"Judith Merril - Survival Ship" - читать интересную книгу автора (Merril Judith)

first. In any case, there was no more time for worrying. There were things to be done.
A detail was sent off immediately to attend to the animals, release them from the confinement of
the specially prepared acceleration pens, and check them for any possible damage incurred in
spite of pre-cautions. The proportions of human, animal, and plant life had been worked out
carefully beforehand for maximum efficiency and for comfort. Now that the trip had started, the
miniature world had to maintain its status quo or perish.
As soon as enough of the crew were awake, Lieuten-ant Johnson, the third officer, took a group
of eight out to make an inspection of the hydroponic tanks that lined the hull. Nobody expected
much trouble here. Be-ing at the outermost part of the ship, the plants were ex-posed to high
"gravity." The outward pull exerted on them by rotation should have held their roots in place,
even through the tearing backward thrust of the acceleration. But there was certain to be a large
amount of minor damage, to stems and leaves and buds, and what-ever there was would need
immediate repair. In the ship's economy the plants had the most vital function of all—absorbing
carbon dioxide from dead air already used by humans and animals, and deriving from it the
nourishment that enabled their chlorophyll systems to release fresh oxygen for re-use in
breathing.
There was a vast area to inspect. Row upon row of tanks marched solidly from stem to stern of
the giant ship, all around the inner circumference of the hull. Johnson split the group of eight into
four teams, each with a biochemist in charge to locate and make notes of the extent of the
damage, and an unclassified man as helper, to do the actual dirty work, crawling out along the
catwalks to mend each broken stalk.
Other squads were assigned to check the engines and control mechanisms, and the last two
women to awake got stuck with the booby prize—first shift in the galley. Melnick squashed their
immediate protests with a stern reminder that they had hardly earned the right to com-plain; but
privately the captain was pleased at the way it had worked out. This first meal on board was
going to have to be something of an occasion. A bit of ceremony always helped; and above all,
social procedures would have to be established immediately. A speech was in-dicated—a speech
Melnick did not want to have to make in the presence of all twenty-four crew members. As it
worked out, the Four would almost certainly be kept busy longer than the others. If these women
had not happened to wake up last . . .
The buzzing of the intercom broke into the captain's speculations. "Lieutenant Johnson reporting
sir." Behind the proper, crisp manner, the young lieutenant's voice was frightened. Johnson was
third in command, supervising the inspection of the tanks.
"Having trouble down there?" Melnick was deliber-ately informal, knowing the men could hear
over the in-tercom, and anxious to set up an immediate feeling of unity among the officers.
"One of the men complaining, sir." The young lieutenant sounded more confident already.
"There seems to be some objection to the division of work."
Melnick thought it over quickly and decided against any more public discussion on the intercom
"Stand by. I'll be right down."
All over the ship airducts and companionways led from the inner-level living quarters "down" to
the outer level of tanks; Melnick took the steps three at a time and reached the trouble zone withi
seconds after the conversation ended.
"Who's the troublemaker here?"
"Kennedy—on assignment with Petty Officer Giorgio for plant maintenance."
"You have a complaint?" Melnick asked the swarthy, dungareed man whose face bore a look of
sullen dissatisfaction.
"Yeah." The man's voice was deliberately insolent. The others had never heard him speak that
way before, and he seemed to gain confidence from the shocked sur-prise they displayed. "I
thought I was supposed to be a pampered darling this trip. How come I do all the dirty work
here, and Georgie gets to keep so clean?"