michael crichton.congo-第21节

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e　city　as　precisely　as　Ross　did。
　Timelines　had　to　be　adjusted；　unfavorably　to　the　ERTS　team。　And　the　updated　puter　projections　were　unequivocal…Ross　or　no　Ross；　the　likelihood　of　the　ERTS　team　reaching　the　site　ahead　of　the　Japanese　and　Germans　was　flow　almost　nil。
　From　Travis's　viewpoint；　the　entire　ERTS　expedition　was　mow　a　futile　exercise；　and　a　waste　of　time。　There　was　no　hope　of　success。　The　only　unfactorable　element　was　the　gorilla　Amy；　and　Travis's　instincts　told　him　that　a　gorilla　named　Amy　would　not　prove　decisive　in　the　discovery　of　mineral　deposits　in　the　northeastern　Congo。
　It　was　hopeless。
　Should　he　recall　the　ERTS　team？　He　stared　at　the　console　by　his　desk。　〃Call　cost…time；〃　he　said。
　The　puter　blinked　COST…TIME　AVAILABLE。
　〃Congo　Field　Survey；〃　he　said。
　The　screen　printed　out　numbers　for　the　Congo　Field　Survey：　expenditures　by　the　hour；　accumulated　costs；　mitted　future　costs；　cutoff　points；　future　branch…point　deletions。　。　。　。　The　project　was　now　just　outside　Nairobi；　and　was　running　at　an　accumulated　cost　of　slightly　over
　189；000。
　Cancellation　would　cost　227；455。
　〃Factor　BF；〃　he　said。
　The　screen　changed。　B　F。　He　now　saw　a　series　of　probabilities。　〃Factor　BF〃　was　bona　fortuna；　good　luck…the　imponderable　in　all　expeditions；　especially　remote；　dangerous　expeditions。
　THINKING　A　MOMENT；　the　puter　flashed。
　Travis　waited。　He　knew　that　the　puter　would　require　several　seconds　to　perform　the　putations　to　assign　weights　to　random　factors　that　might　influence　the　expedition；　still　five　or　more　days　from　the　target　site。
　His　beeper　buzzed。　Rogers；　the　tap　dancer；　said；　〃We've　traced　the　piggyback　slurp。　It's　in　Norman；　Oklahoma；　nominally　at　the　North　Central　Insurance　Corporation　of　America。　NCIC　is　fifty…one　percent　owned　by　a　Hawaiian　holding　pany；　Halekuli；　Inc。；　which　is　in　turn　owned　by　mainland　Japanese　interests。　What　do　you　want？〃
　〃I　want　a　very　bad　fire；〃　Travis　said。
　〃Got　you；〃　Rogers　said。　He　hung　up　the　phone。
　The　screen　flashed　ASSESSED　FACTOR　B　F　and　a　probability：　。449。　He　was　surprised：　that　figure　meant　that　ERTS　had　an　almost　even　chance　of　attaining　the　target　site　befure　the　consortium。　Travis　didn't　question　the　mathematics；　。449　was　good　enough。
　The　ERTS　expedition　would　continue　to　the　Congo；　at　least　for　the　time　being。　And　in　the　meantime　he　would　do　whatever　he　could　to　slow　down　the　consortium。　Off　the　top　of　his　head；　Travis　could　think　of　one　or　two　ideas　to　acplish　that。
　
　3。Additional　Data
　
　THE　JET　WAS　MOVING　SOUTH　OVER　LAKE　RUDOLPH　in　northern　Kenya　when　Tom　Seamans　called　Elliot。
　Seamails　had　finished　his　puter　analysis　to　discriminate　gorillas　from　other　apes；　principally　chimpanzees。　He　had　then　obtained　from　Houston　a　videotape　of　three　seconds　of　a　garbled　video　transmission　which　seemed　to　show　a　gorilla　smashing　a　dish　antenna　and　staring　into　a　camera。
　〃Well？〃　Elliot　said；　looking　at　the　puter　screen。　The　data　flashed　up：
　
　DISCRIMINANT　FUNCTION　GORILLA/CHIMP
　FUN　CT　IONAL　GROUPINGS　DISTRIBUTED　AS：
　GORILLA： 。9934
　CHIMP： 。1132
　TEST　VIDEOTAPE　（HOUSTON）：　。3349
　
　〃Hell；〃　Elliot　said。　At　those　figures；　the　study　was　equivocal；　useless。
　〃Sorry　about　that；〃　Seamans　said　over　the　phone。　〃But　part　of　the　trouble　es　from　the　test　material　itself。　We　had　to　factor　in　the　puter　derivation　of　that　image。　The　image　has　been　cleaned　up；　and　that　means　it's　been　regularized；　the　critical　stuff　has　been　lost。　I'd　like　to　work　with　the　original　digitized　matrix。　Can　you　get　me　that？〃
　Karen　Ross　was　nodding　yes。　〃Sure；〃　Elliot　said。
　〃I'll　go　another　round　with　it；〃　Seamans　said。　〃But　if　you　want　my　gut　opinion；　it　is　never　going　to　turn　out。　The　fact　is　that　gorillas　show　a　considerable　individual　variation　in　facial　structure；　just　as　people　do。　If　we　increase　our　sample　base；　we're　going　to　get　more　variation；　and　a　larger　population　interval。　I　think　you're　stuck。　You　can　never　prove　it's　not　a　gorilla…but　for　my　money；　it's　not。〃
　〃Meaning　what？〃　Elliot　asked。
　〃It's　something　new；〃　Seamans　said。　〃I'm　telling　you；　if　this　was　really　a　gorilla；　it　would　have　showed　up　。89　or　。94；　somewhere　in　there；　on　this　function。　But　the　image　es　out　at　。39。　That's　just　not　good　enough。　It's　not　a　gorilla；　Peter。〃
　〃Then　what　is　it？〃
　〃It's　a　transitional　form。　I　ran　a　function　to　measure　where　the　variation　was。　You　know　what　was　the　major　differential？　Skin　color。　Even　in　black…and…white；　it's　not　dark　enough　to　be　a　gorilla；　Peter。　This　is　a　whole　new　animal；　I　promise　you。〃
　Elliot　looked　at　Ross。　〃What　does　this　do　to　your　timeline？〃
　〃For　the　moment；　nothing；〃　she　said。　〃Other　elements　are　more　critical；　and　this　is　unfactorable。〃
　The　pilot　clicked　on　the　inter。　〃We　are　beginning　our　descent　into　Nairobi；〃　he　said。
　
　4。Nairobi
　
　FIVE　MILES　OUTSIDE　NAIROBI；　ONE　CAN　FIND　WILD　game　of　the　East　African　savannah。　And　within　the　memory　of　many　Nairobi　residents　the　game　could　be　found　closer　still…gazelles；　buffalo；　and　giraffe　wandering　around　backyards；　and　the　occasional　leopard　slipping　into　one's　bedroom。　In　those　days；　the　city　still　retained　the　character　of　a　wild　colonial　station；　in　its　heyday；　Nairobi　was　a　fast…living　place　indeed：　〃Are　you　married　or　do　you　live　in　Kenya？〃　went　the　standard　question。　The　men　were　hard…drinking　and　rough；　the　women　beautiful　and　loose；　and　the　pattern　of　life　no　more　predictable　than　the　fox　hunts　that　ranged　over　the　rugged　countryside　each　weekend。
　But　modern　Nairobi　is　almost'　unrecognizable　from　the　time　of　those　freewheeling　colonial　days。　The　few　remaining　Victorian　buildings　lie　stranded　in　a　modem　city　of　half　a　million；　with　traffic　jams；　stoplights；　skyscrapers；　supermarkets；　same…day　dry　cleaners；　French　restaurants；　and　air　pollution。
　The　ERTS　cargo　plane　landed　at　Nairobi　International　Airport　at　dawn　on　the　morning　of　June　16；　and　Munro　contacted　porters　and　assistants　for　the　expedition。　They　intended　to　leave　Nairobi　within　two　hours…until　Travis　called　from　Houston　to　inform　them　that　Peterson；　one　of　the　geologists　on　the　first　Congo　expedition；　had　somehow　made　it　back　to　Nairobi。
　Ross　was　excited　by　the　news。　〃Where　is　he　now？〃　she　asked。
　〃At　the　morgue；〃　Travis　said。
　Elliot　winced　as　he　came　close：　the　body　on　the　stainless　steel　table　was　a　blond　man　his　own　age。　The　man's　arms　had　been　crushed；　the　skin　was　swollen；　a　ghastly　purple　color。　He　glanced　at　Ross。　She　seemed　perfectly　cool；　not　blinking　or　turning　away。　The　pathologist　stepped　on　a　foot　petal；　activating　a　microphone　overhead。　〃Would　you　state　your　name；　please。〃
　〃Karen　Ellen　Ross。〃
　〃Your　nationality　and　passport　number？〃
　〃American；　F　1413649。〃
　〃Can　you　identify　the　man　before　you；　Miss　Ross？〃
　〃Yes；〃　she　said。　〃He　is　James　Robert　Peterson。〃
　〃What　is　your　relation　to　the　deceased　James　Robert　Peterson？〃
　〃I　worked　with　him；〃　she　said　dully。　She　seemed　to　be　examining　a　geological　specimen；　scrutinizing　it　unemotionally。　Her　face　showed　no　reaction。
　The　pathologist　faced　the　microphone。　〃Identity　confirmed　as　James　Robert　Peterson；　male　Caucasian；　twenty…nine　years　old；　nationality　American。　〃　He　turned　back　to　Ross。　〃When　was　the　last　time　you　saw　Mr。　Peterson？〃
　〃In　May　of　this　year。　He　was　leaving　for　the　Congo。〃
　〃You　have　not　seen　him　in　the　last　month？〃
　〃No；〃　she　said。　〃What　happened？〃
　The　pathologist　touched　the　puffy　purple　injuries　on　his　arms。　His　fingertips　sank　in；　leaving　indentations　like　teeth　in　the　flesh。　〃Damned　strange　story；〃　the　pathologist　said。
　The　previous　day；　June　15；　Peterson　had　been　flown　to　Nairobi　airport　aboard　a　small　charter　cargo　plane；　in　end…stage　terminal　shock。　He　died　several　hours　later　without　regaining　consciousness。　〃Extraordinary　he　made　it　at　all。　Apparently　the　aircraft　made　an　unscheduled　stop　for　a　mechanical　problem　at　Garona　field；　a　dirt　track　in　Zaire。　And　then　this　fellow　es　stumbling　out　of　the　woods；　collapsing　at　their　feet。〃　The　pathologist　pointed　out　that　the　bones　had　been　shattered　in　both　arms。　The　injuries；　he　explained；　were　not　new；　they　had　occurred　at　least　four　days　earlier；　perhaps　more。　〃He　must　have　been　in　incredible　pain。〃
　Elliot　said；　〃What　could　cause　that　injury？〃
　The　pathologist　had　never　seen　anything　like　it。　〃Superficially；　it　resembles　mechanical　trauma；　a　crush　injury　from　an　automobile　or　truck。　We　see　a　good　deal　of　those　here；　but　mechanical　crush　injuries　are　never　bilateral；　as　they　are　in　this　case。〃
　〃So　it　wasn't　a　mechanical　injury？〃　Karen　Ross　asked。
　〃Don't　know　what　it　was。　It's　unique　in　my　experience；〃　the　pathologist　said　briskly。　〃We　also　found　traces　of　blood　under　his　nails；　and　a　few　strands　of　gray　hair。　We're　running　a　test　now。〃
　Across　the　room；　another　pathologist　looked　up　from　his　microscope。　〃The　hair　is　definitely　not　human。　Cross　section　doesn't　match。　Some　kind　of　animal　hair；　close　to　human。〃
　〃The　cross　section？〃　Ross　said。
　〃Best　index　we　have　of　hair　origin；〃　the　pathologist　said。　〃For　instance；　human　pubic　hair　is　more　elliptical　in　cross　section　than　other　body　hair；　or　facial　hair。　It's　quite　characteristic…admissible　in　court。　But　especially　in　this　laboratory；　we　e　across　a　great　deal　of