p&c.icelimit-第10部分

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！


　〃Okay；　okay。　So　when　will　we　get　our　answer？〃
　〃Within　seventy…two　hours　of　our　receipt　of　Mr。　Lloyd's　certified　check。〃
　McFarlane　licked　his　lips。　It　was　beginning　to　occur　to　him　that　he　himself　was　being　underpaid。　〃And　what　if　the　answer's　no？〃　he　asked。
　〃Then　Lloyd　will　at　least　have　the　consolation　of　knowing　the　project　is　impossible。　If　there's　a　way　to　retrieve　that　meteorite；　we'll　find　it。〃
　〃Have　you　ever　said　no　to　anyone？〃
　〃Often。〃
　〃Oh；　really？　Like　when？〃
　Glinn　coughed　slightly。　〃Just　last　month　a　certain　eastern　European　country　wanted　us　to　entomb　a　defunct　nuclear　reactor　in　concrete　and　move　it　across　an　international　border；　undetected；　for　a　neighboring　country　to　deal　with。〃
　〃You're　joking；〃　said　McFarlane。
　〃Not　at　all；〃　said　Glinn。　〃We　had　to　turn　them　down；　of　course。〃
　〃Their　budget　was　insufficient；〃　said　Garza。
　McFarlane　shook　his　head　and　snapped　his　portfolio　shut。　〃If　you　show　me　to　a　phone；　I'll　relay　your　offer　to　Lloyd。〃
　Glinn　nodded　to　Garza；　who　stood　up。　〃e　this　way；　please；　Dr。　McFarlane；〃　said　Garza；　holding　open　the　door。
　
　As　the　door　hissed　shut；　Rochefort　let　out　another　sigh　of　irritation。　〃We　don't　really　have　to　work　with　him；　do　we？〃　He　flicked　a　clot　of　purple　jelly　from　his　lab　coat。　〃He's　not　a　scientist；　he's　a　scavenger。〃
　〃He　has　a　doctorate　in　planetary　geology；〃　said　Glinn。
　〃That　degree　died　long　ago　from　neglect。　But　I'm　not　just　talking　about　the　man's　ethics；　what　he　did　to　his　partner。　Look　at　this。〃　He　gestured　at　his　shirt。　〃The　man's　a　loose　cannon。　He's　unpredictable。〃
　〃There　is　no　such　thing　as　an　unpredictable　person；〃　Glinn　replied。　〃Only　a　person　we　don't　understand。〃　He　gazed　at　the　mess　on　his　fifty…thousand…dollar　Accawood　table。　〃Naturally；　we'll　make　it　our　business　to　understand　everything　about　Dr。　McFarlane。　Rachel？〃
　She　turned　to　him。
　〃I'm　going　to　give　you　a　very　special　assignment。〃　Amira　flashed　another　sardonic　smile　at　Rochefort。　〃Of　course；〃　she　said。
　〃You're　going　to　be　Dr。　McFarlane's　assistant。〃
　There　was　a　sudden　silence　as　the　smile　disappeared　from　Amira's　face。
　Glinn　went　on　smoothly；　without　giving　her　time　to　react。　〃You　will　keep　an　eye　on　him。　You　will　prepare　regular　reports　on　him　and　give　them　to　me。〃
　〃I'm　no　damn　shrink！〃　Amira　exploded。　〃And　I'm　sure　as　hell　no　rat！〃
　Now　it　was　Rochefort　whose　face　was　mottled　with　an　expression　that　might　have　passed　for　amusement；　if　it　had　not　been　so　laced　with　ill　will。
　〃Your　reports　will　be　strictly　observational；〃　Glinn　said。　〃They　will　be　thoroughly　evaluated　by　a　psychiatrist。　Rachel；　you're　a　shrewd　analyst；　of　human　beings　as　well　as　mathematics。　You　will；　of　course；　be　an　assistant　in　name　only。　As　for　your　being　a　rat；　that's　entirely　incorrect。　You　know　Dr。　McFarlane　has　a　checkered　past。　He　will　be　the　only　one　on　this　expedition　not　of　our　choosing。　We　must　keep　a　close　watch　on　him。〃
　〃Does　that　give　me　license　to　spy　on　him？〃
　〃Say　I　hadn't　asked　you　to　do　this。　If　you　were　to　catch　him　doing　anything　that　might　promise　the　expedition；　you'd　have　told　me　without　a　second　thought。　All　I'm　asking　you　to　do　is　formalize　the　process　a　little。〃
　Amira　flushed　and　was　silent。
　Glinn　gathered　up　his　papers；　and　they　swiftly　disappeared　into　the　folds　of　his　suit。　〃All　this　may　be　moot　if　the　project　turns　out　to　be　impossible。　There's　one　little　thing　I　have　to　look　into　first。〃
　
　Lloyd　Museum；
　June　7；　3：15　P。M。
　
　MCFARLANE　PACED　his　office　in　the　museum's　brand…new　administration　building；　moving　restlessly　from　wall　to　wall　like　a　caged　animal。　The　large　space　was　half　filled　with　unopened　boxes；　and　the　top　of　his　desk　was　littered　with　blueprints；　memos；　charts；　and　printouts。　He　had　only　bothered　to　tear　the　plastic　wrap　off　a　single　chair。　The　rest　of　the　furniture　remained　shrink…wrapped；　and　the　office　smelled　raw　with　new　carpeting　and　fresh　paint。　Outside　the　windows；　construction　continued　at　a　frantic　pace。　It　was　unsettling　to　see　so　much　money　being　spent　so　quickly。　But　if　anyone　could　afford　it；　he　supposed　Lloyd　could。　The　diversified　panies　that　made　up　Lloyd　Holdings　…　aero…space　engineering；　defense　contracting；　superputer　development；　electronic　data　systems　…　brought　in　enough　revenue　to　make　the　man　one　of　the　two　or　three　richest　in　the　world。
　Forcing　himself　to　sit　down；　McFarlane　shoved　the　papers　aside　to　clear　a　space；　opened　the　bottom　desk　drawer；　and　pulled　out　Masangkay's　moldy　diary。　Just　seeing　the　Tagalog　words　on　paper　had　brought　back　a　host　of　memories；　almost　all　of　them　bittersweet；　faded；　like　old　sepia…toned　photographs。
　He　opened　the　cover；　turned　the　pages；　and　gazed　again　at　the　strange；　crabbed　script　of　the　final　entry。　Masangkay　had　been　a　poor　diary　keeper。　Exactly　how　many　hours　or　days　passed　between　this　entry　and　his　death　was　impossible　to　know。
　Nakaupo　ako　at　nagpapausok　para　umalis　ang　mga　lintik　na　lamok。　Akala　ko　masama　na　ang　South　Greenland；　mas　grabe　pala　dito　sa　Isla　Desolacion。。。
　
　McFarlane　glanced　down　at　the　translation　he　had　written　out　for　Lloyd：
　I　am　sitting　by　my　fire；　in　the　smoke；　trying　to　keep　the　damned　mosquitoes　at　bay。　And　I　thought　South　Greenland　was　bad。　Isla　Desolacion：　good　name。　I　always　wondered　what　the　end　of　the　world　looked　like。　Now　I　know。
　It　looks　promising：　the　reversed　strata；　the　bizarre　vulcanism；　the　satellite　anomalies。　It　all　meshes　with　the　Yaghan　legends。　But　it　doesn't　make　sense。　It　must　have　e　in　damn　fast；　maybe　even　too　fast　for　an　elliptical　orbit。　I　keep　thinking　about　McFarlane's　crazy　theory。　Christ；　I　find　myself　almost　wishing　the　old　bastard　were　here　to　see　this。　But　if　he　was　here；　no　doubt　he'd　find　some　way　to　screw　things　up。
　Tomorrow；　I'll　start　the　quantitative　survey　of　the　valley。　If　it's　there；　even　deep；　I'll　find　it。　It　all　depends　on　tomorrow。
　
　And　that　was　it。　He　had　died；　all　alone；　in　one　of　the　remotest　places　on　earth。
　McFarlane　leaned　back　in　his　chair。　McFarlane　's　crazy　theory。。。　The　truth　was；　walang　kabalbalan　didn't　precisely　translate　as　〃crazy〃　…　it　meant　something　a　lot　more　unflattering　…　but　Lloyd　didn't　need　to　know　everything。
　But　that　was　beside　the　point。　The　point　was；　his　own　theory　had　been　crazy。　Now；　with　the　wisdom　of　hindsight；　he　wondered　why　he　had　held　on　to　it　so　tenaciously；　for　so　long；　and　at　such　a　terrible　price。
　All　known　meteorites　came　from　inside　the　solar　system。　His　theory　of　interstellar　meteorites　…　meteorites　that　originated　outside；　from　other　star　systems　…　appeared　ridiculous　in　hindsight。　To　think　that　a　rock　could　wander　across　the　vastness　of　the　space　between　the　stars　and　just　happen　to　land　on　Earth。　Mathematicians　always　said　the　probabilities　were　on　the　order　of　a　quintillion　to　one。　So　why　hadn't　he　left　it　at　that？　His　idea　that　someday　someone　…　preferably　himself　…　would　find　an　interstellar　meteorite　had　been　fanciful；　ridiculous；　even　arrogant。　And　what　was　more　to　the　point；　it　had　twisted　his　judgment　and；　ultimately；　messed　up　his　life　almost　beyond　redemption。
　How　strange　it　was　to　see　Masangkay　bringing　up　the　theory　now　in　his　journal。　The　reversed　strata　were　to　be　expected。　What　was　it　that　didn't　make　sense　to　him？　What　had　been　so　puzzling？
　He　closed　the　diary　and　stood　up；　returning　to　the　window。　He　remembered　Masangkay's　round　face；　the　thick；　scruffy　black　hair；　the　sarcastic　grin；　the　eyes　dancing　with　humor；　vivacity；　and　intelligence。　He　remembered　that　last　day　outside　the　New　York　Museum　…　bright　sunlight　gilding　everything　to　a　painful　brilliance　…　where　Masangkay　had　e　rushing　down　the　steps；　glasses　askew；　shouting；　〃Sam！　They've　given　us　the　green　light！　We're　on　our　way　to　Greenland！〃　And　…　more　painfully　…　he　remembered　that　night　after　they　actually　found　the　Tornarssuk　meteorite；　Masangkay　tilting　the　precious　bottle　of　whiskey　up；　the　firelight　flickering　in　its　amber　depths　as　he　took　a　long　drink；　his　back　against　the　dark　metal。　God；　the　hangover　the　next　day。。。　But　they　had　found　it　…　sitting　right　there；　as　if　someone　had　carefully　placed　it　on　the　gravel　for　all　to　see。　Over　the　years；　they　had　found　many　meteorites　together；　but　nothing　like　this。　It　had　e　in　at　an　acute　angle　and　had　actually　bounced　off　the　ice　sheet；　tumbling　for　miles。　It　was　a　beautiful　siderite；　shaped　like　a　sea　horse　。。。
　And　now　it　sat　in　some　Tokyo　businessman's　backyard　garden。　It　had　cost　him　his　relationship　with　Masangkay。　And　his　reputation。
　He　stared　out　the　window；　returning　to　the　present。　Above　the　leafy　maples　and　white　oaks　a　structure　was　rising；　inprehensibly　out　of　place　in　the　upper　Hudson　Valley：　an　ancient；　sun…weathered　Egyptian　pyramid。　As　he　watched；　a　crane　swung　another　block　of　limestone　above　the　treetops　and　began　lowering　it　gently　onto　the　half…built　structure。　A　finger　of　sand　trailed　off　the　block　and　feathered　away　into　the　wind。　In　the　clearing　at　the　base　of　the　pyramid　he　could　see　Lloyd　himself；　oversized　safari　hat　dappled　by　the　leafy　shade。　The　man　had　a　weakness　for　melodramatic　headgear。
　There　was　a　knock　on　the　door　and　Glinn　entered；　a　folder　beneath　one　arm。　He　glided　his　way　among　the　boxes　to　McFarlane's　side　and　gaz