乐文小说网

第22部分（第3页）

〃You　going　to　get　to　call　it　Squidus　bethus？　〃　Norman　said。

She　smiled。　〃Architeuthis　bethis；〃　she　said。　〃Sounds　like　a　dental　problem。　Architeuthis　bethis：　means　you　need　root　canal。〃

〃How　about　it；　Dr。　Halpern？〃　Levy　said；　poking　her　head　in。　〃Got　some　good　tomatoes　and　peppers；　be　a　shame　to　waste　them。　Are　the　squid　really　poisonous？〃

〃I　doubt　it；〃　Beth　said。　〃Squid　arent　known　to　be。　Go　ahead；〃　she　said　to　Levy。　〃I　think　itll　be　okay　to　eat　them。〃　When　Levy　had　gone；　Norman　said；　〃I　thought　you　gave　up　eating　these　things。〃

〃Just　octopi；〃　Beth　said。　〃An　octopus　is　cute　and　smart。　Squid　are　rather　。。。　unsympathetic。〃

〃Unsympathetic。〃

〃Well；　theyre　cannibalistic；　and　rather　nasty。　。。。　She　raised　an　eyebrow。　〃Are　you　psychoanalyzing　me　again？〃

〃No。　Just　curious。〃

〃As　a　zoologist；　youre　supposed　to　be　objective；〃　Beth　said；　〃but　I　have　feelings　about　animals；　like　anybody　else。　I　have　a　warm　feeling　about　octopi。　Theyre　clever；　you　know。　I　once　had　an　octopus　in　a　research　tank　that　learned　to　kill　cockroaches　and　use　them　as　bait　to　catch　crabs。　The　curious　crab　would　e　along；　investigate　the　dead　cockroach；　and　then　the　octopus　would　jump　out　of　its　hiding　place　and　catch　the　crab。

＇＇144＇＇　〃In　fact；　an　octopus　is　so　smart　that　the　biggest　limitation　to　its　behavior　is　its　lifespan。　An　octopus　lives　only　three　years；　and　thats　not　long　enough　to　develop　anything　as　plicated　as　a　culture　or　civilization。　Maybe　if　octopi　lived　as　long　as　we　do；　they　would　long　ago　have　taken　over　the　world。

〃But　squid　are　pletely　different。　I　have　no　feelings　about　squid。　Except　I　dont　really　like　em。〃

He　smiled。　〃Well；〃　he　said；　〃at　least　you　finally　found　some　life　down　here。〃

〃You　know；　its　funny；〃　she　said。　〃Remember　how　barren　it　was　out　there？　Nothing　on　the　bottom？〃

〃Sure。　Very　striking。〃

〃Well；　I　went　around　the　side　of　the　habitat；　to　get　these　squid。　And　therere　all　sorts　of　sea　fans　on　the　bottom。　Beautiful　colors；　blues　and　purples　and　yellows。　Some　of　them　quite　large。〃

〃Think　they　just　grew？〃

〃No。　They　must　have　always　been　in　that　spot；　but　we　never　went　over　there。　Ill　have　to　investigate　it　later。　Id　like　to　know　why　they　are　localized　in　that　particular　place；　next　to　the　habitat。〃

Norman　went　to　the　porthole。　He　had　switched　on　the　exterior　habitat　lights；　shining　onto　the　bottom。　He　could　indeed　see　many　large　sea　fans；　purple　and　pink　and　blue；　waving　gently　in　the　current。　They　extended　out　to　the　edge　of　the　light；　to　the　darkness。

〃In　a　way；〃　Beth　said；　〃its　reassuring。　Were　deep　for　the　majority　of　oceanic　life；　which　is　found　in　the　first　hundred　feet　of　water。　But　even　so；　this　habitat　is　located　in　the　most　varied　and　abundant　marine　environment　in　the　world。〃　Scientists　had　made　species　counts　and　had　determined　that　the　South　Pacific　had　more　species　of　coral　and　sponges　than　anywhere　else　on　Earth。

〃So　Im　glad　were　finally　finding　things；〃　she　said。　She　looked　at　her　benches　of　chemicals　and　reagents。　〃And　Im　glad　to　finally　get　to　work　on　something。〃

*　*　*

＇＇145＇＇　Harry　was　eating　bacon　and　eggs　in　the　galley。　The　others　stood　around　and　watched　him；　relieved　that　he　was　all　right。　And　they　told　him　the　news；　he　listened　with　interest；　until　they　mentioned　that　there　had　been　a　large　school　of　squid。

〃Squid？〃

He　looked　up　sharply　and　almost　dropped　his　fork。　〃Yeah；　lots　of　em；〃　Levy　said。　〃Im　cooking　up　a　bunch　for　dinner。〃

〃Are　they　still　here？〃　Harry　asked。

〃No；　theyre　gone　now。〃

He　relaxed；　shoulders　dropping。

〃Something　the　matter；　Harry？〃　Norman　said。

〃I　hate　squid；〃　Harry　said。　〃I　cant　stand　them。〃

〃I　dont　care　for　the　taste　myself；〃　Ted　said。

〃Terrible；〃　Harry　said；　nodding。　He　resumed　eating　his　eggs。　The　tension　passed。

Then　Tina　shouted　from　D　Cylinder：　〃Im　getting　them　again！　Im　getting　the　numbers　again！〃

00032125252632　032629　301321　04261037　18　3016　06180

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