"Harry Harrison - Planet Of No Return" - читать интересную книгу автора (Harrison Harry)

various planets in the old Earth Empire. Most of these worlds were known, but
of course there were a few that were new to us. Their coordinates were turned
over to Plansurv for contact and identification. Since observation from space
had revealed no cities or visible settlements, this planet was the last one to
be surveyed. Nor was there any form of broadcasting activity in any of the
communication bands."

"So there are no human beings here, or any signs of civilization—other than a
few abandoned battlefields?"

"Yes—and that's what we found so intriguing. That military scrapheap that
Marcill and Hartig landed near was the biggest one detected. But there are
plenty more."

"Warfare—but no warriors. Where are all the people? Underground?"

"Perhaps. That is what you will have to find out after you have made a safe
landing. The planet appears physically attractive enough. Those white polar
caps you see are ice and snow. And there is a obviously a lot of ocean. There
are islands and island chains, plus a single large continent just there. Half
night and half day now. It is roughly bowl-shaped, and ringed about with
mountain ranges. There are grass plains and hillside forest in the interior.
Plenty of lakes, including that big one near the center where you can see the
sunrise glinting on it, really an inland ocean. You'll get records of all
this."

"What is the climate like?"

"Perfect. At least on the plains around the big lake. It gets a bit cooler in
the mountains, but at the

A Desperate Plan

39

lower altitudes it is warm and comfortable."

"All right. The first thing we are going to need is transportation. What is
available?"
"The Project Commander will take care of that for you. I suggest that you use
one of the lifeships. They are compact landing vessels with plenty of power to
spare, yet are still big enough to carry whatever equipment you may need. And
they are well armed too. The techs will see to it that they stock the latest
weaponry and defenses."

Brion raised his eyebrows at that. "The guns didn't seem to help Hartig very
much."

"Then we can profit from his experience."