沸腾文学

第35部分（第1页）

e　of　us　now；　Norman。〃

〃You；　me；　and　Harry？〃

〃Thats　right。　You；　me；　and　Harry。〃

Harry　was　sleeping　peacefully　on　the　floor　between　the　bunks。　Norman　bent　down；　lifted　one　eyelid；　shone　a　light　in　Harrys　pupil。　The　pupil　contracted。

〃This　cant　be　heaven；〃　Harry　said。

〃Why　not？〃　Norman　said。　He　shone　the　light　in　the　other　pupil；　it　contracted。

〃Because　youre　here。　They　dont　let　psychologists　into　heaven。〃　He　gave　a　weak　smile。

〃Can　you　move　your　toes？　Your　hands？〃

〃I　can　move　everything。　I　walked　up　here；　Norman；　from　down　in　C。　Im　okay。〃

Norman　sat　back。　〃Im　glad　youre　okay；　Harry。〃　He　meant　it：　he　had　been　dreading　the　thought　of　an　injury　to　Harry。　From　the　beginning　of　the　expedition；　they　had　all　relied　on　Harry。　At　every　critical　juncture；　he　had　supplied　the　breakthrough；　the　necessary　understanding。　And　even　now；　Norman　took　fort　in　the　thought　that；　if　Beth　couldnt　figure　out　the　life…support　systems；　Harry　could。

〃Yeah；　Im　okay。〃　He　closed　his　eyes　again；　sighed。　〃Whos　left？〃

〃Beth。　Me。　You。〃

〃Jesus。〃

〃Yeah。　You　want　to　get　up？〃

〃Yeah；　Ill　get　in　the　bunk。　Im　real　tired；　Norman。　I　could　sleep　for　a　year。〃

＇＇233＇＇　Norman　helped　him　to　his　feet。　Harry　dropped　quickly　onto　the　nearest　bunk。

〃Okay　if　I　sleep　for　a　while？〃

〃Sure。〃

〃Thats　good。　Im　real　tired；　Norman。　I　could　sleep　for　a　year。〃

〃Yes；　you　said　that…〃

He　broke　off。　Harry　was　snoring。　Norman　reached　over　to　remove　something　crumpled　on　the　pillow　beneath　Harrys　head。

It　was　Ted　Fieldings　notebook。

Norman　suddenly　felt　overwhelmed。　He　sat　on　his　bunk；　holding　the　notebook　in　his　hands。　Finally　he　looked　at　a　couple　of　pages；　filled　with　Teds　large；　enthusiastic　scrawl。　A　photograph　fell　onto　his　lap。　He　turned　it　over。　It　was　a　photo　of　a　red　Corvette。　And　the　feelings　just　overwhelmed　him。　Norman　didnt　know　if　he　was　crying　for　Ted；　or　crying　for　himself；　because　it　was　clear　to　him　that　one　by　one；　they　were　all　dying　down　here。　He　was　very　sad；　and　very　afraid。

Beth　was　in　D　Cyl；　at　the　munications　console；　turning　on　all　the　monitors。

〃They　did　a　pretty　good　job　with　this　place；〃　she　said。　〃Everything　is　marked；　everything　has　instructions；　therere　puter　help　files。　An　idiot　could　figure　it　out。　Theres　just　one　problem　that　I　can　see。〃

〃Whats　that？〃

〃The　galley　was　in　E　Cyl；　and　E　Cyl　is　flooded。　Weve　got　no　food；　Norman。〃

〃None　at　all？〃

〃I　dont　think　so。〃

〃Water？〃

〃Yes；　plenty　of　water；　but　no　food。〃

〃Well；　we　can　make　it　without　food。　How　much　longer　have　we　got　down　here？〃

〃It　looks　like　two　more　days。〃

〃We　can　make　it；〃　Norman　said；　thinking：　Two　days；　Jesus。　Two　more　days　in　this　place。