"Chalker, Jack L - G.O.D. Inc 3 - The Maze in the Mirror" - читать интересную книгу автора (Chalker Jack L)

have a chance at catching them is when they make a mistake and we know they're
there."
"My God, Bill! You're telling me we could have whole civilizations going back
and forth and we might not know about it. If this Carlos organization could tie
into them, we're talking an army here. That certainly explains the world and the
big organization on it where Brandy was trapped and addicted and how they're
able to pull in so many duplicates. I can see why they pulled you off anything
else."
Markham nodded. "It's been tough, but we've had several advantages. For the most
part they've stuck with Type Zero worlds-worlds with people like us. That
narrows it. There might be some Zero-Bs there-worlds where the people look human
but aren't-but mostly they stick close to home, in worlds where they understand
the rules. By selective monitoring and random probes just of our own
region-which is big enough-we've managed to find several switches and identify a
few worlds. They've got some key advantages, though, in that there's only one
way in or out. The first time we got massacred going up one of their sidings, we
learned that you either invade in strength, in which case you take the tunnel
cube by cube but don't know the territory, or we seal it off. We got smart fast.
Now we don't tell them when we find them-we just monitor the hell out of the
access. That's given us a small but valuable catalog of worlds they frequently
visit and a rogue's gallery of people in this rebel organization. We've managed
some infiltration of their organization at lower levels but it's tough getting
messages in and out."
"Are you telling me that Dash might be anywhere in one of these sidings?" Sam
seemed very uncomfortable. "That we might still have lost him?"
"No, no! I doubt it! We've got every weak point from here to Australia covered
from the inside and we have this world sealed off as tight as we can. We know
this world as good as we know any, Sam. There are no uncovered weak points. They
got in, some with false authorizations, some with exploiting lax weak spots like
this one-sorry--but this one was covered far too soon for a group that size to
make an exit and get away into their maze, and the others were sealed within
hours and show no signs of use. Even if they faked out a station master there
would be records. No, Sam, they're still here. They're all still here. What
bothers me is that they must have known that would happen from the start. I just
can't figure out their game."
Sam gave a low smile. "With what you've told me, which fills in a lot of gaps,
Bill, I can assure you, I think I at least understand some of it. This might be
very interesting at that, provided they don't know that I am in the possession
of certain facts. The question really is, just how subtle are these jokers?
They've been pretty ham-handed and theatrical up to now, and that's dangerous.
But if they are a little too clever for their own good, then things are looking
up."
"Huh? What?"
"Never mind. The proof will come in the next few hours--a day or two at most.
For my own interests, Bill, I simply can't go further with this right now. Just
keep us bottled up tight and I'll do the rest."
Markham studied the detective. "I wish I didn't feel like Watson sitting around
221B Baker Street," he grumbled, then sighed. "Okay, okay, we'll play it your
way for now. I wouldn't want in any way to cause Dash to come to harm because I
interfered."