"Angry Young Spaceman" - читать интересную книгу автора (Munroe Jim)

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ANGRY YOUNG SPACEMAN



Jim Munroe




Copyright © 2000 by Jim Munroe.




***


Bubbles over Plangyo,
Where did you go?
—Octavian folk song


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I had a massive suitcase dragging down one fist and my Speak-O-Matic case in the
other.
“Let me help you with that,” said Lisa. I pushed my suitcase at her, but she
reached around it to snatch the jet black translator.
I let go reluctantly. “Careful,” I said, lurching on with my suitcase.
She swung it jauntily as she walked, smirking back at me from under her messy
mop of brown curls. I set the suitcase down and picked it up with my other hand.
“‘What do I need antigrav cells for, Lisa?’” Lisa said in her stupid-guy voice
as she watched me struggle. “‘What a total waste of money!’”
I looked at the spaceport ahead and picked up my pace. “You deliberately parked
the floater far away to —” A guy with a jetpack touched down between Lisa and I,
cutting me off. I scowled at him as I walked through his purple exhaust, my nose
burning from it.
She watched me with a smidge of sympathy. “How’s your head?”
I shrugged. “Not bad, considering.”
“Yeah, it was quite a party,” she said with a crooked smile. “Were you surprised
with how many people showed up?”
I nodded. The rooftop had been packed, new people landing every minute it
seemed. I felt, again, a bubble of doubt rise, as I thought about all the good
friends I had on Earth. I could feel Lisa watching me. Ahead, a rocket launched,
its ignition-plume predictably lighting a burst of excitement in my chest.
“It’s gonna be good,” I said, staring at it as it rose. I suddenly worried about
my boxes. They had been sent ahead and (hopefully) already sat in the belly of