"Not as developed, but the general idea."
"They're sticky," Edmunds said, over the intercom. "They're sticking to my suit."
"That pink color is fantastic," Ted said. "Like snow in a sunset."
"Very poetic."
"I thought so."
"You would."
"They're sticking to my faceplate, too," Edmunds said. "I have to pull them off. They leave a smeary streak - "
She broke off abruptly, but they could still hear her breathing.
"Can you see her?" Ted said.
"Not very well. She's there, to the left."
Over the intercom, Edmunds said, "They seem to be warm. I feel heat on my arms and legs."
"That's not right," Barnes said. He turned to Tina. "Tell her to get out of there."
Tina ran from the cylinder, toward the communications console.
Norman could hardly see Edmunds any more. He was vaguely aware of a dark shape, moving arms, agitated. ...
Over the intercom, she said, "The smear on the faceplate - it won't go away - they seem to be eroding the plastic - and my arms - the fabric is - "
Tina's voice said, "Jane. Jane, get out of there."
"On the double," Barnes shouted. "Tell her on the double!"
Edmunds's breathing was coming in ragged gasps. "The smears - can't see very well - I feel - hurts - my arms burning - hurts - they're eating through - "
"Jane. Come back. Jane. Are you reading? Jane."
"She's fallen down," Harry said. "Look, you can see her lying - "
" - We have to save her," Ted said, jumping to his feet.
"Nobody move, " Barnes said.
"But she's - "
" - Nobody else is going out there, mister."
Edmunds's breathing was rapid. She coughed, gasped. "I can't - I can't - oh God - "
Edmunds began to scream.
The scream was high-pitched and continuous except for ragged gasps for breath. They could no longer see her through the swarms of jellyfish. They looked at each other, at Barnes. Barnes's face was rigidly set, his jaw tight, listening to the screams.
And then, abruptly, there was silence.
THE NEXT MESSAGES
An hour later, the jellyfish disappeared as mysteriously as they had come. They could see Edmunds's body outside the habitat, lying on the bottom, rocking back and forth gently in the current. There were small ragged holes in the fabric of the suit.
They watched through the portholes as Barnes and the chief petty officer, Teeny Fletcher, crossed the bottom into the harsh floodlights, carrying extra air tanks. They lifted Edmunds's body; the helmeted head flopped loosely back, revealing the scarred plastic faceplate, dull in the light.
Nobody spoke. Norman noticed that even Harry had dropped his manic effect; he sat unmoving, staring out the window.
Outside, Barnes and Fletcher still held the body. There was a great burst of silvery bubbles, which rose swiftly to the surface.
"What're they doing?"
"Inflating her suit."
"Why? Aren't they bringing her back?" Ted said.
"They can't," Tina said. "There's nowhere to put her here. The decomposition by-products would ruin our air."
"But there must be some kind of a sealed container - "
" - There isn't," Tina said. "There's no provision for keeping organic remains in the habitat."
"You mean they didn't plan on anyone dying."
"That's right. They didn't."
Now there were many thin streams of bubbles rising from the holes in the suit, toward the surface. Edmunds's suit was puffed, bloated. Barnes released it, and it floated slowly away, as if pulled upward by the streaming silver bubbles.
"It'll go to the surface?"
"Yes. The gas expands continuously as outside pressure diminishes."
"And what then?"
"Sharks," Beth said. "Probably."
In a few moments the body disappeared into blackness, beyond the reach of the lights. Barnes and Fletcher still watched the body, helmets tilted up toward the surface. Fletcher made the sign of the cross. Then they trudged back toward the habitat.
A bell rang from somewhere inside. Tina went into D Cyl. Moments later she shouted, "Dr. Adams! More numbers!"
Harry got up and went into the next cylinder. The others trailed after him. Nobody wanted to look out the porthole any longer.
Norman stared at the screen, entirely puzzled.
But Harry clapped his hands in delight. "Excellent," Harry said. "This is extremely helpful."
"It is?"
"Of course. Now I have a fighting chance."
"You mean to break the code."
"Yes, of course."
"Why?"
"Remember the original number sequence? This is the same sequence."
"It is?"
"Of course," Harry said. "Except it's in binary."
"Binary," Ted said, nudging Norman. "Didn't I tell you binary was important?"
"What's important," Harry said, "is that this establishes the individual letter breaks from the original sequence." "Here's a copy of the original sequence," Tina said, handing them a sheet.
00032125252632 032629 301321 04261037 18 3016 06180821
32 29033005 1822 04261013 0830162137 1604 08301621 1822 0
33013130432
"Good," Harry said. "Now you can see my problem at once. Look at the word: oh-oh-oh-three-two-one, and so on. The question is, how do I break that word up into individual letters? I couldn't decide, but now I know."
"How?"