area51novel Chapter 59 Debate
Chapter 59 Debate
The camp's generator is old.
When it starts, there is a muffled thud, then the speed slowly climbs up, and finally it settles into a low-frequency hum, making the whole tent shake slightly.
Ella sat in a folding chair, staring at the screen.
The satellite link icon spun for nearly forty seconds before turning into a green checkmark.
The assessment results from London are in.
She opened the document, scanned it from beginning to end, and then scanned it a second time.
Morris lifted the curtain and came in from outside the tent, carrying an enamel mug, steam rising from the rim. He sat down on the folding stool opposite Ella, and without saying a word, took a sip.
"How so?"
Ella turned the screen toward him.
Morris leaned closer to look, his eyes scanning from top to bottom. He paused at the second paragraph, then continued scanning downwards, before placing the cup on the table.
"They told us to continue."
“It’s not just about continuing.” Ella tapped the bottom of the screen with her finger. “They’re having us expand our data collection scope within the existing framework, focusing on tracking ‘abnormal behavioral indicators in young male lions.’”
Morris did not speak immediately.
Outside the tent, Marcus was disassembling the battery pack for the thermal imaging equipment. The metal fasteners made a crisp sound as they hit the aluminum alloy casing.
"They read your report," Morris said.
"They read it."
"Then they decided to focus their efforts on the cub."
"Yes."
Morris picked up the glass, took another sip, and put the glass down again, in the exact same position as before.
"Ella," he began, his voice weary with the weariness of years of experience, "I'm not saying your analysis is flawed. On the data level, your deductions hold true. But how long have we been on site?"
"Eleven days."
"Eleven days," he repeated. "We triggered thermal imaging three times in total, twice involving the cub. The pressure gauge's trampling records show the cub appeared seven times, covering the entire northern section of the eastern hunting grounds." He paused. "A sub-adult male lion with a left shoulder injury repeatedly appeared in the same area every day, with highly repetitive routes and no obvious avoidance behavior."
Ella looked up. "What are you trying to say?"
"I would say it's more like an ordinary lion cub that hasn't yet learned to avoid human scent, rather than a reconnaissance individual that has been actively deployed."
The footsteps outside the tent paused for a moment.
Kenneth lifted the curtain and came in, holding a data tablet. He placed it on the table and turned the screen towards the two of them.
"I've also seen the assessment results from London." He went straight to the point, without beating around the bush. "Ella, what's the core evidence supporting your report's conclusion about 'deploying reconnaissance'?"
"The regularity of the behavior pattern," Ella said, "is related to the timing of the events and our path of advancement. The two locations that triggered thermal imaging happened to be exactly at the outer edge of our equipment's coverage area."
“Or,” Kenneth pushed the tablet forward a little, “it’s just a sub-adult male lion whose territorial sense is developing, repeatedly confirming its activity boundaries, and our equipment just happens to be placed on that boundary.”
They happened to overlap...
Ella did not answer immediately.
Kenneth continued, "Regularity of behavior is not the same as intentionality of behavior. This is a fundamental premise of behavioral science."
"I know this is a basic premise."
"Then why did you skip this step in your report?"
There was silence in the tent for almost five seconds.
The hum of the generator filled those five seconds.
Ella turned the screen back to herself, "Because the regularity itself is abnormal. A sub-adult male lion appearing twice at the same time on the boundary of the same area without the guidance of an adult male lion is not a normal cub behavior pattern."
"But it's not impossible," Kenneth said.
"Not common."
"Uncommon does not mean impossible."
Morris gestured between the two men. "Alright, let's not argue about that now." He pulled the data tablet in front of him, flipped through a few pages, and said, "London's intention is to continue, expand the collection area, and focus on tracking the young male lions. So, our deployment for tomorrow is..."
"Wait a minute," Ella interrupted him.
Both of them looked at her.
“If Kenneth is right,” she began slowly, “if that cub is just an ordinary sub-adult male lion, then what is our real objective?”
The tent fell silent for a moment.
Morris put down the tablet.
"That's the problem," he said.
Outside the tent, Kale squatted next to the generator, tightening the screws on the side with a small wrench.
The generator's resonant frequency is slightly off; every ninety seconds or so, a slight vibration peak appears, causing a small ripple to appear on a cup placed on the table. He has adjusted it twice, but it still hasn't been completely suppressed.
Marcus walked over, placed a fully charged battery pack on the ground, and squatted down to watch him work on it.
"They're arguing?" Marcus gestured with his chin toward the tent.
"We're discussing it." Kaller didn't look up.
"They don't sound like they're having a discussion."
Kaller shifted the wrench to a different angle. "Kenneth said the cub was normal. Ella said it wasn't."
Marcus paused for a moment, then said, "What do you think?"
Kaller tightened the last screw, stood up, and put the wrench back into the tool bag on his waist. "I think the cub has an old injury on its left shoulder."
"and then?"
"And then there's nothing more." He turned and walked toward the equipment box. "The fact that an injured lion cub could survive in that area until now means its mother was able to protect it, or that it was cautious enough." He paused for a moment. "Or maybe both."
Marcus stared at his back for two seconds. "You mean you also think it's just an ordinary lion cub?"
"I mean, I don't think a lion cub is what we're looking for." Kaller pressed the latch on the equipment box, turned around, "but I also don't know what what we're looking for looks like."
"We have far too few leads."
After he finished speaking, he picked up a gear bag and walked back to the tent.
Three kilometers away.
Chen Fei lay prone on the edge of the sandstone platform.
Its forelimbs are crossed, its chin is resting on a rock, and its eyes are open.
The night vision effect spreads the grassland out as a gray-white flat map in the dark.
The outlines of the three tents in the camp were clear, with the middle one being the brightest. The vibrations from the generator turned the weak vibrations transmitted from the ground into a stable low-frequency signal, which could be felt when stepping on the rocks.
He had been lying there for almost an hour.
He had pretty much figured out the routines of the activities in the camp.
The one with the most advanced tent, Morris, is the leader. He acts with a fixed rhythm and doesn't easily change his established route.
They entered the tent about ten minutes earlier than the others and came out about fifteen minutes later.
The second person who often patrolled outside the tent was Marcus, who was in charge of the equipment. He would charge and check the equipment three to four hours in advance before each advance, which could be used to estimate the action window for the next day.
The third one, Kenneth, is the one who raised the questions. His behavior changed this afternoon; he wandered around the camp perimeter alone for almost half an hour, then went into his tent, and the noise inside increased for a while.
Chen Fei analyzed the information in his mind.
There are internal disagreements!