the.lost.world-第6部分

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you　let　it　happen。〃
　　　　Guitierrez　sighed。　He　looked　around　at　the　tourists　at　the　other　tables　and　said；　〃This　has　to　be　in　confidence；　okay？〃
　　　　〃All　right。〃
　　　　〃It's　a　big　problem　here。〃
　　　　〃What　is。〃
　　　　〃There　have　been；　uh。。。aberrant　forms。。。turning　up　on　the　coast　ever　so　often。　It's　been　going　on　for　several　years　now。〃
　　　　〃'Aberrant　forms？〃'　Levine　repeated；　shaking　his　head　in　disbelief
　　　　〃That's　the　official　term　for　these　specimens；〃　Guitierrez　said。　〃No　one　in　the　government　is　willing　to　be　more　precise。　It　started　about　five　years　ago。　A　number　of　animals　were　discovered　up　in　the　mountains；　near　a　remote　agricultural　station　that　was　growing　test　varieties　of　soy　beans。〃
　　　　〃Soy　beans；〃　Levine　repeated。
　　　　Guitierrez　nodded。　〃Apparently　these　animals　are　attracted　to　beans；　and　certain　grasses。　The　assumption　is　that　they　have　a　great　need　for　the　amino　acid　lysine　in　their　diets。　But　nobody　is　really　sure。　Perhaps　they　just　have　a　taste　for　certain　crops　…　〃
　　　　〃Marty；〃　Levine　said。　〃I　don't　care　if　they　have　a　taste　for　beer　and　pretzels。　The　only　important　question　is：　where　did　the　animals　e　from？〃
　　　　〃Nobody　knows；〃　Guitierrez　said。
　　　　Levine　let　that　pass；　for　the　moment。　〃What　happened　to　those　other　animals？〃
　　　　〃They　were　all　destroyed。　And　to　my　knowledge；　no　others　were　found　for　years　afterward。　But　now　it　seems　to　be　starting　again。　In　the　last　year；　we　have　found　the　remains　of　four　more　animals；　including　the　one　you　saw　today。〃
　　　　〃And　what　was　done？〃
　　　　〃The；　ah；　aberrant　forms　are　always　destroyed。　Just　as　you　saw。　From　the　beginning；　the　government's　taken　every　possible　step　to　make　sure　nobody　finds　out　about　it。　A　few　years　back；　some　North　American　journalists　began　reporting　there　was　something　wrong　on　one　island；　Isla　Nublar。　Menéndez　invited　a　bunch　of　journalists　down　for　a　special　tour　of　the　island　…　and　proceeded　to　fly　them　to　the　wrong　island。　They　never　knew　the　difference。　Stuff　like　that。　I　mean；　the　government's　very　serious　about　this。〃
　　　　〃Why？〃
　　　　〃They're　worried。〃
　　　　〃Worried？　Why　should　they　be　worried　about　…　〃
　　　　Guitierrez　held　up　his　hand；　shifted　in　his　chair；　moved　closer。　〃Disease；　Richard。〃
　　　　〃Disease？〃
　　　　〃Yeah。　Costa　Rica　has　one　of　the　best　health…care　systems　in　the　world；〃　Guitierrez　said。　〃The　epidemiologists　have　been　tracking　some　weird　type　of　encephalitis　that　seems　to　be　on　the　increase；　particularly　along　the　coast。〃
　　　　〃Encephalitis'？　Of　what　origin？　Viral？〃
　　　　Guitierrez　shook　his　head。　〃No　causative　agent　has　been　found。〃
　　　　〃Marty。。。〃
　　　　〃I'm　telling　you；　Richard。　Nobody　knows。　It's　not　a　virus；　because　antibody　titres　don't　go　up；　and　white…cell　differentials　don't　change。　It's　not　bacterial；　because　nothing　has　ever　been　cultered。　It's　a　plete　mystery。　All　the　epidemiologists　know　is　that　it　seems　to　affect　primarily　rural　farmers：　people　who　are　around　animals　and　livestock。　And　it's　a　true　encephalitis…splitting　headaches；　mental　confusion；　fever；　delirium。〃
　　　　〃Mortality？〃
　　　　〃So　far　it　seems　to　be　self…limited；　lasts　about　three　weeks。　But　even　so　it's　got　the　government　worried。　This　country　is　dependent　on　tourism；　Richard。　Nobody　wants　talk　of　unknown　diseases。〃
　　　　〃So　they　think　the　encephalitis　is　related　to　these；　ah；　aberrant　forms？〃
　　　　He　shrugged。　〃Lizards　carry　lots　of　viral　diseases；〃　Guitierrez　said。　〃They're　a　known　vector。　So　it's　not　unreasonable；　there　might　be　a　connection。〃
　　　　〃But　you　said　this　isn't　a　viral　disease。〃
　　　　〃Whatever　it　is。　They　think　it's　related。〃
　　　　Levine　said；　〃All　the　more　reason　to　find　out　where　these　lizards　are　ing　from。　Surely　they　must　have　searched。。。〃
　　　　〃Searched？〃　Guiiticrrez　said；　with　a　laugh。　〃Of　course　they've　searched。　They've　gone　over　every　square　inch　of　this　country；　again　and　again。　They've　sent　out　dozens　of　search　parties　…　I've　led　several　myself。　They've　done　aerial　surveys。　They've　had　overflights　of　the　jungle。　They've　had　overflights　of　the　offshore　islands。　That　in　itself　is　a　big　job。　There　are　quite　a　few　islands；　you　know；　particularly　along　the　west　coast。　Hell；　they've　even　searched　the　ones　that　are　privately　owned。〃
　　　　〃Are　there　privately　owned　islands？〃　Levine　asked。
　　　　〃A　few。　Three　or　four。　Like　Isla　Nublar　…　it　was　leased　to　an　American　pany；　InGen；　for　years。〃
　　　　〃But　you　said　that　island　was　searched。。。〃
　　　　〃Thoroughly　searched。　Nothing　there。〃
　　　　〃And　the　others？〃
　　　　〃Well；　let's　see；〃　Guitierrez　said；　ticking　them　off　on　his　fingers。　〃There's　Isla　Talamanca；　on　the　east　coast；　they've　got　a　Club　Med　there。　There's　Sorna；　on　the　west　coast；　it's　leased　to　a　German　mining　pany。　And　there's　Morazan；　up　north；　it's　actually　owned　by　a　wealthy　Costa　Rican　family。　And　there　may　be　another　island　I've　forgotten　about。〃
　　　　〃And　the　searches　found　what？〃
　　　　〃Nothing；〃　Guitierrez　said。　〃They've　found　nothing　at　all。　So　the　assumption　is　that　the　animals　are　ing　from　some　location　deep　in　the　jungle。　And　that's　why　we　haven't　been　able　to　find　it　so　far。〃
　　　　Levine　grunted。　〃In　that　case；　lots　of　luck；〃
　　　　〃I　know；〃　Guitierrez　said。　〃Rain　forest　is　an　incredibly　good　environment　for　concealment。　A　search　party　could　pass　within　ten　yards　of　a　large　animal　and　never　see　it。　And　even　the　most　advanced　remote　sensing　technology　doesn't　help　much；　because　there　are　multiple　layers　to　penetrate…clouds；　tree　canopy；　lower…level　flora。　There's　just　no　way　around　it：　almost　anything　could　be　hiding　in　the　rain　forest。　Anyway；〃　he　said；　〃the　government's　frustrated。　And；　of　course；　the　government　is　not　the　only　interested　party。〃
　　　　Levine　looked　up　sharply。　〃Oh？〃
　　　　〃Yes。　For　some　reason；　there's　been　a　lot　of　interest　in　these　animals。〃
　　　　〃What　sort　of　interest？〃　Levine　said；　as　casually　as　he　could。
　　　　〃Last　fall；　the　government　issued　a　permit　to　a　team　of　botanists　from　Berkeley　to　do　an　aerial　survey　of　the　jungle　canopy　in　the　central　highlands。　The　survey　had　been　going　on　for　a　month　when　a　dispute　arose　a　bill　for　aviation　fuel；　or　something　like　that。　Anyway；　a　bureaucrat　in　San　José　called　Berkeley　to　plain。　And　Berkeley　said　they'd　never　heard　of　this　survey　team。　Meantime；　the　team　fled　the　country。〃
　　　　〃So　nobody　knows　who　they　really　were？〃
　　　　〃No'。　Then　last　winter；　a　couple　of　Swiss　geologists　showed　up　to　collect　gas　samples　from　offshore　islands；　as　part　of　a　study；　they　said；　of　volcanic　activity　in　Central　America。　The　offshore　islands　are　all　volcanic；　and　most　of　them　are　still　active　to　some　degree；　so　it　seemed　like　a　reasonable　request。　But　it　turned　out　the　'geologists'　really　worked　for　an　American　genetics　pany　called　Biosyn；　and　they　were　looking　for；　uh；　large　animals　on　the　islands。〃
　　　　〃Why　would　a　biotech　pany　be　interested？〃　Levine　said。　〃it　makes　no　sense。〃
　　　　〃Maybe　not　to　you　and　me；〃　Guitierrez　said；　〃but　Biosyn's　got　a　particularly　unsavory　reputation。　Their　head　of　research　is　a　guy　named　Lewis　Dodgson。〃
　　　　〃Oh　yeah；〃　Levine　said。　〃I　know。　He's　the　guy　who　ran　that　rabies　vaccine　test　in　Chile　a　few　years　back。　The　one　where　they　exposed　farmers　to　rabies　but　didn't　tell　them　they　were　doing　it。〃
　　　　〃That's　him。　He　also　started　test…marketing　a　genetically　engineered　potato　in　supermarkets　without　telling　anybody　they　were　altered。　Gave　kids　low…grade　diarrhea；　couple　of　them　ended　up　in　the　hospital。　After　that；　the　pany　had　to　hire　George　Baselton　to　fix　their　image。〃
　　　　〃Seems　like　everybody　hires　Baselton；〃　Levine　said；
　　　　Guitierrez　shrugged。　〃The　big…name　university　professors　consult；　these　days。　It's　part　of　the　deal。　And　Baselton　is　Regis　Professor　of　Biology。　The　pany　needed　him　to　clean　up　their　mess；　because　Dodgson　has　a　habit　of　breaking　the　law。　Dodgson　has　people　on　his　payroll　all　around　the　world。　Steals　other　panies'　research；　the　whole　bit。　They　say　Biosyn's　the　only　genetics　pany　with　more　lawyers　than　scientists。〃
　　　　〃And　why　were　they　interested　in　Costa　Rica？〃　Levine　asked。
　　　　Guitierrez　shrugged。　〃I　don't　know；　but　the　whole　attitude　toward　research　has　changed；　Richard。　It's　very　noticeable　here。　Costa　Rica　has　one　of　the　richest　ecologies　in　the　world。　Half　a　million　species　in　twelve　distinct　environmental　habitats。　Five　percent　of　all　the　species　on　the　planet　are　represented　here。　This　country　has　been　a　biological　research　center　for　years；　and　I　can　tell　you；　things　have　changed。　In　the　old　days；　the　people　who　came　here　were　dedicated　scientists　with　a　passion　to　learn　about　something　for　its　own　sake…howler　monkeys；　or　polistine　wasps；　or　the　sombrilla　plant。　These　people　had　chosen　their　field　because　they　cared　about　it。　They　certainly　weren't　going　to　get　rich。　But　now；　everything　in　the　biosphere　is　potentially　valuable。　Nobody　knows　where　the　next　drug　is　ing　from；　so　drug　panies　fund　all　sorts　of　research。　Maybe　a　bird　egg　has　a　protein　that　makes　it　waterproof。　Maybe　a　spider　produces　a　peptide　that　inhibits　blood　clotting。　Maybe　the　waxy　surface　of　a　fern　contains　a　painkiller。　It　happens　often　enough　that　attitudes　toward　research　have　changed。　People　aren't　studying　the　natural　world　any　more；　they're　mining　it。　It's　a　looter　mentality。　Anything　new　or　unknown　is　automatically　of　interest；　because　it　might　have　value。　It　might　be　worth　a　fortune。〃
　　　　Guitierrez　drained　his　beer。　〃The　world；〃　he　said；　is　turned　upside　down。　And　the　fact　is　that　a　lot　of　people　want　to　know　what　these　aberrant　animals　represent　…　and　where　they　e　from。〃
　　　　The　loudspeaker　called　Levine's　flight。　Both　men　stood　up　from　the　table。　Guiitierrez　said；　〃You'll　keep　all　this　to　yourself？　I　mean；　what　you　saw　today。〃
　　　　〃To　be　quite　honest；〃　Levine　said；　〃I　don't　know　what　I　saw　today。　It　could　have　been　anything。〃
　　　　Guitierrez　grinned。　〃Safe　flight；　Richard。〃
　　　　〃Take　care；　Marty。〃

Departure

His　backpack　slung　over　his　shoulder；　Levine　walked　toward　the　departure　lounge。　He　turned　to　wave　goodbye　to　Guitierrez；　but　his　friend　was　already　heading　out　the　door；　raising　his　arm　to　wave　for　a　taxi。　Levine　shrugged；　turned　back。
　　　　Directly　ahead　was　the　Customs　desk；　travelers　lined　up　to　have　their　passports　stamped。　He　was　booked　on　a　night　flight　to　San　Francisco；　with　a　long　stopover　in　Mexico　City；