（外文电子版资料）Steele, Allen - Glorious Destiny.pdf

Glorious Destiny Allen M. Steele Asimovs (2002-12) Glorious Destiny is the final story in a series that will soon be published by Ace. The novel-length version will be entitled Coyote. Two tales in that series, Stealing Alabama (January 2001) and The Days Between (March 2001), have been nominated for Hugo Awards. The author is now working on a second set of Coyote stories, the first of which—The Mad Woman of Shuttlefield—is already in our inventory. Liberty: Zamael, Gabriel 16, c.y.3 / 1906 The comet had appeared a couple of weeks earlier, in the last few days of Hanael before the winter solstice that marked the end of the Coyote year. At first it was little more than a hazy white splotch that hovered just above the southeastern horizon after sundown, and no one in Liberty paid much attention to it until its nimbus grew brighter and a distinct tail began to form. Eighteen nights later, its luminescence was rivaled only by Bear, until the superjovian rose high enough to eclipse the comet so that it couldnt be seen again until it made a brief reappearance in the northwestern sky a couple of hours before dawn. Like everyone else in Liberty, Robert Lee notices the comet; lately, though, hes given it little more than a passing glance. As chairman of the Town Council, other matters rank higher on his list of priorities. The last of the autumn crops are in, and although the colony wont have to worry about food shortages this winter, swampers discovered the corn stored in one of the silos shortly before they went into hibernation; the tunnels they dug beneath the refurbished Alabama cargo module threaten to undermine its foundation and eventually topple it. Two more colonists have come down with ring disease; it isnt contagious and is easily treated with antibiotics, but Kuniko Okada has privately warned him that the drug supply is running dangerously low. One of the aerostats was toppled two weeks ago by a severe windstorm; if its not reb