"Alan Dean Foster - The Tessellated Tetrahexahedral Yellow Rose of Texas" - читать интересную книгу автора (Foster Alan Dean)

whose sole point of commonality was that all were encased in paper tubes and then fired.



So it was that a tired Josiah Chester, Major, USAF, found himself standing in the office of General
MacGregor, to which he had been summoned posthaste.

Chester's skin was numb from the steel lashing of the frigidTexaswind outside as he started to remove his
heavy winter overcoat. The general only allowed him to finish his salute, however.

"Just stand there, Joe," MacGregor ordered him gently. "No point in removing your coat; you don't have
time to warm up."
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Chestermoved his hands from the buttons. "I came as fast as I could, sir. The weather's brutal tonight.
Something's up?"

"Something." MacGregor snorted teasingly as he reached for a bottle concealed out of sight. He poured
and downed half a shot glass neat, offered the same toChester. The major accepted and duplicated the
general's efforts-to ward off the weather, he insisted to himself.

"I should have taken that job National Avionics offered me inWashington," the general told empty air.
Just as easily, he cocked a querulous eye at the standing officer and asked, "Joe, do you believe m flying
saucers, UFOs, that sort of thing?"

Chesterhad thought himself as well prepared as possible for one summoned unexpectedly to a meeting
with his base commander at nearly two in the morning during a near blizzard. So the speed with which he
lost his composure was unsettling.

A host of conflicting thoughts fought for attention. The Ruskies were trying something . . . no, if that were
so, he'd have been called to his plane, not the general's office. We're being invaded . . . but if that were
the case, he'd hardly be alone here.

He finally decided that something very important was going on that higher-ups wanted as few people as
possible to know about. His last thought before replying was that he probably wouldn't have a chance to
telephone Charlene to tell her he wouldn't be able to attend MaryEllen's ballet performance at the school
today.

"No, sir, I don't, but then, I don't disbelieve, either."

"The little green men's agnostic, is that it?" essayed MacGregor. He added irritably, without giving the
major a chance to comment, "Oh, for heaven's sake, at ease, Joe!" Chester relaxed as the general
pushed the bottle forward on the desk.

"Like another? A cigar, maybe? Havana."

"No thank you, sir."