"Vinge Vernor & William Rupp - Just Peace" - читать интересную книгу автора (Vinge Vernor)

had to walk along the steep, rough ground near the side of the ravine. The buzzing was gone from
ChenteтАЩs head, but some of the dizziness remained. He was beginning to think that his inner ear had been
тАЬtumbledтАЭ by the explosion, giving him a permanent, though mild, case of motion sickness.

Martha appeared to be in much better condition. Quintero noticed that since she had made up her mind
to come along, she seemed to be doing her best to ignore the fact that they were without food, or a
reliable means of navigation.

Toward noon they drank rain water from a shallow puddle in the rocks. Twice during the afternoon
Chente thought he heard the engines of the Diligence, nearly masked by the volcanic thunder to the west.
By late afternoon, he estimated they were twenty kilometers inlandтАФexcellent progress, considering the
ground they were crossing. The ravine became steadily shallower, until finally they left the lava fields and
crossed into a much older countryside. The cloud cover swept away and the westering sun shone down
from an orange-red sky upon the savannah-like plain ahead of them. That plain was not covered by
grass, but by low, multiple-rooted plants that rose like thick green spiders from the ground.

Chente glanced at the sun, and then at the girl who trudged doggedly on beside him. Her initial reserves
of energy were gone now and her face was set in lines of fatigue. тАЬRest break,тАЭ he said, as they entered
the greenery. They dropped down onto plants which, despite their disquieting appearance, felt soft and
resilientтАФsomething like iceplant back on Earth. The abrupt movement made the world spin giddily
around ChenteтАЩs head. He waited grimly until the wave of dizziness passed, then pulled an oblong case
from a pocket and began fiddling. Finally Martha spoke, her tired voice devoid of sarcasm, тАЬSome
Earthside magic? YouтАЩre going to materialize some food?тАЭ

тАЬSomething like that.тАЭ A small screen flashed to life on the wide side of the oblong. He sharpened the
image, but it was still no more than abstract art to the uninitiated: a mixed jumble of blue and green and
brown. He didnтАЩt look up as he said, тАЬMartha, did you know that the star-ship left several satellites in
orbit before it landed on New Canada?тАЭ

She leaned closer to him, looked down at the screen. тАЬYes. If you know where to look you can often see
them at night.тАЭ

тАШThey were put up for your colonyтАЩs use, and though you no longer have receiving equipment, they are
still in working order.тАЬ

тАЬAnd this thingтАФтАЭ

тАЬтАж Is reading from a synchronous satellite some 40,000 kilometers up. This picture shows most of the
Fragge.тАЭ
MarthaтАЩs fatigue was forgotten. тАЬWe never dreamed the satellites could still work. I feel like God looking
down on things this way. Now we can find that village easily.тАЭ

тАЬYesтАФтАЭ Using the controls at the side of the display he began to follow the FraggeтАЩs coastline at medium
resolution.

Martha -spoke up again. тАЬI think weтАЩre seeing the north coast now. At least, the part that isnтАЩt under
cloud looks like the last map I saw. The village is to the southeast of us, so youтАЩre not going to find much
of anythingтАФтАЭ

Chente frowned, looked more closely at the screen, then increased the magnification. It was as if the