21 INTERLUDE IN SPACE
第21章 星空插曲
The blockade was run successfully. In the vast volume of space, not all the navies ever in existence could keep their watch in tight proximity. Given a single ship, a skillful pilot, and a moderate degree of luck, and there are holes and to spare.
他们成功地突破了封锁。从来不曾有任何舰队，能滴水不漏地监视广袤的太空中每一个角落、每一寸空隙。只要有一艘船舰，一名优异的驾驶，再加上中等的运气，应该就能找到漏洞突围而出。
With cold-eyed calm, Toran drove a protesting vessel from the vicinity of one star to that of another. If the neighborhood of great mass made an interstellar jump erratic and difficult, it also made the enemy detection devices useless or nearly so.
杜伦镇定地驾着状况欠佳的太空船，从一颗恒星附近跃迁到另一颗恒星周围。若说恒星的质量会使星际跃迁困难重重且后果难料，它也会令敌人的侦测装置失灵，或者几乎无法使用。
And once the girdle of ships had been passed the inner sphere of dead space, through whose blockaded sub-ether no message could be driven, was passed as well. For the first time in over three months Toran felt unisolated.
一旦冲出敌方星舰形成的包围网，就等于穿越遭到封锁的死寂太空……在次乙太也被严密封锁的情况下，没有任何讯息得以往返。三个多月来，杜伦第一次不再感到孤独。
A week passed before the enemy news programs dealt with anything more than the dull, self-laudatory details of growing control over the Foundation. It was a week in which Toran's armored trading ship fled inward from the Periphery in hasty jumps.
一个星期过去了，敌方的新闻节目总是播报无聊且自我吹嘘的战争捷报，详述敌方对基地体系控制的进展。在这一星期中，杜伦的武装太空商船历经数次匆促的跃迁，从银河外缘一路向核心进发。
Ebling Mis called out to the pilot room and Toran rose blink-eyed from his charts.
艾布林·米斯在驾驶舱外大声叫嚷，正在看星图的杜伦眨眨眼睛，站了起来。
"What's the matter?" Toran stepped down into the small central chamber which Bayta had inevitably devised into a living room.
“怎么回事？”杜伦走进中央那间小舱房。由于乘客过多，贝泰已将这间舱房改装成起居舱。
Mis shook his head, "Bescuppered if I know. The Mule's newsmen are announcing a special bulletin. Thought you might want to get in on it."
米斯摇了摇头。“我若知道才有鬼呢。骡的播报员正要报道一则特殊战报，我想你也许希望听听。”
"Might as well. Where's Bayta?"
“也好。贝泰呢？”
"Setting the table in the diner and picking out a menuor some such frippery."
“她在厨舱里忙着布置餐桌、研究菜单……或者诸如此类的无聊事。”
Toran sat down upon the cot that served as Magnifico's bed, and waited. The propaganda routine of the Mule's "special bulletins" were monotonously similar. First the martial music, and then the buttery slickness of the announcer. The minor news items would come, following one another in patient lock step. Then the pause. Then the trumpets and the rising excitement and the climax.
杜伦在马巨擘睡的便床上坐下来等着。骡的“特殊战报”几乎使用千篇一律的宣传手法。首先播放一段军乐，再来是播报员谄媚的花言巧语。然后出现一些无关紧要的小新闻，一则接着一则掠过荧幕。接着是短暂的间歇，接着再响起号角，还有逐渐提高的欢呼，最后则达到高潮。
Toran endured it. Mis muttered to himself.
杜伦忍受着这些精神轰炸，米斯则在喃喃自语。
The newscaster spilled out, in conventional war-correspondent phraseology, the unctuous words that translated into sound the molten metal and blasted flesh of a battle in space.
新闻播报员喋喋不休，他用战地记者的做作口吻，叙述着太空中一场激战过后，到处可见熔融的金属，以及四散纷飞的血肉。
"Rapid cruiser squadrons under Lieutenant General Sammin hit back hard today at the task force striking out from Iss? The carefully expressionless face of the speaker upon the screen faded into the blackness of a space cut through by the quick swaths of ships reeling across emptiness in deadly battle. The voice continued through the soundless thunder: "The most striking action of the battle was the subsidiary combat of the heavy cruiser Cluster against three enemy ships of the 'Nova' class……"
“由沙敏中将率领的快速巡弋舰中队，今天对伊斯的特遣队施以痛击……”播报员刻意不带表情的面容逐渐淡去，荧幕背景变成漆黑的太空，一排排星舰在激战中迅速划过长空。然后在无声的爆炸中，继续传来播报员的声音：“这场战役中最惊人的行动，是重型巡弋舰星团号对抗三艘‘新星级’的敌舰，这乃是一场殊死战……”
The screen's view veered and closed in. A great ship sparked and one of the frantic attackers glowed angrily, twisted out of focus, swung back and rammed. The Cluster bowed wildly and survived the glancing blow that drove the attacker off in twisting reflection.
荧幕的画面转换了角度，并且拉近镜头。一艘巨大的星舰喷出耀眼的光焰，将对方一艘星舰照得通红，后者一个急转跳出焦距，随即掉过头来，向巨舰猛撞过去。星团号陡然一倾，与敌舰仅仅擦身而过，却将敌舰猛力反弹回去。
The newsman's smooth unimpassioned delivery continued to the last blow and the last hulk.
播报员用平稳而不带任何感情的声音，一直报道到敌方尽数遭到歼灭为止。
Then a pause, and a large similar voice-and-picture of the fight off Mnemon, to which the novelty was added of a lengthy description of a hit-and-run landing……the picture of a blasted city……huddled and weary prisoners……and off again.
短暂的停顿后，又开始报道涅蒙的战事，几乎是大同小异的画面与叙述。不过这次加入一个新题材，那是有关攻击性登陆的冗长报道……被夷为焦土的城市、挤成一团的战俘、星舰再度升空的画面……
Mnemon had not long to live.
涅蒙撑不了多久了。
The pause again……and this time the raucous sound of the expected brasses. The screen faded into the long, impressively soldier-lined corridor up which the government spokesman in councilor's uniform strode quickly.
报道再度暂停，照例又响起刺耳的金属管乐。荧幕的画面逐渐化作一个长长的回廊，两旁站满气势非凡的士兵；穿着顾问官制服的政府发言人，从回廊尽头趾高气昂地快步走过来。
The silence was oppressive.
一片凝重的静寂。
The voice that came at last was solemn, slow and hard: "By order of our sovereign, it is announced that the planet, Haven, hitherto in warlike opposition to his will, has submitted to the acceptance of defeat. At this moment, the forces of our sovereign are occupying the planet. Opposition was scattered, unco-ordinated, and speedily crushed."
发言人终于开始讲话，声音听来严肃、缓慢而冷酷：“奉元首命令，在此作如下宣布：长久以来，一直以武力反抗元首意志的赫汶星，如今已向我方正式投降。此时此刻，元首的军队业已占领该行星。反抗力量四处窜逃，变成一群乌合之众，已迅速被消灭殆尽。”
The scene faded out, the original newsman returned to state importantly that other developments would be transmitted as they occurred.
画面再度转换成原先那名播报员，他一本正经地宣布，将随时插播其他重要的发展。
Then there was dance music, and Ebling Mis threw the shield that cut the power.
然后节目就换成舞蹈音乐，艾布林·米斯随手一拨，切断了电视幕的电源。
Toran rose and walked unsteadily away, without a word. The psychologist made no move to stop him.
杜伦站起来，步履蹒跚地走了开，一句话也没有说。心理学家并未试图阻止他。
When Bayta stepped out of the kitchen, Mis motioned silence.
当贝泰走出厨舱时，米斯做个手势，示意她别开口。
He said, "They've taken Haven."
他说：“他们攻下了赫汶。”
And Bayta said, "Already?" Her eyes were round, and sick with disbelief.
贝泰叫道：“这么快？”她的眼睛睁得老大，透出深深的疑惑。
"Without a fight. Without an unprin……" He stopped and swallowed. "You'd better leave Toran alone. It's not pleasant for him. Suppose we eat without him this once."
“根本没有抵抗，根本没有任何xx……”他及时把后面的话吞回去，“你最好让杜伦静一静，这对他可不是什么好消息。这顿饭，我们就别等他了。”
Bayta looked once toward the pilot room, then turned hopelessly. "Very well!"
贝泰又望了望驾驶舱，然后无可奈何地转过头来。“好吧！”
Magnifico sat unnoticed at the table. He neither spoke nor ate but stared ahead with a concentrated fear that seemed to drain all the vitality out of his thread of a body.
马巨擘默默坐在餐桌旁。他既不说话也不吃东西，只是以充满恐惧的眼睛瞪着前方，仿佛恐惧感消耗了体内所有的元气。
Ebling Mis pushed absently at his iced-fruit dessert and said, harshly, "Two Trading worlds fight. They fight, and bleed, and die and don't surrender. Only at Haven……Just as at the Foundation?
艾布林·米斯心不在焉地拨弄着果冻，并粗声说道：“其他两个行商世界还在抵抗。他们奋战到底，前仆后继，宁死不降。只有赫汶，就像基地一样……”
"But why? Why?"
“但究竟为什么？为什么呢？”
The psychologist shook his head. "It's of a piece with all the problem. Every queer facet is a hint at the nature of the Mule. First, the problem of how he could conquer the Foundation, with little blood, and at a single blow essentially……while the Independent Trading Worlds held out. The blanket on nuclear reactions was a puny weapon……we've discussed that back and forth till I'm sick of it……and it did not work on any but the Foundation.
心理学家摇摇头。“这是那个大问号中的一个小环节。每一项不可思议的疑点，都是解开骡真面目的一个线索。第一点，当独立行商世界仍在顽抗时，他如何能一举征服基地，而且几乎兵不血刃。那种抑制核反应的武器，其实根本微不足道……这件事我们曾经一再地讨论，我都快要烦死了……而且，那种武器只有对付基地时才有效。”
"Randu suggested," and Ebling's grizzly eyebrows pulled together, "it might have been a radiant Will-Depresser. It's what might have done the work on Haven. But then why wasn't it used on Mnemon and Iss……which even now fight with such demonic intensity that it is taking half the Foundation fleet in addition to the Mule's forces to beat them down. Yes, I recognized Foundation ships in the attack."
“我曾经向蓝度提出一个假设，”艾布林灰白的眉毛皱在一起，“骡可能有一种辐射式‘意志抑制器’。赫汶可能就是受到这种东西的作用。可是，为什么不用它来对付涅蒙和伊斯呢？那两个世界如今还在疯狂地拼命抵抗，除了骡原有的兵力，还需要动用基地舰队的半数才能打败他们。是的，我注意到基地的星舰也在攻击阵容中。”
Bayta whispered, "The Foundation, then Haven. Disaster seems to follow us, without touching. We always seem to get out by a hair. Will it last forever?"
贝泰小声说：“先是基地，然后是赫汶。灾难似乎一直跟着我们，我们却总是在千钧一发之际逃脱。这种事会一直持续下去吗？”
Ebling Mis was not listening. To himself, he was making a point. "But there's another problem……another problem. Bayta, you remember the news item that the Mule's clown was not found on Terminus; that it was suspected he had fled to Haven, or been carried there by his original kidnappers. There is an importance attached to him, Bayta, that doesn't fade, and we have not located it yet. Magnifico must know something that is fatal to the Mule. I'm sure of it. "
艾布林·米斯并没有注意听，他好像正在跟自己进行讨论。“可是还有另一个问题……另一个问题。贝泰，你还记得一则新闻吗？他们在端点星没有找到骡的小丑，怀疑他逃到了赫汶，或是被原来绑架他的人带去那里。贝泰，他似乎始终很重要，但我们还没有找到原因。马巨擘一定知道什么事，会对骡造成致命伤。我可以肯定这一点。”
Magnifico, white and stuttering, protested, "Sire……noble lord……indeed, I swear it is past my poor reckoning to penetrate your wants. I have told what I know to the utter limits, and with your probe, you have drawn out of my meager wit that which I knew, but knew not that I knew."
马巨擘已经脸色煞白，全身打颤。他为自己辩护道：“伟大的先生……尊贵的大爷……真的，我发誓，我这个不灵光的脑袋，没法子满足您的要求。我已经知无不言，言无不尽。而且，您还用了探测器，从我的笨脑袋抽出我所知道的一切，还包括我自己以为不知道的事。”
"I know……I know. It is something small. A hint so small that neither you nor I recognize it for what it is. Yet I must find it……for Mnemon and Iss will go soon, and when they do, we are the last remnants, the last droplets of the independent Foundation."
“我知道……我知道。我指的是一件小事，一个很小的线索，以致你我都未能察觉它的本质。但我必须把它找出来……因为涅蒙和伊斯很快就会沦陷，到那个时候，整个基地体系就只剩下我们几个了。”
The stars begin to cluster closely when the core of the Galaxy is penetrated. Gravitational fields begin to overlap at intensities sufficient to introduce perturbations in an interstellar jump that can not be overlooked.
进入银河核心区域之后，恒星开始变得密集而拥挤。各星体的重力场累加起来，达到了相当的强度，对星际跃迁产生了不可忽略的微扰。
Toran became aware of that when a jump landed their ship in the full glare of a red giant which clutched viciously, and whose grip was loosed, then wrenched apart, only after twelve sleepless, soul-battering hours.
直到某次跃迁后，太空船出现在一颗红巨星的烈焰中，杜伦方才察觉这个危机。他们不眠不休奋战了十二个小时，才终于挣脱强大的重力场，逃离了这颗红巨星的势力范围。
With charts limited in scope, and an experience not at all fully developed, either operationally or mathematically, Toran resigned himself to days of careful plotting between jumps.
由于星图的范围有限，而且不论是操作太空船，或是进行航道的数学演算，杜伦都缺乏足够的经验，他只好在每次跃迁之前，花上几天的工夫仔细计算。
It became a community project of a sort. Ebling Mis checked Toran's mathematics and Bayta tested possible routes, by the various generalized methods, for the presence of real solutions. Even Magnifico was put to work on the calculating machine for routine computations, a type of work, which, once explained, was a source of great amusement to him and at which he was surprisingly proficient.
后来，这个工作变成一项团队行动。艾布林·米斯负责检查杜伦的数学计算；贝泰负责利用各种方法测试可能的航道；就连马巨擘都有事可做，他负责利用计算机做例行运算……学会如何操作后，这份工作为马巨擘带来极大的乐趣，而且他做得又快又好。
So at the end of a month, or nearly, Bayta was able to survey the red line that wormed its way through the ship's trimensional model of the Galactic Lens halfway to its center, and say with Satiric relish, "You know what it looks like. It looks like a ten-foot earth-worm with a terrific case of indigestion. Eventually, you'll land us back in Haven."
大约一个月之后，贝泰已经能从“银河透镜”的三维模型中，研读蜿蜒曲折的红色航道。根据这个航道，他们距离银河中心已经不远。她以讽刺的口吻开玩笑说：“你知道它像什么吗？像是一条十英尺长的蚯蚓，还患了严重的消化不良症。我看，你迟早会带我们回赫汶去。”
"I will," growled Toran, with a fierce rustle of his chart, "if you don't shut up."
“我一定会的，”杜伦没好气地说，同时把星图扯得嘎嘎作响，“除非你给我闭嘴。”
"And at that," continued Bayta, "there is probably a route fight through, straight as a meridian of longitude."
“提到这点，”贝泰继续说，“也许有一条直线的航道，就像子午线那么直。”
"Yeah? Well, in the first place, dimwit, it probably took five hundred ships five hundred years to work out that route by hit-and-miss, and my lousy half-credit charts don't give it. Besides, maybe those straight routes are a good thing to avoid. They're probably choked up with ships. And besides?
“是吗？嗯，首先，你这个小傻瓜，如果光凭运气，至少需要五百艘船舰，花五百年的时间才找得到这种航道。我用的这些廉价的三流星图，上面根本没有显示。此外，这种直线航道最好尽量避开，途中也许挤满了敌舰。还有……”
"Oh, for Galaxy's sake, stop driveling and slavering so much righteous indignation." Her hands were in his hair.
“喔，看在银河的份上，请你停止这些义正辞严、没完没了的唠叨。”她用双手拉扯他的头发。
He yowled, "Ouch! Let go!" seized her wrists and whipped downward, whereupon Toran, Bayta, and chair formed a tangled threesome on the floor. It degenerated into a panting wrestling match, composed mostly of choking laughter and various foul blows.
杜伦吼道：“哎哟！放开我！”随即抓住她的手腕，往下猛拉。于是杜伦与贝泰一起滚到地板上，两个人和一张椅子扭成一团。不久，扭打变成了气喘吁吁的角力，夹杂着阵阵气结的笑声，以及各种犯规的动作。
Toran broke loose at Magnifico's breathless entrance.
直到马巨擘屏着气息走进来，杜伦才赶紧挣脱。
"What is it?"
“什么事？”
The lines of anxiety puckered the clown's face and tightened the skin whitely over the enormous bridge of his nose. "The instruments are behaving queerly, sir. I have not, in the knowledge of my ignorance, touched anything?
小丑脸上挤满了忧虑的线条，又大又长的鼻子显得毫无血色。“尊贵的先生，仪器的读数突然变得好古怪。不过我有自知之明，不敢乱碰任何东西……”
In two seconds, Toran was in the pilot room. He said quietly to Magnifico, "Wake up Ebling Mis. Have him come down here."
两秒钟后，杜伦已经来到驾驶舱。他对马巨擘轻声说：“把艾布林·米斯叫醒，请他到这里来。”
He said to Bayta, who was trying to get a basic order back to her hair by use of her fingers, "We've been detected, Bay."
贝泰正在用手指整理着弄乱的头发，突然听到杜伦对她说：“贝，我们被侦测到了。”
"Detected?" And Bayta's arms dropped. "By whom?"
“被侦测到了？”贝泰立刻垂下手臂，“被什么人？”
"Galaxy knows," muttered Toran, "but I imagine by someone with blasters already ranged and trained."
“天晓得，”杜伦喃喃道，“但是我想对方一定有武器，而且已经进入射程，正在瞄准我们。”
He sat down and in a low voice was already sending into the sub-ether the ship's identification code.
他坐下来，低声报出太空船的识别码，经由次乙太传送出去。
And when Ebling Mis entered, bathrobed and blear-eyed, Toran said with a desperate calm, "It seems we're inside the borders of a local Inner Kingdom which is called the Autarchy of Filia."
当穿着浴袍的艾布林·米斯睡眼惺忪地走进来时，杜伦以反常的冷静口吻说：“我们似乎闯进了一个内围小王国的领域，它叫做‘菲利亚自治领’。”
"Never heard of it," said Mis, abruptly.
“从来没听过。”米斯粗声道。
"Well, neither did I," replied Toran, "but we're being stopped by a Filian ship just the same, and I don't know what it will involve."
“嗯，我也没听过。”杜伦回答，“无论如何，我们被一艘菲利亚星舰拦了下来，我不知道会发生什么事。”
The captain-inspector of the Filian ship crowded aboard with six armed men following him. He was short, thin-haired, thin-lipped, and dry-skinned. He coughed a sharp cough as he sat down and threw open the folio under his arm to a blank page.
菲利亚缉私舰的舰长带着六名武装人员，强行登上他们的太空船。他个子矮小，头发稀疏，嘴唇很薄，皮肤粗糙。坐下后，他先猛力咳嗽一声，然后打开原本挟在腋下的卷宗，翻到空白的一页。
"Your passports and ship's clearance, please."
“你们的护照，还有太空船的航行许可证，请拿出来。”
"We have none," said Toran.
“我们没有这些东西。”杜伦答道。
"None, hey?" he snatched up a microphone suspended from his belt and spoke into it quickly, "Three men and one woman. Papers not in order." He made an accompanying notation in the folio.
“没有，啊？”他抓起挂在腰带上的麦克风，流利地说：“三男一女，证件不齐。”他在卷宗上也做了记录。
He said, "Where are you from?"
他又问：“你们从哪里来？”
"Siwenna," said Toran warily.
“西维纳。”杜伦谨慎地回答。
"Where is that?"
“那地方在哪里？”
"Thirty thousand parsecs, eighty degrees west Trantor, forty degrees……"
“距离此地二万秒差距，川陀以西八十度……”
"Never mind, never mind!" Toran could see that his inquisitor had written down: "Point of origin……Periphery."
“够了，够了！”杜伦可以看出对方写下的是：“出发地点……银河外缘”。
The Filian continued, "Where are you going?"
菲利亚舰长又问：“你们要去哪里？”
Toran said, "Trantor sector."
杜伦回答：“去川陀星区。”
"Purpose?"
“目的是什么？”
"Pleasure trip."
“观光旅行。”
"Carrying any cargo?"
“载有任何货物吗？”
"No."
“没有。”
"Hm-mmm. We'll check on that." He nodded and two men jumped to activity. Toran made no move to interfere.
“嗯……嗯，我们会好好检查。”他点了点头，立刻有两个人开始行动。杜伦并没有试图阻止。
"What brings you into Filian territory?" The Filian's eyes gleamed unamiably.
“你们为什么会进入菲利亚的领域？”菲利亚舰长的眼神变得不太友善。
"We didn't know we were. I lack a proper chart."
“我们根本不知道。我没有适用的星图。”
"You will be required to pay a hundred credits for that lack……and, of course, the usual fees required for tariff duties, et cetera."
“未携带详细星图，依法得缴100信用点的罚金。此外，当然，你们还得缴交关税，以及其他的费用。”
He spoke again into the microphone……but listened more than he spoke. Then, to Toran, "Know anything about nuclear technology?"
他又对着麦克风说了几句……但这次听的比说的更多。然后，他对杜伦道：“你懂得核工吗？”
"A little," replied Toran, guardedly.
“一点点。”杜伦谨慎地回答。
"Yes?" The Filian closed his folio, and added, "The men of the Periphery have a knowledgeable reputation that way. Put on a suit and come with me."
“是吗？”菲利亚舰长阖起卷宗，补充道：“银河外缘的人，据说都有这方面的丰富知识。穿上外衣，跟我们来。”
Bayta stepped forward, "What are you going to do with him?"
贝泰向前走一步。“你们准备对他怎么样？”
Toran put her aside gently, and asked coldly, "Where do you want me to come?"
杜伦轻轻将她推开，再以冷静的口气问：“你要我到哪里去？”
"Our power plant needs minor adjustments. He'll come with you." His pointing finger aimed directly at Magnifico, whose brown eyes opened wide in a blubbery dismay.
“我们的发动机需要做一点调整。他也要跟你一块来。”他伸出的手指不偏不倚指着马巨擘，小丑顿时哭丧着脸，褐色的眼睛睁得老大。
"What's he got to do with it?" demanded Toran fiercely.
“他和修发动机有什么关系？”杜伦厉声问道。
The official looked up coldly. "I am informed of pirate activities in this vicinity. A description of one of the known thugs tallies roughly. It is a purely routine matter of identification. "
舰长冷冷地抬起头来。“据报，这附近的星空有强盗出没。其中一名凶徒的形容跟他有点相像。我得确定一下他的身份，这纯粹是例行公事。”
Toran hesitated, but six men and six blasters are eloquent arguments. He reached into the cupboard for the suits.
杜伦仍在犹豫，但六个人加六把手铳却极具说服力。他只好到壁柜去拿衣服。
An hour later, he rose upright in the bowels of the Filian ship and raged, "There's not a thing wrong with the motors that I can see. The busbars are true, the L-tubes are feeding properly and the reaction analysis checks. Who's in charge here?"
一个小时后，他从菲利亚缉私舰的地板上站起来，怒吼道：“我看不出发动机有任何问题。汇流条的位置正确，Ｌ型管输送正常，核反应分析也都合格。谁是这里的负责人？”
The head engineer said quietly, "I am."
首席工程师轻声回答：“我。”
"Well, get me out of here……"
“好，那你送我出去……”
He was led to the officers' level and the small anteroom held only an indifferent ensign.
他被带到军官甲板，来到一间小小的会客室，里面只有一个低阶的少尉军官。
"Where's the man who came with me?"
“跟我一起来的人在哪里？”
"Please wait," said the ensign.
“请等一等。”少尉说。
It was fifteen minutes later that Magnifico was brought in.
十五分钟后，马巨擘也被带到会客室。
"What did they do to you?" asked Toran quickly.
“他们对你做了什么？”杜伦急促地问。
"Nothing. Nothing at all." Magnifico's head shook a slow negative.
“没有，什么都没有。”马巨擘缓缓摇了摇头。
It took two hundred and fifty credits to fulfill the demands of Filia……fifty credits of it for instant release……and they were in free space again.
依照菲利亚的法律，他们总共付了250信用点……其中有50点是“立即释放金”。破财消灾后，他们重新回到自由的星空。
Bayta said with a forced laugh, "Don't we rate an escort? Don't we get the usual figurative boot over the border?"
贝泰勉强笑了几声，并说：“我们不值得他们护送一下吗？难道不该将我们送到边境，再一脚把我们踢走吗？”
And Toran replied, grimly, "That was no Filian ship……and we're not leaving for a while. Come in here."
杜伦绷着脸答道：“那根本不是什么菲利亚缉私舰……我们暂时还不准备离开。你们过来这里。”
They gathered about him.
大家都聚到他身边。
He said, whitely, "That was a Foundation ship, and those were the Mule's men aboard."
他余悸犹存地说：“那是一艘基地星舰，那些人都是骡的手下。”
Ebling bent to pick up the cigar he had dropped. He said, "Here? We're fifteen thousand parsecs from the Foundation. "
艾布林手中的雪茄立刻掉到地板上，他俯身捡起来，然后说：“这里有基地星舰？我们距离基地足足有一万五千秒差距。”
"And we're here. What's to prevent them from making the same trip. Galaxy, Ebling, don't you think I can tell ships apart? I saw their engines, and that's enough for me. I tell you it was a Foundation engine in a Foundation ship."
“我们既然能在这里，他们又为什么不能来？银河啊，艾布林，你以为我不会辨识船舰吗？我看到他们的发动机，就足以肯定了。我告诉你，那是基地的发动机，而那艘星舰是基地的星舰。”
"And how did they get here?" asked Bayta, logically. "What are the chances of a random meeting of two given ships in space?"
“他们是如何来到这里的？”贝泰实事求是地问，“在太空中，两艘船舰不期而遇的机会是多少？”
"What's that to do with it?" demanded Toran, hotly. "It would only show we've been followed."
“这又有什么关系？”杜伦愤愤地反问，“这只能说明我们被跟踪了。”
"Followed?" hooted Bayta. "Through hyperspace?"
“被跟踪？”贝泰大声抗议，“在超空间里被跟踪？”
Ebling Mis interposed wearily, "That can be done……given a good ship and a great pilot. But the possibility doesn't impress me."
艾布林·米斯不耐烦地插嘴道：“这是做得到的……只要有够好的船舰和最好的驾驶。不过我认为可能性不大。”
"I haven't been masking my trail," insisted Toran. "I've been building up take-off speed on the straight. A blind man could have calculated our route."
“我并没有湮没航迹，”杜伦坚持自己的说法，“我也始终维持着正常速度。瞎子也算得出我们的航道。”
"The blazes he could," cried Bayta. "With the cockeyed jumps you are making, observing our initial direction didn't mean a thing. We came out of the jump wrong-end forwards more than once."
“见鬼了。”贝泰吼道，“你的每一个跃迁都歪歪扭扭，观测到我们的初始方向也毫无用处。而且不只一次，我们在跃迁后，刚好从反方向跳出来。”
"We're wasting time," blazed Toran, with gritted teeth. "It's a Foundation ship under the Mule. It's stopped us. It's searched us. It's had Magnifico……alone……with me as hostage to keep the rest of you quiet, in case you suspected. And we're going to bum it out of space right now."
“我们是在浪费时间，”杜伦也火了，咬牙切齿地说，“那是骡控制下的一艘基地星舰。它把我们拦下来，搜查我们的太空船，又将马巨擘带走，还将他隔离……而我是一名人质，可以防止你们两人起疑时轻举妄动。我们现在就把它从太空中轰掉。”
"Hold on now," and Ebling Mis clutched at him. "Are you going to destroy us for one ship you think is an enemy? Think, man, would those scuppers chase us over an impossible route half through the bestinkered Galaxy, look us over, and then let us go?"
“等一等。”艾布林·米斯一把抓住他，“因为你怀疑那是敌舰，就要把我们通通害死吗？老弟，想想看，那些王八蛋若是经过超空间，一路追踪我们大半个臭银河，又怎么可能在检查我们的太空船之后，就轻易放了我们？”
"They're still interested in where we're going."
“他们还想知道我们要去哪里。”
"Then why stop us and put us on our guard? You can't have it both ways, you know."
“那么，他们又为何拦下我们，让我们提高警觉？你知道吗，你这种说法是自相矛盾。”
"I'll have it my way. Let go of me, Ebling, or I'll knock you down."
“我就是要照自己的意思去做。艾布林，放开手，否则我要揍人了。”
Magnifico leaned forward from his balanced perch on his favorite chair back. His long nostrils flared with excitement. "I crave your pardon for my interruption, but my poor mind is of a sudden plagued with a queer thought."
此时马巨擘正以特技的身手，站在他最喜欢的那个椅背上。他突然激动地向前一探身，长鼻子的鼻孔张得老大。“我想插一句嘴，请您们多多包涵。我这个不中用的脑袋，忽然间冒出一个古怪的想法。”
Bayta anticipated Toran's gesture of annoyance, and added her grip to Ebling's. "Go ahead and speak, Magnifico. We will all listen faithfully."
贝泰预料到杜伦马上就要发火，赶紧和艾布林一起按住他。“马巨擘，你尽管说，我们都会用心听。”
Magnifico said, "In my stay in their ship what addled wits I have were bemazed and bemused by a chattering fear that befell men. Of a truth I have a lack of memory of most that happened. Many men staring at me, and talk I did not understand. But towards the last……as though a beam of sunlight had dashed through a cloud rift……there was a face I knew. A glimpse, the merest glimmer……and yet it glows in my memory ever stronger and brighter."
于是马巨擘说：“我被带到那艘星舰去的时候，简直吓得魂不附体，所以本来就空空如也的脑袋，变得更迷糊更痴呆了。说实话，大多数的事我完全不记得。好像有很多人瞪着我，说着我根本听不懂的话。但是到了最后……仿佛是一道阳光穿透云缝……我看到一张熟悉的脸孔。我只瞥了他一眼，只是隐隐约约的一瞥……却在我的记忆中，留下强烈和鲜明的印象。”
Toran said, "Who was it?"
杜伦说：“那是谁？”
"That captain who was with us so long a time ago, when first you saved me from slavery."
“很久很久以前，您第一次解救我的时候，那个跟我们在一起的上尉。”
It had obviously been Magnifico's intention to create a sensation, and the delighted smile that curled broadly in the shadow of his proboscis, attested to his realization of the intention's success.
马巨擘显然是想制造一个惊人的高潮，而从他长鼻子底下咧开的笑容，看得出他明白自己的意图成功了。
"Captain……Han……Pritcher?" demanded Mis, sternly. "You're sure of that? Certain sure now?"
“汉……普利吉……上尉？”米斯严厉地问道，“你确定吗？真的确定吗？”
"Sir, I swear," and he laid a bone-thin hand upon his narrow chest. "I would uphold the truth of it before the Mule and swear it in his teeth, though all his power were behind him to deny it."
“伟大的先生，我可以发誓。”马巨擘将瘦骨嶙峋的手掌放在瘦弱的胸口，“即使把我带到骡面前，即使他用所有的威力否定这件事，我也敢向他发誓，坚持这是事实。”
Bayta said in pure wonder, "Then what's it all about?"
贝泰不解地问道：“那么这究竟是怎么回事？”
The clown faced her eagerly, "My lady, I have a theory. It came upon me, ready made, as though the Galactic Spirit had gently laid it in my mind." He actually raised his voice above Toran's interrupting objection.
小丑热切地面对着她。“我亲爱的女士，我有一个理论。它是突如其来的灵感，仿佛是银河圣灵想好了，再轻轻带进我心中。”他刻意提高声音，以便压下杜伦半途插入的抗议。
"My lady," he addressed himself exclusively to Bayta, "if this captain had, like us, escaped with a ship; if he, like us, were on a trip for a purpose of his own devising; if he blundered upon us……he would suspect us of following and waylaying him, as we suspect him of the like. What wonder he played this comedy to enter our ship?"
“我亲爱的女士，”他完全是对着贝泰一个人说话，“假如这位上尉和我们一样，也是驾着太空船逃跑；假如他和我们一样，也是为了某个目的而在太空奔波；假如他是突然撞见我们的……他就会怀疑是我们在跟踪他，而且想要偷袭他，就像我们怀疑他一样。那么他自导自演了这出戏，又有什么难以解释的呢？”
"Why would he want us in his ship, then?" demanded Toran. "That doesn't fit."
“可是，他要我们去他的星舰干什么？”杜伦追问：“这说不通。”
"Why, yes, it does," clamored the clown, with a flowing inspiration. "He sent an underling who knew us not, but who described us into his microphone. The listening captain would be struck at my own poor likeness……for, of a truth there are not many in this great Galaxy who bear a resemblance to my scantiness. I was the proof of the identity of the rest of you."
“啊，说得通，说得通。”小丑大叫大嚷，辩才无碍，“他派出一名手下，那人并不认识我们，但他却利用麦克风，向上尉描述我们几个的长相。上尉一听到他对我的描述，一定立刻大吃一惊……因为说句老实话，尽管银河这么大，长得像我这个皮包骨的却没几个。既然认出我来，您们其他人的身份也就确定了。”
"And so he leaves us?"
“所以他就放我们走了？”
"What do we know of his mission, and the secrecy thereof? lie has spied us out for not an enemy and having it done so, must he needs think it wise to risk his plan by widening the knowledge thereof?"
“对于他正在进行的任务，还有他的秘密，我们又知道多少？他既然查出我们并非敌人，又何必让自己的身份曝光，让自己的计划横生变数呢？”
Bayta said slowly, "Don't be stubborn, Torie. It does explain things."
贝泰缓缓说道：“杜，别再固执了。他说的都有道理。”
"It could be," agreed Mis.
“很有可能。”米斯附和道。
Toran seemed helpless in the face of united resistance. Something in the clown's fluent explanations bothered him. Something was wrong. Yet he was bewildered and, in spite of himself, his anger ebbed.
面对大家一致的反对，杜伦似乎无可奈何。在小丑滔滔不绝的解释中，仍有一点什么困扰着他；一定有什么不对劲的地方。但是他也说不出所以然来，而且无论如何，他的怒气已经消了。
"For a while," he whispered, "I thought we might have had one of the Mule's ships."
“有那么几分钟，”他轻声道，“我还以为至少能打下一艘骡的星舰。”
And his eyes were dark with the pain of Haven's loss.
他随即想到赫汶的沦陷，目光不禁黯淡下来。
The others understood.
其他三人都能了解他的心情。