Sphere (深海圓疑) 原版小說

第17部分 (第2/7頁)

illed。　。。。　No；　you　couldn't　wedge　anything　in　the　crack。〃　He　looked　at　Norman；　rolled　his　eyes。

〃No；　we　tried　that；　too。　There　don't　seem　to　be　any　exterior　controls。　No；　no　message　on　the　outside。　No；　no　labels　either。　All　it　is；　is　a　highly　polished　sphere　with　some　convoluted　grooves　on　one　side。　What？　Blast　it　open？〃

Norman　turned　away。　He　was　in　D　Cylinder；　in　the　munications　section　run　by　Tina　Chan。　She　was　adjusting　a　dozen　monitors　with　her　usual　calm。　Norman　said；　〃You　seem　like　the　most　relaxed　person　here。〃

She　smiled。　〃Just　inscrutable；　sir。〃

〃Is　that　it？〃

＇＇108＇＇　〃It　must　be；　sir；〃　she　said；　adjusting　the　vertical　gain　on　one　rolling　monitor。　The　screen　showed　the　polished　sphere。　〃Because　I　feel　my　heart　pounding；　sir。　What　do　you　think　is　inside　that　thing？〃

〃I　haven't　any　idea；〃　Norman　said。

〃Do　you　think　there's　an　alien　inside？　You　know；　some　kind　of　a　living　creature？〃

〃Maybe。〃

〃And　we're　trying　to　open　it　up？　Maybe　we　shouldn't　let　it　out；　whatever　is　in　there。〃

〃Aren't　you　curious？〃　Norman　said。

〃Not　that　curious；　sir。〃

〃I　don't　see　how　blasting　would　work；〃　Barnes　was　saying　on　the　phone。　〃Yes；　we　have　SMTMP's；　yes。　Oh；　different　sizes。　But　I　don't　think　we　can　blast　the　sucker　open。　No。　Well；　if　you　saw　it；　you'd　understand。　The　thing　is　perfectly　made。　Perfect。〃

Tina　adjusted　a　second　monitor。　They　had　two　views　of　the　sphere；　and　soon　there　would　be　a　third。　Edmunds　was　setting　up　cameras　to　watch　the　sphere。　That　had　been　one　of　Harry's　suggestions。　Harry　had　said；　〃Monitor　it。　Maybe　it　does　something　from　time　to　time；　has　some　activity。〃

On　the　screen；　he　saw　the　network　of　wires　that　had　been　attached　to　the　sphere。　They　had　a　full　array　of　pas