mc.theandromedastrein- 第3节

　
　　　GLADSTONE；　UPON　HEAIUNG　OF　THE　DEATH　OF　〃Chinese〃　Gordon　in　Egypt；　was　reported　to　have　muttered　irritably　that　his　general　might　have　chosen　a　more　propitious　time　to　die：　Gordon's　death　threw　the　Gladstone　government　into　turmoil　and　crisis。　An　aide　suggested　that　the　circumstances　were　unique　and　unpredictable；　to　which　Gladstone　crossly　answered：　〃All　crises　are　the　same。〃
　
　　　He　meant　political　crises；　of　course。　There　were　no　scientific　crises　in　1885；　and　indeed　none　for　nearly　forty　years　afterward。　Since　then　there　have　been　eight　of　major　importance；　two　have　received　wide　publicity。　It　is　interesting　that　both　the　publicized　crises　atomic　energy　and　space　capability　have　concerned　chemistry　and　physics；　not　biology。
　
　　　This　is　to　be　expected。　Physics　was　the　first　of　the　natural　sciences　to　bee　fully　modern　and　highly　mathematical。　Chemistry　followed　in　the　wake　of　physics；　but　biology；　the　retarded　child；　lagged　far　behind。　Even　in　the　time　of　Newton　and　Galileo；　men　knew　more　about　the　moon　and　other　heavenly　bodies　than　they　did　about　their　own。
　
　　　It　was　not　until　the　late　1940's　that　this　situation　changed。　The　postwar　period　ushered　in　a　new　era　of　biologic　research；　spurred　by　the　discovery　of　antibiotics。　Suddenly　there　was　both　enthusiasm　and　money　for　biology；　and　a　torrent　of　discoveries　poured　forth：　tranquilizers；　steroid　hormones；　immunochemistry；　the　genetic　code。　By　1953　the　first　kidney　was　transplanted　and　by　1958　the　first　birthcontrol　pills　were　tested。　It　was　not　long　before　biology　was　the　fastest…growing　field　in　all　science；　it　was　doubling　its　knowledge　every　ten　years。　Farsighted　researchers　talked　seriously　of　changing　genes；　controlling　evolution；　regulating　the　mind　ideas　that　had　been　wild　speculation　ten　years　before。
　
　　　And　yet　there　had　never　been　a　biologic　crisis。　The　Andromeda　Strain　provided　the　first。
　
　　　According　to　Lewis　Bornheim；　a　crisis　is　a　situation　in　which　a　previously　tolerable　set　of　circumstances　is　suddenly；　by　the　addition　of　another　factor；　rendered　wholly　intolerable。　Whether　the　additional　factor　is　political；　economic；　or　scientific　hardly　matters：　the　death　of　a　national　hero；　the　instability　of　prices；　or　a　technological　discovery　can　all　set　events　in　motion。　In　this　sense；　Gladstone　was　right：　all　crises　are　the　same。
　
　　　The　noted　scholar　Alfred　Pockrun；　in　his　study　of　crises　（Culture；　Crisis　and　Change）；　has　made　several　interesting　points。　First；　he　observes　that　every　crisis　has　its　beginnings　long　before　the　actual　onset。　Thus　Einstein　published　his　theories　of　relativity　in　1905…15；　forty　years　before　his　work　culminated　in　the　end　of　a　war；　the　start　of　an　age；　and　the　beginnings　of　a　crisis。
　
　　　Similarly；　in　the　early　twentieth　century；　American；　German；　and　Russian　scientists　were　all　interested　in　space　travel；　but　only　the　Germans　recognized　the　military　potential　of　rockets。　And　after　the　war；　when　the　German　rocket　installation　at　Peenernfinde　was　cannibalized　by　the　Soviets　and　Americans；　it　was　only　the　Russians　who　made　immediate；　vigorous　moves　toward　developing　space　capabilities。　The　Americans　were　content　to　tinker　playfully　with　rockets　and　ten　years　later；　this　resulted　in　an　American　scientific　crisis　involving　Sputnik；　American　education；　the　ICBM；　and　the　missile　gap。
　
　　　Pockran　also　observes　that　a　crisis　is　pounded　of　individuals　and　personalities；　which　are　unique：
　
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　　　It　is　as　difficult　to　imagine　Alexander　at　the　Rubicon；　and　Eisenhower　at　Waterloo；　as　it　is　difficult　to　imagine　Darwin　writing　to　Roosevelt　about　the　potential　for　an　atomic　bomb。　A　crisis　is　made　by　men；　who　enter　into　the　crisis　with　their　own　prejudices；　propensities；　and　predispositions。　　A　crisis　is　the　sum　of　intuition　and　blind　spots；　a　blend　of　facts　noted　and　facts　ignored。
　
　　　Yet　underlying　the　uniqueness　of　each　crisis　is　a　disturbing　sameness。　A　characteristic　of　all　crises　is　their　predictability；　in　retrospect。　They　seem　to　have　a　certain　inevitability；　they　seem　predestined。　This　is　not　true　of　all　crises；　but　it　is　true　of　sufficiently　many　to　make　the　most　hardened　historian　cynical　and　misanthropic。
　
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　　　In　the　light　of　Pockran's　arguments；　it　is　interesting　to　consider　the　background　and　personalities　involved　in　the　Andromeda　Strain。　At　the　time　of　Andromeda；　there　had　never　been　a　crisis　of　biological　science；　and　the　first　Americans　faced　with　the　facts　were　not　disposed　to　think　in　terms　of　one。　Shawn　and　Crane　were　capable　but　not　thoughtful　men；　and　Edgar　roe；　the　night　officer　at　Vandenberg；　though　a　scientist；　was　not　prepared　to　consider　anything　beyond　the　immediate　irritation　of　a　quiet　evening　ruined　by　an　inexplicable　problem。
　
　　　According　to　protocol；　roe　called　his　superior　officer；　Major　Arthur　Manchek；　and　here　the　story　takes　a　different　turn。　For　Manchek　was　both　prepared　and　disposed　to　consider　a　crisis　of　the　most　major　proportions。
　
　　　But　he　was　not　prepared　to　acknowledge　it。
　
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　　　Major　Manchek；　his　face　still　creased　with　sleep；　sat　on　the　edge　of　roe's　desk　and　listened　to　the　replay　of　the　tape　from　the　van。
　
　　　When　it　was　finished；　he　said；　〃Strangest　damned　thing　I　ever　heard；〃　and　played　it　over　again。　While　he　did　so；　he　carefully　filled　his　pipe　with　tobacco；　lit　it；　and　tamped　it　down。
　
　　　Arthur　Manchek　was　an　engineer；　a　quiet　heavyset　man　plagued　by　labile　hypertension；　which　threatened　to　end　further　promotions　as　an　Army　officer。　He　had　been　advised　on　many　occasions　to　lose　weight；　but　had　been　unable　to　do　so。　He　was　therefore　considering　abandoning　the　Army　for　a　career　as　a　scientist　in　private　industry；　where　people　did　not　care　what　your　weight　or　blood　pressure　was。
　
　　　Manchek　had　e　to　Vandenberg　from　Wright　Patterson　in　Ohio；　where　he　had　been　in　charge　of　experiments　in　spacecraft　landing　methods。　His　job　had　been　to　develop　a　capsule　shape　that　could　touch　down　with　equal　safety　on　either　land　or　sea。　Manchek　had　succeeded　in　developing　three　new　shapes　that　were　promising；　his　success　led　to　a　promotion　and　transfer　to　Vandenberg。
　
　　　Here　he　did　administrative　work；　and　hated　it。　People　bored　Manchek；　the　mechanics　of　manipulation　and　the　vagaries　of　subordinate　personality　held　no　fascination　for　him。　He　often　wished　he　were　back　at　the　wind　tunnels　of　Wright　Patterson。
　
　　　Particularly　on　nights　when　he　was　called　out　of　bed　by　some　damn　fool　problem。
　
　　　Tonight　he　felt　irritable；　and　under　stress。　His　reaction　to　this　was　characteristic：　he　became　slow。　He　moved　slowly；　he　thought　slowly；　he　proceeded　with　a　dull　and　plodding　deliberation。　It　was　the　secret　of　his　success。　Whenever　people　around　him　became　excited；　Manchek　seemed　to　grow　more　disinterested；　until　he　appeared　about　to　fall　asleep。　It　was　a　trick　he　had　for　remaining　totally　objective　and　clearheaded。
　
　　　Now　he　sighed　and　puffed　on　his　pipe　as　the　tape　spun　out　for　the　second　time。
　
　　　〃No　munications　breakdown；　I　take　it？〃
　　　roe　shook　his　head。　〃We　checked　all　systems　at　this　end。　We　are　still　monitoring　the　frequency。〃　He　turned　on　the　radio；　and　hissing　static　filled　the　room。　〃You　know　about　the　audio　screen？〃
　　　〃Vaguely；〃　Manchek　said；　suppressing　a　yawn。　In　fact；　the　audio　screen　was　a　system　he　had　developed　three　years　before。　In　simplest　terms；　it　was　a　puterized　way　to　find　a　needle　in　a　haystack　a　machine　program　that　listened　to　apparently　garbled；　random　sound　and　picked　out　certain　irregularities。　For　example；　the　hubbub　of　conversation　at　an　embassy　cocktail　party　could　be　recorded　and　fed　through　the　puter；　which　would　pick　out　a　single　voice　and　separate　it　from　the　rest。
　
　　　It　had　several　intelligence　applications。
　
　　　〃Well；〃　roe　said；　〃after　the　transmission　ended；　we　got　nothing　but　the　static　you　hear　now。　We　put　it　through　the　audio　screen；　to　see　if　the　puter　could　pick　up　a　pattern。　And　we　ran　it　through　the　oscilloscope　in　the　corner。〃　
　
　　　Across　the　room；　the　green　face　of　the　scope　displayed　a　jagged　dancing　white　line　the　summated　sound　of　static。
　
　　　〃Then；〃　roe　said；　〃we　cut　in　the　puter。　Like　so。〃
　
　　　He　p