tz.cobra strike-第24节

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he　tarbine's　back；　it　looks　very　much　like　the　critical　area　could　be　split　open　and　resealed　with　a　minimum　of　damage　and　no　real　loss　of　flight　capability。〃
　〃Assuming　the　mojo　doesn't　exceed　a　maximum　size；〃　Telek　added。　〃And　as　to　post…natal　instruction；　the　mojo's　brain　seems　to　have　a　larger　proportion　of　the　high…neural…density　〃primary　programming〃　structure　than　earthstock　or　Aventinian　animals　I've　studied。　That's　an　assumption；　of　course；　Qasaman　biochemistry　doesn't　have　to　be　strictly　analogous　to
　ours…〃
　〃And　you　fried　part　of　the　brain　shooting　the　thing
　down…〃　Christopher　put　in。
　〃Shut　up；　Bil。　Anyway；　it　looks　very　possibly　like　the　mojo　young　can　simply　poke　through　the　tarbine's　skin；　fly　its　separate　way　and　take　up　housekeeping
　in　the　forest。〃
　〃Or　on　somebody's　shoulder；〃　Pyre　frowned　as　a　sudden　thought　struck　him。　〃On　somebody's　shoulder　。。。　the　same　way　the　tarbines　ride　bololins？〃
　〃So　you　noticed　the　similarity；　did　you？〃　Christopher　mented。　〃What　makes　it　even　more　intriguing　is　that　the　tarbines　have　the　same　organic　hypo　organ
　the　mojos　do。〃
　〃As　do　the　bololins　themselves；〃　Telek　added；　〃though　God　only　knows　what　species　they　use　as　embryo…hosts。　Maybe　each　other；　the　top　of　the　size　chain　has　to　do　something　different。〃
　〃　〃Big　fleas　have　little　fleas　upon　their　backs　to　bite　〃em/　〃　Pyre　quoted　the　old　saying。
　〃
　〃…and　little　fleas　have　lesser　fleas；　and　so　ad　infinitum；〃
　〃　Telek　finished　for　him。　〃You're　the　third　person　who's　brought　that　up　tonight。　Starting　with　me。〃
　〃Um。　Well　。。。　the　contact　team　still　going　sightseeing　tomorrow？〃
　〃Yes。　I　think　I'll　clue　them　in　on　all　this　as　soon　as　they　wake　up…maybe　Yuri　will　be　able　to　worm　out　some　more　information　from　Moff。〃　Telek　paused　and　Pyre　could　hear；　faintly；　the　sound　of　a　jaw…cracking　yawn。　〃You'd　better　get　under　cover　and　get　some　sleep；　Almo；〃　she　said。　〃I　think　under　the　circumstances　you　can　skip　that　riverside　fauna　survey　we　talked　about　yesterday…I've　got　enough　data　to　keep　me　busy　for　quite　a　while。〃
　〃No　argument；〃　Pyre　agreed。　〃I'll　call　in　when　I　wake　up。〃
　〃Just　be　careful　you're　not　seen。　Good　night…or　morning。〃
　〃Same　to　you。〃　Shutting　down　the　laser　m；　Pyre　spent　a　few　moments　rearranging　its　camouflage　and　hiding　his　other　equipment。　A　dozen　meters　away　was　his　shelter　tree；　tall　and　thick；　its　lowest　branches　a　good　five　meters　above　the　ground。　A　servo…powered　jump　took　him　the　necessary　height；　and　a　few　branches　higher　he　reached　his　〃shelter；〃　a　waterproof　one…man　hammock　bag　slung　under　a　particularly　strong　branch　and　surrounded　by　a　glued…stick　cage　sort　of　arrangement。　It　made　Pyre　feel　a　little　strange　to　sleep　inside　such　a　barrier；　but　it　was　the　simplest　way　to　make　sure　no　carnivore　could　sneak　up　on　him；　no　matter　how　quiet　it　was　or　how　deeply　asleep　he　was。
　Entering；　he　sealed　the　cage　and　worked　himself　into　the　hammock　with　a　sigh。　For　a　minute　he　considered　setting　his　alarm；　ultimately　decided　against　it。　If　anything　came　up；　the　Dewdrop　had　one…way
　munication　with　him　via　his　emergency　earphone；　and　if　they　were　careful　how　they　focused　the　beam；　it　was　unlikely　even　a　snooper　set　in　the　airport　control　tower　could　pick　it　up。
　The　control　tower。　His　drift　toward　sleep　slowed　as　he　remembered　the　men　who'd　charged　out　of　that　dark　and　supposedly　deserted　building　for　bololin　target　practice。　Certainly　their　presence　didn't　mesh　with　the　building's　assumed　main　function…no　aircraft　had　so　much　as　shown　its　nose　since　the　Dew…drop's　arrival。　But　if　they　weren't　in　there　to　handle　planes；　then　what　were　they　doing　there？　Monitoring　the　visitors〃　ship？　Probably。　Still；　as　long　as　they　were　just　watching　they　weren't　likely　to　bother　anyone。
　Closing　his　eyes；　Pyre　put　the　image　of　silent　watchers　out　of　his　mind　and　slid　into　oblivion。
　
　
　Chapter　13
　
　For　the　drive　to　the　outer　villages　Moff　exchanged　their　usual　open…air　car　for　a　small　enclosed　bus。　The　reason　wasn't　hard　to　figure　out；　barely　a　kilometer　out　of　Sollas　the　road　began　passing　in　and　out　of　the　patches　of　forest　that　had　been　visible　from　orbit。　〃Just　a　normal　precaution；〃　Moff　explained　about　their　vehicle　at　one　point。　〃Cars　are　rarely　attacked；　even　by　krisjaws；　but　it　does　happen　occasionally。〃　Joshua　shuddered　a　bit　at　the　thought；　wondering　for　the　hundredth　time　what　had　possessed　Pyre　to　go　out　into　the　forest　alone…and　what　had　possessed　Telek　to　let　him　go。　The　Dewdrop　had　been　maddeningly　uninformative　on　everything　dealing　with　Pyre's　mission；　and　Joshua；　for　one；　found　it　unfortably　suspicious。　He　and　Justin　had　discussed　in　some　length　the　mystery　behind　Pyre's　presence　here　during　the　trip　from　Aventine；　though　without　finding　any　good　answers。　The　possibility　that　Telek　might　have　brought　Pyre　along　solely　because　his　political　view　made　him　expendable　wasn't　one　that　had　occurred　to　Joshua　before；　but　it　was　occurring　to　him　now；　and　he　didn't　care　for　it　at　all。
　But　for　the　moment；　at　least；　it　was　a　low…priority　worry。　Pyre　had　demonstrated　his　ability　to　survive　the　Qasaman　wilderness　。　。。　and；　besides；　the　biolog…
　　ical　breakthrough　he　and　Telek　had　made　last　night　was　just　too　fascinating　to　ignore。　Joshua's　schooling　had　included　only　a　bare　minimum　of　the　life　sciences；　but　even　he　could　see　how　radically　different　the　Qasaman　ecology　was　from　anything　known　either　in　the　Worlds　or　the　Dominion　and　could　guess　at　some　of　the　implications。　The　contact　team　hadn't　had　a　safe　chance　to　discuss　it　among　themselves　yet；　of　course…as　far　as　their　hosts　knew；　they　should　have　no　inkling　of　any　of　this。　But　Joshua　could　see　the　same　thoughts　and　speculations　in　their　eyes。　Watching　the　brightly　colored　folliage　outside　the　bus；　he　waited　impatiently　for　Cerenkov　to　start　the　gentle　probing　Telek　had　suggested。
　Cerenkov's　grip　on　his　curiosity　was　apparently　stronger　than　Joshua's；　however；　and　he　waited　until　the　fifty…kilometer　trip　was　nearly　over　before　nudging　the　conversation　in　that　direction。　〃I've　noticed　a　fair　sprinkling　of　smaller　birds　flying　among　the　trees；〃　he　said；　gesturing　toward　the　window　beside　him；　〃but　nothing　that　seems　to　be　the　size　of　the　mojo　or　its　female　form　of　tarbine。　Do　they　nest　in　trees　in　the　wild；　or　do　they　raise　their　young　in　those　quill　forests　on　the　bololins〃　backs？〃
　〃There　is　no　need　of　nests　or　the　raising　of　young；〃　Moff　told　him。　〃A　mojo's　young　are　born　with　all　the　necessary　survival　skills　already　present。〃
　〃Really？　Doesn't　the　tarbine　at　least　have　to　nest　long　enough　to　hatch　the　eggs？〃
　〃There　are　no　eggs…mojo　young　are　born　live。　In　this　sense　most　of　the　bird…like　Qasaman　creatures　are　not　true　birds；　by　the　old　standards。〃
　〃Ah。〃　Joshua　could　almost　see　Cerenkov　casting　about　for　a　question　that　wouldn't　reveal　that　he　knew　Moff　was　being　deliberately　misleading。　〃I'm　also　interested　in　the　relationship　between　the　tarbines　and　bololins。　Is　the　tarbine　merely　a　parasite；　getting　a　free　ride　but　not　contributing　anything？〃
　〃No；　the　relationship　is　more　equal　than　that。　The　tarbines　often　help　defend　their　bololins　against　predator　attack；　and　it's　thought　that　they　also　help　locate　good　grazing　sites　from　the　air。〃
　〃I　thought　the　bololins　liked　to　travel　along　magnetic　field　lines；〃　Rynstadt　put　in。　〃Can　they　just　get　off　that　path　any　time　they　want　to　go　foraging？〃
　Moff　gave　him　an　odd　look。　〃Of　course。　They　only　use　the　magnetic　lines　as　a　guide　to　and　from　the　northern　breeding　areas。　How　did　you　deduce　the　mechanism？〃
　〃The　layout　of　Sollas　was　the　major　clue；〃　Cerenkov
　replied　before　Rynstadt　could　do　so。　〃Those　wide
　avenues　all　point　along　the　field　lines；　with　no　real
　provision　for　bololin　herds　going　any　other　direction。
　I　think　Marck's　question　refers　to　the　fact　that　when
　the　herd　we　saw　was　ing　through　the　city　the
　vpeople　stood　just　barely　inside　the　cross　streets；　as　if
　｜》they　knew　the　bololins　wouldn't　stray　even　slightly
　｜。t》ff　their　path。　One　of　those　still　aboard　the　ship　had
　^wondered　whether　they　were　actually　constrained　to
　＇'follow　their　individual　lines　pretty　closely。〃
　　〃No；　of　course　not。〃　Moff's　quizzical　look　was　edg…
　fiing　toward　suspicion。　〃Otherwise　many　would　crash
　f　into　buildings　instead　of　finding　their　way　into　the
　^Streets。　But　how　did　your　panion　know　where
　｜fthe　people　were　standing？〃
　Joshua's　heart　skipped　a　beat。　The　Qasamans　hadn't　the　slightest　indication　that　they　knew　about　implanted　sensors；　but　he　still　abruptly　felt　as　if　eye　in　the　bus　had　turned　in　his　direction。　It　p…kicked　him　back　to　childhood；　to　all　the　times　is　mother　had　easily　penetrated　his　innocent　expression　to　find　the　guilt　bubbling　up　beneath　it…
　But　Cerenkov　was　already　well　on　top　of　things。　〃'We　told　them　about　it；　of　course；〃　he　said；　his　tone　。e　of　genuine　puzzlement。　〃We　described　the　whole　ne　while　you　were　up　there　shooting。　They　were　terested　in　the　odd　mojo　mating　pattern；　too…at　t　what　I　was　able　to　tell　them　about　it　seemed
　_
　　odd　to　them。　Was　there　some　kind　of　ritual　dance　or　pattern　that　I　missed？〃
　〃You　seem　excessively　interested　in　the　mojos；〃　Moff　said；　his　dark　eyes　boring　into　Cerenkov's。