danbrown.deceptionpoint-第58部分

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　Rachel　nodded。　〃All　you　need　is　a　190…million…year…old　fossilized　rock。　Blast　it　in　a　slush…hydrogen…engine　exhaust　fire；　and　bury　it　in　the　ice。　Instant　meteorite。〃
　〃To　a　tourist；　maybe；〃　Corky　said；　〃but　not　to　a　NASA　scientist！　You　still　haven't　explained　the　chondrules！〃
　Rachel　tried　to　recall　Corky's　explanation　of　how　chondrules　formed。　〃You　said　chondrules　are　caused　by　rapid　heating　and　cooling　events　in　space；　right？〃
　Corky　sighed。　〃Chondrules　form　when　a　rock；　chilled　in　space；　suddenly　bees　superheated　to　a　partial…melt　stage…somewhere　near　1550　Celsius。　Then　the　rock　must　cool　again；　extremely　rapidly；　hardening　the　liquid　pockets　into　chondrules。〃
　Tolland　studied　his　friend。　〃And　this　process　can't　happen　on　earth？〃
　〃Impossible；〃　Corky　said。　〃This　planet　does　not　have　the　temperature　variance　to　cause　that　kind　of　rapid　shift。　You're　talking　here　about　nuclear　heat　and　the　absolute　zero　of　space。　Those　extremes　simply　don't　exist　on　earth。〃
　Rachel　considered　it。　〃At　least　not　naturally。〃
　Corky　turned。　〃What's　that　supposed　to　mean？〃
　〃Why　couldn't　the　heating　and　cooling　event　have　occurred　here　on　earth　artificially？〃　Rachel　asked。　〃The　rock　could　have　been　blasted　by　a　slush…hydrogen　engine　and　then　rapidly　cooled　in　a　cryogenic　freezer。〃
　Corky　stared。　〃Manufactured　chondrules？〃
　〃It's　an　idea。〃
　〃A　ridiculous　one；〃　Corky　replied；　flashing　his　meteorite　sample。　〃Perhaps　you　forget？　These　chondrules　were　irrefutably　dated　at　190　million　years。〃　His　tone　grew　patronizing。　〃To　the　best　of　my　knowledge；　Ms。　Sexton；　190　million　years　ago；　nobody　was　running　slush…hydrogen　engines　and　cryogenic　coolers。〃
　　
　Chondrules　or　not；　Tolland　thought；　the　evidence　is　piling　up。　He　had　been　silent　now　for　several　minutes；　deeply　troubled　by　Rachel's　newest　revelation　about　the　fusion　crust。　Her　hypothesis；　though　staggeringly　bold；　had　opened　all　kinds　of　new　doors　and　gotten　Tolland　thinking　in　new　directions。　If　the　fusion　crust　is　explainable。。。　what　other　possibilities　does　that　present？
　〃You're　quiet；〃　Rachel　said；　beside　him。
　Tolland　glanced　over。　For　an　instant；　in　the　muted　lighting　of　the　plane；　he　saw　a　softness　in　Rachel's　eyes　that　reminded　him　of　Celia。　Shaking　off　the　memories；　he　gave　her　a　tired　sigh。　〃Oh；　I　was　just　thinking。。。　〃
　She　smiled。　〃About　meteorites？〃
　〃What　else？〃
　〃Running　through　all　the　evidence；　trying　to　figure　out　what's　left？〃
　〃Something　like　that。〃
　〃Any　thoughts？〃
　〃Not　really。　I'm　troubled　by　how　much　of　the　data　has　collapsed　in　light　of　discovering　that　insertion　shaft　beneath　the　ice。〃
　〃Hierarchical　evidence　is　a　house　of　cards；〃　Rachel　said。　〃Pull　out　your　primary　assumption；　and　everything　gets　shaky。　The　location　of　the　meteorite　find　was　a　primary　assumption。〃
　I'll　say。　〃When　I　arrived　at　Milne；　the　administrator　told　me　the　meteorite　had　been　found　inside　a　pristine　matrix　of　three…hundred…year…old　ice　and　was　more　dense　than　any　rock　found　anywhere　in　the　area；　which　I　took　as　logical　proof　that　the　rock　had　to　fall　from　space。〃
　〃You　and　the　rest　of　us。〃
　〃The　midrange　nickel　content；　though　persuasive；　is　apparently　not　conclusive。〃
　〃It's　close；〃　Corky　said　nearby；　apparently　listening　in。
　〃But　not　exact。〃
　Corky　acquiesced　with　a　reluctant　nod。
　〃And；〃　Tolland　said；　〃this　never　before　seen　species　of　space　bug；　though　shockingly　bizarre；　in　reality　could　be　nothing　more　than　a　very　old；　deepwater　crustacean。〃
　Rachel　nodded。　〃And　now　the　fusion　crust。。。　〃
　〃I　hate　to　say　it；〃　Tolland　said；　glancing　at　Corky；　〃but　it's　starting　to　feel　like　there's　more　negative　evidence　than　positive。〃
　〃Science　is　not　about　hunches；〃　Corky　said。　〃It's　about　evidence。　The　chondrules　in　this　rock　are　decidedly　meteoric。　I　agree　with　you　both　that　everything　we've　seen　is　deeply　disturbing；　but　we　cannot　ignore　these　chondrules。　The　evidence　in　favor　is　conclusive；　while　the　evidence　against　is　circumstantial。〃
　Rachel　frowned。　〃So　where　does　that　leave　us？〃
　〃Nowhere；〃　Corky　said。　〃The　chondrules　prove　we　are　dealing　with　a　meteorite。　The　only　question　is　why　someone　stuck　it　under　the　ice。〃
　Tolland　wanted　to　believe　his　friend's　sound　logic；　but　something　just　felt　wrong。
　〃You　don't　look　convinced；　Mike；〃　Corky　said。
　Tolland　gave　his　friend　a　bewildered　sigh。　〃I　don't　know。　Two　out　of　three　wasn't　bad；　Corky。　But　we're　down　to　one　out　of　three。　I　just　feel　like　we're　missing　something。〃
　
　　
　90
　I　got　caught；　Chris　Harper　thought；　feeling　a　chill　as　he　pictured　an　American　prison　cell。　Senator　Sexton　knows　I　lied　about　the　PODS　software。
　As　the　PODS　section　manager　escorted　Gabrielle　Ashe　back　into　his　office　and　closed　the　door；　he　felt　his　hatred　of　the　NASA　administrator　grow　deeper　by　the　instant。　Tonight　Harper　had　learned　just　how　deep　the　administrator's　lies　truly　ran。　In　addition　to　forcing　Harper　to　lie　about　having　fixed　PODS's　software；　the　administrator　had　apparently　set　up　some　insurance　just　in　case　Harper　got　cold　feet　and　decided　not　to　be　a　team　player。
　Evidence　of　embezzlement；　Harper　thought。　Blackmail。　Very　sly。　After　all；　who　would　believe　an　embezzler　trying　to　discredit　the　single　greatest　moment　in　American　space　history？　Harper　had　already　witnessed　to　what　lengths　the　NASA　administrator　would　go　to　save　America's　space　agency；　and　now　with　the　announcement　of　a　meteorite　with　fossils；　the　stakes　had　skyrocketed。
　Harper　paced　for　several　seconds　around　the　widetable　on　which　sat　a　scale　model　of　the　PODS　satellite…a　cylindrical　prism　with　multiple　antennae　and　lenses　behind　reflective　shields。　Gabrielle　sat　down；　her　dark　eyes　watching；　waiting。　The　nausea　in　Harper's　gut　reminded　him　of　how　he　had　felt　during　the　infamous　press　conference。　He'd　put　on　a　lousy　show　that　night；　and　everyone　had　questioned　him　about　it。　He'd　had　to　lie　again　and　say　he　was　feeling　ill　that　night　and　was　not　himself。　His　colleagues　and　the　press　shrugged　off　his　lackluster　performance　and　quickly　forgot　about　it。
　Now　the　lie　had　e　back　to　haunt　him。
　Gabrielle　Ashe's　expression　softened。　〃Mr。　Harper；　with　the　administrator　as　an　enemy；　you　will　need　a　powerful　ally。　Senator　Sexton　could　well　be　your　only　friend　at　this　point。　Let's　start　with　the　PODS　software　lie。　Tell　me　what　happened。〃
　Harper　sighed。　He　knew　it　was　time　to　tell　the　truth。　I　bloody　well　should　have　told　the　truth　in　the　first　place！　〃The　PODS　launch　went　smoothly；〃　he　began。　〃The　satellite　settled　into　a　perfect　polar　orbit　just　as　planned。〃
　Gabrielle　Ashe　looked　bored。　She　apparently　knew　all　this。　〃Go　on。〃
　〃Then　came　the　trouble。　When　we　geared　up　to　start　searching　the　ice　for　density　anomalies；　the　onboard　anomaly…detection　software　failed。〃
　〃Uh。。。　huh。〃
　Harper's　words　came　faster　now。　〃The　software　was　supposed　to　be　able　to　rapidly　examine　thousands　of　acres　of　data　and　find　parts　of　the　ice　that　fell　outside　the　range　of　normal　ice　density。　Primarily　the　software　was　looking　for　soft　spots　in　the　ice…global　warming　indicators…but　if　it　stumbled　across　other　density　incongruities；　it　was　programmed　to　flag　those　as　well。　The　plan　was　for　PODS　to　scan　the　Arctic　Circle　over　several　weeks　and　identify　any　anomalies　that　we　could　use　to　measure　global　warming。〃
　〃But　without　functioning　software；〃　Gabrielle　said；　〃PODS　was　no　good。　NASA　would　have　had　to　examine　images　of　every　square　inch　of　the　Arctic　by　hand；　looking　for　trouble　spots。〃
　Harper　nodded；　reliving　the　nightmare　of　his　programming　gaffe。　〃It　would　take　decades。　The　situation　was　terrible。　Because　of　a　flaw　in　my　programming；　PODS　was　essentially　worthless。　With　the　election　ing　up　and　Senator　Sexton　being　so　critical　of　NASA。。。　〃　He　sighed。
　〃Your　mistake　was　devastating　to　NASA　and　the　President。〃
　〃It　couldn't　have　e　at　a　worse　time。　The　administrator　was　livid。　I　promised　him　I　could　fix　the　problem　during　the　next　shuttle　mission…a　simple　matter　of　swapping　out　the　chip　that　held　the　PODS　software　system。　But　it　was　too　little　too　late。　He　sent　me　home　on　leave…but　essentially　I　was　fired。　That　was　a　month　ago。〃
　〃And　yet　you　were　back　on　television　two　weeks　ago　announcing　you'd　found　a　work…around。〃
　Harper　slumped。　〃A　terrible　mistake。　That　was　the　day　I　got　a　desperate　call　from　the　administrator。　He　told　me　something　had　e　up；　a　possible　way　to　redeem　myself。　I　came　into　the　office　immediately　and　met　with　him。　He　asked　me　to　hold　a　press　conference　and　tell　everyone　I'd　found　a　work…around　for　the　PODS　software　and　that　we　would　have　data　in　a　few　weeks。　He　said　he'd　explain　it　to　me　later。〃
　〃And　you　agreed。〃
　〃No；　I　refused！　But　an　hour　later；　the　administrator　was　back　in　my　office…with　the　White　House　senior　adviser！〃
　〃What！〃　Gabrielle　looked　astounded　by　this。　〃Marjorie　Tench？〃
　An　awful　creature；　Harper　thought；　nodding。　〃She　and　the　administrator　sat　me　down　and　told　me　my　mistake　had　quite　literally　put　NASA　and　the　President　on　the　brink　of　total　collapse。　Ms。　Tench　told　me　about　the　senator's　plans　to　privatize　NASA。　She　told　me　I　owed　it　to　the　President　and　space　agency　to　make　it　all　right。　Then　she　told　me　how。〃
　Gabrielle　leaned　forward。　〃Go　on。〃
　〃Marjorie　Tench　informed　me　that　the　White　House；　by　sheer　good　fortune；　had　intercepted　strong　geologic　evidence　that　an　enormous　meteorite　was　buried　in　the　Milne　Ice　Shelf。　One　of　the　biggest　ever。　A　meteorite　of　that　size　would　be　a　major　find　for　NASA。〃
　Gabrielle　looked　stunned。　〃Hold　on；　so　you're　saying　someone　already　knew　the　meteorite　was　there　before　PODS　discovered　it？〃
　〃Yes。　PODS　had　nothing　to　do　with　the　discovery。　The　administrator　knew　the　meteorite　existed。　He　simply　gave　me　the　coordinates　and　told　me　to　reposition　PODS　over　the　ice　shelf　and　pretend　PODS　made　the　discovery。〃
　〃You're　kidding　me。〃
　〃That　was　my　reaction　when　they　asked　me　to　participate　in　the　sham。　They　refused　to　tell　me　how　they'd　found　out　the　meteorite　was　there；　but　Ms。　Tench　insisted　it　didn't　matter　and　that　this　was　the　ideal　opportunity　to　salvage　my　PODS　fiasco。　If　I　could　pretend　the　PODS　satellite　located　the　meteorite；　then　NASA　could　praise　PODS　as　a　much　needed　success　and　boost　the　President　before　the　election。〃
　Gabrielle　was　a