Чужой
V
’Hangon.I’llgiveitacloserlook.’Leavingthelightbaron,heapproachedtheparticularspecimenhe’dbeenstudying,reachedoutaglovedhand,andtouchedit.Nothinghappened.Leaningoverhetuggedatthesides,thenthetop.Therewasnothingresemblingacatchorbreakonthesmoothsurface.
’Gotafunnyfeeltoit,eventhroughthegloves.’
Dallassoundedsuddenlyconcerned.’Ijustaskedifyoucouldseewhatwasinit.Don’ttrytoopenit.Youdon’tknowwhatitmighthold.’
Kanepeeredcloseattheobject.Ithadn’tchangedandshowednoeffectfromhispullingandtugging.’Whateveritcontains,it’ssealedintight.’Turningaway,heplayedhislightovertherowsofovoids.’MaybeIcanfindonethat’scrackedorhassplitalittle.’
Inthefaintbackwashofhissuitlights,asmallbumpappearedsilentlyonthetautsurfaceoftheovoidhe’dtouched.Aseconderuptionappeared,thenothers,untiltherewereraisedspotsacrossthesmoothtop.
’Allthesame,’hereportedtoDallasandLambert.’Notaseamorbreakinanyofthem.’Heturnedhislightabsentlybacktotheonehe’dexperimentedwith,leanedforward,andsquinteduncertainlyatwhathesaw.
Theopaquesurfaceoftheovoidhadbecometranslucent.Ashecontinuedtostare,eyeswidening,thesurfacecontinuedtoclear,becomingtransparentasglass.Movingcloser,heshinedhislightonthebaseoftheobject,staredhard,barelybreathingasashapewithintheovalcontainerbecamevisible.Jesus..
