Sphere (深海圓疑) 原版小說

第39部分 (第5/7頁)

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