JК
World Of Ptavvs :: Нивен Ларри
Страница: 79 из 127"Have you got any better idea of what we do when we get to Neptune? Do we hide on one of the moons and watch?"
"Right," said Garner.
But half an hour later he asked, "Can we reach Earth from here?"
"Only by maser," Anderson said dubiously. "Everyone on Earth will be able to listen in. The beam will spread that far. Have you got any secrets from the man on the slidewalk?"
"Don't worry about it. Aim a maser at Earth."
It took half an hour for Anderson to center the beam and set it tracking. "If it's 'Love to Mother, you're dead," he warned Garner.
"My mother passed away some time ago. In fact, it's been just about a century. And she thought she was an old woman! Hello, Arm Headquarters. This is Lucas Garner calling the United Nations Technological Police."
Anderson nudged him with an elbow. "Are you waiting for an answer, shnook?"
"Of course not!" Habits are hard to break. "This is Garner calling Arm Headquarters, Earth. Please aim your reply at Neptune. We urgently need the following information from Dorcas Jansky. Does his retarder field stop radar completely? Repeat, completely. Would the ET suit do the same?" He put down the mike. "Okay, son, repeat that a few times."
"All right, it's on repeat. Now what was that all about?"
"I don't know why it took me so long to figure it out," Garner said smugly. "The ET has been frozen for about two billion years, according to Greenberg. I think he was telling the truth. He couldn't know that there's something on Neptune unless he put it there two billion years ago. And how could he assume that it hasn't fallen apart or rusted to death or whatever, after all that time?"
"It's in a retarder field."
"Right."
Anderson looked at the chron. "You'll be getting your answer in a little over eight hours, not counting the time it takes to get what's-his-name. Figure an hour; they'll be calling around nineteen thirty. So let's get some sleep. We'll be coming in about three tomorrow morning."
"Okay. Sleeping pills?"
"Uh huh." Anderson punched buttons on the medicine box.
"Luke, I still think you were waiting for Earth to answer."
"You can't prove it, son."
Twenty-one forty-five. Garner studied the board for a moment, then drew one short line between two dots of light. The scanner, set to follow the movements of the tip of his stylus, reproduced the line on the board.
The radio boomed to life.
"This is Arm Headquarters calling spaceship Heinlein . Arm Headquarters calling Lucas Garner, spaceship Heinlein . Garner, this is Chick. I got hold of Jansky this morning, and he spent three hours doing experiments in our lab.
"Right," said Garner.
But half an hour later he asked, "Can we reach Earth from here?"
"Only by maser," Anderson said dubiously. "Everyone on Earth will be able to listen in. The beam will spread that far. Have you got any secrets from the man on the slidewalk?"
"Don't worry about it. Aim a maser at Earth."
It took half an hour for Anderson to center the beam and set it tracking. "If it's 'Love to Mother, you're dead," he warned Garner.
"My mother passed away some time ago. In fact, it's been just about a century. And she thought she was an old woman! Hello, Arm Headquarters. This is Lucas Garner calling the United Nations Technological Police."
Anderson nudged him with an elbow. "Are you waiting for an answer, shnook?"
"Of course not!" Habits are hard to break. "This is Garner calling Arm Headquarters, Earth. Please aim your reply at Neptune. We urgently need the following information from Dorcas Jansky. Does his retarder field stop radar completely? Repeat, completely. Would the ET suit do the same?" He put down the mike. "Okay, son, repeat that a few times."
"All right, it's on repeat. Now what was that all about?"
"I don't know why it took me so long to figure it out," Garner said smugly. "The ET has been frozen for about two billion years, according to Greenberg. I think he was telling the truth. He couldn't know that there's something on Neptune unless he put it there two billion years ago. And how could he assume that it hasn't fallen apart or rusted to death or whatever, after all that time?"
"It's in a retarder field."
"Right."
Anderson looked at the chron. "You'll be getting your answer in a little over eight hours, not counting the time it takes to get what's-his-name. Figure an hour; they'll be calling around nineteen thirty. So let's get some sleep. We'll be coming in about three tomorrow morning."
"Okay. Sleeping pills?"
"Uh huh." Anderson punched buttons on the medicine box.
"Luke, I still think you were waiting for Earth to answer."
"You can't prove it, son."
Twenty-one forty-five. Garner studied the board for a moment, then drew one short line between two dots of light. The scanner, set to follow the movements of the tip of his stylus, reproduced the line on the board.
The radio boomed to life.
"This is Arm Headquarters calling spaceship Heinlein . Arm Headquarters calling Lucas Garner, spaceship Heinlein . Garner, this is Chick. I got hold of Jansky this morning, and he spent three hours doing experiments in our lab.