第36部分(第1/7 頁)

There　was　no　answer　from　Beth。　She　probably　couldn't　hear　him；　surrounded　by　all　this　metal。　He　looked　around　the　sub；　thinking；　I'm　dripping　wet。　But　what　was　he　supposed　to　do；　wipe　his　shoes　before　entering？　He　smiled　at　the　thought。　He　found　the　tapes　secured　in　an　aft　partment。　There　was　plenty　of　room　for　more；　and　plenty　of　room　for　three　people。　But　Beth　was　right　about　going　to　the　surface：　the　interior　of　the　sub　was　crammed　with　instruments　and　sharp　edges。　If　you　got　banged　around　in　here　it　wouldn't　be　pleasant。

Where　was　the　delay　button？　He　looked　at　the　darkened　instrument　panel；　and　saw　a　single　flashing　red　light　above　a　button　marked　〃TIMER　HOLD。〃　He　pressed　the　button。

The　red　light　stopped　flashing；　and　now　remained　steadily　on。　A　small　amber　video　screen　glowed：

Timer　Reset　…　Counting　12：00：00

As　he　watched；　the　numbers　began　to　run　backward。　He　must　have　done　it；　he　thought。　The　video　screen　switched　off。　Still　looking　at　all　the　instruments；　a　thought　occurred　to　him：　in　an　emergency；　could　he　operate　this　sub？　He　slipped　into　the　pilot's　chair；　faced　the　bewildering　dials　and　switches　of　the　instrument　array。　There　didn't　seem　to　be　any　steering　＇＇240＇＇　apparatus；　no　wheel　or　joystick。　How　did　you　work　the　damned　thing？

The　video　screen　switched　on：

DEEPSTAR　III　…　MAND　MODULE

Do　you　require　help？

Yes No　 Cancel

Yes；　he　thought。　I　require　help。　He　looked　around　for　a　〃YES〃　button　near　the　screen；　but　there　wasn't　any　that　he　could　see。　Finally　he　thought　to　touch　the　screen；　pressing　〃YES。〃

DEEPSTAR　III　…　CHECKLIST　OPTIONS

Descend Ascend

Secure Shutdown

Monitor Cancel

He　pressed　〃ASCEND。〃　The　screen　changed　to　a　small　drawing　of　the　instrume