沸腾文学

第24部分（第1页）

Norman　felt　slightly　uneasy。　〃Whatre　they　doing　here？〃

〃I　dont　know。　What　do　shrimps　do；　anyway？　Do　they　migrate？〃

〃Damned　if　I　know；〃　Barnes　said。　〃I　always　buy　em　frozen。　My　wife　hates　to　peel　em。〃

Norman　remained　uneasy；　though　he　could　not　say　why。　He　could　clearly　see　now　that　the　bottom　was　covered　in　shrimps；　they　were　everywhere。　Why　should　it　bother　him？

Norman　moved　away　from　the　window；　hoping　his　sense　of　vague　uneasiness　would　go　away　if　he　looked　at　something　else。　But　it　didnt　go　away；　it　just　stayed　there…a　small　tense　knot　in　the　pit　of　his　stomach。　He　didnt　like　the　feeling　at　all。

HARRY

〃Harry。〃

〃Oh；　hi；　Norman。　I　heard　the　excitement。　Lot　of　shrimps　outside；　is　that　it？〃

Harry　sat　on　his　bunk；　with　the　paper　printout　of　numbers　on　his　knees。　He　had　a　pencil　and　pad；　and　the　page　was　covered　with　calculations；　scratchouts；　symbols；　arrows。

〃Harry；〃　Norman　said；　〃whats　going　on？〃

〃Damned　if　I　know。〃

〃Im　just　wondering　why　we　should　suddenly　be　finding　life　down　here…the　squid；　the　shrimps…when　before　there　was　nothing。　Ever。〃

〃Oh；　that。　I　think　thats　pretty　clear。〃

〃Yes？〃

〃Sure。　Whats　different　between　then　and　now？〃

〃Youve　been　inside　the　sphere。〃

〃No；　no。　I　mean；　whats　different　in　the　outside　environment？〃

Norman　frowned。　He　didnt　grasp　what　Harry　was　driving　at。

〃Well；　just　look　outside；〃　Harry　said。　〃What　could　you　see　before　that　you　cant　see　now？〃

〃The　grid？〃

〃Uh…huh。　The　grid　and　the　divers。　Lot　of　activity…and　a　lot　of　electricity。　I　think　it　scared　off　the　normal　fauna　of　the　area。　This　is　the　South　Pacific；　you　know；　it　ought　to　be　teeming　with　life。〃

〃And　now　that　the　divers　are　gone；　the　animals　are　back？〃

〃Thats　my　guess。〃

〃Thats　all　there　is　to　it？〃　Norman　said；　frowning。

〃Why　are　you　asking　me？〃　Harry　said。　〃Ask　Beth；　shell　give　you　a　definitive　answer。　But　I　know　animals　are　sensitive　to　all　kinds　of　stimuli　we　dont　notice。　You　cant　run　God　knows　how　many　million　volts　through　underwater　cables；　to　light　a　half…mile　grid　in　an　environment　that　has　never　seen　light　before；　and　not　expect　to　have　an　effect。〃

＇＇154＇＇　Something　about　this　argument　tickled　the　back　of　Normans　mind。　He　knew　something；　something　pertinent。　But　he　couldnt　get　it。

〃Harry。〃

〃Yes；　Norman。　You　look　a　little　worried。　You　know；　this　substitution　code　is　really　a　bitch。　Ill　tell　you　the　truth；　Im　not　sure　Ill　be　able　to　crack　it。　You　see；　the　problem　is；　if　it　is　a　letter　substitution；　you　will　need　two　digits　to　describe　a　single　letter；　because　there　are　twenty…six　letters　in　the　alphabet；　assuming　no　punctuation…which　may　or　may　not　be　included　here　as　well。　So　when　I　see　a　two　next　to　a　three；　I　dont　know　if　it　is　letter　two　followed　by　letter　three；　or　just　letter　twenty…three。　Its　taking　a　long　time　to　work　through　the　permutations。　You　see　what　I　mean？〃

〃Harry。〃

〃Yes；　Norman。〃

〃What　happened　inside　the　sphere？〃

〃Is　that　what　youre　worried　about？〃　Harry　asked。