hasty；〃 Beth said。 〃That sub can hold three people。〃
〃You mean we could all get out of here in it？〃
〃Yeah。 That's what I mean。〃
〃Christ；〃 Norman said。 〃Let's go now。〃
〃There are two problems with that；〃 Beth said。 She pointed to the screens。 〃I've been going over the specs。 First； the sub is unstable on the surface。 If there are big waves on the surface； it'll bounce us around worse than anything we've had down here。 And the second thing is that we have to link up with a depression chamber on the surface。 Don't forget； we still have ninety…six hours of depression ahead of us。〃
〃And if we don't depress？〃 Norman said。 He was thinking； Let's just go to the surface in the sub and throw open the hatch and see the clouds and the sky and breathe some normal earth air。
〃We have to depress；〃 Beth said。 〃Your bloodstream is saturated with helium gas in solution。 Right now you're under pressure； so everything is fine。 But if you release that pressure suddenly； it's just the same as when you pop the top off a soda bottle。 The helium will bubble explosively out of your system。 You'll die instantly。〃
〃Oh；〃 Norman said。
＇＇235＇＇ 〃Ninety…six hours；〃 Beth said。 〃That's how long it takes to get the helium out of you。〃
〃Oh。〃
Norman went to the porthole and looked across at DH…7； and the minisub。 It was a hundred yards away。 〃You think the squid will e back？〃
She shrugged。 〃Ask Jerry。〃
Norman thought； No more of that Geraldine stuff now。 Or did she prefer to think of this malevolent entity as masculine？
〃Which monitor is it？〃
〃This one。〃 She flicked it on。 The screen glowed。
Norman said； 〃Jerry？ Are you there？〃
No answer。
He typed； JERRY？ ARE YOU THERE？
There was no