Sphere (深海圓疑) 原版小說

第6部分 (第4/7頁)

n　near　the　spacecraft　site。　DH…7　housed　nine　Navy　divers　working　in　a　saturated　exotic…gas　environment。　They　proceeded　to　do　primary　drilling　work。　〃And　I　think　that　brings　you　up　to　date；〃　Barnes　said。　〃Any　questions？〃

Ted　said；　〃The　internal　structure　of　the　spacecraft。　Has　it　been　clarified？〃

〃Not　at　this　point。　The　spacecraft　seems　to　be　built　in　such　a　way　that　shock　waves　are　transmitted　around　the　outer　shell；　which　is　tremendously　strong　and　well　engineered。　That　prevents　a　clear　picture　of　the　interior　from　the　seismics。〃

〃How　about　passive　techniques　to　see　what's　inside？〃

〃We've　tried；〃　Barnes　said。　〃Gravitometric　analysis；　negative。　Thermography；　negative。　Resistivity　mapping；　negative。　Proton　precision　magnetometers；　negative。〃

〃Listening　devices？〃

〃We've　had　hydrophones　on　the　bottom　from　day　one。　There　have　been　no　sounds　emanating　from　the　craft。　At　least　not　so　far。〃

〃What　about　other　remote　inspection　procedures？〃

〃Most　involve　radiation；　and　we're　hesitant　to　irradiate　the　craft　at　this　time。〃

Harry　said；　〃Captain　Barnes；　I　notice　the　fin　appears　undamaged；　and　the　hull　appears　a　perfect　cylinder。　Do　you　think　that　this　object　crashed　in　the　ocean？〃

〃Yes；〃　Barnes　said；　looking　uneasy。

＇＇35＇＇　〃So　this　object　has　survived　a　high…speed　impact　with　the　water；　without　a　scratch　or　a　dent？〃

〃Well；　it's　tremendously　strong。〃

Harry　nodded。　〃It　would　have　to　be。　。。。〃

Beth　said；　〃The　divers　who　are　down　there　now…what　exactly　are　they　doing？〃

〃Looking　for　the　front　door。〃　Barnes　smiled。　〃For　the　time　being；　we've　had　to　fall　back　on　classical　archaeological　procedures。　We're　digging　exploratory　trenches　in　the　coral；　looking　for　an　entrance　or　a　hatch　of　som