JК
World Of Ptavvs :: Нивен Ларри
Страница: 101 из 127"That's not good."
The thrint regarded him with undisguised contempt. To fear a slave-! But then, it was only a ptavv itself.
Kzanol/Greenberg glared. He knew more about people than Kzanol did, after all!
"All ships," said the man in the lead ship. "I say we shoot now. Comments?"
There were comments. Lew waited them out, and then he spoke.
"Tartov, your humanitarian impulses do you credit. No sarcasm intended. But things are too sticky to worry about two flatlanders in a honeymoon special. As for finding the amplifier, I don't think we have to worry about that. Earth won't find it before we do. They don't know what we know about Pluto. We can post guard over the planet until the Belt sends us an automatic orbital guardian. Radar may show us the amplifier; in that case we drop a bomb on it, and the hell with the research possibilities. Have I overlooked anything?"
A feminine voice said, "Send one missile with a camera. We don't want to use up all our firepower at once."
"Good, Mabe. Have you got a camera missile?"
"Yes."
"Use it."
The Iwo Jima had been a week out from Earth, and Kzanol/Greenberg had been daydreaming, as usual. For some reason he'd remembered his watch: the formal elbow watch with the cryogenic gears, now buried in the second suit. He'd have to make a new band.
But what for? It always ran slow. He'd had to adjust it every time he came back from a visit… From a visit to another plantation. From a trip through space.
But of course. Relativity had jinxed his watch. Why hadn't he seen that before?
Because he'd been a thrint ?
"Raise thirty," said Kzanol. He had a five down to match his pair showing and it wasn't that he thought Kzanol/Greenberg was bluffing, with his four-straight showing. He hadn't noticed that the numbers were in sequence.
Stupid. Thrintun were stupid. Kzanol couldn't play poker even when drawing on the pilot's knowledge. He hadn't guessed that his ship must have hit Pluto. He didn't need brains; he had the Power.
Thrintun hadn't needed intelligence since they'd found their first slave race. Before, the Power hadn't mattered; there was nothing to use it on. With an unlimited supply of servants to do their thinking, was it any wonder they had degenerated?
"Raise fifty," said Kzanol/Greenburg. The thrint smiled.
"I never thought the Arms was a grand idea," said Luke. "I think they're necessary . Absolutely necessary. I joined because I thought I could be useful.
The thrint regarded him with undisguised contempt. To fear a slave-! But then, it was only a ptavv itself.
Kzanol/Greenberg glared. He knew more about people than Kzanol did, after all!
"All ships," said the man in the lead ship. "I say we shoot now. Comments?"
There were comments. Lew waited them out, and then he spoke.
"Tartov, your humanitarian impulses do you credit. No sarcasm intended. But things are too sticky to worry about two flatlanders in a honeymoon special. As for finding the amplifier, I don't think we have to worry about that. Earth won't find it before we do. They don't know what we know about Pluto. We can post guard over the planet until the Belt sends us an automatic orbital guardian. Radar may show us the amplifier; in that case we drop a bomb on it, and the hell with the research possibilities. Have I overlooked anything?"
A feminine voice said, "Send one missile with a camera. We don't want to use up all our firepower at once."
"Good, Mabe. Have you got a camera missile?"
"Yes."
"Use it."
The Iwo Jima had been a week out from Earth, and Kzanol/Greenberg had been daydreaming, as usual. For some reason he'd remembered his watch: the formal elbow watch with the cryogenic gears, now buried in the second suit. He'd have to make a new band.
But what for? It always ran slow. He'd had to adjust it every time he came back from a visit… From a visit to another plantation. From a trip through space.
But of course. Relativity had jinxed his watch. Why hadn't he seen that before?
Because he'd been a thrint ?
"Raise thirty," said Kzanol. He had a five down to match his pair showing and it wasn't that he thought Kzanol/Greenberg was bluffing, with his four-straight showing. He hadn't noticed that the numbers were in sequence.
Stupid. Thrintun were stupid. Kzanol couldn't play poker even when drawing on the pilot's knowledge. He hadn't guessed that his ship must have hit Pluto. He didn't need brains; he had the Power.
Thrintun hadn't needed intelligence since they'd found their first slave race. Before, the Power hadn't mattered; there was nothing to use it on. With an unlimited supply of servants to do their thinking, was it any wonder they had degenerated?
"Raise fifty," said Kzanol/Greenburg. The thrint smiled.
"I never thought the Arms was a grand idea," said Luke. "I think they're necessary . Absolutely necessary. I joined because I thought I could be useful.