Sphere (深海圆疑) 原版小说-第3章

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　the　Soviets　won't　e　around。〃
〃They　won't？〃　Norman　felt　he　had　somehow　missed　the　assumptions　that　lay　behind　the　conversation；　and　was　trying　to　catch　up。
〃It's　very　unlikely。　Oh；　they　know　we're　here。　They'll　have　spotted　us　with　their　satellites　at　least　two　days　ago；　but　we're　putting　out　a　steady　stream　of　decodable　messages　about　our　Search　and　Rescue　exercises　in　the　South　Pacific。　S　and　R　drill　represents　a　low　priority　for　them；　even　though　they　undoubtedly　figure　a　plane　went　down　and　we're　recovering　for　real。　They　may　even　suspect　that　we're　trying　to　recover　nuclear　warheads；　like　we　did　off　of　Spain　in　'68。　But　they'll　leave　us　alone…because　politically　they　don't　want　to　be　implicated　in　our　nuclear　problems。　They　know　we　have　troubles　with　New　Zealand　these　days。〃
〃Is　that　what　all　this　is？〃　Norman　said。　〃Nuclear　warheads？〃
〃No；〃　Barnes　said。　〃Thank　God。　Anything　nuclear；　somebody　in　the　White　House　always　feels　duty…bound　to　announce　it。　But　we've　kept　this　one　away　from　the　White　＇＇11＇＇　House　staff。　In　fact；　we　bypass　the　JCS　on　this。　All　briefings　go　straight　from　the　Defense　Secretary　to　the　President；　personally。〃　He　rapped　his　knuckles　on　the　desk。　〃So　far；　so　good。　And　you're　the　last　to　arrive。　Now　that　you're　here；　we'll　shut　this　thing　down　tight。　Nothing　in；　nothing　out。〃
Norman　still　couldn't　put　it　together。　〃If　nuclear　warheads　aren't　involved　in　the　crash；〃　he　said；　〃why　the　secrecy？〃
〃Well；〃　Barnes　said。　〃We　don't　have　all　the　facts　yet。〃
〃The　crash　occurred　in　the　ocean？〃
〃Yes。　More　or　less　directly　beneath　us　as　we　sit　here。〃
〃Then　there　can't　be　any　survivors。〃
〃Survivors？〃　Barnes　looked　surprised。　〃No；　I　wouldn't　think　so。〃
〃Then　why　was　I　called　here？〃
Barnes　looked　blank。
〃Well；〃　Norman　explained；　〃I'm　usually　called　to　crash　sites　when　there　are　survivors。　That's　why　they　put　a　psychologist　on　the　team；　to　deal　with　the　acute　traumatic　problems　of　surviving　passengers；　or　sometimes　the　relatives　of　surviving　passengers。　Their　feelings；　and　their　fears；　and　their　recurring　nightmares。　People　who　survive　a　crash　often　experience　all　sorts　of　guilt　and　anxiety；　concerning　why　they　survived　and　not　others。　A　woman　sitting　with　her　husband　and　children；　suddenly　they're　all　dead　and　she　alone　is　alive。　That　kind　of　thing。〃　Norman　sat　back　in　his　chair。　〃But　in　this　case…an　airplane　that　crashed　in　a　thousand　feet　of　water…there　wouldn't　be　any　of　those　problems。　So　why　am　I　here？〃
Barnes　was　staring　at　him。　He　seemed　unfortable。　He　shuffled　the　files　around　on　his　desk。
〃Actually；　this　isn't　an　airplane　crash　site；　Dr。　Johnson。〃
〃What　is　it？〃
〃It's　a　spacecraft　crash　site。〃
There　was　a　short　pause。　Norman　nodded。　〃I　see。〃
〃That　doesn't　surprise　you？〃　Barnes　said。
〃No；〃　Norman　said。　〃As　a　matter　of　fact；　it　explains　a　lot。　If　a　military　spacecraft　crashed　in　the　ocean；　that　explains　why　I　haven't　heard　anything　about　it　on　the　radio；　why　it　was　kept　secret；　why　I　was　brought　here　the　way　I　was。　。。。　When　did　it　crash？〃
＇＇12＇＇　Barnes　hesitated　just　a　fraction　before　answering。　〃As　best　we　can　estimate；〃　he　said；　〃this　spacecraft　crashed　three　hundred　years　ago。〃

ULF

There　was　a　silence。　Norman　listened　to　the　drone　of　the　air　conditioner。　He　heard　faintly　the　radio　munications　in　the　next　room。　He　looked　at　the　mug　of　coffee　in　his　hand；　noticing　a　chip　on　the　rim。　He　struggled　to　assimilate　what　he　was　being　told；　but　his　mind　moved　sluggishly；　in　circles。
Three　hundred　years　ago；　he　thought。　A　spacecraft　three　hundred　years　old。　But　the　space　program　wasn't　three　hundred　years　old。　It　was　barely　thirty　years　old。　So　how　could　a　spacecraft　be　three　hundred　years　old？　It　couldn't　be。　Barnes　must　be　mistaken。　But　how　could　Barnes　be　mistaken？　The　Navy　wouldn't　send　all　these　ships；　all　these　people；　unless　they　were　sure　what　was　down　there。　A　spacecraft　three　hundred　years　old。
But　how　could　that　be？　It　couldn't　be。　It　must　be　something　else。　He　went　over　it　again　and　again；　getting　nowhere；　his　mind　dazed　and　shocked。
〃…solutely　no　question　about　it；〃　Barnes　was　saying。　〃We　can　estimate　the　date　from　coral　growth　with　great　accuracy。　Pacific　coral　grows　two…and…a…half　centimeters　a　year；　and　the　object…whatever　it　is…is　covered　in　about　five　meters　of　coral。　That's　a　lot　of　coral。　Of　course；　coral　doesn't　grow　at　a　depth　of　a　thousand　feet；　which　means　that　the　present　shelf　collapsed　to　a　lower　depth　at　some　point　in　the　past。　The　geologists　are　telling　us　that　happened　about　a　century　ago；　so　we're　assuming　a　total　age　for　the　craft　of　about　three　hundred　years。　But　we　could　be　wrong　about　that。　It　could；　in　fact；　be　much　older。　It　could　be　a　thousand　years　old。〃
＇＇13＇＇　Barnes　shifted　papers　on　his　desk　again；　arranging　them　into　neat　stacks；　lining　up　the　edges。
〃I　don't　mind　telling　you；　Dr。　Johnson；　this　thing　scares　the　hell　out　of　me。　That's　why　you're　here。〃
Norman　shook　his　head。　〃I　still　don't　understand。〃
〃We　brought　you　here；〃　Barnes　said；　〃because　of　your　association　with　the　ULF　project。〃
〃ULF？〃　Norman　said。　And　he　almost　added；　But　ULF　was　a　joke。　Seeing　how　serious　Barnes　was；　he　was　glad　he　had　caught　himself　in　time。


Yet　ulf　was　a　joke。　Everything　about　it　had　been　a　joke；　from　the　very　beginning。
In　1979；　in　the　waning　days　of　the　Carter　Administration；　Norman　Johnson　had　been　an　assistant　professor　of　psychology　at　the　University　of　California　at　San　Diego；　his　particular　research　interest　was　group　dynamics　and　anxiety；　and　he　occasionally　served　on　FAA　crash…site　teams。　In　those　days；　his　biggest　problems　had　been　finding　a　house　for　Ellen　and　the　kids；　keeping　up　his　publications；　and　wondering　whether　UCSD　would　give　him　tenure。　Norman's　research　was　considered　brilliant；　but　psychology　was　notoriously　prone　to　intellectual　fashions；　and　interest　in　the　study　of　anxiety　was　declining　as　many　researchers　came　to　regard　anxiety　as　a　purely　biochemical　disorder　that　could　be　treated　with　drug　therapy　alone；　one　scientist　had　even　gone　so　far　as　to　say；　〃Anxiety　is　no　longer　a　problem　in　psychology。　There　is　nothing　left　to　study。〃　Similarly；　group　dynamics　was　perceived　as　old…fashioned；　a　field　that　had　seen　its　heyday　in　the　Gestalt　encounter　groups　and　corporate　brainstorming　procedures　of　the　early　1970s　but　　now　was　dated　and　passé。
Norman　himself　could　not　prehend　this。　It　seemed　to　him　that　American　society　was　increasingly　one　in　which　people　worked　in　groups；　not　alone；　rugged　individualism　was　now　replaced　by　endless　corporate　meetings　and　group　decisions。　In　this　new　society；　group　behavior　seemed　to　him　more　important；　not　less。　And　he　did　not　think　that　anxiety　＇＇14＇＇　as　a　clinical　problem　was　going　to　be　solved　with　pills。　It　seemed　to　him　that　a　society　in　which　the　most　mon　prescription　drug　was　Valium　was；　by　definition；　a　society　with　unsolved　problems。
Not　until　the　preoccupation　with　Japanese　managerial　techniques　in　the　1980s　did　Norman's　field　gain　a　new　hold　on　academic　attention。　Around　the　same　time；　Valium　dependence　became　recognized　as　a　major　concern；　and　the　whole　issue　of　drug　therapy　for　anxiety　was　reconsidered。　But　in　the　meantime；　Johnson　spent　several　years　feeling　as　if　he　were　in　a　backwater。　（He　did　not　have　a　research　grant　approved　for　nearly　three　years。）　Tenure；　and　finding　a　house；　were　very　real　problems。
It　was　during　the　worst　of　this　time；　in　late　1979；　that　he　was　approached　by　a　solemn　young　lawyer　from　the　National　Security　Council　in　Washington　who　sat　with　his　ankle　across　his　knee　and　plucked　nervously　at　his　sock。　The　lawyer　told　Norman　that　he　had　e　to　ask　his　help。
Norman　said　he　would　help　if　he　could。
Still　plucking　at　the　sock；　the　lawyer　said　he　wanted　to　talk　to　Norman　about　a　〃grave　matter　of　national　security　facing　our　country　today。〃
Norman　asked　what　the　problem　was。
〃Simply　that　this　country　has　absolutely　no　preparedness　in　the　event　of　an　alien　invasion。　Absolutely　no　preparedness　whatever。〃
Because　the　lawyer　was　young；　and　because　he　stared　down　at　his　sock　as　he　spoke；　Norman　at　first　thought　he　was　embarrassed　at　having　been　sent　on　a　fool's　errand。　But　when　the　young　man　looked　up；　Norman　saw　to　his　astonishment　that　he　was　utterly　serious。
〃We　could　really　b