第12部分(第1/7 頁)

girders。

Beth　said；　〃It's　like　being　in　an　oil　refinery。〃　She　shone　her　light　on　one　steel　beam。　Stenciled　was　〃AVR…09。〃　All　the　stenciling　was　in　English。

〃Most　of　what　you　see　is　structural；〃　Barnes　said。　〃Cross…stress　bracing　for　the　outer　hull。　Gives　tremendous　support　along　all　axes。　The　ship　is　very　ruggedly　built；　as　we　suspected。　Designed　to　take　extraordinary　stresses。　There's　probably　another　hull　further　in。〃　Norman　was　reminded　that　Barnes　had　once　been　an　aeronautical　engineer。

〃Not　only　that；〃　Harry　said；　shining　his　light　on　the　outer　hull。　〃Look　at　this…a　layer　of　lead。〃

〃Radiation　shield？〃

〃Must　be。　It's　six　inches　thick。〃

〃So　this　ship　was　built　to　handle　a　lot　of　radiation。〃

〃A　hell　of　a　lot；〃　Harry　said。

There　was　a　haze　in　the　ship；　and　a　faintly　oily　feel　to　the　air。　The　metal　girders　seemed　to　be　coated　in　oil；　but　when　Norman　touched　them；　the　oil　didn't　e　off　on　his　fingers。　He　realized　that　the　metal　itself　had　an　unusual　texture：　it　was　slick　and　slightly　soft　to　the　touch；　almost　rubbery。

〃Interesting；〃　Ted　said。　〃Some　kind　of　new　material。　We　associate　strength　with　hardness；　but　this　metal…if　it　is　metal…is　both　strong　and　soft。　Materials　technology　has　obviously　advanced　since　our　day。〃

〃Obviously；〃　Harry　said。

〃Well；　it　makes　sense；〃　Ted　said。　〃If　you　think　of　America　fifty　years　ago　as　pared　with　today；　one　of　the　biggest　changes　is　the　great　variety　of　plastics　and　ceramics　we　have　now　that　were　not　even　imagined　back　then。　。。。〃　Ted　continued　to　talk；　his　voice　echoing　in　the　cavernous　darkness。　＇＇74＇＇　But　Norman　could　hear　the　tension　in　his　voice。　Ted's　whistling　in　the　dark；　he　thought。

They　moved　deeper　into　the　ship。　Norman　felt　dizzy　to　be　so　h