michael crichton.congo-第17章

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　These　were　the　reasons　for　the　extraordinary　pressure　Ross　felt　as　she　continued　to　work　with　the　puter。　At　the　age　of　twenty…four；　she　was　team　leader　in　a　high…technology　race　involving　a　half…dozen　nations　around　the　globe；　all　secretly　pitting　their　business　and　industrial　resources　against　one　another。
　The　stakes　made　any　conventional　race　seem　ludicrous。　Travis　told　her　before　she　left；　〃Don't　be　afraid　when　the　pressure　makes　you　crazy。　You　have　billions　of　dollars　riding　on　your　shoulders。　Just　do　the　best　you　can。〃
　Doing　the　best　she　could；　she　managed　to　reduce　the　expedition　timeline　by　another　three　hours　and　thirty…seven　minutes…but　they　were　still　slightly　behind　the　consortium　projection。　Not　too　far　to　make　up　the　time；　especially　with　Munro's　cold…blooded　shortcuts；　but　nevertheless　behind…　which　could　mean　total　disaster　in　a　winner…take…all　race。
　And　then　she　received　bad　news。
　The　screen　printed　PIGGYBACK　SLURP　/　ALL　BETS　OFF。
　〃Hell；〃　Ross　said。　She　felt　suddenly　tired。　Because　if　there　really　had　been　a　piggyback　slurp；　their　chances　of　winning　the　race　were　vanishing…before　any　of　them　had　even　set　foot　in　the　rain　forests　of　central　Africa。
　
　
　2。Piggyback　Slurp
　
　TRAVIS　FELT　LIKE　A　FOOL。
　He　stared　at　the　hard　copy　from　Goddard　Space　Flight　Center；　Greenbelt；　Maryland。
　
　ERTS　WHY　ARE　YOU　SENDING　US　ALL　THIS　MUKENKO　DATA　WE　DON'T　REALLY　CARE　THANKS　ANYWAY。
　
　That　had　arrived　an　hour　ago　from　GSFC/Maryland；　but　it　was　already　too　late　by　more　than　five　hours。
　〃Damn！〃　Travis　said；　staring　at　the　telex。
　The　first　indication　to　Travis　that　anything　was　wrong　was　when　the　Japanese　and　Germans　broke　off　negotiations　with　Munro　in　Tangier。　One　minute　they　had　been　willing　to　pay　anything；　the　next　minute　they　could　hardly　wait　to　leave。　The　break…off　had　e　abruptly；　discontinuously；　it　implied　the　sudden　introduction　of　new　data　into　the　consortium　puter　files。
　New　data　from　where？
　There　could　be　only　one　explanation…and　now　it　was　confirmed　in　the　GSFC　telex　from　Greenbelt。
　
　ERTS　WHY　ARE　YOU　SENDING　ALL　THIS　MUKENKO　DATA
　
　There　was　a　simple　answer　to　that：　ERTS　wasn't　sending　any　data。　At　least；　not　willingly。　ERTS　and　GSFC　had　an　arrangement　to　exchange　data　updates…Travis　had　made　that　deal　in　1978　to　obtain　cheaper　satellite　imagery　from　orbiting　Landsats。　Satellite　imagery　was　his　pany's　single　greatest　expense。　In　return　for　a　look　at　derived　ERTS　data；　GSFC　agreed　to　supply　satellite　CCTs　at　30　percent　below　gross　rate。
　It　seemed　like　a　good　deal　at　the　time；　and　the　coded　locks　were　specified　in　the　agreement。
　But　now　the　potential　drawbacks　loomed　large　before　Travis；　his　worst　fears　were　confirmed。　Once　you　put　a　line　over　two　thousand　miles　from　Houston　to　Greenbelt；　you　begged　for　a　piggyback　data　slurp。　Somewhere　between　Texas　and　Maryland　someone　had　inserted　a　terminal　linkup…probably　in　the　carrier　telephone　lines…and　had　begun　to　slurp　out　data　on　a　piggyback　terminal。　This　was　the　form　of　industrial　espionage　they　most　feared。
　A　piggyback…slurp　terminal　tapped　in　between　two　legitimate　terminals；　monitoring　the　back　and　forth　transmissions。　After　a　time；　the　piggyback　operator　knew　enough　to　begin　making　transmissions　on　line；　slurping　out　data　from　both　ends；　pretending　to　be　GSFC　to　Houston；　and　Houston　to　GSFC。　The　piggyback　terminal　could　continue　to　function　until　one　or　both　legitimate　terminals　realized　that　they　were　being　slurped。
　Now　the　question　was：　how　much　data　had　been　slurped　out　in　the　last　seventy…two　hours？
　He　had　called　for　twenty…four…hour　scanner　checks；　and　the　readings　were　disheartening。　It　looked　as　though　the　ERTS　puter　had　yielded　up　not　only　original　database　elements；　but　also　data…transformation　histories…the　sequence　of　operations　performed　on　the　data　by　ERTS　over　the　last　four　weeks。
　If　that　was　true；　it　meant　that　the　Euro…Japanese　consortium　piggyback　knew　what　transformations　ERTS　had　carried　out　on　the　Mukenko　data…and　therefore　they　knew　where　the　lost　city　was　located；　with　pinpoint　accuracy。　They　now　knew　the　location　of　the　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