第49部分(第2/7 頁)

The　sphere　did　not　open。

〃Open　up；〃　he　said　aloud。　The　sphere　did　not　open。

Of　course　he　knew　that　wouldn't　work；　because　Ted　had　tried　it　for　hours。　When　Harry　and　Beth　went　in；　they　hadn't　said　anything。　They　just　did　something　in　their　minds。

He　closed　his　eyes；　focused　his　attention；　and　thought；　Open　up。

He　opened　his　eyes　and　looked　at　the　sphere。　It　was　still　closed。

I　am　ready　for　you　to　open　up；　he　thought。　I　am　ready　now。

Nothing　happened。　The　sphere　did　not　open。

Norman　hadn't　considered　the　possibility　that　he　would　be　unable　to　open　the　sphere。　After　all；　two　others　had　already　done　it。　How　had　they　managed　it？

Harry；　with　his　logical　brain；　had　been　the　first　to　figure　it　out。　But　Harry　had　only　figured　it　out　after　he　had　seen　Beth's　tape。　So　Harry　had　discovered　a　clue　in　the　tape；　an　important　clue。

Beth　had　also　reviewed　the　tape；　watching　it　again　and　again；　until　she　finally　figured　it　out；　too。　Something　in　the　tape　。。。

Too　bad　he　didn't　have　the　tape　here；　Norman　thought。　But　he　had　seen　it　often；　he　could　probably　reconstruct　it；　play　it　back　in　his　mind。　How　did　it　go？　In　his　mind　he　saw　the　images：　Beth　and　Tina　talking。　Beth　eating　cake。　Then　＇＇331＇＇　Tina　had　said　something　about　the　tapes　being　stored　in　the　submarine。　And　Beth　said　something　back。　Then　Tina　had　moved　away；　out　of　the　picture；　but　she　had　said；　〃Do　you　think　they'll　ever　get　the　sphere　open？〃

And　Beth　said；　〃Maybe。　I　don't　know。〃　And　the　sphere　had　opened　at　that　moment。

Why？

〃Do　you　think　they'll　ever　get　the　sphere　open？〃　Tina　had　asked。　And　in　response　to　such　a　question；　Beth　must　have　imagined　the　sphere　open；　must　have　seen　an　image　of　the　open　sphere　in　her　mind

Ther