"Роберт Догерти. Зона 51 (engl) " - читать интересную книгу автора

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Doherty, Robert. Area 51



Prologue





It came alive into darkness, wondering what had caused it
to wake and aware at the same time that it was much
weaker than ever before. The first priority was time. How
long had it been asleep? The weakness gave the answer.
Dividing half-lives of its power source, it calculated that
almost fifty revolutions of this planet around the system
star had passed since last it had been conscious.
The data from sensors was examined and found to be
indeterminate. Whatever signal had tripped the alarms and
kicked in the emergency power had to have been strong
and vital but was now gone. Its sleep level had been so
deep that all the recorded data showed was that there had
been a signal. The nature of the signal, the source of the
signal, both had been lost.
The Makers had not anticipated such a long time before
resupply of the power source. It knew there was not much
time left to its already very long life before the power sup-
ply slipped below the absolute minimum to keep it func-
tioning even in hibernation.
A decision needed to be made. Should it divert power to
sensors in case the signal were repeated, or should it go
back to deep sleep, conserving power for time? But if the
signal had been vital, and the sensor log said it was indeed
so, then there might not be much time left.
The decision was made as quickly as the question had


P R O L O C U E

been posed. Power was allocated. The sensors were given
1
more power to stay at a higher alert status in order to catch
a repeat of the signal. A time limit of one planetary orbit
about the system star was put on the sensors, at which time
they would automatically awaken it and the decision could