22 DEATH ON NEOTRANTOR
第22章 魂断新川陀
NEOTRANTOR:……The small planet of Delicass, renamed after the Great Sack, was for nearly a century, the seat of the last dynasty of the First Empire. It was a shadow world and a shadow Empire and its existence is only of legalistic importance. Under the first of the Neotrantorian dynasty....
新川陀：……原名迪里卡丝的一颗小型行星，于“大浩劫”后改名。在将近一世纪的岁月中，它是“第一帝国”最后一个皇朝的所在地。新川陀是个徒具虚名的世界，领导着一个名存实亡的帝国，其存在仅具政治上的象征意义。新川陀皇朝的第一位皇帝……
ENCYCLOPEDIA GALACTICA
《银河百科全书》
Neotrantor was the name! New Trantor! And when you have said the name you have exhausted at a stroke all the resemblances of the new Trantor to the great original. Two parsecs away, the sun of Old Trantor still shone and the Galaxy's Imperial Capital of the previous century still cut through space in the silent and eternal repetition of its orbit.
这个世界叫新川陀！也就是新的川陀！一旦你叫出这个名称，就把它与原先那个伟大的川陀类似之处都说完了。在两秒差距外，旧川陀的太阳仍在发热发光，而上个世纪的银河帝国首都，还在太空中永恒的轨道上默默运行。
Men even inhabited Old Trantor. Not many……a hundred million, perhaps, where fifty years before, forty billions had swarmed. The huge, metal world was in jagged splinters. The towering thrusts of the multi-towers from the single world-girdling base were torn and empty……still bearing the original blastholes and firegut……shards of the Great Sack of forty years earlier.
旧川陀上甚至还有居民。人数并不多……或许一亿人吧；五十年前，那里还挤满四百亿人口。那个巨大的金属世界，如今到处都是残破的碎片。从围绕整个世界的金属基础向上延伸的高塔建筑，一座座都成了断垣残壁，上面的弹孔与焦痕仍旧清晰可见……这就是四十年前“大浩劫”所留下的遗迹。
It was strange that a world which had been the center of a Galaxy for two thousand years……that had ruled limitless space and been home to legislators and rulers whose whims spanned the parsecs……could die in a month. It was strange that a world which had been untouched through the vast conquering sweeps and retreats of a millennia, and equally untouched by the civil wars and palace revolutions of other millennia……should lie dead at last. It was strange that the Glory of the Galaxy should be a rotting corpse.
说来也真奇怪，一个作为银河中心达两千年之久的世界……曾经统治着无尽的太空，上面住着无数位高权重的官员，以及权倾一时的立法者……竟然在一个月之内毁灭殆尽。说来也真奇怪，在前一个仟年之间，这个世界曾多次被征服，帝国也曾因此多次迁都，它却从未遭到破坏；而在后一个仟年，又不断爆发内战与宫廷革命，它也依旧安然无恙……如今它却终于成为一团废墟。说来也真奇怪，这个“银河的光荣”就这样变成了一具腐尸。
And pathetic!
真是情何以堪！
For centuries would yet pass before the mighty works of fifty generations of humans would decay past use. Only the declining powers of men, themselves, rendered them useless now.
人类历经五十个世代所造就的心血结晶，应该在许多世纪后才会化为腐朽。只有人类自己的堕落，才有办法提早为它送终。
The millions left after the billions had died tore up the gleaming metal base of the planet and exposed soil that had not felt the touch of sun in a thousand years.
数百亿居民罹难后，幸存的数百万人拆掉行星表面闪闪发光的金属基础，让禁锢上千年的土壤再度暴露阳光下。
Surrounded by the mechanical perfections of human efforts, encircled by the industrial marvels of mankind freed of the tyranny of environment……they returned to the land. In the huge traffic clearings, wheat and corn grew. In the shadow of the towers, sheep grazed.
他们周遭仍保存着完善的机械设备，以及人类为对抗大自然而制造的精良工业产品。于是，他们重新回到土地的怀抱。在空旷的交通要道上，种植起小麦与玉米；在高塔的阴影下，放牧着成群的绵羊。
But Neotrantor existed……an obscure village of a planet drowned in the shadow of mighty Trantor, until a heart-throttled royal family, racing before the fire and flame of the Great Sack sped to it as its last refuge……and held out there, barely, until the roaring wave of rebellion subsided. There it ruled in ghostly splendor over a cadaverous remnant of Imperium.
反观新川陀……当初在川陀巨大的阴影下，这颗行星只能算偏远的乡村。后来那个走投无路的皇室，从“大浩劫”的烽火中仓皇逃离，来到这个最后的避难所……在这里勉强支撑下去，直到叛乱的风潮终于平息。如今，皇室仍在此地做着虚幻的帝王梦，统治着帝国最后一点可怜兮兮的残躯。
Twenty agricultural worlds were a Galactic Empire!
二十个农业世界，组成当今的银河帝国！
Dagobert IX, ruler of twenty worlds of refractory squires and sullen peasants, was Emperor of the Galaxy, Lord of the Universe.
达勾柏特九世乃是银河的皇帝、宇宙的共主。他统治着这二十个农业世界，以及那些桀骜难驯的地主与民风强悍的农民。
Dagobert IX had been twenty-five on the bloody day he arrived with his father upon Neotrantor. His eyes and mind were still alive with the glory and the power of the Empire that was. But his son, who might one day be Dagobert X, was born on Neotrantor.
在那个腥风血雨的日子，达勾柏特九世跟随父皇来到新川陀，当时他才二十五岁。如今，他的双眼与心灵仍充满着昔日帝国的光荣和强盛。但是他的儿子……未来的达勾柏特十世，则出生在新川陀。
Twenty worlds were all he knew.
二十个世界，就是他所认识的一切。
Jord Commason's open air car was the finest vehicle of its type on all Neotrantor……and, after all, justly so. It did not end with the fact that Commason was the largest landowner on Neotrantor. It began there. For in earlier days he had been the companion and evil genius of a young crown prince, restive in the dominating grip of a middle-aged emperor. And now he was the companion and still the evil genius of a middle-aged crown prince who hated and dominated an old emperor.
裘德·柯玛生所拥有的敞篷飞车，是新川陀同类交通工具中最高级的一部；它的外表染着珍珠色涂料，还镶着稀有合金的装饰，根本无需挂上任何代表主人身份的徽章……这当然其来有自。并非由于柯玛生是新川陀最大的地主，那样想是倒因为果。早年，他是年轻皇储的玩伴与“守护神”，当时皇储对正值中年的皇帝就充满叛逆的情绪。如今，他则是中年皇储的玩伴与“守护神”，而皇储早已骑在年迈的皇帝头上，并且恨透了他。
So Jord Commason, in his air car, which in mother-of-pearl finish and gold-and-lumetron ornamentation needed no coat of arms as owner's identification, surveyed the lands that were his, and the miles of rolling wheat that were his, and the huge threshers and harvesters that were his, and the tenant-farmers and machine-tenders that were his……and considered his problems cautiously.
裘德·柯玛生正坐在自己的飞车上，巡视着他名下的大片土地，以及绵延数英里、随风摇曳的麦子，以及许多巨型打谷机与收割机，以及众多佃农与农机操作工……通通都是他的财产。他一面巡视，一面认真思考自己的问题。
Beside him, his bent and withered chauffeur guided the ship gently through the upper winds and smiled.
在柯玛生身边，坐着他的专用司机。那名司机弯腰驼背，身形憔悴，他驾着飞车轻缓地乘风而上，脸上则一直带着笑容。
Jord Commason spoke to the wind, the air, and the sky, "You remember what I told you, Inchney?"
裘德·柯玛生迎着风，对着空气与天空说：“殷奇尼，你还记得我跟你讲的事吗？”
Inchney's thin gray hair wisped lightly in the wind. His gap-toothed smile widened in its thin-lipped fashion and the vertical wrinkles of his cheeks deepened as though he were keeping an eternal secret from himself. The whisper of his voice whistled between his teeth.
殷奇尼所剩无几的灰发被风吹了起来。他咧开薄薄的嘴唇，露出稀疏的牙齿，两颊上的垂直皱纹加深许多。好像他从来不知道，自己的笑容比哭更难看。当他轻声说话的时候，齿缝间传出阵阵的咻咻声。
"I remember, sire, and I have thought."
“老爷，我记得，我也仔细想过了。”
"And what have you thought, Inchney?" There was an impatience about the question.
“殷奇尼，你想到什么呢？”这句问话明显带着不耐烦的意思。
Inchney remembered that he had been young and handsome, and a lord on Old Trantor. Inchney remembered that he was a disfigured ancient on Neotrantor, who lived by grace of Squire Jord Commason, and paid for the grace by lending his subtlety on request. He sighed very softly.
殷奇尼没忘记自己曾经年轻英俊过，并且是旧川陀的一名贵族。殷奇尼也记得，他到达新川陀的时候就已经破了相，而且未老先衰。由于大地主裘德·柯玛生的恩典，他才得以苟活下来。为了报答这份大恩大德，他随时提供各式各样的鬼点子。想到这里，他轻轻叹了一口气。
He whispered again, "Visitors from the Foundation, sire, are a convenient thing to have. Especially, sire, when they come with but a single ship, and but a single fighting man. How welcome they might be."
他又小声地说：“老爷，基地来的那些访客，我们轻而易举就能拿下。尤其是，老爷，他们只有一艘太空船，又只有一个能动武的人。我们可得好好欢迎他们。”
"Welcome?" said Commason, gloomily. "Perhaps so. But those men are magicians and may be powerful."
“欢迎？”柯玛生以沮丧的口吻说，“也许吧。不过那些人都是魔术师，可能威力无比。”
"Pugh," muttered Inchney, "the mistiness of distance hides the truth. The Foundation is but a world. Its citizens are but men. If you blast them, they die."
“呸，”殷奇尼喃喃道，“所谓距离产生幻象。基地只是个普通的世界，它的公民也只是普通人。如果拿武器轰他们，他们照样一命呜呼。”
Inchney held the ship on its course……A river was a winding sparkle below. He whispered, "And is there not a man they speak of now who stirs the worlds of the Periphery?"
殷奇尼维持着正确的航线，飞过一条蜿蜒而闪烁的河流。他又继续轻声说：“不是听说有一个人，把银河外缘各个世界搅得天翻地覆吗？”
Commason was suddenly suspicious. "What do you know of this?"
柯玛生突然起疑。“这件事你知道多少？”
There was no smile on his chauffeur's face. "Nothing, sire. It was but an idle question."
他的专用司机这回没有露出笑容。“老爷，我毫不知情，只不过随口问问。”
The squire's hesitation was short. He said, with brutal directness, "Nothing you ask is idle, and your method of acquiring knowledge will have your scrawny neck in a vise yet. But……I have it! This man is called the Mule, and a subject of his had been here some months ago on a……matter of business. I await another……now……for its conclusion."
大地主只犹豫了一下子。他毫不客气，单刀直入地说：“你的任何问题都不是随口问问，你这种探听情报的方法，早晚会让你的细脖子被老虎钳夹扁。不过……我可以告诉你！那个人叫做骡，几个月前，他的一名属下曾经来过这里，那是为了……一件公事。我正在等另一个人……嗯……把这件事做个了结。”
"And these newcomers? They are not the ones you want, perhaps?"
“这些新来的访客呢？他们难道不是你要等的人吗？”
"They lack the identification they should have."
“他们没有任何身份证明文件。”
"It has been reported that the Foundation has been captured……"
“据说基地被攻陷了……”
"I did not tell you that."
“我可没有告诉你这种事。”
"It has been so reported," continued Inchney, coolly, "and if that is correct, then these may be refugees from the destruction, and may be held for the Mule's man out of honest friendship."
“大家都这么讲。”殷奇尼继续泰然自若地说，“如果这个消息正确，这些人可能就是逃出来的难民，可以把他们抓起来交给骡的手下，以表现我们真诚的友谊。”
"Yes?" Commason was uncertain.
“是吗？”柯玛生不太确定。
"And, sire, since it is well-known that the friend of a conqueror is but the last victim, it would be but a measure of honest self-defense. For there are such things as psychic probes, and here we have four Foundation brains. There is much about the Foundation it would be useful to know, much even about the Mule. And then the Mule's friendship would be a trifle the less overpowering."
“此外，老爷，既然大家都明白诛杀功臣的历史规律，我们这么做，只是正当的自卫手段罢了。我们原本就有心灵探测器，现在又有了四个基地人的脑袋。基地有许多秘密值得我们挖掘，而骡的秘密更需要挖掘。这样一来，我们和骡的友谊就能稍微平等一点。”
Commason, in the quiet of the upper air, returned with a shiver to his first thought. "But if the Foundation has not fallen. If the reports are lies. It is said that it has been foretold it can not fall."
在平稳的高空中，柯玛生因为自己突如其来的想法而打了一个冷战。“可是万一基地没有沦陷，万一那些消息都是假的呢。据说，有预言保证基地不可能沦陷。”
"We are past the age of soothsayers, sire."
“老爷，这年头已经不流行卜卦算命了。”
"And yet if it did not fall, Inchney. Think! If it did not fall. The Mule made me promises, indeed? He had gone too far, and backtracked. "That is, he made boasts. But boasts are wind and deeds are hard."
“殷奇尼，但它若是根本没有沦陷呢。想想看！若是基地没有沦陷。骡对我做了许多保证，可是……”他发觉自己扯得太远，赶紧拉回原来的话题。“那就是说，他在吹牛。然而牛皮容易吹，做起来却困难。”
Inchney laughed noiselessly. "Deeds are hard indeed, until begun. One could scarcely find a further fear than a Galaxy-end Foundation."
殷奇尼轻声笑了笑。“做起来却困难，的确没错，但有开始就有希望。放眼银河系，恐怕银河尽头的那个基地，要算是最可怕的。”
"There is still the prince," murmured Commason, almost to himself.
“别忘了还有太子呢。”柯玛生喃喃道，几乎是自言自语。
"He deals with the Mule also, then, sire?"
“老爷，这么说，他也在跟骡打交道？”
Commason could not quite choke down the complacent shift of features. "Not entirely. Not as I do. But he grows wilder, more uncontrollable. A demon is upon him. If I seize these people and he takes them away for his own use……for he does not lack a certain shrewdness……I am not yet ready to quarrel with him." He frowned and his heavy cheeks bent downwards with dislike.
柯玛生几乎无法压抑突然浮现的自满。“并不尽然，他可不像我。但是他现在愈来愈狂妄，愈来愈难以控制。他已经被恶魔附身了。如果我把这些人抓起来，他会为了自己的目的而将他们带走……因为他这个人还真有几分狡猾……我还没准备要跟他翻脸。”他厌恶地皱着眉头，肥厚的双颊也垂了下来。
"I saw those strangers for a few moments yesterday," said the gray chauffeur, irrelevantly, "and it is a strange woman, that dark one. she walks with the freedom of a man and she is of a startling paleness against the dark luster of hair." There was almost a warmth in the husky whisper of the withered voice, so that Commason turned toward him in sudden surprise.
“昨天我瞥见了那些异邦人。”灰发的司机扯到另一个话题，“那个黑头发的女人很不寻常。她走起路来像男人一样毫无顾忌，还有她的皮肤苍白得惊人，和她乌溜溜的黑发形成强烈对比。”在他有气无力的嘶哑声音中，似乎透出几丝兴奋，令柯玛生突然讶异地转头瞪着他。
Inchney continued, "The prince, I think, would not find his shrewdness proof against a reasonable compromise. You could have the rest, if you left him the girl?
殷奇尼继续说：“我想，那个太子不论多么狡猾，也不会拒绝接受合理的妥协方案。你可以把其他人留下来，只要把那个女孩让给他……”
A light broke upon Commason, "A thought! Indeed a thought! Inchney, turn back! And Inchney, if all turns well, we will discuss further this matter of your freedom."
柯玛生立即茅塞顿开。“好主意！真是个好主意！殷奇尼，掉头回去！还有，殷奇尼，如果一切顺利，我们就继续讨论还你自由的细节问题。”
It was with an almost superstitious sense of symbolism that Commason found a Personal Capsule waiting for him in his private study when he returned. It had arrived by a wavelength known to few. Commason smiled a fat smile. The Mule's man was coming and the Foundation had indeed fallen.
似乎是冥冥之中自有定数，柯玛生刚回到家，就在他的书房发现了一个私人信囊。它是以极少数人知道的波长传送来的。柯玛生的肥脸露出微笑。骡的手下快要到了，这代表基地真的沦陷了。
Bayta's misty visions, when she had them, of an Imperial palace, did not jibe with the reality, and inside her, there was a vague sense of disappointment. The room was small, almost plain, almost ordinary. The palace did not even match the mayor's residence back at the Foundation……and Dagobert IX……
贝泰朦胧的视觉，依然残留着那座“宫殿”的影像，盖过了她现在看到的真实景象。在她内心深处，仿佛感到有点失望。那个房间很小，几乎可说既朴素又平凡。那座“宫殿”甚至比不上基地的市长官邸。而达勾柏特九世……
Bayta had definite ideas of what an emperor ought to look like. He ought not look like somebody's benevolent grandfather. He ought not be thin and white and faded……or serving cups of tea with his own hand in an expressed anxiety for the comfort of his visitors.
皇帝究竟应该像什么样子，贝泰心中有个定见。他不应该好像一位慈祥的祖父，不应该显得瘦削、苍白而衰老……也不该亲自为客人倒茶，或是对客人表现得过分殷切。
But so it was.
事实却刚好相反。
Dagobert IX chuckled as he poured tea into her stiffly outheld cup.
贝泰抓稳茶杯，达勾柏特九世一面为她倒茶，一面咯咯笑着。
"This is a great pleasure for me, my dear. It is a moment away from ceremony and courtiers. I have not had the opportunity for welcoming visitors from my outer provinces for a time now. My son takes care of these details now that I'm older. You haven't met my son? A fine boy. Headstrong, perhaps. But then he's young. Do you care for a flavor capsule? No?"
“亲爱的女士，我感到万分高兴。我有一阵子没参加庆典，也没有接见廷臣了。如今，来自外围世界的访客，我已经没有机会亲自欢迎。因为我年事已高，这些琐事已交给太子处理。你们还没有见过太子吗？他是个好孩子。或许有点任性，不过他还年轻。要不要加一个香料袋？不要吗？”
Toran attempted an interruption, "Your imperial majesty……"
杜伦试图插嘴。“启禀陛下……”
"Yes?"
“什么事？”
"Your imperial majesty, it has not been our intention to intrude upon you……"
“启禀陛下，我们并不是要来打扰您……”
"Nonsense, there is no intrusion. Tonight there will be the official reception, but until then, we are free. Let's see, where did you say you were from? It seems a long time since we had an official reception. You said you were from the Province of Anacreon?"
“没有这回事，绝不会打扰我的。今晚将为你们举行迎宾国宴，不过在此之前，我们可以随意。我想想，你们刚才说是从哪里来的？我们好像很久没有举行迎宾国宴了。你们说来自安纳克里昂星省吗？”
"From the Foundation, your imperial majesty!"
“启禀陛下，我们是从基地来的！”
"Yes, the Foundation. I remember now. I had it located. It is in the Province of Anacreon. I have never been there. My doctor forbids extensive traveling. I don't recall any recent reports from my viceroy at Anacreon. How are conditions there?" he concluded anxiously.
“是的，基地，我现在想起来了。我知道它在哪里，它位于安纳克里昂星省。我从来没有去过那里，御医不允许我做长途旅行。我不记得安纳克里昂总督最近曾有任何奏章。那里的情况怎么样？”他以关切的口吻问道。
"Sire," mumbled Toran, "I bring no complaints."
“启禀陛下，”杜伦含糊地说，“我没有带来任何申诉状。”
"That is gratifying. I will commend my viceroy."
“那实在太好了，我要嘉奖那位总督。”
Toran looked helplessly at Ebling Mis, whose brusque voice rose. "Sire, we have been told that it will require your permission for us to visit the Imperial University Library on Trantor."
杜伦以无奈的眼光望着艾布林·米斯，后者粗率的声音立刻响起。“启禀陛下，我们听说必须得到您的御准，才能参观位于川陀的帝国图书馆。”
"Trantor?" questioned the emperor, mildly, "Trantor?"
“川陀？”老皇帝柔声问道：“川陀？”
Then a look of puzzled pain crossed his thin face. "Trantor?" he whispered. "I remember now. I am making plans now to return there with a flood of ships at my back. You shall come with me. Together we will destroy the rebel, Gilmer. Together we shall restore the empire!"
然后，他瘦削的脸庞显现一阵茫然的痛苦。“川陀？”他细声说，“我现在想起来了。我正在进行一个军事反攻计划，准备率领庞大的舰队打回川陀。你们跟我一起去，让我们并肩作战，打垮吉尔模那个叛徒，重建伟大的帝国！”
His bent back had straightened. His voice had strengthened. For a moment his eyes were hard. Then, he blinked and said softly, "But Gilmer is dead. I seem to remember……Yes. Yes! Gilmer is dead! Trantor is dead……For a moment, it seemed……Where was it you said you came from?"
他佝偻的脊背挺直了，他的声音变得洪亮，一时之间，他的目光也转趋凌厉。然后，他眨了眨眼睛，又轻声说：“可是吉尔模已经死了。我好像想起来……没错，没错！吉尔模已经死了！川陀也死了……目前似乎就是如此……你们刚才说是从哪里来的？”
Magnifico whispered to Bayta, "Is this really an emperor? For somehow I thought emperors were greater and wiser than ordinary men."
马巨擘忽然对贝泰耳语道：“这个人真的就是皇帝吗？我以为皇帝应该比普通人更伟大、更英明。”
Bayta motioned him quiet. She said, "If your imperial majesty would but sign an order permitting us to go to Trantor, it would avail greatly the common cause."
贝泰挥手示意他闭嘴，然后说：“倘若陛下能为我们签一张许可状，准许我们到川陀去，对双方的合作会很有帮助。”
"To Trantor?" The emperor was blank and uncomprehending.
“到川陀去？”老皇帝表情呆滞，显得一片茫然。
"Sire, the Viceroy of Anacreon, in whose name we speak, sends word that Gilmer is yet alive……"
“启禀陛下，我们是代表安纳克里昂总督前来觐见陛下的。他要我们代为启奏陛下，吉尔模还活着……”
"Alive! Alive!" thundered Dagobert. "Where? It will be war!"
“还活着！还活着！”达勾柏特惊吼道，“他在哪里？又要打仗了！”
"Your imperial majesty, it must not yet be known. His whereabouts are uncertain. The viceroy sends us to acquaint you of the fact, and it is only on Trantor that we may find his hiding place. Once discovered……"
“启禀陛下，现在还不能公开这件事。他的行踪至今不明。总督派我们来启奏陛下这个事实，但我们必须到川陀去，才有办法找到他的藏身之处。一旦发现……”
"Yes, yes……He must be found? The old emperor doddered to the wall and touched the little photocell with a trembling finger. He muttered, after an ineffectual pause, "My servants do not come. I can not wait for them."
“没错，没错……非得把他找到不可……”老皇帝蹒跚地走到墙边，用发颤的手指碰了碰小型光电管。他空等了一会儿，又喃喃道：“我的侍臣还没有来，我不能再等他们了。”
He was scribbling on a blank sheet, and ended with a flourished "D." He said, "Gilmer will yet learn the power of his emperor. Where was it you came from? Anacreon? What are the conditions there? Is the name of the emperor powerful?"
他在一张白纸上胡乱写了几个字，最后附上一个龙飞凤舞的签名式。然后他说：“吉尔模早晚会领教皇帝的厉害，你们刚才说是从哪里来的？安纳克里昂？那里的情况怎么样？皇帝的威名依然至高无上吗？”
Bayta took the paper from his loose fingers, "Your imperial majesty is beloved by the people. Your love for them is widely known."
贝泰从他松软的手指间取过那张纸。“陛下深受百姓爱戴，陛下对百姓的慈爱妇孺皆知。”
"I shall have to visit my good people of Anacreon, but my doctor says……I don't remember what he says, but? He looked up, his old gray eyes sharp, "Were you saying something of Gilmer?"
“我应该起驾到安纳克里昂，去巡视我的好百姓，可是御医说……我不记得他说过什么，不过……”他抬起头，苍老灰暗的眼珠又有了生气，“你们刚才提到吉尔模吗？”
"No, your imperial majesty."
“启禀陛下，没有。”
"He shall not advance further. Go back and tell your people that. Trantor shall hold! My father leads the fleet now, and the rebel vermin Gilmer shall freeze in space with his regicidal rabble."
“他不会再猖狂了。回去就这样告诉你们的同胞。川陀会屹立不摇！父皇正率领舰队御驾亲征；吉尔模那个叛徒，还有他手下那些大逆不道的乌合之众，都会被困死在太空中。”
He staggered into a seat and his eyes were blank once more. "What was I saying?"
他摇摇晃晃地走回座位，目光再度失去神采。他问道：“我刚才说了些什么？”
Toran rose and bowed low, "Your imperial majesty has been kind to us, but the time allotted us for an audience is over. "
杜伦站起来，深深一鞠躬。“陛下对我们亲切无比，可惜我们觐见的时间已经结束了。”
For a moment, Dagobert IX looked like an emperor indeed as he rose and stood stiff-backed while, one by one, his visitors retreated backward through the door where twenty armed men intervened and locked a circle about them.
达勾柏特九世站起身来，挺直了脊背，看着他的访客一个个倒退着退到门外。一时之间，他看来真像是一位皇帝。而四名访客退出门外，立刻有二十名武装人员一拥而上，将他们团团围住。
A hand-weapon flashed……
一柄轻武器发出一道闪光……
To Bayta, consciousness returned sluggishly, but without the "Where am I?" sensation. She remembered clearly the odd old man who called himself emperor, and the other men who waited outside. The arthritic tingle in her finger joints meant a stun pistol.
贝泰感到自己的意识逐渐恢复，却没有“我在哪里？”那种感觉。她清清楚楚记得那位自称皇帝的古怪老者，还有埋伏在外的那些人。她的手指关节仍在隐隐作痛，代表她曾遭到麻痹枪的攻击。
She kept her eyes closed, and listened with painful attention to the voices.
她继续闭着眼睛，用心倾听身边每一个声音。
There were two of them. One was slow and cautious, with a slyness beneath the surface obsequity. The other was hoarse and thick, almost sodden, and blurted out in viscous spurts. Bayta liked neither.
共有两个人在说话。其中一人说得很慢，口气也很小心，表面的奉承下却隐藏着狡猾。另一个声音嘶哑含混，几乎带着醉意，而且说话时口沫四溅。这两个声音都令贝泰感到嫌恶。
The thick voice was predominant.
嘶哑的声音显然是主子。
Bayta caught the last words, "He will live forever, that old madman. It wearies me. It annoys me. Commason, I will have it. I grow older, too."
贝泰最先听到的几句话是：“那个老疯子，他永远死不了。这实在令我厌烦、令我恼怒。柯玛生，我要赶快行动，我的年纪也不小了。”
"Your highness, let us first see of what use these people are. It may be we shall have sources of strength other than your father still provides."
“启禀殿下，让我们先研究一下这些人有什么用处。我们可能会发现奇异的力量，是你父亲所无法提供的。”
The thick voice was lost in a bubbling whisper. Bayta caught only the phrase, "……the girl……"but the other, fawning voice was a nasty, low, running chuckle followed by a comradely, near-patronizing, "Dagobert, you do not age. They lie who say you are not a youth of twenty."
在一阵兴致勃勃的耳语中，嘶哑的声音愈来愈小。贝泰只听到几个字：“……这女孩……”另外那个谄媚的声音则变作淫秽的低笑声，然后再用哥俩好的口气说：“达勾柏特，你一点也没有老。没有人不知道，你还像个二十岁的少年郎。”
They laughed together, and Bayta's blood was an icy trickle. Dagobert……your highness……The old emperor had spoken of a headstrong son, and the implication of the whispers now beat dully upon her. But such things didn't happen to people in real life……
两人一起哈哈大笑。贝泰的血液都快凝结了，达勾柏特……殿下……老皇帝曾经提到他有一个任性的太子。这时，贝泰已能体会刚才那段对话的含意。可是在现实生活中，不应该发生这种事……
Toran's voice broke upon her in a slow, hard current of cursing.
她听到一阵缓慢而激动的咒骂，那是杜伦的声音。
She opened her eyes, and Toran's, which were upon her, showed open relief. He said, fiercely, "This banditry will be answered by the emperor. Release us."
她张开眼睛，发现杜伦正在瞪着她。杜伦显得放心了一点，又用凶狠的口气说：“你们这种强盗行径，我们会请陛下主持公道。放开我们。”
It dawned upon Bayta that her wrists and ankles were fastened to wall and floor by a tight attraction field.
直到现在，贝泰才发觉自己的手腕被强力吸附场固定在墙上，脚踝也被地板紧紧吸住。
Thick Voice approached Toran. He was paunchy, his lower eyelids puffed darkly, and his hair was thinning out. There was a gay feather in his peaked hat, and the edging of his doublet was embroidered with silvery metal-foam.
声音嘶哑的男子向杜伦走近。他挺着一个大肚子，头发稀疏，眼袋浮肿，还有两个黑眼圈。他穿着由银色发泡金属镶边的紧身上衣，戴着一顶有遮檐的帽子，上面还插着一根俗丽的羽毛。
He sneered with a heavy amusement. "The emperor? The poor, mad emperor?"
他冷笑一声，仿佛听到了最有趣的笑话。“陛下？那个可怜的疯老头？”
"I have his pass. No subject may hinder our freedom."
“我有他签署的通行证。任何臣民都不得妨碍我们的自由。”
"But I am no subject, space-garbage. I am the regent and crown prince and am to be addressed as such. As for my poor silly father, it amuses him to see visitors occasionally. And we humor him. It tickles his mock-imperial fancy. But, of course, it has no other meaning."
“你这太空飞来的垃圾，我可不是什么臣民。我是摄政兼皇储，你得这样称呼我。至于我那个既可怜又痴呆的老子，他喜欢偶尔见见访客，我们也就随他去玩。这能让他重温一下虚幻的帝王梦。但是，当然没有其他意义。”
And then he was before Bayta, and she looked up at him contemptuously. He leaned close and his breath was overpoweringly minted.
然后他来到贝泰身前，贝泰抬起头，以不屑的眼光瞪着他。皇储俯下身，他的呼吸中有浓重的薄荷味。
He said, "Her eyes suit well, Commason……she is even prettier with them open. I think she'll do. It will be an exotic dish for a jaded taste, eh?"
他说：“柯玛生，她的眼睛真标致……她睁开眼睛更漂亮了。我想她会令我满意。这是一道能令我胃口大开的异国佳肴，对吗？”
There was a futile surge upwards on Toran's part, which the crown prince ignored and Bayta felt the iciness travel outward to the skin. Ebling Mis was still out; head lolling weakly upon his chest, but, with a sensation of surprise, Bayta noted that Magnifico's eyes were open, sharply open, as though awake for many minutes. Those large brown eyes swiveled towards Bayta and stared at her out of a doughy face.
杜伦徒劳无功地挣扎了一阵子，皇储根本不理会他，贝泰则感到体内涌出一股寒意。艾布林·米斯仍然昏迷，他的头无力地垂到胸前，可是马巨擘的眼睛却张开了，令贝泰感到有些讶异。她注意到马巨擘的眼睛张得很大，仿佛已经醒来好一阵子。他那对褐色的大眼珠转向贝泰，透过呆滞的表情凝望着她。
He whimpered, and nodded with his head towards the crown prince, "That one has my Visi-Sonor."
他将头撇向皇储，一面点头，一面呜咽道：“那家伙拿走了我的声光琴。”
The crown prince turned sharply toward the new voice, "This is yours, monster?" He swung the instrument from his shoulder where it had hung, suspended by its green strap, unnoticed by Bayta.
皇储猛然一转身。“丑八怪，这是你的吗？”他将背在肩上的乐器甩到手中，贝泰这才注意到，他肩上的绿色带子就是声光琴的吊带。
He fingered it clumsily, tried to sound a chord and got nothing for his pains, "Can you play it, monster?"
他笨手笨脚地拨弄着声光琴，想要按出一个和弦，却没有弄出半点声响。“丑八怪，你会演奏吗？”
Magnifico nodded once.
马巨擘点了一下头。
Toran said suddenly, "You've rifled a ship of the Foundation. If the emperor will not avenge, the Foundation will."
杜伦突然说：“你劫持了一艘基地的太空船。即使陛下不替我们讨回公道，基地也会的。”
It was the other, Commason, who answered slowly, "What Foundation? Or is the Mule no longer the Mule?"
另外那个人……柯玛生，此时慢条斯理地答道：“什么基地？还是骡已经不叫骡了？”
There was no answer to that. The prince's grin showed large uneven teeth. The clown's binding field was broken and he was nudged ungently to his feet. The Visi-Sonor was thrust into his hand.
没有人回答这个问题。皇储咧嘴一笑，露出又大又参差不齐的牙齿。他关掉小丑身上的吸附场，使劲推他站起来，又将声光琴塞到他手中。
"Play for us, monster," said the prince. "Play us a serenade of love and beauty for our foreign lady here. Tell her that my father's country prison is no palace, but that I can take her to one where she can swim in rose water……and know what a prince's love is. Sing of a prince's love, monster."
“丑八怪，为我们演奏一曲。”皇储说，“为我们这位异邦美人，演奏一首爱和美的小夜曲。让她知道我父亲的乡下茅舍并不是宫殿，但我能带她到真正的宫殿去，在那里，她可以在玫瑰露中游泳……她将知道太子的爱是如何炽烈。丑八怪，为太子的爱高歌一曲。”
He placed one thick thigh upon a marble table and swung a leg idly, while his fatuous smiling stare swept Bayta into a silent rage. Toran's sinews strained against the field, in painful, perspiring effort. Ebling Mis stirred and moaned.
他将一只粗壮的大腿放在大理石桌上，小腿来回摇晃着，并带着轻浮的笑意瞪着贝泰，令贝泰心中升起一股怒火。杜伦使尽力气设法挣脱吸附场，累得汗流浃背，一脸痛苦的表情。艾布林·米斯忽然动了动，发出一声呻吟。
Magnifico gasped, "My fingers are of useless stiffness……"
马巨擘喘着气说：“我的手指麻木，没法子演奏……”
"Play, monster!" roared the prince. The lights dimmed at a gesture to Commason and in the dimness he crossed his arms and waited.
“丑八怪，给我弹！”皇储吼道。他对柯玛生做了一个手势，灯光便暗了下来。在一片昏暗中，他双臂交握胸前，等着欣赏表演。
Magnifico drew his fingers in rapid, rhythmic jumps from end to end of the multikeyed instrument……and a sharp, gliding rainbow of light jumped across the room. A low, soft tone sounded……throbbing, tearful. It lifted in sad laughter, and underneath it there sounded a dull tolling.
马巨擘的手指在众多按键上来回跳跃，动作迅疾并充满节奏感。一道色彩鲜明的彩虹，突然不知从何处滑跃出来。然后响起一个低柔的调子，曲调悠扬婉转，如泣如诉。在一阵悲壮的笑声中，乐曲陡然拔高，背后还透出阴沉的钟声。
The darkness seemed to intensify and grow thick. Music reached Bayta through the muffled folds of invisible blankets. Gleaming light reached her from the depths as though a single candle glowed at the bottom of a pit.
黑暗似乎变得愈来愈浓，愈来愈稠。贝泰面前好像有着一层层无形的毛毯，音乐就从其中钻出来。从黑暗深处射出了微弱的光线，仿佛坑洞中透出的一线烛光。
Automatically, her eyes strained. The light brightened, but remained blurred. It moved fuzzily, in confused color, and the music was suddenly brassy, evil……flourishing in high crescendo. The light flickered quickly, in swift motion to the wicked rhythm. Something writhed within the light. Something with poisonous metallic scales writhed and yawned. And the music writhed and yawned with it.
她自然而然一眨不眨地张大眼睛。光线逐渐增强，但仍然十分朦胧，带着暧昧不明的色彩摇曳不定。此时，音乐忽然变得刺耳而邪恶，而且愈来愈嚣张。光线的变化也开始加剧，随着邪恶的节奏快速摆动。好像有什么怪物在光影中翻腾，它长着剧毒的金属鳞片，还张着血盆大口。而音乐也随着那只怪物翻腾和咧嘴。
Bayta struggled with a strange emotion and then caught herself in a mental gasp. Almost, it reminded her of the time in the Time Vault, of those last days on Haven. It was that horrible, cloying, clinging spiderweb of horror and despair. She shrunk beneath it oppressed.
贝泰在诡异莫名的情绪中挣扎，总算从内心的喘息中定下神来。这使她不禁想到时光穹窿中的经历，以及在赫汶的最后那段日子。当时她感受到的，正是同样的恐惧、烦厌，以及如蛛网般粘缠的消沉与绝望。这种无形的压迫感，令她全身蜷缩起来。
The music dinned upon her, laughing horribly, and the writhing terror at the wrong end of the telescope in the small circle of light was lost as she turned feverishly away. Her forehead was wet and cold.
音乐在她耳边喧闹不休，如同一阵可怖的狂笑。就像是拿倒了望远镜，她看到尽头处小圈圈中仍是那个翻腾扭动的怪物，直到她奋力转过头去，恐怖的怪物才终于消失。这时，她的额头早已淌着冷汗。
The music died. It must have lasted fifteen minutes, and a vast pleasure at its absence flooded Bayta. Light glared, and Magnifico's face was close to hers, sweaty, wild-eyed, lugubrious.
音乐也在此时停止。它至少持续了一刻钟，贝泰顿时觉得大大松了一口气。室内重新大放光明，马巨擘的脸庞距离贝泰很近，他满头大汗，目光涣散，神情哀伤。
"My lady," he gasped, "how fare you?"
“我亲爱的女士，”他气喘吁吁地说，“您还好吧？”
"Well enough," she whispered, "but why did you play like that?"
“还好，”她悄声回答，“但是你为什么演奏这种音乐？”
She became aware of the others in the room. Toran and Mis were limp and helpless against the wall, but her eyes skimmed over them. There was the prince, lying strangely still at the foot of the table. There was Commason, moaning wildly through an open, drooling mouth.
她看了看室内其他人。杜伦与米斯仍被粘在墙上，显得有气无力，但她的目光很快越过他们。她看到皇储以怪异的姿势仰卧在桌脚，柯玛生则张大嘴在狂乱呻吟，还不停淌着口水。
Commason flinched, and yelled mindlessly, as Magnifico took a step towards him.
当马巨擘向他走近时，柯玛生吓得缩成一团，发疯般哀叫起来。
Magnifico turned, and with a leap, turned the others loose.
马巨擘转过身来，迅速松开其他三人。
Toran lunged upwards and with eager, taut fists seized the landowner by the neck, "You come with us. We'll want you……to make sure we get to our ship."
杜伦一跃而起，双手握紧拳头，使劲抓住大地主的脖子，猛力将他拉起来。“你跟我们走。我们需要你……确保我们安然回到太空船。”
Two hours later, in the ship's kitchen, Bayta served a walloping homemade pie, and Magnifico celebrated the return to space by attacking it with a magnificent disregard of table manners.
两小时后，在太空船的厨舱中，贝泰亲手做了一个特大号的派。马巨擘庆祝安返太空的方法，就是抛开一切餐桌礼仪，拼命将派塞进嘴里。
"Good, Magnifico?"
“好吃吗，马巨擘？”
"Um-mmmmm!"
“嗯、嗯、嗯！”
"Magnifico?"
“马巨擘？”
"Yes, my lady?"
“啊，我亲爱的女士？”
"What was it you played back there?"
“你刚才演奏的究竟是什么？”
The clown writhed, "I……I'd rather not say. I learned it once, and the Visi-Sonor is of an effect upon the nervous system most profound. Surely, it was an evil thing, and not for your sweet innocence, my lady."
小丑不知如何是好。“我……我还是别说为妙。那是我以前学的，而声光琴对神经系统的影响最巨大。当然啦，我亲爱的女士，那是一种邪门的音乐，不适合您这种天真无邪的心灵。”
"Oh, now, come, Magnifico. I'm not as innocent as that. Don't flatter so. Did I see anything like what they saw?"
“喔，得了吧，马巨擘。我可没有那么天真无邪，你别拍我的马屁了。我所看到的，是不是和那两个人看到的一样？”
"I hope not. I played it for them only. If you saw, it was but the rim of it……from afar."
“但愿不一样。我只想让他们两人看见。如果您看到了什么，那只是瞥见边缘的一点点……而且还是远远瞥见。”
"And that was enough. Do you know you knocked the prince out?"
“那就够呛了。你可知道，你把太子弄得昏迷不醒？”
Magnifico spoke grimly through a large, muffling piece of pie. "I killed him, my lady."
马巨擘嘴里含着一大块派，以模糊却冷酷的声音说：“我亲爱的女士，我把他给杀了。”
"What?" She swallowed, painfully.
“什么？”贝泰痛苦地吞下这个消息。
"He was dead when I stopped, or I would have continued. I cared not for Commason. His greatest threat was death or torture. But, my lady, this prince looked upon you wickedly, and? he choked in a mixture of indignation and embarrassment.
“当我停止演奏的时候，他就已经死了，否则我还会继续。我并没有理会那个柯玛生，他对我们最大的威胁，顶多是死亡或酷刑。可是，我亲爱的女士，那个太子却用淫邪的眼光望着您，而且……”他又气又窘，顿时语塞了。
Bayta felt strange thoughts come and repressed them sternly. "Magnifico, you've got a gallant soul."
贝泰心中兴起好些奇怪的念头，她断然把它们压下去。“马巨擘，你真有一副侠义心肠。”
"Oh, my lady." He bent a red nose into his pie, but, somehow did not eat.
“喔，我亲爱的女士。”他将红鼻头埋到派里面，不知道为什么，却没有继续吃。
Ebling Mis stared out the port. Trantor was near……its metallic shine fearfully bright. Toran was standing there, too.
艾布林·米斯从舷窗向外看，川陀已经在望……它的金属外壳闪耀着明亮的光芒。杜伦也站在舷窗旁。
He said with dull bitterness, "We've come for nothing, Ebling. The Mule's man precedes us."
他以苦涩的语调说：“艾布林，我们白跑一趟了。骡的手下已经捷足先登。”
Ebling Mis rubbed his forehead with a hand that seemed shriveled out of its former plumpness. His voice was an abstracted mutter.
艾布林·米斯抬起手来擦擦额头，那只手似乎不再像以前那般丰满。他的声音听来像是漫不经心的喃喃自语。
Toran was annoyed. "I say those people know the Foundation has fallen. I say……"
杜伦又气又恼。“我是说，那些人知道基地已经沦陷。我是说……”
"Eh?" Mis looked up, puzzled. Then, he placed a gentle hand upon Toran's wrist, in complete oblivion of any previous conversation, "Toran, I……I've been looking at Trantor. Do you know……I have the queerest feeling……ever since we arrived on Neotrantor. It's an urge, a driving urge that's pushing and pushing inside. Toran, I can do it; I know I can do it. Things are becoming clear in my mind……they have never been so clear."
“啊？”米斯茫然地抬起头。然后，他将右手轻轻放在杜伦的手腕上，显然完全忘了刚才的谈话。“杜伦，我……我一直凝望着川陀。你可知道……在我们抵达新川陀的时候……我就有一种怪异至极的感觉。那是一种冲动，是在我内心不停激荡的一种冲动。杜伦，我做得到；我知道我做得到。在我心中，所有的事情一清二楚……从来也没有那么清楚过。”
Toran stared……and shrugged. The words brought him no confidence.
杜伦瞪着他……然后耸耸肩。这段对话并未为他带来什么信心。
He said, tentatively, "Mis?"
他试探性地问：“米斯？”
"Yes?"
“什么事？”
"You didn't see a ship come down on Neotrantor as we left?"
“当我们离开新川陀的时候，你没有看见另一艘太空船降落吧？”
Consideration was brief. "No."
米斯只想了一下。“没有。”
"I did. Imagination, I suppose, but it could have been that Filian ship."
“我看见了。我想，可能只是我的想象，但也可能是那艘菲利亚缉私舰。”
"The one with Captain Han Pritcher on it?"
“汉·普利吉上尉率领的那一艘？”
"The one with space knows who upon it. Magnifico's information……It followed us here, Mis."
“天晓得是由谁率领的。根据马巨擘的说法……米斯，它跟踪我们到这里了。”
Ebling Mis said nothing,
艾布林·米斯没有回应。
Toran said strenuously, "is there anything wrong with you? Aren't you well?"
杜伦焦急地问：“你是不是哪里不对劲？你还好吗？”
Mis's eyes were thoughtful, luminous, and strange. He did not answer.
米斯露出深谋远虑、澄澈而奇特的眼神，却没有回答这个问题。