沸腾文学

第29部分（第1页）

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〃I　dont　mean　to　offend　you；〃　Ted　said；　〃but；　personally；　I　dont　see　that　psychology　has　much　to　offer。　Psychologys　not　a　science；　its　a　form　of　superstition　or　religion。　It　simply　doesnt　have　any　good　theories；　or　any　hard　data　to　speak　of。　Its　all　soft。　All　this　emphasis　on　emotions…you　can　say　anything　about　emotions；　and　nobody　can　prove　you　wrong。　Speaking　as　an　astrophysicist；　I　dont　think　emotions　are　very　important。　I　dont　think　they　matter　very　much。〃

〃Many　intellectuals　would　agree；〃　Norman　said。

〃Yes。　Well；〃　Ted　said；　〃were　dealing　with　a　higher　intellect　here；　arent　we？〃

〃In　general；〃　Norman　said；　〃people　who　arent　in　touch　＇＇192＇＇　with　their　emotions　tend　to　think　their　emotions　are　unimportant。〃

〃Youre　saying　Im　not　in　touch　with　my　emotions？〃　Ted　said。

〃If　you　think　emotions　are　unimportant；　youre　not　in　touch；　no。〃

〃Can　we　have　this　argument　later？〃　Barnes　said。

〃Nothing　is；　but　thinking　makes　it　so；〃　Ted　said。

〃Why　dont　you　just　say　what　you　mean；〃　Norman　said　angrily；　〃and　stop　quoting　other　people？〃

〃Now　youre　making　a　personal　attack；〃　Ted　said。

〃Well；　at　least　I　havent　denied　the　validity　of　your　field　of　study；〃　Norman　said；　〃although　without　much　effort　I　could。　Astrophysicists　tend　to　focus　on　the　far…off　universe　as　a　way　of　evading　the　realities　of　their　own　lives。　And　since　nothing　in　astrophysics　can　ever　be　finally　proven…〃

〃……Thats　absolutely　untrue；〃　Ted　said。

〃…Enough！　Thats　enough！〃　Barnes　said；　slamming　his　fist　on　the　table。　They　fell　into　an　awkward　silence。

Norman　was　still　angry；　but　he　was　also　embarrassed。　Ted　got　to　me；　he　thought。　He　finally　got　to　me。　And　he　did　it　in　the　simplest　possible　way；　by　attacking　my　field　of　study。　Norman　wondered　why　it　had　worked。　All　his　life　at　the　university　hed　had　to　listen　to　〃hard〃　scientists…physicists　and　chemists…explain　patiently　to　him　that　there　was　nothing　to　psychology；　while　these　men　went　through　divorce　after　divorce；　while　their　wives　had　affairs；　their　kids　mitted　suicide　or　got　in　trouble　with　drugs。　Hed　long　ago　stopped　responding　to　these　arguments。

Yet　Ted　had　gotten　to　him。

〃…return　to　the　business　at　hand；〃　Barnes　was　saying。　〃The　question　is：　what　do　we　want　to　ask　this　guy？〃

WHAT　DO　WE　WANT　TO　ASK　THIS　GUY？

They　stared　at　the　screen。

〃Uh…oh；〃　Barnes　said。

UHOH。

〃Does　that　mean　what　I　think　it　means？〃

DOES　THAT　MEAN　WHAT　EYE　THINK　IT　MEANS？

＇＇193＇＇　Ted　pushed　back　from　the　console。　He　said　loudly；　〃Jerry；　can　you　understand　what　I　am　saying？〃

YES　TED。

〃Great；〃　Barnes　said；　shaking　his　head。　〃Just　great。〃

I　AM　HAPPY　ALSO。

ALIEN　NEGOTIATIONS

〃Norman；〃　Barnes　said；　〃I　seem　to　remember　you　covered　this　in　your　report；　didnt　you？　The　possibility　that　an　alien　could　read　our　minds。〃

〃I　mentioned　it；〃　Norman　said。

〃And　what　were　your　remendations？〃

〃I　didnt　have　any。　It　was　just　something　the　State　Department　asked　me　to　include　as　a　possibility。　So　I　did。〃

〃You　didnt　make　any　remendations　in　your　report？〃

〃No；〃　Norman　said。　〃To　tell　you　the　truth；　at　the　time　I　thought　the　idea　was　a　joke。〃

〃Its　not；〃　Barnes　said。　He　sat　down　heavily；　stared　at　the　screen。　〃What　the　hell　are　we　going　to　do　now？〃

DO　NOT　BE　AFRAID。

〃Thats　fine　for　him　to　say；　listening　to　everything　we　say。〃　He　looked　at　the　screen。　〃Are　you　listening　to　us　now；　Jerry？〃