Foster, Alan Dean The Black Hole

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compensa-tions he could muster.
But for some reason the setting still disturbed him.
Bookcases leaned against other walls. Some held books made with real paper. Antique star maps
deco-rated real wood paneling. The room was a mixture of the old and the new, traits which seemed
more and more to characterize Reinhardt himself.
The commander of theCygnus had risen to greet them as they entered. He did not comment on the
ab-sence of Vincent, though Holland knew it had been noted. Instead, after greeting the newcomers, he
turned his attention back to McCrae.
What a pleasant experience to dine once more with a lovely woman. That is an effect quite beyond the
most elaborate programming.
McCrae nodded ever so slightly. Thank you.
Reinhardt now looked back at Holland, who had moved to stand alongside Harry Booth. A great many
experiments are in progress aboard theCygnus, gentle-men. Some of them are dangerous. In the
interests of your own safety, I suggest that there are no more unes-corted excursions for the duration of
your stay.
Holland thought the gentle admonition was intended
for himself and Pizer. As yet he knew nothing of Booth s solitary exploration of numerous corridors, nor
of his singular encounter with the peculiar robot in hy-droponics. But since Reinhardt appeared willing to
let the matter drop with the simple warning, he wasn t about to pursue it. Nor was Booth.
Reinhardt indicated they should be seated, moved quickly to hold a chair for McCrae.
Please...
She accepted the seat. The physical proximity of the commander made her nervous for reasons she
couldn t define. Durant took the chair opposite her, and Rein-hardt, as expected, sat at the head of the
table between them.
Durant found himself eying the painting of theCyg-nus that dominated one wall and wondering who had
painted it. Reinhardt himself, or one of the since-de-parted crew? Or had it been on theCygnus
originally? Maybe one of Reinhardt s machines had executed the work. He inspected the crystal goblet
on the table near his plate. It was a replica of nineteenth-century En-glish. All the other table settings had
been made by machines. Why not the painting also?
Why did it disturb him to think that?
We begin with fresh mushroom soup. Prepared from my own personal garden. Several of the
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human-oid robots were already dispensing the thick potage. They moved and worked with a fluidity
unmatched by the average mechanical.
Mushrooms grow especially well on theCygnus Reinhardt continued. Considering the dark and cold
of their immediate surroundings, it somehow seems ap-propriate that they should do so well.
Pizer was already downing the soup from the silver bowl before him. This is the kind of Christmas
dinner I've been dreaming about for months. He spooned an-other mouthful, swallowed, his eyes closing
from the sheer pleasure of it. Delicious.
Thank you. I am afraid the spices, the white pepper and the butter substitute are from theCygnus s
store of preserved condiments, but the parsley you see is also fresh, as is the wine in the soup. I have
enjoyed reprogramming and experimenting with the machines that do the cooking. I have had ample time
to develop an interest in such hobbies without having to neglect my serious work.
Booth had barely sampled his soup, was staring down at it with a peculiar expression. I remember
writing about the extensive hydroponics system back when everyone was doing features on theCygnus s
construction. Large enough to support the needs of the entire crew, wasn t it?
Reinhardt nodded agreeably. These days it s tiny, only large enough to supply my personal needs. Most
of the cultivated areas have been allowed to lie dor-mant.
Naturally. Be a waste of energy and material to maintain them for no reason at all. A robot refilled the
reporter s wineglass. Booth was disappointed that his carefully phrased appraisal had failed to provoke
some kind of reaction from Reinhardt.
Our spare parts and our wine are vintage, Captain. I hope they all prove satisfactory. Reinhardt
savored the bouquet from his own glass, sipped delicately.
We re modifying a few of them, Doctor, but we should be able to make everything work. Holland
chewed his food, swallowed and spoke while slicing an-other portion of meat. The changes that have
taken place in the past twenty years have been primarily in the fields of guidance and navigation,
life-support maintenance and automatics.
Atmospheric regeneration systemology has re-mained fairly basic over that period. There s only so
much you can do with air. The replacements you ve provided us with were machined a little differently,
and some of the alloys are different. Nothing that can t be adjusted to work on thePalomino. We ll be
finished with our repairs by tomorrow, and ready to leave.
Durant took immediate exception to that. Speak for yourself, Dan. I, for one, still have a great deal to
learn from Dr. Reinhardt.
Our mission s finished, Alex. It s time for us to start home. All of us.
Durant opened his mouth to reply, but their atten-tion was diverted by the sudden entry of Maximillian.
The machine was a brutal reminder of the realities which held sway beyond the fairy-tale ambiance of the
dining room. Reinhardt listened sagely to the rapid-paced spew of electronics from the robot, clearly
un-derstanding everything. Whatever the content of the message, it produced an immediate change in the
commander s attitude. His mood turned from merely pleasant to downright buoyant.
Thank you, Maximillian. Inform me in time to con-gratulate him formally.
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A last series of beeps issued from the machine. Then it pivoted on its repeller units and departed.
Reinhardt dwelled in some other dimension for an instant, then remembered his guests. Lifting his
wineglass as he rose, he addressed them all. His particular attention was reserved for the expectant
Durant
A toast to you and your companions, Dr. Durant, on the occasion of your visit to theCygnus. You are
the only people of Earth to know of my continued exis-tence, the only ones to know that I did not vanish
with dreams unfulfilled.
Durant lifted his own glass in reflexive response. And to you, sir, and your magnificent achievements.
May they multiply and increase.
So they shall, so they shall. Reinhardt sounded self-important. Not pompous. Never pompous. He
was driven beyond that.
Tonight, my friends, we stand on the brink of a feat unparalleled in the history of spatial exploration.
And what might that be? inquired the ever-skepti-cal Booth.
Reinhardt glanced at him. If the data on my returning probe ship matches my computerized calculations, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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