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第11部分（第1页）

〃All　right；〃　Harry　said。　〃Its　an　American　spacecraft。〃

〃An　American　spacecraft？　Half　a　mile　long？　Made　with　technology　we　dont　have　yet？　And　buried　for　three　hundred　years？〃

〃Of　course；〃　Harry　said。　〃Its　been　obvious　from　the　start。　Right；　Captain　Barnes？〃

〃We　had　considered　it；〃　Barnes　admitted。　〃The　President　had　considered　it。〃

〃Thats　why　you　didnt　inform　the　Russians。〃

〃Exactly。〃

By　now　Ted　was　pletely　frustrated。　He　clenched　his　fists；　as　if　he　wanted　to　hit　someone。　He　looked　from　one　person　to　another。　〃But　how　did　you　know？〃

〃The　first　clue；〃　Harry　said；　〃came　from　the　condition　of　the　craft　itself。　It　shows　no　damage　whatever。　Its　condition　is　pristine。　Yet　any　spacecraft　that　crashes　in　water　will　be　damaged。　Even　at　low　entry　velocities…say　two　hundred　miles　an　hour…the　surface　of　water　is　as　hard　as　concrete。　No　matter　how　strong　this　craft　is；　you　would　expect　some　degree　of　damage　from　the　impact　with　the　water。　Yet　it　has　no　damage。〃

〃Meaning？〃

〃Meaning　it　didnt　land　in　the　water。〃

〃I　dont　understand。　It　must　have　flown　here…〃

〃…It　didnt　fly　here。　It　arrived　here。〃

〃From　where？〃

＇＇67＇＇　〃From　the　future；〃　Harry　said。　〃This　is　some　kind　of　Earth　craft　that　was…will　be…made　in　the　future；　and　has　traveled　backward　in　time；　and　appeared　under　our　ocean；　several　hundred　years　ago。〃

〃Why　would　people　in　the　future　do　that？〃　Ted　groaned。　He　was　clearly　unhappy　to　be　deprived　of　his　alien　craft；　his　great　historical　moment。　He　slumped　in　a　chair　and　stared　dully　at　the　monitor　screens。

〃I　dont　know　why　people　in　the　future　would　do　that；〃　Harry　said。　〃Were　not　there　yet。　Maybe　it　was　an　accident。　Unintended。〃

〃Lets　go　ahead　and　open　it　up；〃　Barnes　said。

〃Opening；　sir。〃

The　robot　hand　moved　forward；　toward　the　〃Open〃　button。　The　hand　pressed　several　times。　There　was　a　clanking　sound；　but　nothing　happened。

〃Whats　wrong？〃　Barnes　said。

〃Sir；　were　not　able　to　impact　the　button。　The　extensor　arm　is　too　large　to　fit　inside　the　panel。〃

〃Great。〃

〃Shall　I　try　the　probe？〃

〃Try　the　probe。〃

The　claw　hand　moved　back；　and　a　thin　needle　probe　extended　out　toward　the　button。　The　probe　slid　forward；　adjusted　position　delicately；　touched　the　button。　It　pushed…and　slipped　off。

〃Trying　again；　sir。〃

The　probe　again　pressed　the　button；　and　again　slid　off。

〃Sir；　the　surface　is　too　slippery。〃

〃Keep　trying。〃

〃You　know；〃　Ted　said　thoughtfully；　〃this　is　still　a　remarkable　situation。　In　one　sense；　its　even　more　remarkable　than　contact　with　extraterrestrials。　I　was　already　quite　certain　that　extraterrestrial　life　exists　in　the　universe。　But　time　travel！　Frankly；　as　an　astrophysicist　I　had　my　doubts。　From　everything　we　know；　its　impossible；　contradicted　by　the　laws　of　physics。　And　yet　now　we　have　proof　that　time　travel　is　possible…and　that　our　own　species　will　do　it　in　the　future！〃

Ted　was　smiling；　wide…eyed；　and　happy　again。　You　had　to　＇＇68＇＇　admire　him；　Norman　thought…he　was　so　wonderfully　irrepressible。

〃And　here　we　are；〃　Ted　said；　〃on　the　threshold　of　our　first　contact　with　our　species　from　the　future！　Think　of　it！　We　are　going　to　meet　ourselves　from　some　future　time！〃