"Modesitt, L E - Forever Hero 03 - The Endless Twilight" - читать интересную книгу автора (Modesitt L E)

"Two plus before Byzania orbit station." The AI voice, the voice of the ship in real terms, was pleasant, cool and clear, emotionless, unlike the warm and faintly husky voice of the woman for whom he had named the modified scout. The dichotomy did not bother him, perhaps because he avoided thinking about it.

Gerswin rubbed his temples with the thumb and forefinger of his right hand, closed his eyes, and leaned back in the upslanted shell seat.

With each totally new system, it became a little harder to assimilate the information he needed. But he couldn't blunder around strange planets without at least a fundamental idea of their government, customs, and legal structure. Not doing what he was doing.

The standard structure he'd developed with the Infonet professionals had helped, both financially and in reducing the information to the absolute minimum he needed. But it was still more than he wanted to learn, time after time. And that was a danger itself, since it pushed him toward continued dealings within systems he already knew.

He frowned, and, eyes closed, tried to sort out Byzania.

Government—quasi-military, despite the trappings of more democratic institutions. Popularly elected senators formed an upper chamber which could approve or disapprove any law or regulation, but which could not propose either. Laws were enacted by the lower chamber, composed of delegates selected from each political party's preference list in proportion to the total vote in the general election. Head of government—prime minister, appointed from the military by the Chief of Staff.

Gerswin suspected that the preference lists provided by the political parties were screened by the military, which had its hand in everything.

Population—roughly thirty million, the majority on the largest and first settled continent.

Economy—largely agricultural, with enough local light industry to provide a small middle class. Two M/M (mining/manufacturing) complexes on the largest moon of the fourth planet in the system.

Culture—Urabo-Hismexic, with emphasis on male-dominated honor.

Gerswin pursed his lips and opened his eyes.

By all rights, unless the ecology was hostile, and the population and agricultural figures belied that, the system shouldn't need a military or even a quasi-military government. Byzania produced nothing of high value and low cubage, i.e., nothing worth the energy costs of jumpship transport as an export, and wasn't strategically located vis-а-vis the Dismorphs, the Analexians, the Ursans, or the two other intelligent and technologically oriented races found by the Empire.

"Search capabilities of Byzania orbit control?" he asked the AI. He refused to personify the artificial intelligence or to program in any human traits, or to otherwise associate it with the ship or her namesake.

"Inquiry imprecise."

"Do they have the ability to pick out the Caroljoy from orbit if I took her down on the southern continent?"

"Probability approaches unity."

"Do they have the technology to crack the hull without fracturing the scenery if I set down at the shuttle port outside Illyam?"

"Probability is less than point one."

"What is their hard credit balance?"

"That is classified. Estimated as negative."

"The fact that it's classified tells me that. What about fax outlets? How many are independent?"

"Estimate point five of all media origination points, including fax outlets, are independent. No official censorship."

"It's a risk, but we'll go in. Evaluate the probability of acceptance-agent of Imperial family looking for a very private retreat."

"Probability of disapproval less than point two. Credibility less than point five."

"In other words, they'll let me do it, but won't buy the excuse. Well . . . let's hope so."