jdavid.footprintsofthunder-第25节

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　〃Sam；　we　have　dozens　of　highly　classified　projects　going　on　right　this　minute。　I　mentioned　only　three。　I　am　ordering　that　all　of　these　projects　be　shut　down　immediately。　You　understand　me？　No　testing；　no　operation；　no　experimentation。　Until　we　know　what　has　happened　we're　not　going　to　risk　having　it　happen　again。〃
　〃But　Mr。　President…〃
　〃No　buts；　Sam；　shut　everything　down。〃
　Samuel　Cannon　opened　his　mouth　to　speak　but　then　closed　it　again。　It　was　clear　he　was　not　through　arguing；　but　he　knew　better　then　to　pursue　it　in　this　setting。　Then　the　President　stunned　the　CIA　director　again。
　〃Have　you　considered　any　other　sources　for　this　effect？〃
　〃Yes；　sir；　but　the　most　technologically　sophisticated　countries　are　all　friendly。　We're　less　certain　about　the　Russian　Federation。　We　know　the　Baltic　Union　wouldn't　have　the　sophistication；　but　the　Federation　retained　most　of　the　U…S。S。R。's　technological　capabilities。〃
　〃I'm　not　talking　about　other　countries。　I'm　talking　about　other　species。〃
　〃Animals　。　。　。　like　whales　or　something？〃
　〃Sam；　I'm　talking　about　the　possibility　that　this　is　the　result　of　an　act　by　an　alien　intelligence。　Have　you　considered　this？　Why　not？〃
　Gogh　had　stopped　reading　and　was　listening　intently　to　the　exchange　between　the　President　and　the　CIA　director。　From　his　face　Nick　couldn't　tell　where　Gogh　stood　on　the　idea。
　〃Sir；　there　is　no　evidence　to　support　such　a　theory。〃　The　CIA　director　looked　embarrassed　for　the　President。
　〃There　is　no　evidence　to　reject　such　a　theory　either；　isn't　that　right？〃
　Sam　was　nonplussed　and　began　whispering　back　and　forth　with　his　aide。
　〃We　will　explore　this　possibility；　sir；　perhaps　through　the　SETI　people；　or　Bluebook。〃
　Nick's　eyes　again　went　wide。　He　hadn't　heard　project　Blue…book　mentioned　for　more　than　a　decade。　Was　it　possible　that　the　air　force　was　still　exploring　UFO　sightings？　Nick　began　wishing　he　always　had　access　to　Security　Council　meetings；　they　were　so　full　of　juicy　bits　of　information。
　〃Please　do；　Sam。　I　know　this　sounds　crazy　but　I'm　serious。　I've　always　believed　that　somewhere　in　the　universe　there　has　to　be　another　form　of　intelligent　life。　This　may　be　the　prelude　to　an　invasion；　or　it　could　be　some　kind　of　friendly　gesture。　I　know　what　you're　thinking；　Sam；　but　check　it　out　anyway。　All　right；　let's　continue；〃　the　President　said；　running　his　finger　back　down　the　agenda。　This　time　he　found　his　place　without　Elizabeth's　help。
　The　next　report　focused　on　the　civilian　situation　and　contained　more　reports　of　terrain　changes。　The　biggest　confirmed　loss　was　part　of　New　York　City；　but　there　were　other　losses　in　Florida；　Texas；　Maryland；　and　South　Carolina。　Most　of　these　were　known　because　of　military　base　losses　in　the　same　area。　Nick　mentally　added　what　he　heard　on　the　radio　to　the　list。　Civilian　losses　hadn't　been　estimated；　but　Nick　guessed　they　were　already　in　the　tens　of　millions。
　The　last　part　of　the　civilian　assessment　dealt　with　munication　problems。　The　country　still　had　a　munication　network　but　now　it　resembled　a　piece　of　swiss　cheese。　Radio　and　television　facilities　had　disappeared　in　some　regions；　while　still　others　had　been　affected　by　an　electromagnetic　pulse。　The　EMP　was　weaker　than　that　which　acpanies　a　nuclear　blast　but　was　strong　enough　to　damage　some　remaining　facilities。　Other　holes　in　the　munication　network　were　caused　by　loss　of　satellites。　What　the　country　was　left　with　was　a　shattered　network　where　some　cities　still　had　local　TV；　radio；　and　phone　service；　while　others　had　long…distance　service；　but　no　local。
　Nick　tried　to　picture　morning　in　America。　Some　would　be　getting　up　to　find　their　favorite　network　morning　program　absent　from　the　airwaves　but　local　news　filling　in。　Others　would　be　waking　in　the　dark；　using　a　portable　radio　trying　to　find　someone　still　broadcasting。　Everywhere　people　would　be　jamming　the　remaining　phone　systems　to　reach　loved　ones　or　to　request　emergency　services…services　that　would　be　slow　in　ing。
　The　report　ended　with　a　promise　to　keep　Elizabeth　updated。　This　time　when　Elizabeth　pointed　to　the　President's　agenda　he　looked　up　at　Nick。
　〃Dr。　Paulson；　you　seem　to　be　next。　Would　you　please　give　us　your　report。〃　The　President　glanced　at　Gogh　briefly　before　he　turned　to　Nick；　who　felt　like　a　second…string　quarterback　thrown　into　the　big　game。
　〃Thank　you；　Mr。　President。　First；　this　is　not　an　attack　on　the　United　States。〃　Then　he　added；　as　an　afterthought；　〃Not　an　attack　from　another　country　anyway；　I　will　have　to　consider　the　possibility　of　an　extraterrestrial　source。〃　The　President　looked　pleased　that　Nick　had　not　thought　of　his　theory；　but　the　corners　of　Gogh's　mouth　turned　up　slightly。
　〃Nick；〃　the　President　asked；　〃how　do　you　know　this　isn't　an　attack？〃
　〃This　phenomenon　has　crossed　borders；〃　Nick　said　simply；　〃and　I　have　seen　reports　that　it　may　be　a　worldwide　phenomenon。　It　seems　illogical　that　someone　with　hostile　intent　would　release　a　weapon　that　seems　to　act　indiscriminantly。〃
　The　President　turned　and　gave　the　CIA　director　an　icy　stare。　〃That　right；　Sam？　I　didn't　hear　anything　about　this　happening　in　other　countries　in　your　report。〃
　〃I　dealt　with　only　confirmed　reports。　We　have　only　unconfirmed　reports　from　overseas　。　。　。　there　was　some　speculation　that　the　overseas　phenomena　might　have　been　a　smoke　screen…〃
　〃That's　enough；〃　McIntyre　said　sternly；　cutting　the　CIA　director　off。　The　President's　jaw　was　set　and　his　eyes　were　cold。　〃Go　on；　Dr。　Paulson。〃
　〃Second；　there　is　no　technological　or　theoretical　basis　for　producing　such　phenomena。〃
　〃Dr。　Paulson　。　。　。　Nick　。　。　。　saying　that　what　has　happened　couldn't　happen　isn't　particularly　useful〃
　〃That's　not　what　I　am　saying；　sir。　I　am　suggesting　that　this　may　be　a　natural　phenomenon。〃
　The　President　was　about　to　speak　again　when　Gogh　interrupted。　〃Natural？　There　is　nothing　natural　about　disappearing　cities；　and　topographical　disruption。　There　is　no　record　of　any　similar　events　ever　recorded。〃
　〃I　know　it　hasn't　happened　in　the　modern　era；　but　there　are　ancient　records　that　suggest　something　similar。　Floods；　lost　continents；　missing　peoples；　a　number　of　events　that　are　not　dissimilar。〃
　Gogh　was　giving　Nick　a　hard　stare；　but　the　President　seemed　genuinely　interested　in　Nick's　theory；　so　Nick　switched　into　his　〃explain　it　to　the　public〃　mode。　〃We've　been　on　this　planet　for　only　a　tiny　slice　of　geological　time。　If　you　think　of　the　life　of　this　planet　in　terms　of　a　twenty…four…hour　clock；　then　the　dinosaurs　appeared　about　an　hour　ago　and　people　have　been　here　for　only　the　last　few　seconds。　There　is　over　twenty…three　hours　of　clock　we　are　still　trying　to　understand。　This　could　have　happened　many；　times　before；　but　we　would　be　unaware　of　it。〃
　〃There　would　be　geologic；　or　fossil　records；　of　such　an　event；〃　Gogh　insisted。
　〃There　might　be　such　evidence；　but　without　a　disciplinary　matrix　that　includes　time　displacement　as　part　of　the　theoretical　basis　such　evidence　would　be　explained　in　terms　of　existing　theory；　or　dismissed　as　a　theoretical　anomaly。　One　example　that　es　to　mind　is　the　finding　of　human　footprints　in　the　same　rock　that　carries　dinosaur　footprints。　We　have　assumed　that　the　footprints　could　not　be　human　because　humans　and　dinosaurs　did　not　exist　in　the　same　era。　Instead　of　trying　to　understand　how　humans　and　dinosaurs　might　have　ended　up　together；　we　hypothesize　an　unknown　dinosaur　that　makes　a　human…looking　footprint。〃
　〃There　was　such　a　dinosaur；〃　Gogh　interrupted。
　〃There　was　a　dinosaur　that　made　a　footprint　that　did　resemble　a　human's；　yes。　But　to　explain　the　human…looking　footprint　found　in　the　riverbed　rock；　you　have　to　add　erosion。　Enough　erosion　to　remove　the　foreclaws。〃
　〃It　is　a　reasonable　hypothesis；〃　Gogh　persisted。
　〃Reasonable；　yes；　but　Occam's　razor　tells　us　to　take　the　simplest　explanation；　and　〃that　is　that　those　are　human　footprints。〃
　〃It's　not　simpler　at　all。　Putting　humans　and　dinosaurs　together　violates　a　century　of　research　supporting　the　theory　of　evolution。〃
　〃Not　if　time　displacement　had　occurred。　Some　dinosaurs　could　have　been　displaced　and　for　a　short　time　coexisted　with　humans。〃
　While　Nick　was　talking；　Elizabeth　whispered　in　the　President's　ear。　This　time　he　waved　his　hand　at　her　in　dismissal。
　〃Dr。　Paulson；　you　mentioned　time　displacement；〃　the　President　said。　〃What　is　it　you　are　talking　about？〃
　Nick　was　surprised　by　the　question。　It　was　clear　to　him　what　had　happened　because　he　had　a　theory　that　allowed　him　to　organize　the　bits　and　pieces　of　evidence。　But　the　meeting's　various　reports　dealt　with　the　impact；　not　the　event。
　〃Yes；　sir。　I　believe　that　the　best　way　to　describe　the　situation　is　time　displacement。　Sections　of　our　present　have　been　replaced　by　sections　of　the　past。　Think　about　the　reports：　sections　of　land　suddenly　snow　covered；　deserts；　lava　flows；　tundra；　jungle…all　could　be　from　our　past。〃
　〃But　snow　is　certainly　mon　enough　even　in　this　age；　and　lava；　and　desert。　I　see　nothing　that　requires　us　to　assume　any　kind　of　time　disruption。　Why　not　topographical　displacement？〃
　〃There　are　also　reports　of　dinosaurs。〃
　Everyone　at　the　table　straightened　up　and　began　murmuring。　Nick　looked　around　the　table。　All　the　officials　were　talking　to　their　aides