"Joe Haldeman - Tricentennial (2)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Haldeman Joe)

easy to tell the scientists from the baggage. The scientists were the
ones who looked nervous.

Superficially, it seemed very tranquil-nothing like the bone hurting
skin stretching acceleration when the shuttle lifted off. The
glittering transparent cylinder of L-5 simply grew larger, slowly, then
wheeled around to point at them.

The problem was that a space colony big enough to hold 4000 people has
more inertia than God. If the shuttle hit the mating dimple too- fast,
it would fold up like an accordian. A spaceship is made to take stress
in the other direction.

Charlie hadn't paid first class, but they let him up into the
observation dome anyhow; professional courtesy. There were only two
other people there, standing on the Velcro rug, strapped to one bar and
hanging on to another.

They were a young man and woman, probably new colonists. The man was
talking excitedly. The woman stared straight ahead, not listening. Her
knuckles were white on the bar and her teeth were clenched. Charlie
wanted to say something in sympathy, but it's hard to talk while you're
holding your breath.

The last few meters are the worst. You can't see over the curve of the
ship's hull, and the steering jets make a: constant stutter of little
bumps: left, right, forward back. If the shuttle folded, would the dome
shatter Or just pop off.

It was all controlled by computers, of course. The pilot just sat up
there in a mist of weightless sweat.

Then the low moan, almost subsonic shuddering a the shuttle's smooth
hull complained against the friction
pads. Charlie waited for the ringing spang that would mean they were a
little too fast: friable alloy plates. under the friction pads,
crumbling to absorb the energy of their forward motion; last ditch
stand.
If that didn't stop them, they would hit a two-meter wall of solid
steel, which would. It had happened once. But not this time.

"Please remain seated until pressure is equalized," a recorded voice
said. "It's been a pleasure having you aboard."

Charlie crawled down the pole, back to the passenger area. He walked
rip,rip,rip back to his seat and obediently waited for his ears to pop.
Then the side door opened and he went with the other passengers through
the tube that led to the elevator. They stood on the ceiling. Someone
had laboriously scratched a graffito on the metal wall: