michael crichton.congo-第12章

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　Karen　Ross　laughed。　〃We're　much　too　organized　to　be　military。〃　She　then　told　him　the　background　of　the　ERTS　interest　in　Virunga。　Like　the　Project　Amy　staff；　Karen　Ross　had　also　stumbled　upon　the　legend　of　the　Lost　City　of　Zinj。　But　she　had　drawn　very　different　conclusions　from　the　story。
　During　the　last　three　hundred　years；　there　had　been　several　attempts　to　reach　the　lost　city。　In　1692；　John　Marley；　an　English　adventurer；　led　an　expedition　of　two　hundred　into　the　Congo；　it　was　never　heard　from　again。　In　1744；　a　Dutch　expedition　went　in；　in　1804；　another　British　party　led　by　a　Scottish　aristocrat；　Sir　James　Taggert；　approached　Virunga　from　the　north；　getting　as　far　as　the　Rawana　bend　of　the　Ubangi　River。　He　sent　an　advance　party　farther　south；　but　it　never　returned。
　In　1872；　Stanley　passed　near　the　Virunga　region　but　did　not　enter　it；　in　1899；　a　German　expedition　went　in；　losing　more　than　half　its　party。　A　privately　financed　Italian　expedition　disappeared　entirely　in　1911。　There　had　been　no　more　recent　searches　for　the　Lost　City　of　Zinj。
　〃So　no　one　has　ever　found　it；〃　Elliot　said。
　Ross　shook　her　head。　〃I　think　several　expeditions　found　the　city；〃　she　said。　〃But　nobody　ever　got　back　out　again。〃
　
　Such　an　oute　was　not　necessarily　mysterious。　The　early　days　of　African　exploration　were　incredibly　hazardous。　Even　carefully　managed　expeditions　lost　half　of　their　party　or　more。　Those　who　did　not　succumb　to　malaria；　sleeping　sickness；　and　blackwater　fever　faced　rivers　teeming　with　crocodiles　and　hippos；　jungles　with　leopards　and　suspicious；　cannibalistic　natives。　And；　for　all　its　luxuriant　growth；　the　rain　forest　provided　little　edible　food；　a　number　of　expeditions　had　starved　to　death。
　〃I　began；〃　Ross　said　to　Elliot；　〃with　the　idea　that　the　city　existed；　after　all。　Assuming　it　existed；　where　would　I　find　it？〃
　The　Lost　City　of　Zinj　was　associated　with　diamond　mines；　and　diamonds　were　found　with　volcanoes。　This　led　Ross　to　look　along　the　Great　Rift　Valley…an　enormous　geological　fault　thirty　miles　wide；　which　sliced　vertically　up　the　eastern　third　of　the　continent　for　a　distance　of　fifteen　hundred　miles。　The　Rift　Valley　was　so　huge　that　its　existence　was　not　recognized　until　the　1890s；　when　a　geologist　named　Gregory　noticed　that　the　cliff　walls　thirty　miles　apart　were　posed　of　the　same　rocks。　In　modern　terms　the　Great　Rift　was　actually　an　abortive　attempt　to　form　an　ocean；　for　the　eastern　third　of　the　continent　had　begun　splitting　off　from　the　rest　of　the　African　land　mass　two　hundred　million　years　ago；　for　some　reason；　it　had　stopped　before　the　break　was　plete。
　On　a　map　the　Great　Rift　depression　was　marked　by　two　features：　a　series　of　thin　vertical　lakes…Malawi；　Tanganyika；　Kivu；　Mobutu…and　a　series　of　volcanoes；　including　the　only　active　volcanoes　in　Africa　at　Virunga。　Three　volcanoes　in　the　Virunga　chain　were　active：　Mukenko；　Mubuti；　and　Kanagarawi。　They　rose　11；000…　15；000　feet　above　the　Rift　Valley　to　the　east；　and　the　Congo　Basin　to　the　west。　Thus　Virunga　seemed　a　good　place　to　look　for　diamonds。　Her　next　step　was　to　investigate　the　ground　truth。
　〃What's　ground　truth？〃　Peter　asked。
　〃At　ERTS；　we　deal　mostly　in　remote　sensing；〃　she　explained。　〃Satellite　photographs；　aerial　run…bys；　radar　side　scans。　We　carry　millions　of　remote　images；　but　there's　no　substitute　for　ground　truth；　the　experience　of　a　team　actually　on　the　site；　finding　out　what's　there。　I　started　with　the　preliminary　expedition　we　sent　in　looking　for　gold。　They　found　diamonds　as　well。〃　She　punched　buttons　on　the　console；　and　the　screen　images　changed；　glowing　with　dozens　of　flashing　pinpoints　of　light。
　〃This　shows　the　placer　deposit　locations　in　streambeds　near　Virunga。　You　see　the　deposits　form　concentric　semicircles　leading　back　to　the　volcanoes。　The　obvious　conclusion　is　that　diamonds　were　eroded　from　the　slopes　of　the　Virunga　volcanoes；　and　washed　down　the　streams　to　their　present　locations。〃
　〃So　you　sent　in　a　party　to　look　for　the　source？〃
　〃Yes。〃　She　pointed　to　the　screen。　〃But　don't　be　deceived　by　what　you　see　here。　This　satellite　image　covers　fifty　thousand　square　kilometers　of　jungle。　Most　of　it　has　never　been　seen　by　white　men。　It's　hard　terrain；　with　visibility　limited　to　a　few　meters　in　any　direction。　An　expedition　could　search　that　area　for　years；　passing　within　two　hundred　meters　of　the　city　and　failing　to　see　it。　So　I　needed　to　narrow　the　search　sector。　I　decided　to　see　if　I　could　find　the　city。〃
　〃Find　the　city？　From　satellite　pictures？〃
　〃Yes；〃　she　said。　〃And　I　found　it。〃
　
　The　rain　forests　of　the　world　had　traditionally　frustrated　remote…sensing　technology。　The　great　jungle　trees　spread　an　impenetrable　canopy　of　vegetation；　concealing　whatever　lay　beneath。　In　aerial　or　satellite　pictures；　the　Congo　rain　forest　appeared　as　a　vast；　undulating　carpet　of　featureless　and　monotonous　green。　Even　large　features；　rivers　fifty　or　a　hundred　feet　wide；　were　hidden　beneath　this　leafy　canopy；　invisible　from　the　air。
　So　it　seemed　unlikely　she　would　find　any　evidence　for　a　lost　city　in　aerial　photographs。　But　Ross　had　a　different　idea：　she　would　utilize　the　very　vegetation　that　obscured　her　vision　of　the　ground。　…
　The　study　of　vegetation　was　mon　in　temperate　regions；　where　the　foliage　underwent　seasonal　changes。　But　the　equatorial　rain　forest　was　unchanging：　winter　or　summer；　the　foliage　remained　the　same。　Ross　turned　her　attention　to　another　aspect；　the　differences　in　vegetation　albedo。
　Albedo　was　technically　defined　as　the　ratio　of　electromagnetic　energy　reflected　by　a　surface　to　the　amount　of　energy　incident　upon　it。　In　terms　of　the　visible　spectrum；　it　was　a　measure　of　how　〃shiny〃　a　surface　was。　A　river　had　a　high　albedo；　since　water　reflected　most　of　the　sunlight　striking　it。　Vegetation　absorbed　light；　and　therefore　had　a　low　albedo。　Starting　in　1977；　ERTS　developed　puter　programs　which　measured　albedo　precisely；　making　very　fine　distinctions。
　Ross　asked　herself　the　question：　If　there　was　a　lost　city；　what　signature　might　appear　in　the　vegetation？　There　was　an　obvious　answer：　late　secondary　jungle。
　The　untouched　or　virgin　rain　forest　was　called　primary　jungle。　Primary　jungle　was　what　most　people　thought　of　when　they　thought　of　rain　forests：　huge　hardwood　trees；　mahogany　and　teak　and　ebony；　and　underneath　a　lower　layer　of　ferns　and　palms；　clinging　to　the　ground。　Primary　jungle　was　dark　and　forbidding；　but　actually　easy　to　move　through。　However；　if　the　primary　jungle　was　cleared　by　man　and　later　abandoned；　an　entirely　different　secondary　growth　took　over。　The　dominant　plants　were　softwoods　and　fast…growing　trees；　bamboo　and　thorny　tearing　vines；　which　formed　a　dense　and　impenetrable　barrier。
　But　Ross　was　not　concerned　about　any　aspect　of　the　jungle　except　its　albedo。　Because　the　secondary　plants　were　different；　secondary　jungle　had　a　different　albedo　from　primary　jungle。　And　it　could　be　graded　by　age：　unlike　the　hardwood　trees　of　primary　jungle；　which　lived　hundreds　of　years；　the　softwoods　of　secondary　jungle　lived　only　twenty　years　or　so。　Thus　as　time　went　on；　the　secondary　jungle　was　replaced　by　another　form　of　secondary　jungle；　and　later　by　still　another　form。
　By　checking　regions　where　late　secondary　jungle　was　generally　found…such　as　the　banks　of　large　rivers；　where　innumerable　human　settlements　had　been　cleared　and　abandoned…Ross　confirmed　that　the　ERTS　puters　could；　indeed；　measure　the　necessary　small　differences　in　reflectivity。
　She　then　instructed　the　ERTS　scanners　to　search　for　albedo　differences　of　。03　or　less；　with　a　unit　signature　size　of　a　hundred　meters　or　less；　across　the　fifty　thousand　square　kilometers　of　rain　forest　on　the　western　slopes　of　the　Virunga　volcanoes。　This　job　would　occupy　a　team　of　fifty　human　aerial　photographic　analysts　for　thirty…one　years。　The　puter　scanned　129；000　satellite　and　aerial　photographs　in　under　nine　hours。
　And　found　her　city。
　In　May；　1979；　Ross　had　a　puter　image　showing　a　very　old　secondary　jungle　pattern　laid　out　in　a　geometric；　gridlike　form。　The　pattern　was　located　2　degrees　north　of　the　equator；　longitude　3　degrees；　on　the　western　slopes　of　the　active　volcano　Mukenko。　The　puter　estimated　the　age　of　the　secondary　jungle　at　five　hundred　to　eight　hundred　years。
　〃So　you　sent　an　expedition　in？〃　Elliot　said。
　Ross　nodded。　〃Three　weeks　ago；　led　by　a　South　African　named　Kruger。　The　expedition　confirmed　the　placer　diamond　deposits；　went　on　to　search　for　the　origin；　and　found　the　ruins　of　the　city。；；
　〃And　then　what　happened？〃　Elliot　asked。
　
　He　ran　the　videotape　a　second　time。
　Onscreen　he　saw　black…and…white　images　of　the　camp；　destroyed；　smoldering。　Several　dead　bodies　with　crushed　skulls　were　visible。　As　they　watched；　a　shadow　moved　over　the　dead　bodies；　and　the　camera　zoomed　back　to　show　the　outline　of　the　lumbering　shadow。　Elliot　agreed　that　it　looked　like　the　shadow　of　a　gorilla；　but　he　insisted；　〃Gorillas　couldn't　do　this。　Gorillas　are　peaceful；　vegetarian　animals。〃
　They　watched　as　the　tape　ran　to　the　end。　And　then　they　reviewed　her　final　puter…reconstituted　image；　which　clearly　showed　the　head　of　a　male　gorilla。
　〃That's　ground　truth；〃　Ross　said。
　Elliot　was　not　so　sure。　He　reran　the　last　three　seconds　of　videotape　a　final　time；　staring　at　the　gorilla　head。　The　image　was　fleeting；　leaving　a　ghostly　trail；　but　something　was　wrong　with　it。　He　couldn't　quite　identify　what。　Certainly　this　was　atypical　gorilla　behavior；　but　there　was　something　else。　…
　He　pushed　the　freeze…frame　button　and　stared　at　the　frozen　image。　The　face　and　the　fur　were　both　gray：　unquestionably　gray。
　〃Can　we　increase　contrast？〃　he　asked　Ross。　〃This　image　is　washed　out。〃
　〃I　don't　know；〃　Ross　said；　touching　the　controls。　〃I　think　this　is　a　pretty　good　image。〃　She　was　unable　to　darken　it。
　〃It's　very　gray；〃　he　said。　〃Gorillas　are　much　darker。〃
　〃Well；　this　contrast　range　is　correct　for　video。〃
　Elliot　was　sure　this　creature　was　too　light　to　be　a　mountain　gorilla。　Either　they　were　seeing　a　new　race　of　animal；　or　a　new　species。　A　new　species　of　great　ape；　gray　in　color；　aggressive　in　behavior；　discovered　in　the　eastern　Congo。
　He　had　e　on　this　expedition　to　verify　Amy's　dreams…a　fascinating　psychological　insight…but　now　the　stakes　were　suddenly　much　higher。
　Ross　said；　〃You　don't　think　this　is　a　gorilla？〃
　〃There　are　ways　to　test　it；〃　he　said。　He　stared　at　the　screen；　frowning；　as　the　plane　flew　onward　in　the　night。
　
　2。B…8　Problems
　
　〃YOU　WANT　ME　TO　WHAT'？〃　TOM　SEAMANS　SAID；　cradling　the　phone　in　his　shoulder　and　rolling　over　to　look　at　his　bedside　clock。　It　was　3　A。M。
　〃Go　to　the　zoo；〃　Elliot　repeated。　His　voice　sounded　garbled；　as　if　ing　from　under　water。
　〃Peter；　where　are　you　calling　from？〃
　〃We're　somewhere　over　the　Atlantic　now；〃　Elliot　said。　〃On　our　way　to　Africa。〃
　〃Is　everything　all　right？〃
　〃Everything　is　fine；〃　Elliot　said。　〃But　I　want　you　to　go　to　the　zoo　first　thing　in　the　morning。〃
　〃And　do　what？〃
　〃Videotape　the　gorillas。　Try　to　get　them　in　movement。　That's　very　important　for　the　discriminant　function；　that　they　be　moving。〃
　〃I'd　better　write　this　down；〃　Seamans　said。　Seamans　handled　the　puter　programming　for　the　Project　Amy　staff；　and　he　was　accustomed　to　unusual　requests；　but　not　in　the　middle　of　the　night。　〃