"G. David Nordley - The Forest Between the Worlds" - читать интересную книгу автора (Nordley G. David)

Jones came bounding from her swim in long low-gravity strides, large droplets of water still trailing from
her lightly tanned skin. She was a big, athletic woman, a bit darker than could be accounted for by the
trickle of ultraviolet light that managed its way through the vast, distended Hazian atmosphere. Polynesian
roots, he suspected. She was, perhaps, five centimeters taller than Akil’s 175.

Like everyone in this hothouse climate, she shaved her head, but her fuzziness indicated the last time must
have been a couple of weeks ago. She grabbed a tree to slow herself and her large breasts kept moving
in low gravity slow motion for some time after the rest of her body. The effect was surreal and,
involuntarily, Akil grinned.

She rolled her eyes upward. "Low gee, Mateo–get used to it. She’s not in there, is she?"

He shrugged. "I’d guess not."

Akil felt his com patch buzz against his skin. "Go ahead," he said.

"Marianne, Akil, Sam Richards here. We’ve done a minimal override of Sharada’s AI instructions to let
you in. We’ve had a little discussion up here, but the upshot is that she’s not there and you should
probably go after her, promptly, and reel her in if you can. The two of you should be enough–a crowd
would probably upset her and the Forest People. Everyone else is out in the field anyway. So you two
have got it.

"I’m sure it’s not necessary to remind you, but for the record, please avoid doing any violence to the
Forest People, even to save Sharada’s life; she knew the risks and took them voluntarily. If there is any
hostility, we might lose any chance of a peaceful evacuation; not the sort of calling card we wish to leave.
If you can’t reel Sharada in within a standard day or so, come back and we’ll regroup. If you have any
questions, handle them locally. Don’t wait for another fifteen minutes of lightspeed delay. Okay, you’ve
got the ball now. Get going. Stay in touch with the ground base and good luck. Richards out."

"We’ve got the ball?" Akil said, wondering how he’d gotten himself in that position.

"I guess so. I’ll go in," Jones said, ignoring his qualms. She turned to the door. "Open."

This time the door slid open without a fuss.

Fina’s hut was full of forest things and standard equipment. Everything was there in perfect order,
including her field suit and survival kit. The com patch was lying on the pillow of her web hammock.

"This isn’t like her, all neat and everything in order. It’s as if she expected people in here before she came
back. Chaos!" Jones exclaimed as she touched the field gear. "I wonder if she took anything this time?"
She seemed worried to Akil.

"Is that dangerous?" he asked. He knew the biochemistry was different enough that people wouldn’t be
nourishing to Hazian predators. There were some basic compounds in common: water, methane, alcohol,
and some sugars, and a few other simple organic compounds, but most of the complex stuff had gone in
different directions.

She shrugged and pursed her lips. "Not as far as we can tell, at least for short periods. The biology
generally leaves us alone, though you have to watch out for some plants that can’t tell us from the natives.