Sphere (深海圓疑) 原版小說

第13部分 (第3/7頁)

ou　to　stop　pushing　every　damn　button　you　see。〃

But　nobody　else　objected。　It　was　a　relief　to　ride　the　walkway　past　dozens　of　identical　storage　bays。　Finally　they　came　to　a　new　section；　much　farther　forward。　Norman　guessed　by　now　they　were　a　quarter　of　a　mile　from　the　crew　partment　in　the　back。　That　meant　they　were　roughly　in　the　middle　of　the　huge　ship。

And　here　they　found　a　room　with　life…support　equipment；　and　twenty　hanging　spacesuits。

〃Bingo；〃　Ted　said。　〃It's　finally　clear。　This　ship　is　intended　to　travel　to　the　stars。〃

The　others　murmured；　excited　by　the　possibility。　Suddenly　it　all　made　sense：　the　great　size；　the　vastness　of　the　ship；　the　plexity　of　the　control　consoles。　。。。

〃Oh；　for　Christ's　sake；〃　Harry　said。　〃It　can't　have　been　made　to　travel　to　the　stars。　This　is　obviously　a　conventional　spacecraft；　although　very　large。　And　at　conventional　speeds；　＇＇82＇＇　the　nearest　star　is　two　hundred　and　fifty　years　away。〃

〃Maybe　they　had　new　technology。〃

〃Where　is　it？　There's　no　evidence　of　new　technology。〃

〃Well；　maybe　it's…〃

〃Face　the　facts；　Ted；〃　Harry　said。　〃Even　with　this　huge　size；　the　ship　is　only　provisioned　for　a　few　years：　fifteen　or　twenty　years；　at　most。　How　far　could　it　go　in　that　time？　Barely　out　of　the　solar　system；　right？〃

Ted　nodded　glumly。　〃It's　true。　It　took　the　Voyager　spacecraft　five　years　to　reach　Jupiter；　nine　years　to　reach　Uranus。　In　fifteen　years　。。。　Maybe　they　were　going　to　Pluto。〃

〃Why　would　anyone　want　to　go　to　Pluto？〃

〃We　don't　know　yet；　but…〃

The　radios　squawked。　The　voice　of　Tina　Chan　said；　〃Captain　Barnes；　surface　wants　you　for　a　secure　encrypted　munication；　sir。〃

〃Okay；〃　Barnes　said。　〃It's　time　to　go　back；　anyway。〃　They　headed　back；　through　the