"Timothy Zahn - Manta's Gift" - читать интересную книгу автора (Zahn Timothy)

much oxygen we can spare."

Once again silence descended on the probe. This time, muffled in their freshly grown cocoon, there
wasn't even the wailing of the wind outside to keep them company.

Wrapped up in his work and his thoughts, Faraday only gradually became aware of the new sound
rumbling beneath his feet.

He paused, listening. In some ways it reminded him of the howling of a restless wind, rising and
falling with no discernible pattern. But the tone was deeper and more varied than simple wind.

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Manta's Gift



And as he listened, he could swear he could hear words in it...

"Scotto?" he murmured.

"Yeah," the other said quietly. "I'm not sure, but I think they're talking to each other."

Something with lots of cold feet began to run up and down Faraday's back. "They?"

Chippawa gestured toward the emscan display. "They."

The image was vague and indistinct, like looking through a thick layer of gelatin. But it was clear
enough. There were at least twenty more of the lumpy creatures out there, some of them swimming
around, others more or less floating in place. Straining his ears Faraday discovered he could hear
more of the windlike rumbles coming from outside, at least when the one they were attached to
wasn't making any noise of its own.

It was like a damn roundtable discussion. And judging from the direction all of them out there
seemed to be facing, he could guess the topic of conversation.

The Skydiver.

With an effort, he found his voice. "So these are the intelligent ones? Not the torpedoes?"

"Maybe they're all intelligent," Chippawa said. "Maybe none of them are. Maybe we've just
stumbled on some kind of group mating dance or something."

There was a whisper of feeling in Faraday's inner ear. "We're moving," he said tightly, trying to sort
out the sensations. On the emscan, the other images were dropping below them. "Moving... up?"

"I think so," Chippawa said, studying the instruments. "Yes, confirm that: We're moving up."

"What about the starboard float?"

Chippawa gestured helplessly. "No way to tell with the float held in the way it is. We won't know