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手机浏览器扫描二维码访问

第44部分（第1页）

e　was　a　good…looking　woman。

Across　the　room；　Harry　snored　in　a　regular　rhythm。　Norman　checked　Harrys　icepack；　and　thought　about　Beth。　He　heard　her　moving　around　in　the　lab　upstairs。

〃Hey；　Norm？〃

〃Yes　。。。〃　He　moved　to　the　bottom　of　the　stairs；　looked　up。

〃Is　there　another　one　of　these　down　there？　A　clean　one？〃　Something　blue　dropped　into　his　hands。　It　was　her　jumpsuit。　〃Yes。　I　think　theyre　in　storage　in　B。〃

〃Bring　me　one；　would　you；　Norm？〃

〃Okay；〃　he　said。

Going　to　B　Cyl；　he　found　himself　inexplicably　nervous。　What　was　going　on？　Of　course；　he　thought；　he　knew　exactly　what　was　going　on；　but　why　now？　Beth　was　exerting　a　powerful　attraction；　and　he　mistrusted　it。　In　her　dealings　with　men；　Beth　was　confrontational；　energetic；　direct；　and　angry。　Seduction　wasnt　her　method　at　all。

It　is　now；　he　thought；　fishing　a　new　jumpsuit　out　of　the　storage　locker。　He　took　it　back　to　D　Cyl　and　climbed　the　ladder。　From　above；　he　saw　a　strange　bluish　light。

〃Beth？〃

〃Im　here；　Norm。〃

He　came　up　and　saw　her　lying　naked　on　her　back；　beneath　a　bank　of　ultraviolet　sunlamps　hinged　out　from　the　wall。　She　wore　opaque　cups　over　her　eyes。　She　twisted　her　body　seductively。

〃Did　you　bring　the　suit？〃

〃Yes；〃　he　said。

＇＇297＇＇　　〃Thanks　a　lot。　Just　put　it　anywhere；　by　the　lab　bench。〃

〃Okay。〃　He　draped　it　over　her　chair。

She　rolled　back　to　face　the　glowing　lamps；　sighed。　〃I　thought　Id　better　get　a　little　vitamin　D；　Norm。〃

〃Yes　。。。〃

〃You　probably　should；　too。〃

〃Yeah；　probably。〃　But　Norman　was　thinking　that　he　didnt　remember　a　bank　of　sunlamps　in　the　lab。　In　fact；　he　was　sure　that　there　wasnt　one。　He　had　spent　a　lot　of　time　in　that　room；　he　would　have　remembered。　He　went　back　down　the　stairs　quickly。

In　fact；　the　staircase　was　new；　too。　It　was　black　anodized　metal。　It　hadnt　been　that　way　before。　This　was　a　new　descending　staircase。

〃Norm？〃

〃In　a　minute；　Beth。〃

He　went　to　the　console　and　started　punching　buttons。　He　had　seen　a　file　before；　on　habitat　parameters　or　something　like　that。　He　finally　found　it：

DEEPHAB…8　MIPPR　DESIGN　PARAMETERS

5。024A　Cylinder　A

5。024B　Cylinder　B

5。024C　Cylinder　C

5。024D　Cylinder　D

5。024E　Cylinder　E

Choose　one：

He　chose　Cyl　D；　and　another　screen　appeared。　He　chose　design　plans。　He　got　page　after　page　of　architectural　drawings。　He　flicked　through　them；　stabbing　at　the　keys；　until　he　came　to　the　detail　plans　for　the　biological　laboratory　at　the　top　of　D　Cyl。

Clearly　shown　in　the　drawings　was　a　large　sunlamp　bank；　hinged　to　fold　back　against　the　wall。　It　must　have　been　there　all　the　time；　he　just　hadnt　ever　noticed　it。　There　were　lots　of　other　details　he　hadnt　noticed…like　the　emergency　escape　＇＇298＇＇　hatch　in　the　domed　ceiling　of　the　lab。　And　the　fact　that　there　was　a　second　foldout　bunk　near　the　floor　entrance。　And　a　black　anodized　descending　staircase。

Youre　in　a　panic；　he　thought。　And　it　has　nothing　to　do　with　sunlamps　and　architectural　drawings。　It　doesnt　e　even　　have　to　do　with　sex。　Youre　in　a　panic　because　Beth　is　the　only　one　left　besides　you；　and　Beth　isnt　acting　like　herself。