Sphere (深海圆疑) 原版小说-第6章

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Fielding's　manner　was　open；　cheerful；　and　pompous。　At　JPL；　he　had　appeared　on　television　whenever　there　was　a　spacecraft　flyby；　and　thus　enjoyed　a　certain　celebrity；　he　had　recently　been　remarried；　to　a　television　weather　reporter　in　Los　Angeles；　they　had　a　young　son。
Ted　was　a　longstanding　advocate　for　life　on　other　worlds；　and　a　supporter　of　SETI；　the　Search　for　Extraterrestrial　Intelligence；　which　other　scientists　considered　a　waste　of　time　and　money。　He　grinned　happily　at　Norman　now。
＇＇27＇＇　〃I　always　knew　this　would　happen…sooner　or　later；　we'd　get　our　proof　of　intelligent　life　on　other　worlds。　Now　at　last　we　have　it；　Norman。　This　is　a　great　moment。　And　I　am　especially　pleased　about　the　shape。〃
〃The　shape？〃
〃Of　the　object　down　there。〃
〃What　about　it？〃　Norman　hadn't　heard　anything　about　the　shape。
〃I've　been　in　the　monitor　room　watching　the　video　feed　from　the　robots。　They're　beginning　to　define　the　shape　beneath　the　coral。　And　it's　not　round。　It　is　not　a　flying　saucer；〃　Ted　said。　〃Thank　God。　Perhaps　this　will　silence　the　lunatic　fringe。〃　He　smiled。　〃　'All　things　e　to　him　who　waits；'　eh？〃
〃I　guess　so；〃　Norman　said。　He　wasn't　sure　what　Fielding　meant；　but　Ted　tended　to　literary　quotations。　Ted　saw　himself　as　a　Renaissance　man；　and　random　quotations　from　Rousseau　and　Lao…tsu　were　one　way　to　remind　you　of　it。　Yet　there　was　nothing　mean…spirited　about　him；　someone　once　said　that　Ted　was　〃a　brand…name　guy；〃　and　that　carried　over　to　his　speech　as　well。　There　was　an　innocence；　almost　a　na？veté　to　Ted　Fielding　that　was　endearing　and　genuine。　Norman　liked　him。

He　wasn't　so　sure　about　Harry　Adams；　the　reserved　Princeton　mathematician　Norman　hadn't　seen　for　six　years。　Harry　was　now　a　tall；　very　thin　black　man　with　wire…frame　glasses　and　a　perpetual　frown。　He　wore　a　T…shirt　that　said　〃Mathematicians　Do　It　Correctly〃；　it　was　the　kind　of　thing　a　student　would　wear；　and　indeed；　Adams　appeared　even　younger　than　his　thirty　years；　he　was　clearly　the　youngest　member　of　the　group…and　arguably　the　most　important。
Many　theorists　argued　that　munication　with　extraterrestrials　would　prove　impossible；　because　human　beings　would　have　nothing　in　mon　with　them。　These　thinkers　pointed　out　that　just　as　human　bodies　represented　the　oute　of　many　evolutionary　events；　so　did　human　thought。　Like　our　bodies；　our　ways　of　thinking　could　easily　have　turned　out　differently；　there　was　nothing　inevitable　about　how　we　looked　at　the　universe。
Men　already　had　trouble　municating　with　intelligent　＇＇28＇＇　Earthly　creatures　such　as　dolphins；　simply　because　dolphins　lived　in　such　a　different　environment　and　had　such　different　sensory　apparatus。
Yet　men　and　dolphins　might　appear　virtually　identical　when　pared　with　the　vast　differences　that　separated　us　from　an　extraterrestrial　creature…a　creature　who　was　the　product　of　billions　of　years　of　divergent　evolution　in　some　other　planetary　environment。　Such　an　extraterrestrial　would　be　unlikely　to　see　the　world　as　we　did。　In　fact；　it　might　not　see　the　world　at　all。　It　might　be　blind；　and　it　might　learn　about　the　world　through　a　highly　developed　sense　of　smell；　or　temperature；　or　pressure。　There　might　be　no　way　to　municate　with　such　a　creature；　no　mon　ground　at　all。　As　one　man　put　it；　how　would　you　explain　Wordsworth's　poem　about　daffodils　to　a　blind　watersnake？
But　the　field　of　knowledge　we　were　most　likely　to　share　with　extraterrestrials　was　mathematics。　So　the　team　mathematician　was　going　to　play　a　crucial　role。　Norman　had　selected　Adams　because；　despite　his　youth；　Harry　had　already　made　important　contributions　to　several　different　fields。
〃What　do　you　think　about　all　this；　Harry？〃　Norman　said；　dropping　into　a　chair　next　to　him。
〃I　think　it's　perfectly　clear；〃　Harry　said；　〃that　it　is　a　waste　of　time。〃
〃This　fin　they've　found　underwater？〃
〃I　don't　know　what　it　is；　but　I　know　what　it　isn't。　It　isn't　a　spacecraft　from　another　civilization。〃
Ted；　standing　nearby；　turned　away　in　annoyance。　Harry　and　Ted　had　evidently　had　this　same　conversation　already。　〃How　do　you　know？〃　Norman　asked。
〃A　simple　calculation；〃　Harry　said；　with　a　dismissing　wave　of　his　hand。　〃Trivial；　really。　You　know　the　Drake　equation？〃
Norman　did。　It　was　one　of　the　famous　proposals　in　the　literature　on　extraterrestrial　life。　But　he　said；　〃Refresh　me。〃
Harry　sighed　irritably；　pulled　out　a　sheet　of　paper。　〃It's　a　probability　equation。〃　He　wrote：

p　=　fpnhflfifc

＇＇29＇＇　〃What　it　means；〃　Harry　Adams　said；　〃is　that　the　probability；　p；　that　intelligent　life　will　evolve　in　any　star　system　is　a　function　of　the　probability　that　the　star　will　have　planets；　the　number　of　habitable　planets；　the　probability　that　simple　life　will　evolve　on　a　habitable　planet；　the　probability　that　intelligent　life　will　evolve　from　simple　life；　and　the　probability　that　intelligent　life　will　attempt　interstellar　munication　within　five　billion　years。　That's　all　the　equation　says。〃
〃Uh…huh；〃　Norman　said。
〃But　the　point　is　that　we　have　no　facts；〃　Harry　said。　〃We　must　guess　at　every　single　one　of　these　probabilities。　And　it's　quite　easy　to　guess　one　way；　as　Ted　does；　and　conclude　there　are　probably　thousands　of　intelligent　civilizations。　It's　equally　easy　to　guess；　as　I　do；　that　there　is　probably　only　one　civilization。　Ours。〃　He　pushed　the　paper　away。　〃And　in　that　case；　whatever　is　down　there　is　not　from　an　alien　civilization。　So　we're　all　wasting　our　time　here。〃
〃Then　what　is　down　there？〃　Norman　said　again。
〃It　is　an　absurd　expression　of　romantic　hope；〃　Adams　said；　pushing　his　glasses　up　on　his　nose。　There　was　a　vehemence　about　him　that　troubled　Norman。　Six　years　earlier；　Harry　Adams　had　still　been　a　street　kid　whose　obscure　talent　had　carried　him　in　a　single　step　from　a　broken　home　in　the　slums　of　Philadelphia　to　the　manicured　green　lawns　of　Princeton。　In　those　days　Adams　had　been　playful；　amused　at　his　turn　of　fortune。　Why　was　he　so　harsh　now？
Adams　was　an　extraordinarily　gifted　theoretician；　his　reputation　secured　in　probability…density　functions　of　quantum　mechanics　which　were　beyond　Norman's　prehension；　although　Adams　had　worked　them　out　when　he　was　seventeen。　But　Norman　could　certainly　understand　the　man　himself；　and　Harry　Adams　seemed　tense　and　critical　now；　ill　at　ease　in　this　group。
Or　perhaps　it　had　to　do　with　his　presence　as　part　of　a　group。　Norman　had　worried　about　how　he　would　fit　in；　because　Harry　had　been　a　child　prodigy。
There　were　really　only　two　kinds　of　child　prodigies…mathematical　and　musical。　Some　psychologists　argued　there　was　only　one　kind；　since　music　was　so　closely　related　to　＇＇30＇＇　mathematics。　While　there　were　precocious　children　with　other　talents；　such　as　writing；　painting；　and　athletics；　the　only　areas　in　which　a　child　might　truly　perform　at　the　level　of　an　adult　were　in　mathematics　or　music。　Psychologically；　such　children　were　plex：　often　loners；　isolated　from　their　peers　and　even　from　their　families　by　their　gifts；　for　which　they　were　both　admired　and　resented。　Socialization　skills　were　often　retarded；　making　group　interactions　unfortable。　As　a　slum　kid；　Harry's　problems　would　have　been；　if　anything；　magnified。　He　had　once　told　Norman　that　when　he　first　learned　about　Fourier　transforms；　the　other　kids　were　learning　to　slam…dunk。　So　maybe　Harry　was　feeling　unfortable　in　the　group　now。
But　there　seemed　to　be　something　else。　。。。　Harry　appeared　almost　angry。
〃You　wait；〃　Adams　said。　〃A　week　from　now；　this　is　going　to　be　recognized　as　one　big　fat　false　alarm。　Nothing　more。〃
You　hope；　Norman　thought。　And　again　wondered　why。
〃Well；　I　think　it's　exciting；〃　Beth　Halpern　said；　smiling　brightly。　〃Even　a　slim　chance　of　finding　new　life　is　exciting；　as　far　as　I　am　concerned。〃
〃That's　right；〃　Ted　said。　〃After　all；　Harry；　there　are　more　things　in　heaven　and　earth　than　are　dreamed　of　in　your　philosophy。〃
Norman　looked　over　at　the　final　member　of　the　team；　Arthur　Levine；　the　marine　biologist。　Levine　was　the　only　person　he　didn't　know。　A　pudgy　man；　Levine　looked　pale　and　uneasy；　wrapped　in　his　own　thoughts。　He　was　about　to　ask　Levine　what　he　thought　when　Captain　Barnes　strode　in；　a　stack　of　files　under　his　arm。
〃Wele　to　the　middle　of　nowhere；〃　Barnes　said；　〃and　you　can't　even　go　to　the　bathroom。〃　They　all　laughed　nervously。　〃Sorry　to　keep　you　waiting；〃　he　said。　〃But　we　don't　have　a　lot　of　time；　so　let's　get　right　down　to　it。　If　you'll　kill　the　lights；　we　can　begin。〃


The　first　slide　showed　a　large　ship　with　an　elaborate　superstructure　on　the　stern。
＇＇31＇＇　〃The　Rose　Sealady；〃　Barnes　said。　〃A　cable…laying　vessel　chartered　by　Transpac　munications　to　lay　a　submarine　telephone　line　from　Honolulu　to　Sydney；　Australia。　The　Rose　left　Hawaii　on　May　29　of　this　year；　and　by　June　16　it　had　gotten　as　far　as　Western　Samoa　in　the　mid…Pacific。　It　was　laying　a　new　fiber…optics　cable；　which　has　a　carrying　capacity　of　twenty　thousand　simultaneous　telephonic　transmissions。　The　cable　is　covered　with　a　dense　metal…and…plastics　web　matrix；　unusually　tough　and　resistant　to　breaks。　The　ship　had　already　laid　more　than　forty…six　hundred　nautical　miles　of　cable　across　the　Pacific　with　no　mishaps　of　any　sort。　Next。〃
A　map　of　the　Pacific；　with　a　large　red　spot。
〃At　ten　p。m。　on　the　night　of　June　17；　the　vessel　was　located　here；　midway　between　Pago　Pago　in　American　Samoa　and　Viti　Levu　in