“Listen, Lucifer. You have heard this often before, I know, but I want to be positive you understand in full. Your psychology must be very foreign to ours. Why did you agree to come with us? I don’t know. Technician Waggoner said you were curious and adventurous. Is that the whole truth? #41 в контекст | | |
“No matter. In half an hour we jump. We’ll come within five hundred million kilometers of the supernova. That’s where your work begins. You can go where we dare not, observe what we can’t, tell us more than our instruments would ever hint at. But first we have to verify we can stay in orbit around the star. This concerns you too. Dead men can’t transport you home again. #42 в контекст | | |
“So. In order to enclose you within the jumpfield, without disrupting your body, we have to switch off the shield screens. We’ll emerge in a lethal radiation zone. You must promptly retreat from the ship, because we’ll start the screen generator up sixty seconds after transit. Then you must investigate the vicinity. The hazards to look for—” Szili listed them. “Those are only what we can foresee. Perhaps we’ll hit other garbage we haven’t predicted. If anything seems like a menace, return at once, warn us, and prepare for a jump back to here. Do you have that? Repeat.” #43 в контекст | | |
Words jerked from Eloise. They were a correct recital; but how much was she leaving out? #44 в контекст | | |
“Very good.” Szili hesitated. “Proceed with your concert #45 в контекст | | |
if you like. But break it off at zero minus ten minutes and stand by.” #46 в контекст | | |
“Yes, sir.” She didn’t look at him. She didn’t appear to be looking anywhere in particular. #47 в контекст | | |
His footsteps clacked down the corridor and were lost. #48 в контекст | | |
—Why did he say the same things over? asked Lucifer. #49 в контекст | | |
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—Can you show me? … No, do not. I sense it is hurtful. You must not be hurt. #53 в контекст | | |
“I can’t be afraid anyway, when your mind is holding mine.” #54 в контекст | | |
(Warmth filled her. Merriment was there, playing like little flames over the surface of Father-leading-her-by-the-hand-when-she-was-just-a-child-and-they-went-out-one-summer’s-day-to-pick-wildflowers; over strength and gentleness and Bach and God.) Lucifer swept around the hull in an exuberant curve. Sparks danced in his wake. #55 в контекст | | |
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—They are like (image, as nearly as a human brain could grasp, of fountains blossoming with gamma-ray colors in the middle of light, everywhere light). But so tiny. So brief a sweetness. #58 в контекст | | |
“I don’t understand how you can understand,” she whispered. #59 в контекст | | |
—You understand for me. I did not have that kind of thing to love, before you came. #60 в контекст | | |
“But you have so much else. I try to share it, but I’m not made to realize what a star is.” #61 в контекст | | |
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Her cheeks burned anew. The thought rolled on, interweaving its counterpoint to the marching music. #63 в контекст | | |
—That is why I came, do you know? For you. I am fire and air. I had not tasted the coolness of water, the patience of earth, until you showed me. You are moonlight on an ocean. #64 в контекст | | |
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Puzzlement:—Why not? Does joy hurt? Are you not used to it? #66 в контекст | | |
“I, I guess that’s right.” She flung her head back. “No! Be damned if I’ll feel sorry for myself!” #67 в контекст | | |
—Why should you? Have we not all reality to be in, and is it not full of suns and songs? #68 в контекст | | |
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—If you in turn will teach me—The thought broke off. A contact remained, unspeaking, such as she imagined must often prevail among lovers. #70 в контекст | | |
She glowered at Motilal Mazundar’s chocolate face, where the physicist stood in the doorway. “What do you want?” #71 в контекст | | |
He was surprised. “Only to see if everything is well with you, Miss Waggoner.” #72 в контекст | | |
She bit her lip. He had tried harder than most aboard to be kind to her. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I don’t mean to bark at you. Nerves.” #73 в контекст | | |
“We are everyone on edge.” He smiled. “Exciting though this venture is, it will be good to come home, correct?” #74 в контекст | | |
Home, she thought: four walls of an apartment above a banging city street. Books and television. She might present a paper at the next scientific meeting, but no one would invite her to the parties afterward. #75 в контекст | | |
Am I that horrible? she wondered. I know I’m not anything to look at, but I try to be nice and interesting. Maybe I try too hard. #76 в контекст | | |
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“I have wondered about an item.” Mazundar said in an effort at conversation. “Presumably Lucifer will go quite near the supernova. Can you still maintain contact with him? The time dilation effect, will that not change the frequency of his thoughts too much?” #81 в контекст | | |
“What time dilation?” she forced a chuckle. “I’m no physicist. Only a little librarian who turned out to have a wild talent.” #82 в контекст | | |
“You were not told? Why, I assumed everybody was. An intense gravitational field affects time just as a high velocity does. Roughly speaking, processes take place more slowly than they do in clear space. That is why light from a massive star is somewhat reddened. And our supernova core retains almost three solar masses. Furthermore, it has acquired such a density that its attraction at the surface is, ah, incredibly high. Thus by our clocks it will take infinite time to shrink to the Schwarzschild radius; but an observer on the star itself would experience this whole shrinkage in a fairly short period.” #83 в контекст | | |
“Schwarzschild radius? Be so good as to explain.” Eloise realized that Lucifer had spoken through her. #84 в контекст | | |
“If I can without mathematics. You see, this mass we are to study is so great and so concentrated that no force exceeds the gravitational. Nothing can counterbalance. Therefore the process will continue until no energy can escape. The star will have vanished out of the universe. In fact, theoretically the contraction will proceed to zero volume. Of course, as I said, that will take forever as far as we are concerned. And the theory neglects quantum-mechanical considerations, which come into play toward the end. Those are still not very well understood. I hope, from this expedition, to acquire more knowledge.” Mazundar shrugged. “At any rate, Miss Waggoner. I was wondering if the frequency shift involved would not prevent our friend from communicating with us when he is near the star.” #85 в контекст | | |
“I doubt that.” Still Lucifer spoke, she was his instrument and never had she known how good it was to be used by one who cared. “Telepathy is not a wave phenomenon. Since it transmits instantaneously, it cannot be. Nor does it appear limited by distance. Rather, it is a resonance. Being attuned, we two may well be able to continue thus across the entire breadth of the cosmos; and I am not aware of any material phenomenon which could interfere.” #86 в контекст | | |
“I see.” Mazundar gave her a long look. “Thank you,” he said uncomfortably. “Ah … I must get to my own station. Good luck.” He bustled off without stopping for an answer. #87 в контекст | | |
Eloise’ didn’t notice. Her mind was become a torch and a song. “Lucifer!” she cried aloud. “Is that true?” #88 в контекст | | |
—I believe so. My entire people are telepaths, hence we have more knowledge of such matters than yours do. Our experience leads us to think there is no limit. #89 в контекст | | |
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