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第31部分（第1页）

〃We　had　gotten　a　strange　reading　in　the　previous　hour。〃

〃What　sort　of　a　reading？〃

〃Something　out　there。　Something　very　large。〃

〃But　it　didnt　trigger　the　alarms；〃　Harry　said。

〃No。　This　thing　was　beyond　alarm…set　parameters。〃

〃You　mean　it　was　too　big　to　set　off　the　alarms？〃

〃Yes。　After　the　first　false　alarm；　the　settings　were　all　cranked　down。　The　alarms　were　set　to　ignore　anything　that　large。　Thats　why　Tina　had　to　readjust　the　settings。〃

〃And　what　set　off　the　alarms　just　now？〃　Harry　said。　〃When　Beth　and　Norman　were　out　there？〃

Barnes　said；　〃Tina？〃

〃I　dont　know　what　it　was。　Some　kind　of　animal；　I　guess。　Silent；　and　very　big。〃

〃How　big？〃

She　shook　her　head。　〃From　the　electronic　footprint；　Dr。　Adams；　I　would　say　the　thing　was　almost　as　big　as　this　habitat。〃

BATTLE　STATIONS

Beth　slipped　one　round　white　egg　onto　the　stage　of　the　scanning　microscope。　〃Well；〃　she　said；　peering　through　the　eyepiece；　〃its　definitely　marine　invertebrate。　The　interesting　feature　is　this　slimy　coating。〃　She　poked　at　it　with　forceps。

〃What　is　it？〃　Norman　said。

〃Some　kind　of　proteinaceous　material。　Sticky。〃

〃No。　I　mean；　what　is　the　egg？〃

〃Dont　know　yet。〃　Beth　continued　her　examination　when　the　alarm　sounded　and　the　red　lights　began　to　flash　again。　Norman　felt　a　sudden　dread。

〃Probably　another　false　alarm；〃　Beth　said。

〃Attention；　all　hands；〃　Barnes　said　on　the　inter。　〃All　hands；　battle　stations。〃

〃Oh　shit；〃　Beth　said。

Beth　slid　gracefully　down　the　ladder　as　if　it　were　a　fire　pole；　Norman　followed　clumsily　back　down　behind　her。　At　the　munications　section　on　D　Cyl；　he　found　a　familiar　scene：　everyone　clustered　around　the　puter；　and　the　back　panels　again　removed。　The　lights　still　flashed；　the　alarm　still　shrieked。

〃What　is　it？〃　Norman　shouted。

〃Equipment　breakdown！〃

〃What　equipment　breakdown？〃

〃We　cant　turn　the　damn　alarm　off！〃　Barnes　shouted。　〃It　turned　it　on；　but　we　cant　turn　it　off！　Teeny…〃

〃…W　orking　on　it；　sir！〃

The　big　engineer　was　crouched　behind　the　puter；　Norman　saw　the　broad　curve　of　her　back。

〃Get　that　damn　thing　off！〃

〃Getting　it　off；　sir！〃

〃Get　it　off；　I　cant　hear！〃

Hear　what？　Norman　wondered；　and　then　Harry　stumbled　into　the　room；　colliding　with　Norman。　〃Jesus。。。〃

〃This　is　an　emergency！〃　Barnes　was　shouting。　〃This　is　an　＇＇207＇＇　emergency！　Seaman　Chan！　Sonar！〃　Tina　was　next　to　him；　calm　as　always；　adjusting　dials　on　side　monitors。　She　slipped　on　headphones。

Norman　looked　at　the　sphere　on　the　video　monitor。　The　sphere　was　closed。

Beth　went　to　one　of　the　portholes　and　looked　closely　at　the　white　material　that　blocked　it。　Barnes　spun　like　a　dervish　beneath　the　flashing　red　lights；　shouting；　swearing　in　all　directions。