"C. Sanford Lowe & G. David Nordley - Imperfect Gods" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lowe C Sanford)

she thought.

The port dome flowed around the ship as it slipped down into the colony
docks.

Naomi turned to Sasha. “Let’s go meet the new boss.”

“Us?”

Naomi laughed. “Your Uncle Ted is out at the site and Wotan Kremer’s tied
up in a meeting about ice sheet slippage.”

“Dr. Kremer is his daughter, isn’t she? Hard to imagine Grandpa Abila staying
away if it were you.”

Indeed it would. Dad was always there to greet her when she came back from
the construction site, even if only for a week. But Wotan Kremer was notorious for
not letting personal matters interfere with business. “Yes, but melting planets has to
be done just right. He’ll probably see her tomorrow.”

“I wonder what they’ll call New Antarctica when they’re done melting the
ice.”

Naomi sparkled. “Come on. You’ll want to make a good impression.”

He chuckled and followed her into the elevator.

She’d reserved a table on the upper level, where they could watch the
disembarkation. She liked to watch the new arrivals and imagine who they might be
and what their personalities would be like. Sasha shared that general interest, but
today was a little more special.

They arrived in the great cylindrical cavern just as massive sections of the
shuttle’s hull swung aside, exposing its innards to the business of unloading. The
hull was covered with frost and there was a sharp nippy smell to the air just mixed
with the icy nitrogen above. They could even see their breath. Sasha tried blowing a
ring of mist.

They walked to their table, a semicircle that curved away from the low,
transparent guard wall. Four pod-chairs rimmed the table; they took the middle two.
She settled into the infrared warmth of the chair and savored the sensation of
breathing crisp air. They ordered coffee and watched four ramps slide out from the
sides of the cylinder into the ship. A host of robot unloaders rolled down three of
them to get to the cargo. Above them was a large sign, “Welcome to New
Antarctica. Erebus (Groombridge 34A) Star System.” The name they’d given the
star was so new that someone had thought to add the old catalog name in
parentheses.

A dozen folk emerged on the fourth ramp, hooded against the chill of the still
warming air. “Do you know which one she is?” Sasha asked. “Mom?”