jdavid.footprintsofthunder-第75部分

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　Gasps　and　expressions　of　disbelief　rippled　around　the　table。
　〃Cretaceous　period？　Impossible！〃　Natalie　Matsuda　answered　loudly；　ignoring　the　mounting　evidence。
　Dr。　Gogh　looked　irritated　but　ignored　Matsuda　and　called　for　the　next　slide。
　The　next　slide　was　blurry　but　it　was　an　overhead　shot　of　an　animal。　That　photo　had　not　been　in　Nick's　packet；　and　he　realized　he　had　been　partly　cut　out　of　the　decision　loop；　just　like　Elizabeth。
　〃This　is　a　blowup　of　one　of　the　aerial　photos。　As　you　can　see　there　is　an　animal　in　the　photo。〃
　〃Is　that　another　dinosaur？〃　Cannon　asked。
　〃Yes；　but　one　much　bigger　than　the　ankylosaur　in　your　Quebec　photo。〃
　Gogh　said　it　with　pride；　as　if　he　were　in　a　petition　to　find　the　biggest　dinosaur。　〃Professor　Struthers　of　the　PresNet　has　tentatively　identified　this　as　an　iguanodon。　It's　hard　to　scale　this　photo；　since　there　are　no　familiar　objects　near　the　dinosaur；　but　Professor　Struthers　tells　me　iguanodons　can　be　twenty…five　to　thirty　feet　in　length；　and　when　standing　they　might　be　fifteen　or　twenty　feet　tall。〃
　Gasps　and　soft　whistles　filled　the　room　as　the　occupants　launched　impromptu　discussions。　Some　wondered　if　the　animals　were　aggressive。　Others　speculated　on　what　would　happen　if　one　wandered　into　New　York　City's　midtown　streets。　Nick　listened　to　the　voices　around　him　and　then　asked　that　the　previous　slide　be　put　back　up。　Looking　disgusted　at　the　interruption；　Gogh　nevertheless　reversed　the　projector。
　〃What's　along　the　line　where　the　prehistoric　segment　meets　city？〃
　〃Buildings；　of　course；〃　Gogh　replied　abruptly。
　〃Buildings　with　people　inside！〃　Nick　pointed　out。　〃How　close　are　these　animals　to　the　residents？　We　already　know　some　of　the　animals　in　the　Quebec　displacement　are　wandering　out　of　their　natural　environment。　What　about　here？　There's　a　human　factor　to　consider　here。〃
　Nick　was　embarrassed　he　too　had　never　considered　the　human　factor。　But　now；　that　attention　was　long　overdue。　He　turned　and　looked　at　the　President；　who　studiously　ignored　him。
　〃Shouldn't　we　take　steps　to　protect　the　residents　near　the　displaced　segments？〃　Nick　prodded；
　Still　the　President　ignored　him。　Nick　caught　Elizabeth's　eye；　and　she　shook　her　head　briefly；　indicating　they　had　done　nothing　about　this。
　Finally　Gogh　spoke。　〃I'm　sure　the　local　authorities　are　taking　care　of　that　problem；　but　as　you　will　see　there　may　not　be　any　need　for　federal　action。　Next　slide；　please。　This　slide　shows　New　York　an　hour　later。　Notice　that　the　missing　segment　is　back。〃
　Instantly　the　room　erupted　into　a　mixture　of　relief；　disbelief；　and　hope。　For　a　minute　Gogh　enjoyed　the　effect　of　his　pronouncement；　then　pushed　on。
　〃Notice　the　fuzzy　sections　around　the　displaced　segment。　This　next　slide　shows　a　blowup　of　the　fuzzy　section。〃
　Another　picture　Nick　had　not　seen　appeared　on　the　screen。　It　was　an　aerial　shot　of　buildings；　but　they　were　transparent　and　the　golden　color　of　the　grassland　showed　through　them。　More　discussion　rippled　around　the　room；　though　the　President　sat　quietly　lost　in　his　own　thoughts。　Elizabeth　tried　to　whisper　to　him　again；　but　he　dismissed　her　with　another　wave。
　〃Notice　the　indefinite　state　of　this　section。〃　Gogh　walked　to　the　screen　and　pointed　at　the　transparent　section。　〃Notice　also　this　ring。〃　He　traced　a　thin　golden　section。　〃This　is　a　section　of　grassland　around　the　outer　edge　of　the　displaced　segment。　The　next　photo　was　taken　two　hours　later；　and　the　next　was　taken　an　hour　after　that。〃
　The　next　slide　showed　a　New　York　City　with　a　clearly　missing　section。　It　was　quickly　followed　by　a　slide　showing　New　York　with　the　piece　back。　It　took　Nick　a　minute　to　notice　the　change。
　〃You　will　see；〃　Dr。　Gogh　said；　pointing　with　a　pen；　〃that　the　amount　of　city　in　the　displaced　segment　is　smaller　and　the　indefinite　area　has　pulled　toward　the　center。　Notice　also　that　the　ring　of　grassland　has　grown　larger。〃　Again　he　traced　the　golden　ring　around　the　oval。　〃This　phenomena　tells　us　two　things。　First；　that　the　effect　appears　to　be　in　an　indefinite　state。　Second；　that　the　effect　is　reaching　a　state　of　equilibrium；　and　doing　so　rather　quickly。　The　oscillations　between　city　and　prairie　are　irregular；　but　the　growth　of　the　stabilized　time…displaced　sections　is　increasing　logarithmically。　We　have　little　time　to　act。　Fortunately；　we　have　developed　a　plan　of　action　to　deal　with　the　problem。〃
　Everyone　at　the　table　leaned　forward　at　that　point　except　the　secretary　of　defense；　who　kept　her　eyes　down　and　looked　distinctly　unfortable。
　〃We　have　accepted　the　theory　that　the　time　displacement　occurred　as　a　result　of　time　disruption　created　by　the　detonation　of　nuclear　devices。　However；　the　idea　that　waves　are　sweeping　across　the　surface　of　the　planet　has　been　rejected。　Instead；　in　conjunction　with　Dr。　Gomez；　at　the　Fermi　Institute；　I　have　developed　a　model　that　shows　that　the　current　effects　and　the　originating　explosions　are　actually　connected。〃
　〃Connected　how？〃　the　CIA　director　asked。　〃The　bomb　testing　you　are　talking　about　happened　in　the　sixties；　maybe　even　the　fifties。〃
　〃The　explosions　created　an　effect　that　crosses　space　and　time。　The　effect　we　have　today　is　happening　because　the　explosions　are　happening　right　now　in　the　sixties。〃
　Cannon　shook　his　head　in　confusion　but　kept　quiet。
　〃Since　the　events　in　the　past　and　the　current　event　are　linked；　it　means　we　have　an　opportunity　to　manipulate　the　event。　We　intend　to　disrupt　the　effect　before　it　has　a　chance　to　reach　equilibrium　by　creating　another　time　wave　to　counteract　the　effects　of　the　one　that　produced　our　current　problems。〃
　Nick　was　confused　for　a　moment。　He　knew　of　no　way　to　create　a　time　wave　except　with　dense　matter；　and　the　only　human　way　to　create　dense　matter　was　with　a　nuclear　explosion。　Then　he　realized　what　Gogh　was　planning　and　a　sick　feeling　swept　over　him。　A　moment　later　Gogh　confirmed　what　Nick　was　thinking。
　〃We　intend　to　use　a　nuclear　detonation　to　create　another　wave。〃
　As　chaotic　discussion　followed；　Gogh　and　the　President　waited　it　out。　Most　of　the　questions　directed　at　the　President　were　the　〃Why　wasn't　I　consulted？〃　type。　When　order　returned　Nick　managed　to　get　the　floor。
　〃We　don't　know　this　will　work。　We　don't　even　know　for　sure　this　is　caused　by　the　nuclear　explosions。　For　all　we　know；　it　could　be　some　factor　interacting　with　the　detonations　to　produce　the　effect。　Besides；　what's　happened　to　us　wasn't　pro…duced　by　a　single　bomb；　it　was　the　accumulative　effects　of　hundreds　of　explosions。〃
　〃That's　why　we　intend　to　use　more　than　one　device。〃　Gogh　waited；　making　Nick　ask　the　obvious　question。
　〃How　many　more　than　one？〃
　〃One　hundred。〃
　Even　the　stoic　military　officers　gasped　at　the　thought　of　detonating　a　hundred　hydrogen　bombs。　Nick　was　stunned　by　the　thought　but　slowly　realized　if　you　were　going　to　take　this　course　of　action　you　had　little　choice　but　to　use　such　megatonnage。　The　time　wave　that　had　disrupted　Nick's　present　and　sent　millions；　if　not　billions；　of　people　spinning　off　into　time　wasn't　caused　by　one　or　two　bombs。　There　had　been　nearly　a　thousand　British　and　American　bombs　tested　at　the　New　Mexico　test　site　alone。　From　that　perspective　a　hundred　bombs　was　even　conservative；　but　no　human　or　natural　event　could　match　the　power　of　one　hundred　warheads　detonated　in　the　atmosphere。　Krakatoa　and　Mount　Saint　Helens　would　pale　in　parison。　Nick　recalled　the　nuclear　winter　concerns　of　a　few　years　ago。　Even　if　they　got　the　missing　people　back；　they　could　lose　them　again　to　starvation。　Nick　quickly　assessed　the　benefits　and　costs　and　took　his　stand。
　〃You　can't　do　this。　We　don't　understand　what　we're　dealing　with　yet。　All　we　have　is　a　rudimentary　theory　and　there　is　no　evidence　that　this　will　return　things　to　normal。　At　best　all　you　will　do　is　create　more　time　displacement　and　at　worst　。　。　。　who　knows？　We　know　it　will　cause　vast　destruction；　and　may　have　long…term　effects。　You　have　heard　of　nuclear　winter？〃
　〃A　discredited　theory；〃
　〃It　won't　be　theory　if　we　detonate　that　many　warheads；　and　then　it　could　be　too　late。〃
　Nick　was　surprised　to　find　the　President　and　not　Gogh　responding。　〃We　know　what　will　happen　if　we　don't　do　anything。　We　will　lose　millions　of　our　citizens；　billions　of　doll