"Stanislaw Lem - Solaris2" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lem Stanislaw)

spite of myself, but there was no further noise or movement.
"When is lift-off?" As I asked, I noticed a rustling outside, like a
shower of fine sand.
 "You're on your way, Kelvin. Good luck!" Moddard's voice sounded as
close as before.
A wide slit opened at eye-level, and I could see the stars. The
_Prometheus_ was orbiting in the region of Alpha in Aquarius and I tried in
vain to orient myself; a glittering dust filled my porthole. I could not
recognize a single constellation; in this region of the galaxy the sky was
unfamiliar to me. I waited for the moment when I would pass near the first
distinct star, but I was unable to isolate any one of them. Their brightness
was fading; they receded, merging into a vague, purplish glimmer, the sole
indication of the distance I had already travelled. My body rigid, sealed in
its pneumatic envelope, I was knifing through space with the impression of
standing still in the void, my only distraction the steadily mounting heat.
Suddenly, there was a shrill, grating sound, like a steel blade being
drawn across a sheet of wet glass. This was it, the descent. If I had not
seen the figures racing across the dial, I would not have noticed the change
in direction. The stars having vanished long since, my gaze was swallowed up
on the pale reddish glow of infinity. I could hear my heart thudding heavily.
I could feel the coolness from the air-conditioning on my neck, although my
face seemed to be on fire. I regretted not having caught a glimpse of the
_Prometheus_, but the ship must have been out of sight by the time the
automatic controls had raised the shutter of my porthole.
The capsule was shaken by a sudden jolt, then another. The whole vehicle
began to vibrate. Filtered through the insulating layers of the outer skins,
penetrating my pneumatic cocoon, the vibration reached me, and ran through my
entire body. The image of the dial shivered and multiplied, and its
phosphorescence spread out in all directions. I felt no fear. I had not
undertaken this long voyage only to overshoot my target!
I called into the microphone:
"Station Solaris! Station Solaris! Station Solaris! I think I am
leaving the flight-path, correct my course! Station Solaris, this is the
_Prometheus_ capsule. Over."
I had missed the precious moment when the planet first came into view.
Now it was spread out before my eyes; flat, and already immense.
Nevertheless, from the appearance of its surface, I judged that I was still at
a great height above it, since I had passed that imperceptible frontier after
which we measure the distance that separates us from a celestial body in terms
of altitude. I was falling. Now I had the sensation of falling, even with my
eyes closed. (I quickly reopened them: I did not want to miss anything there
was to be seen.)
I waited a moment in silence before trying once more to make contact. No
response. Successive bursts of static came through the headphones, against a
background of deep, low-pitched murmuring, which seemed to me the very voice
of the planet itself. A veil of mist covered the orange-colored sky,
obscuring the porthole. Instinctively, I hunched myself up as much as my
inflated suit would allow, but almost at once I realized that I was passing
through cloud. Then, as though sucked upwards, the cloud-mass lifted; I was
gliding, half in light, half in shadow, the capsule revolving upon its own