michael crichton.congo-第4部分

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　Since　their　teams　were　often　in　hazardous　or　politically　unstable　regions；　they　were　vigilant　in　watching　for　the　first　signs　of　〃interference　signatures。〃　（In　remote…sensing　terminology；　a　〃signature〃　is　the　characteristic　appearance　of　an　object　or　geological　feature　in　a　photograph　or　video　image。）　Most　interference　signatures　were　political。　In　1977；　ERTS　had　airlifted　a　team　out　of　Borneo　during　a　local　munist　uprising；　and　again　from　Nigeria　in　1978　during　a　military　coup。　Occasionally　the　signatures　were　geological；　they　had　pulled　a　team　from　Guatemala　in　1976　after　the　earthquake　there。
　In　the　opinion　of　R。　B。　Travis；　called　out　of　bed　in　the　late　hours　of　June　13；　1979；　the　videotapes　from　the　Congo　were　〃the　worst　interference　signature　ever；〃　but　the　problem　remained　mysterious。　All　they　knew　was　that　the　camp　had　been　destroyed　in　a　mere　six　minutes…the　time　between　the　signal　initiation　from　Houston　and　the　reception　in　the　Congo。　The　rapidity　was　frightening；　Travis's　first　instruction　to　his　team　was　to　figure　out　〃what　the　hell　happened　out　there。〃
　A　heavyset　man　of　forty…eight；　Travis　was　accustomed　to　crises。　By　training　he　was　an　engineer　with　a　background　in　satellite　construction　for　RCA　and　later　Rockwell；　in　his　thirties　he　had　shifted　to　management；　being　what　aerospace　engineers　called　a　〃rain　dancer。〃　panies　manufacturing　satellites　contracted　eighteen　to　twenty…four　months　in　advance　for　a　launch　rocket　to　put　the　satellite　in　orbit…and　then　hoped　that　the　satellite；　with　its　half…million　working　parts；　would　be　ready　on　the　assigned　day。　If　it　was　not；　the　only　alternative　was　to　pray　for　bad　weather　delaying　the　launch；　to　dance　for　rain。
　Travis　had　managed　to　keep　a　sense　of　humor　after　a　decade　of　high…tech　problems；　his　management　philosophy　was　summarized　by　a　large　sign　mounted　behind　his　desk；　which　read　〃S。D。T。A。G。W。〃　It　stood　for　〃Some　Damn　Thing　Always　Goes　Wrong。〃
　But　Travis　was　not　amused　on　the　night　of　June　13。　His　entire　expedition　had　been　lost；　all　the　ERTS　party　killed…　eight　of　his　people；　and　however　many　local　porters　were　with　them。　The　worst　disaster　in　ERTS　history；　worse　even　than　Nigeria　in　'78。　Travis　felt　fatigued；　mentally　drained；　as　he　thought　of　all　the　phone　calls　ahead　of　him。　Not　the　calls　he　would　make；　but　those　he　would　receive。　Would　so…and…so　be　back　in　time　for　a　daughter's　graduation；　a　son's　Little　League　playoff？　Those　calls　would　be　routed　to　Travis；　and　he　would　have　to　listen　to　the　bright　expectation　in　the　voices；　the　hopefulness；　and　his　own　careful　answers…he　wasn't　sure；　he　understood　the　problem；　he　would　do　his　best；　of　course；　of　course。　。　。　。　The　ing　deception　exhausted　him　in　advance。
　Because　Travis　couldn't　tell　anyone　what　had　happened　for　at　least　two　weeks；　perhaps　a　month。　And　then　he　would　be　making　phone　calls　himself；　and　visits　to　the　homes；　and　attending　the　memorial　services　where　there　would　be　no　casket；　a　deadly　blank　space；　a　gap；　and　the　inevitable　questions　from　families　and　relatives　that　he　couldn't　answer　while　they　scrutinized　his　face；　looking　for　the　least　muscle　twitch；　or　hesitation；　or　sign。
　What　could　he　tell　them？
　That　was　his　only　consolation…perhaps　in　a　few　weeks；　Travis　could　tell　them　more。　One　thing　was　certain：　if　he　were　to　make　the　dreadful　calls　tonight；　he　could　tell　the
　families　nothing　at　all；　for　ERTS　had　no　idea　what　had　gone　wrong。　That　fact　added　to　Travis's　sense　of　exhaustion。　And　there　were　details：　Morris；　the　insurance　auditor；　came　in　and　said；　〃What　do　you　want　to　do　about　the　terms？〃　ERTS　took　Out　term　life　insurance　policies　for　every　expedition　member；　and　also　for　local　porters。　African　porters　received　U。S。　15；000　each　in　insurance；　which　seemed　trivial　until　one　recognized　that　African　per　capita　ine　averaged　U。S。　180　per　year。　But　Travis　had　always　argued　that　local　expedition　people　should　share　risk　benefits…even　if　it　meant　paying　widowed　families　a　small　fortune；　in　their　terms。　Even　if　it　cost　ERTS　a　small　fortune　for　the　insurance。
　〃Hold　them；〃　Travis　said。
　〃Those　policies　are　costing　us　per　day…〃
　〃Hold　them；〃　Travis　said。
　〃For　how　long？〃
　〃Thirty　days；〃　Travis　said。
　〃Thirty　more　days？〃
　〃That's　right。〃
　〃But　we　know　the　holders　are　dead。〃　Morris　could　not　reconcile　himself　to　the　waste　of　money。　His　actuarial　mind　rebelled。
　〃That's　right；〃　Travis　said。　〃But　you'd　better　slip　the　porters'　families　some　cash　to　keep　them　quiet。〃
　〃Jesus。　How　much　are　we　talking　about？〃
　〃Five　hundred　dollars　each。〃
　〃How　do　we　account　that？〃
　〃Legal　fees；〃　Travis　said。　〃Bury　it　in　legal；　local　disposition。''
　〃And　the　American　team　people　that　we've　lost？〃
　〃They　have　MasterCard；〃　Travis　said。　〃Stop　worrying。〃
　Roberts；　the　British…born　ERTS　press　liaison；　came　into　his　office。　〃You　want　to　open　this　can　up？〃
　〃No；〃　Travis　said。　〃I　want　to　kill　it。〃
　〃For　how　long？〃
　〃Thirty　days。
　〃Bloody　hell。　Your　own　staff　will　leak　inside　thirty　days；〃　Roberts　said。　〃I　promise　you。〃
　〃If　they　do；　you'll　squash　it；〃　Travis　said。　〃I　need　another　thirty　days　to　make　this　contract。〃
　〃Do　we　know　what　happened　out　there？〃
　〃No；〃　Travis　said。　〃But　we　will。〃
　〃How？〃
　〃From　the　tapes。〃
　〃Those　tapes　are　a　mess。〃
　〃So　far；〃　Travis　said。　And　he　called　in　the　specialty　teams　of　console　hotdoggers。　Travis　had　long　since　concluded　that　although　ERTS　could　wake　up　political　advisers　around　the　world；　they　were　most　likely　to　get　information　in…house。　〃Everything　we　know　from　the　Congo　field　expedition；〃　he　said；　〃is　registered　on　that　final　videotape。　I　want　a　seven…band　visual　and　audio　salvage；　starting　right　now。　Because　that　tape　is　all　we　have。〃
　The　specialty　teams　went　to　work。
　
　
　3。　Recovery
　
　
　ERTS　REFERRED　TO　THE　PROCESS　AS　〃DATA　RECOVERY；〃　or　sometimes　as　〃data　salvage。〃　The　terms　evoked　images　of　deep…sea　operations；　and　they　were　oddly　appropriate。
　To　recover　or　salvage　data　meant　that　coherent　meaning　was　pulled　to　the　surface　from　the　depths　of　massive　electronic　information　storage。　And；　like　salvage　from　the　sea；　it　was　a　slow　and　delicate　process；　where　a　single　false　step　meant　the　irretrievable　loss　of　the　very　elements　one　was　trying　to　bring　up。　ERTS　had　whole　salvage　crews　skilled　in　the　art　of　data　recovery。　One　crew　immediately　went　to　work　on　the　audio　recovery；　another　on　the　visual　recovery。
　But　Karen　Ross　was　already　engaged　in　a　visual　recovery。
　The　procedures　she　followed　were　highly　sophisticated；　and　only　possible　at　ERTS。
　Earth　Resources　Technology　was　a　relatively　new　pany；　formed　in　1975　in　response　to　the　explosive　growth　of　information　on　the　Earth　and　its　resources。　The　amount　of　material　handled　by　ERTS　was　staggering：　just　the　Landsat　imagery　alone　amounted　to　more　than　five　hundred　thousand　pictures；　and　sixteen　new　images　were　acquired　every　hour；　around　the　clock。　With　the　addition　of　conventional　and　draped　aerial　photography；　infrared　photography；　and　artificial　aperture　side…looking　radar；　the　total　information　available　to　ERTS　exceeded　two　million　images；　with　new　input　on　the　order　of　thirty　images　an　hour。　All　this　information　had　to　be　catalogued；　stored；　and　made　available　for　instantaneous　retrieval。　ERTS　was　like　a　library　which　acquired　seven　hundred　new　books　a　day。　It　was　not　surprising　that　the　librarians　worked　at　fever　pitch　around　the　clock。
　Visitors　to　ERTS　never　seemed　to　realize　that　even　with　puters；　such　data…handling　capacity　would　have　been　impossible　ten　years　earlier。　Nor　did　visitors　understand　the　basic　nature　of　the　ERTS　information…they　assumed　that　the　pictures　on　the　screens　were　photographic；　although　they　were　not。
　Photography　was　a　nineteenth…century　chemical　system　for　recording　information　using　light…sensitive　silver　salts。　ERTS　utilized　a　twentieth…century　electronic　system　for　recording　information；　analogous　to　chemical　photographs；　but　very　different。　Instead　of　cameras；　ERTS　used　multi…spectral　scanners；　instead　of　film；　they　used　CCTs…puter　patible　tapes。　In　fact；　ERTS　did　not　bother　with　〃pictures〃　as　they　were　ordinarily　understood　from　old…fashioned　photographic　technology。　ERTS　bought　〃data　scans〃　which　they　converted　to　〃data　displays；〃　as　the　need　arose。
　Since　the　ERTS　images　were　just　electrical　signals　recorded　on　magnetic　tape；　a　great　variety　of　electrical　image　manipulation　was　possible。　ERTS　had　837　puter　programs　to　alter　imagery：　to　enhance　it；　to　eliminate　unwanted　elements；　to　bring　out　details。　Ross　used　fourteen　programs　on　the　Congo　videotape…particularly　on　the　static…filled　section　in　which　the　hand　and　face　appeared；　just　before　the　antenna　was　smashed。
　First　she　earned　out　what　was　called　a　〃wash　cycle；〃　getting　rid　of　the　static。　She　identified　the　static　lines　as　occurring　at　specific　scan　positions；　and　having　a　specific　gray…scale　value。　She　instructed　the　puter　to　cancel　those　lines。
　The　resulting　image　showed　blank　spaces　where　the　static　was　removed。　So　she　did　〃fill…in…the…blanks〃…instructing　the　puter　to　introject　imagery；　according　to　what　was　around　the　blank　spaces。　In　this　operation　the　puter　made　a　logical　guess　about　what　was　missing。
　She　now　had　a　static…free　image；　but　it　w