"Kristine Kathryn Rusch - The Room of Lost Souls" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rusch Kristine Kathryn)

“But you can’t find anyone stupid enough to test it,” I say.

She lets out a small laugh. “Is that what you think? You think I need a
test subject?”

I take a sip of my coffee. It’s slightly bitter, like all coffee on Longbow
Station. Somehow the beans grown here lack the richness I’ve found on
other stations.

“The way out has been tested. Going in and returning is no longer an
issue. What I need is someone with enough acumen to bring out my
father.”

Something in her tone reaches me. It’s a hint of frustration, a bit of
anger.

Her people have failed her. Which is why she’s coming to me.

“You’ve done this before,” I say.

She nods. “Six times. Everyone survived. Everyone is healthy. There
are no residual problems.”

“Except they can’t find your father.”

“Oh,” she says. “They have found him. They just can’t recover him.”

Now I am intrigued. “Why not?”

“Because,” she says, “they can’t convince him to leave.”

****

I take a bite of the berries and cream. I need a few moments to think
about this. I still feel as if she’s conning me, but I’m not sure how. Or why
she would do so.

“Why did he leave?” I ask.

She blinks at me in surprise. She clearly didn’t expect curiosity from
me.

“Leave?”

“You said he didn’t show up for the treaty signings. That he essentially
missed the end of the war. Why?”

She frowns just enough so that I realize she’s never considered this
question. She’s been looking at her father as someone—something—she