mreilly.icestation-第42部分

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　〃That's　OK；〃　Schofield　said。　〃We　can　fix　that。〃　
　Something　else　that　she　had　said；　however；　troubled　him。　Schofield　had　been　told　about　the　〃solar　flare〃　phenomenon　on　his　way　to　Wilkes；　but　he　didn't　know　exactly　what　it　was。　All　he　knew　was　that　it　disrupted　the　electromagnetic　spectrum　and；　in　doing　so；　prevented　any　sort　of　radio　munication。　
　〃Tell　me　about　solar　flares；〃　he　said　to　Abby。　
　〃There　isn't　really　much　to　tell；〃　Abby　replied。　〃We　don't　really　know　that　much　about　them。　Solar　flare　is　actually　the　term　used　to　describe　a　brief　high…temperature　explosion　on　the　surface　of　the　sun；　what　most　people　would　call　a　sunspot。　When　a　sunspot　occurs；　it　emits　a　huge　amount　of　ultraviolet　radiation。　A　huge　amount。　Like　ordinary　heat　from　the　sun；　this　radiation　travels　through　space　toward　the　Earth。　When　it　gets　here；　it　contaminates　our　ionosphere；　turning　it　into　a　thick　blanket　of　electromagnetic　mayhem。　Satellites　bee　useless　because　radio　signals　from　the　Earth　can't　penetrate　the　contaminated　ionosphere。　Similarly；　signals　ing　from　satellites　down　to　the　Earth　can't　get　through　the　ionosphere　either。　Radio　munication　bees　impossible。〃　
　Abby　suddenly　looked　about　her。　Her　eyes　fell　on　one　of　the　puter　screens　next　to　her。　〃Actually；　we　have　some　weather…monitoring　gear　in　here。　If　you'll　just　give　me　a　minute；　I　might　be　able　to　show　you　what　I　mean。〃　
　〃Sure；〃　Schofield　said　as　Abby　switched　on　the　puter　next　to　her。　
　The　puter　hummed　to　life。　Once　it　was　up　and　running；　Abby　clicked　through　various　screens　until　she　came　to　the　one　she　wanted。　It　was　a　satellite　map　of　southeastern　Antarctica；　overlaid　with　multicolored　patches。　A　barometric　weather　map。　Like　the　ones　on　the　evening　news。　
　〃This　is　a　snapshot　of　the　eastern　Antarctic　weather　system　for〃…Abby　looked　at　the　date　in　the　corner　of　the　screen…　〃two　days　ago。〃　She　looked　around　at　Schofield。　〃It　was　probably　one　of　the　last　ones　we　got　before　the　solar　flare　moved　in　and　cut　us　off　from　the　weather　satellite。〃　
　She　clicked　her　mouse。　Another　screen　came　up。　〃Oh；　wait；　here's　another　one。　There　it　is；〃　she　said。　
　It　filled　half　the　screen。　
　An　enormous　yellow…white　blob　of　atmospheric　disturbance。　It　filled　the　entire　left…hand　side　of　the　map；　smothering　nearly　half　of　the　pictured　Antarctic　coastline。　In　real　terms；　Schofield　thought；　the　solar　flare　must　have　been　absolutely　enormous。　
　〃And　that　is　your　solar　flare；　Lieutenant；〃　Abby　said。　She　turned　to　look　at　Schofield。　〃It　must　have　moved　eastward　after　this　shot　was　taken　and　covered　us；　too。〃　
　Schofield　stared　at　the　yellow…white　blob　superimposed　on　the　Antarctic　coastline。　There　were　slight　discolorations　in　it；　red　and　orange　patches；　even　some　black　ones。　
　Abby　said；　〃Since　they　usually　explode　in　one　section　of　the　sun's　surface；　solar　flares　usually　only　affect　defined　areas。　One　station　might　have　a　total　radio　blackout　while　another；　two　hundred　miles　away；　will　have　all　of　its　systems　working　just　fine。〃　
　Schofield　stared　at　the　screen。　〃How　long　do　they　last？〃　
　Abby　shrugged。　〃A　day。　Sometimes　two。　However　long　it　takes　for　all　the　radiation　to　make　the　trip　from　the　sun　to　the　Earth。　Depends　on　how　large　the　original　sunspot　was。〃　
　〃How　long　will　this　one　last？〃　
　Abby　turned　back　to　face　her　puter。　She　looked　at　the　depiction　of　the　solar　flare　on　the　screen；　pursed　her　lips　in　thought。　
　〃I　don't　know。　It's　a　big　one。　I'd　say　about　five　days；〃　she　said。　
　A　short　silence　followed　as　what　she　said　sank　in　to　everyone　in　the　room。　
　〃Five　days；〃　Rebound　breathed　from　behind　Schofield。　
　Schofield　was　frowning　in　thought。　Abby：　〃You　say　it　disrupts　the　ionosphere；　right？〃　
　〃Right。〃　
　〃And　the　ionosphere　is　。。。〃　
　〃The　layer　of　the　Earth's　atmosphere　about　50　to　250　miles　up；〃　Abby　said。　〃It's　called　the　ionosphere　because　the　air　in　it　is　filled　with　ionized　molecules。〃　
　Schofield　said；　〃OK。　So；　a　solar　flare　explodes　on　the　surface　of　the　sun　and　the　energy　it　emits　travels　down　to　Earth；　where　it　disrupts　the　ionosphere；　which　turns　into　a　shield　through　which　radio　signals　can't　pass；　right？〃　
　〃Right。〃　
　Schofield　looked　at　the　screen　again　and　stared　at　the　black　splotches　on　the　yellow…white　graphic　representation　of　the　solar　flare。　There　was　one　larger　black　hole　in　the　middle　of　the　yellow…white　blob　that　held　his　attention。　
　〃Is　it　uniform？〃　he　asked。　
　〃Uniform？〃　Abby　blinked；　not　prehending。　
　〃Is　the　shield　uniform　in　its　strength？　Or　does　it　have　weak　points；　inconsistencies；　breaks　in　the　shield　that　could　be　penetrated　by　radio　signals？　Like　these　black　spots　here。〃　
　Abby　said；　〃It　would　be　possible　to　penetrate　them；　but　it　would　be　difficult。　The　break　in　the　flare　would　have　to　be　directly　over　this　station。〃　
　〃Uh…huh；〃　Schofield　said。　〃Is　there　any　way　that　you　could　figure　out　when　or　if　one　of　those　breaks　would　be　directly　over　us？　Like；　maybe；　this　one　here。〃　
　Schofield　pointed　at　the　large　black　hole　in　the　center　of　the　yellow…white　blob。　
　Abby　studied　the　screen；　evaluated　the　possibilities。　
　Finally；　she　said；　〃There　might　be　a　way。　If　I　can　bring　up　some　previous　images　of　the　flare；　I　should　be　able　to　plot　how　fast　it's　traveling　across　the　continent　and　in　what　direction。　If　I　can　do　that；　then　I　should　be　able　to　make　a　rough　plot　of　its　course。〃　
　〃Just　do　what　you　can；〃　Schofield　said；　〃and　call　me　if　you　find　anything。　I　want　to　know　when　one　of　those　breaks　is　going　to　pass　over　this　station；　so　we　can　be　ready　to　send　a　radio　signal　to　McMurdo　when　it　does。〃　
　〃You'll　have　to　fix　the　antenna　outside…〃　
　〃I'm　already　on　it；〃　Schofield　said。　〃You　just　find　me　a　break　in　that　flare。　We'll　get　your　antenna　up　again。〃　
　
　
　
　In　Washington；　Alison　Cameron　was　also　sitting　in　front　of　a　puter。　
　She　was　in　a　small　puter　lab　in　the　Post's　offices。　A　microcrofilm　viewing　machine　sat　in　the　corner。　Filing　cabinets　lined　two　of　the　four　walls。　Half　a　dozen　puters　filled　the　rest　of　the　space　in　the　small　lab。　
　Alison　found　the　screen　she　was　looking　for。　The　All…States　Library　Database。　
　There　is　a　popular　urban　myth　that　the　FBI　has　a　tap　on　every　library　borrowing　puter　in　the　country　and　they　use　this　facility　to　track　down　serial　killers。　The　killer　quotes　Lowell　at　a　homicide　scene；　so　the　FBI　checks　up　on　every　library　in　the　country　to　see　who's　been　borrowing　Lowell。　Like　all　good　urban　myths；　this　is　only　a　half…truth。　There　is　a　system　（it　is　an　updatable　CD…ROM　service）　that　cross…links　every　library　puter　in　the　country；　telling　the　user　where　a　certain　book　can　be　found。　It　doesn't　list　the　names　of　every　person　who　has　borrowed　that　book。　It　just　tells　you　where　a　particular　book　is　located。　You　can　search　for　a　book　in　several　ways：　by　the　author；　by　the　book's　title；　or　even　by　any　unusual　keywords　that　appear　in　the　text　of　a　book。　The　All…States　Library　Database　was　one　such　service。　
　Alison　stared　at　the　screen　in　front　of　her。　She　tabbed　down　to　the　SEARCH　BY　KEYWORD　button。　She　typed：　
　ANTARCTICA。　
　The　puter　whirred　for　about　ten　seconds；　and　the　results　of　the　search　came　up　on　the　screen：　
　1；856；157　ENTRIES　FOUND。　WOULD　YOU　LIKE　TO　SEE　A　LIST？　
　Great。　One　million；　eight　hundred　and　fifty　thousand　books　contained　the　word　Antarctica　in　some　way　or　another。　That　was　no　help。　
　Alison　thought　for　a　second。　She'd　need　a　narrower　key　word；　something　a　lot　more　specific。　She　got　an　idea。　It　was　a　long　shot；　perhaps　a　little　too　specific。　But　she　thought　it　was　worth　a　try　anyway。　She　typed：　
　LATITUDE　…66。5°　LONGITUDE　115°　20'　12〃　
　The　puter　whirred　as　it　searched。　This　time　the　search　didn't　take　long　at　all。　The　results　came　up　on　the　screen：　
　6　ENTRIES　FOUND。　WOULD　YOU　LIKE　TO　SEE　A　LIST？　
　〃You　bet　your　ass　I'd　like　to　see　a　list；〃　Alison　said。　She　hit　the　〃Y〃　key　for　〃Yes〃　and　a　new　screen　appeared。　On　it　was　a　list　of　book　titles　and　their　locations。　
　
　ALL…STATES　LIBRARY　DATABASE　
　SEARCH　BY　KEYWORD　
　SEARCH　STRING　USED：LATITUDE　…66。5°　
　LONGITUDE　115°　20'　12〃　
　
　NO。　OF　ENTRIES　FOUND：　6　
　TITLE　
　AUTHOR　
　LOCATION　
　YEAR　
　DOCTORAL　THESIS　
　LLEWELLYN；　D。　K。　
　STAMFORD；