"Jeffrey Lord - Blade 35 - Lords of the Crimson River" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lord Jeffery)

wasn't infinite. Also, J always made a fuss over experiments and innovations which put Blade in
unnecessary danger.

So Leighton was groping in the dark until Blade returned from Kaldak. Unlike the KALI capsule, the
control chair that brought him back was nearly intact, ready for Leighton's examination. He tested it every
way he knew of and a few more he invented on the spot. All the tests showed the same thing: the master
computer not only generated a powerful electrical field matching Blade's brain waves, but projected it to
wherever Blade was in Dimension X. The chair, with all its complicated equipment, had become part of
that electrical field and had come back to Home Dimension with Blade seated in it.

It wasn't news that the computer generated such an electrical field. It was news that it could project it so
far. Could it possibly project the same field, to send Blade? Did he have to be wired into the computer or
at least encased in the KALI capsule? Or did he only have to be within reach of the appropriate electrical
field?

Leighton started working twelve and fourteen hours a day on this question. At last he reached the point
where he needed to run all his work through a computer. By then the repairmen had the master computer
down for its overhaul, and Leighton was left with the smaller computer in Complex Two.

That wasn't a problem in itself. The new computer had all the capacity Leighton needed. Unfortunately,
in expanding its facilities the Project had also expanded its bureaucracy. There were established
procedures for using the new computer, which Leighton himself could only ignore at the price of drawing
a good deal of attention. This was the last thing he wanted, at least until after the first few runs. He always
preferred to work out at least a preliminary proposal before talking to anyone else. The ultimate solution
to that problem would be a personal computer of his own, but that wasn't practical yet.

An adequate computer would cost at least fifty thousand pounds. While Leighton held enough patents to
be a fairly wealthy man, he wasn't yet in a position to sink that sort of money into something which would
be no more than a convenience.

Leighton cracked his knuckles, stretched, and looked at the clock on the wall. The run was taking longer
than the programmer promised. He picked up a notebook and pencil from the table and began doodling
rough sketches of a possible electrical-field generator linked to the master computer. It looked rather like
an oversized telephone booth, with Blade standing in the middle.

A new thought struck Leighton. Standing freely, Blade could wear anything which wouldn't disrupt the
electrical field. He wouldn't need to keep his skin bare for the electrodes of the earliest system they'd
used in the Project or for the conducting lining of the KALI capsule. He could go into Dimension X with
clothes on his body and boots on his feet, carrying weapons, food, water, and survival gear. This would
improve both Blade's chances of survival and his ability to explore Dimension X.

The new method might also reduce the strain on the subject's mind and body. If that happened, perhaps
somebody else could finally go into Dimension X and come back alive and sane! That would be an even
bigger breakthrough than equipping Blade. Right now the Project depended entirely on Blade, and
sooner or later his luck might run out. Even if it didn't, he would someday be too old for such demanding
work. If there wasn't somebody ready to take over by then, the whole Project would come to a halt.
That, thought Leighton, would be a damnably silly ending to my career!

The notebook was nearly filled with sketches by the time the programmer returned with the completed
runs and a pot of tea. Leighton noticed the man's eyes lingering on the notebook, quietly shut it, and