the.lost.world-第5部分

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IAN　MALCOLM



Aberrant　Forms
　　　　
In　the　fading　afternoon　light；　the　helicopter　skimmed　low　along　the　coast；　following　the　line　where　the　dense　jungle　met　the　beach。　The　last　of　the　fishing　villages　had　flashed　by　beneath　them　ten　minutes　ago。　Now　there　was　only　impenetrable　Costa　Rican　jungle；　mangrove　swamps；　and　mile　after　mile　of　deserted　sand。　Sitting　beside　the　pilot；　Marty；　Guitierrez　stared　out　the　window　as　the　coastline　swept　past。　There　weren't　even　any　roads　in　this　area；　at　least　none　that　Guitierrez　could　see。
　　　　Guitierrez　was　a　quiet；　bearded　American　of　thirty…six；　a　field　biologist　who　had　lived　for　the　last　eight　years　in　Costa　Rica。　He　had　originally　e　to　study　toucan　speciation　in　the　rain　forest；　but　stayedon　as　a　consultant　to　the　Reserva　Biológica　de　Carara；　the　national　park　in　the　north。　He　clicked　the　radio　mike　and　said　to　the　pilot；　〃How　much　farther？〃
　　　　〃Five　minutes；　Se？ior　Guitierrez。〃
　　　　Guitierrez　turned　and　said；　〃It　won't　be　long　now。〃　But　the　tall　man　folded　up　in　the　back　seat　of　the　helicopter　didn't　answer；　or　even　acknowledge　that　he　had　been　spoken　to。　He　merely　sat；　with　his　hand　on　his　chin；　and　stared　frowning　out　the　window。
　　　　Richard　Levine　wore　sun…faded　field　khakis；　and　an　Australian　slouch　hat　pushed　low　over　his　head。　A　battered　pair　of　binoculars　hung　around　his　neck。　But　despite　his　rugged　appearance；　Levine　conveyed　an　air　of　scholarly　absorption。　Behind　his　wire…frame　spectacles；　his　features　were　sharp；　his　expression　intense　and　critical　as　he　looked　out　the　window。
　　　　〃What　is　this　place？〃
　　　　〃It's　called　Rojas。〃
　　　　〃So　we're　far　south？〃
　　　　〃Yes。　Only　about　fifty　miles　from　the　border　with　Panama。〃
　　　　Levine　stared　at　the　jungle。　〃I　don't　see　any　roads；〃　he　said。　〃How　was　the　thing　found？〃
　　　　〃Couple　of　campers；〃　Guitierrez　said。　〃They　came　in　by　boat；　landed　on　the　beach。〃
　　　　〃When　was　that？〃
　　　　Yesterday。　They　took　one　look　at　the　thing；　and　ran　like　hell。〃
　　　　Levine　nodded。　With　his　long　limbs　folded　up；　his　hands　tucked　under　his　chin；　he　looked　like　a　praying　mantis。　That　had　been　his　nickname　in　graduate　school；　in　part　because　of　his　appearance　…　and　in　part　because　of　his　tendency　to　bite　off　the　head　of　anyone　who　disagreed　with　him。
　　　　Guitierrez　said；　〃Been　to　Costa　Rica　before？〃
　　　　〃No。　First　time；〃　Levine　said。　And　then　he　gave　an　irritable　wave　of　his　hand；　as　'if　he　didn't　want　to　be　bothered　with　small　talk。
　　　　Guitierrez　smiled。　After　all　these　years；　Levine　had　not　changed　at　all。　He　was　still　one　of　the　most　brilliant　and　irritating　men　in　science。　The　two　had　been　fellow　graduate　Students　at　Yale；　until　Levine　quit　the　doctoral　program　to　get　his　degree　in　parative　zoology　instead。　Levine　announced　he　had　no　interest　in　the　kind　of　contemporary　field　research　that　so　attracted　Guitierrez。　With　characteristic　contempt；　he　had　once　described　Guitierrez's　work　as　〃collecting　parrot　crap　from　around　the　world。〃
　　　　The　truth　was　that　Levine　…　brilliant　and　fastidious　…　was　drawn　to　the　past；　to　the　world　that　no　longer　existed。　And　he　studied　this　world　with　obsessive　intensity。　He　was　famous　for　his　photographic　memory；　his　arrogance；　his　sharp　tongue；　and　the　unconcealed　pleasure　he　took　in　pointing　out　the　errors　of　colleagues。　As　a　colleague　once　said；　〃Levine　never　forgets　a　bone　…　and　he　never　lets　you　forget　it；　either。〃
　　　　Field　researchers　disliked　Levine；　and　he　returned　the　sentiment。　He　was　at　heart　a　man　of　detail；　a　cataloguer　of　animal　life；　and　he　was　happiest　poring　over　museum　collections；　reassigning　species；　rearranging　display　skeletons。　He　disliked　the　dust　and　inconvenience　of　life　in　the　field。　Given　his　choice；　Levine　would　never　leave　the　Museum。　But　it　was　his　fate　to　live　in　the　greatest　period　of　discovery　in　the　history　of　paleontology。　The　number　of　known　species　of　dinosaurs　had　doubled　in　the　last　twenty　years；　and　new　species　were　now　being　described　at　the　rate　of　one　every　seven　weeks；　Thus　Levine's　worldwide　reputation　forced　him　to　continually　travel　around　the　World；　inspecting　new　finds；　and　rendering　his　expert　opinion　to　researchers　who　were　annoyed　to　admit　that　they　needed　it。
　　　　〃Where'd　you　e　from？〃　Gtiitierrez　asked　him。
　　　　〃Mongolia；〃　Levine　said。　〃I　was　at　the　Flaming　Cliffs；　in　the　Gobi　Desert；　three　hours　out　of　Ulan　Bator。〃
　　　　〃Oh？　What's　there？〃
　　　　〃John　Roxton's　got　a　dig。　He　found　an　inplete　skeleton　he　thought　might　be　a　new　species　of　Velociraptor；　and　wanted　me　to　have　a　look。〃
　　　　〃And？〃
　　　　Levine　shrugged。　〃Roxton　never　really　did　know　anatomy；　He's　an　enthusiastic　fund…raiser；　but　if　he　actually　uncovers　something；　he's　inpetent　to　proceed。〃
　　　　〃You　told　him　that？〃
　　　　〃Why　not？　It's　the　truth。〃
　　　　〃And　the　skeleton？〃
　　　　〃The　skeleton　wasn't　a　raptor　at　all；〃　Levine　said。　〃Metatarsals　all　wrong；　pubis　too　ventral；　ischium　lacking　a　proper　obturator；　and　the　long　bones　much　too　light。　As　for　the　skull。。。。〃　He　rolled　his　eyes。　〃The　palatal's　too　thick；　antorbital　fenestrae　too　rostra＇；　distal　carida　too　small　…　oh；　it　goes　on　and　on。　And　the　trenchant　ungual's　hardly　present。　So　there　we　are。　I　don't　know　what　Roxton　could　have　been　thinking。　I　suspect　he　actually　has　a　subspecies　of　Stenonychosaurus；　though　I　haven't　decided　for　sure。〃
　　　　〃Stenonychosaurus？〃　Guitierrez　said。
　　　　〃Small　Triassic　carnivore　…　two　meters　from　pes　to　acetabtiltim。　In　point　of　fact；　a　rather　ordinary　theropod。　And　Roxton's　find　wasn't　a　particularly　interesting　example。　Although　there　was　one　curious　detail。　The　material　included　an　integtimental　artifact　…　an　imprint　of　the　dinosaur's　skin。　That　in　itself　is　not　rare。　There　are　perhaps　a　dozen　good　skin　impressions　obtained　so　far；　mostly　among　the　Hadrosauridae。　But　nothing　like　this。　Because　it　was　clear　to　me　that　this　animal's　skin　had　some　very　unusual　characteristics　not　previously　suspected　in　dinosaurs　…　〃
　　　　〃Se？ores；〃　the　pilot　said；　interrupting　them；　〃Juan　Fernández　Bay　is　ahead。〃
　　　　Levine　said；　〃Circle　it　first；　can　we？〃
　　　　Levine　looked　out　the　window；　his　expression　intense　again；　the　conversation　forgotten。　They　were　flying　over　jungle　that　extended　up　into　the　hills　for　miles；　as　far　as　they　could　see。　The　helicopter　banked；　circling　the　beach。
　　　　〃There　it　is　now；〃　Guitierrez　said；　pointing　out　the　window。

The　beach　was　a　clean；　curving　white　crescent；　entirely　deserted　in　the　afternoon　light。　To　the　south；　they　saw　a　single　dark　mass　in　the　sand。　From　the　air；　it　looked　like　a　rock；　or　perhaps　a　large　clump　of　seaweed。　The　shape　was　amorphous；　about　five　feet　across。　There　were　lots　of　footprints　around　it。
　　　　〃Who's　been　here？〃　Levine　said；　with　a　sigh。
　　　　〃Public　Health　Service　people　came　out　earlier　today。〃
　　　　〃Did　they　do　anything？〃　he　said。　〃They　touch　it；　disturb　it　in　any　way？
　　　　〃I　can't　say；〃　Guitierrez　said。
　　　　〃The　Public　Health　Service；〃　Levine　repeated；　shaking　his　head。　〃What　do　they　know？　You　should　never　have　let　them　near　'it；　Marty。〃
　　　　〃Hey；〃　Guitierrez　said。　〃I　don't　run　this　country。　I　did　the　best　I　could。　They　wanted　to　destroy　it　before　you　even　got　here。　At　least　I　managed　to　keep　it　intact　until　you　arrived。　Although　I　don't　know　how　long　they'll　wait。〃
　　　　〃Then　we'd　better　get　started；〃　Levine　said。　He　pressed　the　button　on　his　mike。　〃Why　are　we　still　circling？　We're　losing　light。　Get　down　on　the　beach　now。　I　want　to　see　this　thing　firsthand。〃

Richard　Levine　ran　across　the　sand　toward　the　dark　shape；　his　binoculars　bouncing　on　his　chest。　Even　from　a　distance；　he　could　smell　the　stench　of　decay。　And　already　he　was　logging　his　preliminary　impressions。　The　carcass　lay　half…buried　in　the　sand；　surrounded　by　a　thick　cloud　of　flies。　The　skin　was　bloated　with　gas；　which　made　identification　difficult。
　　　　He　paused　a　few　yards　from　the　creature；　and　took　out　his　camera。　Immediately；　the　pilot　of　the　helicopter　came　up　alongside　him；　pushing　his　hand　down。　〃No　permitado。〃
　　　　〃What？〃
　　　　〃I　am　sorry；　se？or。　No　pictures　arc　allowed。〃
　　　　〃Why　the　hell　not？〃　Levine　said。　He　turned　to　Guitierrez；　who　was　trotting　down　the　beach　toward　them。　〃Marty；　why　no　pictures？　This　could　be　an　important　…　〃
　　　　〃No　pictures；〃　the　pilot　said　again；　an