mc.theandromedastrein-第26部分

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　　　〃When　does　the　post　team　leave？〃
　　　〃Half　an　hour；　Sir；　from　the　base。〃
　　　〃All　right；〃　Manchek　said。　〃I'll　be　there。〃
　
　　　He　hung　up　and　stared　at　the　phone　lazily。　He　felt　tired；　he　wished　he　could　go　to　bed。　Area　WF　was　the　designation　for　the　cordoned…off　radius　around　Piedmont；　Arizona。
　
　　　They　should　have　dropped　the　bomb；　he　thought。　They　should　have　dropped　it　two　days　ago。
　
　　　At　the　time　of　the　decision　to　delay　Directive　7…12；　Manchek　had　been　uneasy。　But　officially　he　could　not　express　an　opinion；　and　he　had　waited　in　vain　for　the　Wildfire　team；　now　located　in　the　underground　laboratory；　to　plain　to　Washington。　He　knew　Wildfire　had　been　notified；　he　had　seen　the　cable　that　went　to　all　security　units；　it　was　quite　explicit。
　
　　　Yet　for　some　reason　Wildfire　had　not　plained。　Indeed；　they　had　paid　no　attention　to　it　whatever。
　
　　　Very　odd。
　
　　　And　now　there　was　a　crash。　He　lit　his　pipe　and　sucked　on　it；　considering　the　possibilities。　Overwhelming　was　the　likelihood　that　some　green　trainee　had　daydreamed；　gone　off　his　flight　plan；　panicked；　and　lost　control　of　the　plane。　It　had　happened　before；　hundreds　of　times。　The　post　team；　a　group　of　specialists　who　went　out　to　the　site　of　the　wreckage　to　investigate　all　crashes；　usually　returned　a　verdict　of　〃Agnogenic　Systems　Failure。〃　It　was　military　doubletalk　for　crash　of　unknown　cause；　it　did　not　distinguish　between　mechanical　failure　and　pilot　failure；　but　it　was　known　that　most　systems　failures　were　pilot　failures。　A　man　could　not　afford　to　daydream　when　he　was　running　a　plex　machine　at　two　thousand　miles　an　hour。　The　proof　lay　in　the　statistics：　though　only　9　per　cent　of　flights　occurred　after　the　pilot　had　taken　a　leave　or　weekend　pass；　these　flights　accounted　for　27　per　cent　of　casualties。
　
　　　Manchek's　pipe　went　out。　He　stood；　dropping　the　newspaper；　and　went　into　the　kitchen　to　tell　his　wife　he　was　leaving。
　
　　　***
　
　　　〃This　is　movie　country；〃　somebody　said；　looking　at　the　sandstone　cliffs；　the　brilliant　reddish　hues；　against　the　deepening　blue　of　the　sky。　And　it　was　true；　many　movies　had　been　filmed　in　this　area　of　Utah。　But　Manchek　could　not　think　of　movies　now。　As　he　sat　in　the　back　of　the　limousine　moving　away　from　the　Utah　airport；　he　considered　what　he　had　been　told。
　
　　　During　the　flight　from　Vandenberg　to　southern　Utah；　the　post　team　had　heard　transcripts　of　the　flight　transmission　between　the　Phantom　and　Topeka　Central。　For　the　most　part　it　was　dull；　except　for　the　final　moments　before　the　pilot　crashed。
　
　　　The　pilot　had　said：　〃Something　is　wrong。〃
　
　　　And　then；　a　moment　later；　〃My　rubber　air　hose　is　dissolving。　It　must　be　the　vibration。　It's　just　disintegrating　to　dust。〃　
　
　　　Perhaps　ten　seconds　after　that；　a　weak；　fading　voice　said；　〃Everything　made　of　rubber　in　the　cockpit　is　dissolving。〃
　
　　　There　were　no　further　transmissions。
　
　　　Manchek　kept　hearing　that　brief　munication；　in　his　mind；　over　and　over。　　Each　time；　it　sounded　more　bizarre　and　terrifying。
　
　　　He　looked　out　the　window　at　the　cliffs。　The　sun　was　setting　now；　and　only　the　tops　of　the　cliffs　were　lighted　by　fading　reddish　sunlight；　the　valleys　lay　in　darkness。　He　looked　ahead　at　the　other　limousine；　raising　a　small　dust　cloud　as　it　carried　the　rest　of　the　team　to　the　crash　site。
　
　　　〃I　used　to　love　westerns；〃　somebody　said。　〃They　were　all　shot　out　here。　Beautiful　country。〃
　
　　　Manchek　frowned。　It　was　astonishing　to　him　how　people　could　spend　so　much　time　on　irrelevancies。　Or　perhaps　it　was　just　denial；　the　unwillingness　to　face　reality。
　
　　　The　reality　was　cold　enough：　the　Phantom　had　strayed　into　Area　WF；　going　quite　deep　for　a　matter　of　six　minutes　before　the　pilot　realized　the　error　and　pulled　north　again。　However；　once　in　WF；　the　plane　had　begun　to　lose　stability。　And　it　had　finally　crashed。
　
　　　He　said；　〃Has　Wildfire　been　informed？〃
　
　　　A　member　of　the　group；　a　psychiatrist　with　a　crew　cut　all　post　teams　had　at　least　one　psychiatrist　said；　〃You　mean　the　germ　people？〃
　
　　　〃Yes。〃
　　　〃They've　been　told；〃　somebody　else　said。　〃It　went　out　on　the　scrambler　an　hour　ago。〃　
　
　　　Then；　thought　Manchek；　there　would　certainly　be　a　reaction　from　Wildfire。　They　could　not　afford　to　ignore　this。
　
　　　Unless　they　weren't　reading　their　cables。　It　had　never　occurred　to　him　before；　but　perhaps　it　was　possible　they　weren't　reading　the　cables。　They　were　so　absorbed　in　their　work；　they　just　weren't　bothering。
　
　　　〃There's　the　wreck；〃　somebody　said。　〃Up　ahead。〃
　
　　　***
　
　　　Each　time　Manchek　saw　a　wreck；　he　was　astonished。　Somehow；　one　never　got　used　to　the　idea　of　the　sprawl；　the　mess；　the　destructive　force　of　a　large　metal　object　striking　the　earth　at　thousands　of　miles　an　hour。　He　always　expected　a　neat；　tight　little　clump　of　metal；　but　it　was　never　that　way。
　
　　　The　wreckage　of　the　Phantom　was　scattered　over　two　square　miles　of　desert。　Standing　next　to　the　charred　remnants　of　the　left　wing；　he　could　barely　see　the　others；　on　the　horizon；　near　the　right　wing。　Everywhere　he　looked；　there　were　bits　of　twisted　metal；　blackened；　paint　peeling。　He　saw　one　with　a　small　portion　of　a　sign　still　intact；　the　stenciled　letters　clear：　DO　NOT。　The　rest　was　gone。
　
　　　It　was　impossible　to　make　anything　of　the　remnants。　The　fuselage；　the　cockpit；　the　canopy　were　all　shattered　into　a　million　fragments；　and　the　fires　had　disfigured　everything。
　
　　　As　the　sun　faded；　he　found　himself　standing　near　the　remains　of　the　tail　section；　where　the　metal　still　radiated　heat　from　the　smoldering　fire。　Half…buried　in　the　sand　he　saw　a　bit　of　bone；　he　picked　it　up　and　realized　with　horror　that　it　was　human。　Long；　and　broken；　and　charred　at　one　end；　it　had　obviously　e　from　an　arm　or　a　leg。　But　it　was　oddly　clean　there　was　no　flesh　remaining；　only　smooth　bone。
　
　　　Darkness　descended；　and　the　post　team　took　out　their　flashlights；　the　half…dozen　men　moving　among；　smoking　metal；　flashing　their　yellow　beams　of　light　about。
　
　　　It　was　late　in　the　evening　when　a　biochemist　whose　name　he　did　not　know　came　up　to　talk　with　him。
　
　　　〃You　know；〃　the　biochemist　said；　〃it's　funny。　That　transcript　about　the　rubber　in　the　cockpit　dissolving。〃
　　　〃How　do　you　mean？〃
　　　〃Well；　no　rubber　was　used　in　this　airplane。　It　was　all　a　synthetic　plastic　pound。　Newly　developed　by　Ancro；　they're　quite　proud　of　it。　It's　a　polymer　that　has　some　of　the　same　characteristics　as　human　tissue。　Very　flexible；　lots　of　applications。　〃　
　
　　　Manchek　said；　〃Do　you　think　vibrations　could　have　caused　the　disintegration。〃
　
　　　〃No；〃　the　man　said。　〃There　are　thousands　of　Phantoms　flying　around　the　world。　They　all　have　this　plastic。　None　of　them　has　ever　had　this　trouble。〃
　　　〃Meaning？〃
　　　〃Meaning　that　I　don't　know　what　the　hell　is　going　on；〃　the　biochemist　said。
　
　
　　　20。　Routine
　
　　　
　　　SLOWLY；　THE　WILDFIRE　INSTALLATION　SETTLED　into　a　routine；　a　rhythm　of　work　in　the　underground　chambers　of　a　laboratory　where　there　was　no　night　or　day；　morning　or　afternoon。　The　men　slept　when　they　were　tired；　awoke　when　they　were　refreshed；　and　carried　on　their　work　in　a　number　of　different　areas。
　
　　　Most　of　this　work　was　to　lead　nowhere。　They　knew　that；　and　accepted　it　in　advance。　As　Stone　was　fond　of　saying；　scientific　research　was　much　like　prospecting：　you　went　out　and　you　hunted；　armed　with　your　maps　and　your　instruments；　but　in　the　end　your　preparations　did　not　matter；　or　even　your　intuition。　You　needed　your　luck；　and　whatever　benefits　accrued　to　the　diligent；　through　sheer；　grinding　hard　work。
　
　　　Burton　stood　in　the　room　that　housed　the　spectrometer　along　with　several　other　pieces　of　equipment　for　radioactivity　assays；　ratio…density　photometry；　thermocoupling　analysis；　and　preparation　for　X…ray　crystallography。
　
　　　The　spectrometer　employed　in　Level　V　was　the　standard　Whittington　model　K…5。　Essentially　it　consisted　of　a　vaporizer；　a　prism；　and　a　recording　screen。　The　material　to　be　tested　was　set　in　the　vaporizer　and　burned。　The　light　from　its　burning　then　passed　through　the　prism；　where　it　was　broken　down　to　a　spectrum　that　was　projected　onto　a　recording　screen。　Since　different　elements　gave　off　different　wavelengths　of　light　as　they　burned；　it　was　possible　to　analyze　the　chemical　makeup　of　a　substance　by　analyzing　the　spectrum　of　light　produced。
　
　　　In　theory　it　was　simple；　but　in　practice　the　reading　of　spectrometrograms　was　plex　and　difficult。　No　one　in　this　Wildfire　laboratory　was　trained　to　do　it　well。　Thus　results　were　fed　directly　into　a　puter；　which　performed　the　analysis。　Because　of　the　sensitivity　of　the　puter；　rough　percentage　positions　could　also　be　determined。
　
　　　Burton　placed　the　first　chip；　from　the　black　rock；　onto　the　vaporizer　and　pressed　the　button。　There　was　a　single　bright　burst　of　intensely　hot　light；　he　turned　away；　avoiding　the　brightness；　and　then　put　the　second　chip　onto　the　lamp。　Already；　he　knew；　the　puter　was　analyzing　the　light　from　the　first　chip。
　
　　　He　repeated　the　process　with　the　green　fleck；　and　then　checked　the　time。　The　puter　was　now　scanning　the　self…developing　photographic　plates；　which　were　ready　for　viewing　in　seconds。　But　the　scan　itself　would　take　two　hours　die　electric　eye　was　very　slow。
　
　　　Once　the　scan　was　pleted；　the　puter　would　analyze　results　and　print　the　data　within　five　seconds。
　
　　　The　wall　clock　told　him　it　was　now　1500　hours　three　in　the　afternoon。　He　suddenly　realized　he　was　tired。　He　punched　in　instructions　to　the　puter　to　wake　him　when　analysis　was　finished。　Then　he　went　off　to　bed。
　
　　　***
　
　　　In　another　room；　Leavitt　was　carefully　feeding　similar　chips　into　a　different　machine；　an　amino…acid　analyzer。　As　he　did　so；　he　smiled　slightly　to　himself；　for　he　could　remember　how　it　had　been　in　the　old　days；　before　AA　analysis　was　automatic。
　
　　　In　the　early　fifties；　the　analysis　of　amino　acids　in　a　protein　might　take　weeks；　or　even　months。　Sometimes　it　took　years。　Now　it　took　hours　or　at　the　very　most；　a　day　and　it　was　fully　automatic。
　
　　　Amino　acids　were　the　building　blocks　of　proteins。　There　were　twenty…four　known　amino　acids；　each　posed　of　a　half…dozen　molecules　of　carbon；　hydrogen；　oxygen；　and　nitrogen。　Proteins　were　made　by　stringing　these　amino　acids　together　in　a　line；　like　a　freight　train。　The　order　of　stringing　determined　the　nature　of　the　protein　whether　it　was　insulin；　hemoglobin；　or　growth　hormone。　All　proteins　were　posed　of　the　same　freight　cars；　the　same　units。　Some　proteins　had　more　of　one　kind　of　car　than　another；　or　in　a　different　order。　But　that　was　the　only　difference。　The　same　amino　acids；　the　same　freight　cars；　existed　in　human　proteins　and　flea　proteins。
　
　　　That　fact　had　taken　approximately　twenty　years　to　discover。
　
　　　But　what　controlled　the　order　of　amino　acids　in　the　protein？　The　answer　turned　out　to　be　DNA；　the　genetic…coding　substance；　which　acted　like　a　switching　manager　in　a　freightyard。
　
　　　That　particular　fact　had　taken　another　twenty　years　to　discover。
　
　　　But　then　once　the　amino　acids　were　strung　together；　they　began　to　twist　and　coil　upon　themselves；　the　analogy　became　closer　to　a　snake　than　a　train。　The　manner　of　coiling　was　determined　by　the　or