the.lost.world-第41节

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


imal。　She　was　too　weak　to　react；　even　to　raise　her　head。
　　　　The　last　thing　she　saw　was　a　huge　leathery　foot　landing　beside　her；　shushing　in　the　mud；　and　a　soft　snorting　sound。　And　then　suddenly；　abruptly；　exhaustion　overtook　her；　and　Sarah　Harding　collapsed；　and　fell　onto　her　back。　Her　eyes　rolled　up　into　her　head；　and　she　lost　consciousness。

Dodgson
　　　　
A　few　yards　up　from　the　shore　of　the　river；　Lewis　Dodgson　climbed　into　the　custom…made　jeep　Wrangler　and　slammed　the　door　shut。　Beside　him　in　the　passenger　seat；　Howard　King　was　wringing　his　hands。　He　said；　〃How　could　you　have　done　that　to　her？〃
　　　　〃Done　what？〃　George　Baselton　said；　from　the　back　seat。
　　　　Dodgson　did　not　reply。　He　turned　the　key　in　the　ignition。　The　engine　rumbled　to　life。　He　popped　the　four…wheel　drive　into　gear　and　headed　up　the　hill　into　the　jungle；　away　from　the　boat　at　the　shore。
　　　　〃How　could　you？〃　King　said　again；　agitated。　〃I　mean；　Jesus。〃
　　　　〃What　happened　was　an　accident；〃　Dodgson　said。
　　　　〃An　accident？　An　accident？〃
　　　　〃That's　right；　an　accident；〃　Dodgson　said　calmly。　〃She　fell　overboard。〃
　　　　〃I　didn't　see　anything；〃　Baselton　said。
　　　　King　was　shaking　his　head。　〃Jesus；　what　if　somebody　es　to　investigate　and　…　〃
　　　　〃What　if　they　do？〃　Dodgson　said；　interrupting　him。　〃We　were　in　rough　seas；　she　was　standing　at　the　bow；　a　big　wave　hit　us　and　she　was　washed　overboard。　She　couldn't　swim　very　well。　We　circled　and　looked　for　her；　but　there　was　no　hope。　A　very　unfortunate　accident。　So　what　are　you　concerned　about？〃
　　　　〃What　am　I　concerned　about？〃
　　　　〃Yes；　Howard。　Exactly　what　the　fuck　are　you　concerned　about？〃
　　　　〃I　saw　it；　for　Christ's　sake　…　〃
　　　　〃No；　you　didn't；〃　Dodgson　said。
　　　　〃I　didn't　see　anything；〃　Baselton　said。　〃I　was　down　below；　the　whole　time。〃
　　　　〃That's　fine　for　you；〃　Howard　King　said。　〃But　what　if　there's　an　investigation？〃
　　　　The　Jeep　bounced　up　the　dirt　track；　moving　deeper　into　the　jungle。　〃There　won't　be；〃　Dodgson　said。　〃She　left　Africa　in　a　hurry；　and　she　didn't　tell　anybody　where　she　was　going。〃
　　　　〃How　do　you　know？〃　King　whined。
　　　　〃Because　she　told　me；　Howard。　That's　how　I　know。　Now　get　the　map　out　and　stop　moaning。　You　knew　the　deal　when　you　joined　me。〃
　　　　〃I　didn't　know　you　were　going　to　kill　somebody；　for　Christ's　sake。〃
　　　　〃Howard；〃　Dodgson　said；　with　a　sigh。　〃Nothing's　going　to　happen。　Get　the　map　out。〃
　　　　〃How　do　you　know？〃　King　said。
　　　　〃Because　I　know　what　I'm　doing；〃　Dodgson　said。　〃That's　why。　Unlike　Malcolm　and　Thorne；　who　are　somewhere　on　this　island；　screwing　around；　doing　fuck　knows　what　in　this　damned　jungle。〃
　　　　Mention　of　the　others　caused　a　new　worry。　Fretting；　King　said；　〃Maybe　we'll　run　into　them。。。。〃
　　　　〃No；　Howard；　we　won't。　They'll　never　even　know　we're　here。　We're　only　going　to　be　on　this　island　for　four　hours；　remember？　Land　at　one。　Back　on　the　boat　by　five。　Back　at　the　port　by　seven。　Back　in　San　Francisco　by　midnight。　Bang。　Done。　Finito。　And　finally；　after　all　these　years；　I'll　have　what　I　should　have　had　long　ago。〃
　　　　〃Dinosaur　embryos；〃　Baselton　said。
　　　　〃Embryos？〃　King　asked；　surprised。
　　　　〃Oh；　I'm　not　interested　in　embryos　any　more；〃　Dodgson　said。　〃Years　ago；　I　tried　to　get　frozen　embryos；　but　there's　no　reason　to　bother　with　embryos　now。　I　want　fertilized　eggs。　And　in　four　hours；　I'll　have　them　from　every　species　on　this　island。〃
　　　　〃How　can　you　do　that　in　four　hours？〃
　　　　〃Because　I　already　know　the　precise　location　of　every　dinosaur　breeding　site　on　the　island。　The　map；　Howard。〃
　　　　King　opened　the　map。　It　was　a　large　topographical　chart　of　the　island；　two　feet　by　three　feet；　showing　terrain　elevations　in　blue　contours。　At　several　places　in　lowland　valleys；　there　were　dense　red　concentric　circles。　In　some　places；　clusters　of　circles。　〃What's　this？〃　King　said。
　　　　〃Why　don't　you　read　what　it　says；〃　Dodgson　said。
　　　　King　turned　the　map；　and　looked　at　the　legend。　〃'Sigma　data　Landsat/Nordstat　mixed　spectra　VSFR/FASLR/IFFVR。'　And　then　a　bunch　of　numbers。　No；　wait。　Dates。〃
　　　　〃Correct；〃　Dodgson　said。　〃Dates。〃
　　　　〃Pass　dates？　This　is　a　summary　chart；　bining　data　from　several　satellite　passes？〃
　　　　〃Correct。〃
　　　　King　frowned。　〃And　it　looks　like。。。visible　spectrum；　and　false　aparture　radar；　and。。。what？〃
　　　　〃Infrared。　Broadband　thermal　VR。〃　Dodgson　smiled。　〃I　did　all　this　in　about　two　hours。　Downloaded　all　the　satellite　data　summarized　it；　and　had　the　answers　I　wanted。〃
　　　　〃I　get　it；〃　King　said。　〃These　red　circles　are　infrared　signatures！〃
　　　　〃Yes；〃　Dodgson　said。　〃Big　animals　leave　big　signatures。　I　got　all　the　satellite　flybys　over　this　island　for　the　last　few　years；　and　mapped　the　location　of　heat　sources。　And　the　locations　overlapped　from　pass　to　pass；　which　is　what　makes　these　red　concentric　marks。　Meaning　that　the　animals　tend　to　be　located　in　these　particular　places。　Why？〃　He　turned　to　King。　〃Because　these　are　the　nesting　sites。〃
　　　　〃Yes。　They　must　be；〃　Baselton　said。
　　　　〃Maybe　that's　where　they　eat；〃　King　said。
　　　　Dodgson　shook　his　head　irritably。　〃Obviously；　those　circles　can't　be　feeding　sites。〃
　　　　〃Why　not？〃
　　　　〃Because　these　animals　average　twenty　tons　apiece；　that's　why。　You　get　a　herd　of　twenty…ton　dinos；　and　you're　talking　a　bined　biomass　of　more　than　half　a　million　pounds　moving　through　the　forest。　That　many　big　animals　are　going　to　eat　a　lot　of　plant　matter　in　the　course　of　a　day。　And　the　only　way　they　can　do　that　is　by　moving。　Right？〃
　　　　〃I　guess。。。〃
　　　　〃You　guess？　Look　around　you；　Howard。　Do　you　see　any　denuded　sections　of　forest？　No；　you　don't。　They　eat　a　few　leaves　from　the　trees；　and　move　on。　Trust　me；　these　animals　have　to　move　to　eat。　But　what　they　don't　move　is　their　nesting　sites。　So　these　red　circles　must　be　nesting　sites。〃　He　glanced　at　the　map。　〃And　unless　I'm　wrong；　the　first　of　the　nests　is　just　over　this　rise；　and　down　the　hill　on　the　other　side。〃
　　　　The　Jeep　fishtailed　in　a　patch　of　mud；　and　ground　forward；　lurching　up　the　hill。

Mating　Calls
　　　　
Richard　Levine　stood　in　the　high　hide；　staring　at　the　herds　through　binoculars。　Malcolm　had　gone　back　to　the　trailer　with　the　others；　leaving　Levine　alone。　In　fact；　Levine　was　relieved　to　have　him　gone。　Levine　was　quite　content　to　make　observations　on　these　extraordinary　animals；　and　he　was　aware　that　Malcolm　did　not　share　his　boundless　enthusiasm。　Indeed；　Malcolm　always　seemed　to　have　other　considerations　on　his　mind。　And　Malcolm　was　notably　impatient　with　the　act　of　observation　…　he　wanted　to　analyze　the　data；　but　he　did　not　want　to　collect　it。
　　　　Of　course；　among　scientists；　that　represented　a　well…known　difference　in　personality。　Physics　was　a　perfect　example。　The　experimentalists　and　the　theorists　lived　in　utterly　different　worlds；　passing　papers　back　and　forth　but　sharing　little　else　in　mon。　It　was　almost　as　if　they　were　in　different　disciplines。
　　　　And　for　Levine　and　Malcolm；　the　difference　in　their　approach　had　surfaced　early；　back　in　the　Santa　Fe　days。　Both　men　were　interested　in　extinction；　but　Malcolm　approached　the　subject　broadly；　from　a　purely　mathematical　standpoint。　His　detachment；　his　inexorable　formulas；　had　fascinated　Levine；　and　the　two　men　began　an　informal　exchange　over　frequent　lunches：　Levine　taught　Malcolm　paleontology；　Malcolm　taught　Levine　nonlinear　mathematics。　They　began　to　draw　some　tentative　conclusions　which　both　found　exciting。　But　they　also　began　to　disagree。　More　than　once　they　were　asked　to　leave　the　restaurant；　then　they　would　go　out　into　the　heat　of　Guadelupe　Street；　and　walk　back　toward　the　river；　still　shouting　at　each　other；　while　approaching　tourists　hurried　to　the　other　side　of　the　street。
　　　　In　the　end；　their　differences　came　down　to　personalities。　Malcolm　considered　Levine　pedantic　and　fussy；　preoccupied　with　petty　details。　Levine　never　saw　the　big　picture。　He　never　looked　at　the　consequences　of　his　actions。　For　his　own　part；　Levine　did　not　hesitate　to　call　Malcolm　imperious　and　detached；　indifferent　to　details。
　　　　〃God　is　in　the　details；〃　Levine　once　reminded　him。
　　　　〃Maybe　your　God；〃　Malcolm　shot　back。　〃Not　mine。　Mine　is　in　the　process。〃
　　　　Standing　in　the　high　hide；　Levine　thought　that　answer　was　exactly　what　you　would　expect　from　a　mathematician。　Levine　was　quite　satisfied　that　details　were　everything；　at　least　in　biology；　and　that　the　most　mon　failing　of　his　biological　colleagues　was　insufficient　attention　to　detail。
　　　　For　himself；　Levine　lived　for　the　details；　and　he　could　not　ever　let　them　go。　Like　the　animal　that　had　attacked　him　with　Diego。　Levine　thought　of　it　often；　turning　it　over　and　over　again；　reliving　the　events。　Because　there　was　something　troubling；　some　impression　that　he　could　not　get　right。
　　　　The　animal　had　attacked　quickly；　and　he　had　sensed　it　was　a　basic　theropod　form…hind　legs；　stiff　tail；　large　skull；　the　usual…but　in　the　brief　flash　in　which　he　had　seen　the　creature；　there　seemed　to　be　a　peculiarity　around　the　orbits；　which　made　him　think　of　Carnotaurus　sastrei。　From　the　Gorro　Frigo　formation　in　Argentina。　And　in　addition；　the　skin　was　extremely　unusual；　it　seemed　to　be　a　sort　of　bright　mottled　green；　but　there　was　something　about　it。。。
　　　　He　shrugged。　The　troubling　idea　hung　in　the　back　of　his　mind；　but　he　couldn't　get　to　it。　He　'ust　couldn't　get　it。

Relu