Sphere (深海圓疑) 原版小說

第17部分 (第5/7頁)

nes　said。　〃Listen；　I　just　got　off　the　phone…〃

〃…I　know；〃　Norman　said。　〃But　maybe　we　should　think　twice　about　this。〃　Out　of　the　corner　of　his　eye；　he　saw　Tina　nodding　vigorously。　Harry　looked　skeptical。　Beth　rubbed　her　eyes；　sleepy。

〃Are　you　afraid；　or　do　you　have　a　substantive　argument？〃　Barnes　said。

〃I　have　the　feeling；〃　Harry　said；　〃that　Norman's　about　to　quote　from　his　own　work。〃

〃Well；　yes；〃　Norman　admitted。　〃I　did　put　this　in　my　report。〃

In　his　report；　he　had　called　it　〃the　Anthropomorphic　Problem。〃　Basically；　the　problem　was　that　everybody　who　had　ever　thought　or　written　about　extraterrestrial　life　＇＇111＇＇　imagined　that　life　as　essentially　human。　Even　if　the　extraterrestrial　life　didn't　look　human…if　it　was　a　reptile；　or　a　big　insect；　or　an　intelligent　crystal…it　still　acted　in　a　human　way。　〃You're　talking　about　the　movies；〃　Barnes　said。

〃I'm　talking　about　research　papers；　too。　Every　conception　of　extraterrestrial　life；　whether　by　a　movie　maker　or　a　university　professor；　has　been　basically　human…assuming　human　values；　human　understanding；　human　ways　of　approaching　a　humanly　understandable　universe。　And　generally　a　human　appearance…two　eyes；　a　nose；　a　mouth；　and　so　on。〃

〃So？〃

〃So；〃　Norman　said；　〃that's　obviously　nonsense。　For　one　thing；　there's　enough　variation　in　human　behavior　to　make　understanding　just　within　our　own　species　very　troublesome。　The　differences　between；　say；　Americans　and　Japanese　are　very　great。　Americans　and　Japanese　don't　really　look　at　the　world　the　same　way　at　all。〃

〃Yes；　yes；〃　Barnes　said　impatiently。　〃We　all　know　the　Japanese　are　different…〃

〃…And　when　you　e　to　a　new　life　form；　the　differences　may　be　literally　inprehensible。　The　values　and　ethics　of　this　new　form　of　life　m