"Тед Чан. Seventy-Two Letters (72 буквы, Рассказ) (англ.)" - читать интересную книгу автора

suggestions.
"It is an admirable goal," he said, nodding his approval. "IТm pleased
to find that you have such philanthropic motives, because I would ask your
assistance in a project IТm directing."
"It would be my privilege to help in any way I could."
"Thank you." FieldhurstТs expression became solemn. "This is a matter
of grave import. Before I speak further, I must first have your word that
you will retain everything I reveal to you in the utmost confidence."
Stratton met the earlТs gaze directly. "Upon my honor as a gentleman,
sir, I shall not divulge anything you relate to me."
"Thank you, Mr. Stratton. Please come this way." Fieldhurst opened a
door in the rear wall of the study and they walked down a short hallway.
At the end of the hallway was a laboratory; a long, scrupulously clean
work-table held a number of stations, each consisting of a microscope and
an articulated brass framework of some sort, equipped with three mutually
perpendicular knurled wheels for performing fine adjustments. An elderly
man was peering into the microscope at the furthest station; he looked up
from his work as they entered.
"Mr. Stratton, I believe you know Dr. Ashbourne."
Stratton, caught off guard, was momentarily speechless. Nicholas
Ashbourne had been a lecturer at Trinity when Stratton was studying there,
but had left years ago to pursue studies of, it was said, an unorthodox
nature. Stratton remembered him as one of his most enthusiastic
instructors. Age had narrowed his face somewhat, making his high forehead
seem even higher, but his eyes were as bright and alert as ever. He walked
over with the help of a carved ivory walking stick.
"Stratton, good to see you again."
"And you, sir. I was truly not expecting to see you here."
"This will be an evening full of surprises, my boy. Prepare yourself."
He turned to Fieldhurst. "Would you care to begin?"
They followed Fieldhurst to the far end of the laboratory, where he
opened another door and led them down a flight of stairs. "Only a small
number of individuals--either Fellows of the Royal Society or Members of
Parliament, or both--are privy to this matter. Five years ago, I was
contacted confidentially by the Acadщmie des Sciences in Paris. They
wished for English scientists to confirm certain experimental findings of
theirs."
"Indeed?"
"You can imagine their reluctance. However, they felt the matter
outweighed national rivalries, and once I understood the situation, I
agreed."
The three of them descended to a cellar. Gas brackets along the walls
provided illumination, revealing the cellarТs considerable size; its
interior was punctuated by an array of stone pillars that rose to form
groined vaults. The long cellar contained row upon row of stout wooden
tables, each one supporting a tank roughly the size of a bathtub. The
tanks were made of zinc and fitted with plate glass windows on all four
sides, revealing their contents as a clear, faintly straw-colored fluid.
Stratton looked at the nearest tank. There was a distortion floating in
the center of the tank, as if the some of the liquid had congealed into a