mc.theandromedastrein- 第41节

　
　　　Stone　was　aware　of　all　the　drawbacks　as　he　fitted　the　metal　button　into　the　EM；　sealed　it　shut；　and　started　the　vacuum　pump。　He　knew　the　drawbacks　and　he　ignored　them；　because　he　had　no　choice。　Limited　as　it　was；　the　electron　microscope　was　their　only　available　high…power　tool。
　
　　　He　turned　down　the　room　lights　and　clicked　on　the　beam。　He　adjusted　several　dials　to　focus　the　beam。　In　a　moment；　the　image　came　into　focus；　green　and　black　on　the　screen。
　
　　　It　was　incredible。
　
　　　Jeremy　Stone　found　himself　staring　at　a　single　unit　of　the　organism。　It　was　a　perfect；　six…sided　hexagon；　and　it　interlocked　with　other　hexagons　on　each　side。　The　interior　of　the　hexagon　was　divided　into　wedges；　each　meeting　at　the　precise　center　of　the　structure。　The　overall　appearance　was　accurate；　with　a　kind　of　mathematical　precision　he　did　not　associate　with　life　on　earth。
　
　　　It　looked　like　a　crystal。
　
　　　He　smiled：　Leavitt　would　be　pleased。　Leavitt　liked　spectacular；　mind…stretching　things。　Leavitt　had　also　frequently　considered　the　possibility　that　life　might　be　based　upon　crystals　of　some　kind；　that　it　might　be　ordered　in　some　regular　pattern。
　
　　　He　decided　to　call　Leavitt　in。
　
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　　　＇graphic　of　EM　crystal　pattern＇　Caption：　（Early　sketch　by　Jeremy　Stone　of　hexagonal　Andromeda　configuration。　Photo　courtesy　Project　Wildfire。）
　
　　　As　soon　as　he　arrived；　Leavitt　said；　〃Well；　there's　our　answer。〃
　
　　　〃Answer　to　what？〃
　　　〃To　how　this　organism　functions。　I've　seen　the　results　of　spectrometry　and　amino…acid　analysis。〃
　　　〃And？〃
　　　〃The　organism　is　made　of　hydrogen；　carbon；　oxygen；　and　nitrogen。　But　it　has　no　amino　acids　at　all。　None。　Which　means　that　it　has　no　proteins　as　we　know　them；　and　no　enzymes。　I　was　wondering　how　it　could　survive　without　protein…based　organization。　Now　I　know。〃
　　　〃The　crystalline　structure。〃
　　　〃Looks　like　it；〃　Leavitt　said；　peering　at　the　screen。　〃In　three　dimensions；　it's　probably　a　hexagonal　slab；　like　a　piece　of　tile。　Eight…sided；　with　each　face　a　hexagon。　And　on　the　inside；　those　wedge…shaped　partments　leading　to　the　center。〃
　　　〃They　would　serve　to　separate　biochemical　functions　quite　well。〃　
　　　〃Yes；〃　Leavitt　said。　He　frowned。
　　　〃Something　the　matter？〃
　
　　　Leavitt　was　thinking；　remembering　something　he　had　forgotten。　A　dream；　about　a　house　and　a　city。　He　thought　for　a　moment　and　it　began　to　e　back　to　him。　A　house　and　a　city。　The　way　the　house　worked　alone；　and　the　way　it　worked　in　a　city。
　
　　　It　all　came　back。
　
　　　〃You　know；〃　he　said；　〃it's　interesting；　the　way　this　one　unit　interlocks　with　the　others　around　it。〃
　　　〃You're　wondering　if　we're　seeing　part　of　a　higher　organism？〃
　　　〃Exactly。　Is　this　unit　self…sufficient；　like　a　bacterium；　or　is　it　just　a　block　from　a　larger　organ；　or　a　larger　organism？　After　all；　if　you　saw　a　single　liver　cell；　could　you　guess　what　kind　of　an　organ　it　came　from？　No。　And　what　good　would　one　brain　cell　be　without　the　rest　of　the　brain？〃
　
　　　Stone　stared　at　the　screen　for　a　long　time。　〃A　rather　unusual　pair　of　analogies。　Because　the　liver　can　regenerate；　can　grow　back；　but　the　brain　cannot。〃　
　
　　　Leavitt　smiled。　〃The　Messenger　Theory。〃
　　　〃One　wonders；〃　Stone　said。
　
　　　The　Messenger　Theory　had　e　from　John　R。　Samuels；　a　munications　engineer。　Speaking　before　the　Fifth　Annual　Conference　on　Astronautics　and　munication；　he　had　reviewed　some　theories　about　the　way　in　which　an　alien　culture　might　choose　to　contact　other　cultures。　He　argued　that　the　most　advanced　concepts　in　munications　in　earth　technology　were　inadequate；　and　that　advanced　cultures　would　find　better　methods。
　
　　　〃Let　us　say　a　culture　wishes　to　scan　the　universe；〃　he　said。　〃Let　us　say　they　wish　to　have　a　sort　of　'ing…out　party'　on　a　galactic　scale　to　formally　announce　their　existence。　They　wish　to　spew　out　information；　clues　to　their　existence；　in　every　direction。　What　is　the　best　way　to　do　this？　Radio？　Hardly　radio　is　too　slow；　too　expensive；　and　it　decays　too　rapidly。　Strong　signals　weaken　within　a　few　billion　miles。　TV　is　even　worse。　Light　rays　are　fantastically　expensive　to　generate。　Even　if　one　learned　a　way　to　detonate　whole　stars；　to　explode　a　sun　as　a　kind　of　signal；　it　would　be　costly。
　　　〃Besides　expense；　all　these　methods　suffer　the　traditional　drawback　to　any　radiation；　namely　decreasing　strength　with　distance。　A　light　bulb　may　be　unbearably　bright　at　ten　feet；　it　may　be　powerful　at　a　thousand　feet；　it　may　be　visible　at　ten　miles。　But　at　a　million　miles；　it　is　pletely　obscure；　because　radiant　energy　decreases　according　to　the　fourth　power　of　the　radius。　A　simple；　unbeatable　law　of　physics。
　　　〃So　you　do　not　use　physics　to　carry　your　signal。　You　use　biology。　You　create　a　munications　system　that　does　not　diminish　with　distance；　but　rather　remains　as　powerful　a　million　miles　away　as　it　was　at　the　source。
　　　〃In　short；　you　devise　an　organism　to　carry　your　message。　The　organism　would　be　self…replicating；　cheap；　and　could　be　produced　in　fantastic　numbers。　For　a　few　dollars；　you　could　produce　trillions　of　them；　and　send　them　off　in　all　directions　into　space。　They　would　be　tough；　hardy　bugs；　able　to　withstand　the　rigors　of　space；　and　they　would　grow　and　duplicate　and　divide。　Within　a　few　years；　there　would　be　countless　numbers　of　these　in　the　galaxy；　speeding　in　all　directions；　waiting　to　contact　life。
　　　〃And　when　they　did？　Each　single　organism　would　carry　the　potential　to　develop　into　a　full　organ；　or　a　full　organism。
　　　〃They　would；　upon　contacting　life；　begin　to　grow　into　a　plete　municating　mechanism。　It　is　like　spewing　out　a　billion　brain　cells；　each　capable　of　regrowing　a　plete　brain　under　the　proper　circumstances。　The　newly　grown　brain　would　then　speak　to　the　new　culture'　informing　it　of　the　presence　of　the　other；　and　announcing　ways　in　which　contact　might　be　made。〃
　
　　　Samuels's　theory　of　the　Messenger　Bug　was　considered　amusing　by　practical　scientists；　but　it　could　not　be　discounted　now。
　
　　　〃Do　you　suppose；〃　Stone　said；　〃that　it　is　already　developing　into　some　kind　of　organ　of　munication？〃
　　　〃Perhaps　the　cultures　will　tell　us　more；〃　Leavitt　said。
　　　〃Or　X…ray　crystallography；〃　Stone　said。　〃I'll　order　it　now。〃　
　
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　　　Level　V　had　facilities　for　X…ray　crystallography；　though　there　had　been　much　heated　discussion　during　Wildfire　planning　as　to　whether　such　facilities　were　necessary。　X…ray　crystallography　represented　the　most　advanced；　plex；　and　expensive　method　of　structural　analysis　in　modern　biology。　It　was　a　little　like　electron　microscopy；　but　one　step　further　along　the　line。　It　was　more　sensitive；　and　could　probe　deeper　but　only　at　great　cost　in　terms　of　time；　equipment；　and　personnel。
　
　　　The　biologist　R。　A。　Janek　has　said　that　increasing　vision　is　〃increasingly　expensive。〃　He　meant　by　this　that　any　machine　to　enable　men　to　see　finer　or　fainter　details　increased　in　cost　faster　than　it　increased　in　resolving　power。　This　hard　fact　of　research　was　discovered　first　by　the　astronomers；　who　learned　painfully　that　construction　of　a　two…hundred…inch　telescope　mirror　was　far　more　difficult　and　expensive　than　construction　of　a　one…hundred…inch　mirror。
　
　　　In　biology　this　was　equally　true。　A　light　microscope；　for　example；　was　a　small　device　easily　carried　by　a　technician　in　one　hand。　It　could　outline　a　cell；　and　for　this　ability　a　scientist　paid　about　1；000。
　
　　　An　electron　microscope　could　outline　small　structures　within　the　cell。　The　EM　was　a　large　console　and　cost　up　to　100；000。
　
　　　In　contrast；　X…ray　crystallography　could　outline　individual　molecules。　It　came　as　close　to　photographing　atoms　as　science　could　manage。　But　the　device　was　the　size　of　a　large　automobile；　filled　an　entire　room；　required　specially　trained　operators；　and　demanded　a　puter　for　interpretation　of　results。
　
　　　This　was　because　X…ray　crystallography　did　not　produce　a　direct　visual　picture　of　the　object　being　studied。。　It　was　not；　in　this　sense；　a　microscope；　and　it　operated　differently　from　either　the　light　or　electron　microscope。
　
　　　It　produced　a　diffraction　pattern　instead　of　an　image。　This　appeared　as　a　pattern　of　geometric　dots；　in　itself　rather　mysterious；　on　a　phot