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〃I don't mean that；〃 Ross said。 She explained that the satellite linkup was made by having the 256K puter on…site match an internally generated signal…like a video test pattern…to a transmitted signal from Houston。 That was how they locked on。 The machine was built that way； but they could use the matching program for other purposes。
〃You mean we can use it to pare these sounds？〃 Elliot said。
They could； but it was incredibly slow。 They had to transfer the taped sounds to the puter memory； and rerecord it in the VTR； on another portion of the tape bandwidth。 Then they had to input that signal into the puter memory； and run a second parison tape on the VTR。 Elliot found that he was standing by； watching Ross shuffle tape cartridges and mini floppy discs。 Every half hour； Munro would wander over to ask how it was ing； Ross became increasingly snappish and irritable。 〃We're going as fast as we can；〃 she said。
It was now eight o'clock。
But the first results were encouraging： Amy was indeed consistent in her translations。 By nine o'clock they had quantified matching on almost a dozen words：
FOOD 。9213 。112
EAT 。8844 。334
WATER 。9978 。004
DRINK 。7743 。334
｛AFFIRMATION｝ YES 。6654 。441
｛NEGATION｝ NO 。8883 。220
E 。5459 。440
GO 。5378 。404
SOUND PLEX： ？AWAY 。5444 。363
SOUND PLEX： ？HERE 。6344 。344
SOUND PLEX： ？ANGER
？BAD 。4232 。477
Ross stepped away from the puter。 〃All yours；〃 she said to Elliot。
Munro paced across the pound。 This was the worst time。 Everyone waiting； on edge； nerves shot。 He would have joked with Kahega and the other porters； but Ross and
…Elliot needed silence for their work。 He glanced at Kahega。 Kahega pointed to the sky and rubbed his fingers together。 Munro nodded。
He had felt it too； the heavy dampness in the air； the almost palpable feeling of electrical charge。 Rain was ing。
That was all they needed； he thought。 During the afternoon； there had been more booming and distant explosions； which
he had thought were far…off lightning storms。 But the sound was not right； these were sharp； single reports； more like a sonic boom than anything else。 Munro had heard them before； and he had an idea about what they meant。
He glanced up at the dark cone of Mukenko； and the faint glow of the Devil's Eye。 He looked at the crossed green laser beams overhead。 And he noticed one of the beams was moving where it struck foliage in the trees above。
At first he thought it was an illusion； that the leaf was moving and not the beam。 But after a moment he was sure： the beam itself was quivering； shifting up and down in the night air。
Munro knew this was an ominous development； but it would have to wait until later； at the moment； there were more pressing concerns。 He looked across the pound at Elliot and Ross bent over their equipment； talking quietly and in general behaving as if they had all the time in the world。
Elliot actually was going as fast as he could。 He had eleven reliable vocabulary words recorded on tape。 His problem now was to pose an unequivocal message。 This was not as easy as it first appeared。
For one thing； the gorilla language was not a pure verbal language。 The gorillas used sign and sound binations to convey information。 This raised a classic problem in language structure…how was the information actually conveyed？ （L。 S。 Verinski once said that if alien visitors watched Italians speaking they would conclude that Italian was basically a gestural sign language； with sounds added for emphasis only。） Elliot needed a simple message that did not depend on acpanying hand signs。
But he had no idea of gorilla syntax； which could critically alter meaning in most circumstances…the difference between 〃me beat〃 and 〃beat me。〃 And even a short message could be ambiguous in another language。 In English； 〃Look out！〃 generally meant the opposite of its literal meaning。
Faced with these uncertainties； Elliot considered broadcasting a single word。 But none of the words on his list was suitable。 His second choice was to broadcast several short messages； in case one was inadvertently ambiguous。 He eventually decided on three messages； GO AWAY； NO E； and BAD HERE； two of these binations had the virtue of being essentially independent of word order。
By nine o'clock； they had already isolated the specific sound ponents。 But they still had a plicated task ahead。 What Elliot needed was a loop； repeating the sounds over and over。 The closest they would e was the VCR； which rewound automatically to play its message again。 He could hold the six sounds in the 256K memory and play them out； but the timing was critical。 For the next hour； they frantically worked at the keyboard； trying to bring the word binations close enough together to sound…to their ears… correct。
By then it was after ten。
Munro came over with his laser gun。 〃You think all this
will work？〃
Elliot shook his head。 〃There's no way to know。〃 A dozen objections had e to mind。 They had recorded a female voice； but would the gorillas respond to a female？ Would they accept voice sounds without acpanying hand signals？ Would the message be clear？ Would the spacing of the sounds be acceptable？ Would the gorillas pay attention at all？
There was no way to know。 They would simply have to try。 Equally uncertain was the problem of broadcasting。 Ross had made a speaker； removing the tiny speaker from the pocket tape recorder and gluing it to an umbrella on a collapsible tripod。 This makeshift speaker produced surprisingly loud volume； but reproduction was muffled and unconvincing。
Shortly afterward； they heard the first sighing sounds。
Munro swung the laser gun through the darkness； the red activation light glowing on the electronic pod at the end of the barrel。 Through his night goggles he surveyed the foliage。
Once again； the sighing came from all directions； and although he heard the jungle foliage shifting； he saw no movement close to the camp。 The monkeys overhead were silent。 There was only the soft； ominous sighing。 Listening now； Munro was convinced that the sounds represented a language of some form； and… A single gorilla appeared and Kahega fired； his laser beam
streaking arrow…straight through the night。 The RFSD chattered and the foliage snapped with bullets。 The gorilla ducked silently back into a stand of dense ferns。
Munro and the others quickly took positions along the perimeter； crouching tensely； the infrared night lights casting their shadows on the mesh fence and the jungle beyond。
The sighing continued for several minutes longer； and then slowly faded away； until all was silent again。
〃What was that about？〃 Ross said。
Munro frowned。 〃They're waiting。〃
〃For what？〃
Munro shook his head。 He circled the pound； looking at the oilier guards； trying to work it out。 Many times he had anticipated the behavior of animals…a wounded leopard in the bush； a cornered buffalo…but this was different。 He was forced to admit he didn't know what to expect。 Had the single gorilla been a scout to look at their defenses？ Or had an attack actually begun； only for some reason to be halted？ Was it a maneuver designed to fray nerves？ Munro had watched parties of hunting chimpanzees make brief threatening forays toward baboons； to raise the anxiety level of the entire troop before the actual assault； isolating some young animal for killing。
Then he heard the rumble of thunder。 Kahega pointed to the sky； shaking his head。 That was their answer。
〃Damn；〃 Munro said。
At 10：30 a torrential tropical rain poured down on them。 Their fragile speaker was immediately soaked and drooping。
The rain shorted the electrical cables and the perimeter fence went dead。 The night lights flickered； and two bulbs exploded。 The ground turned to mud； visibility was reduced to five yards。 And worst of all； the rain splattering the foliage was so noisy they had to shout to each other。 The tapes were unfinished； the loudspeaker probably would not work； and certainly would not carry over the rain。 The rain would interfere with the lasers and prevent the dispersal of tear gas。 Faces in camp were grim。
Five minutes later； the gorillas attacked。
The rai