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第53部分（第2页）

〃I　dont　think　we　should；〃　Norman　said。　He　was　surprised　by　the　strength　of　his　conviction；　the　firmness　of　his　own　voice。

〃I　agree；〃　Beth　said。　〃Im　not　sure　the　world　is　ready　for　that　sphere。　I　certainly　wasnt。〃

＇＇361＇＇　She　gave　Norman　a　sheepish　look。　He　put　his　hand　on　her　shoulder。

〃Thats　fine；〃　Harry　said。　〃But　look　at　it　from　the　standpoint　of　the　Navy。　The　Navy　has　mounted　a　large　and　expensive　operation；　six　people　have　died；　and　two　habitats　have　been　destroyed。　Theyre　going　to　want　answers…and　theyre　going　to　keep　asking　until　they　get　them。〃

〃We　can　refuse　to　talk；〃　Beth　said。

〃That　wont　make　any　difference；〃　Harry　said。　〃Remember；　the　Navy　has　all　the　tapes。〃

〃Thats　right；　the　tapes；〃　Norman　said。　He　had　forgotten　about　the　videotapes　they　had　brought　up　in　the　submarine。　Dozens　of　tapes；　documenting　everything　that　had　happened　in　the　habitat　during　their　time　underwater。　Documenting　the　squid；　the　deaths；　the　sphere。　Documenting　everything。

〃We　should　have　destroyed　those　tapes；〃　Beth　said。

〃Perhaps　we　should　have；〃　Harry　said。　〃But　its　too　late　now。　We　cant　prevent　the　Navy　from　getting　the　answers　they　want。〃

Norman　sighed。　Harry　was　right。　At　this　point　there　was　no　way　to　conceal　what　had　happened；　or　to　prevent　the　Navy　from　finding　out　about　the　sphere；　and　the　power　it　conveyed。　That　power　would　represent　a　kind　of　ultimate　weapon：　the　ability　to　overe　your　enemies　simply　by　imagining　it　had　happened。　It　was　frightening　in　its　implications；　and　there　was　nothing　they　could　do　about　it。　Unless…

〃I　think　we　can　prevent　them　from　knowing；〃　Norman　said。

〃How？〃　Harry　said。

〃We　still　have　the　power；　dont　we？〃

〃I　guess　so。〃

〃And　that　power；〃　Norman　said；　〃consists　of　the　ability　to　make　anything　happen；　simply　by　thinking　it。〃

〃Yes　。。。〃

〃Then　we　can　prevent　the　Navy　from　knowing。　We　can　decide　to　forget　the　whole　thing。〃

Harry　frowned。　〃Thats　an　interesting　question：　whether　we　have　the　power　to　forget　the　power。〃

＇＇362＇＇　〃I　think　we　should　forget　it；〃　Beth　said。　〃That　sphere　is　too　dangerous。〃

They　fell　silent；　considering　the　implications　of　forgetting　the　sphere。　Because　forgetting　would　not　merely　prevent　the　Navy　from　knowing　about　the　sphere…it　would　erase　all　knowledge　of　it；　including　their　own。　Make　it　vanish　from　human　consciousness；　as　if　it　had　never　existed　in　the　first　place。　Remove　it　from　the　awareness　of　the　human　species；　forever。

〃Big　step；〃　Harry　said。　〃After　all　weve　been　through；　just　to　forget　about　it　。。。〃

〃Its　because　of　all　weve　been　through；　Harry；〃　Beth　said。　〃Lets　face　it…we　didnt　handle　ourselves　very　well。〃　Norman　noticed　that　she　spoke　without　rancor　now；　her　previous　bative　edge　gone。

〃Im　afraid　thats　true；〃　Norman　said。〃The　sphere　was　built　to　test　whatever　intelligent　life　might　pick　it　up；　and　we　simply　failed　that　test。〃

〃Is　that　what　you　think　the　sphere　was　made　for？〃　H　said。　〃I　dont。〃

〃Then　what？〃　Norman　said。

〃Well；〃　Harry　said；　〃look　at　it　this　way：　Suppose　you　were　an　intelligent　bacterium　floating　in　space；　and　you　came　upon　one　of　our　munication　satellites；　in　orbit　around　the　Earth。　You　would　think；　What　a　strange；　alien　object　this　is；　lets　explore　it。　Suppose　you　opened　it　up　and　crawled　inside。　You　would　find　it　very　interesting　in　there；　with　lots　of　huge　things　to　puzzle　over。　But　eventually　you　might　climb　into　one　of　the　fuel　cells；　and　the　hydrogen　would　kill　you。　And　your　last　thought　would　be：　This　alien　device　was　obviously　made　to　test　bacterial　intelligence　and　to　kill　us　if　we　make　a　false　step。

〃Now；　that　would　be　correct　from　the　standpoint　of　the　dying　bacterium。　But　that　wouldnt　be　correct　at　all　from　the　standpoint　of　the　beings　who　made　the　satellite。　From　our　point　of　view；　the　munications　satellite　has　nothing　to　do　with　intelligent　bacteria。　We　dont　even　know　that　there　are　intelligent　bacteria　out　there。　Were　just　trying　to　＇＇363＇＇　municate；　and　weve　made　what　we　consider　a　quite　ordinary　device　to　do　it。〃

〃You　mean　the　sphere　might　not　be　a　message　or　a　trophy　or　a　trap　at　all？〃

〃Thats　right；〃　Harry　said。　〃The　sphere　may　have　nothing　to　do　with　the　search　for　other　life　forms；　or　testing　life；　as　we　might　imagine　those　activities　to　occur。　It　may　be　an　accident　that　the　sphere　causes　such　profound　changes　in　us。〃

〃But　why　would　someone　build　such　a　machine？〃　Norman　said。

〃Thats　the　same　question　an　intelligent　bacterium　would　ask　about　a　munications　satellite：　Why　would　anyone　build　such　a　thing？〃

〃For　that　matter；〃　Beth　said；　〃it　may　not　be　a　machine。　The　sphere　may　be　a　life　form。　It　may　be　alive。〃

〃Possible；〃　Harry　said；　nodding。

Beth　said；　〃So；　if　the　sphere　is　alive；　do　we　have　an　obligation　to　keep　it　alive？〃

〃We　dont　know　if　it　is　alive。〃

Norman　sat　back　in　the　chair。　〃All　this　speculation　is　interesting；〃　he　said；　〃but　when　you　get　down　to　it；　we　dont　really　know　anything　about　the　sphere。　In　fact；　we　shouldnt　even　be　calling　it　the　sphere。　We　probably　should　just　call　it　sphere。　Because　we　dont　know　what　it　is。　We　dont　know　where　it　came　from。　We　dont　know　whether　its　living　or　dead。　We　dont　know　how　it　came　to　be　inside　that　spaceship。　We　dont　know　anything　about　it　except　what　we　imagine…and　what　we　imagine　says　more　about　us　than　it　does　about　the　sphere。〃

〃Right；〃　Harry　said。

〃Because　its　literally　a　sort　of　mirror　for　us；〃　Norman　said。

〃Speaking　of　which；　theres　anothe

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