第一小说网

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第39部分（第4页）

Norman　decided　to　take　another　shower。　As　he　stepped　under　the　spray；　he　made　a　startling　discovery。

The　bruises　which　had　covered　his　body　were　gone。　Anyway；　almost　gone；　he　thought；　staring　down　at　the　remaining　patches　of　yellow　and　purple。　They　had　healed　within　hours。　He　moved　his　limbs　experimentally　and　realized　that　the　pain　had　gone；　too。　Why？　What　had　happened？　For　a　moment　he　thought　this　was　all　a　dream；　or　a　nightmare；　and　then　he　thought：　No；　its　just　the　atmosphere。　Cuts　and　bruises　healing　faster　in　the　high…pressure　environment。　It　wasnt　anything　mysterious。　Just　an　atmospheric　effect。

He　toweled　himself　as　dry　as　he　could　with　the　damp　towel；　and　then　went　back　to　his　bunk。　Harry　was　still　snoring；　as　loud　as　ever。

Norman　lay　on　his　back；　stared　at　the　red　humming　coils　of　the　ceiling　heater。　He　had　an　idea；　and　got　out　of　bed；　and　shifted　Harrys　talker　from　the　base　of　his　throat　to　one　side。　Immediately　the　snores　changed　to　a　soft；　high…pitched　hiss。

Much　better；　he　thought。　He　lay　on　the　damp　pillow；　and　was　almost　immediately　asleep。　He　awoke　with　no　sense　of　passing　time…it　might　have　been　only　a　few　seconds…but　he　felt　refreshed。　He　stretched　and　yawned；　and　got　out　of　bed。

Harry　still　slept。　Norman　moved　the　talker　back；　and　the　＇＇264＇＇　snores　resumed。　He　went　into　D　Cyl；　to　the　console。　Still　on　the　screen　were　the　words：

HEY　MAN　GET　OFF　MY　BACK。

〃Jerry？〃　Norman　said。　〃Are　you　there；　Jerry？〃

The　screen　did　not　respond。　Jerry　wasnt　there。　Norman　looked　at　the　stack　of　printouts　to　one　side。　I　really　should　go　over　this　stuff；　he　thought。　Because　something　troubled　him　about　Jerry。　Norman　couldnt　put　his　finger　on　it；　but　even　if　one　imagined　the　alien　as　a　spoiled　child…king；　Jerrys　behavior　didnt　make　sense。　It　just　didnt　add　up。　Including　the　last　message。

HEY　MAN　GET　OFF　MY　BACK。

Street　talk？　Or　just　imitating　Harry？　In　any　case　it　wasnt　Jerrys　usual　mode　of　munication。　Usually　Jerry　was　ungrammatical　and　sort　of　spacy；　talking　about　entities　and　awareness。　But　from　time　to　time　he　would　bee　sharply　colloquial。　Norman　looked　at　the　sheets。

WELL　BE　RIGHT　BACK　AFTER　A　SHORT　BREAK　FOR　THESE　MESSAGES　FROM　OUR　SPONSOR。

That　was　one　example。　Where　had　that　e　from？　It　sounded　like　Johnny　Carson。　Then　why　didnt　Jerry　sound　like　Johnny　Carson　all　the　time？　What　caused　the　shift？

Then；　too；　there　was　the　problem　of　the　squid。　If　Jerry　liked　to　scare　them；　if　he　enjoyed　rattling　their　cage　and　seeing　them　jump；　why　use　a　squid？　Where　had　that　idea　e　from？　And　why　only　a　squid？　Jerry　seemed　to　enjoy　manifesting　different　things。　So　why　hadnt　he　produced　giant　squid　one　time；　great　white　sharks　another　time；　and　so　on？　Wouldnt　that　provide　a　greater　challenge　to　his　abilities？

Then　there　was　the　problem　of　Ted。　Ted　had　been　playing　with　Jerry　at　the　time　he　was　killed。　If　Jerry　liked　to　play　so　much；　why　would　he　kill　off　a　player？　It　just　didnt　make　sense。

Or　did　it？

Norman　sighed。　His　trouble　lay　in　his　assumptions。　Norman　was　assuming　that　the　alien　had　logical　processes　similar　to　his　own。　But　that　might　not　be　true。　For　one　thing；　Jerry　might　operate　at　a　much　faster　metabolic　rate；　and　thus　have　a　different　sense　of　time。　Kids　played　with　a　toy　only　until　＇＇265＇＇　they　got　tired　of　it；　then　they　changed　to　another。　The　hours　that　seemed　so　painfully　long　to　Norman　might　be　only　a　few　seconds　in　the　consciousness　of　Jerry。　He　might　just　be　playing　with　the　squid　for　a　few　seconds；　until　he　dropped　it　for　another　toy。

Kids　also　had　a　poor　idea　about　breaking　things。　If　Jerry　didnt　know　about　death；　then　he　wouldnt　mind　killing　Ted；　because　he　would　think　the　death　was　just　a　temporary　event；　a　〃humorous〃　manifestation　by　Ted。　He　might　not　realize　he　was　actually　breaking　his　toys。

And　it　was　also　true；　when　he　thought　about　it；　that　Jerry　had　manifested　different　things。　Assuming　that　the　jellyfish　and　the　shrimps　and　the　sea　fans　and　now　the　sea　snakes　were　his　manifestations。　Were　they？　Or　were　they　just　normal　parts　of　the　environment？　Was　there　any　way　to　tell？

And　the　Navy　seaman；　he　thought　suddenly。　Lets　not　forget　the　seaman。　Where　had　he　e　from？　Was　that　seaman　another　of　Jerrys　manifestations？　Could　Jerry　manifest　his　playmates　at　will？　In　that　case；　he　really　wouldnt　care　if　he　killed　them　all。

But　I　think　thats　clear；　Norman　thought。　Jerry　doesnt　care　if　he　kills　us。　He　just　wants　to　play；　and　he　doesnt　know　his　own　strength。

Yet　there　was　something　else。　He　scanned　the　sheets　of　printout；　feeling　instinctively　some　underlying　organization　to　everything。　Something　he　wasnt　getting；　some　connection　he　wasnt　making。

As　he　thought　about　it；　he　kept　ing　back　to　one　question：　Why　a　squid？　Why　a　squid？

Of　course；　he　thought。　They　had　been　talking　about　a　squid；　during　the　conversation　at　dinner。　Jerry　must　have　overheard　that。　He　must　have　decided　that　a　squid　would　be　a　provocative　item　to　manifest。　And　he　was　certainly　right　about　that。

Norman　shifted　the　papers；　and　came　upon　the　very　first　message　that　Harry　had　decoded。

HELLO。　HOW　ARE　YOU？　I　AM　FINE。　WHAT　IS　YOUR　NAME？　MY　NAME　IS　JERRY。

＇＇266＇＇　That　was　as　good　a　place　to　begin　as　any。　It　had　been　quite　a　feat　for　Harry　to　decode　it；　Norman　thought。　If　Harry　hadnt　succeeded　with　that；　they　would　never　have　ever　started　talking　to　Jerry　at　all。

Norman　sat　at　the　console；　stared　at　the　keyboard。　What　had　Harry　said？　The　keyboard　was　a　spiral：　the　letter　G　was　one；　and　B　was　two；　and　so　on。　Very　clever　to　figure　it　out。　Norman　would　never　hav