sk.dreamcatcher-第62部分

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it　pletely。　It's　a　thin　line；　that　famous　thin　line　the　armchair　psychologists　love　to　talk　about；　and　never　in　the　history　of　the　world　has　there　been　a　cleanup　job　like　this　one　。　。　。　assuming；　that　is；　the　story　of　Hercules　neatening　up　the　Augean　Stables　is　just　a　myth。　I　am　not　asking　for　your　sympathy　but　for　your　understanding。　If　we　understand　each　other；　we'll　get　through　this；　the　hardest　job　we've　ever　had；　all　right。　If　we　don't。　。　。'　Kurtz　shrugged。　'If　we　don't；　I'll　have　to　get　through　it　without　you。　Are　you　following　me？'
　　　　Owen　doubted　if　he　was；　but　he　saw　where　Kurtz　wanted　him　to　go　and　nodded。　He　had　read　that　there　was　a　certain　kind　of　bird　that　lived　in　the　crocodile's　mouth；　at　the　croc's　sufferance。　He　supposed　that　now　he　must　be　that　kind　of　bird。　Kurtz　wanted　him　to　believe　he　was　forgiven　for　putting　the　alien　broadcast　on　the　mon　channel　…　heat　of　the　moment；　just　as　Kurtz　had　blown　off　Melrose's　foot　in　the　heat　of　the　moment。　And　what　had　happened　six　years　ago　in　Bosnia？　Not　a　factor　now。　Maybe　it　was　true。　And　maybe　the　crocodile　had　tired　of　the　bird's　tiresome　pecking　and　was　preparing　to　close　its　jaws。　Owen　got　no　sense　of　the　truth　from　Kurtz's　mind；　and　either　way　it　behooved　him　to　be　very　careful。　Careful　and　ready　to　fly。
　　　　Kurtz　reached　into　his　coverall　again　and　brought　out　a　tarnished　pocket　watch。　'This　was　my　grandfather's　and　it　works　just　fine；'　he　said。　'Because　it　winds　up；　I　think　…　no　electricity。　My　wristwatch；　on　the　other　hand；　is　still　FUBAR。'
　　　　'Mine　too。'
　　　　Kurtz's　lips　twitched　in　a　smile。　'See　Perlmutter　when　you　have　a　chance；　and　feel　you　have　the　stomach　for　him。　Among　his　many　other　chores　and　activities；　he　found　time　to　take　delivery　of　three　hundred　wind…up　Timexes　this　afternoon。　just　before　the　snow　shut　down　our　air…ops；　this　was。　Pearly's　damned　efficient。　I　just　wish　to　Christ　he'd　get　over　the　idea　that　he's　living　in　a　movie。'
　　　　'He　may　have　made　strides　in　that　direction　tonight；　boss。'
　　　　'Perhaps　he　has　at　that。'
　　　　Kurtz　meditated。　Underhill　waited。
　　　　'Laddie…buck；　we　should　be　drinking　the　whiskey。　It's　a　bit　of　an　Irish　deathwatch　we're　having　tonight。'　　　
　　　　'Is　it？'
　　　　'Aye。　Me　beloved　phooka　is　about　to　keel　over　dead。'
　　　　Owen　raised　his　eyebrows。
　　　　'Yes。　At　which　point　its　magical　cloak　of　invisibility　Will　be　whisked　away。　Then　it　will　bee　just　another　dead　horse　for　folks　to　beat。　Primarily　politicians；　who　are　best　at　that　sort　of　thing。'
　　　　'I　don't　follow　you。'
　　　　Kurtz　took　another　look　at　the　tarnished　pocket　watch；　which　he'd　probably　picked　up　in　a　pawnshop　。　。　。　or　looted　off　a　corpse。　Underhill　wouldn't　have　doubted　either。
　　　　'It's　seven　o'clock。　In　just　about　forty　hours；　the　President　is　going　to　speak　before　the　UN　General　Assembly。　More　people　are　going　to　see　and　hear　that　speech　than　any　previous　speech　in　the　history　of　the　human　race。　It's　going　to　be　part　of　the　biggest　story　in　the　history　of　the　human　race　。　。　。　and　the　biggest　spin…job　since　God　the　Father　Almighty　created　the　cosmos　and　set　the　planets　going　round　and　round　with　the　tip　of　his　finger。'
　　　　'What's　the　spin？'
　　　　'It's　a　beautiful　tale；　Owen。　Like　the　best　ties；　it　incorporates　large　swatches　of　the　truth。　The　President　will　tell　a　fascinated　world；　a　world　hanging　on　every　word　with　its　breath　caught　in　its　throat；　praise　Jesus；　that　a　ship　crewed　by　beings　from　another　world　crashed　in　northern　Maine　on　either　November　sixth　or　November　seventh　of　this　year。　That's　true。　He　Will　say　that　we　were　not　pletely　surprised；　as　we　and　the　heads　of　the　other　countries　which　constitute　the　UN　Security　Council　have　known　for　at　least　ten　years　that　ET　has　been　scoping　us　out。　Also　true；　only　some　of　us　here　in　America　have　known　about　our　pals　from　the　void　since　the　late　nineteen…forties。　We　also　know　that　Russian　fighters　destroyed　a　grayboy　ship　over　Siberia　in　1974　。　。　。　although　to　this　day　the　Russkies　don't　know　we　know。　That　one　was　probably　a　drone；　a　test…shot。　There　have　been　a　lot　of　those。　The　grays　have　handled　their　early　contacts　with　a　care　which　strongly　suggests　that　we　scare　them　quite　a　lot。'
　　　　Owen　listened　with　a　sick　fascination　he　hoped　didn't　show　on　his　face　or　at　the　top　level　of　his　thoughts；　where　Kurtz　might　still　have　access。
　　　　From　his　inner　pocket；　Kurtz　now　brought　out　a　dented　box　of　Marlboro　cigarettes。　He　offered　the　pack　to　Owen；　who　first　shook　his　head；　then　took　one　of　the　remaining　four　fags。　Kurtz　took　another；　then　lit　them　up。
　　　　'I'm　getting　the　truth　and　the　spin　mixed　in　together；'　Kurtz　said　after　he'd　taken　a　deep　drag　and　exhaled。　'That　may　not　be　the　most　profitable　way　to　get　on。　Let's　stick　to　the　spin；　shall　we？'
　　　　Owen　said　nothing。　He　smoked　rarely　these　days　and　the　first　drag　made　him　feel　light…headed；　but　the　taste　was　wonderful。
　　　　'The　President　will　say　that　the　United　States　government　quarantined　the　crash　site　and　the　area　around　it　for　three　reasons。　The　first　was　purely　logistical：　because　of　the　Jefferson　Tract's　remote　location　and　low　population；　we　could　quarantine　it。　If　the　grayboys　had　e　down　in　Brooklyn；　or　even　on　Long　Island；　that　would　not　have　been　the　case。　The　second　reason　is　that　we　are　not　clear　on　the　aliens'　intentions。　The　third　reason；　and　ultimately　the　most　persuasive；　is　that　the　aliens　carry　with　them　an　infectious　substance　which　the　on…scene　personnel　calls　〃Ripley　fungus〃。　While　the　alien　visitors　have　assured　us　passionately　that　they　are　not　infectious；　they　have　brought　a　highly　infectious　substance　with　them。　The　President　will　also　tell　a　horrified　world　that　the　fungus　may　in　fact　be　the　controlling　intelligence；　the　grayboys　just　a　growth　medium。　He　will　show　videotape　of　a　grayboy　literally　exploding　into　the　Ripley　fungus。　The　footage　has　been　slightly　doctored　to　improve　visibility；　but　is　basically　true。'
　　　　You're　lying；　Owen　thought。　The　footage　is　entirely　fake　from　be　inning　to　end；　as　fake　as　that　Alien　Autopsy　shit。　And　why　are　you　lying？　Because　you　can。　It's　as　simple　as　that；　isn't　it？　Because　to　you；　a　lie　es　more　naturally　than　the　truth。
　　　　'Okay；　I'm　lying；'　Kurtz　said；　never　missing　a　beat。　He　gave　Owen　a　quick　gleaming　look　before　dropping　his　gaze　to　his　cigarette　again。　'But　the　facts　are　true　and　verifiable。　Some　of　them　do　explode　and　turn　into　red　dandelion　fluff。　The　fluff　is　Ripley。　You　inhale　enough　of　it　and　in　a　period　of　time　we　can't　yet　predict　…　it　could　be　an　hour　or　two　days　…　your　lungs　and　brain　are　Ripley　salad。　You　look　like　a　walking　patch　of　poison　sumac。　And　then　you　die。
　　　　'There　will　be　no　mention　of　our　little　venture　earlier　today。　According　to　the　President's　version；　the　ship；　which　had　apparently　been　badly　damaged　in　the　crash；　was　either　blown　up　by　its　crew　or　blew　up　on　its　own。　All　the　grayboys　were　killed。　The　Ripley；　after　some　initial　spread；　is　also　dying；　apparently　because　it　does　very　poorly　in　the　cold。　The　Russians　corroborate　that；　by　the　way。　There　has　been　a　fairly　large　kill…off　of　animals；　which　also　carry　the　infection。'
　　　　'And　the　human　population　of　Jefferson　Tract？'
　　　　'POTUS　is　going　to　say　that　about　three　hundred　people　…　seventy　or　so　locals　and　about　two　hundred　and　thirty　hunters　are　currently　being　monitored　for　the　Ripley　fungus。　He　will　say　that　while　some　appear　to　have　been　infected；　they　also　appear　to　be　beating　the　infection　with　the　help　of　such　standard　antibiotics　as　Ceftin　and　Augmentin。'
　　　　'And　now　this　word　from　our　sponsor；'　Owen　said。　Kurtz　laughed；　delighted。
　　　　'At　a　later　time；　it's　going　to　be　announced　that　the　Ripley　seems　a　little　more　antibiotic…resistant　than　was　first　believed；　and　that　a　number　of　patients　have　died。　The　names　we　give　out　will　be　those　of　people　who　have　in　fact　already　died；　either　as　a　result　of　the　Ripley　or　those　gruesome　fucking　implants；　Do　you　know　what　the　men　are　calling　the　implants？'
　　　　'Yeah；　shit…weasels。　Will　the　President　mention　them？'
　　　　'No　way。　The　guys　in　charge　believe　the　shit…weasels　are　just　a　little　too　upsetting　for　John　Q。　Public。　As　would　be；　of　course；　the　facts　concerning　our　solution　to　the　problem　here　at　Gosselin's　Store；　that　rustic　beauty…spot。'
　　　　'The　final　solution；　you　could　call　it；'　Owen　said。　He　had　smoked　his　cigarette　all　the　way　down　to　the　filter；　and　now　crushed　it　out　on　the　rim　of　his　empty　coffee　cup。
　　　　Kurtz's　eyes　rose　to　Owen's　and　met　them　unflinchingly。　'Yes；　you　could　call　it　that。　We're　going　to　wipe　out　approximately　three　hundred　and　fifty　people　…　mostly　men；　there's　that；　but　I　can't　say　the　cleansing　won't　include　at　least　a　few　women　and　children。　The　upside；　of　course；　is　that　we　will　be　insuring　the　human　race　against　a　pandemic　and；　very　possibly；　subjugation。　Not　an　inconsiderable　upside。'
　　　　Owen's　thought　…　I'm　sure　Hitler　would　like　the　spin　…　was　unstoppable；　but　he　covered　it　as　well　as　he　could　and　got　no　sense　that　Kurtz　had　heard　it　or　sensed　it。　Impossible　to　tell　for　sure；　of　course；　Kurtz　was　sly。
　　　　'How　many　are　we　holding　now？'　Kurtz　as　ed。
　　　　'About　seventy。　And　twice　that　number　on　the　way　from　Kineo；　they'll　be　here　around　nine；　if　the　weather　doesn't　get　any　worse。'　It　was　supposed　to；　but　not　until　after　midnight。
　　　　Kurtz　was　nodding。　'Uh…huh。　Plus　I'm　going　to　say　fifty　more　from　up　north；　seventy　or　so　from　St　Cap's　and　those　little　places　down　south　。　。　。　and　our　guys。　Don't　forget　them。　The　masks　seem　to　work；　but　we've　already　picked　up　four　cases　of　Ripley　in　the　medical　debriefings。　The　men；　of　course；　don't　know。'
　　　　'Don't　they？'
　　　　'Let　me　rephrase　that；'　Kurtz　said。　'Based　on　their　behavior；　I　have　no　reason　to　believe　the　men　know。　All　right？'
　　　　Owen　shrugged。
　　　　'The　story；'　Kurtz　resumed；　'will　be　that　the　detainees　are　being　flown　to　a　top…secret　medical　installation；　a　kind　of　Area　51；　where　they　will　undergo　further　examination；　and；　if　necessary；　long…term　treatment。　There　will　never　be　another　official　statement　concerning　them　…　not　if　all　goes　according　to　plan　…　but　there　will　be　time…release　leaks　over　the　next　two　years：　encroaching　infection　despite　best　medical　efforts　to　stop　it　。　。　。　madness　。　。　。　grotesque　physical　changes　better　left　undescr