Читать книгу Not fairy tales - Nadyn Bagout - Страница 8

Purrer woke up earlier than usual today. Softly, but perceptibly, all the nearby compartments vibrated, following the uterine grunt of gears, pumps, filters, and ducts.

«Purrer» is how the stationers nicknamed the orbital gravity drill – a huge structure that occupied almost half of the cruiser, not counting the storage facilities.

Tamor felt the floor shake as he sat down at the communal table. He was on time: he hadn’t even spilled his vitamin shake. The boys, on the other hand, were a little late.

It’s to be expected, though. They’re always sleeping when they get a day off.

It’s all right, they’ll all get a real rest soon enough, and they should just go home.

Rechce stumbled into the canteen, rattling, hooking the doorjamb with his shoulder, as usual.

Yes, the engineers had somehow failed to take into account the fact that new races were involved in the missions. That’s why the golut didn’t fit in half of the aisles. True, we should not forget the natural clumsiness of this snow-white hulk.

Several new threads were added to the cobwebs of small cracks in the light green panels of the hall’s panelling. Rechce, naturally, paid no attention to this.

«Hey, Brigadier!» he shouted loudly as he made his way over to Tamor. «They’re early today, ain’t they? In a hurry. Good, ’cause I’m sick and tired of being stuck here eating this crap… What are they serving, by the way?»

Golut looked at his companion’s plate, grinned dismissively, and rushed to the food counter. The android scurried about, fulfilling his ever-increasing order. In the end, Rechce sat down next to his friend, taking up most of the table with his tray of piled food. Tamor only smiled as he watched the big chunks of meat, bowls of salad, and a whole box of donuts disappear into his friend’s mouth. He himself contented with a couple of sandwiches and two cups of coffee and milk: he was just savoring the last sips.

Golut burped when he ate, spoiling all the fun of breakfast with the stench that came out. It wasn’t the first time, though, and the station men were used to more than that.

«Hey, Tam, do you think, if this is the way things are going, when do you think we’ll be done?»

«Well, if the commander doesn’t change the schedule, three or four days at the most,» he looked out the wide window, behind which a dusty red-brown ball was slowly spinning. «Yeah, that’s about right.»

«I wish,» Rechce patted himself on his hairy belly. «I want to go to my mom’s house to get a decent meal, huh?»

The foreman indefinitely shrugged his shoulders: no one was waiting for him at Tsimfei.

«To be honest, though,» his comrade continued, «I don’t understand why we’re hanging around here at all. Everything important has been taken out long ago, so what else are they looking for? There’s only stone.»

In a sense, he was right: every living thing had been moved years ago – every animal, fish or bird, every bacterium, every tree or seed. Next came water, then metals, and now, really, only ancient rocks and a lukewarm core remained.

«I don’t know… the consul knows best.»

«The Consul, oh, please! No,» golut shook his finger, «it’s his henchman that’s inducing him. Search and dig! More for me, more for me! What’s a man need so much for, I ask you? The capital swindler!»

Behind them rumbled a pot that had fallen: the mechanical dispenser had become loose lately, often dropping dishes. The sound echoed through the dining room. A rattling sounded sick to the ears, and then faded away.

Rechce snorted.

«Oh, yeah! He grabs and saves on equipment. Although… Did I hear the „Purrer“ is going to be decommissioned after this mission?»

Tamor nodded.

«Most likely. Some parts are useless to fix, you know. It’s even a bit of a pity: it was a good station.»

«Aha! Deserved to be here, didn’t it?»

«More than any other,» the foreman agreed, looking around the shabby room, the tired colleagues eating lunch, the view outside the window. «And I’m glad I’m here, even though it’s sad.»

«Yes, unfortunately,» golut shook his hairy head, «but it’s inevitable. This star has just a little bit left, and after… poof! It’s all done in time.»

«Just in time… But it still shrinks inside: the cradle of humanity, after all.»

Behind the transparent glasses, against the background of a huge scarlet ball, a stony blob, once known as Earth, swirled into the gut of the «Purrer».