John Brunner The Crucible of Time

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.We have therefore been able to establish the following facts."First: the stars do change position--very slowly, but unmistakably--and certainlyTHE OUTPOURING115"Second: there are not just a few but many stars now discernible which werenot known to the map-maker, and all of them have something most disconcertingin common.They are all deep red, and they all lie in thefile:///G|/rah/John%20Brunner%20-%20The%20Crucible%20of%20Time.txt (211 of557) [2/14/2004 12:25:08 AM]file:///G|/rah/John%20Brunner%20-%20The%20Crucible%20of%20Time.txt samegeneral area of the sky.Which leads me to the third point."What we have been accustomed to call the Smoke of the New Star can be nothingof the sort.We have traced the site of the New Star, which in the days whenthese old maps were prepared was still clearly visible, though now it takes astrong glass to detect it.Indeed, one does not so much see the star itself,as a faint and wispy cloud of glowing gas with a dot at its center.But thisis not the large, widespread cloud we normally think of.It's too faraway--several degrees distant.On the other claw, within it there are somegenuinely new stars, which must be far newer than that fabled one which burstout without warning and became brighter than the sun, as the old legendsclaim--though, strangely, no reference is made to heat from it."Within the Smoke, as I was saying, we have counted no fewer than ten stars ofwhich there is no sign on the old maps.Moreover, what reference is made tothe Smoke is cursory and vague, and no outline is indicated for it, though wecan see one fairly clearly.All these ten new stars, what's more, are reddish,even darker than the Smoke, as though they only recently lighted their fires.They are barely bright enough to make the surrounding cloud shine byreflection, and much too far away to account for the ending of the Freeze."And even that is not the most astonishing news."Page 132ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlHaving helped as best they could with the observations, Yockerbow andBarratong were primed for the final revelation, and glanced covertly around tosee what impact it would have on the unforewarned.Using an image which Barratong himself had supplied, Arranth said, "Imaginethe Great Fleet keeping station on a calm sea, and yourselves aboard asolitary junq making haste towards it.Would you not see the nearest of theFleet diverge to either side as you drew close, while thefile:///G|/rah/John%20Brunner%20-%20The%20Crucible%20of%20Time.txt (212 of557) [2/14/2004 12:25:08 AM]file:///G|/rah/John%20Brunner%20-%20The%20Crucible%20of%20Time.txt furthestremained at roughly the same angle?"Puzzled at being reminded of something that everybody knew, her listenerssignified comprehension."What disturbs and even frightens me," concluded Arranth, "is that scores ofstars whose positions we can check against the old maps appear to havediverged outward from a common center, and that center is located in or nearthe Smoke.Either we, with the sun and all its planets, are hurtling in thatdirection, or the Smoke and its associated stars are rushing towards us.Itmakes no difference which way you look at it; the outcome is the same.And if,as certain astronomers believe, stars begin because they accumulatesurrounding matter, be it whole wandering planets or mere dust like what comesto us as meteorites and comets, then there must be incredible quantities of itin any zone where ten new stars have started to burn since these maps weredrawn!"As though to emphasize her words, a meteor brilliant enough to shine throughthe daytime sky slashed across the zenith, and immediately thereafterBarratong cried, "Get those maps under cover! The storm will be upon us anymoment!"An echo of thunder confirmed his warning, and they scattered, the sub-116THE CRUCIBLE OF TIMEcommanders to their respective junqs, Arranth, Ulgrim, Yockerbow andBarratong to huddle beneath the shelter offered by their own's haodah.Tucking the precious maps carefully into the tube again, Arranth said,file:///G|/rah/John%20Brunner%20-%20The%20Crucible%20of%20Time.txt (213 of557) [2/14/2004 12:25:08 AM]file:///G|/rah/John%20Brunner%20-%20The%20Crucible%20of%20Time [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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