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

nice place for a lifelong vacation. HeтАЩd never cared for paleontology. At the base of the hill they stopped
by a large three-wheeled vehicle and a group of armed men with bicycles. The powered tricycle was
driven from a bench above and behind the passenger compartment. A brass tank and a piston cylinder
sat below the driverтАЩs seat.

тАЬSteamer?тАЭ Vicente asked, as he climbed into the cab.

тАЬQuite right,тАЭ Balquirth said. He swung up onto his slave-powered litter and looked down at Quintero.
тАЬIf youтАЩre wise, youтАЩll use something time-tested.тАЭ He patted the satin pillows.

Flaggon and his driver climbed onto the upper bench, while Martha Blount and her aide got in with
Chente. The armed bicyclists started down the road, and the auto got off with a jerk and a jump, The
deep cushions could not disguise the absence of an adequate suspension, and acrid black smoke drifted
from the fire box into the passenger compartment. Behind them, Bossman PierтАЩs bearers were having no
trouble keeping pace.

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Minutes later the auto was puffing down a long slope that gave an overview of Freetown. The city was
built around a crescent-shaped bay protected on the north by a huge granitic outcropping. Except for that
headland the bay was open to the sea.

тАЬHave many storms?тАЭ he said to Martha.

тАЬDreadful ones,тАЭ the woman answered, unsmiling. тАЬBut the tsunamis are worseтАФthatтАЩs why the ships you
see are anchored so far out. They come in to port only for loading.тАЭ

The city rested on a sequence of terraces that climbed steeply up from the waterтАЩs edge. Each terrace
was split down the middle by a narrow, copper-paved street, while steps and coppered ramps provided
communication between one level and the next

Chente noticed that on the first three tiers the buildings were mostly warehouses and sheds. Nearly all
these structures were made of wood and had a brand-new look. But above the third tier, the buildings
were of massive stone construction, eroded and weatherbeaten. The most peculiar thing about the stone
buildings was their long, narrow shape, their sharp, pointed ends. The prows of these stone arcs pointed
uniformly out to sea.

Martha Blount followed his gaze. тАЬThe Freetowners use those wooden buildings for temporary storage of
sea freight. They can count on everything in the first three terraces being leveled every two years or so.
Beyond the third level, the tsunamis attenuate and the water breaks over the bows of the buildings.тАЭ

The auto turned onto the fourth tierтАЩs main street, and slowed even further to get through the swarm of
Freetowners moving to and from the stone-encased bazaars.

Chente shook his head in wonder. тАЬYou people certainly have managed to adapt.тАЭ

тАЬAdapt!тАЭ The New Providencian ambassadress turned toward him, for the first time showing an emotion:
rage. тАЬWe were nearly wiped out in the Cataclysm. That computer-driven monster up there on the hill
gave us a real prize. With an advanced technology a colony on this planet could get along, but with that
technology lost the place is a Hell. Adapt? LookтАФтАЭ She pointed out of the cab. They were passing near
the edge of the terrace now, by blocks of gray rubble, stumpy walls. тАЬLife on New Canada is a constant