"Jeffrey Lord - Blade 18 - Warlords of Gaikon" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lord Jeffery)

unpredictable than they already are!"
"No," said Blade. "For better or worse, I'm his indispensable man."
That was really doing the brilliant little scientist something of an injustice. Leighton normally had more
regard for his computers than for any ten thousand human beings. But he did have some regard for
Richard Blade, and it wasn't entirely the result of Blade's being indispensable to Project Dimension X.
The scientist would rather have his budget canceled than admit it, but where Blade was concerned he
almost had a heart.
"No, this time it's just a simple trip," J continued. "Go out, and do your best to come back."
That was just as well, all things considered. Sooner or later they would have to develop the ability to
send Blade off to a specific dimension at will. And they would also have to stop landing Blade in
Dimension X as naked as a newborn babe. And finally, they would have to learn to bring back from
Dimension X more than what happened to be on or around Blade at the moment the computer gripped
him for the return trip.
All of these things would be necessary if the project were ever to repay the millions of pounds it had
swallowed up since its beginning. But in spite of all the time and money spent trying to do them, nothing
much had happened. Even the trials had mostly just made Blade's trips more dangerous—and even Lord
Leighton agreed that a trip into Dimension X was hair-raising enough at the best of times.
Besides, if Blade were killed, everything would come to a screeching halt. All the efforts to find even
one other person who could travel into Dimension X and return alive and sane had also fallen flat.
So Blade was for now indeed the indispensable man for a project vital toEngland 's future. It was not
a status he enjoyed, although by temperament he was a natural adventurer.
As they approached the door into the computer rooms, Lord Leighton came out to meet them. He
scuttled up to them on his polio-twisted legs, holding out a hand whose long, thin fingers were still
surprisingly strong and skilled.
"Good morning, Richard. J's told you we're not putting any icing on your cake this time."
"Yes, sir. He did." After a pause, Blade said, "I sometimes wonder if we're not going to solve some
of our problems by accident. We'll have given up any hope of finding a solution, and then suddenly one
will leap out at us. Then all the sub-projects—"
Leighton shot Blade a venomous look, as if the younger man had just confessed to poisoning babies
for a living. Blade managed to keep a grin off his face. Leighton believed almost religiously that the
systematic application of the scientific method could solve any problem. Blade and J, on the other hand,
had been professionals in the intelligence business. That was a business that ran as much by accident and
educated guesswork as by any sort of system.
Now they were passing through a succession of rooms filled with supporting equipment, terminals,
and white-coated technicians bending over them. There were three or four of those rooms—Blade had
never bothered to count them exactly. Then finally they were in the heart of the whole complex, the main
computer room.
The monstrous main computer towered toward the bare rock ceiling. The gray, crackled finish of the
ranked consoles gave off no reflections, even from the harsh lighting. Blade walked over to the metal
chair that stood in its glass booth in the middle of the chamber and looked down at it.
Then quickly he stepped into the small changing room in one corner of the chamber and stripped
himself to the skin. Just as quickly, but much more carefully, he smeared himself all over with
foul-smelling, black, greasy cream. Then he pulled on a loincloth and stepped back out into the chamber.
The rubber seat and back of the chair were as chilly as ever against his bare skin. Lord Leighton
bustled about, busily attaching the mass of cobra-headed electrodes whose multicolored wires linked
Blade to the computer. There seemed to be more of them than usual. Or was it just his impatience to be
off that was making the wiring-up process seem longer?
Eventually there were no more. J raised his hand in a final salute to Blade, then withdrew to the small
folding chair that had been installed on the wall for him. Lord Leighton stepped up to the main control
panel, lifting his hand over the red master switch.