tz.cobra strike-第61节

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　Chapter　30
　
　They　listened　in　silence　as　McKinley　went　through　his　presentation；　and　when　he　was　finished　Stiggur　sighed。　〃No　chance　of　an　error；　I　don't　suppose。〃
　McKinley　shook　his　head。　〃Nothing　significant；　certainly。　We　had　enough　test　subjects　to　get　good　statistics。〃
　Across　the　table　from　him；　Jonny　pursed　his　lips；　the　bittersweet　taste　of　Pyrrhic　victory　in　his　mouth。　He'd　been　vindicated；　his　〃crazy〃　theory　about　the　mojos　more　or　less　confirmed。
　But　the　price　of　that　victory　was　going　to　be　war。
　He　could　see　that　in　the　faces　around　the　table。　The　other　governors　were　scared…more　than　they'd　ever　been　after　the　Dewdrop's　first　mission。　And　even　though　some　of　them　might　not　know　how　they'd　respond　to　that　fear；　he　understood　human　nature　enough　to　know　which　way　most　would　eventually　go。　Fight　and　flight　were　the　only　basic　options　。。。　and　the　Cobra　Worlds　had　no　place　to　run。
　Fairleigh　cleared　his　throat。　〃I　still　don't　understand　how　the　mojos　can　be　doing　all　this。　I　mean；　you've　established　their　brain　capacity　is　too　small　for　intelligence；　haven't　you？〃
　〃There's　no　particular　need　for　intelligence　in　this；〃　McKinley　said。　〃It's　the　mojo's　symbiont…either　hu…
　　　man　or　krisjaw…who　actually　assess　the　situation。　The　mojo　simply　picks　up　that　evaluation　and　pushes　for　the　response　that　is　in　the　mojo's　best　interests。〃
　〃But　that　takes　judgment；　and　that　implies　intelligence；〃　Fairleigh　persisted。
　〃Not　necessarily；〃　Telek　shook　her　head。　〃Straight　extrapolative　logic　could　simply　be　part　of　the　mojo's　instinct　package。　I've　seen　instincts　in　other　animals　that　appear　to　take　as　much　or　more　intelligence　than　that　would　require。　You'll　notice　that　the　Chata　spookie　seems　to　manage　the　same　trick　with　only　a　slightly　larger　cranial　capacity。〃
　〃It　could　be　even　easier；　at　least　for　the　mojo；〃　McKinley　added。　〃Presumably　the　human　conies　up　with　his　own　list　of　possible　responses；　including…on　some　level…how　each　response　would　affect　the　mojo。　Choosing　among　those　takes　no　more　intelligence　than　any　animal　needs　to　survive　in　the　wild。〃
　〃Could　you　be　reading　the　data　wrong；　somehow；　then？〃　Stiggur　asked。　〃We　need　to　be　absolutely　sure　of　what's　going　on。〃
　〃I　don't　think　we　are；　sir；〃　McKinley　shook　his　head。　〃We　didn't　get　as　many　details　out　of　Moff　as　Winward　was　hoping　we　would；　but　I　think　what　he　did　say　pretty　well　confirms　this　interpretation。〃
　〃Not　to　mention　the　krisjaw　incident；〃　Roi　murmured。　〃There's　no　rational　explanation　for　their　behavior　if　the　mojos　weren't　in　at　least　partial　control。〃
　The　room　fell　silent。　Stiggur　glanced　around　the　table；　then　nodded　at　McKinley。　〃Thank　you。　Doctor；　for　your　time。　We'll　get　in　touch　if　we　have　any　more　questions。　You'll　be　able　to　give　this　presentation　to　the　full　Council　tomorrow？〃
　McKinley　nodded。　〃Two　o'clock；　right？〃
　〃Right。　We'll　see　you　then。〃
　McKinley　went　out；　and　Stiggur　turned　back　to　the　table。　〃Any　discussion　before　we　vote　on　our　remendation？〃
　〃How　could　something　like　this　have　happened？〃　Vartanson　asked；　his　tone　almost　petulant。　〃Symbi…onts　don't　just　swap　partners　whenever　they　feel　like　it。〃
　〃Why　not？〃　Roi　shrugged。　〃I'm　sure　Lizabet　could　e　up　with　dozens　of　other　examples。〃
　〃Nothing　like　that　many；　but　there　are　some；〃　Telek　nodded。　〃In　this　case；　I　think；　you　just　have　to　look　at　the　krisjaw's　characteristics　to　see　why　humans　look　so　attractive　as　partners。　First　off；　the　mojos　need　good　hunters　to　kill　bololins　for　them；　but　the　vi…ciousness　that　makes　krisjaws　good　hunters　also　means　a　returning　mojo　probably　has　half　a　chance　of　being　eaten　itself　until　it　reestablishes　control。　You　saw　the　films　of　the　attack…the　mojos　were　barely　off　their　krisjaws〃　backs　before　the　animals　went　berserk。〃
　〃And　their　range　is　longer　with　humans？〃　Hemner　asked。
　〃It　seems　to　be；　yes；　but　that　may　be　only　incidental；〃　Telek　said。　〃The　real　point　is　that　humans　with　guns　are　simultaneously　safer　hunters　and　better　hunters。　That　also　means　the　humans　seldom　if　ever　lose　the　fight　and　get　killed；　by　the　way；　which　saves　the　mojo　the　trouble　of　finding　and　getting　used　to　someone　new。〃
　〃The　training　period　being　especially　dangerous　if　it's　breaking　in　a　new　krisjaw　instead；〃　Vartanson　said；　nodding　heavily。　〃Yeah；　I　see　now。　What　you're　saying　is　that　the　Qasamans　have　made　the　planet　a　little　slice　of　mojo…heaven。〃
　Telek　snorted　softly。　〃Hardly。　It　may　have　been　so　once；　but　the　mojos　are　rapidly　heading　down　a　deadend　street。〃　She　keyed　her　display；　and　an　aerial　map　of　the　Fertile　Crescent　region　appeared。　〃Down　here；〃　she　said；　tapping　white　spots　onto　the　image　with　a　pointer。　〃Here；　here；　and　here。　The　Qasamans　are　adding　on　to　their　chain　of　cities。〃
　〃So？〃　Vartanson　frowned　〃Don't　you　see？　Cities　are　lousy　places　for　a　predator　bird　to　live。　They've　got　to　fly　long　distances　to　do　their　own　hunting　or　accept　the　equivalent　of　pet　food　from　their　masters。　But　the　human　population　is　increasing；　and　their　cute　little　underground　munication　system　requires　them　to　stay　in　the　same　reasonably　limited　area　of　the　planet。　And　that　means　cities。〃
　〃But　I　thought　the　cities　were　laid　out　expressly　for　the　mojos〃　benefit；〃　Roi　growled。　〃That　was　your　whole　argument　for　the　second　study　trip；　remember？〃
　〃For　their　reproductive　benefit；　yes；〃　Telek　nodded。　〃But　not　for　their　feeding　benefit。　I　don't　think　we　ever　actually　got　to　see　a　mojo　hunting；　but　their　usual　prey　is　probably　small　birds　or　large　insects；　and　no　matter　what　the　bololins　and　tarbines　do；　small　birds　are　not　going　to　venture　into　the　cities　in　great　numbers。　The　city　design　is　essentially　a　promise；　and　if　I　were　a　mojo　I　think　I'd　be　feeling　definitely　cheated　by　it。〃
　〃Then　why　don't　they　switch　back？〃　Vartanson　demanded。　〃They　did　so　once…why　not　do　it　again？〃
　〃Switch　back　to　what？　Practically　since　they　landed　the　Qasamans　have　been　shooting　every　krisjaw　that　poked　its　head　out　of　the　grass。　They　must　have　the　entire　Fertile　Crescent　nearly　cleared　out　by　now；　and　they　still　pull　people　off　work　to　go　hunt　the　things　every　month　or　so。　It's　crazy。〃
　〃Maybe　not；〃　Jonny　put　in。　〃As　you　said；　the　Qasaman　leadership　knows　what's　going　on。　What　better　way　to　insure　their　bodyguards〃　continued　loyalty　than　to　make　sure　there's　nowhere　else　for　them　to　go？〃
　Telek　shrugged。　〃Could　be。　They're　certainly　devious　enough　to　e　up　with　something　like　that。〃
　〃Which　would　imply；　in　turn；〃　Jonny　continued；　〃that　they　recognize　the　benefits　of　having　mojos　around　to　keep　down　interpersonal　friction。　If　they　consider　that　factor　to　be　that　important；　perhaps　instead　of　considering　war　we　should　instead　be　concentrating　on　getting　rid　of　the　mojos。〃
　〃How？〃　Telek　snorted。　〃Kill　them　all　off？〃
　〃Why　not？　Whole　species　have　been　exterminated　before；　back　in　the　Dominion。　Species…specific　pesticides　can　be　made　for　any　animal；　can't　they？〃
　〃Theoretically；　once　enough　is　known　about　the　animal's　hormone　sequence　during　breeding。　We　haven't　got　anything　like　that　much　data　on　mojos。〃
　〃We've　got　the　time；　though；〃　Jonny　persisted。　〃The　tech　assessment　puts　them　at　least　fifteen　years　away　from　a　stardrive。〃
　〃Won't　help；〃　Roi　murmured。　〃The　cities；　Jonny。　Any　animal　that　would　prefer　a　good　breeding　setup　to　a　good　feeding　setup　is　going　to　be　incredibly　hard　to　kill　off。〃
　〃Especially　when　the　Qasamans　will　be　on　their　side；〃　Telek　said。　〃Remember；　whatever　input　the　mojos　had　on　the　design　of　the　cities；　it　was　the　humans　who　put　them　up。　Could　be　that　they　actually　didn't　need　much　prompting　after　all…this　arrangement　encourages　a　steady　supply　of　mojos　for　their　growing　population　while　at　the　same　time　keeps　them　on　a　short　enough　food　leash　that　they　won't　just　give　up　and　go　look　for　a　krisjaw　to　team　up　with。〃
　〃And　unlike　the　aviary　approach；　this　looks　more　natural　to　the　mojos；〃　Roi　mused。　〃Suckers　them　into　thinking　things　are　going　their　way　while　the　Qasamans　kill　off　every　krisjaw　for　a　thousand　kilometers　around。〃
　Stiggur　tapped　his　fingers　gently　on　the　tabletop。　〃The　ultimate；　crowning　irony：　the　puppets　conspire　to　keep　the　puppeteers　with　them。〃
　〃The　crowning　irony？〃　Hemner　shook　his　head。　〃No。　The　crowning　irony　is　Moff's　last　warning　。。。　and　the　fact　that；　given　their　cultural　paranoia；　they　might　very　well　have　cowered　there　on　their　one　little　world　forever；　afraid　to　venture　into　space　where　they　might　run　into　something　they　didn't　like。　If　the　Trofts　hadn't　poked　at　them；　and　persuaded　us　to　do　likewise；　they　might　never　have　bee　even　the　smallest　threat　to　either　of　us。　Consider　that　when　you're　tempted　to　congratulate　yourselves　on　how　well　we've　handled　this。〃
　A　long；　painful　silence　settled　on　the　table。　Jonny　shifted　quietly　in　his　chair；　the　dull　ache　in　his　joints　echoed　by　the　bitterness　in　his　mind。　Hemner　was　right；　had　been　right；　in　fact；　all　the　way　from　the　beginning。　And　now　the　threat　they'd　worried　and　argued　about　was　on　its　way　to　being　a　self…fulfilling　prophesy。
　And　it　was　far　too　late　to　go　back。
　Stiggur　broke　the　silence　first；　and　with　the　words　Jonny　knew　he　would　use。　〃Does　anyone　have　a　remendation　to　make？〃
　Vartanson　looked　around　th