"Liz Williams - A Shadow Over the Land" - читать интересную книгу автора (Williams Liz)

inside the vehicle became icy. I tried to adjust the control, but to no effect. It was
like traveling through some cold, dark night.
At last, Vauchelade pulled the wheel of the car over sharply and turned the
engine off. The roar of the AC seemed loud in the sudden silence. I opened the door
and slid out. It was very quiet and very still. The mountains of the Rift rose up
before me and they were red as blood in the light of the distant sun. They rolled up
in a series of crumpled folds as far as the horizon to conceal the immense fissure of
the Rift itself. The wind carried a dry, harsh heat and the smell of the parched land.
Vauchelade said, тАЬThe campтАЩs at the edge of the Rift. We wonтАЩt be able to
take the car much further. ThereтАЩs a track leading down to the site.тАЭ
We got back into the car and Vauchelade drove for a short distance along the
rudimentary track made by an earlier vehicle. The track wound between the crimson
rocks until it opened out onto a short plateau. The Rift lay beyond. Stepping down
from the vehicle, I walked to the edge and looked out across the Ushete.
Compared to other features on other worlds, I suppose, it was not the most
spectacular formation of its kind. Even so, the scale of the Rift left me momentarily
breathless. From the lip of the plateau, the ground fell abruptly into a great chasm,
which snaked away into the distance. It was like standing on the very edge of the
world. A single step, I thought, and I would not fall but float down into the gap,
down forever, and never reach an end. It seemed as though the world had become
inverted, as though all the skies and the starry plains beyond were contained in the
space beneath my feet. Somewhere beyond vertigo, I reeled, and the world spun
around me in a reversed image: light turning to darkness and the rocks of the Rift
burning like fire. Then Vauchelade was pulling me back.
тАЬCareful,тАЭ he said, genially enough, but there was an edge to his voice.
тАЬIтАЩm sorry,тАЭ I said.
тАЬLook.тАЭ Vauchelade pointed into the endless gap of the Rift. тАЬSee the strata
running across the ledge? ThatтАЩs what I want to take a look at. An interesting
product of what weтАЩre calling the Metosaic.тАЭ He was holding my arm in a tight grip.
He probably meant to be kind.
We walked back to the car and began to unload the instruments. The
temperature control kept me cool, but the heat burst over my skin like a wave and I
could taste the dust on my tongue. It was reassuring and familiar, like the dust that
covered the streets of Dushange Street and which my mother swept from the steps
every morning. I closed my eyes for a moment, and, when I opened them, I
expected to see the low house between the lemon trees, and the globes of the fruit
yellow as suns among the leaves.
Laden with the bags, I followed Vauchelade. He seemed to vanish over the lip
of the Rift, but when I reached the place where he had gone, I realized that a steep
little path led down to a second, wider ledge. The pale tops of the dome tents
billowed up in the wind from the Rift. A small figure stepped out and waved: as we
descended, I recognized Tesh. There were two main tents, the living quarters, and a
smaller nest of domes, like mushrooms, which housed the equipment. The gear
belonging to the departing team was packed and piled at the entrance to one of the
larger tents, ready to go.
тАЬтАФbut weтАЩre actually going to wait until evening,тАЭ Tesh was explaining to
Vauchelade. She ran a hand over her forehead, pushing back the dark braids. тАЬI
donтАЩt want to slog three hundred miles in this heat.тАЭ Vauchelade nodded.
тАЬI think thatтАЩs wise,тАЭ he said.
тАЬWhen are the rest of your team coming?тАЭ Tesh asked.