tc.thebearandthedragon-第102部分

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　〃Al；　grab　a　seat。　Coffee？〃
　〃Yes；　thank　you；　Dr。　Bretano。〃
　〃Tony；〃　the　SecDef　corrected。　He　wasn't　a　forma！　man　most　of　the　time；　and　he　knew　the　sort　of　work　Gregory　was　capable　of。　A　Navy　steward　got　coffee　for　both　men；　along　with　croissants　and　jam；　then　withdrew。　〃How　was　the　flight？〃
　〃The　red…eye　never　changes；　sir…Tony。　If　you　get　off　alive；　they　haven't　done　it　right。〃
　〃Yeah；　well；　one　nice　thing　about　this　job；　I　have　a　G　waiting　for　me　all　the　time。　I　don't　have　to　walk　or　drive　very　much；　and　you　saw　the　security　detail　outside。〃
　〃The　guys　with　the　knuckles　dragging　on　the　floor？〃　Gregory　asked。
　〃Be　nice。　One　of　them　went　to　Princeton　before　he　became　a　SEAL。〃
　That　must　be　the　one　who　reads　the　ic　books　to　the　others；　Al　didn't　observe　out　loud。　〃So；　Tony；　what　did　you　want　me　here　for？〃
　〃You　used　to　work　downstairs　in　SDIO；　as　I　recall。〃
　〃Seven　years　down　there；　working　in　the　dark　with　the　rest　of　the　mushrooms；　and　it　never　really　worked　out。　I　was　in　the　free…electron…laser　project。　It　went　pretty　well；　except　the　damned　lasers　never　scaled　up　the　way　we　expected；　even　after　we　stole　what　the　Russians　were　doing。　They　had　the　best　laser　guy　in　the　world；　by　the　way。　Poor　bastard　got　killed　in　a　rock…climbing　accident　back　in　1990；　or　that's　what　we　heard　in　SDIO。　He　was　bashing　his　head　against　the　same　wall　our　guys　were。　The　'wiggle　chamber；'　we　called　it；　where　you　lase　the　hot　gasses　to　extract　the　energy　for　your　beam。　We　could　never　get　a　stable　magnetic　containment。　They　tried　everything。　I　helped　for　nineteen　months。　There　were　some　really　smart　guys　working　that　problem；　but　we　all　struck　out。　I　think　the　guys　at　Princeton　will　solve　the　fusion…containment　problem　before　this　one。　We　looked　at　that；　too；　but　the　problems　were　too　different　to　copy　the　theoretical　solutions。　We　ended　up　giving　them　a　lot　of　our　ideas；　and　they've　been　putting　it　to　good　use。　Anyway；　the　Army　made　me　a　lieutenant　colonel；　and　three　weeks　later；　they　offered　me　an　early　out　because　they　didn't　have　any　more　use　for　me；　and　so　I　took　the　job　at　TRW　that　Dr。　Flynn　offered；　and　I've　been　working　for　you　ever　since。〃　And　so　Gregory　was　getting　eighty　percent　of　his　twenty…year　Army　pension；　plus　half　a　million　a　year　from　TRW　as　a　section　leader；　with　stock　options；　and　one　hell　of　a　retirement　package。
　〃Well；　Gerry　Flynn　sings　your　praises　about　once　a　week。〃
　〃He's　a　good　man　to　work　for；〃　Gregory　replied；　with　a　smile　and　a　nod。
　〃He　says　you　can　do　software　better　than　anyone　in　Sunnyvale。〃
　〃For　some　things。　I　didn't　do　the　code　for　'Doom；'　unfortunately；　but　I'm　still　your　man　for　adaptive　optics。〃
　〃How　about　SAMs？〃
　Gregory　nodded。　〃I　did　some　of　that　when　I　was　new　in　the　Army。　Then　later　they　had　me　in　to　play　with　Patriot　Block…4；　you　know；　intercepting　Scuds。　I　helped　out　on　the　warhead　software。〃　It　had　been　three　days　too　late　to　be　used　in　the　Persian　Gulf　War；　he　didn't　add；　but　his　software　was　now　standard　on　all　Patriot　missiles　in　the　field。
　〃Excellent。　I　want　you　to　look　over　something　for　me。　It'll　be　a　direct　contract　for　the　Office　of　the　Secretary　of　Defense…me…and　Gerry　Flynn　won't　gripe　about　it。〃
　〃What's　that；　Tony？〃
　〃Find　out　if　the　Navy's　Aegis　system　can　intercept　a　ballistic　inbound。〃
　〃It　can。　It'll　stop　a　Scud；　but　that's　only　Mach　three　or　so。　You　mean　a　real　ballistic　inbound？〃
　The　SecDef　nodded。　〃Yeah；　an　ICBM。〃
　〃There's　been　talk　about　that　for　years　。。。〃　Gregory　sipped　his　coffee。　〃The　radar　system　is　up　to　it。　May　be　a　slight　software　issue　there；　but　it　would　not　be　a　hard　one；　because　you'll　be　getting　raid…warning　from　other　assets；　and　the　SPY　radar　can　see　a　good　five　hundred　miles；　and　you　can　do　all　sorts　of　things　with　it　electronically；　like　blast　out　seven　million　watts　of　RF　down　half　a　degree　of　bearing。　That'll　fry　electronic　ponents　out　to；　oh；　seven　or　eight　thousand　meters。　You'll　end　up　having　two…headed　kids；　and　have　to　buy　a　new　watch。
　〃Okay；〃　he　went　on；　a　slightly　spacey　look　in　his　eyes。　〃The　way　Aegis　works；　the　big　SPY　radar　gives　you　a　rough　location　for　your　target…interception；　so　you　can　loft　your　SAMs　into　a　box。　That's　why　Aegis　missiles　get　such　great　range。　They　go　out　on　autopilot　and　only　do　actual　maneuvering　for　the　last　few　seconds。　For　that；　you　have　the
　SPG　radars　on　the　ships；　and　the　seeker…head　on　the　missile　tracks　in　on　the　reflected　RF　energy　off　the　target。　It's　a　killer　system　against　airplanes；　because　you　don't　know　you're　being　illuminated　until　the　last　couple　of　seconds；　and　it's　hard　to　eyeball　the　missile　and　evade　in　so　short　a　time。
　〃Okay；　but　for　an　ICBM；　the　terminal　velocity　is　way　the　hell　up　there；　like　twenty…five　thousand　feet　per　second；　like　Mach　eleven。　That　means　your　targeting　window　is　very　small。。。　in　all　dimensions；　but　especially　depth。　Also　you're　talking　a　fairly　hard；　robust　target。　The　RV　off　an　ICBM　is　fairly　sturdy；　not　tissue　paper　like　the　boosters　are。　I'll　have　to　see　if　the　warhead　off　a　SAM　will　really　hurt　one　of　those。〃　The　eyes　cleared　and　he　looked　directly　into　Bretano's　eyes。　〃Okay；　when　do　I　start？〃
　〃mander　Matthews；〃　THUNDER　said　into　his　inter　phone。　〃Dr。　Gregory　is　ready　to　talk　to　the　Aegis　people。　Keep　me　posted；　Al〃　was　Bretano's　final　order。
　〃You　bet。〃
　
　The　Reverend　Doctor　Hosiah　Jackson　donned　his　best　robe　of　black　silk；　a　gift　handmade　by　the　ladies　of　his　congregation；　the　three　stripes　on　the　upper　arms　designating　his　academic　rank。　He　was　in　Gerry　Patterson's　study；　and　a　nice　one　it　was。　Outside　the　white　wooden　door　was　his　congregation；　all　of　them　well…dressed　and　fairly　prosperous　white　folks；　some　of　whom　would　be　slightly　unfortable　with　having　a　black　minister　talk　to　them…Jesus　was　white；　after　all　（or　Jewish；　which　was　almost　the　same　thing）。　This　was　a　little　different；　though；　because　this　day　they　were　remembering　the　life　of　someone　only　Gerry　Patterson　had　ever　met；　a　Chinese　Baptist　named　Yu　Fa　An；　whom　their　minister　had　called　Skip；　and　whose　congregation　they　had　supported　and　supported　generously　for　years。　And　so　to　memorate　the　life　of　a　yellow　minister；　they　would　sit　through　the　sermon　of　a　black　one　while　their　own　pastor　preached　the　gospel　in　a　black　church。　It　was　a　fine　gesture　on　Gerry's　part；　Hosiah　Jackson　thought；　hoping　it　wouldn't　get　him　into　any　trouble　with　this　congregation。　There'd　be　a　few　out　there；　their　bigoted　thoughts　invisible　behind　their　self…righteous　faces；　but；　the　Reverend　Jackson　admitted　to　himself；　they'd　be　tortured　souls　because　of　it。　Those　times　had　passed。　He　remembered　them　better　than　white　Mississippians　did　because　he'd　been　the　one　walking　in　the　streets…he'd　been　arrested　seven　times　during　his　work　with　the　Southern　Christian　Leadership　Conference…and　getting　his　parishioners　registered　to　vote。　That　had　been　the　real　problem　with　the　rednecks。　Riding　in　a　municipal　bus　was　no　big　deal；　but　voting　meant　power；　real　civic　power；　the　ability　to　elect　the　people　who　made　the　laws　which　would　be　enforced　on　black　and　white　citizens　alike；　and　the　rednecks　hadn't　liked　that　at　all。　But　times　had　changed；　and　now　they　accepted　the　inevitable…after　it　had　e　to　pass…and　they'd　learned　to　deal　with　it；　and　they'd　also　learned　to　vote　Republican　instead　of　Democrat；　and　the　amusing　part　of　that　to　Hosiah　Jackson　was　that　his　own　son　Robert　was　more　conservative　than　these　well…dressed　rednecks　were；　and　he'd　gone　pretty　far　for　the　son　of　a　colored　preacherman　in　central　Mississippi。　But　it　was　time。　Patterson；　like　Jackson；　had　a　large　mirror　on　the　back　of　the　door　so　that　he　could　check　his　appearance　on　the　way　out。　Yes；　he　was　ready。　He　looked　solemn　and　authoritative；　as　the　Voice　of　God　was　supposed　to　look。
　The　congregation　was　already　singing。　They　had　a　fine　organ　here；　a　real　hundred…horsepower　one；　not　the　electronic　kind　he　had　at　his　church；　but　the　singing　。　。　。　they　couldn't　help　it。　They　sang　white；　and　there　was　no　getting　around　it。　The　singing　had　all　the　proper　devotion；　but　not　the　exuberant　passion　that　he　was　accustomed　to　。。。　but　he'd　love　to　have　that　organ；　Hosiah　decided。　The　pulpit　was　finely　appointed；　with　a　bottle　of　ice　water；　and　a　microphone　provided　by　the　CNN　crew；　who　were　discreetly　in　both　back　corners　of　the　church　and　not　making　any　trouble；　which　was　unusual　for　news　crews；　Reverend　Jackson　thought。　His　last　thought　before　beginning　was　that　the　only　other　black　man　to　stand　in　this　pulpit　before　this　moment　was　the　man　who'd　painted　the　woodwork。
　〃Ladies　and　gentlemen；　good　morning。　I　am　Hosiah　Jackson。　You　all　probably　know　where　my　church　is。　I　am　here　today　at　the　invitation　of　my　good　friend　and　colleague；　your　pastor；　Gerry　Patterson。
　〃Gerry　has　the　advantage　over　me　today；　because；　unlike　me；　and　I　gather　unlike　any　person　in　the　church；　he　actually　knew　the　man　whom　we　are　here　to　remember。
　〃To　me；　Yu　Fa　An　was　just　a　pen　pal。　Some　years　ago；　Gerry　and　I　had　occasion　to　talk　about　the　ministry。　We　met　in　the　chapel　at　the　local　hospital。　It'd　been　a　bad　day　for　both　of　us。　We'd　both　lost　good　people　that　day；　at　about　the　same　time；　and　to　the　same　disease；　cancer；　and　both　of　us　needed　to　sit　in　the　hospital　chapel。　I　guess　we　both　needed　to　ask　God　the　same　question。　It's　the　question　all　of　us　have　asked…　why　is　there　such　cruelty　in　the　world；　why　does　a　loving　and　merciful　God　permit　it？
　〃Well；　the　answer　to　that　question　is　found　in　Scripture；　and　in　many　places。　Jesus　Himself　lamented　the　loss　of　innocent　life；　and　one　of　his　miracles　was　the　raising　of　Lazarus　from　the　dead；　both　to　show　that　He　was　indeed　the　Son　of　God；　and　also　to　show　His　humanity；　to　show　how　much　He　cared　about　the　loss　of　a　good　man。
　〃But　Lazarus；　like　our　two　parishioners　that　day　in　the　hospital；　had　died　from　disease；　and　when　God　made　the　world；　He　made　it　in　such　a　way　that　there　were；　and　there　still　are；　things　that　need　fixing。　The　Lord　God　told　us　to　take　dominion　over　the　world；　and　part　of　that　was　God's　desire　for　us　to　cure　disease；　to　fix　all　the　broken　parts　and　so　to　bring　perfection　to　the　world；　even　as；　by　following　God's　Holy　Word；　we　can　bring　perfection　to　ourselves。
　〃Gerry　and　I　had　a　good