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[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] Fred Saberhagen - Berserker's Star.html the very size of the habitable body varied, moved, and shifted, even while Harry watched. He could no longer be sure which end of this turning object humanity called east and which end west. He had to trust that somewhere in the Witch's vast opt- electronic brain were circuits somehow capable of keeping track. file:///D|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry/Deskto...0Saberhagen%20-%20Berserk er's%20Star%20(v1.0).html (1407 of 1869)3/12/2004 11:22:09 PM Fred Saberhagen - Berserker's Star.html It was Harry's job to guide his snip away from the designated and approved flight paths, while trying not to provoke any nervous reaction by the ground defenses. While an alert was on, special rules might be in effect or some routine rules might be relaxed. Harry's next task, even more difficult, was to nurse the Witch through file:///D|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry/Deskto...0Saberhagen%20-%20Berserk er's%20Star%20(v1.0).html (1408 of 1869)3/12/2004 11:22:09 PM Fred Saberhagen - Berserker's Star.html the nearly impossible passage back to the vicinity of Tomb Town. To simply grope his way along, without the guidance of Bulaboldo's plan, would have been hopeless. He was going to have to trust the chart worked out by the insatiable curiosity of little flying robots. Maracanda seen from this distance in space was not as flat as the file:///D|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry/Deskto...0Saberhagen%20-%20Berserk er's%20Star%20(v1.0).html (1409 of 1869)3/12/2004 11:22:09 PM Fred Saberhagen - Berserker's Star.html habitable region below the clouds. Instead, the whole body was rather football-shaped. He couldn't see the expanse of habitable surface, which seemed so flat when he was on it, nor could he guess just where it might lie. Harry would have liked to send a little flying probe, like the one Bulaboldo had used to chart the passage, ahead file:///D|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry/Deskto...0Saberhagen%20-%20Berserk er's%20Star%20(v1.0).html (1410 of 1869)3/12/2004 11:22:09 PM Fred Saberhagen - Berserker's Star.html of the Witch to mark her way. But he had nothing of the kind available. Under these strange conditions, a flight of a thousand or two thousand kilometers, only a few minutes' quick cruise in ordinary atmosphere, might keep a pilot busy for an hour or more. Maneuvering his ship through the small apertures in the various file:///D|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry/Deskto...0Saberhagen%20-%20Berserk Page 257 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html er's%20Star%20(v1.0).html (1411 of 1869)3/12/2004 11:22:09 PM Fred Saberhagen - Berserker's Star.html atmospheric layers had to be done with excruciating care, even if Bulaboldo had somehow managed to provide him with a kind of guide. There were places where the ship's movement had to be accomplished in centimeters rather than meters. Once Harry made a wrong choice, and had to back the Witch very slowly out of a tight spot, feeling his file:///D|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry/Deskto...0Saberhagen%20-%20Berserk er's%20Star%20(v1.0).html (1412 of 1869)3/12/2004 11:22:09 PM Fred Saberhagen - Berserker's Star.html way like an elephant performing on a high wire. Once the ship's flank just brushed the sharply defined, invisible boundary between zones. Through the pilot's thought-ware, Harry sensed the tremor of irresponsibility go shivering through programming and hardware alike. Half a meter more in the wrong direction, and the Witch could have gone file:///D|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry/Deskto...0Saberhagen%20-%20Berserk er's%20Star%20(v1.0).html (1413 of 1869)3/12/2004 11:22:09 PM Fred Saberhagen - Berserker's Star.html plunging down, systems cascading into failure, her engines as well as her optelectronic brain totally disabled. Minutes passed, the time elapsed since leaving the spaceport dragged out to an hour. How many more people could ten or twenty berserkers kill in an hour? But meter by meter, minute by minute, the file:///D|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry/Deskto...0Saberhagen%20-%20Berserk er's%20Star%20(v1.0).html (1414 of 1869)3/12/2004 11:22:09 PM Fred Saberhagen - Berserker's Star.html real habitable surface was creeping closer. The lowest layer of the sky was breached, and the eerie landscape where humans worked and fought came into view at last. Harry swore a heartfelt oath. "Got it. Got it at last." And Lily said: "All right !" Through cleared ports Harry could watch a broad expanse of the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |
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