（外文电子版资料）Geoffrey A. Landis - Elemental.pdfVIP

Version 1.0 dtd 032800 Geoffrey A. Landis ELEMENTAL 1. Ramsey Fifty kilometers southeast of Naples, two men sat waiting in the bright fluorescent-lit power control room of Napoli Spaceport. In front of them glowed an array of green lights and computer consoles. Behind them, outlined on the floor in a violet glow only faintly visible in the brightness of the room, was a complex five-fold symmetric figure: a pentacle. The younger man watched the array of dials intensely, occasionally touching a knob to make some infinitesimal adjustment. The older man watched him work. What he saw seemed to satisfy him, for he strolled over to the window and gazed out across the landing field. Without looking up, the younger man spoke: Luna shuttles about ready to lift, Mr. Layr. Ready for it, Carlo? Running steady at a hundred ten percent, sir. Shes all yours. Christian Layr walked over to a monitor screen where he could watch the youths performance and take over if necessary. He doubted that any such necessity would arise. There is a certain skill to controlling magic, a skill of balance and timing not unlike that of a juggler, and the boy had it. Layr almost wished something would go wrong, so he could see how the boy would handle it. The youth had the talent, but Layr would feel uneasy about certifying him until he saw how he tackled a real problem, one of the minor emergencies that make power control a job for men with skill and courage, rather than a simple task for machines. Despite Layrs unspoken wish, though, for the last ten days the station had operated smoothly. Almost too smoothly. Layr heard the nearly subsonic rumble of power build-up and directed his attention back to the display. Power level a hundred fifteen percent; there would be no problem with this one. Here it goes. Layr glanced up to the window. As if by magic, the blunt-nosed spacecraft appeared from the launch pit to hover for an instant before his eyes. Slowly it began to i