the.lost.world-第18部分

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lower　down；　right　by　the　power　switch；　a　shiny　little　metal　tag　that　said　〃Property　International　Genetics　Technology；　Inc。；　Palo　Alto；　CA。〃
　　　　〃What's　this？〃　Thorne　said。　〃Levine　has　an　InGen　puter？〃
　　　　〃Yes；〃　Arby　said。　〃He　sent　us　to　buy　it　last　week。　They　were　selling　off　puter　equipment。〃
　　　　〃And　he　sent　you？〃　Thorne　said。
　　　　〃Yeah。　Me　and　Kelly。　He　didn't　want　to　go　himself。　He's　afraid　of　being　followed。〃
　　　　〃But　this　thing's　a　CAD…CAM　machine；　and　it　must　be　five　years　old；〃　Thorne　said。　CAD…CAM　puters　were　used　by　architects；　graphic　artists；　and　mechanical　engineers。　〃Why　would　Levine　want　it？〃
　　　　〃He　never　told　us；〃　Arby　said；　flipping　on　the　power　switch。　〃But　I　know　now。〃
　　　　〃Yes？〃
　　　　〃That　memo；〃　Arby　said；　nodding　to　the　wall。　〃You　know　why　it　looks　that　way？　It's　a　recovered　puter　file。　Levine's　been　recovering　InGen　files　from　this　machine。〃

As　Arby　explained　it；　all　the　puters　that　InGen　sold　that　day　had　had　their　hard　drives　reformatted　to　destroy　any　sensitive　data　on　the　disks。　But　the　CAD…CAM　machines　were　an　exception。　These　machines　all　had　special　software　installed　by　the　manufacturer。　The　software　was　keyed　to　individual　machines；　using　individual　code　references。　That　made　these　puters　awkward　to　reformat；　because　the　software　would　have　to　be　reinstalled　individually；　taking　hours。
〃So　they　didn't　do　it；〃　Thorne　said。　〃Right；〃　Arby　said。　〃They　just　erased　the　directory；　and　sold　them。〃
　　　　〃And　that　means　the　original　files　are　still　on　the　disk。〃
　　　　〃Right。〃
　　　　The　monitor　glowed。　The　screen　said：

TOTAL　RECOVERED　FILES：　2；387

　　　　〃Jeez；〃　Arby　said。　He　leaned　forward；　staring　intently；　fingers　poised　over　the　keys。　He　pushed　the　directory　button；　and　row　after　row　of　file　names　scrolled　down；　Thousands　of　files　in　all。
　　　　Thorne　said　〃How　are　you　going　to　…　〃
　　　　〃Give　me　a　minute　here；〃　Arby　said；　interrupting　him。　Then　he　began　to　type　rapidly。
　　　　Okay；　Arb；〃　Thorne　said。　He　was　amused　by　the　imperious　way　Arby　behaved　whenever　he　was　working　with　a　puter。　He　seemed　to　forget　how　young　he　was；　his　usual　diffidence　and　timidity　vanished。　The　electronic　world　was　really　his　element。　And　he　knew　he　was　good　at　it。
Thorne　said；　〃Any　help　you　can　give　us　will　be　…　〃
　　　　〃Doc；〃　Arby　said。　〃e　on。　Go　and；　uh；　I　don't　know。　Help　Kelly　or　something。〃
　　　　And　he　turned　away；　and　typed。

Raptor

The　velociraptor　was　six　feet　tall　and　dark　green。　Poised　to　attack；　it　hissed　loudly；　its　muscular　neck　thrust　forward；　jaws　wide。　Tim；　one　of　the　modelers；　said；　〃What　do　you　think；　Dr。　Malcolm？〃
　　　　〃No　menace；〃　Malcolm　said；　walking　by。　He　was　in　the　back　win　of　the　biology　department；　on　his　way　to　his　office。
　　　　〃No　menace？〃　Tim　said。
　　　　〃They　never　stand　like　this；　flatfooted　on　two　feet。　Give　him　a　book〃　…　he　grabbed　a　notebook　from　a　desk；　and　placed　it　in　the　forearms　of　the　animal　…　〃and　he　might　be　singing　a　Christmas　carol。〃
　　　　〃Gee；〃　Tim　said。　〃I　didn't　think　it　was　that　bad。〃
　　　　〃Bad？〃　Malcolm　said。　〃This　is　an　insult　to　a　great　predator。　We　should　feel　his　speed　and　menace　and　power。　Widen　the　jaws。　Get　the　neck　down。　Tense　the　muscles；　tighten　the　skin。　And　get　that　leg　up。　Remember；　raptors　don't　attack　with　their　jaws　…　they　use　their　toe…claws；〃　Malcolm　said。　〃I　want　to　see　the　claw　raised　up；　ready　to　slash　down　and　tear　the　guts　out　of　its　prey。〃
　　　　〃You　really　think　so？〃　Tim　said　doubtfully。　〃It　might　scare　little　kids。。。。〃
　　　　〃You　mean　it　might　scare　you。〃　Malcolm　continued　down　the　hallway。　〃And　another　thing：　change　that　hissing　sound。　It　sounds　like　somebody　taking　a　pee。　Give　this　animal　a　snarl。　Give　a　great　predator　his　due。〃
　　　　〃Gee；〃　Tim　said；　〃I　didn't　know　you　had　such　personal　feelings　about　it。〃
　　　　〃It　should　be　accurate；〃　Malcolm　said。　〃You　know；　there　is　such　a　thing　as　accurate　and　inaccurate。　Irrespective　of　whatever　your　feelings　are。〃　He　walked　on；　irritable；　ignoring　the　momentary　pain　in　his　leg。　The　modeler　annoyed　him；　although　he　had　to　admit　Tim　was　just　a　representative　of　the　current；　fuzzy…minded　thinking　…　what　Malcolm　called　〃sappy　science。〃
　　　　Malcolm　had　long　been　impatient　with　the　arrogance　of　his　scientific　colleagues。　They　maintained　that　arrogance；　he　knew；　by　resolutely　ignoring　the　history　of　science　as　a　way　of　thought。　Scientists　pretended　that　history　didn't　matter；　because　the　errors　of　the　past　were　now　corrected　by　modern　discoveries。　But　of　course　their　forebears　had　believed　exactly　the　same　thing　in　the　past；　too。　They　had　been　wrong　then。　And　modern　scientists　were　wrong　now。　No　episode　of　science　history　proved　it　better　than　the　way　dinosaurs　had　been　portrayed　over　the　decades。
　　　　It　was　sobering　to　realize　that　the　most　accurate　perception　of　dinosaurs　had　also　been　the　first。　Back　in　the　1840s；　when　Richard　Owen　first　described　giant　bones　in　England；　he　named　them　Dinosauria：　terrible　lizards。　That　was　still　the　most　accurate　description　of　these　creatures；　Malcolm　thought。　They　were　indeed　like　lizards；　and　they　were　terrible。
　　　　But　since　Owen；　the　〃scientific〃　view　of　dinosaurs　had　undergone　many　changes。　Because　the　Victorians　believed　in　the　inevitability　of　progress；　they　insisted　that　the　dinosaurs　must　necessarily　be　inferior　…　why　else　would　they　be　extinct？　So　the　Victorians　made　them　fat；　lethargic；　and　dumb…big　dopes　from　the　past。　This　perception　was　elaborated；　so　that　by　the　early　twentieth　century；　dinosaurs　had　bee　so　weak　that　they　could　not　support　their　own　weight。　Apatosaurs　had　to　stand　belly…deep　in　water　or　they　would　crush　their　own　legs。　The　whole　conception　of　the　ancient　world　was　suffused　with　these　ideas　of　weak；　stupid；　slow　animals。
　　　　That　view　didn't　change　until　the　1960s；　when　a　few　renegade　scientists；　led　by　John　Ostrom；　began　to　imagine　quick；　agile；　hot…blooded　dinosaurs。　Because　these　scientists　had　the　temerity　to　question　dogma；　they　were　brutally　criticized　for　years；　even　though　it　now　seemed　their　ideas　were　correct。
　　　　But　in　the　last　decade；　a　growing　interest　in　social　behavior　had　led　to　still　another　view。　Dinosaurs　were　now　seen　as　caring　creatures；　living　in　groups；　raising　their　little　babies。　They　were　good　animals；　even　cute　animals。　The　big　sweeties　had　nothing　to　do　with　their　terrible　fate；　which　was　visited　on　them　by　Alvarez's　meteor。　And　that　new　sappy　view　produced　people　like　Tim；　who　were　reluctant　to　look　at　the　other　side　of　the　coin；　the　other　face　of　life。　Of　course；　some　dinosaurs　had　been　social　and　cooperative。　But　others　had　been　hunters　…　and　killers　of　unparalleled　viciousness。　For　Malcolm；　the　truest　picture　of　life　in　the　past　incorporated　the　interplay　of　all　aspects　of　life；　the　good　and　the　bad；　the　strong　and　the　weak。　It　was　no　good　pretending　anything　else。
　　　　Scaring　little　kids；　indeed！　Malcolm　snorted　irritably；　as　he　walked　down　the　hall。

In　truth；　Malcolm　was　bothered　by　what　Elizabeth　Gelman　had　told　him　about　the　tissue　fragment；　and　especially　the　tag。　That　tag　meant　trouble；　Malcolm　was　sure　of　it。
　　　　But　he　wasn't　sure　what　to　do　about　it。
　　　　He　turned　the　corner；　past　the　display　of　Clovis　Points；　arrowheads　made　by　early　man　in　America。　Up　ahead；　he　saw　his　office。　Beverly；　his　assistant；　was　standing　behind　her　desk；　tidying　papers；　getting　ready　to　go　home。　She　handed　him　his　faxes　and　said；　〃I've　left　word　for　Dr。　Levine　at　his　office；　but　he　hasn't　called　back。　They　don't　seem　to　know　where　he　is。〃
　　　　〃For　a　change；〃　Malcolm　said；　sighing。　It　was　so　difficult　working　with　Levine；　he　was　so　erratic；　you　never　knew　what　to　expect。　Malcolm　had　been　the　one　to　post　bail　when　Levine　was　arrested　in　his　Ferrari。　He　riffled　through　the　faxes：　conference　dates；　requests　for　reprints。。。nothing　interesting。　〃Okay。　Thanks；　Beverly。〃
　　　　〃Oh。　And　the　photographers　came。　They　finished　about　an　hour　ago。
　　　　〃What　photographers？〃　he　said。
　　　　〃From　Chaos　Quarterly。　To　photograph　your　office。〃
　　　　〃What　are　you　talking　about？〃　Malcolm　said。
　　　　〃They　came　to　photograph　your　office；〃　she　said。　〃For　a　series　about　workplaces　of　famous　mathematicians。　They　had　a　letter　from　you；　saying　it　was　…　〃
　　　　〃I　never　sent　any　letter；〃　Malcolm　said。　〃And　I've　never　heard　of　Chaos　Quarterly。〃