tz.cobra strike-第14章

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t're　you　getting？〃
　Christopher　sat　in　silence　another　moment　before　answering。　〃Nothing　conclusive　one　way　or　the　other　yet。　I　can　see　roads　between　some　of　the　villages；　but　the　tree　cover's　too　thick　to　tell　how　extensive　the　network　is。　No　satellite　munications　systems；　though；　and　no　broadcasts　I　can　detect。〃
　Joshua　touched　the　inter's　talk　switch。　〃Excuse　me；　but　is　there　any　way　to　see　how　much　of　the　ground　around　the　villages　is　being　cultivated？　That　might　be　a　clue。〃
　Telek　looked　over　at　the　inter　camera。　〃So　far　that's　not　conclusive；　either；〃　she　said。　〃There　are　some　good…sized　candidates　for　crop　fields；　but　the　terrain　and　vegetation　color　scheme　make　real　measurement　iffy。〃
　〃Besides　which；〃　Christopher　put　in；　〃whether　a　given　village　is　growing　crops　for　local　use　or　for　export　is　something　else　we　can't　tell　from　up　here。〃
　〃So　let's　go　on　down；〃　Justin　muttered　from　his　place　at　the　viewport。
　Joshua　looked　back　at　his　brother。　Justin's　face　was　thoughtful　as　he　gazed　at　the　planet　below　。。。　but　nowhere　in　expression　or　stance　could　Joshua　detect　the　same　hard　knot　that　had　taken　up　residence　in　his　own　stomach。　〃Let's　be　a　little　less　anxious　to　throw　the　landing　party　outside；　shall　we？〃　he　said　tartly。
　Justin　blinked　at　him。　〃Sorry…did　I　sound　callous？〃
　〃You　sounded　overconfident；　and　that's　worse。　Your　tendency　toward　optimism　could　be　downright　dangerous　down　there。〃
　〃Tiptoing　around　up　here　like　we've　got　some　guilty　secret　to　hide　will　be　better？〃
　Joshua　grimaced。　Alike　as　two　electrons；　they'd　often　been　called　。。。　but　when　the　crunch　came　it　was　really　very　easy　to　tell　them　apart。　Deep　down；　Justin　had　a　strangely　potent　variety　of　fatalistic　optimism　that　refused　to　let　him　believe　the　universe　would　really　hurt　him。　A　totally　unrealistic　philosophy；　to　Joshua's　way　of　thinking…and　all　the　more　inprehensible　because　Justin　wasn't　simply　incapable　of　recognizing　potential　danger。　He　was　as　good　at　looking　ahead　and　weighing　odds　as　anyone　else　in　the　family；　he　just　acted　as　if　those　odds　didn't　apply　to　him。　It　was　this　attitude；　more　than　anything　else；　that　had　fueled　Joshua's　private　reservations　about　Justin's　Cobra　amibitions　。。。　and　had　nearly　persuaded　him　to　back　them　out　of　this　mission　entirely。
　〃Aha！〃　Cerenkov's　satisfied　exclamation　came　from　the　inter　speaker　into　Joshua's　musings。　〃There　we　go。　You　wanted　a　city；　Hersh？…well；　there　it　is。〃
　〃I'll　be　damned；〃　Nnamdi　murmured；　fingertips　skating　across　his　display　controls。　〃That's　a　city；　all　right。　Let's　see　。。。　electric　power　for　sure　。。。　still　no　radio　broadcasts　detectable　。。。　looks　like　the　tallest　buildings　are　in　the　ten…　to　twenty…story　range。　Bil；　can　you　find　anything　that　looks　like　a　power　plant？〃
　〃Hang　on；〃　Christopher　said。　〃Got　some　odd　neu　trino　emissions　here…trying　to　get　a　spectrum　analysis。　。　。。〃
　〃Another　city　showing　now…south　and　a　little　west　of　the　first；〃　Cerenkov　reported。
　Joshua　let　a　breath　hiss　slowly　between　his　teeth；　caught　between　the　desire　to　rush　down　to　the　lounge　and　see　the　cities　for　himself　and　the　fear　of　missing　something　important　en　route。　〃I　think　I　can　see　them；〃　Justin　said　behind　him。　〃e　take　a　look。〃
　Joshua　joined　him　at　the　viewport；　glad　to　have　found　a　promise。　The　cities　were　just　barely　visible。　〃Your　telescopic　vision　show　anything　interesting？〃　he　asked　his　brother。
　〃At　this　range？　Don't　be　silly。　Wait　a　second；　though…I've　got　an　idea。〃
　Stepping　back　to　the　inter；　Justin　busied　himself　with　the　keyboard。　A　moment　later　the　crowded　lounge　was　replaced　by　a　slightly　fuzzy　still　picture。　〃Got　the　ultra…high…resolution…camera　feed；〃　he　told　Joshua　with　satisfaction。
　Joshua　craned　his　neck　to　look。　The　city　seemed　normal　enough：　buildings；　streets；　park…like　areas　。　。。　〃Odd　angle　for　a　street　pattern；　isn't　it？〃　he　remarked。　〃I'd　think　it　simpler　to　run　their　streets　north…south　and　east…west　instead　of　whatever　angle　that　is；〃
　He　hadn't　realized　the　voice　link　with　the　lounge　was　still　open　until　Telek's　voice　came　in　reply。　〃The　angle；　in　case　you're　interested；　is　twenty…four　degrees；　rotated　counterclockwise　from　true　north。　And　the　southeast…northwest　streets　are　considerably　broader　than　the　perpendicular　set。　Speculations　as　to　why？　Anyone？〃
　〃Second　city's　the　same　way；〃　Cerenkov　grunted。　〃The　streets　are　only　skewed　twenty…three　point　eight　degrees；　but　the　same　wide/narrow　pattern's　there。〃
　〃Doesn't　look　like　they're　ringed；　either；　the　way　the　villages　are。〃　Justin　spoke　up；　leafing　through　the　ultra…camera's　other　shots。
　There　was　a　short　pause　from　the　other　end。　〃What　do　you　mean；　〃ringed〃？〃　Nnamdi　asked。
　〃There's　a　dark　ring　around　each　of　the　villages；〃　Justin　told　him；　backtracking　a　few　photos。　〃I　assumed　it　was　shadow　from　the　surrounding　trees；　…but　now　I'm　not　so　sure。〃
　〃Interesting；〃　Telek　grunted。　〃What's　the　number　on　that　photo？〃
　〃While　you're　doing　that；〃　Christopher　put　in；　〃we've　got　the　neutrino　spectrum　indentified　now。　Looks　like　they're　using　a　tandem　fission/fusion　reactor　system　for　their　power　supply。〃
　Someone　in　the　lounge　gave　a　low　whistle。　〃That's　pretty　advanced；　isn't　it？〃　another　voice…Marck　Rynstadt's；　Joshua　tentatively　identified　it…came　in　on　the　inter　hook…up。
　〃Yes　and　no；〃　Christopher　said。　〃They　obviously　haven't　got　anything　as　reliable　as　our　nision　plant　design　or　they　wouldn't　be　fiddling　with　a　tandem　system。　On　the　other　hand；　fission　alone　ought　to　be　hundreds　of　years　beyond　a　village　society's　capabilities。〃
　〃Dual　cultures；　then？〃　Joshua　hazarded。　〃Cities　and　villages　on　separate　development　tracks？〃
　〃More　likely　the　cities　are　run　by　invading　aliens；〃　Nnamdi　said　bluntly；　〃while　the　villages　are　home　to　the　original　natives。　I　concede　the　technology　issue…　and　it　therefore　bees　rather　clear　what　the　Trofts　are　worried　about。〃
　〃That　Qasama　is　the　leading　edge　of　someone　else　moving　toward　Troft　territory；〃　Telek　said　grimly。　〃Moreau…whichever　of　you　asked…we've　got　an　ID　on　those　ring　shadows　now。　They're　walls；　about　a　meter　thick　and　two　to　three　meters　high。〃
　The　twins　exchanged　glances。　〃Primitive　defenses；〃　Justin　said。
　〃Looks　that　way；〃　Cerenkov　said。　〃Governor；　I　think　we'd　do　well　to　cut　this　part　of　the　run　to　one　or　at　most　two　more　orbits。　They're　almost　certainly　aware　by　now　that　we're　up　here；　and　the　longer　we　wait　before　landing；　the　less　forthright　and　honest　we　look。　Remember　that　we　aren't　going　to　be　able　to　pretend　we　didn't　know　Qasama　was　here。〃
　〃At　least　not　if　we　intend　to　use　the　Troft　translator；〃　Telek　agreed…reluctantly；　Joshua　thought。　Stealing　a　glance　back　at　the　inter　screen；　he　studied　her　face　。。。　but　if　she　were　feeling　any　fear　at　ordering　them　down　into　the　snake　pit；　it　wasn't　visible。　Two　of　them；　he　thought　morosely；　turning　back　to　his　brother　and　the　viewport。　…Or　else　it's　me　who's　the　odd　one。　Maybe　I'm　just　overcautious　。。。　or　even　an　out…and…out　coward。
　Oddly　enough；　the　possibility　carried　no　sense　of　shame　along　with　it。　Justin　and　Telek；　after　all；　wouldn't　be　leaving　the　relative　safety　of　the　Dewdrop　the　minute　they　landed；　Joshua　and　the　rest　of　the　contact　team　would。　An　extra　helping　of　native　caution　would　likely　be　more　an　asset　than　a　liability　out　there。
　They　came　down　on　the　next　orbit　over　what　Nnamdi　had　dubbed　the　〃city　belt；〃　aiming　for　a　set　of　runways　at　the　north　end　of　the　northernmost　of　the　five　cities　in　the　chain。　There　had　been　some　excitement　when　the　runways　had　first　been　noticed；　Nnamdi　pouncing　on　them　as　evidence　that　Qasama　was　indeed　the　forward　base　of　a　star…going　people。　Christopher；　though；　had　suggested　their　width　and　length　were　more　suitable　for　aircraft　than　robot　glide…shuttles；　and　for　a　while　a　tension…sharpened　argument　had　raged　in　the　lounge。　It　was　Decker　York　who　eventually　pointed　out　that　the　runway　directions　seemed　oriented　more　along　prevailing　wind　directions　than　along　the　most　likely　orbital　launch/land　vectors。　Further　study　had　failed　to　e　up　with　anything　else　that　could　possibly　be　a　starfield；　and　Telek　had　elected　to　use　the　airport　as　the　next　best　site。
　For　Pyre；　it　was　the　most　unnerving　part　of　the　mission　thus　far