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. I decided that Gwen's attempt
to play Pygmalion to this unlikely Galatea was succeeding but that Bill would
have to leam Loonie manners, or he might lose some teeth.
We strapped down, the capsule was sealed, and again Bill cradled the little
maple's pot against his belly. The racks swung to meet acceleration-one full
gee, a high acceleration for Loonies who filled the rest of the car. Two minutes
and fifty-one seconds of boost, then we were at orbital speed.
Odd to be in free fall in a subway. But it certainly is fun!
It was the first time I had ridden the ballistic tube. It dates back before
the Revolution, although then (so I've read) it extended only to Endsville. It
was completed later, but the principle was never extended to other subway
systems-not economic, I am told, other than for heavily-traveled, long runs that
can be dug "straight" the whole way-"straight" in this case meaning "exactly
conforming to a ballistic curve at orbiting velocity."
This subway is the only underground "spaceship" in history. It works like
the induction catapults that throw cargo to Ell-Four and Ell-Five and to
Terra... except that the launching station, the receiving station, and the
entire trajectory are underground ... a few meters underground in most places,
about three klicks underground where the tube passes under mountains.
Two minutes and fifty-one seconds of one-gee boost, twelve minutes and
twenty-seven seconds in free fall, two minutes and fifty-one seconds of one-gee
braking-it adds up to an average speed of more than five thousand kilometers per
hour
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