[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
curtains pulled?
Then they definitely won t peek inside, replied Con with a giggle. While
Rick tried to recover his composure, Con walked into the back room. She pulled
the dresser from the wall to reveal the hole in the plaster. Ta da! she
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ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
said. A secret passageway.
Where does it go?
It s so neat! said Con excitedly. You re going to love it! Without further
ado, she got on her hands and knees and disappeared into the hole.
Rick followed and found her standing in the lighted corridor. Will you please
tell me what s this about?
I found an elevator to the top of the mesa, she said, already walking down
the passageway. And there s a room . . . wait till you see it!
Rick followed Con until they arrived at the room with the viewscreens. You re
right, Con. This is fantastic! A paleogeologist s dream!
Con beamed. I knew you d like it. It must be some kind of observatory.
Rick walked over to one of the images of Earth. This is so clear! He pointed
to an area where a huge bay entered the interior of the continent. We re
located here, near the northern coast. This is where I
thought we d go today, he said, tracing their journey south.
It doesn t look much like America.
Well, a lot of it s underwater in this time. That peninsula there will
someday be Mexico. Rick s attention turned to a chart next to the satellite
image. This is cool, he said. Here s the same view shown as a geological
map. It shows the sea depth and . . . He paused, looking perplexed. That s
strange.
What s strange.
Rick pointed to red lines on the chart that formed a series of concentric
circles similar to those of a target. That s the location of the Chicxulub
Crater.
The what?
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
Something that hasn t . . . Rick s face grew grave. He stared at the top of
the chart where there were numbers arranged like those on Con s wall. They
glowed red and pulsated:
Oh God! said Rick in horror.
Rick?
Rick ran over to one of the holographic displays of the solar system. He
looked at it, searching for something. Shit! he exclaimed.
What s the matter? asked Con, her voice filled with concern. Did we set off
an alarm? Is it Green?
Rick whirled around, then froze when he spotted the image of the slowly
tumbling rock. He stared at it with a dumbfounded expression. Con looked at
it, too, and noticed that the rock had craters like a small planet. Those
symbols on your wall . . . on these charts . . . on that screen . . . Rick
said in a shocked, quiet voice. They are clocks. They re counting backward.
Backward? To what?
The K-T event. Rick s agitation exploded into frantic activity. He dashed
from the room, calling as he ran. Come on, we ve got to find Joe! There isn t
much time!
Rick, what s the . . .
Rick was already in the passageway. His voice echoed from it. Hurry, Con!
Follow me.
Puzzled and frightened, Con rushed after him. She saw him smash through the
plaster-and-wood barrier to her quarters. Rick ran over the debris without
pausing and, jerking the curtain aside, dashed out into the morning. Con, who
was barefoot, had to pick her way over the splintered barrier before chasing
after
Rick. She spotted him at the dining pavilion. James had returned, and Rick was
questioning him in a loud, anxious voice while Con s father and Sara looked on
with bleary expressions. She heard Rick say, It s a matter of life and
death.
James said something Con couldn t hear. Rick turned toward her and yelled,
Page 86
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Come on, Con! before dashing toward the path to the plane. Con ran after
him, ignoring her father s calls. When the path got stony, she found it was
too hard on her feet to run and slowed down to a brisk walk. When she saw
Rick again, he was talking to Joe, who was holding the picnic hamper.
We can leave as soon as the plane s loaded, said Joe. There s only the
cooler left.
No, no, said Rick. Leave this time
, not this place. We all have to go now.
That s impossible, replied Joe.
Don t you know what this island s for? asked Rick incredulously. Don t you
know where you are?
All I know is we re at this godforsaken place, because Sam said it was safe,
answered Joe.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
Safe? exclaimed Rick. Safe? Maybe it was safe when you came here with Sam,
but how long ago was that?
Over three months.
Well, I have news for you, said Rick. This place was built to observe the
K-T event. That s why it s deserted. Sam didn t need to change history only
fools would stay here.
Con grabbed Rick s arm. You re scaring me, she said.
Joe turned to Con. Do you know what he s talking about?
Sixty-five million years ago, a nine-mile-wide meteor hit the Earth, said
Rick. It s called the K-T
event. It wiped out the dinosaurs. It wiped out damned near everything. Only
for us, it isn t 65 million years ago. For us, it will happen today. In a few
hours. Now do you see why we have to leave?
Can t do it, said Joe.
Weren t you listening? This is the greatest catastrophe on record. Fire . . .
earthquakes . . .
darkness . . . tsunamis . . .
What s a tsunami ? asked Con.
Tidal wave, said Joe.
This one will be hundreds of feet high, said Rick.
Do you have proof for any for this? asked Joe.
You sealed off the proof yourself, Joe, said Rick. It s all there in that
room with the screens. You can see the meteor . . . plot its trajectory . . .
see where it will hit. There s a running countdown! You should have looked at
what you were covering up before you hid the doors.
You found them, I see.
Con did, no thanks to you.
Green s not going to like this, said Joe.
Screw Green! None of that stuff matters now. If we don t go, we ll die!
Rick, the time machine takes two weeks to store enough energy for the trip
back. We don t have enough power to reach our time.
We don t need to reach our time, said Rick. Just move us a few months
downwhen.
It s not that simple, said Joe. I need coordinates.
I m only talking about a few months, figure them out.
Look, Rick, the Earth spins, it rotates around the sun, the sun rotates
around the galaxy, the galaxy s
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
moving . . . hell . . . the whole damned universe is expanding. This
particular spot is in outer space five seconds downwhen.
Then how did you plan to find your way back to our time? [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl aikidobyd.xlx.pl
curtains pulled?
Then they definitely won t peek inside, replied Con with a giggle. While
Rick tried to recover his composure, Con walked into the back room. She pulled
the dresser from the wall to reveal the hole in the plaster. Ta da! she
Page 85
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
said. A secret passageway.
Where does it go?
It s so neat! said Con excitedly. You re going to love it! Without further
ado, she got on her hands and knees and disappeared into the hole.
Rick followed and found her standing in the lighted corridor. Will you please
tell me what s this about?
I found an elevator to the top of the mesa, she said, already walking down
the passageway. And there s a room . . . wait till you see it!
Rick followed Con until they arrived at the room with the viewscreens. You re
right, Con. This is fantastic! A paleogeologist s dream!
Con beamed. I knew you d like it. It must be some kind of observatory.
Rick walked over to one of the images of Earth. This is so clear! He pointed
to an area where a huge bay entered the interior of the continent. We re
located here, near the northern coast. This is where I
thought we d go today, he said, tracing their journey south.
It doesn t look much like America.
Well, a lot of it s underwater in this time. That peninsula there will
someday be Mexico. Rick s attention turned to a chart next to the satellite
image. This is cool, he said. Here s the same view shown as a geological
map. It shows the sea depth and . . . He paused, looking perplexed. That s
strange.
What s strange.
Rick pointed to red lines on the chart that formed a series of concentric
circles similar to those of a target. That s the location of the Chicxulub
Crater.
The what?
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
Something that hasn t . . . Rick s face grew grave. He stared at the top of
the chart where there were numbers arranged like those on Con s wall. They
glowed red and pulsated:
Oh God! said Rick in horror.
Rick?
Rick ran over to one of the holographic displays of the solar system. He
looked at it, searching for something. Shit! he exclaimed.
What s the matter? asked Con, her voice filled with concern. Did we set off
an alarm? Is it Green?
Rick whirled around, then froze when he spotted the image of the slowly
tumbling rock. He stared at it with a dumbfounded expression. Con looked at
it, too, and noticed that the rock had craters like a small planet. Those
symbols on your wall . . . on these charts . . . on that screen . . . Rick
said in a shocked, quiet voice. They are clocks. They re counting backward.
Backward? To what?
The K-T event. Rick s agitation exploded into frantic activity. He dashed
from the room, calling as he ran. Come on, we ve got to find Joe! There isn t
much time!
Rick, what s the . . .
Rick was already in the passageway. His voice echoed from it. Hurry, Con!
Follow me.
Puzzled and frightened, Con rushed after him. She saw him smash through the
plaster-and-wood barrier to her quarters. Rick ran over the debris without
pausing and, jerking the curtain aside, dashed out into the morning. Con, who
was barefoot, had to pick her way over the splintered barrier before chasing
after
Rick. She spotted him at the dining pavilion. James had returned, and Rick was
questioning him in a loud, anxious voice while Con s father and Sara looked on
with bleary expressions. She heard Rick say, It s a matter of life and
death.
James said something Con couldn t hear. Rick turned toward her and yelled,
Page 86
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Come on, Con! before dashing toward the path to the plane. Con ran after
him, ignoring her father s calls. When the path got stony, she found it was
too hard on her feet to run and slowed down to a brisk walk. When she saw
Rick again, he was talking to Joe, who was holding the picnic hamper.
We can leave as soon as the plane s loaded, said Joe. There s only the
cooler left.
No, no, said Rick. Leave this time
, not this place. We all have to go now.
That s impossible, replied Joe.
Don t you know what this island s for? asked Rick incredulously. Don t you
know where you are?
All I know is we re at this godforsaken place, because Sam said it was safe,
answered Joe.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
Safe? exclaimed Rick. Safe? Maybe it was safe when you came here with Sam,
but how long ago was that?
Over three months.
Well, I have news for you, said Rick. This place was built to observe the
K-T event. That s why it s deserted. Sam didn t need to change history only
fools would stay here.
Con grabbed Rick s arm. You re scaring me, she said.
Joe turned to Con. Do you know what he s talking about?
Sixty-five million years ago, a nine-mile-wide meteor hit the Earth, said
Rick. It s called the K-T
event. It wiped out the dinosaurs. It wiped out damned near everything. Only
for us, it isn t 65 million years ago. For us, it will happen today. In a few
hours. Now do you see why we have to leave?
Can t do it, said Joe.
Weren t you listening? This is the greatest catastrophe on record. Fire . . .
earthquakes . . .
darkness . . . tsunamis . . .
What s a tsunami ? asked Con.
Tidal wave, said Joe.
This one will be hundreds of feet high, said Rick.
Do you have proof for any for this? asked Joe.
You sealed off the proof yourself, Joe, said Rick. It s all there in that
room with the screens. You can see the meteor . . . plot its trajectory . . .
see where it will hit. There s a running countdown! You should have looked at
what you were covering up before you hid the doors.
You found them, I see.
Con did, no thanks to you.
Green s not going to like this, said Joe.
Screw Green! None of that stuff matters now. If we don t go, we ll die!
Rick, the time machine takes two weeks to store enough energy for the trip
back. We don t have enough power to reach our time.
We don t need to reach our time, said Rick. Just move us a few months
downwhen.
It s not that simple, said Joe. I need coordinates.
I m only talking about a few months, figure them out.
Look, Rick, the Earth spins, it rotates around the sun, the sun rotates
around the galaxy, the galaxy s
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
moving . . . hell . . . the whole damned universe is expanding. This
particular spot is in outer space five seconds downwhen.
Then how did you plan to find your way back to our time? [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]