"microbe" - читать интересную книгу автора (Slonczewski Joan)

up in the middle."
"That's right," boomed Quantum's voice. "These cells divide in three, not two,"
she explained. "Three daughter cells in each generation."
Sure enough, the three daughter cells appeared, filling themselves out as they
separated. Other cells too had puckered in by now, at various stages of
division, and all made their daughters in triplets. "How would they divide their
chromosomes to make three?" Andra wondered. "They must copy each DNA helix twice
before dividing. Why would that have evolved?"
"Never mind the DNA," said Pelt. "It's those toxic amino acids you should worry
about."
"Not with you protecting me. The rat survived."
Quantum said, "We've discussed every relevant point. We've established, based on
all available data, that Andra's chance of survival approaches one hundred
percent."
"Uncertainties remain," Skyhook cautioned.
Andra stood back and spread her hands. "Of course we need more data--that's why
we're going down."
"All right," said Skyhook. "Let's go."
"I'm ready." Pelt's pseudopod dissolved, and the nanoplast formed a perfect
hemisphere.
Andra unhooked Skyhook's eyespeaker from her shoulder. Then she walked back
around the holostage to lift the hemisphere of Pelt onto her head. Pelt's
nanoplast began to melt slowly down over her black curls, leaving a thin
transparent film of nanoprocessors covering her hair, her dark skin, and her
black eyes. It formed a special breather over her nose and mouth. Everywhere the
nanoplast would filter the air that reached her skin, keeping planetary dust out
while letting oxygen through. The film covered the necklace of pink andradites
around her neck, spreading down her shirt and trousers. She lifted each foot in
turn to allow the complete enclosure. Now she would be safe from any chemical
hazard she might encounter.
#
In Skyhook's viewport, the surface of planet IP3 expanded and rose to meet them.
Numerous tests had established its physical parameters as habitable--gravity of
nine-tenths g, temperatures not too extreme, oxygen sufficient and carbon
dioxide low enough, water plentiful. The ozone layer could have been denser, but
human colonists would have their eyes and skin lifeshaped for extra enzymes to
keep their retina and chromosomes repaired.
At a distance the planet did not look remarkably different from Andra's home
world. A brilliant expanse of ocean met a mottled brown shore, rotating slowly
down beneath the craft. Beyond, in the upper latitudes, rolled the blue-brown
interior of a continent, broken only by a circle of mountains.
As Skyhook fell swiftly toward the land, curious patterns emerged. Long dark
bands ran in parallel, in gently winding rows like a string picture. The lines
were bands of blue vegetation; the probe had sent back footage of them, wide
arching structures tall as trees. Each band alternated with a band of yellow,
which gave way to the next band of blue. Over and over the same pattern
repeated, ceasing only at the mountains.
"I've never seen patterns like that on uncolonized worlds," Andra mused.
"They do look like garden rows," Skyhook admitted. "Perhaps the native farmers
will come out to greet us."