNA counter in his jacket, and a copy of The ManтАЩs true DNA code.

He was bundled in blankets and wore a heavy knit cap. He didnтАЩt move but he seemed to be watching