第一小说网

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第5部分（第1页）

＇＇26＇＇　〃You　okay？〃　Beth　said。　〃You　look　pale。〃

〃I　didnt　know　anybody　was　talking　about　going　down　there。〃

〃Just　rumors；〃　Beth　said。　〃Get　some　rest；　Norman。　I　think　you　need　it。〃

THE　BRIEFING

The　ulf　team　met　in　the　briefing　room；　just　before　eleven。　Norman　was　interested　to　see　the　group　he　had　picked　six　years　before；　now　assembled　together　for　the　first　time。

Ted　Fielding　was　pact；　handsome；　and　still　boyish　at　forty；　at　ease　in　shorts　and　a　Polo　sport　shirt。　An　astrophysicist　at　the　Jet　Propulsion　Laboratory　in　Pasadena；　he　had　done　important　work　on　the　planetary　stratigraphy　of　Mercury　and　the　moon；　although　he　was　best　known　for　his　studies　of　the　Mangala　Vallis　and　Valles　Marineris　channels　on　Mars。　Located　at　the　Martian　equator；　these　great　canyons　were　as　much　as　twenty…five　hundred　miles　long　and　two　and　a　half　miles　deep…ten　times　the　length　and　twice　the　depth　of　the　Grand　Canyon。　And　Fielding　had　been　among　the　first　to　conclude　that　the　planet　most　like　the　Earth　in　position　was　not　Mars　at　all；　as　previously　suspected；　but　tiny　Mercury；　with　its　Earth…like　magnetic　field。

Fieldings　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；　wed　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　hadnt　heard　anything　about　the　shape。

〃Ive　been　in　the　monitor　room　watching　the　video　feed　from　the　robots。　Theyre　beginning　to　define　the　shape　beneath　the　coral。　And　its　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　wasnt　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　wasnt　so　sure　about　Harry　Adams；　the　reserved　Princeton　mathematician　Norman　hadnt　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　Wordsworths　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　its　perfectly　clear；〃　Harry　said；　〃that　it　is　a　waste　of　time。〃

〃This　fin　theyve　found　underwater？〃

〃I　dont　know　what　it　is；　but　I　know　what　it　isnt。　It　isnt　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。〃