"Timothy Zahn - Spinneret" - читать интересную книгу автора (Zahn Timothy)

Zahn, Timothy - Spinneret


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Proofed by DharKhon.

Made prettier by MollyKate's/Cinnamon's style sheet.




SPINNERET by Timothy
Zahn
Prologue
His only regret, Captain Carl Stewart thought as he stood on the bridge of
America's first starship, was that there was no bottle of champagne available to
smash against the U.S.S. Aurora's side.

The ceremony would have been impractical, of course, even if the State
Department had cleared it. In the airless cold of space, the bottle would have
required special preparation to keep it from either freezing solid or exploding
prematurely, and that kind of reinforcement might easily have kept it from
breaking properly and on cue. With the launching ceremony being beamed live to
the entire planetтАФand the 2016 elections barely ten months awayтАФno one wanted
to risk that kind of fiasco. Still, the sea and its traditions ran four generations deep
in Stewart's blood, and it seemed wrong somehow to leave home without a proper
christening.

The drone from the TV monitor stopped. Stewart brought his attention back to the
screen in time to see President Allerton lay a hand on the switch by his podium.
"Stand ready," he ordered, watching the image. An unnecessary command; the
Aurora's crew had been ready for hours.

"тАж and with all of our hopes, prayers, and dreams riding with you, we send you

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forth to search out the new frontier; to find new worlds, new opportunities, new
solutions; to reinvigorate and challenge the human race again to greatness.
Godspeed, Aurora." With a final flourish heavenward, Allerton threw the
switchтАФ

And five thousand kilometers above him, the spotlights attached to the workframe
scaffolding blazed with light, providing the TV cameras with their first clear view
of the Aurora.

Stewart gave the dramatic moment a count of five, and then nodded to his