Sphere (深海圆疑) 原版小说-第50章

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Norman　said；　〃Harry…〃
〃…I　just　want　to　know　why　you　two　are　looking　at　me　like　that。　You're　looking　at　me　like　I'm　a　criminal　or　something。〃
〃Don't　get　paranoid；　Harry。〃
〃Huddling　up　here；　whispering　。。。〃
〃We　weren't　whispering。〃
〃You　were。〃　Harry　looked　around　the　room。　〃So　it's　two　white　people　and　one　black　person　now；　is　that　it？〃
〃Oh；　Harry　。。。〃
〃I'm　not　stupid；　you　know。　Something's　going　on　between　you。　I　can　tell。〃
〃Harry；〃　Norman　said；　〃nothing　is　going　on。〃
And　then　they　heard　a　low　insistent　beeping；　from　the　munications　console　downstairs。　They　exchanged　glances；　and　went　downstairs　to　look。


The　console　screen　was　slowly　printing　out　letter　groups。
CQX　VDX　MOP　IM
〃Is　that　Jerry？〃　Norman　asked。
〃I　don't　think　so；〃　Harry　said。　〃I　don't　think　he　would　go　back　to　code。〃
〃Is　it　a　code？〃
〃I　would　say　so；　definitely。〃
〃Why　is　it　so　slow？〃　Beth　said。　A　new　letter　was　added　every　few　seconds　in　a　steady；　rhythmic　way。
〃I　don't　know；〃　Harry　said。　〃Where　is　it　ing　from？〃
Harry　frowned。　〃I　don't　know；　but　the　transmission　speed　is　the　most　interesting　characteristic。　The　slowness。　Interesting。〃
＇＇276＇＇　Norman　and　Beth　waited　for　him　to　figure　it　out。　Norman　thought：　How　can　we　ever　get　along　without　Harry？　We　need　him。　He　is　both　the　most　important　intelligence　down　here；　and　the　most　dangerous。　But　we　need　him。
CQX　VDX　MOP　LKI　XXC　VRW　TGK　PIU　YQA
〃Interesting；〃　Harry　said。　〃The　letters　are　ing　about　every　five　seconds。　So　I　think　it's　safe　to　say　that　we　know　where　it's　ing　from。　Wisconsin。〃
Norman　could　not　have　been　more　surprised。　〃Wisconsin？〃
〃Yeah。　This　is　a　Navy　transmission。　It　may　or　may　not　be　directed　to　us；　but　it　is　ing　from　Wisconsin。〃
〃How　do　you　know　that？〃
〃Because　that's　the　only　place　in　the　world　it　could　be　ing　from；〃　Harry　said。　〃You　know　about　ELF？　No？　Well；　it's　like　this。　You　can　send　radio　waves　through　the　air；　and；　as　you　know；　they　travel　pretty　well。　But　you　can't　send　radio　far　through　water。　Water　is　a　bad　medium；　so　you　need　an　incredibly　powerful　signal　to　go　even　a　short　distance。〃
〃Yes　。。。〃
〃But　the　ability　to　penetrate　is　a　function　of　wavelength。　An　ordinary　radio　wave　is　short…shortwave　radio；　all　of　that。　The　length　of　the　waves　are　tiny；　thousands　or　millions　of　little　waves　to　an　inch。　But　you　can　also　make　ELF；　extremely　low…frequency　waves；　which　are　long…each　individual　wave　is　maybe　twenty　feet　long。　And　those　waves；　once　generated；　will　go　a　very　great　distance；　thousands　of　miles；　through　water；　no　problem。　The　only　trouble　is　that；　since　the　waves　are　long；　they're　also　slow。　That's　why　we're　getting　one　character　every　five　seconds。　The　Navy　needed　a　way　to　municate　with　their　submarines　underwater；　so　they　built　a　big　ELF　antenna　in　Wisconsin　to　send　these　long　waves。　And　that's　what　we're　getting。〃
〃And　the　code？〃
〃It　must　be　a　pression　code…three…letter　groupings　which　stand　for　a　long　section　of　predefined　message。　So　it　won't　take　so　long　to　send　a　message。　Because　if　you　sent　a　plain　text　message；　it　would　literally　take　hours。〃
CQX　VDX　MOP　LKI　XXC　VRW　TGK　PIU　YQA　IYT
＇＇277＇＇　EEQ　FVC　ZNB　TMK　EXE　MMN　OPW　GEW
The　letters　stopped。
〃Looks　like　that's　it；〃　Harry　said。
〃How　do　we　translate　it？〃　Beth　said。
〃Assuming　it's　a　Navy　transmission；〃　Harry　said；　〃we　don't。〃
〃Maybe　there's　a　codebook　here　somewhere；〃　Beth　said。
〃Just　hold　on；〃　Harry　said。
The　screen　shifted；　translating　groups　one　after　another。
2340　HOURS　7…07　CHIEF　CINCPAC　TO　BARNES　DEEPHAB…8
〃It's　a　message　to　Barnes；〃　Harry　said。　They　watched　as　the　other　letter　groups　were　translated。
SURFACE　SUPPORT　VESSELS　STEAMING　NANDI　AND　VIPATI　TO　YOUR　LOCATION　ETA　1600　HOURS　7…08　DEEP　WITHDRAW　AUTOSET　ACKNOWLEDGE　GOOD　LUCK　SPAULDING　END
〃Does　that　mean　what　I　think　it　means？〃　Beth　said。
〃Yeah；〃　Harry　said。　〃The　cavalry　is　on　the　way。〃
〃Hot　damn！〃　Beth　clapped　her　hands。
〃The　storm　must　be　calming　down。　They've　sent　the　surface　ships　and　they'll　be　here　in　a　little　more　than　sixteen　hours。〃
〃And　autoset？〃
They　had　the　answer　immediately。　Every　screen　in　the　habitat　flickered。　In　the　upper　right　corner　of　each　appeared　a　small　box　with　numbers：　16：20：00。　The　numbers　ran　backward。
〃It's　automatically　counting　down　for　us。〃
〃Is　there　some　kind　of　countdown　we're　supposed　to　follow　for　leaving　the　habitat？〃　Beth　said。
Norman　watched　the　numbers。　They　were　rolling　backward；　just　as　they　had　on　the　submarine。　Then　he　said；　〃What　about　the　submarine？〃
〃Who　cares　about　the　submarine；〃　Harry　said。
〃I　think　we　should　keep　it　with　us；〃　Beth　said。　She　checked　her　watch。　〃We　have　another　four　hours　before　it　has　to　be　reset。〃
〃Plenty　of　time。〃
＇＇278＇＇　〃Yes。〃
Privately；　Norman　was　trying　to　gauge　whether　they　could　survive　for　sixteen　more　hours。
Harry　said；　〃Well；　this　is　great　news！　Why　are　you　two　so　hangdog？〃
〃Just　wondering　if　we'll　make　it；〃　Norman　said。
〃Why　shouldn't　we　make　it？〃　Harry　said。
〃Jerry　might　do　something　first；〃　Beth　said。　Norman　felt　a　burst　of　irritation　with　her。　Didn't　she　realize　that　by　saying　that；　she　was　planting　the　idea　in　Harry's　mind？
〃We　can't　survive　another　attack　on　the　habitat；〃　Beth　said。
Norman　thought；　Shut　up；　Beth。　You're　making　suggestions。
〃An　attack　on　the　habitat？〃　Harry　said。
Quickly；　Norman　said；　〃Harry；　I　think　you　and　I　should　talk　to　Jerry　again。〃
〃Really？　Why？〃
〃I　want　to　see　if　I　can　reason　with　him。〃
〃I　don't　know　if　you　can；〃　Harry　said。　〃Reason　with　him。〃
〃Let's　try　anyway；〃　Norman　said；　with　a　glance　at　Beth。　〃It's　worth　a　try。〃


Norman　knew　he　would　not　really　be　talking　to　Jerry。　He　would　be　talking　to　a　part　of　Harry。　An　unconscious　part；　a　shadow　part。　How　should　he　go　about　it？　What　could　he　use？
He　sat　in　front　of　the　monitor　screen；　thinking；　What　do　I　know　about　Harry；　really？　Harry；　who　had　grown　up　in　Philadelphia　as　a　thin；　introverted；　painfully　shy　boy；　a　mathematical　prodigy；　his　gifts　denigrated　by　his　friends　and　family。　Harry　had　said　once　that　when　he　cared　about　mathematics；　everybody　else　cared　about　slamdunking。　Even　now；　Harry　hated　all　games；　all　sports。　As　a　young　man　he　had　been　humiliated　and　neglected；　and　when　he　finally　got　proper　recognition　for　his　gifts；　Norman　suspected；　it　came　too　late。　The　damage　was　already　done。　Certainly　it　came　too　late　to　prevent　the　arrogant；　braggart　exterior。
＇＇279＇＇　I　AM　HERE。　DO　NOT　BE　AFRAID。
〃Jerry。〃
YES　NORMAN。
〃I　have　a　request　to　make。〃
YOU　MAY　DO　SO。
〃Jerry；　many　of　our　entities　are　gone；　and　our　habitat　is　weakened。〃
I　KNOW　THIS。　MAKE　YOUR　REQUEST。
〃Would　you　please　stop　manifesting？〃
NO。
〃Why　not？〃
I　DO　NOT　WISH　TO　STOP。
Well；　Norman　thought；　at　least　we　got　right　down　to　it。　No　wasting　time。　〃Jerry；　I　know　that　you　have　been　isolated　for　a　long　time；　for　many　centuries；　and　that　you　have　felt　alone　during　all　that　time。　You　have　felt　that　nobody　cared　about　you。　You　have　felt　that　nobody　wanted　to　play　with　you；　or　shared　your　interests。〃
YES　THIS　IS　TRUE。
〃And　now　at　last　you　can　manifest；　and　you　are　enjoying　this。　You　like　to　show　us　what　you　can　do；　to　impress　us。〃
THIS　IS　TRUE。
〃So　that　we　will　pay　attention　to　you。〃
YES。　I　LIKE　IT。
〃And　it　works。　We　do　pay　attention　to　you。〃
YES　I　KNOW　IT。
〃But　these　manifestations　injure　us；　Jerry。〃
I　DO　NOT　CARE。
〃And　they　surprise　us；　too。〃
I　AM　GLAD。
〃We're　surprised；　Jerry；　because　you　are　merely　playing　a　game　with　us。〃
I　DO　NOT　LIKE　GAMES。　I　DO　NOT　PLAY　GAMES。
〃Yes。　This　is　a　game　for　you；　Jerry。　It　is　a　sport。〃
NO；　IT　IS　NOT。
〃Yes；　it　is；〃　Norman　said。　〃It　is　a　stupid　sport。〃
Harry；　standing　beside　Norman；　said；　〃Do　you　want　to　contradict　him　that　way？　You　might　make　him　mad。　I　don't　think　Jerry　likes　to　be　contradicted。〃
＇＇280＇＇　I'm　sure　you　don't；　Norman　thought。　But　he　said；　〃Well；　I　have　to　tell　Jerry　the　truth　about　his　own　behavior。　He　isn't　doing　anything　very　interesting。〃
OH？　NOT　INTERESTING？
〃No。　You　are　being　spoiled　and　petulant；　Jerry。〃
DO　YOU　DARE　TO　SPEAK　TO　ME　IN　THIS　FASHION？
〃Yes。　Because　you　are　acting　stupidly。〃
〃Jeez；〃　Harry　said。　〃Take　it　easy　with　him。〃
I　CAN　EASILY　MAKE　YOU　REGRET　YOUR　WORDS；　NORMAN。
Norman　was　noticing；　in　passing；　that　Jerry's　vocabulary　and　syntax　were　now　flawless。　All　pretense　of　na？veté；　of　an　alien　quality；　had　been　dropped。　But　Norman　felt　stronger；　more　confident；　as　the　conversation　progressed。　He　knew　whom　he　was　talking　to　now。　He　wasn't　talking　to　any　alien。　There　weren't　any　unknown　assumptions。　He　was　talking　to　a　childish　part　of　another　human　being。
I　HAVE　MORE　POWER　THAN　YOU　CAN　IMAGINE。
〃I　know　you　have　power；　Jerry；〃　Norman　said。　〃Big　deal。〃
Harry　became　suddenly　agitated。　〃Norman。　For　Christ's　sake。　You're　going　to　get　us　all　killed。〃
LISTEN　TO　HARRY。　HE　IS　WISE。
〃No；　Jerry；〃　Norman　said。　〃Harry　is　not　wise。　He　is　only　afraid。〃
HARRY　IS　NOT　AFRAID。　ABSOLUTELY　NOT。
Norman　decided　to　let　that　pass。　〃I'm　talking　to　you；　Jerry。　Only　to　you。　You　are　the　one　who　is　playing　games。〃
GAMES　ARE　STUPID。
〃Yes；　they　are；　Jerry。　They　are　not　worthy　of　you。〃
GAMES　ARE　NOT　OF　INTEREST　TO　ANY　INTELLIGENT　PERSON。
〃Then　stop；　Jerry。　Stop　the　manifestations。〃
I　CAN　STOP　WHENEVER　I　WANT。
〃I　am　not　sure　you　can；　Jerry。〃
YES。　I　CAN。
〃Then　prove　it。　Stop　this　sport　of　manifestations。〃　There　was　a　long　pause。　They