第27部分(第1/7 頁)

dead。　And　'high　pressure　nervous　syndrome'…that　turns　out　to　be　sudden　convulsions；　paralysis；　and　death　if　the　carbondioxide　content　of　the　atmosphere　drops　too　low。　That's　what　the　badges　are　for；　to　make　sure　we　have　enough　CO2　in　the　air。　That's　the　only　reason　we　have　the　badges。　Nice；　huh？〃

Norman　flicked　off　the　screen；　sat　back。　〃Well；　I　keep　＇＇178＇＇　ing　back　to　the　same　point…there's　not　much　we　can　do　about　it　now。〃

〃Exactly　what　Barnes　said。〃　Beth　started　pushing　equipment　around　on　her　counter　top；　nervously。　Rearranging　things。

〃Too　bad　we　don't　have　a　sample　of　those　jellyfish；〃　Norman　said。

〃Yes；　but　I'm　not　sure　how　much　good　it　would　do；　to　tell　the　truth。〃　She　frowned；　shifted　papers　on　the　counter　again。　〃Norman；　I'm　not　thinking　very　clearly　down　here。〃

〃How's　that？〃

〃After　the；　uh；　accident；　I　came　up　here　to　look　over　my　notes；　review　things。　And　I　checked　the　shrimps。　Remember　how　I　told　you　they　didn't　have　any　stomach？　Well；　they　do。　I'd　made　a　bad　dissection；　out　of　the　midsagittal　plane。　I　just　missed　all　the　midline　structures。　But　they're　there；　all　right；　the　shrimps　are　normal。　And　the　squid？　It　turns　out　the　one　squid　I　dissected　was　a　little　anomalous。　It　had　an　atrophic　gill；　but　it　had　one。　And　the　other　squid　are　perfectly　normal。　Just　what　you'd　expect。　I　was　wrong；　too　hasty。　It　really　bothers　me。〃

〃Is　that　why　you　took　the　Valium？〃

She　nodded。　〃I　hate　to　be　sloppy。〃

〃Nobody's　criticizing　you。〃

〃If　Harry　or　Ted　reviewed　my　work　and　found　that　I'd　made　these　stupid　mistakes　。。。〃

〃What's　wrong　with　a　mistake？〃

〃I　can　hear　them　now：　Just　like　a　woman；　not　careful　enough；　too　eager　to　make　a　discovery；　trying　to　prove　herself；　too　quick　to　draw　concl