Read Online Saturn Rukh by Robert L. Forward - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Robert L. Forward
Tags: Science-Fiction, made by MadMaxAU
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of Eden ... getting to name all the creatures, one by one. I wonder what new and marvelous creatures I’ll find there?”
Sandra released the biviewer so the pantograph could retract it back. She crawled under the restraint straps over her bed, and stretching her neck, nestled her head into its protective niche in the head-restraint pillow. Grasping the bedding restraints on each side of her with both hands, she closed her eyes and went to sleep, oblivious to the talk of the crew outside, to dream of meeting strange new creatures on strange new worlds.
~ * ~
Petra finished her climb with the rest of the flock. They had risen far into the sky during the long climb upward in the darkness. Bright was rising in the east and its warming light was streaming down through a break in the cloud layers above. That didn’t happen very often and the flock circled in the beam of light, enjoying the warmth, singing gossip back and forth to each other. Petra could feel Petra’s air sacs expand in the warmth. With the additional buoyancy of Petra’s body, she could gain even more altitude for Petro, so she had Petra swallow another mouthful of bitterly cold rarefied air, and tilting the wings upward, she jetted Petru higher into the sky, the rest of the flock following along behind, maws opening and closing to feed the pulsing jets that drove them ever higher. As Petru climbed, Petra raised her head and gazed upward at Bright. Petra’s large eye could see the flock of smaller lights that circled around the distant glowing sphere of warmth. She could easily see the larger red globe, Rexu, and the smaller red globe, Talu, that circled Bright at great distances. She knew there were three other globes closer to Bright, but usually they were so close they could not be seen through the glare. She raised a claw in front of her eye to block out the light from Bright and was rewarded for the effort by being able to observe two small bright spots close together—a larger blue-white light and a smaller gray light. It was Parent-and-Child. They must be at their farthest excursion from Bright, since the two globes were well separated from the glaring orb and were in their half-moon phase.
Petra knew that Rexu, Talu, Parent-and-Child, and the others must be globes, like the world Air that she lived on. Ancient long-dead elders of the flock had determined many dimmings ago that Air was a globe by reasoning its shape from the shadow Air cast on the rings of Arc. There was even a tale passed from flock to flock of one ancient and reckless young ruus that had left its flock flying east and had managed to fly all around Air, returning to the flock from the west, proving Air was round.
Although the smaller of the moons around Air were not globular, the larger ones were, and the illumination of Bright on the globular moons went through phases. The ancients had reasoned that since the lights circling Bright went through the same phases, they also must be globes. The globes were obviously far away, so they must be large compared to the moons of Air, perhaps even as large as Air itself.
“I wonder…” thought Petra.
“Wonder what?” replied Petro through their thinklink. Petro had woken early because the break in the clouds had let the light of Bright in early. He had remained aloof in his head, however, letting Petra control Petru, while he watched what was going on down below them.
“I wonder if there are creatures like us on the globes of light around Bright,” said Petra back through the thinklink.
“If they are good to eat and we could catch them, then it might be worthwhile bothering to think about them,” said Petro. “But since we can’t fly there, then they aren’t worth thinking about. Petru is cold and hungry, and I am ready to hunt. You have given Petru good altitude, so the hunting should be good. We will talk more when Petru is full and warm. Time for me to take over and you to
Sandra released the biviewer so the pantograph could retract it back. She crawled under the restraint straps over her bed, and stretching her neck, nestled her head into its protective niche in the head-restraint pillow. Grasping the bedding restraints on each side of her with both hands, she closed her eyes and went to sleep, oblivious to the talk of the crew outside, to dream of meeting strange new creatures on strange new worlds.
~ * ~
Petra finished her climb with the rest of the flock. They had risen far into the sky during the long climb upward in the darkness. Bright was rising in the east and its warming light was streaming down through a break in the cloud layers above. That didn’t happen very often and the flock circled in the beam of light, enjoying the warmth, singing gossip back and forth to each other. Petra could feel Petra’s air sacs expand in the warmth. With the additional buoyancy of Petra’s body, she could gain even more altitude for Petro, so she had Petra swallow another mouthful of bitterly cold rarefied air, and tilting the wings upward, she jetted Petru higher into the sky, the rest of the flock following along behind, maws opening and closing to feed the pulsing jets that drove them ever higher. As Petru climbed, Petra raised her head and gazed upward at Bright. Petra’s large eye could see the flock of smaller lights that circled around the distant glowing sphere of warmth. She could easily see the larger red globe, Rexu, and the smaller red globe, Talu, that circled Bright at great distances. She knew there were three other globes closer to Bright, but usually they were so close they could not be seen through the glare. She raised a claw in front of her eye to block out the light from Bright and was rewarded for the effort by being able to observe two small bright spots close together—a larger blue-white light and a smaller gray light. It was Parent-and-Child. They must be at their farthest excursion from Bright, since the two globes were well separated from the glaring orb and were in their half-moon phase.
Petra knew that Rexu, Talu, Parent-and-Child, and the others must be globes, like the world Air that she lived on. Ancient long-dead elders of the flock had determined many dimmings ago that Air was a globe by reasoning its shape from the shadow Air cast on the rings of Arc. There was even a tale passed from flock to flock of one ancient and reckless young ruus that had left its flock flying east and had managed to fly all around Air, returning to the flock from the west, proving Air was round.
Although the smaller of the moons around Air were not globular, the larger ones were, and the illumination of Bright on the globular moons went through phases. The ancients had reasoned that since the lights circling Bright went through the same phases, they also must be globes. The globes were obviously far away, so they must be large compared to the moons of Air, perhaps even as large as Air itself.
“I wonder…” thought Petra.
“Wonder what?” replied Petro through their thinklink. Petro had woken early because the break in the clouds had let the light of Bright in early. He had remained aloof in his head, however, letting Petra control Petru, while he watched what was going on down below them.
“I wonder if there are creatures like us on the globes of light around Bright,” said Petra back through the thinklink.
“If they are good to eat and we could catch them, then it might be worthwhile bothering to think about them,” said Petro. “But since we can’t fly there, then they aren’t worth thinking about. Petru is cold and hungry, and I am ready to hunt. You have given Petru good altitude, so the hunting should be good. We will talk more when Petru is full and warm. Time for me to take over and you to
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