Sphere (深海圓疑) 原版小說

第6部分 (第1/7頁)

〃This　is　the　original　sonar　scan　from　the　ship。　If　you　can't　read　sonar　scans　this'll　be　hard　to　interpret；　but　you　see　here　the　thin；　knife…edge　obstruction。　Consistent　with　a　sunken　ship　or　aircraft；　which　cut　the　cable。

〃The　charter　pany；　Transpac　munications；　notified　the　Navy；　requesting　any　information　we　had　about　the　obstruction。　This　is　routine：　whenever　there　is　a　cable　break；　the　Navy　is　notified；　on　the　chance　that　the　obstruction　is　known　to　us。　If　it's　a　sunken　vessel　containing　explosives；　the　＇＇32＇＇　cable　pany　wants　to　know　about　it　before　they　start　repair。　But　in　this　case　the　obstruction　was　not　in　Navy　files。　And　the　Navy　was　interested。

〃We　immediately　dispatched　our　nearest　search　ship；　the　Ocean　Explorer；　from　Melbourne。　The　Ocean　Explorer　reached　the　site　on　June　21　of　this　year。　The　reason　for　the　Navy　interest　was　the　possibility　that　the　obstruction　might　represent　a　sunken　Chinese　Wuhan…class　nuclear　submarine　fitted　with　SY…2　missiles。　We　knew　the　Chinese　lost　such　a　sub　in　this　approximate　area　in　May　1984。　The　Ocean　Explorer　scanned　the　bottom；　using　a　most　sophisticated　sidelooking　sonar；　which　produced　this　picture　of　the　bottom。〃

In　color；　the　image　was　almost　three…dimensional　in　its　clarity。

〃As　you　see；　the　bottom　appears　flat　except　for　a　single　triangular　fin　which　sticks　up　some　two　hundred　and　eighty　feet　above　the　ocean　floor。　You　see　it　here；〃　he　said；　pointing。　〃Now；　this　wing　dimension　is　larger　than　any　known　aircraft　manufactured　in　either　the　United　States　or　the　Soviet　Union。　This　was　very　puzzling　at　first。　Next。〃

A　submersible　robot；　being　lowered　on　a　crane　over　the　side　of　a　ship。　The　robot　looked　like　a　series　of　horizontal　tubes　with　cameras　and　lights　nestled　in　the　center。