jurassic.park-第23节

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　　　　〃Which　is？〃
　　　　〃A　DNA　molecule。〃
　　　　〃Oh；　e　on；〃　Nedry　said。　〃Nobody　could　be　analyzing　a　DNA　molecule。〃　He　knew　biologists　were　talking　about　the　Human　Genome　Project；　to　analyze　a　plete　human　DNA　strand。　But　that　would　take　ten　years　of　coordinated　effort；　involving　laboratories　around　the　world。　It　was　an　enormous　undertaking；　as　big　as　the　Manhattan　Project；　which　made　the　atomic　bomb。　〃This　is　a　private　pany；〃　Nedry　said。
　　　　〃With　three　billion　records；〃　Barney　said。　〃I　don't　know　what　else　it　could　be。　Maybe　they're　being　optimistic　designing　their　system。〃
　　　　〃Very　optimistic；〃　Nedry　said。
　　　　〃Or　maybe　they're　just　analyzing　DNA　fragments；　but　they've　got　RAM…intensive　algorithms。〃
　　　　That　made　more　sense。　Certain　database　search　techniques　ate　up　a　lot　of　memory。
　　　　〃You　know　who　did　their　algorithms？〃
　　　　〃No；〃　Nedry　said。　〃This　pany　is　very　secretive。〃
　　　　〃Well；　my　guess　is　they're　doing　something　with　DNA；〃　Barney　said。　〃What's　the　system？〃
　　　　〃Multi…XMP。〃
　　　　〃Multi…XMP？　You　mean　more　than　one　Cray？　Wow。〃　Barney　was　frowning；　now；　thinking　that　one　over。　〃Can　you　tell　me　anything　else？〃
　　　　〃Sorry；〃　Nedry　said。　〃I　can't。〃　And　he　had　gone　back　and　designed　the　control　systems。　It　had　taken　him　and　his　programming　team　more　than　a　year；　and　it　was　especially　difficult　because　the　pany　wouldn't　ever　tell　him　what　the　subsystems　were　for。　The　instructions　were　simply　〃Design　a　module　for　record　keeping〃　or　〃Design　a　module　for　visual　display。〃　They　gave　him　design　parameters；　but　no　details　about　use。　He　had　been　working　in　the　dark。　And　now　that　the　system　was　up　and　running；　he　wasn't　surprised　to　learn　there　were　bugs。　What　did　they　expect？　And　they'd　ordered　him　down　here　in　a　panic；　all　hot　and　bothered　about　〃his〃　bugs。　It　was　annoying；　Nedry　thought。
　　　　Nedry　turned　back　to　the　group　as　Grant　asked；　〃And　once　the　puter　has　analyzed　the　DNA；　how　do　you　know　what　animal　it　encodes？〃
　　　　〃We　have　two　procedures；〃　Wu　said。　〃The　first　is　phylogenetic　mapping。　DNA　evolves　over　time；　like　everything　else　in　an　organism…hands　or　feet　or　any　other　physical　attribute。　So　we　can　take　an　unknown　piece　of　DNA　and　determine　roughly；　by　puter；　where　it　fits　in　the　evolutionary　sequence。　It's　time…consuming；　but　it　can　be　done。〃
　　　　〃And　the　other　way？〃
　　　　Wu　shrugged。　〃Just　grow　it　and　find　out　what　it　is；〃　he　said。　〃That's　what　we　usually　do。　I'll　show　you　how　that's　acplished。〃

Tim　felt　a　growing　impatience　as　the　tour　continued。　He　liked　technical　things；　but；　even　so；　he　was　losing　interest。　They　came　to　the　next　door；　which　was　marked　FERTLIZATION；　Dr。　Wu　unlocked　the　door　with　his　security　card；　and　they　went　inside。
　　　　Tim　saw　still　another　room　with　technicians　working　at　microscopes。　In　the　back　was　a　section　entirely　lit　by　blue　ultraviolet　light。　Dr。　Wu　explained　that　their　DNA　work　required　the　interruption　of　cellular　mitosis　at　precise　instants；　and　therefore　they　kept　some　of　the　most　virulent　poisons　in　the　world；　〃Helotoxins；　colchicinolds；　beta…alkaloids；〃　he　said；　pointing　to　a　series　of　syringes　set　out　under　the　UV　light。　〃Kill　any　living　animal　within　a　second　or　two。〃
　　　　Tim　would　have　liked　to　know　more　about　the　poisons；　but　Dr。　Wu　droned　on　about　using　unfertilized　crocodile　ova　and　replacing　the　DNA；　and　then　Professor　Grant　asked　some　plicated　questions。　To　one　side　of　the　room　were　big　tanks　marked　LIQUID　N2。　And　there　were　big　walk…in　freezers　with　shelves　of　frozen　embryos；　each　stored　in　a　tiny　silver…foil　wrapper。
　　　　Lex　was　bored。　Nedry　was　yawning。　And　even　Dr。　Sattler　was　losing　interest。　Tim　was　tired　of　looking　at　these　plicated　laboratories。　He　wanted　to　see　the　dinosaurs。

The　next　room　was　labeled　HATCHERY。　〃It's　a　little　warm　and　damp　in　here；〃　Dr。　Wu　said。　〃We　keep　it　at　ninety…nine　degrees　Fahrenheit　and　a　relative　humidity　of　one　hundred　percent。　We　also　run　a　higher　O2　concentration。　It's　up　to　thirty…three　percent。〃
　　　　〃Jurassic　atmosphere；〃　Grant　said。
　　　　〃Yes。　At　least　we　presume　so。　If　any　of　you　feel　faint；　just　tell　me。〃
　　　　Dr。　Wu　inserted　his　security　card　into　the　slot；　and　the　outer　door　hissed　open。　〃Just　a　reminder：　don't　touch　anything　in　this　room。　Some　of　the　eggs　are　permeable　to　skin　oils。　And　watch　your　heads。　The　sensors　are　always　moving。〃
　　　　He　opened　the　inner　door　to　the　nursery；　and　they　went　inside。　Tim　faced　a　vast　open　room；　bathed　in　deep　infrared　light。　The　eggs　lay　on　long　tables；　their　pale　outlines　obscured　by　the　hissing　low　mist　that　covered　the　tables。　The　eggs　were　all　moving　gently；　rocking。
　　　　〃Reptile　eggs　contain　large　amounts　of　yolk　but　no　water　at　all。　The　embryos　must　extract　water　from　the　surrounding　environment。　Hence　the　mist；〃
　　　　Dr。　Wu　explained　that　each　table　contained　150　eggs；　and　represented　a　new　batch　of　DNA　extractions。　The　batches　were　identified　by　numbers　at　each　table：　STEC…458/2　or　TRIC…390/4。　Waist…deep　in　the　mist；　the　workers　in　the　nursery　moved　from　one　egg　to　the　next；　plunging　their　hands　into　the　mist；　turning　the　eggs　every　hour；　and　checking　the　temperatures　with　thermal　sensors。　The　room　was　monitored　by　overhead　TV　cameras　and　motion　sensors。　An　overhead　thermal　sensor　moved　from　one　egg　to　the　next；　touching　each　with　a　flexible　wand；　beeping；　then　going　on。
　　　　〃In　this　hatchery；　we　have　produced　more　than　a　dozen　crops　of　extractions；　giving　us　a　total　of　two　hundred　thirty…eight　live　animals。　Our　survival　rate　is　somewhere　around　point　four　percent；　and　we　naturally　want　to　improve　that。　But　by　puter　analysis　we're　working　with　something　like　five　hundred　variables：　one　hundred　and　twenty　environmental；　another　two　hundred　intra…egg；　and　the　rest　from　the　genetic　material　itself。　Our　eggs　are　plastic。　The　embryos　are　mechanically　inserted；　and　then　hatched　here。〃
　　　　〃And　how　long　to　grow？〃
　　　　〃Dinosaurs　mature　rapidly；　attaining　full　size　in　two　to　four　years。　So　we　now　have　a　number　of　adult　specimens　in　the　park。〃
　　　　〃What　do　the　numbers　mean？〃
　　　　〃Those　codes；〃　Wu　said；　〃identify　the　various　batch　extractions　of　DNA。　The　first　four　letters　identify　the　animals　being　grown。　Over　there；　that　TRIC　means　Triceratops。　And　the　STEC　means　Stegosaurus；　and　so　on。
　　　　〃And　this　table　here？〃　Grant　said。
　　　　The　code　said　XXXX…0001/1。　Beneath　was　scrawled　〃Presumed　Coelu。〃
　　　　〃That's　a　new　batch　of　DNA；〃　Wu　said。　〃We　don't　know　exactly　what　will　grow　out。　The　first　time　an　extraction　is　done；　we　don't　know　for　sure　what　the　animal　is。　You　can　see　it's　marked　'Presumed　Coelu；'　so　it　is　likely　to　be　a　coelurosaurus。　A　small　herbivore；　if　I　remember。　It's　hard　for　me　to　keep　track　of　the　names。　There　are　something　like　three　hundred　genera　of　dinosaurs　known　so　far。〃
　　　　〃Three　hundred　and　forty…seven；〃　Tim　said。
　　　　Grant　smiled；　then　said；　〃Is　anything　hatching　now？〃
　　　　〃Not　at　the　moment。　The　incubation　period　varies　with　each　animal；　but　in　general　it　runs　about　two　months。　We　try　to　stagger　hatchings；　to　make　less　work　for　the　nursery　staff。　You　can　imagine　how　it　is　when　we　have　a　hundred　and　fifty　animals　born　within　a　few　days…though　of　course　most　don't　survive。　Actually；　these　X's　are　due　any　day　now。　Any　other　questions？　No？　Then　we'll　go　to　the　nursery；　where　the　newborns　are。〃

It　was　a　circular　room；　all　white。　There　were　some　incubators　of　the　kind　used　in　hospital　nurseries；　but　they　were　empty　at　the　moment。　Rags　and　toys　were　scattered　across　the　floor。　A　young　woman　in　a　white　coat　was　seated　on　the　floor；　her　back　to　them。
　　　　〃What've　you　got　here　today；　Kathy？〃　Dr。　Wu　asked。
　　　　〃Not　much；〃　she　said。　〃Just　a　baby　raptor。〃
　　　　〃Let's　have　a　look。〃
　　　　The　woman　got　to　her　feet　and　stepped　aside。　Tim　heard　Nedry　say；　〃It　looks　like　a　lizard。〃
　　　　The　animal　on　the　floor　was　about　a　foot　and　a　half　long；　the　size　of　a　small　monkey。　It　was　dark　yellow　with　brown　stripes；　like　a　tiger。　It　had　a　lizard's　head　and　long　snout；　but　it　stood　upright　on　strong　hind　legs；　balanced　by　a　thick　straight　tail。　Its　smaller　front　legs　waved　in　the　air。　It　cocked　its　head　to　one　side　and　peered　at　the　visitors　staring　down　at　it。
　　　　〃Velociraptor；〃　Alan　Grant　said；　in　a　low　voice。
　　　　〃Velociraptor　mongoliensis；〃　Wu　said；　nodding。　〃A　predator。　This　one's　only　six　weeks　old。〃
　　　　〃　I　just　excavated　a　raptor；〃　Grant　said；　as　he　bent　down　for　a　closer　look。　Immediately　the　little　lizard　sprang　up；　leaping　over　Grant's　head　into　Tim's　arms。
　　　　〃Hey！〃
　　　　〃They　can　jump；〃　Wu　said。　〃The　babies　can　jump。　So　can　the　adults；　as　a　matter　of　fact。〃
　　　　Tim　caught　the　velociraptor　and　held　it　to　him。　The　little　animal　didn't　weigh　very　much；　a　pound　or　two。　The　skin　was　warm　and　pletely　dry。　The　little　head　was　inches　from　Tim's　face。　Its　dark；　beady　eyes　stared　at　him。　A　small　forked　tongue　flicked　in　and　out。
　　　　〃Will　he　hurt　me？〃
　　　　〃No。　She's　friendly。〃
　　　　〃Are　you　sure　about　that？〃　asked　Gennaro；　with　a　look　of　concern。
　　　　〃Oh；　quite　sure；〃　Wu　said。　〃At　least　until　she　grows　a　little　older。　But；　in　any　case；　the　babies　don't　have　any　teeth；　even　egg　teeth。〃
　　　　〃Egg　teeth？〃　Nedry　said。
　　　　〃Most　dinosaurs　are　born　with　egg　teeth…little　horns　on　the　tip　of　the　nose；　like　rhino　horns；　to　help　them　break　out　of　the　eggs。　But　raptors　aren't。