Sphere (深海圆疑) 原版小说- 第48部分

FURTHER　ANALYSIS

Norman　went　up　to　the　lab　to　see　beth；　but　she　was　asleep；　curled　up　on　her　couch。　In　sleep；　she　looked　quite　beautiful。　It　was　odd　after　all　the　time　down　here　she　should　seem　so　radiant。　It　was　as　if　the　harshness　had　gone　out　of　her　features。　Her　nose　did　not　seem　so　sharp　any　more；　the　line　of　the　mouth　was　softer；　fuller。　He　looked　at　her　arms；　which　had　been　sinewy；　veins　bulging。　The　muscles　seemed　smoother；　more　feminine　somehow。
Who　knows？　he　thought。　After　so　many　hours　down　here；　you're　no　judge　of　anything。　He　climbed　back　down　the　ladder　and　went　to　his　bunk。　Harry　was　already　there；　snoring　loudly。
Norman　decided　to　take　another　shower。　As　he　stepped　under　the　spray；　he　made　a　startling　discovery。
The　bruises　which　had　covered　his　body　were　gone。　Anyway；　almost　gone；　he　thought；　staring　down　at　the　remaining　patches　of　yellow　and　purple。　They　had　healed　within　hours。　He　moved　his　limbs　experimentally　and　realized　that　the　pain　had　gone；　too。　Why？　What　had　happened？　For　a　moment　he　thought　this　was　all　a　dream；　or　a　nightmare；　and　then　he　thought：　No；　it's　just　the　atmosphere。　Cuts　and　bruises　healing　faster　in　the　high…pressure　environment。　It　wasn't　anything　mysterious。　Just　an　atmospheric　effect。
He　toweled　himself　as　dry　as　he　could　with　the　damp　towel；　and　then　went　back　to　his　bunk。　Harry　was　still　snoring；　as　loud　as　ever。
Norman　lay　on　his　back；　stared　at　the　red　humming　coils　of　the　ceiling　heater。　He　had　an　idea；　and　got　out　of　bed；　and　shifted　Harry's　talker　from　the　base　of　his　throat　to　one　side。　Immediately　the　snores　changed　to　a　soft；　high…pitched　hiss。
Much　better；　he　thought。　He　lay　on　the　damp　pillow；　and　was　almost　immediately　asleep。　He　awoke　with　no　sense　of　passing　time…it　might　have　been　only　a　few　seconds…but　he　felt　refreshed。　He　stretched　and　yawned；　and　got　out　of　bed。
Harry　still　slept。　Norman　moved　the　talker　back；　and　the　＇＇264＇＇　snores　resumed。　He　went　into　D　Cyl；　to　the　console。　Still　on　the　screen　were　the　words：
HEY　MAN　GET　OFF　MY　BACK。
〃Jerry？〃　Norman　said。　〃Are　you　there；　Jerry？〃
The　screen　did　not　respond。　Jerry　wasn't　there。　Norman　looked　at　the　stack　of　printouts　to　one　side。　I　really　should　go　over　this　stuff；　he　thought。　Because　something　troubled　him　about　Jerry。　Norman　couldn't　put　his　finger　on　it；　but　even　if　one　imagined　the　alien　as　a　spoiled　child…king；　Jerry's　behavior　didn't　make　sense。　It　just　didn't　add　up。　Including　the　last　message。
HEY　MAN　GET　OFF　MY　BACK。
Street　talk？　Or　just　imitating　Harry？　In　any　case　it　wasn't　Jerry's　usual　mode　of　munication。　Usually　Jerry　was　ungrammatical　and　sort　of　spacy；　talking　about　entities　and　awareness。　But　from　time　to　time　he　would　bee　sharply　colloquial。　Norman　looked　at　the　sheets。
WE'LL　BE　RIGHT　BACK　AFTER　A　SHORT　BREAK　FOR　THESE　MESSAGES　FROM　OUR　SPONSOR。
That　was　one　example。　Where　had　that　e　from？　It　sounded　like　Johnny　Carson。　Then　why　didn't　Jerry　sound　like　Johnny　Carson　all　the　time？　What　caused　the　shift？
Then；　too；　there　was　the　problem　of　the　squid。　If　Jerry　liked　to　scare　them；　if　he　enjoyed　rattling　their　cage　and　seeing　them　jump；　why　use　a　squid？　Where　had　that　idea　e　from？　And　why　only　a　squid？　Jerry　seemed　to　enjoy　manifesting　different　things。　So　why　hadn't　he　produced　giant　squid　one　time；　great　white　sharks　another　time；　and　so　on？　Wouldn't　that　provide　a　greater　challenge　to　his　abilities？
Then　there　was　the　problem　of　Ted。　Ted　had　been　playing　with　Jerry　at　the　time　he　was　killed。　If　Jerry　liked　to　play　so　much；　why　would　he　kill　off　a　player？　It　just　didn't　make　sense。
Or　did　it？
Norman　sighed。　His　trouble　lay　in　his　assumptions。　Norman　was　assuming　that　the　alien　had　logical　processes　similar　to　his　own。　But　that　might　not　be　true。　For　one　thing；　Jerry　might　operate　at　a　much　faster　metabolic　rate；　and　thus　have　a　different　sense　of　time。　Kids　played　with　a　toy　only　until　＇＇265＇＇　they　got　tired　of　it；　then　they　changed　to　another。　The　hours　that　seemed　so　painfully　long　to　Norman　might　be　only　a　few　seconds　in　the　consciousness　of　Jerry。　He　might　just　be　playing　with　the　squid　for　a　few　seconds；　until　he　dropped　it　for　another　toy。
Kids　also　had　a　poor　idea　about　breaking　things。　If　Jerry　didn't　know　about　death；　then　he　wouldn't　mind　killing　Ted；　because　he　would　think　the　death　was　just　a　temporary　event；　a　〃humorous〃　manifestation　by　Ted。　He　might　not　realize　he　was　actually　breaking　his　toys。
And　it　was　also　true；　when　he　thought　about　it；　that　Jerry　had　manifested　different　things。　Assuming　that　the　jellyfish　and　the　shrimps　and　the　sea　fans　and　now　the　sea　snakes　were　his　manifestations。　Were　they？　Or　were　they　just　normal　parts　of　the　environment？　Was　there　any　way　to　tell？
And　the　Navy　seaman；　he　thought　suddenly。　Let's　not　forget　the　seaman。　Where　had　he　e　from？　Was　that　seaman　another　of　Jerry's　manifestations？　Could　Jerry　manifest　his　playmates　at　will？　In　that　case；　he　really　wouldn't　care　if　he　killed　them　all。
But　I　think　that's　clear；　Norman　thought。　Jerry　doesn't　care　if　he　kills　us。　He　just　wants　to　play；　and　he　doesn't　know　his　own　strength。
Yet　there　was　something　else。　He　scanned　the　sheets　of　printout；　feeling　instinctively　some　underlying　organization　to　everything。　Something　he　wasn't　getting；　some　connection　he　wasn't　making。
As　he　thought　about　it；　he　kept　ing　back　to　one　question：　Why　a　squid？　Why　a　squid？
Of　course；　he　thought。　They　had　been　talking　about　a　squid；　during　the　conversation　at　dinner。　Jerry　must　have　overheard　that。　He　must　have　decided　that　a　squid　would　be　a　provocative　item　to　manifest。　And　he　was　certainly　right　about　that。
Norman　shifted　the　papers；　and　came　upon　the　very　first　message　that　Harry　had　decoded。
HELLO。　HOW　ARE　YOU？　I　AM　FINE。　WHAT　IS　YOUR　NAME？　MY　NAME　IS　JERRY。
＇＇266＇＇　That　was　as　good　a　place　to　begin　as　any。　It　had　been　quite　a　feat　for　Harry　to　decode　it；　Norman　thought。　If　Harry　hadn't　succeeded　with　that；　they　would　never　have　ever　started　talking　to　Jerry　at　all。
Norman　sat　at　the　console；　stared　at　the　keyboard。　What　had　Harry　said？　The　keyboard　was　a　spiral：　the　letter　G　was　one；　and　B　was　two；　and　so　on。　Very　clever　to　figure　it　out。　Norman　would　never　have　figured　that　out　in　a　million　years。　He　started　trying　to　find　the　letters　in　the　first　sequence。

00032125252632　032629　301321　04261037　18　3016　06180
82132　29033005　1822　04261013　0830162137　1604　083016
21　1822　033013130432

Let's　see　。。。　00　marked　the　beginning　of　the　message；　Harry　had　said。　And　03；　that　was　H。　And　then　21；　that　was　E；　then　25　was　L；　and　25　was　another　L；　and　just　above　it；　26；　was　0。　。。。
HELLO。
Yes；　it　all　fitted。　He　continued　translating。　032629　was　HOW。　。。。
HOW　ARE　YOU？
So　far；　so　good。　Norman　experienced　a　certain　pleasure；　almost　as　if　he　were　decoding　it　himself　for　the　first　time。　Now；　18。　That　was　I。。。　。
I　AM　FINE。
He　moved　more　quickly；　writing　down　the　letters。
WHAT　IS　YOUR　NAME？
Now；　1604　was　MY。　。。。　MY　NAME　IS　。。。　But　then　he　found　a　mistake　in　one　letter。　Was　that　possible？　Norman　kept　going；　found　a　second　mistake；　then　wrote　out　the　message；　and　stared　at　it　in　growing　shock。
MY　NAME　IS　HARRY。
〃Jesus　Christ；〃　he　said。
He　went　over　it　again；　but　there　was　no　mistake。　Not　by　him。　The　message　was　perfectly　clear。
HELLO。　HOW　ARE　YOU？　I　AM　FINE。　WHAT　IS　YOUR　NAME？　MY　NAME　IS　HARRY。


THE　POWER


THE　SHADOW

Beth　sat　up　in　her　bed　in　the　laboratory　and　stared　at　the　message　Norman　had　given　her。　〃Oh　my　God；〃　she　said。　She　pushed　her　thick　dark　hair　away　from　her　face。　〃How　can　it　be？〃　she　said。
〃It　all　goes　together；〃　Norman　said。　〃Just　think。　When　did　the　messages　start？　After　Harry　came　out　of　the　sphere。　When　did　the　squid　and　the　other　animals　first　appear？　After　Harry　came　out　of　the　sphere。〃
〃Yes；　but…〃
〃…At　first　there　were　little　squid；　but　then；　when　we　were　going　to　eat　them；　suddenly　there　were　shrimps；　too。　Just　in　time　for　dinner。　Why？　Because　Harry　doesn't　like　to　eat　squid。〃
Beth　said　nothing；　she　just　listened。
〃And　who；　as　a　child；　was　terrified　by　the　giant　squid　in　Twenty　Thousand　Leagues　Under　the　Sea？〃
〃Harry　was；〃　she　said。　〃I　remember　he　said　that。〃　Norman　went　on　in　a　rush。　〃And　when　does　Jerry　appear　on　the　screen？　When　Harry　is　present。　Not　at　other　times。　And　when　does　Jerry　answer　us　as　we　talk？　When　Harry　is　in　the　room　to　hear　what　we're　saying。　And　why　can't　Jerry　read　our　minds？　Because　Harry　can't　read　our　minds。　And　remember　how　Barnes　kept　asking　for　the　name；　and　Harry　wouldn't　ask　for　the　name？　Why？　Because　he　was　afraid　the　screen　would　say　'Harry；'　not　'Jerry。'　〃
〃And　the　crewman　。。。〃
〃Right。　The　black　crewman。　Who　shows　up　just　as　Harry　is　having　a　dream　of　being　rescued？　A　black　crewman　shows　up　to　rescue　us。〃
＇＇270＇＇　Beth　was　frowning；　thinking。　〃What　about　the　giant　squid？〃
〃Well；　in　the　middle　of　its　attack；　Harry　hit　his　head　and　was　knocked　unconscious。　Immediately　the　squid　disappeared。　It　didn't　e　back　again　until　Harry　woke　up　from　his　nap；　and　told　you　he'd　take　over。〃
〃My　God；〃　Beth　said。
〃Yes；〃　Norman　said。　〃It　explains　a　lot。〃
She　was　silent　for　a　while；　staring　at　the　message。　〃But　how　is　he　doing　it？〃
〃I　doubt　if　he　is。　At　least；　not　consciously。〃　Norman　had　been　thinking　about　this。　〃Let's　assume；〃　he　said；　〃that　some