Sphere (深海圓疑) 原版小說

第17部分 (第6/7頁)

ay　be　utterly　different。〃

〃You　mean　it　may　not　believe　in　the　sanctity　of　life；　or　'Thou　shalt　not　kill；'　〃　Barnes　said；　still　impatient。

〃No；〃　Norman　said。　〃I　mean　that　this　creature　may　not　be　able　to　be　killed；　and　so　it　may　have　no　concept　of　killing　in　the　first　place。〃

Barnes　stopped。　〃This　creature　may　not　be　able　to　be　killed？〃

Norman　nodded。　〃As　someone　once　said；　you　can't　break　the　arms　of　a　creature　that　has　no　arms。〃

〃It　can't　be　killed？　You　mean　it's　immortal？〃

〃I　don't　know；〃　Norman　said。　〃That's　the　point。〃

〃I　mean；　Jesus；　a　thing　that　couldn't　be　killed；〃　Barnes　said。　〃How　would　we　kill　it？〃　He　bit　his　lip。　〃I　wouldn't　like　to　open　that　sphere　and　release　a　thing　that　couldn't　be　killed。〃

Harry　laughed。　〃No　promotions　for　that　one；　Hal。〃　Barnes　looked　at　the　monitors；　showing　several　views　of　＇＇112＇＇　the　polished　sphere。　Finally　he　said；　〃No；　that's　ridiculous。　No　living　thing　is　immortal。　Am　I　right；　Beth？〃

〃Actually；　no；〃　Beth　said。　〃You　could　argue　that　certain　living　creatures　on　our　own　planet　are　immortal。　For　example；　single…celled　organisms　like　bacteria　and　yeasts　are　apparently　capable　of　living　indefinitely。〃

〃Yeasts。〃　Barnes　snorted。　〃We're　not　talking　about　yeasts。〃

〃And　to　all　intents　and　purposes　a　virus　could　be　considered　immortal。〃

〃A　virus？〃　Barnes　sat　down　in　a　chair。　He　hadn't　considered　a　virus。　〃But　how　likely　is　it；　really？　Harry？〃

〃I　think；〃　Harry　said；　〃that　the　possibilities　go　far　beyond　what　we've　mentioned　so　far。　We've　only　considered　threedimensional　creatures；　of　the　kind　that　exist　in　our　threedimensional　universe…or；　to　be　more　precise；　the　universe　that　we　perceive　as　having　three　dimensions。　Some　people　think　our　universe　has　n