"E. E. Doc Smith - D' Alembert 4 - Getaway world" - читать интересную книгу автора (Smith E. E. Doc)

could have been any age between thirty and sixty; it was impossible to tell, and Garst did
not dare ask.

She was dressed in a wide-sleeved panne velvet jumpsuit with flared pant legs. The suit
was green, diagonally slashed with black-the left leg and sleeve were black, with thin
lines of emeralds along the edges. A tight green hood-attached to the jumpsuit by a gold
metal collar-covered most of her jet black hair. A pearl dangled over her forehead from
the center of the hood and around her neck she wore an integrated circuit chip on a
golden chain.

Yet despite her physical perfection, there was a coldness emanating from her that made
her seem terribly inhuman. Her manner was brisk, her speech sarcastic and stem. Garst
could not recall ever having seen her laugh in the several months of their acquaintance. It
was as though, being possessed of an ideal body, she had relinquished the option on her
soul.

Lady A sat in the comfortable chair across from his desk, her right leg crossed over her
left and her hands folded neatly into her lap. She stared with piercing intensity at Garst
as she spoke.

"I'm very happy with the operation as you've redefined it," she said. "In only slightly over
three months you've taken a marginally working system and turned it into a full-fledged
organization. Our `colony' is growing by leaps and bounds; we should soon have enough
talent here to launch our recruiting drive effectively."

Garst nodded his head in acknowledgment of the praise. Though Lady A's words were
laudatory, her tone of voice had not altered perceptibly; she was still as passionless as
an asteroid. "Thank you. As I told you at our first meeting, organization is my forte. The
system I had built on Vesa worked perfectly for two decades before bad luck destroyed
it last year-and that was working almost entirely on my own. With your backing, there
should be no limit to the things I can accomplish."




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He leaned back in his chair, daring to relax a little. "In fact," he continued, half joking,
"with my talents and your connections, I wouldn't be surprised if the two of us were ruling
the Empire within a couple of years."

The woman snorted. "I doubt it. That particular plum has been within my reach before,
but it's a harder fruit to pick than it appears. We'll need a little more time and a lot more
background work completed before that goal is attained."

Garst did his best not to overreact to Lady A's statement. His own remark had been
intended in jest; her answer was dead serious. She did have her eyes set on the Throne;
but what did she mean that it had been within her reach before?