"C. Sanford Lowe & G. David Nordley - The Small Pond" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lowe C Sanford)

Salim’s groan echoed through her helmet, so loud it made her wince. She
sighed. Bad enough to make an uncoordinated landfall on a big ice ball, but this was
an uncoordinated landfall on a major discovery. She would go down in history
instead of someone much more senior. She straightened her shoulders. That, she
thought, was just tough.
****
Two months later, Liz was back on Earth at Saint Petersburg, in Vitus
DeRoot’s office at the top of a very tall ISA tower overlooking the Nevsky
Prospekt. DeRoot, she thought, was all the more terrifying because of the way his
friendly avuncular manner could mask his anger.
“Shall we go through the particulars?”
Liz willed her fisted hands to straighten and shook her head. She had a good
idea of what would be on the list—every piece of negative information about her
performance since she arrived in the Earth’s Solar System.
He was going to do what he was going to do.
“The executive committee feels that we should take advantage of your family
connections and the public attention your exploits have received in our outreach
program.”
Visions of intro classes and faculty teas rushed through her head. “With
respect, Dr. DeRoot, I’ve not had any university experience. I did my degree
on-ship, on the way in from 61 Cygni.”
He smiled. “Not to worry. We can accommodate you in both respects. Ginny
Lu has a long list of elementary schools over the entire planet that need speakers. It
would be a real treat for the children to meet someone who was born around another
star, and is so famous. You’ll be assigned to her. Anything else?”
“When does this all start? I have a milk run to the Black Hole Project in the
asteroid belt.”
DeRoot shrugged. “I wouldn’t worry too much about the BHP; that’s just too
premature and grandiose—Director Zhau Tse Wen’s political problems will shut
them down before too long.”
Liz felt a cold chill down her back. Was that what was behind this?
“Hilda Kremer, your sister, is on that project, is she not? I’m sorry.” He
frowned and looked down.
Liz bit her tongue.
“You colonials come back here with so much enthusiasm, but this is a very
old solar system and a very old planet with agendas that go way back.” He shook his
head. “One needs to tread carefully. Are we done?”
DeRoot had simply made a personnel move based on “needs within the
institute.” It had already been decided. What was done, was done.
She left DeRoot’s office and went to her apartment on the thirty-second floor.
There she opened a bottle of Mayagues Port, went out on her balcony, and looked
out over the Ploshchad Ostrovskovo, awash in the late summer sun.
She thought about her mother, the near legendary starship Captain Katherine
Avonford, as she looked at the huge Russian monument to Catherine the Great. Its
larger-than-life scale also reminded her of her planet-sculpting father, Wotan Kremer.
She had vowed not to be swallowed by her heritage but also, perversely, felt obliged
to live up to it in some way, to be larger than life herself. She shuddered; time
enough to get things back on track tomorrow. With that she set aside a couple of
detox pills and proceeded to get smashed.
The next morning, Liz went back to her small office in the exploration