按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！
〃A message from where？〃
〃From the sphere。〃
〃Hell；〃 Barnes said； 〃it can't be a message。〃
〃How do you know？〃
〃Because there's no way a message can be transmitted。 We're not hooked up to anything。 Certainly not to the sphere。 It's got to be a memory dump from somewhere inside our own puter system。〃
〃How much memory have you got？〃
〃Fair amount。 Ten giga； something like that。〃
〃Maybe the helium's getting to the chips；〃 Tina said。 〃Maybe it's a saturation effect。〃
〃I still think you should keep it；〃 Ted said。
＇＇142＇＇ Norman had been looking at the screen。 He was no mathematician； but he'd looked at a lot of statistics in his life； searching for patterns in the data。 That was something human brains were inherently good at； finding patterns in visual material。 Norman couldn't put his finger on it； but he sensed a pattern here。 He said； 〃I have the feeling it's not random。〃
〃Then let's keep it；〃 Barnes said。
Tina went forward to the console。 As her hands touched the keys； the screen went blank。
〃So much for that；〃 Barnes said。 〃It's gone。 Too bad we didn't have Harry to look at it with us。〃
〃Yeah；〃 Ted said gloomily。 〃Too bad。〃
ANALYSIS
〃Take a look at this；〃 Beth said。 〃this one is still alive。〃
Norman was with her in the little biological laboratory near the top of D Cylinder。 Nobody had been in this laboratory since their arrival； because they hadn't found anything living。 Now； with the lights out； he and Beth watched the squid move in the glass tank。
The creature had a delicate appearance。 The blue glow was concentrated in stripes along the back and sides of the creature。
〃Yes；〃 Beth said； 〃the bioluminescent structures seem to be located dorsally。 They're bacteria； of course。〃
〃What are？〃
〃The bioluminescent areas。 Squid can't create light themselves。 The creatures that do are bacteria。 So the bioluminescent animals in the sea have incorporated these bacteria into ＇＇143＇＇ their bodies。 You're seeing bacteria glowing through the skin。〃
〃So it's like an infection？〃
〃Yes； in a way。〃
The large eyes of the squid stared。 The tentacles moved。 〃And you can see all the internal organs；〃 Beth said。 〃The brain is hidden behind the eye。 That sac is the digestive gland； and behind it； the stomach； and below that…see it beating？…the heart。 That big thing at the front is the gonad； and ing down from the stomach； a sort of funnel…that's where it squirts the ink； and propels itself。〃
〃Is it really a new species？〃 Norman said。
She sighed。 〃I don't know。 Internally it is so typical。 But fewer tentacles would qualify it as a new species； all right。〃
〃You going to get to call it Squidus bethus？ 〃 Norman said。
She smiled。 〃Architeuthis bethis；〃 she said。 〃Sounds like a dental problem。 Architeuthis bethis： means you need root canal。〃
〃How about it； Dr。 Halpern？〃 Levy said； poking her head in。 〃Got some good tomatoes and peppers； be a shame to waste them。 Are the squid really poisonous？〃
〃I doubt it；〃 Beth said。 〃Squid aren't known to be。 Go ahead；〃 she said to Levy。 〃I think it'll be okay to eat them。〃 When Levy had gone； Norman said； 〃I thought you gave up eating these things。〃
〃Just octopi；〃 Beth said。 〃An octopus is cute and smart。 Squid are rather 。。。 unsympathetic。〃
〃Unsympathetic。〃
〃Well； they're cannibalistic； and rather nasty。 。。。 She raised an eyebrow。 〃Are you psychoanalyzing me again？〃
〃No。 Just curious。〃
〃As a zoologist； you're supposed to be objective；〃 Beth said； 〃but I have feelings about animals； like anybody else。 I have a warm feeling about octopi。 They're clever； you know。 I once had an octopus in a research tank that learned to kill cockroaches and use them as bait to catch crabs。 The curious crab would e along； investigate the dead cockroach； and then the octopus would jump out of its hiding place and catch the crab。
＇＇144＇＇ 〃In fact； an octopus is so smart that the biggest limitation to its behavior is its lifespan。 An octopus lives only three years； and that's not long enough to develop anything as plicated as a culture or civilization。 Maybe if octopi lived as long as we do； they would long ago have taken over the world。
〃But squid are pletely different。 I have no feelings about squid。 Except I don't really like 'em。〃
He smiled。 〃Well；〃 he said； 〃at least you finally found some life down here。〃
〃You know； it's funny；〃 she said。 〃Remember how barren it was out there？ Nothing on the bottom？〃
〃Sure。 Very striking。〃
〃Well； I went around the side of the habitat； to get these squid。 And there're all sorts of sea fans on the bottom。 Beautiful colors； blues and purples and yellows。 Some of them quite large。〃
〃Think they just grew？〃
〃No。 They must have always been in that spot； but we never went over there。 I'll have to investigate it later。 I'd like to know why they are localized in that particular place； next to the habitat。〃
Norman went to the porthole。 He had switched on the exterior habitat lights； shining onto the bottom。 He could indeed see many large sea fans； purple and pink and blue； waving gently in the current。 They extended out to the edge of the light； to the darkness。
〃In a way；〃 Beth said； 〃it's reassuring。 We're deep for the majority of oceanic life； which is found in the first hundred feet of water。 But even so； this habitat is located in the most varied and abundant marine environment in the world。〃 Scientists had made species counts and had determined that the South Pacific had more species of coral and sponges than anywhere else on Earth。
〃So I'm glad we're finally finding things；〃 she said。 She looked at her benches of chemicals and reagents。 〃And I'm glad to finally get to work on something。〃
* * *
＇＇145＇＇ Harry was eating bacon and eggs in the galley。 The others stood around and watched him； relieved that he was all right。 And they told him the news； he listened with interest； until they mentioned that there had been a large school of squid。
〃Squid？〃
He looked up sharply and almost dropped his fork。 〃Yeah； lots of 'em；〃 Levy said。 〃I'm cooking up a bunch for dinner。〃
〃Are they still here？〃 Harry asked。
〃No； they're gone now。〃
He relaxed； shoulders dropping。
〃Something the matter； Harry？〃 Norman said。
〃I hate squid；〃 Harry said。 〃I can't stand them。〃
〃I don't care for the taste myself；〃 Ted said。
〃Terrible；〃 Harry said； nodding。 He resumed eating his eggs。 The tension passed。
Then Tina shouted from D Cylinder： 〃I'm getting them again！ I'm getting the numbers again！〃
00032125252632 032629 301321 04261037 18 3016 06180
82132 29033005 1822 04261013 0830162137 1604 083016
21 1822 033013130432 00032125252632 032629 301321 0
4261037 18 3016 0618082132 29033005 1822 04261013 08
30162137 1604 08301621 1822 033013130432 000321252
52632 032629 301321 04261037 18 3016 0618082132 290
33005 1822 04261013 0830162137 1604 08301621 1822 03
3013130432 00032125252632 032629 301321 04261037 1
8 3016 0618082132 29033005 1822 04261013 0830162137
1604 08301621 1822 033013130432 00032125252632 032
629 301321 04261037 18 3016 0618082132 29033005 1822
04261013 0830162137 1604 08301621 1822 033013130432
0003212525252632 032629 301321 04261037 18 3016 06
18082132 29033005 1822 04261013 0830162137 1604 083
01621 1822 033013130432 0003212525632 032629 301321
〃What do you think； Harry？〃 Barnes said； pointing to the screen。
〃Is this what you got before？〃 Harry said。 〃Looks like it； except the spacing is different。〃
〃Because this is definitely nonrandom；〃 Harry said。 〃It's ＇＇146＇＇ a single sequence repeated over and over。 Look。 Starts here； goes to here； then repeats。〃
00032125252632 032629 301321 04261037 18 3016 06180
82132 29033005 1822 04261013 0830162137 1604 083016
21 1822 033013130432 00032125252632 032629 301321 0
4261037 18 3016 0618082132 29033005 1822 04261013 08
30162137 1604 08301621 1822 033013130432 000321252
52632 032629 301321 04261037 18 3016 0618082132 290
33005 1822 04261013 0830162137 1604 08301621 1822 03
3013130432 00032125252632 032629 301321 04261037 1
8 3016 0618082132 29033005 1822 04261013 0830162137
1604 08301621 1822 033013130432 00032125252632 032
629 301321 04261037 18 3016 0618082132 29033005 1822
04261013 0830162137 1604 08301621 1822 033013130432
0003212525252632 032629 301321 04261037 18 3016 06
18082132 29033005 1822 04261013 0830162137 1604 083
01621 1822 033013130432 0003212525632 032629 301321
〃He's right；〃 Tina said。
〃Fantastic；〃 Barnes said。 〃Absolutely incredible； for you to see it like that。〃
Ted drummed his fingers on the console impatiently。 〃Elementary； my dear Barnes；〃 Harry said。 〃That part is easy。 The hard part is…what does it mean？〃
〃Surely it's a message；〃 Ted said。
〃Possibly it's a message；〃 Harry said。 〃It could also be some kind of discharge from within the puter； the result of a programming error or a hardware glitch。 We might spend hours translating it； only to find it says 'Copyright Acme puter Systems； Silicon Valley' or something similar。〃
〃Well。。。〃 Ted said。
〃The greatest likelihood is that this series of numbers originates from within the puter itself；〃 Harry said。 〃But let me give it a try。〃
Tina printed out the screen for him。 〃I'd like to try； too；〃 Ted said quickly。
Tina said； 〃Certainly； Dr。 Fielding；〃 and printed out a second sheet。
〃If it's a message；〃 Harry said； 〃it's most likely a simple substitution code； like an askey code。 It would help if we ＇＇147＇＇ could run a decoding program on the puter。 Can anybody program this thing？〃
They all shook their heads。 〃Can you？〃 Barnes said。
〃No。 And I suppose there's no way to transmit this to the surface？ The NSA code…breaking puters in Washington would take about fifteen seconds to do this。〃
Barnes shook his head。 〃No contact。 I wouldn't even put up a radio wire on a balloon。 The last report； they have forty…foot waves on the surface。 Snap the wire right away。〃
〃So we're isolated？〃
〃We're isolated。〃
〃I guess it's back to the old pencil and paper。 I always say； traditional tools are best…particularly when there's nothing else。〃 And left the room。
〃He seems to be in a good mood；〃 Barnes said。
〃I'd say a very good mood；〃 Norman said。
〃Maybe a little too good；〃 Ted said。 〃A little manic？〃
〃No；〃 Norman said。 〃Just a good mood。〃
〃I thought he was a little high；〃 Ted said。
〃Let him stay that way；〃 Barnes snorted； 〃if it helps him to crack this code。〃
〃I'm going to try； too；〃 Ted reminded him。
〃That's fine；〃 Barnes said。 〃You try； too。〃
TED
〃I'm telling you； this reliance on Harry is misplaced。〃 Ted paced back and forth and glanced at Norman。 〃Harry is manic； and he's overlooking things。 Obvious things。〃
〃Like what？〃
〃Like the fact that the printout can't possibly be a discharge from the puter。〃
〃How do you know？〃 Norman said。
〃The processor；〃 Ted said。 〃The processor is a 68090 chip； ＇＇148＇＇ which means that any memory dump would be in hex。〃
〃What's hex？〃
〃There are lots of ways to represent numbers；〃 Ted said。 〃The 68090 chip uses base…sixteen representation； called 'hexadecimal。' Hex is entirely different from regular decimal。 Looks different。〃
〃But the message used zero through nine；〃 Norman said。 〃Exactly my point；〃 Ted said。 〃So it didn't e from the puter。 I believe it's definitely a message from the sphere。 Furthermore； although Harry thinks it is a substitution code； I think it's a direct visual representation。〃
〃You mean a picture？〃
〃Yes；〃 Ted said。 〃And I think it's a picture of the creature itself！〃 He started searching through sheets of paper。 〃I started with this。〃
001110101110011100111010100000 111101011101
11110110110101 100110101010100101
100101111010000 11010010100010101100000
111011111110101 1001010110 1001101010101101
1000111101000010101100101 10000100
1000111101000010101 1001010110
111111011011101100100000
001110101110011100111010100000 111101011101
11110110110101 100110101010100101 10010
1111010000 11010010100010101100000
111011111110101 1001010110 1001101010101101
1000111101000010101100101 10000100
1000111101000010101 1001010110
111111011011101100100000
001110101110011100111010100000 111101011101
11110110110101 100110101010100101 10010
1111010000 11010010100010101100000
111011111110101 1001010110 1001101010101101
1000111101000010101100101 10000100
〃Now； here I have translated the message to binary；〃 Ted said。 〃You can immediately sense visual pattern； can't you？〃
〃Not really；〃 Norman said。
〃Well； it is certainly suggestive；〃 Ted said。 〃I'm telling you； all those years at JPL looking at images from the planets； I have an eye for these things。 So； the next thing I did was go back to the original message and fill in the spaces。 I got ＇＇149＇＇ this。〃
？ ？00032125252632？ ？032629？ ？301321？ ？04261037？ ？18？
？3016？ ？0618082132？ ？29033005？ ？1822？ ？04261013？
？0830162137？ ？1604？ ？08301621？ ？1822？ ？033013130432？
？00032125252632？ ？032629？ ？301321？ ？04261037？ ？18？
？3016？ ？0618082132？ ？29033005？ ？1822？ ？04261013？
？0830162137？ ？1604？ ？08301621？ ？1822？ ？033013130432？
？00032125252632？ ？032629？ ？301321？ ？04261037？ ？18？
？3016？ ？0618082132？ ？29033005？ ？1822？ ？04261013？
？0830162137？ ？1604？ ？08301621？ ？1822？ ？033013130432？
？00032125252632？ ？032629？ ？301321？ ？04261037？ ？18？
？3016？ ？0618082132？ ？29033005？ ？1822？ ？04261013？
？0830