第26部分(第1/7 页)

inary　Sony　color…television　set　and　he'd　run　screaming；　claiming　it　was　witchcraft。　He　wouldn't　understand　it　at　all。

〃But　the　point；〃　Ted　said；　〃is　that　you　couldn't　explain　it　to　him；　either。　At　least　not　easily。　Isaac　Newton　wouldn't　be　able　to　understand　TV　without　first　studying　our　physics　for　a　couple　of　years。　He'd　have　to　learn　all　the　underlying　concepts：　electromagnetism；　waves；　particle　physics。　These　would　all　be　new　ideas　to　him；　a　new　conception　of　nature。　In　the　meantime；　the　TV　would　be　magic　as　far　as　he　was　concerned。　But　to　us　it's　ordinary。　It's　TV。〃

〃You're　saying　we're　like　Isaac　Newton？〃

Ted　shrugged。　〃We're　getting　a　munication　and　we　don't　know　how　it's　done。〃

〃And　we　shouldn't　bother　to　try　and　find　out。〃

〃I　think　we　have　to　accept　the　possibility；〃　Ted　said；　〃that　we　may　not　be　able　to　understand　it。〃

Norman　noticed　the　energy　with　which　they　threw　themselves　into　this　discussion；　pushing　aside　the　tragedy　so　recently　witnessed。　They're　intellectuals；　he　thought；　and　their　characteristic　defense　is　intellectualization。　Talk。　Ideas。　Abstractions。　Concepts。　It　was　a　way　of　getting　distance　from　the　feelings　of　sadness　and　fear　and　being　trapped。　Norman　understood　the　impulse：　he　wanted　to　get　away　from　those　feelings　himself。

Harry　frowned　at　the　spiral　image。　〃We　may　not　＇＇169＇＇　understand　how；　but　it's　obvious　what　it's　doing。　It's　trying　to　municate　by　trying　different　presentations。　The　fact　that　it's　trying　spirals　may　be　significant。　Maybe　it　believes　we　think　in　spirals。　Or　write　in　spirals。〃

〃Right；〃　Beth　said。　〃Who　knows　what　kind　of　weird　creatures　we　are？〃

Ted　said；　〃If　it's　trying　to　municate　with　us；　why　aren't　we　trying　to　municate　back？〃

Harry　snapped　his　f