michael crichton.congo-第54部分

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　PROJECT　VULCAN　was　secret　but　Munro　had　heard　all　about　it　one　drunken　night　around　the　campfire　near　Bangazi。　And　he　remembered　it　now　as　Ross　was　planning　a　resonant　explosive　sequence　in　the　region　of　a　volcano　in　its　eruptive　phase。　The　basic　tenet　of　VULCAN　was　that　enormous；　pent…up　geological　forces…whether　the　forces　of　an　earthquake；　or　a　volcano；　or　a　Pacific　typhoon…could　be　devastatingly　unleashed　by　a　relatively　small　energy　trigger。
　Ross　prepared　to　fire　her　conical　explosives。
　〃I　think；〃　Munro　said；　〃that　you　should　try　again　to　contact　Houston。〃
　〃That's　not　possible；〃　Ross　said；　supremely　confident。　〃I'm　required　to　decide　on　my　own…and　I've　decided　to　assess　the　extent　of　diamond　deposits　in　the　hillsides　now。〃
　As　the　argument　continued；　Amy　moved　away。　She　picked　up　the　detonating　device　lying　alongside　Ross's　pack。　It　was　a　tiny　handheld　device　with　six　glowing　LEDs；　more　than　enough　to　fascinate　Amy。　She　raised　her　fingers　to　push　the　buttons。
　Karen　Ross　looked　over。　〃Oh　God。〃
　Munro　turned。　〃Amy；〃　he　said　softly。　〃Amy；　no。　No。　Amy　no　good。〃
　Amy　good　gorilla　Amy　good。
　Amy　held　the　detonating　device　in　her　hand。　She　was　captivated　by　the　winking　LEDS。　She　glanced　over　at　the　humans。
　〃No；　Amy；〃　Munro　said。　He　turned　to　Elliot。　〃Can't　you　stop　leer？〃
　〃Oh；　what　the　hell；〃　Ross　said。　〃Go　ahead；　Amy。〃
　
　A　series　of　rumbling　explosions　blasted　gleaming　diamond　dust　from　the　mine　shafts；　and　then　there　was　silence。　〃Well；〃　Ross　said　finally；　〃I　hope　you're　satisfied。　It's　perfectly　clear　that　such　a　minimal　explosive　charge　could　not　affect　the　volcano。　In　the　future　you　can　leave　the　scientific　aspects　to　me；　and…〃
　And　then　Mukenko　rumbled；　and　the　earth　shook　so　hard　that　they　were　all　knocked　to　the　ground。
　
　4：　ERTS　Houston
　
　AT　1　A。M。　HOUSTON　TIME；　R。　B。　TRAVIS　FROWNED　at　the　puter　monitor　in　his　office。　He　had　just　received　the　latest　photosphere　imagery　from　Kitt　Peak　Observatory；　via　GSFC　telemetry。　GSFC　had　kept　him　waiting　all　day　fur　the　data；　which　was　only　one　of　several　reasons　why　Travis　was　in　a　bad　humor。
　The　photospheric　imagery　was　negative…the　sphere　of　the　sun　appeared　black　on　the　screen；　with　a　glowing　white　chain　of　sunspots。　There　were　at　least　fifteen　major　sunspots　across　the　sphere；　one　of　which　originated　the　massive　solar　flare　that　was　making　his　life　hell。
　For　two　days　now；　Travis　had　been　sleeping　at　ERTS。　The　entire　operation　had　gone　to　hell。　ERTS　had　a　team　in　northern　Pakistan；　not　far　from　the　troubled　Afghan　border；　another　in　central　Malaysia；　in　an　area　of　munist　insurrection；　and　the　Congo　team；　which　was　facing　rebelling　natives　and　some　unknown　group　of　gorilla…like　creatures。
　munications　with　all　teams　around　the　world　had　been　cut　off　by　the　solar　flare　for　more　than　twenty…four　hours。　Travis　had　been　running　puter　simulations　on　all　of　them　with　six…hour　updates。　The　results　did　not　please　him。　The　Pakistan　team　was　probably　all　right；　but　would　run　six　days　over　schedule　and　cost　them　an　additional　two　hundred　thousand　dollars；　the　Malaysia　team　was　in　serious　jeopardy；　and　the　Congo　team　was　classified　CANNY…ERTS　puter　slang　fur　〃can　not　estimate。〃　Travis　had　had　two　CANNY　teams　in　the　past…in　the　Amazon　in　1976；　and　in　Sri　Lanka　in　1978…　and　he　had　lost　people　from　both　groups。
　Things　were　going　badly。　Yet　this　latest　GSFC　was　much　better　than　the　previous　report。　They　had…it　seemed…　managed　a　brief　transmission　contact　with　the　Congo　several　hours　earlier；　although　there　was　no　verification　response　from　Ross。　He　wondered　whether　the　team　had　received　the　warning　or　not。　He　stared　at　the　black　sphere　with　frustration。
　Richards；　one　of　the　main　data　programmers；　stuck　his　head　in　the　door。　〃I　have　something　relevant　to　the　CFS。〃
　〃Fire　away；〃　Travis　said。　Any　news　relevant　to　the　Congo　Field　Survey　was　of　interest。
　〃The　South　African　seismological　Station　at　the　University　of　Jo'burg　reports　tremors　initiating　at　twelve　oh　four　P。M。　local　time。　Estimated　epicenter　coordinates　are　consistent　with　Mount　Mukenko　in　the　Virunga　chain。　The　tremors　are　multiple；　running　Richter　five　to　eight。〃
　〃Any　confirmation？〃　Travis　asked。
　〃Nairobi　is　the　nearest　station；　and　they're　puting　a　Richter　six　to　nine；　or　a　Morelli　Nine；　with　heavy　downfall　of　ejecta　from　the　cone。　They　are　also　predicting　that　the　LAC；　the　local　atmospheric　conditions；　are　conducive　to　severe　electrical　discharges。〃
　Travis　glanced　at　his　watch。　〃Twelve　oh　four　local　time　is　nearly　an　hour　ago；〃　he　said。　〃Why　wasn't　I　informed？〃
　Richards　said；　〃It　didn't　e　in　from　the　African　stations　until　now。　I　guess　they　figure　it's　no　big　deal；　another　volcano。〃
　Travis　sighed。　That　was　the　trouble…volcanic　activity
　was　now　recognized　as　a　mon　phenomenon　on　the　earth's　surface。　Since　1965；　the　first　year　that　global　records　were　kept；　there　had　been　twenty…two　major　eruptions　each　year；　roughly　one　eruption　every　two　weeks。
　Outlying　stations　were　in　no　hurry　to　report　such　〃ordinary〃　occurrences…to　delay　was　proof　of　fashionable　boredom。
　〃But　they　have　problems；〃　Richards　said。　〃With　the　satellites　disrupted　by　the　sunspots；　everybody　has　to　transmit　surface　cable。　And　I　guess　as　far　as　they're　concerned；　the　northeast　Congo　is　uninhabited。〃
　Travis　said；　〃How　bad　is　a　Morelli　Nine？〃
　Richards　paused。　〃It's　pretty　bad；　Mr。　Travis。〃
　
　
　
　
　5。〃Everything　Was　Moving〃
　
　IN　THE　CONGO；　EARTH　MOVEMENT　WAS　RICHTER　scale　8；　a　Moreili　scale　IX。　At　this　severity；　the　earth　shakes　so　badly　a　man　has　difficulty　standing。　There　are　lateral　shifts　in　the　earth　and　rifts　open　up；　trees　and　even　steel…frame　buildings　topple。
　For　Elliot；　Ross；　and　Munro；　the　five　minutes　following　the　onset　of　the　eruption　were　a　bizarre　nightmare。　Elliot　recalled　that　〃everything　was　moving。　We　were　all　literally　knocked　off　our　feet；　we　had　to　crawl　on　our　hands　and　knees；　like　babies。　Even　after　we　got　away　from　mine…shaft　tunnels；　the　city　swayed　like　a　wobbling　toy。　It　was　quite　a　while…maybe　half　a　minute…before　the　buildings　began　to　collapse。　Then　everything　came　down　at　once：　walls　caving　in；　ceilings　collapsing；　big　blocks　of　stone　crashing　down　into　the　jungle。　The　trees　were　swaying　too；　and　pretty　soon　they　began　falling　over。〃
　The　noise　of　this　collapse　was　incredible；　and　added　to　that　was　the　sound　from　Mukenko。　The　volcano　wasn't　rumbling　anymore；　they　heard　staccato　explosions　of　lava　blasting　from　the　cone。　These　explosions　produced　shock　waves；　even　when　the　earth　was　solid　under　their　feet；　they　were　knocked　over　without　warning　by　blasts　of　hot　air。　〃It　was；〃　Elliot　recalled；　〃just　like　being　in　the　middle　of　a　war。〃
　Amy　was　panic…stricken。　Grunting　in　terror；　she　leapt　into　Elliot's　arms…and　promptly　urinated　on　his　clothes…as　they　began　to　run　back　toward　the　camp。
　A　sharp　tremor　brought　Ross　to　the　ground。　She　picked　herself　up；　and　stumbled　onward；　acutely　aware　of　the　humidity　and　the　dense　ash　and　dust　ejected　by　the　volcano。　Within　minutes；　the　sky　above　them　was　dark　as　night；　and　the　first　flashes　of　lightning　cracked　through　the　boiling　clouds。　It　had　rained　the　night　before；　the　jungle　surrounding　them　was　wet；　the　air　supersaturated　with　moisture。　In　short；　they　had　all　the　requisites　for　a　lightning　storm。　Ross　felt　herself　torn　between　the　perverse　desire　to　watch　this　unique　theoretical　phenomenon　and　the　desire　to　run　for　her　life。
　In　a　searing　burst　of　blue…white　light；　the　lightning　storm　struck。　Bolts　of　electricity　crackled　all　around　them　like　rain；　Ross　later　estimated　there　were　two　hundred　bolts　within　the　first　minute…nearly　three　every　second。　The　familiar　shattering　crack　of　lightning　was　not　punctuation　but　a　continuous　sound；　a　mar　like　a　waterfall。　The　booming　thunder　caused　sharp　ear　pains；　and　the　acpanying　shock　waves　literally　knocked　them　backward。
　Everything　happened　so　fast　that　they　had　little　chance　to　absorb　sensations。　Their　ordinary　expectations　were　turned　upside　down。　One　of　the　porters；　Amburi；　had　e　back　toward　the　city　to　find　them。　They　saw　him　standing　in　a　clearing；　waving　them　ahead；　when　a　lightning　bolt　crashed　up　through　a　nearby　tree　into　the　sky。　Ross　had　known　that　the　lightning　flash　came　after　the　invisible　downward　flow　of　electrons　and　actually　ran　upward　from　the　ground　to　the　clouds　above。　But　to　see　it！　The　explosive　flash　lifted　Amburi　off　his　feet　and　tossed　him　through　the　air　toward　them；　he　scrambled　to　his　feet；　shouting　hysterically　in　Swahili。
　All　around　them　trees　were　cracking；　splitting　and　hissing　clouds　of　moisture　as　the　lightning　bolts　shot　upward　through　them。　Ross　later　said；　〃The　lightning　was　everywhere；　the　blinding　flashes　were　continuous；　with　this　terrible　sizzling　sound。　That　man　＇Amburi＇　was　screaming　and　the　next　instant　the　lightning　grounded　through　him。　I　was　close　enough　to　touch　him　but　there　was　very　little　heat；　just　white　light。　He　went　rigid　and　there　was　this　terrible　smell　as　his　whole　body　burst　into　flame；　and　he　fell　to　the　ground。　Munro　rolled　on　him　to　put　out　the　fire　but　he　was　dead；　and　we　ran　on。　There　was　no　time　to　react；　we　kept　falling　down　from　the　＇Earthquake＇　tremors。　Soon　we　were