小说园

第17部分（第3页）

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　didnt　look　human…if　it　was　a　reptile；　or　a　big　insect；　or　an　intelligent　crystal…it　still　acted　in　a　human　way。　〃Youre　talking　about　the　movies；〃　Barnes　said。

〃Im　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；　〃thats　obviously　nonsense。　For　one　thing；　theres　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　dont　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　may　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　cant　break　the　arms　of　a　creature　that　has　no　arms。〃

〃It　cant　be　killed？　You　mean　its　immortal？〃

〃I　dont　know；〃　Norman　said。　〃Thats　the　point。〃

〃I　mean；　Jesus；　a　thing　that　couldnt　be　killed；〃　Barnes　said。　〃How　would　we　kill　it？〃　He　bit　his　lip。　〃I　wouldnt　like　to　open　that　sphere　and　release　a　thing　that　couldnt　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；　thats　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。　〃Were　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　hadnt　considered　a　virus。　〃But　how　likely　is　it；　really？　Harry？〃

〃I　think；〃　Harry　said；　〃that　the　possibilities　go　far　beyond　what　weve　mentioned　so　far。　Weve　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　nine　or　eleven　dimensions。〃

Barnes　looked　tired。

〃Except　the　other　six　dimensions　are　very　small；　so　we　dont　notice　them。〃

Barnes　rubbed　his　eyes。

〃Therefore　this　creature；〃　Harry　continued；　〃may　be　multidimensional；　so　that　it　literally　does　not　exist…at　least　not　entirely…in　our　usual　three　dimensions。　To　take　the　simplest　case；　if　it　were　a　four…dimensional　creature；　we　would　only　see　part　of　it　at　any　time；　because　most　of　the　creature　would　exist　in　the　fourth　dimension。　That　would　obviously　make　it　difficult　to　kill。　And　if　it　were　a　five…dimensional　creature…〃

〃…Just　a　minute。　Why　havent　any　of　you　mentioned　this　before？〃

〃We　thought　you　knew；〃　Harry　said。

〃Knew　about　five…dimensional　creatures　that　cant　be　killed？　Nobody　said　a　word　to　me。〃　He　shook　his　head。　〃Opening　this　sphere　could　be　incredibly　dangerous。〃

〃It　could；　yes。〃

〃What　we　have　here　is；　we　have　Pandoras　box。〃

〃Thats　right。〃

〃Well；〃　Barnes　said。　〃Lets　consider　worst　cases。　＇＇113＇＇　Whats　the　worst　case　for　what　we　might　find？〃

Beth　sa