jurassic.park-第24节

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　　　　〃Most　dinosaurs　are　born　with　egg　teeth…little　horns　on　the　tip　of　the　nose；　like　rhino　horns；　to　help　them　break　out　of　the　eggs。　But　raptors　aren't。　They　poke　a　hole　in　the　eggs　with　their　pointed　snouts；　and　then　the　nursery　staff　has　to　help　them　out。〃
　　　　〃You　have　to　help　them　out；〃　Grant　said；　shaking　his　head。　〃What　happens　in　the　wild？〃
　　　　〃In　the　wild？〃
　　　　〃When　they　breed　in　the　wild；〃　Grant　said。　〃When　they　make　a　nest。〃
　　　　〃Oh；　they　can't　do　that；〃　Wu　said。　〃None　of　our　animals　is　capable　of　breeding。　That's　why　we　have　this　nursery。　It's　the　only　way　to　replace　stock　in　Jurassic　Park。〃
　　　　〃Why　can't　the　animals　breed？〃
　　　　〃Well；　as　you　can　imagine；　it's　important　that　they　not　be　able　to　breed；〃　Wu　said。　〃And　whenever　we　faced　a　critical　matter　such　as　this；　we　designed　redundant　systems。　That　is；　we　always　arranged　at　least　two　control　procedures。　In　this　case；　there　are　two　independent　reasons　why　the　animals　can't　breed。　First　of　a　they're　sterile；　because　we　irradiate　them　with　X…rays。〃
　　　　〃And　the　second　reason？〃
　　　　〃All　the　animals　in　Jurassic　Park　are　female；〃　Wu　said；　with　a　pleased　smile。
　　　　Malcolm　said；　〃I　should　like　some　clarification　about　this。　Because　it　seems　to　me　that　irradiation　is　fraught　with　uncertainty。　The　radiation　dose　may　be　wrong；　or　aimed　at　the　wrong　anatomical　area　of　the　animal…〃
　　　　〃All　true；〃　Wu　said。　〃But　we're　quite　confident　we　have　destroyed　gonadal　tissue。〃
　　　　〃And　as　for　them　all　being　female；〃　Malcolm　said；　〃is　that　checked？　Does　anyone　go　out　and；　ah；　lift　up　the　dinosaurs'　skirts　to　have　a　look？　I　mean；　how　does　one　determine　the　sex　of　a　dinosaur；　anyway？〃
　　　　〃Sex　organs　vary　with　the　species。　It's　easy　to　tell　on　some；　subtle　on　others。　But；　to　answer　your　question；　the　reason　we　know　all　the　animals　are　female　is　that　we　literally　make　them　that　way：　we　control　their　chromosomes；　and　we　control　the　intra…egg　developmental　environment。　From　a　bioengineering　standpoint；　females　are　easier　to　breed。　You　probably　know　that　all　vertebrate　embryos　are　inherently　female。　We　all　start　life　as　females。　It　takes　some　kind　of　added　effect…such　as　a　hormone　at　the　right　moment　during　development…to　transform　the　growing　embryo　into　a　male。　But；　left　to　its　own　devices；　the　embryo　will　naturally　bee　female。　So　our　animals　are　all　female。　We　tend　to　refer　to　some　of　them　as　male…such　as　the　Tyrannosaurus　rex；　we　all　call　it　a　'him'…but　in　fact；　they're　all　female。　And；　believe　me；　they　can't　breed。〃

The　little　velociraptor　sniffed　at　Tim；　and　then　rubbed　her　head　against　Tim's　neck。　Tim　giggled。
　　　　〃She　wants　you　to　feed　her；〃　Wu　said。
　　　　〃What　does　she　eat？〃
　　　　〃Mice。　But　she's　just　eaten；　so　we　won't　feed　her　again　for　a　while。〃
　　　　The　little　raptor　leaned　back；　stared　at　Tim；　and　wiggled　her　forearms　again　in　the　air。　Tim　saw　the　small　claws　on　the　three　fingers　of　each　hamd。　Then　the　raptor　burrowed　her　head　against　his　neck　again。
　　　　Grant　came　over；　and　peered　critically　at　the　creature。　He　touched　the　tiny　three…clawed　band。　He　said　to　Tim；　〃Do　you　mind？〃　and　Tim　released　the　raptor　into　his　hands。
　　　　Grant　flipped　the　animal　onto　its　back；　inspecting　it；　while　the　little　lizard　wiggled　and　squirmed。　Then　he　lifted　the　animal　high　to　look　at　its　profile；　and　it　screamed　shrilly。
　　　　〃She　doesn't　like　that；〃　Regis　said。　〃Doesn't　like　to　be　held　away　from　body　contact。　。　。　。〃
　　　　The　raptor　was　still　screaming；　but　Grant　paid　no　attention。　Now　he　was　squeezing　the　tail；　feeling　the　bones。　Regis　said；　〃Dr。　Grant。　If　you　please。〃
　　　　〃I'm　not　hurting　her。〃
　　　　〃Dr。　Grant。　These　creatures　are　not　of　our　world。　They　e　from　a　time　when　there　were　no　human　beings　around　to　prod　and　poke　them。〃
　　　　〃I'm　not　prodding　and…〃
　　　　〃Dr。　Grant。　Put　her　down；　〃　Ed　Regis　said。
　　　　〃But…〃
　　　　〃Now。　〃　Regis　was　starting　to　get　annoyed。
　　　　Grant　handed　the　animal　back　to　Tim。　It　stopped　squealing。　Tim　could　feel　its　little　heart　beating　rapidly　against　his　chest。
　　　　〃I'm　sorry；　Dr。　Grant；〃　Regis　said。　〃But　these　animals　are　delicate　in　infancy。　We　have　lost　several　from　a　postnatal　stress　syndrome；　which　we　believe　is　adrenocortically　mediated。　Sometimes　they　die　within　five　minutes。〃
　　　　Tim　petted　the　little　raptor。　〃It's　okay；　kid；〃　he　said。　〃Everything's　fine　now。〃　The　heart　was　still　beating　rapidly。
　　　　〃We　feel　it　is　important　that　the　animals　here　be　treated　in　the　most　humane　manner；〃　Regis　said。　〃I　promise　you　that　you　will　have　every　opportunity　to　examine　them　later。〃
　　　　But　Grant　couldn't　stay　away。　He　again　moved　toward　the　animal　in　Tim's　arms；　peering　at　it。
　　　　The　little　velociraptor　opened　her　jaws　and　hissed　at　Grant；　in　a　posture　of　sudden　intense　fury。
　　　　〃Fascinating；〃　Grant　said。
　　　　〃Can　I　stay　and　play　with　her？〃　Tim　said。
　　　　〃Not　right　now；〃　Ed　Regis　said；　glancing　at　his　watch。　〃It's　three　o'clock；　and　it's　a　good　time　for　a　tour　of　the　park　itself；　so　you　can　see　all　the　dinosaurs　in　the　habitats　we　have　designed　for　them。〃
　　　　Tim　released　the　velociraptor；　which　scampered　across　the　room；　grabbed　a　cloth　rag；　put　it　in　her　mouth；　and　tugged　at　the　end　with　her　tiny　claws。




Control

Walking　back　toward　the　control　room；　Malcolm　said；　〃I　have　one　more　question；　Dr。　Wu。　How　many　different　species　have　you　made　so　far？〃
　　　　〃I'm　not　exactly　sure；〃　Wu　said。　〃I　believe　the　number　at　the　moment　is　fifteen。　Fifteen　species。　Do　you　know；　Ed？〃
　　　　〃Yes；　it's　fifteen；〃　Ed　Regis　said；　nodding。
　　　　〃You　don't　know　for　sure？〃　Malcolm　said；　affecting　astonishment。
　　　　Wu　smiled。　〃I　stopped　counting；〃　he　said；　〃after　the　first　dozen。　And　you　have　to　realize　that　sometimes　we　think　we　have　an　animal　correctly　made…from　the　standpoint　of　the　DNA；　which　is　our　basic　work…and　the　animal　grows　for　six　months　and　then　something　untoward　happens。　And　we　realize　there　is　some　error。　A　releaser　gene　isn't　operating。　A　hormone　not　being　released。　Or　some　other　problem　in　the　developmental　sequence。　So　we　have　to　go　back　to　the　drawing　board　with　that　animal；　so　to　speak。〃　He　smiled。　〃At　one　time；　I　thought　I　had　more　than　twenty　species；　But　now；　only　fifteen。〃
　　　　〃And　is　one　of　the　fifteen　species　a…〃　Malcolm　turned　to　Grant。　〃What　was　the　name？〃
　　　　〃Propsognathus；　〃　Grant　said。
　　　　〃You　have　made　some　propsognathuses；　or　whatever　they're　called？〃　Malcolm　asked。
　　　　〃Oh　yes；〃　Wu　said　immediately。　〃pys　are　very　distinctive　animals。　And；　we　made　an　unusually　large　number　of　them。〃
　　　　〃Why　is　that？〃
　　　　〃Well；　we　want　Jurassic　Park　to　be　as　real　an　environment　as　possible…as　authentic　as　possible…and　the　propsognathids　are　actual　scavengers　from　the　Jurassic　period。　Rather　like　jackals。　So　we　wanted　to　have　the　pys　around　to　clean　up。〃
　　　　〃You　mean　to　dispose　of　carcasses？〃
　　　　〃Yes；　if　there　were　any。　But　with　only　two　hundred　and　thirty…odd　animals　in　our　total　population；　we　don't　have　many　carcasses；〃　Wu　said。　〃That　wasn't　the　primary　objective。　Actually；　we　wanted　the　pys　for　another　kind　of　waste　management　entirely。〃
　　　　〃Which　was？〃
　　　　〃Well；〃　Wu　said；　〃we　have　some　very　big　herbivores　on　this　island。　We　have　specifically　tried　not　to　breed　the　biggest　sauropods；　but　even　so；　we've　got　several　animals　in　excess　of　thirty　tons　walking　around　out　there；　and　many　others　in　the　five…　to　ten…ton　area。　That　gives　us　two　problems。　One　is　feeding　them；　and　in　fact　we　must　import　food　to　the　island　every　two　weeks。　There　is　no　way　an　island　this　small　can　support　these　animals　for　any　time。
　　　　〃But　the　other　problem　is　waste。　I　don't　know　if　you've　ever　seen　elephant　droppings；〃　Wu　said；　〃but　they　are　substantial。　Each　spoor　is　roughly　the　size　of　a　soccer　ball。　Imagine　the　droppings　of　a　brontosaur；　ten　times　as　large。　Now　imagine　the　droppings　of　a　herd　of　such　animals；　as　we　keep　here。　And　the　largest　animals　do　not　digest　their　food　terribly　well；　so　that　they　excrete　a　great　deal。　And　in　the　sixty　million　years　since　dinosaurs　disappeared；　apparently　the　bacteria　that　specialize　in　breaking　down　their　feces　disappeared；　too。　At　least；　the　sauropod　feces　don't　depose　readily。〃
　　　　〃That's　a　problem；〃　Malcolm　said。
　　　　〃I　assure　you　it　is；〃　Wu　said；　not　smiling。　〃We　had　a　hell　of　a　time　trying　to　solve　it。　You　probably　know　that　in　Africa　there　is　a　specific　insect；　the　dung　beetle；　which　eats　elephant　feces。　Many　other　large　species　have　associated　creatures　that　have　evolved　to　eat　their　excrement。　Well；　it　turns　out　that　pys　will　eat　the　feces　of　large　herbivores　and　redigest　it。　And　the　droppings　of　pys　are　readily　broken　down　by　contemporary　bacteria。　So；　given　enough　pys；　our　problem　was　solved。〃
　　　　〃How　many　pys　did　you　make？〃
　　　　〃I've　forgotten　exactly；　but　I　think　the　target　population　was　fifty　animals。　And　we　attained　that；　or　very　nearly　so。　In　three　batches。　We　did　a　batch　every　six　months　until　we　had　the　number。〃
　　　　〃Fifty　animals；〃　Malcolm　said；　〃is　a　lot　to　keep　track　of。〃
　　　　〃The　control　room　is　built　to　do　exactly　that。　They'll　show　you　how　it's　done。〃
　　　　〃I'm　sure；〃　Malcolm　said。　〃But　if　one　of　these　pys　were　to　escape　from　the　island；　to　get　away　。
　　　　〃They　can't　get　away。〃
　　　　〃I　know　that；　but　just　supposing　one　did　。　。　。〃
　　　　〃You　mean　like　the　animal　that　was　found　o