第29部分 (第2/7页)

my　field　of　study。　Norman　wondered　why　it　had　worked。　All　his　life　at　the　university　he'd　had　to　listen　to　〃hard〃　scientists…physicists　and　chemists…explain　patiently　to　him　that　there　was　nothing　to　psychology；　while　these　men　went　through　divorce　after　divorce；　while　their　wives　had　affairs；　their　kids　mitted　suicide　or　got　in　trouble　with　drugs。　He'd　long　ago　stopped　responding　to　these　arguments。

Yet　Ted　had　gotten　to　him。

〃…return　to　the　business　at　hand；〃　Barnes　was　saying。　〃The　question　is：　what　do　we　want　to　ask　this　guy？〃

WHAT　DO　WE　WANT　TO　ASK　THIS　GUY？

They　stared　at　the　screen。

〃Uh…oh；〃　Barnes　said。

UHOH。

〃Does　that　mean　what　I　think　it　means？〃

DOES　THAT　MEAN　WHAT　EYE　THINK　IT　MEANS？

＇＇193＇＇　Ted　pushed　back　from　the　console。　He　said　loudly；　〃Jerry；　can　you　understand　what　I　am　saying？〃

YES　TED。

〃Great；〃　Barnes　said；　shaking　his　head。　〃Just　great。〃

I　AM　HAPPY　ALSO。

ALIEN　NEGOTIATIONS

〃Norman；〃　Barnes　said；　〃I　seem　to　remember　you　covered　this　in　your　report；　didn't　you？　The　possibility　that　an　alien　could　read　our　minds。〃

〃I　mentioned　it；〃　Norman　said。

〃And　what　were　your　remendations？〃

〃I　didn't　have　any。　It　was　just　something　the　State　Department　asked　me　to　include　as　a　possibility。　So　I　did。〃

〃You　didn't　make　any　remendations　in　your　report？〃

〃No；〃　Norman　said。　〃To　tell　you　the　truth；　at　the　time　I　thought　the　idea　was　a　joke。〃

〃It's　not；〃　Barnes　said。　He　sat　down　heavily；　stared　at　the　screen。　〃What　the　hell　are　we　going　to　do　now？〃

DO　NOT　BE　AFRAID。

〃That's　fine　for　him　to　say；　listening　to　everything　we　say。〃　He　looked　at　the　screen。　〃Are　you　listening　to　us　now；　Jerry？〃

YES　HAL。

〃What　a