按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！
At precisely the same time； and only six hundred miles； or nine hundred sixty or so kilometers； away； another geology team was in the eastern extreme of the Sayan mountain range。 Some of the semi…nomadic tribes in the area； who had made their living for centuries by herding reindeer； had brought into a government office some shiny yellow rocks。 Few people in the world have been unaware of what such rocks mean； at least for the preceding thirty centuries； and a survey team had been dispatched from Moscow State University； still the nation's most prestigious school。 They had been able to fly in； since their equipment was far lighter； and the last few hundred kilometers had been done on horseback； a wonderful anachronism for the survey team of academics； who were far more used to riding Moscow's fine subway system。
The first thing they'd found was an eighty…ish man living alone with his herd and a rifle to fend off wolves。 This citizen had lived alone since the death of his wife； twenty years before； quite forgotten by the changing governments of his country； known to exist only by a few shopkeepers in a dreary village thirty kilometers to the south； and his mental state reflected his long…term isolation。 He managed to shoot three or four wolves every year； and he kept the pelts as any hunter/herdsman might； but with a difference。 First he took the pelts and； weighting them down with stones； set them in the small river that ran near his hut。
In Western literature there is the well…known story of Jason and the Argonauts； and their heroic quest for the Golden Fleece。 It was not known until recently that the legend of the artifact sought was quite real： The tribesmen of Asia Minor had set the skins of sheep in their streams to catch the gold dust being washed down from deposits higher up； changing the pale wool fibers into something almost MAGICal in appearance。
It was no different here。 The wolf pelts the geologists found hanging inside the old soldier's hut looked on first inspection to be sculptures by Renaissance masters； or even artisans of the Pharaohs of dynastic Egypt； they were so evenly coated； and then the explorers found that each pelt weighed a good sixty kilograms； and there were thirty…four of them！ Sitting down with him over the necessary bottle of fine vodka； they learned that his name was Pavel Petrovich Gogol； that he'd fought against the Fascisti in the Great Patriotic War as a sniper； and； remarkably； was twice a Hero of the Soviet Union for his marksmanship； mainly in the battles around Kiev and Warsaw。 A somewhat grateful nation had allowed him to return to his ancestral lands … he was； it turned out； descended from the entrepreneurial Russians who'd e to Siberia in the early nineteenth century … where he'd been forgotten by the bureaucrats who never really wondered much where the reindeer meat eaten by the locals came from； or who might be cashing his pension checks to buy ammunition for his old bolt…action rifle。 Pavel Petrovich knew the value of the gold he found； but he'd never spent any of it； as he found his solitary life quite satisfactory。 The gold deposit a few kilometers upstream from the place where the wolves went for their last swim … as Pavel Petrovich described it with a twinkle in the eye and a snort of vodka … turned out to be noteworthy； perhaps as much as the South African strike of the mid…nineteenth century； and that had turned into the richest gold mine in the history of the world。 The local gold had not been discovered for several reasons； mainly relating to the dreadful Siberian climate； which had； first； prevented a detailed exploratory survey； and； second； covered the local streams with ice so much of the time that the gold dust in the streambeds had never been noticed。
Both the oil and rock survey teams had traveled into the field with satellite phones； the more quickly to report what they found。 This both teams did； coincidentally on the same day。
The Iridium satellite…munications system they used was a huge breakthrough in global munications。 With an easily portable instrument； one could municate with the low…altitude constellation of dedicated munications satellites which cross…linked their signals at the speed of light （which was almost instantaneous； but not quite） to conventional munications birds； and from there to the ground； which was where most people were most of the time。
The Iridium system was designed to speed munications worldwide。 It was not； however； designed to be a secure system。 There were ways to do that； but they all required the individual users to make their security arrangements。 It was now theoretically possible to get mercially available 128…bit encryption systems； and these were extremely difficult to break even by the most sophisticated of nation…states and their black services。。。 or so the salesmen said。 But the remarkable thing was that few people bothered。 Their laziness made life a lot easier for the National Security Agency； located between Baltimore and Washington at Fort Meade； Maryland。 There； a puter system called ECHELON was programmed to listen in on every conversation that crossed the ether； and to lock in on certain codewords。 Most of those words were nouns with national…security implications； but since the end of the Cold War； NSA and other agencies had paid more attention to economic matters； and so some of the new words were 〃oil；〃 〃deposit；〃 〃crude；〃 〃mine；〃 〃gold；〃 and others； all in thirty…eight languages。 When such a word crossed ECHELON's electronic ear； the continuing conversation was recorded onto electronic media and transcribed … and； where necessary； translated； all by puter。 It was by no means a perfect system； and the nuances of language were still difficult for a puter program to unravel … not to mention the tendency of many people to mutter into the phone … but where a goof occurred； the original conversation would be reviewed by a linguist； of which the National Security Agency employed quite a few。
The parallel reports of the oil and gold strikes came in only five hours apart； and made their way swiftly up the chain of mand； ending in a 〃flash〃 priority Special National Intelligence Estimate （called a SNIE； and pronounced 〃snee〃） destined for the President's desk right after his next breakfast； to be delivered by his National Security Adviser； Dr。 Benjamin Goodley。 Before that； the data would be examined by a team from the Central Intelligence Agency's Directorate of Science and Technology； with a big assist from experts on the payroll of the Petroleum Institute in Washington； some of whose members had long enjoyed a cordial relationship with various government agencies。 The preliminary evaluation … carefully announced and presented as such； preliminary； lest someone be charged for being wrong if the estimate proved to be incorrect someday … used a few carefully chosen superlatives。
Damn； 〃 the President observed at 8：10 EST 〃Okay； Ben； how big are they really？〃
〃You don't trust our technical weenies？〃 the National Security Advisor asked。
〃Ben； as long as I worked on the other side of the river； I never once caught them wrong on something like this； but damned if I didn't catch them under