文书楼

手机浏览器扫描二维码访问

第26部分（第3页）

〃Dunno；〃　Tina　said。　〃Around　here　somewhere。　Maybe　sleeping。〃

〃Nobody　could　sleep　through　that　alarm；〃　Norman　said。

〃Try　the　galley？〃

〃I　just　did。　Wheres　Barnes？〃

＇＇176＇＇　〃He　went　back　to　the　ship　with　Ted。　Theyre　putting　more　sensors　around　the　sphere。〃

〃I　told　them　it　was　a　waste　of　time；〃　Harry　said。

〃So　nobody　knows　where　Levy　is？〃　Norman　said。

Fletcher　finished　screwing　the　puter　panels　back　on。　〃Doctor；〃　she　said；　〃are　you　one　of　those　people　who　need　to　keep　track　of　where　everyone　is？〃

〃No；〃　Norman　said。　〃Of　course　not。〃

〃Then　whats　the　big　deal　about　Levy；　sir？〃

〃I　only　wanted　to　know　where　the　strawberry　shortcake　was。〃

〃Gone；〃　Fletcher　said　promptly。　〃Captain　and　I　came　back　from　funeral　duty　and　we　sat　down　and　ate　the　whole　thing；　just　like　that。〃　She　shook　her　head。

〃Maybe　Rosell　make　some　more；〃　Harry　said。

He　found　Beth　in　her　laboratory；　on　the　top　level　of　D　Cyl。　He　walked　in　just　in　time　to　see　her　take　a　pill。

〃What　was　that？〃

〃Valium。　God。〃

〃Whered　you　get　it？〃

〃Look；〃　she　said；　〃dont　give　me　any　psychotalk　about　it…〃

〃…I　was　just　asking。〃

Beth　pointed　to　a　white　box　mounted　on　the　wall　in　the　corner　of　the　lab。　〃Theres　a　first…aid　kit　in　every　cylinder。　Turns　out　to　be　pretty　plete；　too。〃

Norman　went　over　to　the　box；　flipped　open　the　lid。　There　were　neat　partments　with　medicines；　syringes；　bandages。　Beth　was　right；　it　was　quite　plete…antibiotics；　sedatives；　tranquilizers；　even　surgical　anesthetics。　He　didnt　recognize　all　the　names　on　the　bottles；　but　the　psychoactive　drugs　were　strong。

〃You　could　fight　a　war　with　the　stuff　in　this　kit。〃

〃Yeah；　well。　The　Navy。〃

〃Theres　everything　you　need　here　to　do　major　surgery。〃　Norman　noticed　a　card　on　the　inside　of　the　box。　It　said　〃MEDAID　CODE　103。〃

〃Any　idea　what　this　means？〃

＇＇177＇＇　She　nodded。　〃Its　a　puter　code。　I　called　it　up。〃

〃And？〃

〃The　news；〃　she　said；　〃is　not　good。〃

〃Is　that　right？〃　He　sat　at　the　terminal　in　her　room　and　punched　in　103。　The　screen　said：

HYPERBARIC　SATURATED　ENVIRONMENT

MEDICAL　PLICATIONS　（MAJOR…FATAL）

1。01　Pulmonary　Embolism

1。02　High　Pressure　Nervous　Syndrome　1。03　Aseptic　Bone　Necrosis

1。04　Oxygen　Toxicity

1。05　Thermal　Stress　Syndrome

1。06　Disseminated　Pseudomonas　Infection　1。07　Cerebral　Infarction

Choose　One：

〃Dont　choose　one；〃　Beth　said。　〃Reading　the　details　will　only　upset　you。　Just　leave　it　at　this…were　in　a　very　dangerous　environment。　Barnes　didnt　bother　to　give　us　all　the　gory　details。　You　know　why　the　Navy　has　that　rule　about　pulling　people　out　within　seventy…two　hours？　Because　after　seventy…two　hours；　you　increase　your　risk　of　something　called　aseptic　bone　necrosis。　Nobody　knows　why；　but　the　pressurized　environment　causes　bone　destruction　in　the　leg　and　hip。　And　you　know　why　this　habitat　constantly　adjusts　as　we　walk　through　it？　Its　not　because　thats　slick　and　hightech。　Its　because　the　helium　atmosphere　makes　body…heat　control　very　volatile。　You　can　quickly　bee　overheated；　and　just　as　quickly　overchilled。　Fatally　so。　It　can　happen　so　fast　you　dont　realize　it　until　its　too　late　and　you　drop　dead。　And　high　pressure　nervous　syndrome…that　turns　out　to　be　sudden　convulsions；　paralysis；　and