"David Weber & Linda Evans - Hells Gate" - читать интересную книгу автора (Weber David)

that last universe, you should be thrilled by any sunshine we can get."
"I'll say."
Shaylar's shudder of memory was only half-feigned. The universe they'd mapped prior to entering this
one had connected via a portal in the middle of what had to be one of the rainiest spots in any known
universe. Back home, it would have been northwest Rokhana, near the mouth of the Yirshan River where
it spilled into the immense Western Ocean. They'd been incredibly lucky in that their arrival portal and the
portal leading to this universe were less than three hundred miles apart, and they knew it. Portals in such
close proximity to one another were almost unheard of, and correspondingly valuable.
Despite that, and despite the guidance Darcel Kinlafia, their Portal Hound, had been able to give
them, it had taken them almost a month and a half to cover the two hundred and sixty-five dripping wet
miles between them, and the last three weeks had been horrible. They hadn't seen the sun for
twenty-three straight days, and most of their gear had sprouted mold that had required copious amounts
of bleach once the rains finally stopped. After six weeks spent in perpetually soggy clothes, squelching
through perpetually soggy wetlands, pushing through perpetually thick undergrowth with machetes, and
sleeping under perpetual shrouds of mosquito netting and the smoke of smudge pots, this crisp, clear
autumn air was heaven itself.
"I'm not complaining," she said cheerfully. "At least we could come through the portal and leave the
rain behind. Poor Company-Captain Halifu had to build a fort in that mess. I don't think I've ever seen
such an abundance of unenthusiastic soldiers in my life."
Grafin Halifu had favored Jathmar and Shaylar—carefully out of earshot of the men of his
command—with a piquant rendition of his opinion of the multiverse's inconsiderate ill manners in placing a
portal in that particular godsforsaken spot. And since Uromathians worshiped just about as many deities
as there were individual Uromathians, a spot had to be nigh well lost at the back of forever before all the
Uromathian gods decided to forsake it.
For some odd reason, the company-captain had seemed less than amused by Ghartoun chan
Hagrahyl's decision to name that universe "New Uromath" in honor of Halifu's homeland.
"No, Grafin's troops weren't very happy, were they?" Jathmar chuckled. "Of course, I wouldn't have
been very happy if Regs had required me to build on the already-mapped side of that particular portal,
either. There they sit, sinking slowly into the mud, and right in front of them is all of this."
It was his turn to wave expansively at the towering forest giants all about them.
"At least Darcel wasn't bound by the PAAF's policy," Shaylar pointed out.
"I think some of Grafin's troopers were ready to commit mayhem when they realized he was bugging
out for a better spot," Jathmar agreed.
"They couldn't possibly blame him," Shaylar replied primly, eyes laughing wickedly. "He's a telepath.
And everyone knows that not even the best Voice can transmit through a portal."
"That's what all of you keep telling the rest of us, anyway," Jathmar said. "I'm not too sure Grafin's
troopers were buying it this time around, though."
Shaylar chuckled. Like her, Darcel Kinlafia was a Voice, a Talented long-distance communications
specialist. Voices, who were born with the gifts of perfect recall and the ability to connect, mind-to-mind,
with other Voices, were essential in many aspects of Sharonian society.
Governments, the Portal Authority, and private industries ranging from manufacturing to news
broadcasters used Voices to transmit complex messages that were word-and image-perfect. The military
used Voices, as well, for its long-range communications. But as useful as Voices were throughout
Sharona's multiple-universe civilization, they were utterly indispensable to the work of surveying new
universes.
Every survey crew fielded a bare minimum of two Voices. One remained at the portal giving access
to a new universe, serving as a link between the field team conducting the survey and the established
settlements in the universes behind them. The more portals a field team surveyed, the more Voices it
needed to cover the portals in their particular transit chain. And when their team reached the distance
limit of Shaylar's transmission ability, they would need to move Darcel forward and replace him with a