[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
the indicator, pushing the target back to the outermost circle. Still it drove in. Grimes adjusted the scale
again, and again, and once more. Target spark merged with the bead of luminosity that represented
Husky. For a microsecond there was an uncanny sensation of merging not of ships, but of two
personalities. Mannschenn Drive off! snapped Grimes, executing his order. Inertial drive full
asteml
The ship shuddered, striving to tear herself apart. Colors sagged down the spectrum as the
ever-precessing gyroscopes of the Mannschenn Drive were braked to a halt but outside the viewports
the stars, vibrating madly, still looked as they had done while the drive was in operation.
Stop all! muttered Grimes, jerking the lever to its central position.
And there, scant feet away, rotating slowly about some cockeyed axis, was the torn, buckled hull of
the space yacht Grebe.
Mavis Davis came up to Control while Grimes was putting on his suit. She was bleeding slightly from
an abrasion on her forehead. Like many another plain woman she was beautiful in conditions of emotional
and physical stress. Be
fore she lowered the helmet onto his shoulder she kissed him. It was a brief contact, but surprisingly
warm. Grimes wished that it could have been longer.
She said, Good-bye. It s been nice knowing you, John.
What the hell s this, Mavis?
She grinned lopsidedly. I have my fey moments especially when somebody is playing silly buggers
with the Mannschenn Drive ... Then she was securing the helmet and further speech was impossible.
Grimes collected what tools he would require on his way down to the airlock. When the outer door
opened he found that he could almost step across to Grebe. He pushed himself away from his own little
ship, made contact with the hull of the other with the magnetic soles of his boots and palms of his gloves.
He clambered over her like a clumsy, four-legged spider. He soon discovered that it would be
impossible to open Grebe s airlock door. But it didn t matter. A few feet away from it was a hole large
enough for him to crawl through.
He said into his helmet microphone, I m here.
The faint voice that replied, at long last, held an oddly familiar astringent quality. And about time.
I came as quickly as I could. Where are you?
In the control room.
Grimes made his way forward, using cutting torch and crowbar when he had to. When he found her
she was in the pilot s chair, held there by the seat belt. Moving feebly, she contrived to swivel to look at
him. Husky s floods were on, glaring through the viewports, but her face, inside the helmet, was in
shadow.
She said, I hate to have to admit it, but you re right, John.
What do you mean?
What you always say when you deliver yourself of one of your diatribes against automation. Never
put yourself at the mercy of a single fuse. My meteor shield might as well have not been there, and by
the time the alarm sounded it was too late to do anything ...
He was beside her now, holding her, cursing the heavy suits that were between them.
Sonya, I ve got to get you out of here. Aboard Husky He fumbled with the strap that held her.
Too ... late. She coughed, and the sound of it, telling of fluid-filled lungs, was terrifying. Too ...
late. I hung oh as long ... as I could. Start ... Mannschenn Drive. Should be some ... power ... in batteries
...
Sonyal I m getting you out of here!
No. No! Start ... Drive ...
But he persisted in trying to unstrap her. Summoning her last reserves of strength she pushed him
away. He lost contact with the deck, drifted away from her .. He clutched at something a lever? that
moved in his hand.
He did not hear the Drive starting; there was no air in the ship to carry the sound. But he felt the
vibration as its rotors stirred into life, was aware that the harsh light of Husky s floods had deepened
from white to a sullen red. Around him, around Sonya, the universe lost its substance. But he was solid
still, as she was, and her hand was firm in his.
And ...
She was saying, We found each other again. We found each other again ...
Grimes looked at her, looked at her a long time, dreadfully afraid that she would vanish. He held her
hand tightly. Then, but cautiously, he stared around him at the temple. It seemed to have lost its alien
magic. It was just a large, featureless room with the dimensions of a cube. On the floor, annoyingly off
center, was a block of black stone in the shape of a coffin.
He said, That dream ... If it was a dream ...
She said, There is a fourth rate Survey Service Base on Zetland ...
He said, The last I heard of Delamere he d been kicked upstairs to become a deskbound
commodore ...
She said, Damn your silly dream. Forget about it.
Ill try, he promised. And then, unbidden, familiar words formed themselves in his mind. He said
them aloud: To sleep, perchance to dream ... Ay, there s the rub ...
Something about the emphasis he used made her ask, What s the rub, John?
What is the dream? That or this?
What does it matter? she asked practically. We just make the best of what we ve got. Then, as
they walked out of the drab temple, Damn! My ribs are still hurting! [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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the indicator, pushing the target back to the outermost circle. Still it drove in. Grimes adjusted the scale
again, and again, and once more. Target spark merged with the bead of luminosity that represented
Husky. For a microsecond there was an uncanny sensation of merging not of ships, but of two
personalities. Mannschenn Drive off! snapped Grimes, executing his order. Inertial drive full
asteml
The ship shuddered, striving to tear herself apart. Colors sagged down the spectrum as the
ever-precessing gyroscopes of the Mannschenn Drive were braked to a halt but outside the viewports
the stars, vibrating madly, still looked as they had done while the drive was in operation.
Stop all! muttered Grimes, jerking the lever to its central position.
And there, scant feet away, rotating slowly about some cockeyed axis, was the torn, buckled hull of
the space yacht Grebe.
Mavis Davis came up to Control while Grimes was putting on his suit. She was bleeding slightly from
an abrasion on her forehead. Like many another plain woman she was beautiful in conditions of emotional
and physical stress. Be
fore she lowered the helmet onto his shoulder she kissed him. It was a brief contact, but surprisingly
warm. Grimes wished that it could have been longer.
She said, Good-bye. It s been nice knowing you, John.
What the hell s this, Mavis?
She grinned lopsidedly. I have my fey moments especially when somebody is playing silly buggers
with the Mannschenn Drive ... Then she was securing the helmet and further speech was impossible.
Grimes collected what tools he would require on his way down to the airlock. When the outer door
opened he found that he could almost step across to Grebe. He pushed himself away from his own little
ship, made contact with the hull of the other with the magnetic soles of his boots and palms of his gloves.
He clambered over her like a clumsy, four-legged spider. He soon discovered that it would be
impossible to open Grebe s airlock door. But it didn t matter. A few feet away from it was a hole large
enough for him to crawl through.
He said into his helmet microphone, I m here.
The faint voice that replied, at long last, held an oddly familiar astringent quality. And about time.
I came as quickly as I could. Where are you?
In the control room.
Grimes made his way forward, using cutting torch and crowbar when he had to. When he found her
she was in the pilot s chair, held there by the seat belt. Moving feebly, she contrived to swivel to look at
him. Husky s floods were on, glaring through the viewports, but her face, inside the helmet, was in
shadow.
She said, I hate to have to admit it, but you re right, John.
What do you mean?
What you always say when you deliver yourself of one of your diatribes against automation. Never
put yourself at the mercy of a single fuse. My meteor shield might as well have not been there, and by
the time the alarm sounded it was too late to do anything ...
He was beside her now, holding her, cursing the heavy suits that were between them.
Sonya, I ve got to get you out of here. Aboard Husky He fumbled with the strap that held her.
Too ... late. She coughed, and the sound of it, telling of fluid-filled lungs, was terrifying. Too ...
late. I hung oh as long ... as I could. Start ... Mannschenn Drive. Should be some ... power ... in batteries
...
Sonyal I m getting you out of here!
No. No! Start ... Drive ...
But he persisted in trying to unstrap her. Summoning her last reserves of strength she pushed him
away. He lost contact with the deck, drifted away from her .. He clutched at something a lever? that
moved in his hand.
He did not hear the Drive starting; there was no air in the ship to carry the sound. But he felt the
vibration as its rotors stirred into life, was aware that the harsh light of Husky s floods had deepened
from white to a sullen red. Around him, around Sonya, the universe lost its substance. But he was solid
still, as she was, and her hand was firm in his.
And ...
She was saying, We found each other again. We found each other again ...
Grimes looked at her, looked at her a long time, dreadfully afraid that she would vanish. He held her
hand tightly. Then, but cautiously, he stared around him at the temple. It seemed to have lost its alien
magic. It was just a large, featureless room with the dimensions of a cube. On the floor, annoyingly off
center, was a block of black stone in the shape of a coffin.
He said, That dream ... If it was a dream ...
She said, There is a fourth rate Survey Service Base on Zetland ...
He said, The last I heard of Delamere he d been kicked upstairs to become a deskbound
commodore ...
She said, Damn your silly dream. Forget about it.
Ill try, he promised. And then, unbidden, familiar words formed themselves in his mind. He said
them aloud: To sleep, perchance to dream ... Ay, there s the rub ...
Something about the emphasis he used made her ask, What s the rub, John?
What is the dream? That or this?
What does it matter? she asked practically. We just make the best of what we ve got. Then, as
they walked out of the drab temple, Damn! My ribs are still hurting! [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]