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第33部分（第2页）

〃I　can　think　of　only　one　possibility；〃　Ted　said。　〃He　came　from　the　sphere。　Or　at　least；　he　was　made　by　the　sphere。　By　Jerry。〃

〃Why　would　Jerry　do　that？　To　spy　on　us？〃

Ted　shook　his　head。　〃Ive　been　thinking　about　this；〃　he　said。　〃It　seems　to　me　that　Jerry　has　the　ability　to　create　things。　Animals。　I　dont　think　that　Jerry　is　a　giant　squid；　but　Jerry　created　the　giant　squid　that　attacked　us。　I　dont　think　Jerry　wants　to　attack　us；　but；　from　what　Beth　was　telling　us；　once　he　made　the　squid；　then　the　squid　might　attack　the　habitat；　thinking　the　cylinders　were　its　mortal　enemy；　the　whale。　So　the　attack　happened　as　a　kind　of　accident　of　creation。〃

They　frowned；　listening。　To　Norman；　the　explanation　was　entirely　too　convenient。　〃I　think　there　is　another　possibility。　That　Jerry　is　hostile。〃

〃I　dont　believe　that；〃　Ted　said。　〃I　dont　believe　Jerry　is　hostile。〃

〃He　certainly　acts　hostile；　Ted。〃

〃But　I　dont　think　he　intends　to　be　hostile。〃

〃Whatever　he　intends；〃　Fletcher　said；　〃we　better　not　go　through　another　attack。　Because　the　structure　cant　take　it。　And　neither　can　the　support　systems。

＇＇222＇＇　〃After　the　first　attack；　I　had　to　increase　positive　pressure；〃　Fletcher　said；　〃in　order　to　fix　the　leaks。　To　keep　water　from　ing　in；　I　had　to　increase　the　pressure　of　the　air　inside　the　habitat　to　make　it　greater　than　the　pressure　of　the　water　outside。　That　stopped　the　leaks；　but　it　meant　that　air　bubbled　out　through　all　the　cracks。　And　one　hour　of　repair　work　consumed　nearly　sixteen　hours　of　our　reserve　air。　Ive　been　worried　well　run　out　of　air。〃

There　was　a　pause。　They　all　considered　the　implications　of　that。

〃To　pensate；〃　Fletcher　said；　〃Ive　dropped　the　internal　pressure　by　three　centimeters　pressure。　Were　slightly　negative　right　now；　and　we　should　be　fine。　Our　air　will　last　us。　But　another　attack　under　these　conditions　and　well　crush　like　a　beer　can。〃

Norman　didnt　like　hearing　any　of　this；　but　at　the　same　time　he　was　impressed　with　Fletchers　petence。　She　was　a　resource　they　ought　to　be　using；　he　thought。　〃Do　you　have　any　suggestions；　Teeny；　if　theres　another　attack？〃

〃Well；　we　have　something　in　Cyl　B　called　HVDS。〃

〃Which　is？〃

〃High　Voltage　Defense　System。　Theres　a　little　box　in　B　that　electrifies　the　metal　walls　of　the　cylinders　at　all　times；　to　prevent　electrolytic　corrosion。　Very　slight　electrical　charge；　you　arent　really　aware　of　it。　Anyway；　theres　another；　green　box　attached　to　that　one；　and　its　the　HVDS。　Its　basically　a　low…amp　stepup　transformer　that　sends　two　million　volts　over　the　cylinder　surface。　Should　be　very　unpleasant　for　any　animal。〃

〃Why　didnt　we　use　it　before？〃　Beth　said。　〃Why　didnt　Barnes　use　it；　instead　of　risking…〃

〃…Because　the　Green　Box　has　problems；〃　Fletcher　said。　〃For　one　thing；　its　really　sort　of　theoretical。　As　far　as　I　know；　its　never　actually　been　used　in　a　real　undersea　work　situation。〃

〃Yes；　but　it　must　have　been　tested。〃

〃Yes。　And　in　all　the　tests；　it　started　fires　inside　the　habitat。〃

＇＇223＇＇　Another　pause；　while　they　considered　that。　Finally　Norman　said；　〃Bad　fires？〃

〃The　fires　tend　to　burn　the　insulation；　the　wall　padding。〃

〃The　fires　take　the　padding　off！〃

〃Wed　die　of　heat　loss　in　a　few　minutes。〃

Beth　said；　〃How　bad　can　a　fire　be？　Fires　need　oxygen　to　burn；　and　weve　only　got　two　percent　oxygen　down　here。〃

〃Thats　true；　Dr。　Halpern；〃　Fletcher　said；　〃but　the　actual　oxygen　percentage　varies。　The　habitat　is　made　to　deliver　pulses　as　high　as　sixteen　percent　for　brief　periods；　four　times　an　hour。　Its　all　automatically　controlled；　you　cant　override　it。　And　if　the　oxygen　percentage　is　high；　then　fires　burn　just　fine…three　times　faster　than　topside。　They　easily　go　out　of　control。〃

Norman　looked　around　the　cylinder。　He　spotted　three　fire　extinguishers　mounted　on　the　walls。　Now　that　he　thought　about　it；　there　were　extinguishers　all　over　the　habitat。　Hed　just　never　really　paid　attention　before。

〃Even　if　we　get　the　fires　under　control；　theyre　hell　on　the　systems；〃　Fletcher　said。　〃The　air　handlers　arent　made　to　take　the　added　monoxide　by…products　and　soot。〃

〃So　what　do　we　do？〃

〃Last　resort　only；〃　Fletcher　said。　〃Thatd　be　my　remendation。〃

The　group　looked　at　each　other；　nodded。

〃Okay；〃　Norman　said。　〃Last　resort　only。〃

〃Lets　just　hope　we　dont　have　another　attack。〃

〃Another　attack　。。。〃　There　was　a　long　silence　as　they　considered　that。　Then　the　gas…plasma　screens　on　Tinas　console　jumped；　and　a　soft　pinging　filled　the　room。

〃We　have　a　contact　on　peripheral　thermals；〃　Tina　said；　in　a　flat　voice。

〃Where？〃　Fletcher　said。

〃North。　Approaching。〃

And　on　the　monitor；　they　saw　the　words：

I　AM　ING。

*　*　*

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