girders。
Beth said； 〃It's like being in an oil refinery。〃 She shone her light on one steel beam。 Stenciled was 〃AVR…09。〃 All the stenciling was in English。
〃Most of what you see is structural；〃 Barnes said。 〃Cross…stress bracing for the outer hull。 Gives tremendous support along all axes。 The ship is very ruggedly built； as we suspected。 Designed to take extraordinary stresses。 There's probably another hull further in。〃 Norman was reminded that Barnes had once been an aeronautical engineer。
〃Not only that；〃 Harry said； shining his light on the outer hull。 〃Look at this…a layer of lead。〃
〃Radiation shield？〃
〃Must be。 It's six inches thick。〃
〃So this ship was built to handle a lot of radiation。〃
〃A hell of a lot；〃 Harry said。
There was a haze in the ship； and a faintly oily feel to the air。 The metal girders seemed to be coated in oil； but when Norman touched them； the oil didn't e off on his fingers。 He realized that the metal itself had an unusual texture： it was slick and slightly soft to the touch； almost rubbery。
〃Interesting；〃 Ted said。 〃Some kind of new material。 We associate strength with hardness； but this metal…if it is metal…is both strong and soft。 Materials technology has obviously advanced since our day。〃
〃Obviously；〃 Harry said。
〃Well； it makes sense；〃 Ted said。 〃If you think of America fifty years ago as pared with today； one of the biggest changes is the great variety of plastics and ceramics we have now that were not even imagined back then。 。。。〃 Ted continued to talk； his voice echoing in the cavernous darkness。 ＇＇74＇＇ But Norman could hear the tension in his voice。 Ted's whistling in the dark； he thought。
They moved deeper into the ship。 Norman felt dizzy to be so h