第一小说网

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第20部分（第3页）

〃Thats　fine。　But　not　now；　Beth。〃

〃Okay；〃　she　sighed。　〃Not　now。〃

She　went　back　upstairs。

Alone；　Norman　stared　at　the　console。　He　had　his　work　cut　out　for　him；　keeping　everybody　calm　for　the　next　few　days。　He　hadnt　looked　into　the　puter　system　before；　he　started　pressing　buttons。　Pretty　soon　he　found　a　file　marked　ULF　CONTACT　TEAM　BIOG。　＇＇131＇＇　He　opened　it　up。

Civilian　Team　Members

1。　Theodore　Fielding；　astrophysicistplanetary　geologist

2。　Elizabeth　Halpern；　zoologistbiochemist

3。　Harold　J。　Adams；　mathematicianlogician

4。　Arthur　Levine；　marine　biologistbiochemist

5。　John　F。　Thompson；　psychologist

Choose　one：

Norman　stared　in　disbelief　at　the　list。

He　knew　Jack　Thompson；　an　energetic　young　psychologist　from　Yale。　Thompson　was　world…renowned　for　his　studies　of　the　psychology　of　primitive　peoples；　and　in　fact　for　the　past　year　had　been　somewhere　in　New　Guinea；　studying　native　tribes。

Norman　pressed　more　buttons。

ULF　TEAM　PSYCHOLOGIST：　CHOICES　BY　RANK

1。　John　F。　Thompson；　Yale…approved

2。　William　L。　Hartz；　UCB…approved

3。　Jeremy　White；　UT…approved　（pending　clearance）

4。　Norman　Johnson；　SDU…rejected　（age）

He　knew　them　all。　Bill　Hartz　at　Berkeley　was　seriously　ill　with　cancer。　Jeremy　White　had　gone　to　Hanoi　during　the　Vietnam　War；　and　would　never　get　clearance。

That　left　Norman。

He　understood　now　why　he　had　been　the　last　to　be　called　in。　He　understood　now　about　the　special　tests。　He　felt　a　burst　of　intense　anger　at　Barnes；　at　the　whole　system　which　had　brought　him　down　here；　despite　his　age；　with　no　concern　for　his　safety。　At　fifty…three；　Norman　Johnson　had　no　business　being　a　thousand　feet　underwater　in　a　pressurized　exotic　gas　environment…and　the　Navy　knew　it。

It　was　an　outrage；　he　thought。　He　wanted　to　go　upstairs　and　give　Barnes　hell　in　no　uncertain　terms。　That　lying　son　of　a　bitch

He　gripped　the　arms　of　his　chair　and　reminded　himself　of　what　he　had　told　Beth。　Whatever　had　happened　up　to　this　point；　there　was　nothing　any　of　them　could　do　about　it　now。　He　would　indeed　give　Barnes　hell…he　promised　himself　he　＇＇132＇＇　would…but　only　when　they　got　back　to　the　surface。　Until　then；　it　was　no　use　making　trouble。

He　shook　his　head　and　swore。

Then　he　turned　the　console　off。

The　hours　crept　by。　Harry　was　still　in　the　sphere。　Tina　ran　her　image　intensification　of　the　videotape　that　showed　the　sphere　open；　trying　to　see　interior　detail。　〃Unfortunately；　we　have　only　limited　puting　power　in　the　habitat；〃　she　said。　〃If　I　could　hard…link　to　the　surface　I　could　really　do　a　job；　but　as　it　is　。。。〃　She　shrugged。

She　showed　them　a　series　of　enlarged　freeze…frames　from　the　open　sphere。　The　images　clicked　through　at　one…second　intervals。　The　quality　was　poor；　with　jagged；　intermittent　static。

〃The　only　internal　structures　we　can　see　in　the　blackness；〃　Tina　said；　pointing　to　the　opening；　〃are　these　multiple　pointsources　of　light。　The　lights　appear　to　move　from　frame　to　frame。〃

〃Its　as　if　the　sphere　is　filled　with　fireflies；〃　Beth　said。　〃Except　these　lights　are　much　dimmer　than　fireflies；　and　they　dont　blink。　They　are　very　numerous。　And　they　give　the　impression　of　moving　together；　in　surging　patterns　。。。〃

〃A　flock　of　fireflies？〃

〃Something　l