第一小说网

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第37部分（第3页）

〃Shes　pretty　good…looking；〃　Harry　said；　peering　through　the　glass。　〃Boy；　the　reporters　would　go　crazy　with　this；　wouldnt　they？　Sexy　woman　from　the　future　found　nude　and　mummified。　Film　at　eleven。〃

〃Shes　tall；　too；〃　Norman　said。　〃She　must　be　over　six　feet。〃

〃An　Amazon　woman；〃　Harry　said。　〃With　great　tits。〃

〃All　right；〃　Beth　said。

〃Whats　wrong…offended　on　her　behalf？〃　Harry　said。

〃I　dont　think　theres　any　need　for　ments　of　that　kind。〃

〃Actually；　Beth；〃　Harry　said；　〃she　looks　a　little　like　you。〃

Beth　frowned。

〃Im　serious。　Have　you　looked　at　her？〃

〃Dont　be　ridiculous。〃

Norman　peered　through　the　glass；　shielding　his　hand　against　the　reflection　of　the　purple　UV　tubes　in　the　floor。　The　mummified　woman　did　indeed　look　like　Beth…younger；　taller；　stronger；　but　like　Beth；　nevertheless。　〃Hes　right；〃　Norman　said。

〃Maybe　shes　you；　from　the　future；〃　Harry　said。

〃No；　shes　obviously　in　her　twenties。〃

〃Maybe　shes　your　granddaughter。〃

〃Pretty　unlikely；〃　Beth　said。

〃You　never　know；〃　Harry　said。　〃Does　Jennifer　look　like　you？〃

〃Not　really。　But　shes　at　that　awkward　stage。　And　she　＇＇251＇＇　doesnt　look　like　that　woman。　And　neither　do　I。〃

Norman　was　struck　by　the　conviction　with　which　Beth　denied　any　resemblance　or　association　to　the　mummified　woman。　〃Beth；〃　he　said；　〃what　do　you　suppose　happened　here？　Why　is　this　woman　the　only　one　left？〃

〃I　think　she　was　important　to　the　expedition；〃　Beth　said。　〃Maybe　even　the　captain；　or　the　co…captain。　The　others　were　mostly　men。　And　they　did　something　foolish…I　dont　know　what…something　she　advised　them　against…and　as　a　result　they　all　died。　She　alone　remained　alive　in　this　spacecraft。　And　she　piloted　it　home。　But　there　was　something　wrong　with　her…something　she　couldnt　help…and　she　died。〃

〃What　was　wrong　with　her？〃

〃I　dont　know。　Something。〃

Fascinating；　Norman　thought。　Hed　never　really　considered　it　before；　but　this　room…for　that　matter；　this　entire　spacecraft…was　one　big　Rorschach。　Or　more　accurately；　a　TAT。　The　Thematic　Apperception　Test　was　a　psychological　test　that　consisted　of　a　series　of　ambiguous　pictures。　Subjects　were　supposed　to　tell　what　they　thought　was　happening　in　the　pictures。　Since　no　clear　story　was　implied　by　the　pictures；　the　subjects　supplied　the　stories。　And　the　stories　told　much　more　about　the　storytellers　than　about　the　pictures。

Now　Beth　was　telling　them　her　fantasy　about　this　room：　that　a　woman　had　been　in　charge　of　the　expedition；　the　men　had　failed　to　listen　to　her；　they　had　died；　and　she　alone　had　remained　alive；　the　sole　survivor。

It　didnt　tell　them　much　about　this　spaceship。　But　it　told　them　a　lot　about　Beth。

〃I　get　it；〃　Harry　said。　〃You　mean　shes　the　one　who　made　the　mistake　and　piloted　the　ship　back　too　far　into　the　past。　Typical　woman　driver。〃

〃Do　you　have　to　make　a　joke　of　everything？〃

〃Do　you　have　to　take　everything　so　seriously？〃

〃This　is　serious；〃　Beth　said。

〃Ill　tell　you　a　different　story；〃　Harry　said。　〃This　woman　screwed　up。　She　was　supposed　to　do　something；　and　she　forgot　to　do　it；　or　else　she　made　a　mistake。　And　then　she　went　into　hibernation。　As　a　result　of　her　mistake；　the　rest　of　the　＇＇252＇＇　crew　died；　and　she　never　woke　up　from　the　hibernation…never　realized　what　she　had　done；　because　she　was　so　unaware　of　what　was　really　happening。〃

〃Im　sure　you　like　that　story　better；〃　Beth　said。　〃It　fits　with　your　typical　black…male　contempt　for　women。〃

〃Easy；〃　Norman　said。

〃You　resent　the　power　of　the　female；〃　Beth　said。

〃What　power？　You　call　lifting　weights　power？　Thats　only　strength…and　it　es　out　of　a　feeling　of　weakness；　not　power。〃

〃You　skinny　little　weasel；〃　Beth　said。

〃Whatre　you　going　to　do；　beat　me　up？〃　Harry　said。　〃Is　that　your　idea　of　power？〃

〃I　know　what　power　is；〃　Beth　said；　glaring　at　him。

〃Easy；　easy；〃　Norman　said。　〃Lets　not　get　into　this。〃

Harry　said；　〃What　do　you　think；　Norman？　Do　you　have　a　story