michael crichton.congo-第52节

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　HUSTN　STAIN　OVRIDE　CLR　BANX。
　
　This　was　an　emergency　signal；　she　had　never　seen　it　before　on　a　field　expedition。　She　cleared　the　memory　banks　and　pushed　the　transmit　button。　There　was　a　burst　transmission　delay；　then　the　screen　printed：
　
　PUTR　DESIGNATN　MAJR　ERUPIN　SIGNATR　MU…KENKO　ADVIS　LEAV　SITE　NOW　EXPEDN　JEPRDY　DANGR　REPET　ALL　LEAV　SITE　NOW。
　
　Ross　glanced　across　the　campsite。　Kahega　was　making　breakfast；　Amy　squatted　by　the　fire；　eating　a　roasted　banana　（she　had　got　Kahega　to　make　special　treats　for　her）；　Munro　and　Elliot　were　having　coffee。　Except　for　the　black　ashfall；　it　was　a　perfectly　normal　morning　at　the　camp。　She　looked　back　at　the　screen。
　
　MAJR　ERUPTN　SIGNATR　MUKENKO　ADVIS　LEAV　SITE　NOW。
　
　Ross　glanced　up　at　the　smoking　cone　of　Mukenko。　The　hell　with　it；　she　thought。　She　wanted　the　diamonds；　and　she　had　gone　too　far　to　quit　now。
　The　screen　blinked：　PLS　SIGNL　REPLY。
　Ross　turned　the　transmitter　off。
　
　As　the　morning　progressed　they　felt　several　sharp　jolting　earth　tremors；　which　released　clouds　of　dust　from　the　crumbling　buildings。　The　rumblings　of　Mukenko　became　more　frequent。　Ross　paid　no　attention。　〃It　just　means　this　is　elephant　country；〃　she　said。　That　was　an　old　geological　adage：　〃If　you're　looking　for　elephants；　go　to　elephant　country。〃　Elephant　country　meant　a　likely　spot　to　find　whatever　minerals　you　were　looking　for。　〃And　if　you　want　diamonds；〃　Ross　said；　shrugging；　〃you　go　to　volcanoes。〃
　The　association　of　diamonds　with　volcanoes　had　been　recognized　for　more　than　a　century；　but　it　was　still　poorly　understood。　Most　theories　postulated　that　diamonds；　crystals　of　pure　carbon；　were　formed　in　the　intense　heat　and　pressure　of　the　upper　mantle　one　thousand　miles　beneath　the　earth's　surface。　The　diamonds　remained　inaccessible　at　this　depth　except　in　volcanic　areas　where　rivers　of　molten　magma　carried　them　to　the　surface。
　But　this　did　not　mean　that　you　went　to　erupting　volcanoes　to　catch　diamonds　being　spewed　out；　Most　diamond　mines　were　at　the　site　of　extinct　volcanoes；　in　fossilized　cones　called　kimberlite　pipes；　named　for　the　geological　formations　in　Kimberley；　South　Africa。　Virunga；　near　the　geologically　unstable　Rift　Valley；　showed　evidence　of　continuous　volcanic　activity　for　more　than　fifty　million　years。　They　were　now　looking　for　the　same　fossil　volcanoes　which　the　earlier　inhabitants　of　Zinj　had　found。
　Shortly　before　noon　they　found　them；　halfway　up　the　hills　east　of　the　city…a　series　of　excavated　tunnels　running　into　the　mountain　slopes　of　Mukenko。
　
　Elliot　felt　disappointed。　〃I　don't　know　what　I　was　expecting；〃　he　said　later；　〃but　it　was　just　a　brown…colored　tunnel　in　the　earth；　with　occasional　bits　of　dull　brown　rock　sticking　out。　I　couldn't　understand　why　Ross　got　so　excited。〃　Those　bits　of　dull　brown　rock　were　diamonds；　when　cleaned；　they　had　the　transparency　of　dirty　glass。
　〃They　thought　I　was　crazy；〃　Ross　said；　〃because　I　began　jumping　up　and　down。　But　they　didn't　know　what　they　were　looking　at。〃
　In　an　ordinary　kimberilte　pipe；　diamonds　were　distributed　sparsely　in　the　rock　matrix。　The　average　mine　recovered　only　thirty…two　karats…a　fifth　of　an　ounce…for　every　hundred　tons　of　rock　removed。　When　you　looked　down　a　diamond　mine…shaft；　you　saw　no　diamonds　at　all。　But　the　Zinj　mines　were　lumpy　with　protruding　stones。　Using　his　machete；　Munro　dug　out　six　hundred　karats。　And　Ross　saw　six　or　seven　stones　protruding　from　the　wall；　each　as　large　as　the　one　Munro　had　removed。　〃Just　looking；〃　she　said　later；　〃I　could　see　easily　four　or　five　thousand　karats。　With　no　further　digging；　no　separation；　nothing。　Just　sitting　there。　It　was　a　richer　mine　than　the　Premier　in　South　Africa。　It　was　unbelievable。〃
　Elliot　asked　the　question　that　had　already　formed　in　Ross's　own　mind。　〃If　this　mine　is　so　damn　rich；〃　he　said；　〃why　was　it　abandoned？〃
　〃The　gorillas　got　out　of　control；〃　Munro　said。　〃They　staged　a　coup。〃　He　was　laughing；　plucking　diamonds　out　of　the　rock。
　Ross　had　considered　that；　as　she　had　considered　Elliot's　earlier　suggestion　that　the　city　had　been　wiped　out　by　disease。　She　thought　a　less　exotic　explanation　was　likely。　〃I　think；〃　she　said；　〃that　as　far　as　they　were　concerned；　the　diamond　mines　had　dried　up。〃　Because　as　gemstones；　these　crystals　were　very　poor　indeed…blue；　streaked　with　impurities。
　The　people　of　Zinj　could　not　have　imagined　that　five　hundred　years　in　the　future　these　same　worthless　stones　would　be　more　scarce　and　desirable　than　any　other　mineral　resources　on　the　planet。
　〃What　makes　these　blue　diamonds　so　valuable？〃
　〃They　are　going　to　change　the　world；〃　Ross　said；　in　a　soft　voice。　〃They　are　going　to　end　the　nuclear　age。〃
　
　2。War　at　the　Speed　of　Light
　
　IN　JANUARY；　1979；　TESTIFYING　BEFORE　THE　Senate　Armed　Services　Submittee；　General　Franklin　F。　Martin　of　the　Pentagon　Advanced　Research　Project　Agency　said；　〃In　1939；　at　the　start　of　World　War　II；　the　most　important　country　in　the　world　to　the　American　military　effort　was　the　Belgian　Congo。〃　Martin　explained　that　as　a　kind　of　〃accident　of　geography〃　the　Congo；　now　Zaire；　has　for　forty　years　remained　vital　to　American　interests…and　will　assume　even　more　importance　in　the　future。　（Martin　said　bluntly　that　〃this　country　will　go　to　war　over　Zaire　before　we　go　to　war　over　any　Arab　oil　state。〃）
　During　World　War　II；　in　three　highly　secret　shipments；　the　Congo　supplied　the　United　States　with　uranium　used　to　build　the　atomic　bombs　exploded　over　Japan。　By　1960　the　U。S。　no　longer　needed　uranium；　but　copper　and　cobalt　were　strategically　important。　In　the　1970s　the　emphasis　shifted　to　Zaire's　reserves　of　tantalum；　wolframite；　germanium…　substances　vital　to　semi　conducting　electronics。　And　in　the　1980s；　〃so…called　Type　IIb　blue　diamonds　will　constitute　the　most　important　military　resource　in　the　world〃…and　the　presumption　was　that　Zaire　had　such　diamonds。　In　General　Martin's　view；　blue　diamonds　were　essential　because　〃we　are　entering　a　time　when　the　brute　destructive　power　of　a　weapon　will　be　less　important　than　its　speed　and　intelligence。〃
　For　thirty　years；　military　thinkers　had　been　awed　by　intercontinental　ballistic　missiles。　But　Martin　said　that　〃ICBMs　are　crude　weapons。　They　do　not　begin　to　approach　the　theoretical　limits　imposed　by　physical　laws。　According　to　Einsteinian　physics；　nothing　can　happen　faster　than　the　speed　of　light；　186；000　miles　a　second。　We　are　now　developing　high…energy　pulsed　lasers　and　particle　beam　weapons　systems　which　operate　at　the　speed　of　light。　In　the　face　of　such　weapons；　ballistic　missiles　traveling　a　mere　17；000　miles　an　hour　are　slow…moving　dinosaurs　from　a　previous　era；　as　inappropriate　as　cavalry　in　World　War　I；　and　as　easily　eliminated。〃
　Speed…of…light　weapons　were　best　suited　to　space；　and　would　first　appear　in　satellites。　Martin　noted　that　the　Russians　had　made　a　〃kill〃　of　the　American　spy　satellite　VV/　02　as　early　as　1973；　in　1975；　Hughes　Aircraft　developed　a　rapid　aiming　and　firing　system　which　locked　onto　multiple　targets；　firing　eight　high…energy　pulses　in　less　than　one　second。　By　1978；　the　Hughes　team　had　reduced　response　time　to　fifty　nanoseconds…fifty　billionths　of　a　second…and　increased　beam　accuracy　to　five　hundred　missile　knockdowns　in　less　than　one　minute。　Such　developments　presaged　the　end　of　the　ICBM　as　a　weapon。
　〃Without　the　gigantic　missiles；　miniature；　high…speed　puters　will　be　vastly　more　important　in　future　conflicts　than　nuclear　bombs；　and　their　speed　of　putation　will　be　the　single　most　important　factor　determining　the　oute　of　World　War　III。　puter　speed　now　stands　at　the　center　of　the　armament　race；　as　megaton　power　once　held　the　center　twenty　years　ago。
　〃We　will　shift　from　electronic　circuit　puters　to　light　circuit　puters　simply　because　of　speed…the　Fabry…Perot　Interferometer；　the　optical　equivalent　of　a　transistor；　can　respond　in　1　picosecond　（10　12　seconds）；　at　least　1；000　times　faster　than　the　fastest　Josephson　junctions。〃　The　new　generation　of　optical　puters；　Martin　said；　would　be　dependent　on　the　availability　of　Type　IIb　boron…coated　diamonds。
　
　Elliot　recognized　at　once　the　most　serious　consequence　of　the　speed…of…light　weapons…they　were　much　too　fast　for　human　prehension。　Men　were　accustomed　to　mechanized
　warfare；　but　a　future　war　would　be　a　war　of　machines　in　a
　startlingly　new　sense：　machines　would　actually　govern　the　moment…to…moment　course　of　a　conflict　which　lasted　only　minutes　from　start　to　finish。
　In　1956；　in　the　waning　years　of　the　strategic　bomber；　military　thinkers　imagined　an　all…out　nuclear　exchange　lasting　12　hours。　By　1963；　ICBMs　had　shrunk　the　time　course　to　3　hours。　By　1974；　military　theorists　were　predicting　a　war　that　lasted　just　30　minutes；　yet　this　〃half…hour　war〃　was　vastly　more　plex　than　any　earlier　war　in　human　history。
　In　the　1950s；　if　the　Americans　and　the　Russians　launched　all　the　bombers　and　rockets　at　the　same　moment；　there　would　still　be　no　more　than　10；000　weapons　in　the　air；　attacking　and　counterattacking。　Total　weapons　interaction　events　would　peak　at　15；000　in　the　second　hour。　This　represented　the　impressive　figure　of　4　weapons　interactions　every　second　around　the　world。
　But　given　diversified　tactical　warfare；　the　number　of　weapons　and　〃systems　elements