[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]the initial alteration made by Master System. As to why it has not already
been used, though, the most probable reason I can think of is that the native
life forms, whatever they are, might be dangerous. If other alternatives were
available, and many other worlds were, why would the freebooters go to that
extreme? But I would not go down unarmed, and I would create an effective
defensive perimeter and watch system. There is also the possibility that the
region is occasionally patrolled. Measures will have to be taken to maintain
the
Thunder well away from here and ready for an instant getaway, coming in only
as necessary."
Hawks thought about that. "That would mean Lightning, as well," he said,
referring to Clayben's ship by their new name for it. "The camp would, in
effect, be landlocked there. I'm not sure I like that."
"Of necessity, no matter where we settle. If a patrol came in close enough
that it punched within a day or so of the planet, it would be impossible to
pack everyone aboard and take off without being sensed, tracked, and quite
possibly destroyed. We will establish a subordinate computer net down there
and an effective communications system. There will be a substantial time lag,
but I
will be able to monitor you, and we can still contact one another. In a tight
pinch, Lightning can be dispatched to take on and flank a patrol ship, but I
would suspect that the best defense is to simply ignore it and it will go
away."
"But wouldn't any patrol craft spot us down there?" China asked, worried. She
didn't like the idea of being separated from Star Eagle for that long.
"Unless you become a population of thousands, I would suspect not. It will be
looking for indications of a spaceship and communications and transmuter-
powered equipment. It's not going to do a survey, only a patrol. You would
show up in such a patrol in the same way as those life forms down there now,
nothing more, nothing less, so long as you cut power. It is not going to spend
a year on the suspicion that someone minus ship might just be hiding out down
there."
Hawks nodded. "All right, then. I'll still feel better if a couple of people
go ahead to scout out the place first. We'll need someone with good reflexes
and skills with a gun. Any volunteers?"
"I'll go," Raven said. "Warlock can handle things here. And I think maybe it
should be Clayben who goes with me. I'll handle the firepower and he can
handle the science. If we get in over our heads, then, Manka, you and Nagy
come after us with all the firepower you got."
Isaac Clayben was not exactly thrilled with the assignment, but he could not
argue that he was not best qualified for the job. It also got him off that
damned ship for the first time in countless dull weeks, and that was almost
worth it.
The modified fighter had established a small one-at-a-time transmitter
station, which Star Eagle used once the Thunder was in a stable geosynchronous
orbit over the chosen position. It was agreed that, as a first step, Raven and
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Clayben both would use the fairly comfortable pressure suits in spite of the
planet's clean bill of health.
Neither Clayben nor Raven had ever before traveled by transmuter. In spite of
his worldly cynicism and modern knowledge, the Crow had some deep reservations
about this mode of travel that had nothing to do with its safety. For the life
of him, he couldn't see how this differed from being killed and having a
duplicate manufactured elsewhere.
"It is possible to look at it that way," Star Eagle admitted, "although the
energy matrix created here is isolated, unique, and self-contained. What I
convert is what I transmit and all I use to reconstruct below. In other words,
you actually physically go, just in a different form. In a sense, I almost
wish it were the way you imagine. Then it wouldn't matter what was transmuted;
since everything would be a duplicate, I could change anything and anyone an
infinite number of times at will. But I am not transmitting a formula. I am
transmitting you."
Somehow that made Raven feel better.
The Thunder's transmuters-it carried one in each of the four cargo bays-were
huge, but the receiver below, modification of a maintenance transmitter, was
strictly a one-person affair. Raven, as security, had to go first.
The transmuter was a circular disk that looked almost as if it were made of a
solid piece of red brick, and a second disk above coated with some very shiny,
black reflective material. Raven looked at it, hesitated, then took a deep
breath, stepped onto the circle, and walked to the center. He had his pressure
suit on, helmet and all, since the energy expense was too great to justify
pressurizing an entire cargo bay.
He stared nervously back at the others-most of the group had come down to see
the volunteers off, with the exception of China, who was currently interfaced
with Star Eagle, Silent Woman, who had no understanding or interest, and Reba
Koll, who stayed away out of a sense of caution. There was no sensation,
nothing. He felt something vibrate, and inside his suit he heard what could
only be described as clickl Suddenly he was alone in the dark someplace, and
he felt as heavy as lead, so heavy that he almost buckled under his own
weight. It disturbed him. What the hell?
A hatch opened automatically in front of him and he looked out on a strange
landscape. He drew his pistol and walked away and into it, frowning. "That's
it?" he said, mostly to himself. "Click and you're someplace else?"
"I had no idea it was that efficient." Star Eagle's unusual tenor came to him
over his suit radio, as clear as if he were still aboard the ship. "That is
very good to know. Any problems?"
Raven was still a little shaken by his experience, but he was a pro. He looked
around. He was standing on black rock with some whitish streaks in it; here
and there it was interrupted by a small patch of growth in cracks or a
moss-like plant in small dabs where the rock seemed to have been roughened.
The surface was very uneven, but he had no trouble with his footing. About ten
meters away the real growth started-a dense forest. The sky was mostly cloudy,
but the exposed parts were blue-a slightly different blue than he was used to,
but not enough to cause real alarm or disorientation.
"Better tell Doc to bring an umbrella. I think it might rain."
Less than a minute later, the hatch opened again behind him, and the
orange-suited figure of Isaac Clayben emerged holding a carrying case of some
sort. He walked slowly, somewhat bent over, dragging his case as if it weighed
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