tc.thebearandthedragon-第124部分

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st　they　didn't　eat　you…and　so　had　been　accustomed　to　wagering　his　life　on　his　eye　and　his　nerve。　There　was　no　real　substitute　for　that；　the　kind　of　training　you　couldn't　institute　for　an　army。　A　gifted　few　learned　how　the　hard　way；　and　of　those　the　lucky　ones　survived　the　war。　Pavel　Petrovich　hadn't　had　an　easy　time。　Soldiers　might　admire　their　own　snipers；　might　value　them　for　their　skills；　but　you　could　never　say　〃rade〃　to　a　man　who　hunted　men　as　though　they　were　animals…because　on　the　other　side　of　the　line　might　be　another　such　man　who　wanted　to　hunt　you。　Of　all　the　enemies；　that　was　the　one　you　loathed　and　feared　the　most；　because　it　became　personal　to　see　another　man　through　a　telescopic　sight；　to　see　his　face；　and　take　his　life　as　a　deliberate　act　against　one　man；　even　gazing　at　his　face　when　the　bullet　struck。　Gogol　had　been　one　of　those；　Gennady　thought；　a　hunter　of　individual　men。　And　he'd　probably　never　lost　a　minute's　sleep　over　it。　Some　men　were　just　born　to　it；　and　Pavel　Petrovich　Gogol　was　one　of　them。　With　a　few　hundred　thousand　such　men；　a　general　could　conquer　the　entire　world；　but　they　were　too　rare　for　that。　。　。
　。　。　。　and　maybe　that　was　a　good　thing；　Bondarenko　mused。
　〃Might　you　e　to　my　headquarters　some　night？　I　would　like　to　feed　you　dinner　and　listen　to　your　stories。〃
　〃How　far　is　it？〃
　〃I　will　send　you　my　personal　helicopter；　Sergeant　Gogol。〃
　〃And　I　will　bring　you　a　gilded　wolf；〃　the　hunter　promised　his　guest。
　〃We　will　find　an　honored　place　for　it　at　my　headquarters；〃　Bondarenko　promised　in　turn。　〃Thank　you　for　your　tea。　I　must　depart　and　see　to　my　mand；　but　I　will　have　you　to　headquarters　for　dinner；
　Sergeant　Gogol。〃　Handshakes　were　exchanged；　and　the　general　took　his　leave。
　〃I　would　not　want　him　on　the　other　side　of　a　battlefield；〃　Colonel　Aliyev　observed；　as　they　got　into　their　helicopter。
　〃Do　we　have　a　sniper　school　in　the　mand？〃
　〃Yes；　General；　but　it's　mainly　inactive。〃
　Gennady　turned。　〃Start　it　up　again；　Andrushka！　We'll　get　Gogol　to　e　and　teach　the　children　how　it's　done。　He's　a　priceless　asset。　Men　like　that　are　the　soul　of　a　fighting　army。　It's　our　job　to　mand　our　soldiers；　to　tell　them　where　to　go　and　what　to　do；　but　those　are　the　men　who　do　the　fighting　and　the　killing；　and　it's　our　job　to　make　sure　they're　properly　trained　and　supplied。　And　when　they're　too　old；　we　use　them　to　teach　the　new　boys；　to　give　them　heroes　they　can　touch　and　talk　to。　How　the　hell　did　we　ever　forget　that；　Andrey？〃　The　general　shook　his　head　as　the　helicopter　lifted　off。
　
　Gregory　was　back　in　his　hotel　room；　with　three　hundred　pages　of　technical　information　to　digest　as　he　sipped　his　Diet　Coke　and　finished　off　his　french　fries。　Something　was　wrong　with　the　whole　equation；　but　he　couldn't　put　his　finger　on　it。　The　Navy　had　tested　its　Standard…2…ER　missile　against　all　manner　of　threats；　mainly　on　puter；　but　also　against　live　targets　at　Kwajalein　Atoll。　It　had　done　pretty　well；　but　there'd　never　been　a　full…up　live　test　against　a　for…real　ICBM　reentry　vehicle。　There　weren't　enough　of　them　to　go　around。　Mainly　they　used　old　Minuteman…II　ICBMs；　long　since　retired　from　service　and　fired　out　of　test　silos　at　Vandenberg　Air　Force　Base　in　California；　but　those　were　mostly　gone。　Russia　and　America　had　retired　all　of　their　ballistic　weapons；　chiefly　as　a　reaction　to　the　nuclear　terrorist　explosion　at　Denver　and　the　even　more　horrific　aftermath　that　had　barely　been　averted。　The　negotiations　to　draw　the　numbers　down　to　zero…the　last　ones　had　been　eliminated　in　public　just　before　the　Japanese　had　launched　their　sneak　attack　on　the　Pacific　Fleet…had　gone　so　rapidly　that　a　lot　of　the　minor　ancillary　points　had　scarcely　been　considered；　and　only　later　had　it　been　decided　to　take　the　〃spare〃　launchers　whose　disposition　had　somehow　been　overlooked　and　retain　them　for　ABM　testing　（every　month　a　Russian　officer　checked　the　American　ones　at　Vandenberg；　and　an　American　officer　counted　the　Russian　ones　outside　Plesetsk）。　The　ABM　tests　were　also　monitored；　hut　that　entire　area　of　effort　was　now　largely　theoretical。　Both　America　and　Russia　retained　a　goodly　number　of　nuclear　warheads；　and　these　could　easily　be　affixed　to　cruise　missiles；　which；　again；　both　sides　had　in　relative　abundance　and　no　country　could　stop。　It　might　take　five　hours　instead　of　thirty…four　minutes；　but　the　targets　would　be　just　as　dead。
　Anti…missile　work　had　been　relegated　to　theater　missiles；　such　as　the　ubiquitous　Scuds；　which　the　Russians　doubtless　regretted　ever　having　built；　much　less　sold　to　jerkwater　countries　that　couldn't　even　field　a　single　decent　mechanized　division；　but　who　loved　to　parade　those　upgraded　V…2…class　ballistic　stovepipes　because　they　looked　impressive　as　hell　to　the　people　on　the　sidewalks。　But　the　new　upgrades　on　Patriot　and　its　Russian　counterpart　SAM　largely　negated　that　threat；　and　the　Navy's　Aegis　system　had　been　tested　against　them；　with　pretty　good　success。　Like　Patriot；　though；　Standard　was　really　a　point…defense　weapon　with　damned　little　cross…range　ability　to　cover　an　area　instead　of　maybe　twenty　square　miles　of　important　sea…estate。
　All　in　all；　it　was　a　pity　that　they'd　never　solved　the　power…throughput　problem　with　his　free…electron　lasers。　Those　could　have　defended　whole　coastlines；　if　only　。　。　。　and　if　only　his　aunt　had　balls；　Gregory　thought；　she'd　be　his　uncle。　There　was　talk　of　building　a　chemical　laser　aboard　a　converted　747　that　could　sure　as　hell　clobber　a　ballistic　launch　during　boost　phase；　but　to　do　that；　the　747　had　to　be　fairly　close　to　the　launch　point；　and　so　that　was　just　one　more　version　of　theater　defense；　and　of　little　strategic　use。
　The　Aegis　system　had　real　possibilities。　The　SPY　radar　system　was　first…rate；　and　though　the　puter　that　managed　the　information　was　the　flower　of　1975　technology…a　current　Apple　Macintosh　had　it　beat　by　a　good　three　orders　of　magnitude　in　all　categories　of　performance…　intercepting　a　ballistic　warhead　wasn't　a　question　of　puting　speed　so　much　as　kinetic　energy…getting　the　kill　vehicle　to　the　right　place　at　the　right　time。　Even　that　wasn't　so　great　a　feat　of　engineering。　The　real　work　had　been　done　as　far　back　as　1959；　with　the　Nike　Zeus；　which　had　turned　into　Spartan　and　shown　great　promise　before　being　shitcanned　by　the　1972　treaty　with　the　Soviet　Union；　which　was；　belatedly；　just　as　dead　as　the　Safeguard　system；　which　had　been　aborted　at　half…built。
　Well；　the　fact　of　the　matter　was　that　MIRV　technology　had　negated　that　entire　defense　concept。　No；　you　had　to　kill　the　ICBM　in　boost　phase　to　kill　all　the　MIRVs　at　once；　and　do　it　over　the　enemy's　territory　so　that　if　he　had　a　primitive　arming　system　he'd　only　fry　his　own　turf。　The　method　for　doing　that　was　the　Brilliant　Pebbles　system　developed　at　Lawrence…Livermore　National　Laboratory；　and　though　it　had　never　been　given　a　full…up　test；　the　technology　was　actually　pretty　straightforward。　Being　hit　by　a　matchstick　traveling　at　fifteen　thousand　miles　per　hour　would　ruin　your　entire　day。　But　that　would　never　happen。　The　drive　to　fund　and　deploy　such　a　system　had　died　with　all　the　ballistic　launchers。　In　a　way；　it　was　a　pity；　Gregory　thought。　Such　a　system　would　have　been　a　really　cool　engineering　acplishment…but　it　had　little　practical　application　today。　The　PRC　retained　its　land…based　ballistic　launchers；　but　there　were　only　ten　or　so　of　them；　and　that　was　a　long　way　from　the　fifteen　hundred　the　Soviets　had　once　pointed　at　America。　The　Chinese　had　a　missile　submarine；　too；　but　Gregory　figured　that　CINCPAC　could　make　that　go　away　if　he　had　to。　Even　if　it　was　just　tied　alongside　the　pier；　one　two…thousand…pound　smart　bomb　could　take　it　out　of　play；　and　the　Navy　had　a　lot　of　those。
　So；　he　thought；　figure　the　PRC　gets　really　pissed　at　Taiwan；　and　figure　the　Navy　has　an　Aegis　cruiser　tied　alongside　so　that　its　sailors　can　get　drunk　and　laid　in　the　city；　and　those　folks　in　Beijing　pick　that　moment　to　push　the　button　on　one　of　their　ICBMs；　how　can　the　Navy　keep　its　cruiser　from　turning　into　slag；　and　oh；　by　the　way；　keep　the　city　of　Taipei　alive。。。？
　The　SM…2…ER　had　almost　enough　of　the　right　ingredients　to　handle　such　a　threat。　If　the　missile　was　targeted　on　where　the　cruiser　was；　cross…range　was　not　an　issue。　You　just　had　to　put　the　interceptor　on　the　same　line　of　bearing；　because　in　essence　the　inbound　rack　wasn't　moving　at　all；　and　you　just　had　to　put　the　SAM　in　the　same　place…Spot　X…　that　the　RV　was　going　to　be；　at　Time　Y。　The　Aegis　puter　could　figure　where　and　when　that　was；　and　you　weren't　really　hitting　a　bullet　with　a　bullet。　The　RV　would　be　about　a　meter　across；　and　the　kill…zone　of　the　SAM's　warhead　would　be　about；　what？　Three　meters　across？　Five？　Maybe　even　eight　or　ten？
　Call　it　eight；　Al　Gregory　thought。　Was　the　SM…2　that　accurate？　In　absolute　terms；　probably　yes。　It　had　ample…sized　control　surfaces；　and　getting　into　the　line　of　a　jet　aircraft…what　the　SM…2　had　been　designed　to　kill…had　to　take　into　account　the　maneuverability　of　the　aircraft　（pilots　would　do　their　damnedest　to　avoid　the　things）；　and　so　the　eight…meter　globe　of　destruction　could　probably　be　made　to　intercept　the　inbound　RV　in　terms　of　pure　geometry。
　The　issue　was　speed。　Gregory　popped　open　another　Diet　Coke　from　the　room's　minibar　and　sat　back　on　the　bed　to　consider　how　troublesome　that　issue　was。　The　inbound　RV；　at　a　hundred　thousand　feet；　would　be　traveling　at　about　sixteen　thousand　miles　per　hour；　23；466　feet　per　second；　eight　times　the　speed　of　a　rifle　bullet；　7；150　meters　per　second。　That　was　pretty　damned　fast。　It　was　about　the　same　speed　as　a　high…explosive　detonation。　You　could　have　the　RV　sitting　next　to　a　ton　of　TNT　at　the　moment　the　explosive　went　off；　and　the　explosion　couldn't　catch　up　with　the　RV。　That　was　FAST。
　So；　the　SAM's　warhead　has　to　go　off　well　before　it　gets　to　where　the　RV　is。　Figuring　out　how　much　was　a　simple　mathematical　exercise。　That　meant　that　the　proximity　fuse　on　the　SM…2　was　the　important　variable　in　the　equation；　Gregory　decided。　He　didn't　know　that　he　was　wrong　on　this；　didn't　see　what　he　was　missing；　and　went　on　with　his　calculations。　The　software　fix　for　the　proximity　laser　fusing　system　looked　less　difficult　than　he'd　imagined。　Well；　wasn't　that　good　news？
　
　It　was　another　early