michael crichton.congo-第19节

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　〃I'm　sure　you　do；〃　Munro　said。　〃Nothing　but　business　for　our　Dr。　Ross；　eh？〃　He　crossed　the　room　and；　leaning　against　one　of　the　arches；　looked　out　on　the　dark　Tangier　night。　〃I'm　not　surprised　at　all；〃　he　said。　〃As　a　matter　of…〃
　At　the　first　blast　of　machine…gun　fire；　Munro　dived　for　cover；　the　glassware　on　the　table　splattered；　one　of　the　girls　screamed；　and　Elliot　and　Ross　threw　themselves　to　the　marble　floor　as　the　bullets　whined　around　them；　chipping　the　plaster　overhead；　raining　plaster　dust　down　upon　them。　The　blast　lasted　thirty　seconds　or　so；　and　it　was　followed　by　plete　silence。
　When　it　was　over；　they　got　up　hesitantly；　staring　at　one　another。
　〃The　consortium　plays　for　keeps。〃　Munro　grinned。　〃Just　my　sort　of　people。〃
　Ross　brushed　plaster　dust　off　her　clothes。　She　turned　to　Munro。　〃Five　point　two　against　the　first　two　hundred；　no　deductions；　in　Swiss　francs；　adjusted。〃
　〃Five　point　seven；　and　you　have　me。〃
　〃Five　point　seven。　Done。〃
　Munro　shook　hands　with　them；　then　announced　that　he　would　need　a　few　minutes　to　pack　his　things　before　leaving　for　Nairobi。
　〃Just　like　that？〃　Ross　asked。　She　seemed　suddenly　concerned；　glancing　again　at　her　watch。
　〃What's　your　problem？〃　Munro　asked。
　〃Czech　AK…47s；〃　she　said。　〃In　your　warehouse。〃
　Munro　showed　no　surprise。　〃Better　get　them　out；〃　he　said。　〃The　consortium　undoubtedly　has　something　similar　in　the　works；　and　we've　got　a　lot　to　do　in　the　next　few　hours。〃　As　he　spoke；　they　heard　the　police　Kiaxons　approaching　from　a　distance。　Munro　said；　〃We'll　take　the　back　stair。〃
　An　hour　later；　they　were　airborne；　heading　toward　Nairobi。
　
　
　DAY　4：　NAIROBI
　June　16；1979
　
　1。Timeline
　
　IT　WAS　FARTHER　ACROSS　AFRICA　FROM　TANGIER　TO　Nairobi　than　it　was　across　the　Atlantic　Ocean　from　New　York　to　London…3；600　miles；　an　eight…hour　flight。　Ross　spent　the　time　at　the　puter　console；　working　out　what　she　called　〃hyperspace　probability　lines。〃
　The　screen　showed　a　puter…generated　map　of　Africa；　with　streaking　multicolored　lines　across　it。　〃These　are　all　timelines；〃　Ross　said。　〃We　can　weight　them　for　duration　and　delay　factors。〃　Beneath　the　screen　was　a　total…elapsed…time　clock；　which　kept　shifting　numbers。
　〃What's　that　mean？〃　Elliot　asked。
　〃The　puter's　picking　the　fastest　route。　You　see　it's　just　identified　a　timeline　that　will　get　us　on…site　in　six　days　eighteen　hours　and　fifty…one　minutes。　Now　it's　trying　to　beat　that　time。〃
　Elliot　had　to　smile。　The　idea　of　a　puter　predicting　to　the　minute　when　they　would　reach　their　Congo　location　seemed　ludicrous　to　him。　But　Ross　was　totally　serious。
　As　they　watched；　the　puter　clock　shifted　to　5　days　22　hours　24　minutes。
　〃Better；〃　Ross　said；　nodding。　〃But　still　not　very　good。〃　She　pressed　another　key　and　the　lines　shifted；　stretching　like　rubber　bands　over　the　African　continent。　〃This　is　the　consortium　route；〃　she　said；　〃based　on　our　assumptions　about　the　expedition。　They're　going　in　big…thirty　or　more　people；　a　full…scale　undertaking。　And　they　don't　know　the　exact　location　of　the　city；　at　least；　we　don't　think　they　know。　But　they　have　a　substantial　start　on　us；　at　least　twelve　hours；　since　their　aircraft　is　already　forming　up　in　Nairobi。〃
　The　clock　registered　total　elapsed　time：　5　days　09　hours　19　minutes。　Then　she　pressed　a　button　marked　DATE　and　it　shifted　to　06　21　790814。　〃According　to　this；　the　consortium　will　reach　the　Congo　site　a　little　after　eight　o'clock　in　the　morning　on　June　21。〃
　The　puter　clicked　quietly；　the　lines　continued　to　stretch　and　pull；　and　the　clock　read　a　new　date：　06　21　79　1224。
　〃Well；〃　she　said；　〃that's　where　we　are　now。　Given　maximum　favorable　movements　for　us　and　them；　the　consortium　will　beat　us　to　the　site　by　slightly　more　than　four　hours；　five　days　from　now。〃
　Munro　walked　past；　eating　a　sandwich。　〃Better　lock　another　path；〃　he　said。　〃Or　go　radical。〃
　〃I　hesitate　to　go　radical　with　the　ape。〃
　Munro　shrugged。　〃Have　to　do　something；　with　a　timeline　like　that。〃
　Elliot　listened　to　them　with　a　vague　sense　of　unreality：　they　were　discussing　a　difference　of　hours；　five　days　in　the　future。　〃But　surely；〃　Elliot　said；　〃over　the　next　few　days；　with　all　the　arrangements　at　Nairobi；　and　then　getting　into　the　jungle…you　can't　put　too　much　faith　in　those　figures。〃
　〃This　isn't　like　the　old　days　of　African　exploration；〃　Ross　said；　〃where　parties　disappeared　into　the　wilds　for　months。　At　most；　the　puter　is　off　by　minutes…say；　roughly　half　an　hour　in　the　total　five…day　projection。〃　She　shook　her　head。　〃No。　We　have　a　problem　here；　and　we've　got　to　do　something　about　it。　The　stakes　are　too　great。〃
　〃You　mean　the　diamonds。〃
　She　nodded；　and　pointed　to　the　bottom　of　the　screen；　where　the　words　BLUE　CONTRACT　appeared。　He　asked　her　what　the　Blue　Contract　was。
　〃One　hell　of　a　lot　of　money；〃　Ross　said。　And　she　added；　〃I　think。〃　For　in　truth　she　did　not　really　know。
　Each　new　contract　at　ERTS　was　given　a　code　name。　Only　Travis　and　the　puter　knew　the　name　of　the　pany　buying　the　contract；　everyone　else　at　ERTS；　from　puter　programmers　to　field　personnel；　knew　the　projects　only　by　their　color…code　names：　Red　Contract；　Yellow　Contract；　White　Contract。　This　was　a　business　protection　for　the　firms　involved。　But　the　ERTS　mathematicians　could　not　resist　a　lively　guessing　game　about　contract　sources；　which　was　the　staple　of　daily　conversation　in　the　pany　canteen。
　The　Blue　Contract　had　e　to　ERTS　in　December；　1978。　It　called　for　ERTS　to　locate　a　natural　source　of　industrial…grade　diamonds　in　a　friendly　or　neutralist　country。　The　diamonds　were　to　be　Type　IIb；　〃nitrogen…poor〃　crystals。　No　dimensions　were　specified；　so　crystal　size　did　not　matter；　nor　were　recoverable　quantities　specified：　the　contractor　would　take　what　he　could　get。　And；　most　unusual；　there　was　no　UECL。
　Nearly　all　contracts　arrived　with　a　unit　extraction　cost　limit。　It　was　not　enough　to　find　a　mineral　source；　the　minerals　had　to　be　extractable　at　a　specified　unit　cost。　This　unit　cost　in　turn　reflected　the　richness　of　the　ore　body；　its　remoteness；　the　availability　of　local　labor；　political　conditions；　the　possible　need　to　build　airfields；　roads；　hospitals；　mines；　or　refineries。
　For　a　contract　to　e　in　without　a　UECL　meant　only　one　thing：　somebody　wanted　blue　diamonds　so　badly　he　didn't　care　what　they　cost。
　Within　forty…eight　hours；　the　ERTS　canteen　had　explained　the　Blue　Contract。　It　turned　out　that　Type　JIb　diamonds　were　blue　from　trace　quantities　of　the　element　boron；　which　rendered　them　worthless　as　gemstones　but　altered　their　electronic　properties；　making　them　semiconductors　with　a　resistively　on　the　order　of　100　ohms　centimeters。　They　also　had　light…transmissive　properties。
　Someone　then　found　a　brief　article　in　Electronic　News　for　November　17；　1978：　〃McPhee　Doping　Dropped。〃　It　explained　that　the　Waltham；　Massachusetts；　firm　of　Silec；　Inc。；　had　abandoned　the　experimental　McPhee　technique　to　dope　diamonds　artificially　with　a　monolayer　boron　coating。　The　McPhee　process　had　been　abandoned　as　too　expensive　and　too　unreliable　to　produce　〃desirable　semi　conducting　properties。〃　The　article　concluded　that　〃other　firms　have　underestimated　problems　in　boron　monolayer　doping；　Morikawa　（Tokyo）　abandoned　the　Nagaura　process　in　September　of　this　year。〃　Working　backward；　the　ERTS　canteen　fitted　additional　pieces　of　the　puzzle　into　place。
　Back　in　1971；　Intec；　the　Santa　Clara　microelectronics　firm；　had　first　predicted　that　diamond　semiconductors　would　be　important　to　a　future　generation　of　〃super　conducting〃　puters　in　the　1980s。
　The　first　generation　of　electronic　puters；　ENIAC　and　UNIVAC；　built　in　the　wartime　secrecy　of　the　1940s；　employed　vacuum　tubes。　Vacuum　tubes　had　an　average　life　span　of　twenty　hours；　but　with　thousands　of　glowing　hot　tubes　in　a　single　machine；　some　puters　shut　down　every　seven　to　twelve　minutes。　Vacuum…tube　technology　imposed　a　limit　on　the　size　and　power　of　planned　second…generation　puters。
　But　the　second　generation　never　used　vacuum　tubes。　In　1947；　the　invention　of　the　transistor…a　thumbnail…sized　sandwich　of　solid　material　which　performed　all　the　functions　of　a　vacuum　tube…ushered　in　an　era　of　〃solid　state〃　electronic　devices　which　drew　little　power；　generated　little　heat；　and　were　smaller　and　more　reliable　than　the　tubes　they　replaced。　Silicon　technology　provided　the　basis　for　three　generations　of　increasingly　pact；　reliable；　and　cheap　puters　over　the　next　twenty　years。
　But　by　the　1970s；　puter　designers　began　to　confront　the　inherent　limitations　of　silicon　technology。　Although　circuits　had　been　shrunk　to　microscopic　dimensions；　putation　speed　was　still　dependent　on　circuit　length。　To　miniaturize　circuits　still　more；　where　distances　were　already　on　the　order　of　millionths　of　an　inch；　brought　back　an　old　problem：　heat。　Smaller　circuits　would　literally　melt　from　the　heat　produced。　What　was　needed　was　some　method　to　eliminate　heat　and　reduce　resistance　at　the　same　time。
　It　had　been　known　since　the　1950s　that　many　metals　when　cooled　to　extremely　low　temperatures　became　〃superconducting；〃　permitting　the　unimpeded　flow　of　electrons　through　them。　In　1977；　IBM　announced　it　was　designing　an　ultra…high…speed　puter　the　size　of　a　grapefruit；　chilled　with　liquid　nitrogen。　The　superconducting　puter