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jurassic.park-第53部分

小说: jurassic.park 字数: 每页4000字

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en though the workmen were separated from the river by the fence; the dilos could spit right through it; delivering their blinding poison。
    Ramón; one of the workmen; came over。 〃Se?or Muldoon;〃 he said; 〃did you see the lights?〃
    〃What lights?〃 Muldoon said。
    Ramón pointed to the east; through the jungle。 〃I saw it as we were ing out。 It is there; very faint。 You see it? It looks like the lights of a car; but it is not moving。〃
    Muldoon squinted。 It probably was just a maintenance light。 After all; power was back on。 〃We'll worry about it later;〃 he said。 〃Right now let's just get that tree off the fence。〃

Arnold was in an expansive mood。 The park was almost back in order。 Muldoon was repairing the fences。 Hammond had gone off to supervise the transfer of the animals with Harding。 Although he was tired; Arnold was feeling good; he was even in a mood to indulge the lawyer; Gennaro。 〃The Malcolm Effect?〃 Arnold said。 〃You worried about that?〃
    〃I'm just curious;〃 Gennaro said。
    〃You mean you want me to tell you why Ian Malcolm is wrong?〃
    〃Sure。〃
    Arnold lit another cigarette。 〃It's technical。〃
    〃Try me。〃
    〃Okay;〃 Arnold said。 〃Chaos theory describes nonlinear systems。 It's now bee a very broad theory that's been used to study everything from the stock market; to rioting crowds; to brain waves during epilepsy。 A very fashionable theory。 Very trendy to apply it to any plex system where there might be unpredictability。 Okay?〃
    〃Okay;〃 Gennaro said。
    〃Ian Malcolm is a mathematician specializing in chaos theory。 Quite amusing and personable; but basically what he does; besides wear black; is use puters to model the behavior of plex systems。 And John Hammond loves the latest scientific fad; so he asked Malcolm to model the system at Jurassic Park。 Which Malcolm did。 Malcolm's models are all phase…space shapes on a puter screen。 Have you seen them?〃
    〃No;〃 Gennaro said。
    〃Well; they look like a weird twisted ship's propeller。 According to Malcolm; the behavior of any system follows the surface of the propeller。 You with me?〃
    〃Not exactly;〃 Gennaro said。
    Arnold held his hand in the air。 〃Let's say I put a drop of water on the back of my hand。 That drop is going to run off my hand。 Maybe it'll run toward my wrist。 Maybe it'll run toward my thumb; or down between my fingers。 I don't know for sure where it will go; but I know it will run somewhere along the surface of my hand。 It has to。〃
    〃Okay;〃 Gennaro said。
    〃Chaos theory treats the behavior of a whole system like a drop of water moving on a plicated propeller surface。 The drop may spiral down; or slip outward toward the edge。 It may do many different things; depending。 But it will always move along the surface of the propeller。〃
    〃Okay。〃
    〃Malcolm's models tend to have a ledge; or a sharp incline; where the drop of water will speed up greatly。 He modestly calls this speeding…up movement the Malcolm Effect。 The whole system could suddenly collapse。 And that was what he said about Jurassic Park。 That it had inherent instability。〃
    〃Inherent instability;〃 Gennaro said。 〃And what did you do when you got his report?〃
    〃We disagreed with it; and ignored it; of course;〃 Arnold said。
    〃Was that wise?〃
    〃It's self…evident;〃 Arnold said。 〃We're dealing with living systems; after all。 This is life; not puter models。〃

In the harsh quartz lights; the hypsilophodont's green head hung down out of the sling; the tongue dangling; the eyes dull。
    〃Careful! Careful!〃 Hammond shouted; as the crane began to lift。
    Harding grunted and eased the head back onto the leather straps。 He didn't want to impede circulation through the carotid artery。 The crane hissed as it lifted the animal into the air; onto the waiting flatbed truck。 The hypsy was a small dryosaur; seven feet long; weighing about five hundred pounds。 She was dark green with mottled brown spots。 She was breathing slowly; but she seemed all right。 Harding had shot her a few moments before with the tranquilizer gun; and apparently he had guessed the correct dose。 There was always a tense moment dosing these big animals。 Too little and they would run off into the forest; collapsing where you couldn't get to them。 Too much and they went into terminal cardiac arrest。 This one had taken a single bounding leap and keeled over。 Perfectly dosed。
    〃Watch it! Easy!〃 Hammond was shouting to the workmen。
    〃Mr。 Hammond;〃 Harding said。 〃Please。〃
    〃Well; they should be careful…〃
    〃They are being careful;〃 Harding said。 He climbed up onto the back of the flatbed as the hypsy came down; and he set her into the restraining harness。 Harding slipped on the cardiogram collar that monitored heartbeat; then picked up the big electronic thermometer the size of a turkey baster and slipped it into the rectum。 It beeped: 96。2 degrees。
    〃How is she?〃 Hammond asked fretfully。
    〃She's fine;〃 Harding said。 〃She's only dropped a degree and a half。〃
    〃That's too much;〃 Hammond said。 〃Too deep。〃
    〃You don't want her waking up and jumping off the truck;〃 Harding snapped。
    Before ing to the park; Harding had been the chief of veterinary medicine at the San Diego Zoo; and the world's leading expert on avian care。 He flew all over the world; consulting with zoos in Europe; India; and Japan on the care of exotic birds。 He'd had no interest when this peculiar little man showed up; offering him a position in a private game park。 But when he learned what Hammond had done 。。。 It was impossible to pass up。 Harding had an academic bent; and the prospect of writing the first Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine: Diseases of Dinosauria was pelling。 In the late twentieth century; veterinary medicine was scientifically advanced… the best zoos ran clinics little different from hospitals。 New textbooks were merely refinements of old。 For a world…class practitioner; there were no worlds left to conquer。 But to be the first to care for a whole new class of animals: that was something!
    And Harding had never regretted his decision; He had developed considerable expertise with these animals。 And he didn't want to hear from Hammond now。
    The hypsy snorted and twitched。 She was still breathing shallowly; there was no ocular reflex yet。 But it was time to get moving。 〃All aboard;〃 Harding shouted。 〃Let's get this girl back to her paddock。〃

〃Living systems;〃 Arnold said; 〃are not like mechanical systems。 Living systems are never in equilibrium。 They are inherently unstable。 They may seem stable; but they're not。 Everything is moving and changing。 In a sense; everything is on the edge of collapse。〃
    Gennaro was frowning。 〃But lots of things don't change; body temperature doesn't change; all kinds of other…〃
    〃Body temperature changes constantly;〃 Arnold said。 〃Constantly。 It changes cyclically over twenty…four hours; lowest in the morning; highest in the afternoon。 It changes with mood; with disease; with exercise; with outside temperature; with food。 It continuously fluctuates up and down。 Tiny jiggles on a graph。 Because; at any moment; some forces are pushing temperature up; and other forces are pulling it down。 It is inherently unstable。 And every other aspect of living systems is like that; too。〃
    〃So you're saying 。 。 。〃
    〃Malcolm's just another theoretician;〃 Arnold said。 〃Sitting in his office; he made a nice mathematical model; and it never occurred to him that what he saw as defects were actually necessities。 Look: when I was working on missiles; we dealt with something called 'resonant yaw。' Resonant yaw meant that; even though a missile was only slightly unstable off the pad; it was hopeless。 It was inevitably going to go out of control; and it couldn't be brought back。 That's a feature of mechanical systems。 A little wobble can get worse until the whole system collapses。 But those same little wobbles are essential to a living system。 They mean the system is healthy and responsive。 Malcolm never understood that。〃
    〃Are you sure he didn't understand that? He seems pretty clear on the difference between living and nonliving…〃
    〃Look;〃 Arnold said。 〃The proof is right here。〃 He pointed to the screens。
    〃In less than an hour;〃 he said; 〃the park will all be back on line。 The only thing I've got left to clear is the telephones。 For some reason; they're still out。 But everything else will be working。 And that's not theoretical。 That's a fact。〃

The needle went deep into the neck; and Harding injected the medrine into the anesthetized female dryosaur as she lay on her side on the ground。 Immediately the animal began to recover; snorting and kicking her powerful hind legs。
    〃Back; everybody;〃 Harding said; scrambling away。 〃Get back。〃
    The dinosaur staggered to her feet; standing drunkenly。 She shook her lizard head; stared at the people standing back in the quartz lights; and blinked。
    〃She's drooling;〃 Hammond said; worried。
    〃Temporary;〃 Harding said。 〃It'll stop。〃
    The dryosaur coughed; and then moved slowly across the field; away from the lights。
    〃Why isn't she hopping?〃
    〃She will;〃 Harding said。 〃It'll take her about an hour to recover fully。 She's fine。〃 He turned back to the car。 〃Ok

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