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〃e on; Beth。 No conspiracies; now。 We have enough to worry about without…〃

〃…Just look at this;〃 she said。 She led him back upstairs; flicked on a console; pressed buttons。

〃I started putting it together when Barnes was on the phone;〃 she said。 〃Barnes was talking to somebody right up to the moment when the cable started to coil down。 Except that cable is a thousand feet long; Norman。 They would have broken munications several minutes before unhooking the cable itself。〃

〃Probably; yes 。。。〃

〃So who was Barnes talking to at the last minute? Nobody。〃

〃Beth 。。。〃

〃Look;〃 she said; pointing to the screen。

SUMMARY DH…SURl

0910 BARNES TO SUR1:

CIVILIAN AND USN PERSONNEL POLLED。 ALTHOUGH ADVISED OF RISKS; ALL PERSONNEL ELECT TO REMAIN DOWN FOR DURATION OF STORM TO CONTINUE INVESTIGATION OF ALIEN SPHERE AND ASSOCIATED SPACECRAFT。

BARNES; USN。

〃Youre kidding;〃 Norman said。 〃I thought Barnes wanted to leave。〃

〃He did; but he changed his mind when he saw that last room; and he didnt bother to tell us。 Id like to kill the bastard;〃 Beth said。 〃You know what this is about; Norman; dont you?〃

Norman nodded。 〃He hopes to find a new weapon。〃

〃Right。 Barnes is a Pentagon…acquisition man; and he wants to find a new weapon。〃

〃But the sphere is unlikely…〃

〃Its not the sphere;〃 Beth said。 〃Barnes doesnt really ''129'' care about the sphere。 He cares about the associated spacecraft。 Because; according to congruity theory; its the spacecraft that is likely to pay off。 Not the sphere。〃

Congruity theory was a troublesome matter for the people who thought about extraterrestrial life。 In a simple way; the astronomers and physicists who considered the possibility of contact with extraterrestrial life imagined wonderful benefits to mankind from such a contact。 But other thinkers; philosophers and historians; did not foresee any benefits to contact at all。

For example; astronomers believed that if we made contact with extraterrestrials; mankind would be so shocked that wars on Earth would cease; and a new era of peaceful cooperation between nations would begin。

But historians thought that was nonsense。 They pointed out that when Europeans discovered the New World…a similarly world…shattering discovery…the Europeans did not stop their incessant fighting。 On the contrary: they fought even harder。 Europeans simply made the New World an extension of pre…existing animosities。 It became another place to fight; and to fight over。

Similarly; astronomers imagined that when mankind met extraterrestrials; there would be an exchange of information and technology; giving mankind a wonderful advancement。

Historians of science thought that was nonsense; too。 They pointed out that what we called 〃science〃 actually consisted of a rather arbitrary conception of the universe; not likely to be shared by other creatures。 Our ideas of science were the ideas of visually oriented; monkey…like creatures who enjoyed changing their physical environment。 If the aliens were blind and municated by odors; they might have evolved a very different science; which described a very different universe。 And they might have made very different choices about the directions their science would explore。 For example; they might ignore the physical world entirely; and instead develop a highly sophisticated science of mind…in other words; the exact opposite of what Earth science had done。 The alien technology might be purely mental; with no visible hardware at all。

''130'' This issue was at the heart of congruity theory; which said that unless the aliens were remarkably similar to us; no exchange of information was likely。 Barnes of course knew that theory; so he knew he wasnt likely to derive any useful technology from the alien sphere。 But he was very likely to get useful technology from the spaceship itself; since the spaceship had been made by men; and congruity was high。

And he had lied to keep them down。 To keep the search going。

〃What should we do with the bastard?〃 Beth said。 〃Nothing; for the moment;〃 Norman said。

〃You dont want to confront him? Jesus; I do。〃

〃It wont serve any purpose;〃 Norman said。 〃Ted wont care; and the Navy people are all following orders。 And anyway; even if it had been arranged for us to depart as planned; would you have gone; leaving Harry behind in the sphere?〃

〃No;〃 Beth admitted。

〃Well; then。 Its all academic。〃

〃Jesus; Norman 。。。〃

〃I know。 But were here now。 And for the next couple of days; theres not a damn thing we can do about it。 Lets deal with that reality as best we can; and point the finger later。〃

〃You bet Im going to point the finger!〃

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