60 pages 2 hours read

Michael Crichton

Sphere

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1987

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Part 3

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 3: “The Monster”

Part 3, Chapter 32 Summary: “Alarm”

Norman wakes to life support alarms sounding. However, Tina and Teeny assure him that his badge would indicate any problem. Teeny says it was a false alarm. Norman goes to the kitchen in search of cake, reflecting on a speech that Barnes gave the team to calm them after Jane’s death. He reassured them that they were safe and that the storm should pass in two days. He reminded them, however, that they’d have to spend four days in a hyperbolic chamber once they reached the surface. Norman can’t find cake, so he goes to ask Rose but can’t find her.

In the lab, Norman catches Beth taking a valium pill. She explains that each cylinder has a first aid kit containing everything one would need in a medical crisis. Beth confesses that she’s having trouble concentrating, explaining that she reviewed her anatomical findings on the shrimp and squid and discovered that they weren’t as anomalous as she originally thought. Norman says everyone makes mistakes. He describes a time when he was a child and was supposed to be watching his little brother but chose to play with his friends instead. A jellyfish injured his brother and he felt guilty for a long time.