"Aldiss, Brian - There is a Tide" - читать интересную книгу автора (Aldiss Brian W)

J-Casta also appeared. Him I was less pleased to see.
He was the boss type, the strong-arm man: as Jubal's under-
ling, he pandered wretchedly to him and bullied everyone else
on the project. He (and there were many others like him,
unfortunately) thought of the Massacre as man's greatest
achievement. This evening, in the presence of his superiors,
after a preliminary burst of showing off, he was quiet enough.
When they pressed me to, I talked of Venus. As I spoke,
back rushed that humblingbut intoxicatingsense of awe
to think I had actually lived to stand in full possession of my
many faculties on that startling planet. The same feeling had
often possessed me on Mars. And (as justifiably) on Earth.
The vision chimed, and an amber light biinked drowsily
off and on in Jubal's tank. Even then, no premonition of ca-
tastrophe; since then, I can never see that amber heartbeat
without anxiety.
Jubal answered it, and a man's face swam up in the tank
to greet him. They talked; I could catch no words, but the
sudden tension was apparent. Sloe went over and put her
arm round Jubal's shoulder.
"Something up," J-Casta commented.
"Yes," I said.
"That's Chief M-Shawn on the visionfrom Owenstown,
over on Lake Victoria."
Then Jubal flashed off and came slowly back to where we
were sitting.
"That was M-Shawn," he said. "The level of Lake Victoria
has just dropped three inches." He lit a cheroot with clumsy
fingers, his eyes staring in mystification far beyond the flame.
"Dam okay, boss?" J-Casta asked.
"Perfectly. They're going to phone us if they find any-
thing ..."
"Has this happened before?" I asked, not quite able to
understand their worried looks.
"Of course not," my half-brother said scornfully. "Surely
you must see the implications of it? Something highly un-
precedented has occurred."
"But surely a mere three inches of water. . ."
At that he laughed briefly. Even J-Casta permitted himself a
snort.
"Lake Victoria is an inland sea," Jubal said grimly. "It's
as big as Tasmania. Three inches all over that area means
many thousands of tons of water. Casta, I think we'll get
down to Mokulgu; it won't do any harm to alert the first aid
services, just in case they're needed. Got your tracer?"
"Yes, boss. I'm coming."
Jubal patted Sloe's arm, nodded to me and left without
relaxing his worried look. He and J-Casta shortly appeared
outside. They bundled into a float, soared .dangerously close
to a giant walnut tree and vanished into the night.