Чужой
III
’Atleastit’scloseenoughtowalkto.’
’Yeah.’Lambertlookedpleased.’Ididn’tfancyhavingtomovetheship.Astraightdropfromorbit’seasiertoplotthanasurface-to-surfaceshiftinthiskindofweather.’
’Okay.Weknowwhatwe’regoingtobewalkingon.Let’sfindoutwhatwe’regoingtobewalkingthrough.Ash,giveusapreliminaryatmospheric.’
Thescienceofficerpunchedbuttons.AtinyportopenedontheskinoftheNostromo.Itshovedametalflaskoutintothewind,suckedinaminuteportionofthisworld’sair,andsankbackintotheship.
Thesamplewasejectedintoavacuumchamber.Sophisticatedinstrumentsproceededtopickittopieces.VeryshortlythesepiecesofairappearedintheformofnumbersandsymbolsonAsh’sconsole.
Hestudiedthembriefly,requestedadoublecheckonone,thenreportedtohiscompanions.
’It’salmostaprimordialmix.Plentyofinertnitrogen,someoxygen,ahighconcentrationoffreecarbondioxide.There’smethaneandammonia,someofthelatterexistinginthefrozenstate..it’scoldoutside.I’mworkingonthetraceconstituentsnow,butIdon’texpectanysurprises.Italllooksprettystandard,andunbreathable.’
’Pressure?’
’Tentothefourthdynespersquarecentimetre.Won’tholdusbackunlessthewindreallypicksup.’
’Whataboutmoisturecontent?’Kanewantedtoknow.Imagesofanimaginaryoff-Earthoasisrapidlyfadingfromhismind.
’Ninety-eightdoubleP.Itmaynotsmellgood,butit’shumid.Lotofwatervapor.Weirdmixture,that.
