"THUNDER" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rose Martin)

light giggle. This, translated into Standard, meant something
approximating "I know what I'm doing, so trust me, okay?"
As Martin rechecked the connections between his keyboards, tone
generators, and several other controllers, Tom and Eiko were already
starting a mini-jam session of their own, with Tom wailing a complex
melody as Eiko belted out a chorded power rhythm. Noriko stood quietly
within the sound stage itself, leaving the control room vacant, leaning
against a wall with her arms folded under her chest as her eyes
attentively followed the activity.
Dund and Dani soon completed their task, and joined the jam. Dund's
thundering bass was a welcome complement to Eiko's chording, and
immediately confirmed his choice of instruments; it was definitely the
best-sounding bass guitar he'd ever owned. Dani entered the fray, too,
and Martin laughed as he discovered her solution to the problem -- she'd
had the drums arranged in a hemisphere around herself, with cymbals
almost completely behind, and she stood-sat on a small, padded seat that
nearly prevented her feet from touching the kick pedals. She beat out a
strong, regular rhythm, and Eiko shifted gears to accompany Tom.
"I think that might be too fatiguing for a concert-length
performance, Dani."
"Nah, I'm fine." She produced a quick Rush-esque riff to emphasize
her point.
"We'll see. Murdock?"
An image of a slightly-crazed-looking man with a baseball cap trying
to cover a head of hair that definitely needed trimming appeared on a
wall monitor. What could be seen of his shoulders appeared to be
wearing a leather flight jacket. "Ee-yo, boss!"
"Everything ship-shape where you are?"
"Clear as a bell, an' just as dingy." He spoke with a very slight
Southern United States accent.
"Good deal." With that, Martin threw himself into the fray, assuming
a harmony that linked Eiko's accompaniment with Dund's bassline, and, in
that peculiar fashion they'd worked out over the years, directing the
flow of the music from the background. Noriko smiled as she watched him
play, her foot tapping gently with the rhythm. She hadn't seen him
perform since they'd parted ways in 2026, and the fact that he still did
was something she found very reassuring.
Martin took them through several instrumentals and game themes
without so much as a pause in between. He thought of it as more of a
testament to their ability than to his leadership, since, most of the
time, he never really felt he was in control. Still, though he denied
it, his was the hand that guided them. They charged into an extended
version of one of the Stardust Speedway themes from "Sonic CD", finally
starting to feel better about themselves, their lives, and the Universe
as a whole.
No one noticed Noriko, standing alone with her eyes closed, her whole
body noticeably moving with the beat as she slowly surrendered herself
to the music. She loved to dance, but after what had happened, what
she'd been through, she thought she'd never be able to dance again...
The band transitioned once more, working toward a rapid, furious