小说园

第4部分（第3页）

〃Oh；　Norman。〃　She　smiled。　〃Do　you　still　relate　everything　to　food？〃

〃Whenever　possible；〃　Norman　said；　patting　his　stomach。　〃Well；　you　wont　like　the　food　in　this　place。　Its　terrible。　But　the　answer　is　no；〃　she　said；　cracking　her　knuckles。　〃I　could　never　eat　an　octopus　now；　knowing　what　I　do　about　them。　Which　reminds　me：　What　do　you　know　about　Hal　Barnes？〃

〃Nothing；　why？〃

〃Ive　been　asking　around。　Turns　out　Barnes　is　not　Navy　at　all。　Hes　ex…Navy。〃

〃You　mean　hes　retired？〃

〃Retired　in　81。　He　was　originally　trained　as　an　aeronautical　engineer　at　Cal　Tech；　and　after　he　retired　he　worked　for　Grumman　for　a　while。　Then　a　member　of　the　Navy　Science　Board　of　the　National　Academy；　then　Assistant　Undersecretary　of　Defense；　and　a　member　of　DSARC；　the　Defense　Systems　Acquisition　Review　Council；　a　member　of　the　Defense　Science　Board；　which　advises　the　Joint　Chiefs　and　the　Secretary　of　Defense。〃

〃Advises　them　on　what？〃

〃Weapons　acquisition；〃　Beth　said。　〃Hes　a　Pentagon　man　who　advises　the　government　on　weapons　acquisition。　So　howd　he　get　to　be　running　this　project？〃

〃Beats　me；〃　Norman　said。　Sitting　on　the　bunk；　he　kicked　off　his　shoes。　He　felt　suddenly　tired。　Beth　leaned　against　the　doorway。

〃You　seem　to　be　in　very　good　shape；〃　Norman　said。　Even　her　hands　looked　strong；　he　thought。

〃A　good　thing；　too；　as　it　turns　out；〃　Beth　said。　〃I　have　a　lot　of　confidence　for　whats　ing。　What　about　you？　Think　youll　manage　okay？〃

＇＇25＇＇　〃Me？　Why　shouldnt　I？〃　He　glanced　down　at　his　own　familiar　paunch。　Ellen　was　always　after　him　to　do　something　about　it；　and　from　time　to　time　he　got　inspired　and　went　to　the　gym　for　a　few　days；　but　he　could　never　seem　to　get　rid　of　it。　And　the　truth　was；　it　didnt　matter　that　much　to　him。　He　was　fifty…three　years　old　and　he　was　a　university　professor。　What　the　hell。

Then　he　had　a　thought：　〃What　do　you　mean；　you　have　confidence　for　whats　ing？　Whats　ing？〃

〃Well。　Its　only　rumors　so　far。　But　your　arrival　seems　to　confirm　them。〃

〃What　rumors？〃

〃Theyre　sending　us　down　there；〃　Beth　said。

〃Down　where？〃

〃To　the　bottom。　To　the　spaceship。〃

〃But　its　a　thousand　feet　down。　Theyre　investigating　it　with　robot　submersibles。〃

〃These　days；　a　thousand　feet　isnt　that　deep；〃　Beth　said。　〃The　technology　can　handle　it。　There　are　Navy　divers　down　there　now。　And　the　word　is；　the　divers　have　put　up　a　habitat　so　our　team　can　go　down　and　live　on　the　bottom　for　a　week　or　so　and　open　the　spacecraft　up。〃

Norman　felt　a　sudden　chill。　In　his　work　with　the　FAA；　he　had　been　exposed　to　every　sort　of　horror。　Once；　in　Chicago；　at　a　crash　site　that　extended　over　a　whole　farm　field；　he　had　stepped　on　something　squishy。　He　thought　it　was　a　frog；　but　it　was　a　childs　severed　hand；　palm　up。　Another　time　he　had　seen　a　mans　charred　body；　still　strapped　into　the　seat；　except　the　seat　had　been　flung　into　the　back　yard　of　a　suburban　house；　where　it　sat　upright　next　to　a　portable　plastic　kiddie　swimming　pool。　And　in　Dallas　he　had　watched　the　investigators　on　the　rooftops　of　the　suburban　houses；　collecting　the　body　parts；　putting　them　in　bags　。。。

Working　on　a　crash…site　team　demanded　the　most　extraordinary　psychological　vigilance；　to　avoid　being　overwhelmed　by　what　you　saw。　But　there　was　never　any　personal　danger；　any　physical　risk。　The　risk　was　the　risk　of　nightmares。

But　now；　the　prospect　of　going　down　a　thousand　feet　under　the　ocean　to　investigate　a　wreck　。。。

＇＇26＇＇　〃You　okay？〃　Beth　said。　〃You　look　pale。〃

〃I　didnt　know　anybody　was　talking　about　going　down　there。〃

〃Just　rumors；〃　Beth　said。　〃Get　some　rest；　Norman。　I　think　you　need　it。〃

THE　BRIEFI