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第24部分（第3页）

She　was　examining　the　shrimps　under　the　low…power　scanning　microscope。　〃How　does　he　seem？〃

〃Harry？〃

〃Yes。〃

〃I　dont　know。〃

〃Is　he　okay？〃

〃I　dont　know。　I　think　so。〃

Still　looking　through　the　microscope　lens；　she　said；　〃Did　he　tell　you　anything　about　what　happened　inside　the　sphere？〃

〃Not　yet。〃

She　adjusted　the　microscope；　shook　her　head。　〃Ill　be　damned。〃

〃What　is　it？〃　Norman　said。

〃Extra　dorsal　plating。〃

〃Meaning？〃

〃Its　another　new　species；〃　she　said。

Norman　said；　〃Shrimpus　bethus？　Youre　making　discoveries　hand　over　fist　down　here；　Beth。〃

〃Uh…huh　。。。　I　checked　the　sea　fans；　too；　because　they　seemed　to　have　an　unusual　radial　growth　pattern。　Theyre　a　new　species　as　well。〃

〃Thats　great；　Beth。〃

She　turned；　looked　at　him。　〃No。　Not　great。　Weird。〃　She　clicked　on　a　high…intensity　light；　cut　open　one　of　the　shrimps　with　a　scalpel。　〃I　thought　so。〃

〃What　is　it？〃

＇＇157＇＇　〃Norman；〃　she　said；　〃we　didnt　see　any　life　down　here　for　days…and　suddenly　in　the　last　few　hours　we　find　three　new　species？　Its　not　normal。〃

〃We　dont　know　whats　normal　at　one　thousand　feet。〃

〃Im　telling　you。　Its　not　normal。〃

〃But；　Beth；　you　said　yourself　that　we　simply　hadnt　noticed　the　sea　fans　before。　And　the　squid　and　the　shrimps…cant　they　be　migrating；　passing　through　this　area；　something　like　that？　Barnes　says　theyve　never　had　trained　scientists　living　this　deep　at　one　site　on　the　ocean　floor　before。　Maybe　these　migrations　are　normal；　and　we　just　dont　know　they　occur。〃

〃I　dont　think　so；〃　Beth　said。　〃When　I　went　out　to　get　these　shrimps；　I　felt　their　behavior　was　atypical。　For　one　thing；　they　were　too　close　together。　Shrimps　on　the　bottom　maintain　a　characteristic　distance　from　one　another；　about　four　feet。　These　were　packed　close。　In　addition；　they　moved　as　if　they　were　feeding；　but　theres　nothing　to　feed　on　down　here。〃

〃Nothing　that　we　know　of。〃

〃Well；　these　shrimps　cant　have　been　feeding。〃　She　pointed　to　the　cut　animal　on　the　lab　bench。　〃They　havent　got　a　stomach。〃

〃Are　you　kidding？〃

〃Look　for　yourself。〃

Norman　looked；　but　the　dissected　shrimp　didnt　mean　much　to　him。　It　was　just　a　mass　of　pink　flesh。　It　was　cut　on　a　ragged　diagonal；　not　cleanly。　Shes　tired；　he　thought。　Shes　not　working　efficiently。　We　need　sleep。　We　need　to　get　out　of　here。

〃The　external　appearance　is　perfect；　except　for　an　extra　dorsal　fan　at　the　tail；〃　she　said。　〃But　internally；　its　all　screwed　up。　Theres　no　way　for　these　animals　to　be　alive。　No　stomach。　No　reproductive　apparatus。　This　animal　is　like　a　bad　imitation　of　a　shrimp。〃

〃Yet　the　shrimps　are　alive；〃　Norman　said。

〃Yeah；〃　she　said。　〃They　are。〃　She　seemed　unhappy　about　it。

〃And　the　squid　were　perfectly　normal　inside。　。。。〃