Джеффри Лорд - Treasure Of The Stars

Здесь есть возможность читать онлайн «Джеффри Лорд - Treasure Of The Stars» весь текст электронной книги совершенно бесплатно (целиком полную версию без сокращений). В некоторых случаях можно слушать аудио, скачать через торрент в формате fb2 и присутствует краткое содержание. Год выпуска: 1978, ISBN: 1978, Издательство: Pinnacle, Жанр: Героическая фантастика, на английском языке. Описание произведения, (предисловие) а так же отзывы посетителей доступны на портале библиотеки ЛибКат.

Treasure Of The Stars: краткое содержание, описание и аннотация

Предлагаем к чтению аннотацию, описание, краткое содержание или предисловие (зависит от того, что написал сам автор книги «Treasure Of The Stars»). Если вы не нашли необходимую информацию о книге — напишите в комментариях, мы постараемся отыскать её.

Treasure Of The Stars — читать онлайн бесплатно полную книгу (весь текст) целиком

Ниже представлен текст книги, разбитый по страницам. Система сохранения места последней прочитанной страницы, позволяет с удобством читать онлайн бесплатно книгу «Treasure Of The Stars», без необходимости каждый раз заново искать на чём Вы остановились. Поставьте закладку, и сможете в любой момент перейти на страницу, на которой закончили чтение.

Тёмная тема
Сбросить

Интервал:

Закладка:

Сделать

The touch of Riyannah's fingers on his was the last thing Blade remembered as the pain in his head blotted out everything.

Chapter 23

Blade walked along the sands of Dover Beach, listened to the rumble of the surf on the shore, and looked up at the stars.

He didn't look at them with any hope they'd help him sort out his thoughts. He'd already done that, as much as he ever could. He thought he'd done rather well, considering what an absolutely cosmic can of worms this last mission to Dimension X had opened! He'd thought his meeting with the Wizard of Rentoro would hold the record for confusion and complication for a while, but here was the very next trip and the record was up in smoke!

At least Lord Leighton had rolled with the punch and come up swinging. Instead of dying of frustration over all the maddening new questions this trip posed, he was behaving like a small boy let loose in a candy store with a five-pound note.

«You've opened up a whole new approach to Dimension X and all the related phenomena,» he'd said, practically rubbing his hands in glee. «We badly need to explore the possibility of movement through space during the transition into Dimension X. I've always said so but I've never been able to get any support from the people who control the appropriations. Fantasy, they call it. Nonsense! I knew I was right, and now they'll have to admit it and provide an appropriation for exploring the possibilities.»

J's eyebrows rose. He'd heard Lord Leighton conjure up the need for more appropriations often enough before. If all Leighton's brainstorms were added up, the total bill for Project Dimension X would resemble the annual appropriations for the Royal Air Force.

«How much do you expect to need for this exploration?»

«For the preliminary stages, no more than a million pounds or so. We'll have to-«Here Leighton went off into a long list of people and equipment that would be needed, most of which was Greek to Blade.

J's eyebrows rose higher as Leighton went on. When the scientist paused for breath, he asked quietly, «How much do you expect to need eventually?»

Leighton shot the other man a sharp, suspicious glance. He knew exactly why J was asking this question, but still wouldn't be held back from answering it. «A minimum of ten million pounds over the next five to six years.»

That more or less ended the discussion for the time being. No doubt Leighton would get some extra money to start off in this new direction. It was far too important to be ignored entirely. But ten million pounds! Blade could see J trying hard not to laugh as they left Leighton's office.

Here on Dover Beach, Blade did laugh. Leighton certainly had something worth exploring. The computer had snatched Blade back across a hundred million miles of space as well as across the Dimensions. Perhaps they were on the edge of discovering a method of teleportation.

Yet Blade had to wonder. Was Lord Leighton perhaps dashing off after the possibility of teleportation so he would not have to face the infinity of infinities the Menel scientist had suggested, and what it might mean for not only the Project but for all science? Lord Leighton's intellect was immensely powerful and his courage undoubted-but were there things before which even he quailed? It was a question Blade knew he would never get out of his mind, or ever be able to answer.

So Blade preferred to leave the possibilities and perhapses of science to Lord Leighton. His mind turned back to remember the other, more solid things he'd done on this trip.

The technical films made the trip back with him, slightly fogged by radiation in some places but mostly legible. The solar collectors would take some time to develop, because they depended on combinations of metals that apparently were much more common on Kanan than on Earth. The power cells, on the other hand, were something that could be in mass production within a few years. His trip had probably put forward the arrival of a practical electric automobile by a decade or more.

What had he left behind? He'd left Riyannah-and as he thought of her he looked at the glowing bracelet on his wrist. He'd left her, but if there'd been any way to do it otherwise- No, he hadn't loved Riyannah-he hadn't allowed himself to love her, although it was certain she'd loved him.

It was also certain that if he ever found in Home Dimension a woman with her qualities, he would love her and leave no stone unturned to marry her. She might not enjoy the ordeal of seeing him hurled off to Dimension X time after time, but she could endure it, and between trips there would be so much they could share.

So he'd left Riyannah-left her in a strong position to influence Kananite policy. He'd left the whole of Kanan shaken to the point where they'd have to look for new ways of dealing with other races. He'd left Loyun Chard dead, his starship destroyed, his regime crippled, and his enemies greatly strengthened. The Targan underground might not win easily, but no one would be able to ignore them now-and that included the Kananites as well as their fellow Targans.

He'd brought home a treasure of the stars, but he'd also left much behind in payment.

Тёмная тема
Сбросить

Интервал:

Закладка:

Сделать

Похожие книги на «Treasure Of The Stars»

Представляем Вашему вниманию похожие книги на «Treasure Of The Stars» списком для выбора. Мы отобрали схожую по названию и смыслу литературу в надежде предоставить читателям больше вариантов отыскать новые, интересные, ещё непрочитанные произведения.


Джеффри Лорд - The Torian Pearls
Джеффри Лорд
Джеффри Лорд - The Lords Of The Crimson River
Джеффри Лорд
Джеффри Лорд - The Forests Of Gleor
Джеффри Лорд
Джеффри Лорд - City Of The Living Dead
Джеффри Лорд
Джеффри Лорд - Master Of The Hashomi
Джеффри Лорд
Джеффри Лорд - Champions Of The Gods
Джеффри Лорд
Джеффри Лорд - The Temples Of Ayocan
Джеффри Лорд
Джеффри Лорд - The Mountains Of Brega
Джеффри Лорд
Джеффри Лорд - The Golden Steed
Джеффри Лорд
Джеффри Лорд - The Crystal Seas
Джеффри Лорд
Джеффри Лорд - Guardians Of The Coral Throne
Джеффри Лорд
Джеффри Лорд - Monster Of The Maze
Джеффри Лорд
Отзывы о книге «Treasure Of The Stars»

Обсуждение, отзывы о книге «Treasure Of The Stars» и просто собственные мнения читателей. Оставьте ваши комментарии, напишите, что Вы думаете о произведении, его смысле или главных героях. Укажите что конкретно понравилось, а что нет, и почему Вы так считаете.

x