danbrown.deceptionpoint-第53部分

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y。
　〃Directory　assistance；〃　the　voice　on　the　phone　said。
　Gabrielle　told　them　what　she　needed。　The　operator　came　back　with　three　listings　for　a　Chris　Harper　in　Washington。　Gabrielle　tried　them　all。
　The　first　number　was　a　law　firm。　The　second　had　no　answer。　The　third　was　now　ringing。
　A　woman　answered　on　the　first　ring。　〃Harper　residence。〃
　〃Mrs。　Harper？〃　Gabrielle　said　as　politely　as　possible。　〃I　hope　I　haven't　woken　you？〃
　〃Heavens　no！　I　don't　think　anyone's　asleep　tonight。〃　She　sounded　excited。　Gabrielle　could　hear　the　television　in　the　background。　Meteorite　coverage。　〃You're　calling　for　Chris；　I　assume？〃
　Gabrielle's　pulse　quickened。　〃Yes；　ma'am。〃
　〃I'm　afraid　Chris　isn't　here。　He　raced　off　to　work　as　soon　as　the　President's　address　was　over。〃　The　woman　chuckled　to　herself。　〃Of　course；　I　doubt　there's　any　work　going　on。　Most　likely　a　party。　The　announcement　came　as　quite　a　surprise　to　him；　you　know。　To　everyone。　Our　phone's　been　ringing　all　night。　I　bet　the　whole　NASA　crew's　over　there　by　now。〃
　〃E　Street　plex？〃　Gabrielle　asked；　assuming　the　woman　meant　NASA　headquarters。
　〃Righto。　Take　a　party　hat。〃
　〃Thanks。　I'll　track　him　down　over　there。〃
　Gabrielle　hung　up。　She　hurried　out　onto　the　production　room　floor　and　found　Yolanda；　who　was　just　finishing　prepping　a　group　of　space　experts　who　were　about　to　give　enthusiastic　mentary　on　the　meteorite。
　Yolanda　smiled　when　she　saw　Gabrielle　ing。　〃You　look　better；〃　she　said。　〃Starting　to　see　the　silver　lining　here？〃
　〃I　just　talked　to　the　senator。　His　meeting　tonight　wasn't　what　I　thought。〃
　〃I　told　you　Tench　was　playing　you。　How's　the　senator　taking　the　meteorite　news？〃
　〃Better　than　expected。〃
　Yolanda　looked　surprised。　〃I　figured　he'd　jumped　in　front　of　a　bus　by　now。〃
　〃He　thinks　there　may　be　a　snag　in　the　NASA　data。〃
　Yolanda　let　out　a　dubious　snort。　〃Did　he　see　the　same　press　conference　I　just　saw？　How　much　more　confirmation　and　reconfirmation　can　anyone　need？〃
　〃I'm　going　over　to　NASA　to　check　on　something。〃
　Yolanda's　penciled　eyebrows　raised　in　cautionary　arches。　〃Senator　Sexton's　right…hand　aide　is　going　to　march　into　NASA　headquarters？　Tonight？　Can　you　say　'public　stoning'？〃
　Gabrielle　told　Yolanda　about　Sexton's　suspicion　that　the　PODS　section　manager　Chris　Harper　had　lied　about　fixing　the　anomaly　software。
　Yolanda　clearly　wasn't　buying　it。　〃We　covered　that　press　conference；　Gabs；　and　I'll　admit；　Harper　was　not　himself　that　night；　but　NASA　said　he　was　sick　as　a　dog。〃
　〃Senator　Sexton　is　convinced　he　lied。　Others　are　convinced　too。　Powerful　people。〃
　〃If　the　PODS　anomaly…detection　software　wasn't　fixed；　how　did　PODS　spot　the　meteorite？〃
　Sexton's　point　exactly；　Gabrielle　thought。　〃I　don't　know。　But　the　senator　wants　me　to　get　him　some　answers。〃
　Yolanda　shook　her　head。　〃Sexton　is　sending　you　into　a　hornet's　nest　on　a　desperate　pipe　dream。　Don't　go。　You　don't　owe　him　a　thing。〃
　〃I　totally　screwed　up　his　campaign。〃
　〃Rotten　luck　screwed　up　his　campaign。〃
　〃But　if　the　senator　is　right　and　the　PODS　section　manager　actually　lied…〃
　〃Honey；　if　the　PODS　section　manager　lied　to　the　world；　what　makes　you　think　he'll　tell　you　the　truth。〃
　Gabrielle　had　considered　that　and　was　already　formulating　her　plan。　〃If　I　find　a　story　over　there；　I'll　call　you。〃
　Yolanda　gave　a　skeptical　laugh。　〃If　you　find　a　story　over　there；　I'll　eat　my　hat。〃
　
　　
　82
　Erase　everything　you　know　about　this　rock　sample。
　Michael　Tolland　had　been　struggling　with　his　own　disquieting　ruminations　about　the　meteorite；　but　now；　with　Rachel's　probing　questions；　he　was　feeling　an　added　unease　over　the　issue。　He　looked　down　at　the　rock　slice　in　his　hand。
　Pretend　someone　handed　it　to　you　with　no　explanation　of　where　it　was　found　or　what　it　is。　What　would　your　analysis　be？
　Rachel's　question；　Tolland　knew；　was　loaded；　and　yet　as　an　analytical　exercise；　it　proved　powerful。　By　discarding　all　the　data　he　had　been　given　on　his　arrival　at　the　habisphere；　Tolland　had　to　admit　that　his　analysis　of　the　fossils　was　profoundly　biased　by　a　singular　premise…that　the　rock　in　which　the　fossils　were　found　was　a　meteorite。
　What　if　I　had　NOT　been　told　about　the　meteorite？　he　asked　himself。　Although　still　unable　to　fathom　any　other　explanation；　Tolland　allowed　himself　the　leeway　of　hypothetically　removing　〃the　meteorite〃　as　a　pre…supposition；　and　when　he　did；　the　results　were　somewhat　unsettling。　Now　Tolland　and　Rachel；　joined　by　a　groggy　Corky　Marlinson；　were　discussing　the　ideas。
　〃So；〃　Rachel　repeated；　her　voice　intense；　〃Mike；　you're　saying　that　if　someone　handed　you　this　fossilized　rock　with　no　explanation　whatsoever；　you　would　have　to　conclude　it　was　from　earth。〃
　〃Of　course；〃　Tolland　replied。　〃What　else　could　I　conclude？　It's　a　far　greater　leap　to　assert　you've　found　extraterrestrial　life　than　it　is　to　assert　you've　found　a　fossil　of　some　previously　undiscovered　terrestrial　species。　Scientists　discover　dozens　of　new　species　every　year。〃
　〃Two…foot…long　lice？〃　Corky　demanded；　sounding　incredulous。　〃You　would　assume　a　bug　that　big　is　from　earth？〃
　〃Not　now；　maybe；〃　Tolland　replied；　〃but　the　species　doesn't　necessarily　have　to　be　currently　living。　It's　a　fossil。　It's　170　million　years　old。　About　the　same　age　as　our　Jurassic。　A　lot　of　prehistoric　fossils　are　oversized　creatures　that　look　shocking　when　we　discover　their　fossilized　remains…enormous　winged　reptiles；　dinosaurs；　birds。〃
　〃Not　to　be　the　physicist　here；　Mike；〃　Corky　said；　〃but　there's　a　serious　flaw　in　your　argument。　The　prehistoric　creatures　you　just　named…dinosaurs；　reptiles；　birds…they　all　have　internal　skeletons；　which　gives　them　the　capability　to　grow　to　large　sizes　despite　the　earth's　gravity。　But　this　fossil。。。　〃　He　took　the　sample　and　held　it　up。　〃These　guys　have　exo　skeletons。　They're　arthropods。　Bugs。　You　yourself　said　that　any　bug　this　big　could　only　have　evolved　in　a　low…gravity　environment。　Otherwise　its　outer　skeleton　would　have　collapsed　under　its　own　weight。〃
　〃Correct；〃　Tolland　said。　〃This　species　would　have　collapsed　under　its　own　weight　if　it　walked　around　on　earth。〃
　Corky's　brow　furrowed　with　annoyance。　〃Well；　Mike；　unless　some　caveman　was　running　an　antigravity　louse　farm；　I　don't　see　how　you　could　possibly　conclude　a　two…foot…long　bug　is　earthly　in　origin。〃
　Tolland　smiled　inwardly　to　think　Corky　was　missing　such　a　simple　point。　〃Actually；　there　is　another　possibility。〃　He　focused　closely　on　his　friend。　〃Corky；　you're　used　to　looking　up。　Look　down。　There's　an　abundant　antigravity　environment　right　here　on　earth。　And　it's　been　here　since　prehistoric　times。〃
　Corky　stared。　〃What　the　hell　are　you　talking　about？〃
　Rachel　also　looked　surprised。
　Tolland　pointed　out　the　window　at　the　moonlit　sea　glistening　beneath　the　plane。　〃The　ocean。〃
　Rachel　let　out　a　low　whistle。　〃Of　course。〃
　〃Water　is　a　low…gravity　environment；〃　Tolland　explained。　〃Everything　weighs　less　underwater。　The　ocean　supports　enormous　fragile　structures　that　could　never　exist　on　land…jellyfish；　giant　squid；　ribbon　eels。〃
　Corky　acquiesced；　but　only　slightly。　〃Fine；　but　the　prehistoric　ocean　never　had　giant　bugs。〃
　〃Sure；　it　did。　And　it　still　does；　in　fact。　People　eat　them　everyday。　They're　a　delicacy　in　most　countries。〃
　〃Mike；　who　the　hell　eats　giant　sea　bugs！〃
　〃Anyone　who　eats　lobsters；　crabs；　and　shrimp。〃
　Corky　stared。
　〃Crustaceans　are　essentially　giant　sea　bugs；〃　Tolland　explained。　〃They're　a　suborder　of　the　phylum　Arthropoda…lice；　crabs；　spiders；　insects；　grasshoppers；　scorpions；　lobsters…they're　all　related。　They're　all　species　with　jointed　appendages　and　external　skeletons。〃
　Corky　suddenly　looked　ill。
　〃From　a　classification　standpoint；　they　look　a　lot　like　bugs；〃　Tolland　explained。　〃Horseshoe　crabs　resemble　giant　trilobites。　And　the　claws　of　a　lobster　resemble　those　of　a　large　scorpion。〃
　Corky　turned　green。　〃Okay；　I've　eaten　my　last　lobster　roll。〃
　Rachel　looked　fascinated。　〃So　arthropods　on　land　stay　small　because　the　gravity　selects　naturally　for　smallness。　But　in　the　water；　their　bodies　are　buoyed　up；　so　they　can　grow　very　large。〃
　〃Exactly；〃　Tolland　said。　〃An　Alaskan　king　crab　could　be　wrongly　classified　as　a　giant　spider　if　we　had　limited　fossil　evidence。〃
　Rachel's　excitement　seemed　to　fade　now　to　concern。　〃Mike；　again　barring　the　issue　of　the　meteorite's　apparent　authenticity；　tell　me　this：　Do　you　think　the　fossils　we　saw　at　Milne　could　possibly　have　e　from　the　ocean？　Earth's　ocean？〃
　Tolland　felt　the　directness　of　her　gaze　and　sensed　the　true　weight　of　her　question。　〃Hypothetically；　I　would　have　to　say　yes。　The　ocean　floor　has　sections　that　are　190　million　years　old。　The　same　age　as　the　fossils。　And　theoretically　the　oceans　could　have　sustained　life…forms　that　looked　like　this。〃
　〃Oh　please！〃　Corky　scoffed。　〃I　can't　believe　what　I'm　hearing　here。　Barring　the　issue　of　the　meteorite's　authenticity？　The　meteorite　is　irrefutable。　Even　if　earth　has　ocean　floor　the　same　age　as　that　meteorite；　we　sure　as　hell　don't　have　ocean　floor　that　has　fusion　crust；　anomalous　nickel　content；　and　chondrules。　You're　grasping　at　straws。〃
　Tolland　knew　Corky　was　right；　and　yet　imagining　the　fossils　as　sea　creatures　had　robbed　Tolland　of　some　of　his　awe　over　them。　They　seemed　somehow　more　familiar　now。
　〃Mike；〃　Rachel　said；　〃why　didn't　any　of　the　NASA　scientists　consider　that　these　fossils　might　be　ocean　creatures？　Even　from　an　ocean　on　another　planet？〃
　〃Two　reasons；　really。　Pelagic　fossil　samples…those　from　the　ocean　floor…tend　to　exhibit　a　plethora　of　intermingled　species。　Anything　living　in　the　millions　of　cubic　feet　of　life　above　the　ocean　floor　will　eventually　die　and　sink　to　the　bottom。　This　means　the　ocean　floor　bees　a　graveyard　for　species　from　every　depth；　pressure；　and　temperature　environment。　But　the　sample　at　Milne　was　clean…a　single　species。　It　looked　more　like　something　we　might　find　in　the　desert。　A　brood　of　similar　animals　getting　buried　in　a　sandstorm；　for　example。〃
　Rachel　nodded。　〃And　the　second　reason　you　guessed　land　rather　than　sea？〃
　Tolland　shrugged。　〃Gut　instinct。　Scientists　have　always　believed　space；　if　it　were　populated；　would　be　populated　by　insects。　And　from　what　we've　observed　of　space；　there's　a　lot　more　dirt　and　rock　out　there　than