Sphere (深海圆疑) 原版小说-第24部分

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　troublesome。　The　differences　between；　say；　Americans　and　Japanese　are　very　great。　Americans　and　Japanese　don't　really　look　at　the　world　the　same　way　at　all。〃
〃Yes；　yes；〃　Barnes　said　impatiently。　〃We　all　know　the　Japanese　are　different…〃
〃…And　when　you　e　to　a　new　life　form；　the　differences　may　be　literally　inprehensible。　The　values　and　ethics　of　this　new　form　of　life　may　be　utterly　different。〃
〃You　mean　it　may　not　believe　in　the　sanctity　of　life；　or　'Thou　shalt　not　kill；'　〃　Barnes　said；　still　impatient。
〃No；〃　Norman　said。　〃I　mean　that　this　creature　may　not　be　able　to　be　killed；　and　so　it　may　have　no　concept　of　killing　in　the　first　place。〃
Barnes　stopped。　〃This　creature　may　not　be　able　to　be　killed？〃
Norman　nodded。　〃As　someone　once　said；　you　can't　break　the　arms　of　a　creature　that　has　no　arms。〃
〃It　can't　be　killed？　You　mean　it's　immortal？〃
〃I　don't　know；〃　Norman　said。　〃That's　the　point。〃
〃I　mean；　Jesus；　a　thing　that　couldn't　be　killed；〃　Barnes　said。　〃How　would　we　kill　it？〃　He　bit　his　lip。　〃I　wouldn't　like　to　open　that　sphere　and　release　a　thing　that　couldn't　be　killed。〃
Harry　laughed。　〃No　promotions　for　that　one；　Hal。〃　Barnes　looked　at　the　monitors；　showing　several　views　of　＇＇112＇＇　the　polished　sphere。　Finally　he　said；　〃No；　that's　ridiculous。　No　living　thing　is　immortal。　Am　I　right；　Beth？〃
〃Actually；　no；〃　Beth　said。　〃You　could　argue　that　certain　living　creatures　on　our　own　planet　are　immortal。　For　example；　single…celled　organisms　like　bacteria　and　yeasts　are　apparently　capable　of　living　indefinitely。〃
〃Yeasts。〃　Barnes　snorted。　〃We're　not　talking　about　yeasts。〃
〃And　to　all　intents　and　purposes　a　virus　could　be　considered　immortal。〃
〃A　virus？〃　Barnes　sat　down　in　a　chair。　He　hadn't　considered　a　virus。　〃But　how　likely　is　it；　really？　Harry？〃
〃I　think；〃　Harry　said；　〃that　the　possibilities　go　far　beyond　what　we've　mentioned　so　far。　We've　only　considered　threedimensional　creatures；　of　the　kind　that　exist　in　our　threedimensional　universe…or；　to　be　more　precise；　the　universe　that　we　perceive　as　having　three　dimensions。　Some　people　think　our　universe　has　nine　or　eleven　dimensions。〃
Barnes　looked　tired。
〃Except　the　other　six　dimensions　are　very　small；　so　we　don't　notice　them。〃
Barnes　rubbed　his　eyes。
〃Therefore　this　creature；〃　Harry　continued；　〃may　be　multidimensional；　so　that　it　literally　does　not　exist…at　least　not　entirely…in　our　usual　three　dimensions。　To　take　the　simplest　case；　if　it　were　a　four…dimensional　creature；　we　would　only　see　part　of　it　at　any　time；　because　most　of　the　creature　would　exist　in　the　fourth　dimension。　That　would　obviously　make　it　difficult　to　kill。　And　if　it　were　a　five…dimensional　creature…〃
〃…Just　a　minute。　Why　haven't　any　of　you　mentioned　this　before？〃
〃We　thought　you　knew；〃　Harry　said。
〃Knew　about　five…dimensional　creatures　that　can't　be　killed？　Nobody　said　a　word　to　me。〃　He　shook　his　head。　〃Opening　this　sphere　could　be　incredibly　dangerous。〃
〃It　could；　yes。〃
〃What　we　have　here　is；　we　have　Pandora's　box。〃
〃That's　right。〃
〃Well；〃　Barnes　said。　〃Let's　consider　worst　cases。　＇＇113＇＇　What's　the　worst　case　for　what　we　might　find？〃
Beth　said；　〃I　think　that's　clear。　Irrespective　of　whether　it's　a　multidimensional　creature　or　a　virus　or　whatever；　irrespective　of　whether　it　shares　our　morals　or　has　no　morals　at　all；　the　worst　case　is　that　it　hits　us　below　the　belt。〃
〃Meaning？〃
〃Meaning　that　it　behaves　in　a　way　that　interferes　with　our　basic　life　mechanisms。　A　good　example　is　the　AIDS　virus。　The　reason　why　AIDS　is　so　dangerous　is　not　that　it's　new。　We　get　new　viruses　every　year…every　week。　And　all　viruses　work　in　the　same　way：　they　attack　cells　and　convert　the　machinery　of　the　cells　to　make　more　viruses。　What　makes　the　AIDS　virus　dangerous　is；　it　attacks　the　specific　cells　that　we　use　to　defend　against　viruses。　AIDS　interferes　with　our　basic　defense　mechanism。　And　we　have　no　defense　against　it。〃
〃Well；〃　Barnes　said；　〃if　this　sphere　contains　a　creature　that　interferes　with　our　basic　mechanisms…what　would　that　creature　be　like？〃
〃It　could　breathe　in　air　and　exhale　cyanide　gas；〃　Beth　said。　〃It　could　excrete　radioactive　waste；〃　Harry　said。
〃It　could　disrupt　our　brain　waves；〃　Norman　said。　〃Interfere　with　our　ability　to　think。〃
〃Or；〃　Beth　said；　〃it　might　merely　disrupt　cardiac　conduction。　Stop　our　hearts　from　beating。〃
〃It　might　produce　a　sound　vibration　that　would　resonate　in　our　skeletal　system　and　shatter　our　bones；〃　Harry　said。　He　smiled　at　the　others。　〃I　rather　like　that　one。〃
〃Clever；〃　Beth　said。　〃But；　as　usual；　we're　only　thinking　of　ourselves。　The　creature　might　do　nothing　directly　harmful　to　us　at　all。〃
〃Ah；〃　Barnes　said。
〃It　might　simply　exhale　a　toxin　that　kills　chloroplasts；　so　that　plants　could　no　longer　convert　sunlight。　Then　all　the　plants　on　Earth　would　die…and　consequently　all　life　on　Earth　would　die。〃
〃Ah；〃　Barnes　said。　
〃You　see；〃　Norman　said；　〃at　first　I　thought　the　Anthropomorphic　Problem…the　fact　that　we　can　only　conceive　of　extraterrestrial　life　as　basically　human…I　thought　it　was　＇＇114＇＇　a　failure　of　imagination。　Man　is　man；　all　he　knows　is　man；　and　all　he　can　think　of　is　what　he　knows。　Yet；　as　you　can　see；　that's　not　true。　We　can　think　of　plenty　of　other　things。　But　we　don't。　So　there　must　be　another　reason　why　we　only　conceive　of　extraterrestrials　as　humans。　And　I　think　the　answer　is　that　we　are；　in　reality；　terribly　frail　animals。　And　we　don't　like　to　be　reminded　of　how　frail　we　are…how　delicate　the　balances　are　inside　our　own　bodies；　how　short　our　stay　on　Earth；　and　how　easily　it　is　ended。　So　we　imagine　other　life　forms　as　being　like　us；　so　we　don't　have　to　think　of　the　real　threat…the　terrifying　threat…they　may　represent；　without　ever　intending　to。〃
There　was　a　silence。
〃Of　course；　we　mustn't　forget　another　possibility；〃　Bames　said。　〃It　may　be　that　the　sphere　contains　some　extraordinary　benefit　to　us。　Some　wondrous　new　knowledge；　some　astonishing　new　idea　or　new　technology　which　will　improve　the　condition　of　mankind　beyond　our　wildest　dreams。〃
〃Although　the　chances　are；〃　Harry　said；　〃that　there　won't　be　any　new　idea　that　is　useful　to　us。〃
〃Why？〃　Barnes　said。
〃Well；　let's　say　that　the　aliens　are　a　thousand　years　ahead　of　us；　just　as　we　are　relative　to；　say；　medieval　Europe。　Suppose　you　went　back　to　medieval　Europe　with　a　television　set？　There　wouldn't　be　any　place　to　plug　it　in。〃
Barnes　stared　from　one　to　another　for　a　long　time。　〃I'm　sorry；〃　he　said。　〃This　is　too　great　a　responsibility　for　me。　I　can't　make　the　decision　to　open　it　up。　I　have　to　call　Washington　on　this。〃
〃Ted　won't　be　happy；〃　Harry　said。
〃The　hell　with　Ted；〃　Barnes　said。　〃I'm　going　to　give　this　to　the　President。　Until　we　hear　from　him；　I　don't　want　anybody　trying　to　open　that　sphere。〃


Barnes　called　for　a　two…hour　rest　period；　and　Harry　went　to　his　quarters　to　sleep。　Beth　announced　that　she　was　going　off　to　sleep；　too；　but　she　remained　at　the　monitor　station　with　Tina　Chan　and　Norman。　Chan's　station　had　＇＇115＇＇　fortable　chairs　with　high　backs；　and　Beth　swiveled　in　the　chair；　swinging　her　legs　back　and　forth。　She　played　with　her　hair；　making　little　ringlets　by　her　ear；　and　she　stared　into　space。
Tired；　Norman　thought。　We're　all　tired。　He　watched　Tina；　who　moved　smoothly　and　continuously；　adjusting　the　monitors；　checking　the　sensor　inputs；　changing　the　videotapes　on　the　bank　of　VCR's；　tense；　alert。　Because　Edmunds　was　in　the　spaceship　with　Ted；　Tina　had　to　look　after　the　recording　units　as　well　as　her　own　munications　console。　The　Navy　woman　didn't　seem　to　be　as　tired　as　they　were；　but；　then；　she　hadn't　been　inside　the　spaceship。　To　her；　that　spaceship　was　something　she　saw　on　the　monitors；　a　TV　show；　an　abstraction。　Tina　hadn't　been　confronted　face…to…face　with　the　reality　of　the　new　environment；　the　exhausting　mental　struggle　to　understand　what　was　going　on；　what　it　all　meant。
〃You　look　tired；　sir；〃　Tina　said。
〃Yes。　We're　all　tired。〃
〃It's　the　atmosphere；〃　she　said。　〃Breathing　the　heliox。〃　So　much　for　psychological　explanations；　Norman　thought。　Tina　said；　〃The　density　of　the　air　down　here　has　a　real　effect。　We're　at　thirty　atmospheres。　If　we　were　breathing　regular　air　at　this　pressure；　it　would　be　almost　as　thick　as　a　liquid。　Heliox　is　lighter；　but　it's　far　denser　than　what　we're　used　to。