第50部分(第2/7 页)

side　the　spacecraft；　standing　by　the　air　lock。　The　Tevac　explosives；　rows　of　glowing　red　dots；　＇＇338＇＇　extended　away　in　erratic　lines；　like　an　airplane　runway　laid　out　by　some　demented　engineer。

〃Norman？　Why　don't　you　answer　me；　Norman？〃

Beth　was　unstable；　erratic。　He　could　hear　it　in　her　voice。　He　had　to　deprive　her　of　her　weapons；　to　turn　off　the　explosives；　if　he　could。

Off；　he　thought。　Let's　have　the　explosives　off　and　disarmed。

All　the　red　lights　immediately　went　off。

Not　bad；　he　thought；　with　a　burst　of　pleasure。　A　moment　later；　the　red　lights　blinked　back　on。

〃You　can't　do　it；　Norman；〃　Beth　said；　laughing。　〃Not　to　me。　I　can　fight　you。〃

He　knew　she　was　right。　They　were　having　an　argument；　a　test　of　wills；　turning　the　explosives　on　and　off。　And　the　argument　couldn't　ever　be　resolved。　Not　that　way。　He　would　have　to　do　something　more　direct。

He　moved　toward　the　nearest　of　the　Tevac　explosives。　Up　close；　the　cone　was　larger　than　he　had　thought；　four　feet　high；　with　a　red　light　at　the　top。

〃I　can　see　you；　Norman。　I　see　what　you're　doing。〃

There　was　writing　on　the　cone；　yellow　letters　stenciled　on　the　gray　surface。　Norman　bent　to　read　it。　His　faceplate　was　slightly　fogged；　but　he　could　still　make　out　the　words。

DANGER　…　TEVAC　EXPLOSIVES

U。S。N。　CONSTRUCTION/DEMOLITION　USE　ONLY

DEFAULT　DETONATE　SEQUENCE　20：00

CONSULT　MANUAL　USN/VV/512…A

AUTHORIZED　PERSONNEL　ONLY

DANGER…TEVAC　EXPLOSIVES

There　was　still　more　writing　beneath　that；　but　it　was　smaller；　and　he　couldn't　make　it　out。

〃Norman！　What're　you　doing　with　my　explosives；　Norman？〃

Norman　didn't　answer　her。　He　looked　at　the　wiring。　One　thin　cable　ran　into　the　base　of　the　cone；　and　a　second　ca