"Connie Willis - Uncharted Territory" - читать интересную книгу автора (Willis Connie)

"I lost us!" he said.

C.J. came in, carrying a bowl of rice. She'd switched her shirt for one with even lower coordinates, and
lights around the edges like the ones on Bult's umbrella.

"You were the one in a hurry to get back here and meet Evelyn," I said. I pulled a chair out from the
table, stepped over it, and sat down.

He grabbed the platter out of Ev's hands. "Five hundred. My shit!" He set the platter on the table. "How
much were the rest of the fines?"

"I don't know," I said. "I haven't tallied 'em yet."

"Well, what on hell were you doing all this time?" He sat down. "It's plain to see you weren't taking a
bath."

"C.J.'s cleaned up enough for both of us," I said. "What're the lights for?" I asked her.

Carson grinned. "They're like those landing strip beacons, so you can find your way down."

C.J. ignored him. "You sit here by me, Evelyn."

He pulled out her chair, and she sat down, managing to lean over so we could all see the runway.
Ev sat down next to her. "I can't believe I'm actually eating dinner with Carson and Findriddy! Tell me
about your expedition. I'll bet you had a lot of adventures."

"Well," Carson said, "Fin lost the binocs."

"Have you decided when we leave on the next expedition yet?" Ev asked.

Carson gave me a look. "Not yet," I said. "A few days, probably."

"Oh, good," C.J. crooned, leaning in Ev's direction. "That'll give us more time to get to know each other."
She latched onto his arm.

"Is there anything I can do to help so we can leave sooner?" Ev said. "Loading the ponies or something?
I'm just so eager to get started."

C.J. dropped his arm in disgust. "So you can spend three weeks sleeping on the ground and listening to
these two?"

"Are you kidding?" he said. "I put in four years ago for the chance to go on an expedition with Carson
and Findriddy! What's it like, being on the survey team with them?"

"What's it like?" She glared at us. "They're rude, they're dirty, they break every rule in the book, and
don't let all their bickering fool you—they're just like that." She crossed one finger over another.
"Nobody has a chance against the two of them."

"I know," Ev said. "On the pop-ups they—"