MICHAEL CRICHTON

calcium spectral lines but also the white light spectrum from the sun. Such a“continuous spectrum” flare was extremely rare.Nor could the SESC believe the computed consequences. Solar flares releasean enormous amount of energy; even a modest flare can double the amount ofultraviolet radiation emitted by the entire solar surface. But flare 78/06/4l4aa wasalmost tripling ultraviolet emissions. Within 8.3 minutes of its first appearancesalong the rotating rim—the time it takes light to reach the earth from the sun—this surge of ultraviolet radiation began to disrupt the ionosphere of the earth.The consequence of the flare was that radio communications on a planetninety-three million miles away were seriously disrupted. This was especially truefor radio transmissions which utilized low signal strengths. Commercial radiostations generating kilowatts of power were hardlyinconvenienced, but the Congo Field Survey, transmitting signals on the orderof twenty thousand watts, was unable to establish satellite links. And since thesolar flare also ejected X-rays and atomic particles which would not reach theearth for a full day, the radio disruption would last at least one day, and perhapslonger. At ERTS in Houston, technicians reported to Travis that the SESCpredicted a time course of ionic disruption of four to eight days.“That’s how it looks. Ross’ll probably figure it out,” the technician said, “whenshe can’t re-establish today.”“They need that computer hookup,” Travis said. The ERTS staff had run fivecomputer simulations and the outcome was always the same—short of airliftingin a small army, Ross’s expedition was in serious trouble. Survival projectionswere running “point two four four and change”— only one chance in four that theCongo expedition would get out alive, assuming the help of the computer linkwhich was now broken.Travis wondered if Ross and the others realized how grave their situation was.“Any new Band Five on Mukenko?” Travis asked.Band 5 on Landsat satellites recorded infrared data. On its last pass over theCongo, Landsat had acquired significant new information on Mukenko. Thevolcano had become much hotter in the nine days since the previous Landsatpass; the temperature increase was on the order of 8 degrees.“Nothing new,” the technician said. “And the computers don’t project aneruption. Four degrees of orbital change are Within sensor error on that system,and the additional four degrees have no predictive value.”“Well, that’s something,” Travis said. “But what are they going to do about theapes now that they’re cut off from the computer?”221