第20部分(第7/7 頁)

ng　trouble。

He　shook　his　head　and　swore。

Then　he　turned　the　console　off。

The　hours　crept　by。　Harry　was　still　in　the　sphere。　Tina　ran　her　image　intensification　of　the　videotape　that　showed　the　sphere　open；　trying　to　see　interior　detail。　〃Unfortunately；　we　have　only　limited　puting　power　in　the　habitat；〃　she　said。　〃If　I　could　hard…link　to　the　surface　I　could　really　do　a　job；　but　as　it　is　。。。〃　She　shrugged。

She　showed　them　a　series　of　enlarged　freeze…frames　from　the　open　sphere。　The　images　clicked　through　at　one…second　intervals。　The　quality　was　poor；　with　jagged；　intermittent　static。

〃The　only　internal　structures　we　can　see　in　the　blackness；〃　Tina　said；　pointing　to　the　opening；　〃are　these　multiple　pointsources　of　light。　The　lights　appear　to　move　from　frame　to　frame。〃

〃It's　as　if　the　sphere　is　filled　with　fireflies；〃　Beth　said。　〃Except　these　lights　are　much　dimmer　than　fireflies；　and　they　don't　blink。　They　are　very　numerous。　And　they　give　the　impression　of　moving　together；　in　surging　patterns　。。。〃

〃A　flock　of　fireflies？〃

〃Something　l