[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
of yours to be aware of the facts of the situation. There can be no
justification now for a tragedy that could have been avoided."
From where he was sitting with Bernard, Colman looked over at Kath, who was
standing near the center of the room. "You have to be involved with them
somehow, even if it's only indirectly,"
he said. "You must know these people, even if you're not one of them
yourself."
"What would you wish them to do?" Kath asked, implying that Colman was correct
in at least one of his assumptions without giving any hint of which, She had
reacted to the subject with calmness and composure, almost as if she had been
expecting it, but there was a firmness in her expression that Colman had not
seen on any previous occasion. Her manner conveyed that what was at stake went
beyond personal feelings and individual considerations, "They may be a
handful," Adam added from across the room, "but they control the ship's heavy
weapons. We've given them every chance, and we've encouraged as many people to
get
file:///F|/rah/James%20P.%20Hogan/Hogan,%20James%20P%20-%20Voyage%20from%20Yes
teryear.txt (117 of 143) [1/19/03 5:19:46 PM]
file:///F|/rah/James%20P.%20Hogan/Hogan,%20James%20P%20-%20Voyage%20from%20Yes
teryear.txt themselves out of it as was humanly possible. Our whole world is
at stake. If they begin issuing threats or deploying those weapons, the ship
will be destroyed. They' can be no changing that decision. It was made a long
time ago."
Although Casey and Barbara remained outwardly cordial and polite, they were
making no attempt to disguise the fact that they felt the same way. Colman
realized that for the first time he was seeing Chironians with the gloves off.
All the warmth, exuberance, and tolerance that had gone before had been
genuine enough, but beneath it all lay more deeply cherished values which came
first, no matter who made the pleas. On that, there could be no concessions.
Page 160
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"That's true," Bernard agreed. "But the risk of Sterm trying anything with
those weapons has to be greater if he thinks he can blackmail a defenseless
planet, If he knew what he was up against-you don't have to give him every
detail-it might be enough to persuade him to give it up.
That's all we're asking. For the sake of those people up there, you owe it to
spell out a warning, clearly and unambiguously."
"Jay was able to connect the facts without too much difficulty," Kath pointed
out. "We didn't try to hide them. Haven't the scientists on the ship done the
same?"
"I don't know," was all that Bernard could reply. "If they have, they haven't
published it. But does it seem likely? Would Sterm be moving the way he is if
they had? But you have nothing to lose by spelling it out to them. It has to
be worth a try."
Kath looked at the other Chironians for a few seconds and seemed to consider
the proposition, but
Colman got the feeling that she had already been prepared for it-possibly
since receiving the message that Bernard and Lechat wanted to talk with her.
Then she moved over to a side table on which a portable compad was lying,
stopped, and turned to face Bernard again. "It isn't a matter for me to
decide," she said. "But the people concerned are waiting to talk to you."
Bernard and
Lechat exchanged puzzled looks. Kath seemed to hesitate for a second, and then
looked at Lechat.
"I'm afraid we have been taking an unpardonable liberty with you. You see,
this was not entirely unexpected. The people you wish to speak with have been
monitoring our discussion. I hope you are not too offended."
Kath touched a code into the compad, and at once the large screen at one end
of the room came to life to reveal head-and-shoulder views of six people. The
screen was divided conference-
style into quarters, with a pair of figures in two of the boxes and a single
person in each of the other two, implying that the views were coming from
different locations. Kath noticed the concerned look that flashed across
Bernard's face. "It's all right," she told him. "The channels are quite
secure.
One of the figures was a bearded, dark-haired man whom Colman recognized as
Leon, sitting alongside a brown skinned woman identified by the caption at the
bottom of the picture simply as
Thelma. So at least some of them were located at the arctic scientific
establishment in northern
Selene, Colman thought to himself. The other pair of figures were Otto, of
Asiatic appearance, and
Chester, who was black; the ones shown alone in the remaining two sections of
the screen were [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl akte20.pev.pl
of yours to be aware of the facts of the situation. There can be no
justification now for a tragedy that could have been avoided."
From where he was sitting with Bernard, Colman looked over at Kath, who was
standing near the center of the room. "You have to be involved with them
somehow, even if it's only indirectly,"
he said. "You must know these people, even if you're not one of them
yourself."
"What would you wish them to do?" Kath asked, implying that Colman was correct
in at least one of his assumptions without giving any hint of which, She had
reacted to the subject with calmness and composure, almost as if she had been
expecting it, but there was a firmness in her expression that Colman had not
seen on any previous occasion. Her manner conveyed that what was at stake went
beyond personal feelings and individual considerations, "They may be a
handful," Adam added from across the room, "but they control the ship's heavy
weapons. We've given them every chance, and we've encouraged as many people to
get
file:///F|/rah/James%20P.%20Hogan/Hogan,%20James%20P%20-%20Voyage%20from%20Yes
teryear.txt (117 of 143) [1/19/03 5:19:46 PM]
file:///F|/rah/James%20P.%20Hogan/Hogan,%20James%20P%20-%20Voyage%20from%20Yes
teryear.txt themselves out of it as was humanly possible. Our whole world is
at stake. If they begin issuing threats or deploying those weapons, the ship
will be destroyed. They' can be no changing that decision. It was made a long
time ago."
Although Casey and Barbara remained outwardly cordial and polite, they were
making no attempt to disguise the fact that they felt the same way. Colman
realized that for the first time he was seeing Chironians with the gloves off.
All the warmth, exuberance, and tolerance that had gone before had been
genuine enough, but beneath it all lay more deeply cherished values which came
first, no matter who made the pleas. On that, there could be no concessions.
Page 160
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"That's true," Bernard agreed. "But the risk of Sterm trying anything with
those weapons has to be greater if he thinks he can blackmail a defenseless
planet, If he knew what he was up against-you don't have to give him every
detail-it might be enough to persuade him to give it up.
That's all we're asking. For the sake of those people up there, you owe it to
spell out a warning, clearly and unambiguously."
"Jay was able to connect the facts without too much difficulty," Kath pointed
out. "We didn't try to hide them. Haven't the scientists on the ship done the
same?"
"I don't know," was all that Bernard could reply. "If they have, they haven't
published it. But does it seem likely? Would Sterm be moving the way he is if
they had? But you have nothing to lose by spelling it out to them. It has to
be worth a try."
Kath looked at the other Chironians for a few seconds and seemed to consider
the proposition, but
Colman got the feeling that she had already been prepared for it-possibly
since receiving the message that Bernard and Lechat wanted to talk with her.
Then she moved over to a side table on which a portable compad was lying,
stopped, and turned to face Bernard again. "It isn't a matter for me to
decide," she said. "But the people concerned are waiting to talk to you."
Bernard and
Lechat exchanged puzzled looks. Kath seemed to hesitate for a second, and then
looked at Lechat.
"I'm afraid we have been taking an unpardonable liberty with you. You see,
this was not entirely unexpected. The people you wish to speak with have been
monitoring our discussion. I hope you are not too offended."
Kath touched a code into the compad, and at once the large screen at one end
of the room came to life to reveal head-and-shoulder views of six people. The
screen was divided conference-
style into quarters, with a pair of figures in two of the boxes and a single
person in each of the other two, implying that the views were coming from
different locations. Kath noticed the concerned look that flashed across
Bernard's face. "It's all right," she told him. "The channels are quite
secure.
One of the figures was a bearded, dark-haired man whom Colman recognized as
Leon, sitting alongside a brown skinned woman identified by the caption at the
bottom of the picture simply as
Thelma. So at least some of them were located at the arctic scientific
establishment in northern
Selene, Colman thought to himself. The other pair of figures were Otto, of
Asiatic appearance, and
Chester, who was black; the ones shown alone in the remaining two sections of
the screen were [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]