第20部分(第3/7 頁)

8＇＇　〃Barnes。　The　Navy。　Everybody。　This　is　all　a　setup；　Norman。〃

〃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…SUR/l

0910　BARNES　TO　SUR/1：

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。

〃You're　kidding；〃　Norman　said。　〃I　thought　Barnes　wanted　to　leave。〃

〃He　did；　but　he　changed　his　mind　when　he　saw　that　last　room；　and　he　didn't　bother　to　tell　us。　I'd　like　to　kill　the　bastard；〃　Beth　said。　〃You　know　what　this　is　about；　Norman；　don't　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…〃

〃It's　not　the　sphere；〃　Beth　said。　〃Barnes　doesn't　really　＇＇129＇＇　care　about　the　sphere。　He　cares　about　the　'associated　spacecraft。'　Because；　according　to　congruity　theory；　it's　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；