第24部分(第5/7 頁)

。〃

She　turned；　looked　at　him。　〃No。　Not　great。　Weird。〃　She　clicked　on　a　high…intensity　light；　cut　open　one　of　the　shrimps　with　a　scalpel。　〃I　thought　so。〃

〃What　is　it？〃

＇＇157＇＇　〃Norman；〃　she　said；　〃we　didn't　see　any　life　down　here　for　days…and　suddenly　in　the　last　few　hours　we　find　three　new　species？　It's　not　normal。〃

〃We　don't　know　what's　normal　at　one　thousand　feet。〃

〃I'm　telling　you。　It's　not　normal。〃

〃But；　Beth；　you　said　yourself　that　we　simply　hadn't　noticed　the　sea　fans　before。　And　the　squid　and　the　shrimps…can't　they　be　migrating；　passing　through　this　area；　something　like　that？　Barnes　says　they've　never　had　trained　scientists　living　this　deep　at　one　site　on　the　ocean　floor　before。　Maybe　these　migrations　are　normal；　and　we　just　don't　know　they　occur。〃

〃I　don't　think　so；〃　Beth　said。　〃When　I　went　out　to　get　these　shrimps；　I　felt　their　behavior　was　atypical。　For　one　thing；　they　were　too　close　together。　Shrimps　on　the　bottom　maintain　a　characteristic　distance　from　one　another；　about　four　feet。　These　were　packed　close。　In　addition；　they　moved　as　if　they　were　feeding；　but　there's　nothing　to　feed　on　down　here。〃

〃Nothing　that　we　know　of。〃

〃Well；　these　shrimps　can't　have　been　feeding。〃　She　pointed　to　the　cut　animal　on　the　lab　bench。　〃They　haven't　got　a　stomach。〃

〃Are　you　kidding？〃

〃Look　for　yourself。〃

Norman　looked；　but　the　dissected　shrimp　didn't　mean　much　to　him。　It　was　just　a　mass　of　pink　flesh。　It　was　cut　on　a　ragged　diagonal；　not　cleanly。　She's　tired；　he　thought。　She's　not　working　efficiently。　We　need　sleep。　We　need　to　get　out　of　here。

〃The　external　appearance　is　perfect；　except　for　an　extra　dorsal　fan　at　the　tail；〃　she　said。　〃But　internally；　it's　all　screwed　up。　There's　no　way　fo