[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
And Moise had learned considerable Evdashian through the learning program,
although he didn't understand some of our concepts yet.
So far I'd been impressed with how calmly Moise had reacted to all the
strange, and to him far out, things he'd been exposed to since I'd put the
spotlight on the pirate ship. I'd wondered a time or two if it was partly
because, in his world, they believed in so many supernatural things. Then,
when he ran into something real that seemed supernatural, it might not be as
big a shock.
Now, of course, he knew we weren't a threat to him.
But it must have been really weird and scary when strange people had hauled
him inside a sort of giant boat, or big steel flask, and whisked him into the
sky.
As Tarel started explaining, I headed us outbound and then called the
maintenance manual into memory. The entry on fuel crystallization referred to
a number of library entries, and now that I had time, it seemed to me I ought
to read them. The third one I came to was the one I needed to see. One
Page 98
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
sequence of events that could lead to crystallization was rare, but it fitted
all too well what had happened to the Jav.
"Prolonged impacts by heavy blaster charges on a ship's energy shield," it
said, "can result in weak magnetization of the power transfer system.
Subsequent use of the weapons system, with its translation of the gray force
into pulse mode, will initiate crystallization in the fuel slugs."
I had no idea what that meant, but for the moment, I
kept reading, hopeful that I wasn't getting into mental quicksand.
"Once crystallization is initiated," it went on, "subsequent low-intensity
power use, as in mass-proximity mode, and the resulting resistance to normal
matrix function, causes feedback to the fuel slugs, extending crystallization
rapidly, "When fuel crystallization occurs, do the following: I avoid using
the ship's weapons system until the power transfer module has been changed; 2.
decrystallize
the fuel slugs; and 3. change the power transfer module."
It fitted. The Jav's energy shield had taken a lot of blaster charges before
we'd lifted from Evdash. And
I'd discovered serious fuel cell crystallization within twenty standard hours
of demonstrating the scout's weapons system for Arno.
Well, I told myself, I know what to do about it now.
Fingers on the keyboard, I called up parts storage and asked for a new power
transfer module. It replied that power transfer modules were not part of
standard parts stock on scouts. That was followed by a list of places where I
could get one-any of the three
Evdashian naval stations.
I muttered an expression that mom and dad wouldn't approve of.
From there I skimmed on through the rest of the articles, looking for
information that might be helpful. There wasn't any. But it seemed obvious
that
I'd better not use the weapons system again, and in trying to establish a
political and military power base on Fanglith, that would be a serious
disadvantage.
"Tarel!" I called.
"What is it?" he asked, coming over. I brought the third article back to the
screen-the article that explained what had happened. He read it over my
shoulder.
"And there isn't any replacement module," I told him.
"Any suggestions?"
"We've got hand weapons," he said. "Including blast rifles. Maybe they'll be
enough, along with our speed and communicators."
"I guess they'll have to be," I answered. But I
didn't feel very good about it. We couldn't have too many advantages, and we'd
lost a big one. At 700,000
miles I shifted into FTL mode on a ten-hour loop, and before we returned to
mass-proximity mode, all residual crystallization was gone. Back at Fanglith I
parked above the north shore of Sicily at an altitude of fifty miles. The
scanner located the biggest town there, a good-sized city even by Evdashian
standards.
Palermo was where Larn should be. From where I sat, the moon stood well above
the horizon-high enough that its light paled the island. I turned on the radio
receiver, checked the communicator channel, and touched the send switch.
"Larn," I said, "this is Rebel Jave-lin. Larn, this is Rebel Javelin. Over,"
He didn't answer. He doesn't have his remote on, I
told myself. That's all. It didn't reassure me a bit.
Why didn't he have his remote on? It was controlled with a switch on his
communicator, and the last I
Page 99
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
knew, Arno had the communicator. The likeliest explanation I could think of
for the remote being off was that Arno had turned it off-whether by accident,
or because he'd learned about it.
"Bubba!" I called. He came over to me, meeting my eyes. "I'm going to drop low
over Palermo," I told him, speaking out loud. "When we get there, I want you
to scan around and find Larn. I can't get him on the radio."
He nodded like a human might, and of course he read the concern in my mind. I
already had a scanner view of northern Sicily, and asked the computer for a
coordinate overlay, to get the coordinates of
Palermo. Then, using voice mode, I ordered the scout to park above Palermo at
an elevation of five miles.
We headed for it.
TWENTY-FIVE
Larn:
When I started down from the mountaintop, I didn't have any plan, but one
started to unfold for me as I
went: Backtrack, then ambush the Saracens with my stunner. Not that I could
stun many of them; besides its short range, the stunner had a limited charge.
They'd probably send scouts out ahead to find the way, and to draw fire if
they got close to any
Christian bowmen. I'd ambush them. We'd see what they thought about paralyzed [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl szkicerysunki.xlx.pl
And Moise had learned considerable Evdashian through the learning program,
although he didn't understand some of our concepts yet.
So far I'd been impressed with how calmly Moise had reacted to all the
strange, and to him far out, things he'd been exposed to since I'd put the
spotlight on the pirate ship. I'd wondered a time or two if it was partly
because, in his world, they believed in so many supernatural things. Then,
when he ran into something real that seemed supernatural, it might not be as
big a shock.
Now, of course, he knew we weren't a threat to him.
But it must have been really weird and scary when strange people had hauled
him inside a sort of giant boat, or big steel flask, and whisked him into the
sky.
As Tarel started explaining, I headed us outbound and then called the
maintenance manual into memory. The entry on fuel crystallization referred to
a number of library entries, and now that I had time, it seemed to me I ought
to read them. The third one I came to was the one I needed to see. One
Page 98
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
sequence of events that could lead to crystallization was rare, but it fitted
all too well what had happened to the Jav.
"Prolonged impacts by heavy blaster charges on a ship's energy shield," it
said, "can result in weak magnetization of the power transfer system.
Subsequent use of the weapons system, with its translation of the gray force
into pulse mode, will initiate crystallization in the fuel slugs."
I had no idea what that meant, but for the moment, I
kept reading, hopeful that I wasn't getting into mental quicksand.
"Once crystallization is initiated," it went on, "subsequent low-intensity
power use, as in mass-proximity mode, and the resulting resistance to normal
matrix function, causes feedback to the fuel slugs, extending crystallization
rapidly, "When fuel crystallization occurs, do the following: I avoid using
the ship's weapons system until the power transfer module has been changed; 2.
decrystallize
the fuel slugs; and 3. change the power transfer module."
It fitted. The Jav's energy shield had taken a lot of blaster charges before
we'd lifted from Evdash. And
I'd discovered serious fuel cell crystallization within twenty standard hours
of demonstrating the scout's weapons system for Arno.
Well, I told myself, I know what to do about it now.
Fingers on the keyboard, I called up parts storage and asked for a new power
transfer module. It replied that power transfer modules were not part of
standard parts stock on scouts. That was followed by a list of places where I
could get one-any of the three
Evdashian naval stations.
I muttered an expression that mom and dad wouldn't approve of.
From there I skimmed on through the rest of the articles, looking for
information that might be helpful. There wasn't any. But it seemed obvious
that
I'd better not use the weapons system again, and in trying to establish a
political and military power base on Fanglith, that would be a serious
disadvantage.
"Tarel!" I called.
"What is it?" he asked, coming over. I brought the third article back to the
screen-the article that explained what had happened. He read it over my
shoulder.
"And there isn't any replacement module," I told him.
"Any suggestions?"
"We've got hand weapons," he said. "Including blast rifles. Maybe they'll be
enough, along with our speed and communicators."
"I guess they'll have to be," I answered. But I
didn't feel very good about it. We couldn't have too many advantages, and we'd
lost a big one. At 700,000
miles I shifted into FTL mode on a ten-hour loop, and before we returned to
mass-proximity mode, all residual crystallization was gone. Back at Fanglith I
parked above the north shore of Sicily at an altitude of fifty miles. The
scanner located the biggest town there, a good-sized city even by Evdashian
standards.
Palermo was where Larn should be. From where I sat, the moon stood well above
the horizon-high enough that its light paled the island. I turned on the radio
receiver, checked the communicator channel, and touched the send switch.
"Larn," I said, "this is Rebel Jave-lin. Larn, this is Rebel Javelin. Over,"
He didn't answer. He doesn't have his remote on, I
told myself. That's all. It didn't reassure me a bit.
Why didn't he have his remote on? It was controlled with a switch on his
communicator, and the last I
Page 99
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
knew, Arno had the communicator. The likeliest explanation I could think of
for the remote being off was that Arno had turned it off-whether by accident,
or because he'd learned about it.
"Bubba!" I called. He came over to me, meeting my eyes. "I'm going to drop low
over Palermo," I told him, speaking out loud. "When we get there, I want you
to scan around and find Larn. I can't get him on the radio."
He nodded like a human might, and of course he read the concern in my mind. I
already had a scanner view of northern Sicily, and asked the computer for a
coordinate overlay, to get the coordinates of
Palermo. Then, using voice mode, I ordered the scout to park above Palermo at
an elevation of five miles.
We headed for it.
TWENTY-FIVE
Larn:
When I started down from the mountaintop, I didn't have any plan, but one
started to unfold for me as I
went: Backtrack, then ambush the Saracens with my stunner. Not that I could
stun many of them; besides its short range, the stunner had a limited charge.
They'd probably send scouts out ahead to find the way, and to draw fire if
they got close to any
Christian bowmen. I'd ambush them. We'd see what they thought about paralyzed [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]