danbrown.deceptionpoint-第50部分

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　〃For　years　I　have　suspected　proof　was　forthing；〃　the　old　man　said。　〃I　did　not　know　how　or　when；　but　sooner　or　later　we　had　to　know　for　sure。〃
　Sexton　was　stunned。　〃You're　not　surprised？〃
　〃The　mathematics　of　the　cosmos　virtually　requires　other　life…forms；〃　the　man　said；　moving　toward　Sexton's　den。　〃I　am　not　surprised　that　this　discovery　has　been　made。　Intellectually；　I　am　thrilled。　Spiritually；　I　am　in　awe。　Politically；　I　am　deeply　disturbed。　The　timing　could　not　be　worse。〃
　Sexton　wondered　why　the　man　had　e。　It　sure　as　hell　wasn't　to　cheer　him　up。
　〃As　you　know；〃　the　man　said；　〃SFF　member　panies　have　spent　millions　trying　to　open　the　frontier　of　space　to　private　citizens。　Recently；　much　of　that　money　has　gone　to　your　campaign。〃
　Sexton　felt　suddenly　defensive。　〃I　had　no　control　over　tonight's　fiasco。　The　White　House　baited　me　to　attack　NASA！〃
　〃Yes。　The　President　played　the　game　well。　And　yet；　all　may　not　be　lost。〃　There　was　an　odd　glint　of　hope　in　the　old　man's　eyes。
　He's　senile；　Sexton　decided。　All　was　definitely　lost。　Every　station　on　television　right　now　was　talking　about　the　destruction　of　the　Sexton　campaign。
　The　old　man　showed　himself　into　the　den；　sat　on　the　couch；　and　fixed　his　tired　eyes　on　the　senator。　〃Do　you　recall；〃　the　man　said；　〃the　problems　NASA　initially　had　with　the　anomaly　software　onboard　the　PODS　satellite？〃
　Sexton　could　not　imagine　where　this　was　headed。　What　the　hell　difference　does　that　make　now？　PODS　found　a　goddamned　meteorite　with　fossils！
　〃If　you　remember；〃　the　man　said。　〃The　onboard　software　did　not　function　properly　at　first。　You　made　a　big　deal　of　it　in　the　press。〃
　〃As　I　should　have！〃　Sexton　said；　sitting　down　opposite　the　man。　〃It　was　another　NASA　failure！〃
　The　man　nodded。　〃I　agree。　But　shortly　after　that；　NASA　held　a　press　conference　announcing　they　had　e　up　with　a　work…around…some　sort　of　patch　for　the　software。〃
　Sexton　hadn't　actually　seen　the　press　conference；　but　he'd　heard　it　was　short；　flat；　and　hardly　newsworthy…the　PODS　project　leader　giving　a　dull　technical　description　of　how　NASA　had　overe　a　minor　glitch　in　PODS's　anomaly…detection　software　and　gotten　everything　up　and　running。
　〃I　have　been　watching　PODS　with　interest　ever　since　it　failed；〃　the　man　said。　He　produced　a　videocassette　and　walked　to　Sexton's　television；　putting　the　video　in　the　VCR。　〃This　should　interest　you。〃
　The　video　began　to　play。　It　showed　the　NASA　press　room　at　headquarters　in　Washington。　A　well…dressed　man　was　taking　the　podium　and　greeting　the　audience。　The　subtitle　beneath　the　podium　read：
　CHRIS　HARPER；　Section　Manager
Polar　Orbiting　Density　Scanner　Satellite　（PODS）
　Chris　Harper　was　tall；　refined；　and　spoke　with　the　quiet　dignity　of　a　European　American　who　still　clung　proudly　to　his　roots。　His　accent　was　erudite　and　polished。　He　was　addressing　the　press　with　confidence；　giving　them　some　bad　news　about　PODS。
　〃Although　the　PODS　satellite　is　in　orbit　and　functioning　well；　we　have　a　minor　setback　with　the　onboard　puters。　A　minor　programming　error　for　which　I　take　full　responsibility。　Specifically；　the　FIR　filter　has　a　faulty　voxel　index；　which　means　the　PODS's　anomaly…detection　software　is　not　functioning　properly。　We're　working　on　a　fix。〃
　The　crowd　sighed；　apparently　accustomed　to　NASA　letdowns。　〃What　does　that　mean　for　the　current　effectiveness　of　the　satellite？〃　someone　asked。
　Harper　took　it　like　a　pro。　Confident　and　matter…of…fact。　〃Imagine　a　perfect　set　of　eyes　without　a　functioning　brain。　Essentially　the　PODS　satellite　is　seeing　twenty…twenty；　but　it　has　no　idea　what　it's　looking　at。　The　purpose　of　the　PODS　mission　is　to　look　for　melt　pockets　in　the　polar　ice　cap；　but　without　the　puter　to　analyze　the　density　data　PODS　receives　from　its　scanners；　PODS　cannot　discern　where　the　points　of　interest　are。　We　should　have　the　situation　remedied　after　the　next　shuttle　mission　can　make　an　adjustment　to　the　onboard　puter。〃
　A　groan　of　disappointment　rose　in　the　room。
　The　old　man　glanced　over　at　Sexton。　〃He　presents　bad　news　pretty　well；　doesn't　he？〃
　〃He's　from　NASA；〃　Sexton　grumbled。　〃That's　what　they　do。〃
　The　VCR　tape　went　blank　for　an　instant　and　then　switched　to　another　NASA　press　conference。
　〃This　second　press　conference；〃　the　old　man　said　to　Sexton；　〃was　given　only　a　few　weeks　ago。　Quite　late　at　night。　Few　people　saw　it。　This　time　Dr。　Harper　is　announcing　good　news。〃
　The　footage　launched。　This　time　Chris　Harper　looked　disheveled　and　uneasy。　〃I　am　pleased　to　announce；〃　Harper　said；　sounding　anything　but　pleased；　〃that　NASA　has　found　a　work…around　for　the　PODS　satellite's　software　problem。〃　He　fumbled　through　an　explanation　of　the　work…around…something　about　redirecting　the　raw　data　from　PODS　and　sending　it　through　puters　here　on　earth　rather　than　relying　on　the　onboard　PODS　puter。　Everyone　seemed　impressed。　It　all　sounded　quite　feasible　and　exciting。　When　Harper　was　done；　the　room　gave　him　an　enthusiastic　round　of　applause。
　〃So　we　can　expect　data　soon？〃　someone　in　the　audience　asked。
　Harper　nodded；　sweating。　〃A　couple　of　weeks。〃
　More　applause。　Hands　shot　up　around　the　room。
　〃That's　all　I　have　for　you　now；〃　Harper　said；　looking　ill　as　he　packed　up　his　papers。　〃PODS　is　up　and　running。　We'll　have　data　soon。〃　He　practically　ran　off　the　stage。
　Sexton　scowled。　He　had　to　admit；　this　was　odd。　Why　did　Chris　Harper　look　so　fortable　giving　bad　news　and　so　unfortable　giving　good　news？　It　should　have　been　in　reverse。　Sexton　hadn't　actually　seen　this　press　conference　when　it　aired；　although　he'd　read　about　the　software　fix。　The　fix；　at　the　time；　seemed　an　inconsequential　NASA　salvage；　the　public　perception　remained　unimpressed…PODS　was　just　another　NASA　project　that　had　malfunctioned　and　was　being　awkwardly　patched　together　with　a　less　than　ideal　solution。
　The　old　man　turned　off　the　television。　〃NASA　claimed　Dr。　Harper　was　not　feeling　well　that　night。〃　He　paused。　〃I　happen　to　think　Harper　was　lying。〃
　Lying？　Sexton　stared；　his　fuzzy　thoughts　unable　to　piece　together　any　logical　rationale　for　why　Harper　would　have　lied　about　the　software。　Still；　Sexton　had　told　enough　lies　in　his　life　to　recognize　a　poor　liar　when　he　saw　one。　He　had　to　admit；　Dr。　Harper　sure　looked　suspicious。
　〃Perhaps　you　don't　realize？〃　the　old　man　said。　〃This　little　announcement　you　just　heard　Chris　Harper　give　is　the　single　most　important　press　conference　in　NASA　history。〃　He　paused。　〃That　convenient　software　fix　he　just　described　is　what　allowed　PODS　to　find　the　meteorite。〃
　Sexton　puzzled。　And　you　think　he　was　lying　about　it？　〃But；　if　Harper　was　lying；　and　the　PODS　software　isn't　really　working；　then　how　the　hell　did　NASA　find　the　meteorite？〃
　The　old　man　smiled。　〃Exactly。〃
　
　　
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　The　U。S。　military's　fleet　of　〃repo〃　aircraft　repossessed　during　drug…trade　arrests　consisted　of　over　a　dozen　private　jets；　including　three　reconditioned　G4s　used　for　transporting　military　VIPs。　A　half　hour　ago；　one　of　those　G4s　had　lifted　off　the　Thule　runway；　fought　its　way　above　the　storm；　and　was　now　pounding　southward　into　the　Canadian　night　en　route　to　Washington。　Onboard；　Rachel　Sexton；　Michael　Tolland；　and　Corky　Marlinson　had　the　eight…seat　cabin　to　themselves；　looking　like　some　kind　of　disheveled　sports　team　in　their　matching　blue　U。S。S。　Charlotte　jumpsuits　and　caps。
　Despite　the　roar　of　the　Grumman　engines；　Corky　Marlinson　was　asleep　in　the　rear。　Tolland　sat　near　the　front；　looking　exhausted　as　he　gazed　out　the　window　at　the　sea。　Rachel　was　beside　him；　knowing　she　could　not　sleep　even　if　she'd　been　sedated。　Her　mind　churned　through　the　mystery　of　the　meteorite；　and；　most　recently；　the　dead　room　conversation　with　Pickering。　Before　signing　off；　Pickering　had　given　Rachel　two　additional　pieces　of　disturbing　information。
　First；　Marjorie　Tench　claimed　to　possess　a　video　recording　of　Rachel's　private　deposition　to　the　White　House　staff。　Tench　was　now　threatening　to　use　the　video　as　evidence　if　Rachel　tried　to　go　back　on　her　confirmation　of　the　meteorite　data。　The　news　was　particularly　unsettling　because　Rachel　had　specifically　told　Zach　Herney　that　her　remarks　to　the　staff　were　for　in…house　use　only。　Apparently　Zach　Herney　had　ignored　that　request。
　The　second　bit　of　troubling　news　dealt　with　a　CNN　debate　her　father　had　attended　earlier　in　the　afternoon。　Apparently；　Marjorie　Tench　had　made　a　rare　appearance　and　deftly　baited　Rachel's　father　into　crystallizing　his　position　against　NASA。　More　specifically；　Tench　had　cajoled　him　into　crudely　proclaiming　his　skepticism　that　extraterrestrial　life　would　ever　be　found。
　Eat　his　hat？　That's　what　Pickering　said　her　father　had　offered　to　do　if　NASA　ever　found　extraterrestrial　life。　Rachel　wondered　how　Tench　had　managed　to　coax　out　that　propitious　little　sound　bite。　Clearly；　the　White　House　had　been　setting　the　stage　carefully…ruthlessly　lining　up　all　the　dominoes；　preparing　for　the　big　Sexton　collapse。　The　President　and　Marjorie　Tench；　like　some　sort　of　political　tag　team　wrestling　duo；　had　maneuvered　for　the　kill。　While　the　President　remained　dignified　outside　the　ring；　Tench　had　moved　in；　circling；　cunningly　lining　up　the　senator　for　the　presidential　body　slam。
　The　President　had　told　Rachel　he'd　asked　NASA　to　delay　announcing　the　discovery　in　order　to　provide　time　to　confirm　the　accuracy　of　the　data。　Rachel　now　realized　there　were　other　advantages　to　waiting。　The　extra　time　had　given　the　White　House　time　to　dole　out　the　rope　with　which　the　senator　would　hang　himself。
　Rachel　felt　no　sympathy　for　her　father；　and　yet　she　now　realized　that　beneath　the　warm　and　fuzzy　exterior　of　President　Zach　Herney；　a　shrewd　shark　lurked。　You　did　not　bee　the　most　powerful　man　in　the　world　without　a　killer　instinct。　The　question　now　was　whether　this　shark　was　an　innocent　bystander…or　a　player。
　Rachel　stood；　stretching　her　legs。　As　she　paced　the　aisle　of　the　plane；　she　felt　frustrated　that　the　pieces　to　this　puzzle　seemed　so　contradictory。　Pickering；　with　his　trademark　chaste　logic；　had　concluded　the　meteorite　must　be　fake。　Corky　and　Tolland；　with　scientific　assurance；　insisted　the　meteorite　was　authentic。　Rachel　only　knew　what　she　had　seen…a　charred；　fossilized　rock　being　pulled　from　the　ice。
　Now；　as　she　passed　beside　Corky；　she　gazed　down　at