第35部分(第3/7 頁)

　hasty；〃　Beth　said。　〃That　sub　can　hold　three　people。〃

〃You　mean　we　could　all　get　out　of　here　in　it？〃

〃Yeah。　That's　what　I　mean。〃

〃Christ；〃　Norman　said。　〃Let's　go　now。〃

〃There　are　two　problems　with　that；〃　Beth　said。　She　pointed　to　the　screens。　〃I've　been　going　over　the　specs。　First；　the　sub　is　unstable　on　the　surface。　If　there　are　big　waves　on　the　surface；　it'll　bounce　us　around　worse　than　anything　we've　had　down　here。　And　the　second　thing　is　that　we　have　to　link　up　with　a　depression　chamber　on　the　surface。　Don't　forget；　we　still　have　ninety…six　hours　of　depression　ahead　of　us。〃

〃And　if　we　don't　depress？〃　Norman　said。　He　was　thinking；　Let's　just　go　to　the　surface　in　the　sub　and　throw　open　the　hatch　and　see　the　clouds　and　the　sky　and　breathe　some　normal　earth　air。

〃We　have　to　depress；〃　Beth　said。　〃Your　bloodstream　is　saturated　with　helium　gas　in　solution。　Right　now　you're　under　pressure；　so　everything　is　fine。　But　if　you　release　that　pressure　suddenly；　it's　just　the　same　as　when　you　pop　the　top　off　a　soda　bottle。　The　helium　will　bubble　explosively　out　of　your　system。　You'll　die　instantly。〃

〃Oh；〃　Norman　said。

＇＇235＇＇　〃Ninety…six　hours；〃　Beth　said。　〃That's　how　long　it　takes　to　get　the　helium　out　of　you。〃

〃Oh。〃

Norman　went　to　the　porthole　and　looked　across　at　DH…7；　and　the　minisub。　It　was　a　hundred　yards　away。　〃You　think　the　squid　will　e　back？〃

She　shrugged。　〃Ask　Jerry。〃

Norman　thought；　No　more　of　that　Geraldine　stuff　now。　Or　did　she　prefer　to　think　of　this　malevolent　entity　as　masculine？

〃Which　monitor　is　it？〃

〃This　one。〃　She　flicked　it　on。　The　screen　glowed。

Norman　said；　〃Jerry？　Are　you　there？〃

No　answer。

He　typed；　JERRY？　ARE　YOU　THERE？

There　was　no