Read Online Dinosaurs & A Dirigible by David Drake - Free Book Online
Authors: David Drake
Ads: Link
collapsed shelters. The palm-leaf thatching shivered; a young woman wriggled out. The roofline had been undisturbed until she appeared. She’d lain where disaster covered her, afraid to move until she heard human voices.
Louise opened her arms. After a moment’s hesitation, the nomad woman embraced her educated sister.
Pa Teng clambered out of the floater. He and the Punan woman began to talk in quick, bubbling bursts. Vickers wasn’t sure that either was listening to the other or to the occasional questions that Louise or O’Neill added to the mix.
Vickers scanned the forest, moving his head and body slowly while his eyes flicked across the shadowed landscape. He was giving his peripheral vision full opportunity to identify a threat while there was still time to do something about it.
O’Neill turned and said, “According to the woman, ghosts brought the monster to them. They came in a ball of light, driving the monster before them.”
“They’ve been feeding it once a day,” Vickers said. He continued to watch their surroundings, though O’Neill’s information implied that the tyrannosaur had passed on. “I wonder what it’s getting for dinner tonight. Men again or pigs?”
Then he said, “I’d like to get moving soonest.”
A shrill electronic note quivered from one of the floaters. The jungle’s noises were so many and varied that, for a moment, Vickers thought the sound was natural. He whirled to see if a forest creature was warning of the tyrannosaur’s approach.
Louise stepped away from the Punans. She exchanged a glance with O’Neill.
“You were going to tell them not to contact you unless the world was about to end,” O’Neill said.
“Yes,” Louise agreed. “That’s what I told them.”
She stepped to the floater she’d piloted and threw a switch on the side of the link module. “Mondadero here,” she said in a flat voice.
“Dr. Mondadero?” the link’s speaker had a high-pitched male voice. “This is Carlsbad in New York. We’ve just processed EarthSat images and there’s logging going on within the Scheme borders. Logging! This is large-scale, absolutely blatant! You must act at once at your end while we protest to the Malaysian UN delegation. I’ve sent the images and Global Positioning Coordinates to the field database in Kuching for you.”
“Yes, I understand, Dr. Carlsbad,” Louise said. She was leaning over the guardrail to put her mouth closer to the module’s pickup. She looked unutterably weary. “I’ll get on that as soon as possible.”
“As soon as possible!” the voice at the other end of the satellite communicator repeated. “Doctor, did you hear what I said? A logging—”
“I’m quite busy now, Dr. Carlsbad,” Louise interrupted. “Good day.”
She broke the connection, then opened the link’s side panel and pulled the fuse. For a moment she stared at the silent module with her fist clenched; then she flung the fuse into the jungle.
“Louise,” Tom O’Neill said, “we’ve got to stop the logging before it becomes an international event. It’s Nikisastro, I’m sure.”
Louise straightened. “Yes,” she said. She opened the gate of her floater. “Just as soon as we’ve dealt with the tyrannosaur. Let’s go.”
“No, Louise!” O’Neill said. His voice was tight and desperate but not loud. “The logging is more important. The logging is the whole Borneo Scheme. We’ve got to deal with it first.”
“Can you look around you and say that, Tom?” Louise shouted. “Look at them! Look at them!”
In an excess of revulsion that was close to insanity, Louise thrust her foot against the child’s partial corpse beside her, raising a cloud of flies. Their wings thrummed a bass note.
“Louise, I see,” O’Neill said softly. “But this is more important. This is the whole world’s future here.”
“O’Neill,” Vickers said, “take the floater that’s partly discharged and do whatever’s possible. Louise, you and
Louise opened her arms. After a moment’s hesitation, the nomad woman embraced her educated sister.
Pa Teng clambered out of the floater. He and the Punan woman began to talk in quick, bubbling bursts. Vickers wasn’t sure that either was listening to the other or to the occasional questions that Louise or O’Neill added to the mix.
Vickers scanned the forest, moving his head and body slowly while his eyes flicked across the shadowed landscape. He was giving his peripheral vision full opportunity to identify a threat while there was still time to do something about it.
O’Neill turned and said, “According to the woman, ghosts brought the monster to them. They came in a ball of light, driving the monster before them.”
“They’ve been feeding it once a day,” Vickers said. He continued to watch their surroundings, though O’Neill’s information implied that the tyrannosaur had passed on. “I wonder what it’s getting for dinner tonight. Men again or pigs?”
Then he said, “I’d like to get moving soonest.”
A shrill electronic note quivered from one of the floaters. The jungle’s noises were so many and varied that, for a moment, Vickers thought the sound was natural. He whirled to see if a forest creature was warning of the tyrannosaur’s approach.
Louise stepped away from the Punans. She exchanged a glance with O’Neill.
“You were going to tell them not to contact you unless the world was about to end,” O’Neill said.
“Yes,” Louise agreed. “That’s what I told them.”
She stepped to the floater she’d piloted and threw a switch on the side of the link module. “Mondadero here,” she said in a flat voice.
“Dr. Mondadero?” the link’s speaker had a high-pitched male voice. “This is Carlsbad in New York. We’ve just processed EarthSat images and there’s logging going on within the Scheme borders. Logging! This is large-scale, absolutely blatant! You must act at once at your end while we protest to the Malaysian UN delegation. I’ve sent the images and Global Positioning Coordinates to the field database in Kuching for you.”
“Yes, I understand, Dr. Carlsbad,” Louise said. She was leaning over the guardrail to put her mouth closer to the module’s pickup. She looked unutterably weary. “I’ll get on that as soon as possible.”
“As soon as possible!” the voice at the other end of the satellite communicator repeated. “Doctor, did you hear what I said? A logging—”
“I’m quite busy now, Dr. Carlsbad,” Louise interrupted. “Good day.”
She broke the connection, then opened the link’s side panel and pulled the fuse. For a moment she stared at the silent module with her fist clenched; then she flung the fuse into the jungle.
“Louise,” Tom O’Neill said, “we’ve got to stop the logging before it becomes an international event. It’s Nikisastro, I’m sure.”
Louise straightened. “Yes,” she said. She opened the gate of her floater. “Just as soon as we’ve dealt with the tyrannosaur. Let’s go.”
“No, Louise!” O’Neill said. His voice was tight and desperate but not loud. “The logging is more important. The logging is the whole Borneo Scheme. We’ve got to deal with it first.”
“Can you look around you and say that, Tom?” Louise shouted. “Look at them! Look at them!”
In an excess of revulsion that was close to insanity, Louise thrust her foot against the child’s partial corpse beside her, raising a cloud of flies. Their wings thrummed a bass note.
“Louise, I see,” O’Neill said softly. “But this is more important. This is the whole world’s future here.”
“O’Neill,” Vickers said, “take the floater that’s partly discharged and do whatever’s possible. Louise, you and
Similar Books
