520美书楼

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第20部分（第2页）

〃e　on；　Beth。　No　conspiracies；　now。　We　have　enough　to　worry　about　without…〃

〃…Just　look　at　this；〃　she　said。　She　led　him　back　upstairs；　flicked　on　a　console；　pressed　buttons。

〃I　started　putting　it　together　when　Barnes　was　on　the　phone；〃　she　said。　〃Barnes　was　talking　to　somebody　right　up　to　the　moment　when　the　cable　started　to　coil　down。　Except　that　cable　is　a　thousand　feet　long；　Norman。　They　would　have　broken　munications　several　minutes　before　unhooking　the　cable　itself。〃

〃Probably；　yes　。。。〃

〃So　who　was　Barnes　talking　to　at　the　last　minute？　Nobody。〃

〃Beth　。。。〃

〃Look；〃　she　said；　pointing　to　the　screen。

SUMMARY　DH…SURl

0910　BARNES　TO　SUR1：

CIVILIAN　AND　USN　PERSONNEL　POLLED。　ALTHOUGH　ADVISED　OF　RISKS；　ALL　PERSONNEL　ELECT　TO　REMAIN　DOWN　FOR　DURATION　OF　STORM　TO　CONTINUE　INVESTIGATION　OF　ALIEN　SPHERE　AND　ASSOCIATED　SPACECRAFT。

BARNES；　USN。

〃Youre　kidding；〃　Norman　said。　〃I　thought　Barnes　wanted　to　leave。〃

〃He　did；　but　he　changed　his　mind　when　he　saw　that　last　room；　and　he　didnt　bother　to　tell　us。　Id　like　to　kill　the　bastard；〃　Beth　said。　〃You　know　what　this　is　about；　Norman；　dont　you？〃

Norman　nodded。　〃He　hopes　to　find　a　new　weapon。〃

〃Right。　Barnes　is　a　Pentagon…acquisition　man；　and　he　wants　to　find　a　new　weapon。〃

〃But　the　sphere　is　unlikely…〃

〃Its　not　the　sphere；〃　Beth　said。　〃Barnes　doesnt　really　＇＇129＇＇　care　about　the　sphere。　He　cares　about　the　associated　spacecraft。　Because；　according　to　congruity　theory；　its　the　spacecraft　that　is　likely　to　pay　off。　Not　the　sphere。〃

Congruity　theory　was　a　troublesome　matter　for　the　people　who　thought　about　extraterrestrial　life。　In　a　simple　way；　the　astronomers　and　physicists　who　considered　the　possibility　of　contact　with　extraterrestrial　life　imagined　wonderful　benefits　to　mankind　from　such　a　contact。　But　other　thinkers；　philosophers　and　historians；　did　not　foresee　any　benefits　to　contact　at　all。

For　example；　astronomers　believed　that　if　we　made　contact　with　extraterrestrials；　mankind　would　be　so　shocked　that　wars　on　Earth　would　cease；　and　a　new　era　of　peaceful　cooperation　between　nations　would　begin。

But　historians　thought　that　was　nonsense。　They　pointed　out　that　when　Europeans　discovered　the　New　World…a　similarly　world…shattering　discovery…the　Europeans　did　not　stop　their　incessant　fighting。　On　the　contrary：　they　fought　even　harder。　Europeans　simply　made　the　New　World　an　extension　of　pre…existing　animosities。　It　became　another　place　to　fight；　and　to　fight　over。

Similarly；　astronomers　imagined　that　when　mankind　met　extraterrestrials；　there　would　be　an　exchange　of　information　and　technology；　giving　mankind　a　wonderful　advancement。

Historians　of　science　thought　that　was　nonsense；　too。　They　pointed　out　that　what　we　called　〃science〃　actually　consisted　of　a　rather　arbitrary　conception　of　the　universe；　not　likely　to　be　shared　by　other　creatures。　Our　ideas　of　science　were　the　ideas　of　visually　oriented；　monkey…like　creatures　who　enjoyed　changing　their　physical　environment。　If　the　aliens　were　blind　and　municated　by　odors；　they　might　have　evolved　a　very　different　science；　which　described　a　very　different　universe。　And　they　might　have　made　very　different　choices　about　the　directions　their　science　would　explore。　For　example；　they　might　ignore　the　physical　world　entirely；　and　instead　develop　a　highly　sophisticated　science　of　mind…in　other　words；　the　exact　opposite　of　what　Earth　science　had　done。　The　alien　technology　might　be　purely　mental；　with　no　visible　hardware　at　all。

＇＇130＇＇　This　issue　was　at　the　heart　of　congruity　theory；　which　said　that　unless　the　aliens　were　remarkably　similar　to　us；　no　exchange　of　information　was　likely。　Barnes　of　course　knew　that　theory；　so　he　knew　he　wasnt　likely　to　derive　any　useful　technology　from　the　alien　sphere。　But　he　was　very　likely　to　get　useful　technology　from　the　spaceship　itself；　since　the　spaceship　had　been　made　by　men；　and　congruity　was　high。

And　he　had　lied　to　keep　them　down。　To　keep　the　search　going。

〃What　should　we　do　with　the　bastard？〃　Beth　said。　〃Nothing；　for　the　moment；〃　Norman　said。

〃You　dont　want　to　confront　him？　Jesus；　I　do。〃

〃It　wont　serve　any　purpose；〃　Norman　said。　〃Ted　wont　care；　and　the　Navy　people　are　all　following　orders。　And　anyway；　even　if　it　had　been　arranged　for　us　to　depart　as　planned；　would　you　have　gone；　leaving　Harry　behind　in　the　sphere？〃

〃No；〃　Beth　admitted。

〃Well；　then。　Its　all　academic。〃

〃Jesus；　Norman　。。。〃

〃I　know。　But　were　here　now。　And　for　the　next　couple　of　days；　theres　not　a　damn　thing　we　can　do　about　it。　Lets　deal　with　that　reality　as　best　we　can；　and　point　the　finger　later。〃

〃You　bet　Im　going　to　point　the　finger！〃

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