Bones of the Earth Read Online Free PDF Page B

“No comment.”
    Leyster thrust up his hand.
    â€œMr. Leyster. Somehow I knew that you would be one of those asking questions.”
    â€œThis technology—whatever it is—must be expensive.”
    â€œExtremely so.”
    â€œSo why us?
    â€œIs that a complaint?” Griffin asked. Amid laughter, he clamped a hand over his watch, glanced down, and then up again. “Any further questions?”
    Leyster remained standing. “I just don’t understand why this technology is being made available for our use. Why paleontologists? Why not the military, the CIA …” He fumbled for another plausible alternative, “… politicians? We all know how little money was spent last year on fieldwork, worldwide. Why are we suddenly important enough to rate the big bucks?”
    There were annoyed sounds from the audience.
    Griffin frowned. “I fail to see why you’re opposed to this project.”
    â€œI’m not—”
    â€œNo, listen to me! I’ve come here bearing the greatest gift that anyone has ever received, and it’s being presented to you at no cost whatsoever. Yes, there are a few strings attached. But, my God, they’re extremely light, and what you get—the opportunity to study real, living dinosaurs—is so extraordinary, that I’d think you’d be grateful!”
    â€œI only—”
    People were actually shouting at him now. The crowd belonged to Griffin. It was more than the fact that he controlled access to the one thing they all wanted more than anything else. He knew how to manipulate them. A salesman had once told Leyster that the first thing he did was to find out a prospect’s name. Once the name was dropped into the spiel, he said, the prospect was halfway to being sold. What Griffin was doing was more complex than that. But no more sincere.
    They don’t want to know, he thought. They’ve received something they know they don’t deserve, and they’re not willing to ask the price. They’re afraid it might be too high. “I really feel that we—”
    â€œSit down!” somebody shouted.
    Blushing with confusion, he sat.
    Griffin held up both hands for calm. “Please. Please. Let’s remember that in science, no questions are forbidden. Our Mr. Leyster had a perfect right to ask. Unfortunately, reasons of security prevent me from answering. Now, as I mentioned before, there will be films tonight, and if you’ll look at your schedules, you’ll see that you have three hours for dinner. I must ask you not to leave the hotel.
    â€œIn the meantime—a lot of you have been working with materials provided from the Mesozoic past. Let’s hear those papers.”
    The applause was enthusiastic. Griffin leaned forward into it, almost bowing.
    After lunch, Leyster returned to the Grand Ballroom for the afternoon keynote. He looked around for the Metzgers. Only a few of the seats were filled, but there were plenty of people in the back of the room, networking and politicking, leaning against walls and looking skeptical, speaking earnestly up at those leaners, and reaching into paper bags to bring forth the polished skull of a troodontid or the brightly feathered wing and toothed beak of an Archaeopteryx.
    There was no use trying to be a part of the influence-swapping until he sorted out who was who, the major players from the bright young grad students who would hang in for a season or three before realizing that the money was elsewhere, the influential patriarchs of major institutions who spent so much time in administration they never published anything from the shy nondescripts who averted their heads to hide the eyes that burned with passionate insight.
    A husky man with white hair cropped short over his pink scalp to disguise his incipient baldness came up behind Leyster and pounded him on the back. “You bastard! You look so young! I don’t know how you do