第一小说网

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第35部分（第3页）

〃By　the　way；〃　she　said；　〃you　might　want　to　look　at　these。〃　She　handed　him　a　stack　of　printouts。　〃Theyre　the　record　of　all　the　interactions　weve　had　with　him。〃

〃They　may　give　us　a　clue；〃　Norman　said；　thumbing　through　the　sheets　without　any　real　enthusiasm。　He　felt　suddenly　tired。

〃Anyway；　itll　occupy　your　mind。〃

〃True。〃

〃Personally；〃　Beth　said；　〃Id　like　to　go　back　to　the　ship。〃

＇＇236＇＇　〃What　for？〃

〃Im　not　convinced　weve　found　everything　thats　there。〃

〃Its　a　long　way　to　the　ship；〃　Norman　said。

〃I　know。　But　if　we　get　a　clear　time　without　the　squid；　I　might　try　it。〃

〃Just　to　occupy　your　mind？〃

〃I　guess　you　could　say　that。〃　She　glanced　at　her　watch。　〃Norman；　Im　going　to　get　a　couple　of　hours　of　sleep；〃　she　said。　〃Then　we　can　draw　straws　to　see　who　goes　to　the　submarine。〃

〃Okay。〃

〃You　seem　depressed；　Norman。〃

〃I　am。〃

〃Me；　too；〃　she　said。　〃This　place　feels　like　a　tomb…and　Ive　been　prematurely　buried。〃

She　climbed　the　ladder　to　her　laboratory；　but　apparently　she　didnt　go　to　sleep；　because　after　a　few　moments；　he　heard　Tinas　recorded　voice　on　videotape　saying；　〃Do　you　think　theyll　ever　get　the　sphere　open？〃

And　Beth　replied；　〃Maybe。　I　dont　know。〃

〃It　scares　me。〃

The　whirr　of　rewinding　and　a　short　delay；　then：　〃Do　you　think　theyll　ever　get　the　sphere　open？〃

〃Maybe。　I　dont　know。〃

〃It　scares　me。〃

The　tape　was　being　an　obsession　with　Beth。

He　stared　at　the　printouts　on　his　lap；　and　then　he　looked　at　the　screen。　〃Jerry？〃　he　said。　〃Are　you　there？〃

Jerry　did　not　answer。

THE　SUB

She　was　shaking　his　shoulder　gently。　Norman　opened　his　eyes。

〃Its　time；〃　Beth　said。

〃Okay。〃　He　yawned。　God；　he　was　tired。　〃How　much　time　is　left？〃

〃Half　an　hour。〃

Beth　switched　on　the　sensory　array　at　the　munications　console；　adjusted　the　settings。

〃You　know　how　to　work　all　that　stuff？〃　Norman　said。　〃The　sensors？〃

〃Pretty　well。　Ive　been　learning　it。〃

〃Then　I　should　go　to　the　sub；〃　he　said。　He　knew　Beth　would　never　agree；　that　she　would　insist　on　doing　the　active　thing；　but　he　wanted　to　make　the　effort。

〃Okay；〃　she　said。　〃You　go。　That　makes　sense。〃