第47部分(第2/7 页)

e　attained　it。　Or　perhaps　nobody　attained　it。

〃Norman；　are　you　there？〃

〃Yes；　Beth。〃

〃I　think　you　are　a　good　person；　Norman。〃

He　said　nothing。　He　just　watched　her　on　the　monitor。

〃I　think　you　have　integrity；　and　that　you　believe　in　telling　the　truth。　This　is　a　difficult　moment　for　you；　to　face　the　reality　about　yourself。　I　know　your　mind　is　struggling　now　to　find　excuses；　to　blame　someone　else。　But　I　think　you　can　＇＇318＇＇　do　it；　Norman。　Harry　couldn't　do　it；　but　you　can。　I　think　you　can　admit　the　hard　truth…that　so　long　as　you　remain　conscious；　the　expedition　is　menaced。〃

He　felt　the　strength　of　her　conviction；　heard　the　quiet　force　of　her　voice。　As　Beth　spoke；　it　felt　almost　as　if　her　ideas　were　clothing　being　draped　over　his　body。　He　began　to　see　things　her　way。　She　was　so　calm；　she　must　be　right。　Her　ideas　had　such　power。　Her　thoughts　had　such　power。　。。。

〃Beth；　have　you　been　in　the　sphere？〃

〃No；　Norman。　That's　your　mind；　trying　to　evade　the　point　again。　I　haven't　been　in　the　sphere。　You　have。〃

He　honestly　couldn't　remember　going　into　the　sphere。　He　had　no　recollection　at　all。　And　when　Harry　had　been　in　the　sphere；　he　remembered　afterward。　Why　would　Norman　forget？　Why　would　he　block　it？

〃You're　a　psychologist；　Norman；〃　she　was　saying。　〃You；　of　all　people；　do　not　want　to　admit　you　have　a　shadow　side。　You　have　a　professional　stake　in　believing　in　your　own　mental　health。　Of　course　you　will　deny　it。〃

He　didn't　think　so。　But　how　to　resolve　it？　How　to　determine　if　she　was　right　or　not？　His　mind　wasn't　working　well。　His　cut　knee　throbbed　painfully。　At　least　there　was　no　doubt　about　that…his　injured　knee　was　real。

Reality　testing。

That　was　how　to　resolve　it；　he　thought。　Reality　testing。