第一小说网

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第2部分（第3页）

〃Well；〃　Barnes　said。　〃We　dont　have　all　the　facts　yet。〃

〃The　crash　occurred　in　the　ocean？〃

〃Yes。　More　or　less　directly　beneath　us　as　we　sit　here。〃

〃Then　there　cant　be　any　survivors。〃

〃Survivors？〃　Barnes　looked　surprised。　〃No；　I　wouldnt　think　so。〃

〃Then　why　was　I　called　here？〃

Barnes　looked　blank。

〃Well；〃　Norman　explained；　〃Im　usually　called　to　crash　sites　when　there　are　survivors。　Thats　why　they　put　a　psychologist　on　the　team；　to　deal　with　the　acute　traumatic　problems　of　surviving　passengers；　or　sometimes　the　relatives　of　surviving　passengers。　Their　feelings；　and　their　fears；　and　their　recurring　nightmares。　People　who　survive　a　crash　often　experience　all　sorts　of　guilt　and　anxiety；　concerning　why　they　survived　and　not　others。　A　woman　sitting　with　her　husband　and　children；　suddenly　theyre　all　dead　and　she　alone　is　alive。　That　kind　of　thing。〃　Norman　sat　back　in　his　chair。　〃But　in　this　case…an　airplane　that　crashed　in　a　thousand　feet　of　water…there　wouldnt　be　any　of　those　problems。　So　why　am　I　here？〃

Barnes　was　staring　at　him。　He　seemed　unfortable。　He　shuffled　the　files　around　on　his　desk。

〃Actually；　this　isnt　an　airplane　crash　site；　Dr。　Johnson。〃

〃What　is　it？〃

〃Its　a　spacecraft　crash　site。〃

There　was　a　short　pause。　Norman　nodded。　〃I　see。〃

〃That　doesnt　surprise　you？〃　Barnes　said。

〃No；〃　Norman　said。　〃As　a　matter　of　fact；　it　explains　a　lot。　If　a　military　spacecraft　crashed　in　the　ocean；　that　explains　why　I　havent　heard　anything　about　it　on　the　radio；　why　it　was　kept　secret；　why　I　was　brought　here　the　way　I　was。　。。。　When　did　it　crash？〃

＇＇12＇＇　Barnes　hesitated　just　a　fraction　before　answering。　〃As　best　we　can　estimate；〃　he　said；　〃this　spacecraft　crashed　three　hundred　years　ago。〃

ULF

There　was　a　silence。　Norman　listened　to　the　drone　of　the　air　conditioner。　He　heard　faintly　the　radio　munications　in　the　next　room。　He　looked　at　the　mug　of　coffee　in　his　hand；　noticing　a　chip　on　the　rim。　He　struggled　to　assimilate　what　he　was　being　told；　but　his　mind　moved　sluggishly；　in　circles。

Three　hundred　years　ago；　he　thought。　A　spacecraft　three　hundred　years　old。　But　the　space　program　wasnt　three　hundred　years　old。　It　was　barely　thirty　years　old。　So　how　could　a　spacecraft　be　three　hundred　years　old？　It　couldnt　be。　Barnes　must　be　mistaken。　But　how　could　Barnes　be　mistaken？　The　Navy　wouldnt　send　all　these　ships；　all　these　people；　unless　they　were　sure　what　was　down　there。　A　spacecraft　three　hundred　years　old。

But　how　could　that　be？　It　couldnt　be。　It　must　be　something　else。　He　went　over　it　again　and　again；　getting　nowhere；　his　mind　dazed　and　shocked。

〃…solutely　no　question　about　it；〃　Barnes　was　saying。　〃We　can　estimate　the　date　from　coral　growth　with　great　accuracy。　Pacific　coral　grows　two…and…a…half　centimeters　a　year；　and　the　object…whatever　it　is…is　covered　in　about　five　meters　of　coral。　Thats　a　lot　of　coral。　Of　course；　coral　doesnt　grow　at　a　depth　of　a　thousand　feet；　which　means　that　the　present　shelf　collapsed　to　a　lower　depth　at　some　point　in　the　past。　The　geologists　are　telling　us　that　happened　about　a　century　ago；　so　were　assuming　a　total　age　for　the　craft　of　about　three　hundred　years。　But　we　could　be　wrong　about　that。　It　could；　in　fact；　be　much　older。　It　could　be　a　thousand　years　old。〃

＇＇13＇＇　Barnes　shifted　papers　on　his　desk　again；　arranging　them　into　neat　stacks；　lining　up　the　edges。

〃I　dont　mind　telling　you；　Dr。　Johnson；　this　thing　scares　the　hell　out　of　me。　Thats　why　youre　here。〃

Norman　shook　his　head。　〃I　still　dont　understand。〃

〃We　brought　you　here；〃　Barnes　said；　〃because　of　your　association　with　the　ULF　project。〃

〃ULF？〃　Norman　said。　And　he　almost　added；　But　ULF　was　a　joke。　Seeing　how　serious　Barnes　was；　he　was　glad　he　had　caught　himself　in　time。

Yet　ulf　was　a　joke。　Everything　about　it　had　been　a　joke；　from　the　very　beginning。

In　1979；　in　the　waning　days　of　the　Carter　Administration；　Norman　Johnson　had　been　an　assistant　professor　of　psychology　at　the　University　of　California　at　San　Diego；　his　particular　research　interest　was　group　dynamics　and　anxiety；　and　he　occasionally　served　on　FAA　crash…site　teams。　In　those　days；　his　biggest　problems　had　been　finding　a　house　for　Ellen　and　the　kids；　keeping　up　his　publications；　and　wondering　whether　UCSD　would　give　him　tenure。　Normans　research　was　considered　brilliant；　but　psychology　was　notoriously　prone　to　intellectual　fashions；　and　interest　in　the　study　of　anxiety　was　declining　as　many　researchers　came　to　regard　anxiety　as　a　purely　biochemical　disorder　that　could　be　treated　with　drug　therapy　alone；　one　scientist　had　even　gone　so　far　as　to　say；　〃Anxiety　is　no　longer　a　problem　in　psychology。　There　is　nothing　left　to　study。〃　Similarly；　group　dynamics　was　percei