46 THE ANCIENT SHARK

CHAPTER 46 THE ANCIENT SHARK Bright shafts of light beamed out from the robot's eyes as she swam down through the ocean. She felt the water pressure steadily increasing, but before it became dangerous, the seabed emerged from the gloom. Roz started swimming around and around in an ever- expanding circle. While she swam, she let out bursts of sound—clickety clickety click!—and listened for the echoes. She detected faraway reefs and ridges. Then, after an hour of searching, she heard an echo that was shaped like a shark, and she cautiously swam toward it. Into the light came a rounded snout, a wide mouth full of jagged teeth, a long body with a powerful tail. It was a shark, big and gray and crisscrossed with scars. The shark's eyes were milky white. She was blind, but she had other ways of observing. Her senses of smell and hearing were incredible, and she was accompanied by several small fish who were constantly whispering in her ears.

该页暂无翻译

For such a fearsome-looking creature, the shark had a surprisingly soft voice. "We meet at last, Roz." The robot replied, "How do you know my name?" "Oh, I have eyes and ears all across the north," said the shark. "I've been following your travels with great interest. I know the poison tide came to your island and now you're on a mission to stop it. I know about the creatures you encountered on your voyage. I even know about your journey through the glacier. I'm glad you survived. I wasn't sure you'd make it out." "You know so much about me," said Roz, "but I know nothing about you. Are you the Ancient Shark?" "I've had many names. The Gray Ghost. The Queen of Ice. Recently, the animals have started calling me the Ancient Shark. However, you may call me by my true name: Gurry." "I am honored to meet you, Gurry. I hope it is not rude of me to ask, but how ancient are you?" "I don't know my age," said the shark. "All I have to go by are my memories. I remember wandering the seas as a young pup, following ships as they glided across the surface. Back then, ships were made of wood, and they had white sails that moved with the wind, like clouds. The humans used their ships to hunt whales, and I waited below for scraps." The robot's computer brain retrieved information on the history of whaling, and she calculated the shark's

age to be over five hundred years. Gurry went on. "As time passed, the ships became larger, faster, noisier. They were metal monsters, pushed along by spinning blades. They leaked oil and spewed smoke into the sky. Sea creatures retreated below the thick ice, where it was safe. But the ships grew stronger and the ice grew thinner. Now the ships go where they like. Even worse than the ships, though, is the poison tide. It's taken so many lives, and it spreads farther with each passing moment. The poison tide must be stopped." "If you are as powerful as everyone believes," said Roz, "why have you not tried to stop the poison tide already?" "Because I've been waiting for you," said Gurry. "Throughout the north, animals fear me and respect me and they'll do as I command. I've already sent out a call to action, and armies of ocean animals are gathering as we speak. But there are things that only you can do, Roz. Only you can survive the poison tide. Only you truly know the enemy." "I do not understand." An ugly grin stretched across the shark's face. "Roz, your own kind is to blame. The poison tide is the work of robots."