"Harry Harrison - One Step From Earth" - читать интересную книгу автора (Harrison Harry)

"Ready for the first man," Dr. Thurmond said, his voice squeaky and distant in the thin atmosphere.

For the first time Ben looked at the shining black disc of the matter transmitter set into the far wall. One
of the dressers tossed a test cube into it as Ben lay face down on the table. While they were rolling the
table forward the report came in. Everything in the green.

"Hold it," Ben said, and the table stopped. He turned to look at Otto Thasler who was sitting rigid,
facing the opposite wall. Ben could imagine the terrified expression on the hidden face. "Relax, Otto, it's a
piece of cake. I'll he waiting for you at the other end. Relax and enjoy it, man, we're making history."

There was no answer, nor had he expected one. The quicker this part was over the better. They had
been practicing the maneuver for weeks and he automatically took the position. Right arm straight
forward ahead of him, left arm tight at his side. The matter transmitter screen grew like a great dark eye
as the table rolled forward, until it was all he could see in front of him.

"Do it," he ordered, and they pushed smoothly against his feet.

Sliding. Hand wrist arm vanishing. Feeling nothing. A moment of recoil, of twisting pain, as his head went
through, then he was looking at the coarse pebbles on the ground. He pushed aside the test cube and put
his hand flat to break his fall. Then his other arm was through and his legs. Falling sideways in an easy roll
his hip struck something hard.

Ben sat up, rubbing the sore spot and looked at the plastic container that he had landed on. Inside was a
dead rat, rigid, wide-eyed, and frozen. A nice omen. He turned quickly away and went through the rest
of the drill. The microphone was hanging in the same spot as on the mockup and he switched it on.

"Ben Duncan to control. Arrived okay. No problems." He should say more than that on this historical
moment but his brain was empty of inspiration. He looked around at the low, dark hills, the crater
nearby, the tiny, bright sun. There was nothing that really could be said.

"Send Otto through. Over and out."

He stood, brushing some dust from his side, and looked at the shining plate. Minutes passed before the
loudspeaker rasped, the voice so distorted he had to strain for the meaning.

"We read you. Stand by for transmission. Thasler coming through."

Otto's hand appeared even before the voice ended. It took the radio waves nearly four minutes to reach
Mars, but the matter transmission was almost instantaneous since it went through Bhattacharya space
where time, as it is normally constituted, does not exist. Otto's arm dropped limply and Ben took him by
the shoulders, a dead weight that he eased to the ground. Rolling him over Ben saw that his eyes were
closed. But he seemed to be breathing regularly. He was probably unconscious. Transmission shock they
called it. It wasn't uncommon. He should come to in a few minutes. Ben dragged him to one side and
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went back to the radio.