Back To Earth. Danilo Clementoni

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ the belly that was wobbling up and down.

      â€œThis appetiser is delicious.” The professor's voice was slightly distorted by the small speaker on the panel. “I must confess I never thought there’d be such a sophisticated man hiding behind that hard, military exterior.”

      â€œWhy, thank you, Elisa. And I would never have thought that such a highly qualified academic, as well as being beautiful, could be so friendly and charming,” said the colonel, whose voice was again somewhat distorted, but slightly lower.

      â€œListen to them flirting,” exclaimed the big man in the driver’s seat. “I reckon they’ll end up in bed.”

      â€œI’m not so sure,” asserted the other. “Our doctor is clearly a clever woman, and I don’t believe that dinner and a sleazy compliment like that will be enough to make her fall into his arms.”

      â€œI’ll bet you ten dollars they do it tonight,” said the fat man, extending his right hand towards his colleague.

      â€œOkay, you’re on,” agreed the other, shaking the large hand that had been offered.

      Theos spacecraft – The mysterious object

      The object that had materialised in front of the two astonished travellers was like nothing that nature could ever have created, in spite of its infinite imagination. It had the appearance of a metallic flower with three long petals and no stem, and a central, slightly conical pistil. The rear side of the pistil took the form of a hexagonal prism, the basal surface of which was slightly larger than that of the cone positioned at the opposite side, which served as a support for the whole structure. The rectangular petals branched out from the three evenly-spaced sides of the hexagon, with a length of at least four times that of the base.

      â€œIt looks like some kind of old windmill. Like the ones they used in the big eastern prairies centuries ago,” cried Petri, without removing his eyes from the object displayed on the large screen.

      Azakis felt a shiver run down his spine. He was remembering some old prototypes that the Elders had suggested he study before their departure.

      â€œIt must be a space probe,” he concluded. “I’ve seen a few of these with more or less the same design in old GCS archives,” he went on, hastening to extract as much information on the matter as he could from the N^COM.

      â€œA space probe?” asked Petri, turning towards his companion with a look of astonishment. “And when would we have launched it?”

      â€œI don’t think it’s ours.”

      â€œNot one of ours? What do you mean?”

      â€œI mean that it was neither built nor launched by inhabitants of the planet Nibiru.”

      Petri’s expression was becoming increasingly dazed. “What do you mean? Don’t tell me you believe this bullshit about aliens as well?”

      â€œWhat I do know is that nothing like this has ever been built on our planet. I checked the GCS archives and nothing corresponds to the object we have here. Not even among the plans for projects that were never realised.”

      â€œThat's not possible!” cried Petri. “That N^COM of yours must be out of phase. Check again.”

      â€œI’m sorry, Petri. I’ve already checked it twice and I’m absolutely certain that this isn’t our work.”

      The short-range viewing system generated a three-dimensional image of the object, meticulously reconstructing every minute detail. The hologram floated in the centre of the control room, suspended half a metre above the floor.

      With a movement of his right hand, Petri began to rotate it slowly, closely examining every detail.

      â€œIt would appear to be made of a low density metal alloy,” he remarked in a decidedly more technical tone than the one adopted moments before when he’d been overwhelmed with amazement. “The engines must be powered by those three petals. They seem to have been covered with some kind of light-sensitive material.” He had finally begun to fiddle with the system controls. “The pistil must be some kind of radio antenna, and the hexagonal prism is definitely the “brain” of this thing.”

      Petri was moving the hologram increasingly quickly, turning it over in all directions. Suddenly he stopped, and called out “Look here. What do you think this is?” he asked, zooming in on a small area.

      Azakis approached as closely as he could. “They seem to be symbols.”

      â€œI'd say there were two symbols,” Petri corrected, “or better still, one drawing and four symbols close together.”

      Azakis was still eagerly searching on the N^COM, trying to find something on the GCS. Yet there was absolutely nothing that matched the object in front of them.

      The drawing represented a rectangle composed of fifteen horizontal red and white stripes. In the upper left-hand corner was another blue rectangle containing fifty white five-pointed stars. To the right of this were four symbols:

      JUNO

      â€œIt seems like some kind of writing,” Azakis guessed. “Maybe the symbols represent the name of the people who made the probe.”

      â€œOr maybe that its name,” argued Petri. “The probe is called ‘JUNO’, and that coloured rectangle is the symbol of its creators.”

      â€œWhatever it is, it wasn’t made by us,” declared Azakis. “Do you think there could be some life form inside it?”

      â€œI really don't think so. At least, nothing that we know. The only place where there could be something is the rear capsule, and that’s too small to accommodate a living being.”

      Even as he spoke, Petri had already begun to scan the probe, looking for some sign of life inside it. After a few moments, a series of symbols appeared on the screen, and he quickly tried to translate these to his companion.

      â€œAccording to our sensors there’s nothing living inside. There doesn't seem to be any kind of weapon either. From a preliminary analysis, I’d say that this thing is some kind of scout ship exploring the middle part of the solar system, in search of who knows what.”

      â€œIt could be,” agreed Azakis. “But the question we should be asking is: Sent by whom?”

      â€œWell,” said Petri, “if we rule out the presence of mysterious aliens, I’d say that the only ones capable of constructing something like that would be your old ‘terrestrial friends’.”

      â€œBut what are you saying? The last time we left them they were still travelling on horseback. How could they have reached this stage in their development in such a short time? Sending a probe to go roaming around in space is no small feat.”

      â€œShort time?” said Petri, looking him straight in the eyes. “Don't forget that, for them, СКАЧАТЬ