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d to be here。
at some time in the last fifteen thousand years this blew in a really big way。 you’d have hadseveral tens of millions of tons of earth and rock and superheated water blowing out athypersonic speeds。 you can imagine what it would be like if this happened under； say； theparking lot at old faithful or one of the visitors’ centers。” he made an unhappy face。
“would there be any warning？”
“probably not。 the last significant explosion in the park was at a place called pork chopgeyser in 1989。 that left a crater about five meters across—not huge by any means； but bigenough if you happened to be standing there at the time。 fortunately； nobody was around so nobody was hurt； but that happened without warning。 in the very ancient past there have beenexplosions that have made holes a mile across。 and nobody can tell you where or when thatmight happen again。 you just have to hope that you’re not standing there when it does。”
big rockfalls are also a danger。 there was a big one at gardiner canyon in 1999； but againfortunately no one was hurt。 late in the afternoon； doss and i stopped at a place where therewas a rock overhang poised above a busy park road。 cracks were clearly visible。 “it could goat any time；” doss said thoughtfully。
“you’re kidding；” i said。 there wasn’t a moment when there weren’t two cars passingbeneath it； all filled with； in the most literal sense； happy campers。
“oh； it’s not likely；” he added。 “i’m just saying it could。 equally it could stay like that fordecades。 there’s just no telling。 people have to accept that there is risk in ing here。 that’sall there is to it。”
as we walked back to his vehicle to head back to mammoth hot springs； doss added： “butthe thing is； most of the time bad things don’t happen。 rocks don’t fall。 earthquakes don’toccur。 new vents don’t suddenly open up。 for all the instability； it’s mostly remarkably andamazingly tranquil。”
“like earth itself；” i remarked。
“precisely；” he agreed。
the risks at yellowstone apply to park employees as much as to visitors。 doss got ahorrific sense of that in his first week on the job five years earlier。 late one night； three youngsummer employees engaged in an illicit activity known as “hot…potting”—swimming orbasking in warm pools。 though the park； for obvious reasons； doesn’t publicize it； not all thepools in yellowstone are dangerously hot。 some are extremely agreeable to lie in； and it wasthe habit of some of the summer employees to have a dip late at night even though it wasagainst the rules to do so。 foolishly the threesome had failed to take a flashlight； which wasextremely dangerous because much of the soil around the warm pools is crusty and thin andone can easily fall through into a scalding vent below。 in any case； as they made their wayback to their dorm； they came across a stream that they had had to leap over earlier。 theybacked up a few paces； linked arms and； on the count of three； took a running jump。 in fact； itwasn’t the stream at all。 it was a boiling pool。 in the dark they had lost their bearings。 none ofthe three survived。
i thought about this the next morning as i made a brief call； on my way out of the park； at aplace called emerald pool； in the upper geyser basin。 doss hadn’t had time to take me therethe day before； but i thought i ought at least to have a look at it； for emerald pool is a historicsite。
in 1965； a husband…and…wife team of biologists named thomas and louise brock； while ona summer study trip； had done a crazy thing。 they had scooped up some of the yellowy…brown scum that rimmed the pool and examined it for life。 to their； and eventually the widerworld’s； deep surprise； it was full of living microbes。 they had found the world’s firstextremophiles—organisms that could live in water that had previously been assumed to be much too hot or acid or choked with sulfur to bear life。 emerald pool； remarkably； was allthese things； yet at least two types of living things； sulpholobus acidocaldarius andthermophilus aquaticus as they became known； found it congenial。 it had always beensupposed that nothing could survive above temperatures of 50°c （122°f）； but here wereorganisms basking in rank； acidic waters nearly twice that hot。
for almost twenty years； one of the brocks’ two new bacteria； thermophilus aquaticus；remained a laboratory curiosity until a scientist in california named kary b。 mullis realizedthat heat…resistant enzymes within it could be used to create a bit of chemical wizardry knownas a polymerase chain reaction； which allows scientists to generate lots of dna from verysmall amounts—as little as a single molecule in ideal conditions。 it’s a kind of geneticphotocopying； and it became the basis for all subsequent genetic science； from academicstudies to police forensic work。 it won mullis the nobel prize in chemistry in 1993。
meanwhile； scientists were finding even hardier microbes； now known ashyperthermophiles； which demand temperatures of 80°c （176°f） or more。 the warmestorganism found so far； according to frances ashcroft in life at the extremes； is pyrolobusfumarii； which dwells in the walls of ocean vents where the temperature can reach 113°c（235。4°f）。 the upper limit for life is thought to be about 120°c （248°f）； though no oneactually knows。 at all events； the brocks’ findings pletely changed our perception of theliving world。 as nasa scientist jay bergstralh has put it： “wherever we go on earth—eveninto what’s seemed like the most hostile possible environments for life—as long as there isliquid water and some source of chemical energy we find life。”
life； it turns out； is infinitely more clever and adaptable than anyone had ever supposed。
this is a very good thing； for as we are about to see； we live in a world that doesn’t altogetherseem to want us here。
part v life itselfthe more i examine the universeand study the details of its architecture；the more evidence i find that theuniverse in some sense must haveknown we were ing。
…freeman dyson
x
16LONELY PLANET
大＿
it isn’t easy being an organism。 in the whole universe； as far as we yet know； there isonly one place；