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.“Ah, you can perhaps distract Master Jules for me,” the reptile said, lifting a long, claw-tipped digit to indicate the outline of a barely visible figure at the far end of the table.The Alcyon took a long drag on a flexible tube connected to a large hookah resting on the floor next to his chair, then puffed out double plumes of smoke through his nostrils and added, “He is too quick in the eye to allow my cheating.” The reptilian’s short, sharp laugh was a low-pitched coughing sound, accompanied by another cloud of smoke.A voice sounded from the other end of the table, now partially visible through a gap in the haze.“Yes! Do distract Master Van-coo-vehr for us, will you?” At the sight of the speaker, Zenn recoiled involuntarily – another Skirni.“Perhaps you could wave at him some old fish-heads.Har.” His voice sounded as though he was gargling oil as he spoke.He was short, like all Skirni, and more rotund than usual.He wore a heavy green velvet robe, and a thick half-circle of carved ivory dangled from the septum of his snub nose.Several of the teeth jutting up from his lower jaw appeared to be made of some copper-tinted metal.“Fish heads! That would draw his attention, would it not, Lieutenant?”The one he called Lieutenant, a human, now became visible through the smoke.The human didn’t smile at the Skirni’s joke and looked up just long enough to give Zenn a quick once-over.Zenn guessed he was late-thirties, his clean-shaven face tanned and handsome in a square-jawed sort of way, with close-cropped light brown hair.His crisp crimson uniform jacket bore golden epaulets on each shoulder, with a black leather strap cutting a smart diagonal across the chest.The immediate impression should have been the very model of a dashing, archetypal young hero, but there was something… unusual… about his appearance.Zenn found herself staring, and only pulled her gaze away when the curtain of drifting smoke lifted enough to reveal the farthest end of the table.Seated there was possibly the last creature she expected to see on a starship orbiting Mars.FOURA whimsically smiling face looked up from playing cards held in a big, four-fingered mech-hand.Two jet-black eyes set against downy gray skin caught sight of her, and two sounds emerged as the creature spoke: one sound, the fainter of the two, like a rusty gate hinge mixed with stuttering laughter; the other, louder sound was a synthesized Transvox voice.“Is the female biped noun mammal seeking personal pronoun my own identity?” he said.“I’m… sorry?” was all Zenn could manage.The Alcyon interpreted.“I think Jules meant to say, ‘Were you looking for me?’”Before Zenn could respond, the Transvox voice went on, “Personal pronoun me am here verb transporting two circular sugar-candies on paper-sticks into colloquialism the washing machines.”“And that,” the Alcyon said, “was to say, ‘I am about to take these two suckers to the cleaners.’” The Alcyon reached over the table to tap on the cybernetic arm extending from the upper-body area of the one called Jules.“Adjust your Transvox again, friend.You speak nonsense.”One of Jules Vancouver’s mech-hands fiddled with a control pad on his other mech-arm, and he spoke quietly, as if talking to himself.Again, the fainter liquid chirps and squeaks were overlaid by the Transvox voice, but then the squeaking sound grew softer as the unit’s frequency dampers kicked in, allowing the artificial voice to be heard more clearly.“Testing, testing… Under the wide and starry sky, dig the grave and let me lie… It was the best of times, it was the worst…”Satisfied the device was working properly, he looked up at her and the Transvox voice said, “I apologize for my translating device.It requires fresh soft-codes.And I’m eager to know who you are and your purpose.But look…” One mechanical hand gestured at the pile of colored discs on the table in front of him.“I’m winning.Please, sit [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.“Ah, you can perhaps distract Master Jules for me,” the reptile said, lifting a long, claw-tipped digit to indicate the outline of a barely visible figure at the far end of the table.The Alcyon took a long drag on a flexible tube connected to a large hookah resting on the floor next to his chair, then puffed out double plumes of smoke through his nostrils and added, “He is too quick in the eye to allow my cheating.” The reptilian’s short, sharp laugh was a low-pitched coughing sound, accompanied by another cloud of smoke.A voice sounded from the other end of the table, now partially visible through a gap in the haze.“Yes! Do distract Master Van-coo-vehr for us, will you?” At the sight of the speaker, Zenn recoiled involuntarily – another Skirni.“Perhaps you could wave at him some old fish-heads.Har.” His voice sounded as though he was gargling oil as he spoke.He was short, like all Skirni, and more rotund than usual.He wore a heavy green velvet robe, and a thick half-circle of carved ivory dangled from the septum of his snub nose.Several of the teeth jutting up from his lower jaw appeared to be made of some copper-tinted metal.“Fish heads! That would draw his attention, would it not, Lieutenant?”The one he called Lieutenant, a human, now became visible through the smoke.The human didn’t smile at the Skirni’s joke and looked up just long enough to give Zenn a quick once-over.Zenn guessed he was late-thirties, his clean-shaven face tanned and handsome in a square-jawed sort of way, with close-cropped light brown hair.His crisp crimson uniform jacket bore golden epaulets on each shoulder, with a black leather strap cutting a smart diagonal across the chest.The immediate impression should have been the very model of a dashing, archetypal young hero, but there was something… unusual… about his appearance.Zenn found herself staring, and only pulled her gaze away when the curtain of drifting smoke lifted enough to reveal the farthest end of the table.Seated there was possibly the last creature she expected to see on a starship orbiting Mars.FOURA whimsically smiling face looked up from playing cards held in a big, four-fingered mech-hand.Two jet-black eyes set against downy gray skin caught sight of her, and two sounds emerged as the creature spoke: one sound, the fainter of the two, like a rusty gate hinge mixed with stuttering laughter; the other, louder sound was a synthesized Transvox voice.“Is the female biped noun mammal seeking personal pronoun my own identity?” he said.“I’m… sorry?” was all Zenn could manage.The Alcyon interpreted.“I think Jules meant to say, ‘Were you looking for me?’”Before Zenn could respond, the Transvox voice went on, “Personal pronoun me am here verb transporting two circular sugar-candies on paper-sticks into colloquialism the washing machines.”“And that,” the Alcyon said, “was to say, ‘I am about to take these two suckers to the cleaners.’” The Alcyon reached over the table to tap on the cybernetic arm extending from the upper-body area of the one called Jules.“Adjust your Transvox again, friend.You speak nonsense.”One of Jules Vancouver’s mech-hands fiddled with a control pad on his other mech-arm, and he spoke quietly, as if talking to himself.Again, the fainter liquid chirps and squeaks were overlaid by the Transvox voice, but then the squeaking sound grew softer as the unit’s frequency dampers kicked in, allowing the artificial voice to be heard more clearly.“Testing, testing… Under the wide and starry sky, dig the grave and let me lie… It was the best of times, it was the worst…”Satisfied the device was working properly, he looked up at her and the Transvox voice said, “I apologize for my translating device.It requires fresh soft-codes.And I’m eager to know who you are and your purpose.But look…” One mechanical hand gestured at the pile of colored discs on the table in front of him.“I’m winning.Please, sit [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]