小说园

第12部分（第2页）

〃Oh　God　。。。〃

Another　flash…and　another…and　then　the　ceiling　lights　came　on；　evenly　illuminating　the　room。　Norman　saw　startled；　frightened　faces。　He　sighed；　exhaling　slowly。　〃Jesus　。。。〃

〃How　the　hell　did　that　happen？〃　Barnes　said。

〃It　was　me；〃　Beth　said。　〃I　pushed　this　button。〃

〃Lets　not　go　around　pushing　buttons；　if　you　dont　mind；〃　Barnes　said　irritably。

〃It　was　marked　ROOM　LIGHTS。　It　seemed　an　appropriate　thing　to　do。〃

〃Lets　try　to　stay　together　on　this；〃　Barnes　said。

＇＇76＇＇　〃Well；　Jesus；　Hat…〃

〃Just　dont　push　any　more　buttons；　Beth！〃

They　were　moving　around　the　cabin；　looking　at　the　instrument　panel；　at　the　chairs。　All　of　them；　that　is；　all　except　for　Harry。　He　stood　very　still　in　the　middle　of　the　room；　not　moving；　and　said；　〃Anybody　see　a　date　anywhere？〃

〃No　date。〃

〃Theres　got　to　be　a　date；〃　Harry　said；　suddenly　tense。　〃And　weve　got　to　find　it。　Because　this　is　definitely　an　American　spaceship　from　the　future。〃

〃Whats　it　doing　here？〃　Norman　asked。　〃Damned　if　I　know；〃　Harry　said。　He　shrugged。　Norman　frowned。

〃Whats　wrong；　Harry？〃

〃Nothing。〃

〃Sure？〃

〃Yeah；　sure。〃

Norman　thought：　Hes　figured　out　something；　and　it　bothers　him。　But　hes　not　saying　what　it　is。

Ted　said；　〃So　this　is　what　a　time…travel　machine　looks　like。

〃I　dont　know；〃　Barnes　said。　〃If　you　ask　me；　this　instrument　panel　looks　like　its　for　flying；　and　this　room　looks　like　a　flight　deck。〃

Norman　thought　so；　too：　everything　about　the　room　reminded　him　of　an　airplane　cockpit。　The　three　chairs　for　pilot；　copilot；　navigator。　The　layout　of　the　instrumentation。　This　was　a　machine　that　flew；　he　was　sure　of　it。　Yet　something　was　odd。　。。。

He　slipped　into　one　of　the　contoured　chairs。　The　soft　leather…like　material　was　almost　too　fortable。　He　heard　a　gurgling：　water　inside？

〃I　hope　youre　not　going　to　fly　this　sucker；〃　Ted　laughed。

〃No；　no。〃

〃Whats　that　whirring　noise？〃

The　chair　gripped　him。　Norman　had　an　instant　of　panic；　feeling　the　chair　move　all　around　his　body；　squeezing　his　shoulders；　wrapping　around　his　hips。　The　leather　padding　slid　around　his　head；　covering　his　ears；　drawing　down　over　＇＇77＇＇　his　forehead。　He　was　sinking　deeper；　disappearing　inside　the　chair　itself；　being　swallowed　up　by　it。

〃Oh　God　。。。〃

And　then　the　chair　snapped　forward；　pulling　up　tight　before　the　control　console。　And　the　whirring　stopped。　Then　nothing。

〃I　think；〃　Beth　said；　〃that　the　chair　thinks　you　are　going　to　fly　it。〃

〃Umm；〃　Norman　said；　trying　to　control　his　breathing；　his　racing　pulse；　〃I　wonder　how　I　get　out？〃

The　only　part　of　his　body　still　free　were　his　hands。　He　moved　his　fingers；　felt　a　panel　of　buttons　on　the　arms　of　the　chair。　He　pressed　one。

The　chair　slid　back；　opened　like　a　soft　clam；　released　him。　Norman　climbed　out；　and　looked　back　at　the　imprint　of　his　body；　slowly　disappearing　as　the　chair　whirred　and　adjusted　itself。

Harry　poked　one　of　the　leather　pads　experimentally；　heard　the　gurgle。　〃Water…filled。〃

〃Makes　perfect　sense；〃　Barnes　said。　〃Waters　not　pressible。　You　can　withstand　enormous　G…forces　sitting　in　a　chair　like　this。〃

〃And　the　ship　itself　is　built　to　take　great　strains；〃　Ted　said。　〃Maybe　time　travel　is　strenuous？　Structurally　strenuous？〃

〃Maybe。〃　Norman　was　doubtful。　〃But　I　think　Barnes　is　right…this　is　a　machine　that　flew。〃

〃Perhaps　it　just　looks　that　way；〃　Ted　said。　〃After　all；　we　know　how　to　travel　in　space；　but　we　dont　know　how　to　travel　in　time。　We　know　that　space　and　time　are　really　aspects　of　the　same　thing；　space…time。　Perhaps　youre　required　to　fly　in　time　just　the　way　you　fly　in　space。　Maybe　time　travel　and　space　travel　are　more　similar　than　we　think　now。〃