第一小说网

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第21部分（第4页）

〃What　was　beautiful；　Harry？〃

〃Now；　dont　kid　me；〃　Harry　said。　〃Promise　you　wont　kid　me。〃

〃I　wont　kid　you。〃

〃You　think　I　look　the　same？〃

〃Yes；　I　do。〃

〃You　dont　think　Ive　changed　at　all？〃

〃No。　Not　that　I　can　see。　Do　you　think　youve　changed？〃

〃I　dont　know。　Maybe。　I…maybe。〃

〃Did　something　happen　in　the　sphere　to　change　you？〃

〃You　dont　understand　about　the　sphere。〃

〃Then　explain　it　to　me；〃　Norman　said。

〃Nothing　happened　in　the　sphere。〃

〃You　were　in　the　sphere　for　three　hours。　。。。〃

Nothing　happened。　Nothing　ever　happens　inside　the　sphere。　Its　always　the　same；　inside　the　sphere。〃

〃Whats　always　the　same？　The　foam？〃

〃The　foam　is　always　different。　The　sphere　is　always　the　same。〃

〃I　dont　understand；〃　Norman　said。

〃I　know　you　dont；〃　Harry　said。　He　shook　his　head。　〃What　can　I　do？〃

〃Tell　me　some　more。〃

〃There　isnt　any　more。〃

〃Then　tell　me　again。〃

〃It　wont　help；〃　Harry　said。　〃Do　you　think　youll　be　leaving　soon？〃

〃Barnes　says　not　for　several　days。〃

〃I　think　you　should　leave　soon。　Talk　to　the　others。　Convince　them。　Make　them　leave。〃

〃Why；　Harry？〃

〃I　cant　be…I　dont　know。〃

Harry　rubbed　his　eyes　and　lay　back　on　the　bed。　〃Youll　have　to　excuse　me；〃　he　said；　〃but　Im　very　tired。　Maybe　we　can　continue　this　some　other　time。　Talk　to　the　others；　Norman。　Get　them　to　leave。　Its　。。。　dangerous　to　stay　here。〃　And　he　lay　down　in　the　bunk　and　closed　his　eyes。

CHANGES

〃Hes　sleeping；〃　Norman　told　them。　〃Hes　in　shock。　Hes　confused。　But　he　seems　basically　intact。〃

〃What　did　he　tell　you；〃　Ted　said；　〃about　what　happened　in　there？〃

〃Hes　quite　confused；〃　Norman　said；　〃but　hes　recovering。　When　we　first　found　him；　he　didnt　even　remember　his　name。　Now　he　does。　He　remembers　my　name；　he　remembers　where　he　is。　He　remembers　he　went　into　the　sphere。　I　think　he　remembers　what　happened　inside　the　sphere；　too。　He　just　isnt　telling。〃

〃Great；〃　Ted　said。

〃He　mentioned　the　sea；　and　the　foam。　But　I　wasnt　clear　what　he　meant　by　that。〃

〃Look　outside；〃　Tina　said；　pointing　to　the　portholes。　Norman　had　an　immediate　impression　of　lights…thousands　of　lights　filling　the　blackness　of　the　ocean…and　his　first　response　was　unreasoning　terror：　the　lights　in　the　sphere　were　ing　out　to　get　them。　But　then　he　saw　each　of　the　lights　had　a　shape；　and　were　moving；　wriggling。

They　pressed　their　faces　to　the　portholes；　looked。　〃Squid；〃　Beth　said　finally。　〃Bioluminescent　squid。〃

〃Thousands　of　them。〃

〃More；〃　she　said。　〃Id　guess　at　least　half　a　million；　all　around　the　habitat。〃

〃Beautiful。〃

〃The　size　of　the　school　is　amazing；〃　Ted　said。　〃Impressive；　but　not　really　unusual；〃　Beth　said。　〃The　fecundity　of　the　sea　is　very　great　pared　with　the　land。　The　sea　is　where　life　began；　and　where　intense　petition　among　animals　first　appeared。　One　response　to　petition　is　to　produce　enormous　numbers　of　offspring。　Many　sea　animals　do　that。　In　fact；　we　tend　to　think　that　animals　came　out　onto　the　land　as　a　positive　step　forward　in　the　evolution　of　life。　But　the　truth　is；　the　first　creatures　were　really　driven　out　of　the　ocean。　They　were　just　trying　to　get　away　from