"Stephen Goldin - Herds" - читать интересную книгу автора (Goldin Stephen)

their landing—and took off into space. They left behind them all
their works, their cities, their farms, their machines. Also
abandoned was a race of very stunned, very perplexed former
slaves.

The Zarticku could not at first believe that their masters had
really departed. They huddled in fear that this might be some
new and devious torture. But weeks passed, and there was no
sign anywhere of the Offasü. Meanwhile, there were crops and
machines that required tending. Almost by reflex, they went
back to their accustomed tasks.

Several more centuries passed and the Zarticku turned their
specially-bred intelligence to their own use. They examined the
machines that the Offasü had left behind and discovered the
principles of science; from there, they improved and adapted the
machines to their own purposes. They developed a culture of
their own. They used their intellect to build philosophies and
abstract thought. They devised their own recreations and
enjoyments. They began to live the comfortable life of an
intelligent species that has mastered its own planet.
 But beneath the veneer of success was always fear— the fear of
the Offasü. Centuries of cruel oppression had left their mark on
the Zartic psyche. What if the Offasü should someday return?
They would not take kindly to this usurpation of their equipment
by upstart slaves. They would devise new and more horrible
tortures and the Zarticku, as always, would suffer.

It was this atmosphere of fear and curiosity that nurtured the
boldest step the Zartic race had ever taken—¦ the Space
Exploration Project.


CHAPTER I
A two-lane stretch of California 1 ran along the coastline. To
the west, sometimes only a couple of hundred feet from the road,
was the Pacific Ocean, quietly lapping its waves over the sand
and stone of San Marcos State Beach. To the east, a cliff of white,
naked rock sprang upwards to a height of over two hundred feet.
Beyond the cliff lay a string of mountains. They weren't very tall,
the highest barely a thousand feet above sea level, but they were
sufficient for the local residents. The mountains were covered
with sparse forests of cypress trees and tangled underbrush, with
a few other types of vegetation daring to make their presence
known at scattered intervals.

At the top of the cliff, overlooking the highway and the ocean,
was a small wooden cabin. It stood in the center of a cleared
area, a simple understatement of human presence in the midst
of nature. A car was parked beside the cabin on the gravel that