[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.It was too dangerous to allow them to live.""I'm still here," Amanda insisted."Yes, you are," St.Clair said vaguely."Would you excuse me for a moment? IPage 24 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlhave to make an important call."With a tight smile plastered unnaturally across his face, he headed for thedoor.Chiun's eyes trailed him suspiciously.Amanda dropped to her knees next to the pile of blue wood."Six years of mylife, gone," she moaned.With slender fingers she caressed a wilted blue leave."Yeah, that's rough," Remo said, unconcerned.Hands on his hips, he waslooking around the big chamber."What kind of greenhouse is this? It isn'teven hot in here."The skylights were rolled open, revealing a blue patch of clear Swiss sky.Glass pipes affixed with hundreds of nozzles latticed the vaulted ceiling."This is a natural climate as much as possible," Amanda replied sadly.Shedidn't look up at him as she spoke."We keep it open to the elements when wecan.""So what's all that junk?" He waved a finger at the elaborate networks builtinto the ceiling."We can shut off the outside world and create any of dozens of microclimatesof our own choosing in here," she explained."All that is used to simulate thevarious environments.Mostly we just use it for watering the plants.Or usedit," she corrected bitterly."The C.dioxa cannot yet extract enough water tosurvive from the air.That would have come in future generations.Thosenozzles provide seeding for the clouds.""Get outta town," Remo said."You grow actual clouds in here?"Amanda didn't answer him."I can't believe this is happening," she said toherself.When Remo looked down he found her still crouching next to the trees.Thepanicked daddy's girl had fled, replaced for a moment with a coollyprofessional young woman.Remo squatted beside her, taking a withered C.dioxa leaf between his fingers.It felt warm to the touch."It's hot," he said.He rubbed his fingertips together.They tingled."A chemical reaction," Amanda said absently.Her mind was somewhere else."Actually, most people shouldn't be able to feel it.Where's Dr.St.Clair?"she asked, standing abruptly."Maybe we can still salvage this somehow.""That little twitchy guy?" Remo asked."He just went out there to try to killus or something.Hey, you ought to try touching one of these leaves, LittleFather.It's pretty weird.""What do you mean 'kill us'?" Amanda asked.Chiun was standing imperiouslynext to them, his eyes directed on the greenhouse control room."My pale sonis correct," the old Korean said."That one means you harm.""Are you two nuts?" Amanda said."You're talking about Hubert St.Clair, thehead of the Congress of Concerned Scientists.Oh, this is it.I'm callingDaddy.He probably got someone else to hire you for him.He has no idea he'sthrowing away perfectly good, potential trust-fund money on two flimflam-"She was interrupted by a sudden loud clanking sound.It rattled throughout thegreenhouse.When she looked up, she saw that the skylights were rumblingshut."What's going on?" she asked."First guess would be your boss trying not to kill you," Remo said blandly.Amanda spun toward the greenhouse doors.Like the skylights, they were slidingshut.They closed, followed by the hiss of the hermetic seal inflating.Through the special plastic panel next to the closed doors, Amanda saw HubertSt.Clair sitting uncomfortably at the control panel.He held an interofficephone gingerly to his ear.Feeling the first thrill of worry, she hurried over to the door, Remo andChiun in her wake."Hubert," she said into the speaker next to the door, "could you please openthe doors? I'd like to get out now."On the other side of the glass, St.Clair hung up the phone.He unwrapped thePage 25 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlhandkerchief from his hand."You've been a big help, Amanda," the CCS head said over the speaker."Thepristine world of the future will thank you for your contribution.""Hubert?" she asked, worry changing to panic."Hubert!" she yelled when he got up and walked from the room.The second set of doors slid shut, sealing the airtight outer chamber.Eyes wide, Amanda wheeled on Remo and Chiun."Told you he wanted to kill us,"Remo said.Amanda couldn't believe what was happening."This is insane," she gasped."Dr.Schumar died in here, but he wasasphyxiated by the C.dioxas.The trees are all dead.They've stoppedproducing carbon dioxide or ammonia.What does he think he's doing?"As if in response, a new mechanical sound echoed throughout the greenhouse.When they looked up, they saw the massive fans that were positioned high up onthe walls chugging to life.At the same time, thick mist began pouring from anetwork of twisted cones."Mind telling me what that's all about?" Remo asked."I told you.It's for the clouds," Amanda explained."They're part of theartificial-environment program."Propelled by the fans, the mist was swirling into the center of the ceiling.The sky beyond the glass faded as the cloud cover thickened."Okay, this has gotten too creepy even for me," Remo said."Little Father?"The Master of Sinanju nodded agreement.Twirling, he faced the closed door
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
