1 Two Men and the Mule
第1章 二人与骡
THE MULE:……It was after the fall of the First Foundation that the constructive aspects of the Mule's regime took shape. After the definite break-up at the first Galactic Empire, it was he who first presented history with a unified volume at space truly imperial in scope. The earlier commercial empire at the fallen Foundation had been diverse and loosely knit, despite the impalpable backing at the predictions of psycho-history. It was not to be compared with the tightly controlled 'union of Worlds' under the Mule, comprising as it did, one-tenth the volume of the Galaxy and one-fifteenth of its population. Particularly during the era of the so-called Search……
骡：……直到第一基地沦陷，骡政权的建设性才终于显现。在第一银河帝国全盘瓦解后，他是历史上第一位拥有统一版图、疆域直逼真正帝国的统治者。早先由基地所建立的商业帝国，虽有心理史学的预言作为无形的后盾，结构却过于松散与多元。相较之下，骡的“行星联盟”则是一个控制严密的政体，尤其是在所谓的“寻找时期”……
ENCYCLOPEDIA GALACTICA *
……《银河百科全书》
* All quotations from the Encyclopedia Galactica here reproduced are taken from the 116th Edition published in 1020 F.E. by the Encyclopedia Galactica Publishing Co., Terminus, with permission of the publishers.
There is much more that the Encyclopedia has to say on the subject of the Mule and his Empire but almost all of it is not germane to the issue at immediate hand, and most of it is considerably too dry for our purposes in any case. Mainly, the article concerns itself at this point with the economic conditions that led to the rise of the "First Citizen of the union"……the Mule's official title……and with the economic consequences thereof.
关于骡以及他的“帝国”，《银河百科全书》其实用了许多篇幅详加叙述，不过几乎都和这个故事没有密切关系，而且大多相当枯燥无味。简单地说，它主要是在阐述导致“联盟第一公民”崛起的各种背景条件，以及其后的各种影响……“联盟第一公民”是骡的正式头衔。
If, at any time, the writer of the article is mildly astonished at the colossal haste with which the Mule rose from nothing to vast dominion in five years, he conceals it. If he is further surprised at the sudden cessation of expansion in favor of a five-year consolidation of territory, he hides the fact.
若说骡在短短五年间赤手空拳打下大片江山这个事实，使得百科全书中“骡”这一条的作者感到有些讶异，这个情绪也被他隐藏得很好。而骡的扩张后来戛然而止，进入为期五年的“守成期”，作者也并未在字里行间显露任何惊讶。
We therefore abandon the Encyclopedia and continue on our own path for our own purposes and take up the history of the Great Interregnum……between the First and Second Galactic Empires……at the end of that five years of consolidation.
因此，我们只好舍弃《银河百科全书》，继续沿用我们说故事的老路子，开始审视第一与第二银河帝国之间的“大断层”历史中，紧接着五年“守成期”之后的发展。
Politically, the union is quiet. Economically, it is prosperous. Few would care to exchange the peace of the Mule's steady grip for the chaos that had preceded, On the worlds that five years previously had known the Foundation, there might be a nostalgic regret, but no more. The Foundation's leaders were dead, where useless; and Converted, where useful.
“联盟”的政治相当稳定，经济也算是繁荣富庶。在骡的专制统治下，既然出现罕有的太平岁月，几乎没有人愿意回到过去那种动荡不安的时代。在那些五年前自称为“基地体系”的世界中，也许偶尔会有些怀旧与惋惜的情绪，但顶多如此而已。基地体系的领导阶层，没有利用价值的皆已不在人世，尚有利用价值的则已一律“回转”。
And of the Converted, the most useful was Han Pritcher, now lieutenant general.
而在“回转”人士当中，最受重用的便是汉·普利吉，他现在已经是一名中将。
In the days of the Foundation, Han Pritcher had been a captain and a member of the underground Democratic Opposition. When the Foundation fell to the Mule without a fight, Pritcher fought the Mule. Until, that is, he was Converted.
在基地时代，汉·普利吉是情报局的上尉军官，也是地下民主反动派的成员。基地不战而降之后，普利吉曾经与骡誓不两立，直到成为一名“回转者”为止。
The Conversion was not the ordinary one brought on by the power of superior reason. Han Pritcher know that well enough. He had been changed because the Mule was a mutant with mental powers quite capable of adjusting the conditions of ordinary humans to suit himself. But that satisfied him completely. That was as it should be. The very contentment with the Conversion was a prime symptom of it, but Han Pritcher was no longer even curious about the matter.
汉·普利吉的“回转”并非普通的见风转舵，这点他完全心知肚明。他之所以会有一百八十度的转变，乃是由于骡是具有强大精神力量的突变种，能够随意改变其他人的心志。但是普利吉对这点非常满意，认为这是理所当然的。事实上，对“回转”的状况心满意足，正是“回转”的主要征状。不过对于这个问题，汉·普利吉已不再有半点好奇心。
And now that he was returning from his fifth major expedition into the boundlessness of the Galaxy outside the union, it was with something approaching artless joy that the veteran spaceman and Intelligence agent considered his approaching audience with the "First Citizen." His hard face, gouged out of a dark, grainless wood that did not seem to be capable of smiling without cracking, didn't show it……but the outward indications were unnecessary. The Mule could see the emotions within, down to the smallest, much as an ordinary man could see the twitch of an eyebrow.
他刚结束第五次的远征，从“联盟”境外的银河星空归来。这位经验丰富的太空人兼情报员，对于即将觐见“第一公民”这件事，感到实在没有什么意思。他那张似乎由毫无纹理的木材刻成的、仿佛永远无法露出笑容的严肃脸孔，一点未曾表露这种情绪……可是，任何表情都是没有必要的。因为骡能透视内心的情感，一直钻到心灵最细微的角落，就像普通人看得懂肢体语言一样。
Pritcher left his air car at the old vice-regal hangars and entered the palace grounds on foot as was required. He walked one mile along the arrowed highway……which was empty and silent. Pritcher knew that over the square miles of Palace grounds, there was not one guard, not one soldier, not one armed man.
普利吉依照规定，将他的飞车停在当年总督所用的车库中，自己徒步走进官邸广场。他沿着画有箭头的路径走了一英里，一路上空无一人且静寂无声。普利吉知道，在占地数平方英里的官邸广场上，没有一名警卫或士兵，也没有任何武装人员。
The Mule had need of no protection.
骡不需要任何人保护。
The Mule was his own best, all-powerful protector.
骡本人，就是自己最佳的、全能的守护神。
Pritcher's footsteps beat softly in his own cars, as the palace reared its gleaming, incredibly light and incredibly strong metallic walls before him in the daring, overblown, near-hectic arches that characterized the architecture of the Late Empire. It brooded strongly over the empty grounds, over the crowded city on the horizon.
当官邸耸立在眼前时，普利吉仍然只听得见自己轻巧的脚步声。这座建筑物的外墙由坚固的金属制成，发出辉煌耀眼的闪光。其中的拱门设计得大胆而夸张，充分表现出昔日帝国的建筑风格。这座官邸傲然耸立在空旷的广场上，俯视着地平线上拥挤的城市。
Within the palace was that one man……by himself……on whose inhuman mental attributes depended the new aristocracy, and the whole structure of the union.
官邸里面住的就是那个人……只有他自己一个人。一个新的贵族政体，以及“联盟”的整个架构，全部奠基于他超凡入圣的精神异禀上。
The huge, smooth door swung massively open at the general's approach, and he entered. He stepped on to the wide, sweeping ramp that moved upward under him. He rose swiftly in the noiseless elevator. He stood before the small plain door of the Mule's own room in the highest glitter of the palace spires.
随着这位将军的脚步，巨大、光滑而沉重的外门缓缓打开。他走了进去，步上一个宽广的坡道，滑梯便载着他无声无息地迅速上升。他来到了官邸中最灿烂的尖塔，置身于一扇朴素的小门之前，这扇门后面就是骡的房间。
It opened……
门打开了……
Bail Channis was young, and Bail Channis was Unconverted. That is, in plainer language, his emotional make-up had been unadjusted by the Mule. It remained exactly as it had been formed by the original shape of its heredity and the subsequent modifications of his environment. And that satisfied him, too.
拜尔·程尼斯很年轻，而拜尔·程尼斯并非一名“回转者”。换成比较普通的说法，就是他的情感结构并未被骡动过手脚。他的七情六欲与意志，仍旧完全取决于先天的素质与后天的环境。对这一点，他自己也感到很满意。
At not quite thirty, he was in marvelously good odor in the capital. He was handsome and quick-witted……therefore successful in society. He was intelligent and self-possessed……therefore successful with the Mule. And he was thoroughly pleased at both successes.
他还不到三十岁，却已经在这个首都非常有名。他生得英俊，头脑又精明，因此在社会上十分吃得开。而且他聪明伶俐，又不失沉着冷静，所以在骡身旁也很得宠。对这两方面的成就，他自己当然极为骄傲。
And now, for the first time, the Mule had summoned him to personal audience.
今天，骡竟然私下召见他，这还是破天荒的头一遭。
His legs carried him down the long, glittering highway that led tautly to the sponge-aluminum spires that had been once the residence of the viceroy of Kalgan, who ruled under the old emperors; and that had been later the residence of the independent Princes of Kalgan, who ruled in their own name; and that was now the residence of the First Citizen of the union, who ruled over an empire of his own.
他徒步走在闪闪发亮的路径上，一路向“发泡铝”尖塔丛的方向前进。在帝国时代，那里曾是卡尔根总督的官邸，他们奉皇帝的名义统治着卡尔根。后来，那里又成为独立统领的官邸，他们打着自己的旗帜统治着卡尔根。如今，“联盟第一公民”以这里作为根据地，统治着自己一手建立的帝国。
Channis hummed softly to himself. He did not doubt what this was all about. The Second Foundation, naturally! That all-embracing bogey, the mere consideration of which had thrown the Mule back from his policy of limitless expansion into static caution. The official term was……"consolidation."
程尼斯随口轻哼着小调。对于这次的召见，他一点不觉得纳闷。自然是关于第二基地！那个无所不在的幽灵，骡只是因为对它有所顾忌，便毅然中止了无止境的扩张政策，改采安稳的静态路线。根据官方的说法，则是进入所谓的“守成期”。
Now there were rumors……you couldn't stop rumors. The Mule was to begin the offensive once more. The Mule had discovered the whereabouts of the Second Foundation, and would attack The Mule had come to an agreement with the Second Foundation and divided the Galaxy. The Mule had decided the Second Foundation did not exist and would take over all the Galaxy……
目前外面流传着好些谣言……这种事谁也制止不了。骡准备再度发动攻势；骡发现了第二基地的下落，很快就会展开攻击；骡与第二基地达成了协定，双方同意瓜分银河系；骡终于确定第二基地并不存在，即将把整个银河纳入势力范围……
No use listing all the varieties one heard in the anterooms. It was not even the first time such rumors had circulated. But now they seemed to have more body in them, and all the free, expansive Souls Who thrived on war, military adventure, and political chaos and withered in times of stability and stagnant peace were joyful.
这类随时能在大街小巷听到的谣言，不值得在此一一列举。这些谣言甚至不是第一次出笼，只不过如今似乎比较具体。对于那些不安于稳定呆滞的太平岁月，而希望在战争、军事冒险、政治危机中大捞一票的投机分子而言，这实在是值得高兴的事。
Bail Channis was one of these. He did not fear the mysterious Second Foundation. For that matter, he did not fear the Mule, and boasted of it. Some, perhaps, who disapproved of one at once so young and so well-off, waited darkly for the reckoning with the gay ladies' man who employed his wit openly at the expense of the Mule's physical appearance and sequestered life. None dared join him and few dared laugh, but when nothing happened to him, his reputation rose accordingly.
拜尔·程尼斯就是其中之一。他并不惧怕神秘的第二基地。话说回来，他甚至对骡也无所畏惧，还常常因此沾沾自喜。有些人对他的年少得志看不顺眼，认为他只是个轻浮的花花公子，稍微有那么一点小聪明，竟然就敢公然嘲讽骡的外貌，以及他的隐居式生活……他们或许都在暗中等待他受到报应。没有人胆敢附和程尼斯，也没有几个人敢发笑。可是程尼斯却始终安然无事，声誉反倒因此越来越高。
Channis was improvising words to the tune he was humming. Nonsense words with the recurrent refrain: "Second Foundation threatens the Nation and all of Creation."
程尼斯顺着自己哼的小调，唱了几句即兴的歌词。他的歌词反复而单调，没有什么意义：“第二基地，威胁我们的国家，威胁着宇宙万物。”
He was at the palace.
他到了官邸之前。
The huge, smooth door swung massively open at his approach and he entered. He stepped on to the wide, sweeping ramp that moved upward under him. He rose swiftly in the noiseless elevator. He stood before the small plain door of the Mule's own room in the highest glitter of the palace spires.
随着他的脚步，巨大、光滑而沉重的外门缓缓打开。他走了进去，步上一个宽广的坡道，滑梯便载着他无声无息地迅速上升。他来到了官邸中最灿烂的尖塔，置身于一扇朴素的小门之前，这扇门后面就是骡的房间。
It opened……
门打开了……
The man who had no name other than the Mule, and no title other than First Citizen looked out through the one-way transparency of the wall to the light and lofty city on the horizon.
骡没有任何其他名字，他的头衔也只有“第一公民”而已。他正透过单向透光的墙壁向外望去，眺望着地平线上灯火通明的大都会。
In the darkening twilight, the stars were emerging, and not one but owed allegiance to him.
在渐渐黯淡的薄暮中，星辰一颗颗绽现，每一颗星皆臣服于他脚下。
He smiled with fleeting bitterness at the thought. The allegiance they owed was to a personality few had ever seen.
想到这里，他微微一笑，笑容中带着一丝悲痛。世人所效忠的对象，竟然是个深居简出的人物。
He was not a man to look at, the Mule……not a man to look at without derision. Not more than one hundred and twenty pounds was stretched out into his five-foot-eight length. His limbs were bony stalks that jutted out of his scrawniness in graceless angularity. And his thin face was nearly drowned out in the prominence of a fleshy beak that thrust three inches outward.
他其貌不扬……乍看之下令人忍俊不禁。体重仅有一百二十磅，身高却有五英尺八英寸。他的四肢骨瘦如柴，好像是随便挂在皮包骨的身躯上。而他瘦削的脸庞，则几乎被三英寸高的大鼻子全部遮掩。
Only his eyes played false with the general farce that was the Mule. In their softness……a strange softness for the Galaxy's greatest conqueror……sadness was never entirely subdued.
唯独他的双眼，与滑稽的外表极不相称。那双眼睛是如此温柔……对银河系最伟大的征服者而言，那实在是一种奇异的温柔……而其中的哀伤，也从来未曾完全消退。
In the city was to be found all the gaiety of a luxurious capital on a luxurious world. He might have established his capital on the Foundation, the strongest of his now-conquered enemies, but it was far out on the very rim of the Galaxy. Kalgan, more centrally located, with a long tradition as aristocracy's playground, suited him better……strategically.
此地是一个繁华世界的繁华首府，欢乐富足应有尽有。他曾经考虑过定都于基地，那是他所征服的最强大的对手，可是它远在银河的最外缘。卡尔根的位置则较为适中，而且拥有贵族政体的悠久传统，就战略观点而言，对他也比较有利。
But in its traditional gaiety, enhanced by unheard-of prosperity, he found no peace.
然而此地传统的欢乐气氛，再加上空前的繁华，并不能让他的心境平静。
They feared him and obeyed him and, perhaps, even respected him……from a goodly distance. But who could look at him without contempt? Only those he had Converted. And of what value was their artificial loyalty? It lacked flavor. He might have adopted titles, and enforced ritual and invented elaborations, but even that would have changed nothing. Better……or at least, no worse……to be simply the First Citizen……and to hide himself.
人们敬畏他，服从他，甚至也许还尊敬他……敬而远之。可是，谁看到他能不产生轻蔑的情绪呢？当然只有那些“回转者”。他们的人造忠诚又有什么价值呢？简直是太乏味了。他大可替自己加上许多封号，发明各种繁复的礼数，但是那样做也无法改变任何事实。最好……或者至少是“不妨”……就当一个“第一公民”，并将自己隐藏起来吧。
There was a sudden surge of rebellion within him……strong and brutal. Not a portion of the Galaxy must be denied him, For five years he had remained silent and buried here on Kalgan because of the eternal, misty, space-ridden menace of the unseen, unheard, unknown Second Foundation. He was thirty-two. Not old……but he felt old. His body, whatever its mutant mental powers, was physically weak.
他心中突然涌现一股报复的念头……既强烈又残酷。银河系不准有任何一处反抗他。五年来，他藏身于卡尔根，一直按兵不动，就是因为顾忌那个虚无缥缈的第二基地，顾忌它无止无尽又无所不在的神秘威胁。如今他才三十四岁，年纪并不算大……他却感觉自己老了。虽然具有突变的强大精神力量，他的肉体却孱弱不堪。
Every star! Every star he could see……and every star he couldnt see. It must all be his!
每一颗星辰！每一颗目力所及，以及每一颗不可见的星辰，都要为他所有！
Revenge on all. On a humanity of which he wasn't a part. On a Galaxy in which he didn't fit.
他要报复所有的人，因为他并不属于人类。他要报复整个银河系，因为银河系容不下他。
The cool, overhead warning light flickered. He could follow the progress of the man who had entered the palace, and simultaneously, as though his mutant sense had been enhanced and sensitized in the lonely twilight, he felt the wash of emotional content touch the fibers of his brain.
头上的警告灯突然轻轻闪起。他知道有人走进官邸，并能感知那人的行径。同时，在寂寞的暮色中，他突变的感应力似乎变得更强烈、更敏锐，他感觉到那人的情感起伏正敲击着自己的大脑。
He recognized the identity without an effort. It was Pritcher.
他毫不费力就知晓了来者的身份，那是普利吉。
Captain Pritcher of the one-time Foundation. The Captain Pritcher who had been ignored and passed over by the bureaucrats of that decaying government. The Captain Pritcher whose job as petty spy he had wiped out and whom he had lifted from its slime. The Captain Pritcher whom he had made first colonel and then general; whose scope of activity he had made Galaxywide.
昔日效忠基地的普利吉上尉；从未受过那个腐败政府重用的普利吉上尉；曾经只是一名小小间谍的普利吉上尉。而他铲除基地后，开始大力拔擢普利吉，先授他以一级上校的军阶，进而晋升他为一名将军。普利吉将军的活动范围，如今已涵盖整个银河系。
The now-General Pritcher who was, iron rebel though he began, completely loyal. And yet with all that, not loyal because of benefits gained, not loyal out of gratitude, not loyal as a fair return……but loyal only through the artifice of Conversion.
这位普利吉将军曾经是最顽强的叛逆，现在却百分之百忠心耿耿。然而，他的忠诚并非因为得到任何利益，并非出于感激之情，也并非由于什么交换条件……他的忠诚纯粹是“回转”造成的结果。
The Mule was conscious of that strong unalterable surface layer of loyalty and love that colored every swirl and eddy of the emotionality of Han Pritcher……the layer he had himself implanted five years before. Far underneath there were the original traces of stubborn individuality, impatience of rule, idealism……but even he, himself, could scarcely detect them any longer.
骡可以清楚感觉到汉·普利吉那强固不变的表层意识，这层由“忠诚”与“敬爱”所构成的意识，是他五年前亲自植入的，控制着普利吉情感中每一道小小的波纹。在这个表层之下，还深深埋藏着一个原本的自我……个性顽固、目无法纪、理想主义。不过即使是骡自己，现在也几乎觉察不到了。
The door behind him opened, and he turned. The transparency of the wall faded to opacity, and the purple evening light gave way to the whitely blazing glow of atomic power.?
身后的门打开了，于是他转过身来。原本透光的墙壁立时变成不透明，紫色的暮光随即消失，由室内核灯泡的白炽光芒所取代。
Han Pritcher took the seat indicated. There was neither bowing, nor kneeling nor the use of honorifics in private audiences with the Mule. The Mule was merely "First Citizen." He was addressed as "sir." You sat in his presence, and you could turn your back on him if it so happened that you did.
汉·普利吉在指定的座位坐下。由于这是私下召见，他并未对骡鞠躬或下跪，也没有使用任何敬称。骡仅仅是“第一公民”，只需要称呼他“阁下”即可。任何人在他面前都可以坐下来，即使背对着他也无妨，只要你有这个胆量。
To Han Pritcher this was all evidence of the sure and confident power of the man. He was warmly satisfied with it.
在汉·普利吉看来，这些都是骡对自身力量充满自信的明证，他对这点由衷地感到满意。
The Mule said: "Your final report reached me yesterday. I can't deny that I find it somewhat depressing, Pritcher."
骡开口道：“我昨天收到了你的报告。普利吉，我不否认它令我有些失望。”
The general's eyebrows closed upon each other: "Yes, I imagine so……but I don't see to what other conclusions I could have come. There just isn't any Second Foundation, sir."
将军的一对眉毛凑到了一块。“是的，我也想到了……但我实在无法得到别的结论。阁下，第二基地真的不存在。”
Arid the Mule considered and then slowly shook his head, as he had done many a time before: "There's the evidence of Ebling Mis. There is always the evidence of Ebling Mis."
骡沉思了一会儿，然后缓缓摇了摇头，这是他的习惯性动作。“可是艾布林·米斯发现过证据，我们不能忘记艾布林·米斯的证据。”
It was not a new story. Pritcher said without qualification: "Mis may have been the greatest psychologist of the Foundation, but he was a baby compared to Hari Seldon. At the time he was investigating Seldon's works, he was under the artificial stimulation of your own brain control. You may have pushed him too far. He might have been wrong. Sir, he must have been wrong."
这是个老掉牙的故事了。普利吉毫不修饰，单刀直入地说：“米斯或许是基地最伟大的心理学家，可是和哈里·谢顿相比，他只算一个婴儿。他当初研究谢顿计划，是在您的精神控制和刺激下进行的。也许您逼得他太紧，而他可能作出了错误的结论。阁下，他一定是弄错了。”
The Mule sighed, his lugubrious face thrust forward on its thin stalk of a neck. "If only he had lived another minute. He was on the point of telling me where the Second Foundation was. He knew, I'm telling you. I need not have retreated. I need not have waited and waited. So much time lost. Five years gone for nothing."
骡叹了一口气，细瘦的脖子上伸出一张哀伤的脸庞。“假使他能多活一分钟就好了，他当时正要说出第二基地的下落。我告诉你，他真的知道。我根本不必隐遁，根本不必一等再等。如今浪费了那么多时间，五年就这么白白溜走了。”
Pritcher could not have been censorious over the weak longing of his ruler; his controlled mental make-up forbade that. He was disturbed instead; vaguely uneasy. He said: "But what alternative explanation can there possibly be, sir? Five times I've gone out. You yourself have plotted the routes. And I've left no asteroid unturned. It was three hundred years ago that Hari Seldon of the old Empire supposedly established two Foundations to act as nuclei of a new Empire to replace the dying old one. One hundred years after Seldon, the First Foundation……the one we know so well……was known through all the Periphery. One hundred fifty years after Seldon……at the time of the last battle with the old Empire……it was known throughout the Galaxy. And now it's three hundred years……and where should this mysterious Second be? In no eddy of the Galactic stream has it been heard of."
对于主子如此软弱的渴盼，普利吉无法产生任何反感，受控的心灵不允许他这么想。反之，他感到有些忧虑不安，因此他说：“阁下，可是除此之外，还能有什么其他的解释呢？我进行了五次探索，每次都是由您亲自选定路线，我保证把每颗小行星都翻遍了。那是三百年前的事……据说旧帝国的哈里·谢顿建立了两个基地，作为新帝国的核心，以取代那个垂死的帝国。谢顿死后一百年，第一基地……我们都极为熟悉的那个基地……已经在银河外缘变得家喻户晓。谢顿死后一百五十年……基地和旧帝国进行最后一战的时候……它的名声就传遍了整个银河系。如今已过了三百年，谜一般的第二基地究竟在哪里？它在银河中没有制造过一个小漩涡。”
"Ebling Mis said it kept itself secret. Only secrecy can turn its weakness to strength."
“艾布林·米斯说它隐藏得很好。唯有如此，它才能够掩饰弱点，发挥敌明我暗的力量。”
"Secrecy as deep as this is past possibility without nonexistence as well."
“除非它不存在，否则不可能隐藏得那么彻底。”
The Mule looked up, large eyes sharp and wary. "No. It does exist." A bony finger pointed sharply. "There is going to be a slight change in tactics."
骡抬起头来，一双大眼睛射出锐利而机警的目光。“不对，它的确存在。”一根瘦骨嶙峋的手指猛然指向对方，“我们的战略需要作一点点改变。”
Pritcher frowned. "You plan to leave yourself? I would scarcely advise it."
普利吉皱起眉头。“您计划亲自出马？我可不敢苟同。”
"No, of course not. You will have to go out once again……one last time. But with another in joint command."
“不，当然不是。你必须再去一次……最后一次。但这次要和另一个人联合指挥。”
There was a silence, and Pritcher's voice was hard, "Who, Sir?"
一阵沉默之后，普利吉以生硬的声音问：“阁下，是谁？”
"There's a young man here in Kalgan. Bail Channis."
“卡尔根本地的一个年轻人，拜尔·程尼斯。”
"I've never heard of him, Sir."
“阁下，我从来没听过这个人。”
"No, I imagine not. But he's got an agile mind, he's ambitious……and he's not Converted."
“没错，我也这样想。不过他的心思灵敏，野心也不小……而且他还未曾‘回转’。”
Pritcher's long jaw trembled for a bare instant, "I fail to see the advantage in that."
普利吉的长下巴抽动了一下。“我看不出这样做有什么好处。”
"There is one, Pritcher. You're a resourceful and experienced man. You have given me good service. But you are Converted. Your motivation is simply an enforced and helpless loyalty to myself. When you lost your native motivations, you lost something, some subtle drive, that I cannot possibly replace."
“普利吉，有好处的。虽然你机智过人，经验丰富，并且对我忠心耿耿，不过你是一名‘回转者’。你对我的忠诚是强制性的，自己根本做不了主。你在丧失原有情感的同时，还丧失了一点东西，一种微妙的自我驱策，而这是我无法弥补的。”
"I don't feel that, Sir," said Pritcher grimly. "I recall myself quite well as I was in the days when I was an enemy of yours. I feel none the inferior."
“阁下，我并没有这种感觉。”普利吉绷着脸说，“我仍然清清楚楚记得与您为敌的那段日子。我认为自己绝不比当年差。”
"Naturally not," and the Mule抯 mouth twitched into a smile. "Your judgment in this matter is scarcely objective. This Channis, now, is ambitious……for himself. He is completely trustworthy……out of no loyalty but to himself. He knows that it is on my coattails that he rides and he would do anything to increase my power that the ride might be long and far and that the destination might be glorious. If he goes with you, there is just that added push behind his seeking……that push for himself.'
“当然不差。”骡的嘴角撇出一个微笑，“对于这个问题，你的判断很难客观。那个程尼斯，嗯，他野心勃勃……却是为自己着想。他百分之百可靠……因为他只忠于自己。他明白唯有依附我，自己才能步步高升，因此他会不择手段地助长我的权势，以便他的依附可长可久，而且登峰造极。他如果跟你一块去，会比你多带着一股进取心……出于自私的进取心。”
"Then," said Pritcher. still insistent, "why not remove my own Conversion, if you think that will improve me. I can scarcely be mistrusted, now."
“那么，”普利吉仍然坚决反对，“既然您认为‘回转’会造成障碍，何不解除我的‘回转’。现在，您绝对可以信得过我。”
"That never, Pritcher. While you are within arm's reach, or blaster reach, of myself, you will remain firmly held in Conversion. If I were to release you this minute, I would be dead the next."
“普利吉，万万不可。当你在我面前，或者说，在武器射程内，你必须牢牢维持‘回转’的状态。倘若我解除对你的控制，下一分钟我就是个死人。”
The general's nostrils flared. "I am hurt that you should think so."
将军的鼻孔翕张。“您这么想令我很难过。”
"I don't mean to hurt you, but it is impossible for you to realize what your feelings would be if free to form themselves along the lines of your natural motivation. The human mind resents control. The ordinary human hypnotist cannot hypnotize a person against his will for that reason. I can, because I'm not a hypnotist, and, believe me, Pritcher, the resentment that you cannot show and do not even know you possess is something I wouldn't want to face."
“我并没有想伤害你。但是，假使你的情感能够循着自然的动机自由发展，你无法想象会造成什么状况。人人都痛恨受到控制，正是因为如此，普通催眠师绝对无法将非志愿者催眠。而我却做得到，因为我并不是催眠师。相信我，普利吉，你无法显露……甚至无从察觉的恨意……是我无论如何不愿面对的。”
Pritcher's head bowed. Futility wrenched him and left him gray and haggard inside. He said with an effort, "But how can you trust this man. I mean, completely……as you can trust me in my Conversion."
普利吉低下头。莫名的无力感扑天盖地而来，令他内心感到沉重而灰暗。他勉强开口道：“可是您又如何能相信那个人？我的意思是，完全信任他，就好像信任我这个‘回转者’。”
"Well, I suppose I can't entirely. That is why you must go with him. You see, Pritcher," and the Mule buried himself in the large armchair against the soft back of which he looked like an angularly animated toothpick, "if he should stumble on the Second Foundation……if it should occur to him that an arrangement with them might be more profitable than with me……You understand?"
“嗯，我想我不能完全信任他。这就是你必须跟他同行的原因。普利吉，想想看，”骡将自己埋在高大的扶手椅中，上身靠着柔软的椅背，看来好像一根会动的牙签，“假如真的让他找到第二基地……万一他竟然想到，和他们打交道也许更有利可图……你了解了吗？”
A profoundly satisfied light blazed in Pritcher's eyes. "That is better, Sir."
普利吉的双眼流露出极度满意的光彩。“阁下，这样好多了。”
"Exactly. But remember, he must have a free rein as far as possible."
“这就对了。不过你要记住，必须尽量给他行动自由。”
"Certainly."
“那当然。”
"And ... uh ... Pritcher. The young man is handsome, pleasant and extremely charming. Don't let him fool you. He's a dangerous and unscrupulous character. Don't get in his way unless you're prepared to meet him properly. That's all."
“普利吉……嗯……此外，那个年轻人外表英俊，性情随和，非常讨人喜欢。你可别让他唬住了。他其实是个既危险又无情的角色。除非已有万全准备，你不要随便和他作对。我说完了。”
The Mule was alone again. He let the lights die and the wall before him kicked to transparency again. The sky was purple now, and the city was a smudge of light on the horizon.
于是骡又变得孤独一人。他关掉灯光，面前的墙壁便恢复透明。现在的天空是一片紫色，城市则成了地平线上的一团光点。
What was it all for? And if he were the master of all there was……what then? Would it really stop men like Pritcher. from being straight and tall, self-confident, strong? Would Bail Channis lose his looks? Would he himself be other than he was?
这一切有什么意义？他果真成为万物的主宰又如何？那就能使普利吉这种人不再高大强壮、充满自信吗？就能令拜尔·程尼斯变得丑陋不堪吗？又能让自己完全改头换面吗？
He cursed his doubts. What was he really after?
他诅咒着这些疑惑。可是，自己究竟在追求什么呢？
The cool, overhead warning light flickered. He could follow the progress of the man who had entered the palace and, almost against his will, he felt the soft wash of emotional content touch the fibers of his brain.
头上的警告灯突然轻轻闪起。他知道有人走进官邸，并能感知那人的行径。同时，虽然不太想那么做，他还是感觉到那人轻微的情感起伏敲击着自己的大脑。
He recognized the identity without an effort. It was Channis. Here the Mule saw no uniformity, but the primitive diversity of a strong mind, untouched and unmolded except by the manifold disorganizations of the Universe. It writhed in floods and waves. There was caution on the surface, a thin, smoothing effect, but with touches of cynical ribaldry in the hidden eddies of it. And underneath there was the strong flow of self-interest and self-love, with a gush of cruel humor here and there, and a deep, still pool of ambition underlying all.
他毫不费力就知晓了来者的身份，那是程尼斯。在程尼斯心中，骡察觉不出整齐划一的情绪，那里只有一个顽强心灵中的原始复杂性格，自幼受到宇宙间杂乱无章的万事万物影响，从来没有好好塑造过。他的心思如巨浪般汹涌澎湃，表层浮着谨慎小心的念头，不过那却十分薄弱，暗处的漩涡竟然还藏着刻薄下流的言语。更深的层次汹涌着自私自利的洪流，还有残酷的想法在四处迸溅。而最底下那一层，则是由野心构筑成的无底洞。
The Mule felt that he could reach out and dam the current, wrench the pool from its basin and turn it in another course, dry up one flow and begin another. But what of it? If he could bend Channis?curly head in the profoundest adoration, would that change his own grotesquerie that made him shun the day and love the night, that made him a recluse inside an empire that was unconditionally big?
骡觉得自己能够伸手阻住这些情绪，也能彻底令它转向，或是将它们抽干，然后引进新的奔流。但是这样做有什么用处？即使他能让程尼斯满头鬈发的脑袋充满由衷的崇敬，难道就能改变自己丑怪的外貌，而让自己不再诅咒白昼，不再热爱黑夜，不再隐遁于自己的帝国中一个幽暗的角落？
The door behind him opened, and he turned. The transparency of the wall faded to opacity, and the darkness gave way to the whitely blazing artifice of atomic power.
身后的门打开了，于是他转过身来。原本透光的墙壁立时变成不透明，紫色的暮光随即消失，由室内核灯泡的白炽光芒所取代。
Bail Channis sat down lightly and said: "This is a not-quite-unexpected honor, sir."
拜尔·程尼斯轻快地坐下来，开口道：“阁下，这份荣幸对我而言不算太意外。”
The Mule rubbed his proboscis with all four fingers at once and sounded a bit irritable in his response. "Why so, young man?"
骡伸出四根手指摸了摸自己的长鼻子，用不太高兴的语气反问：“年轻人，为什么？”
"A hunch, I suppose. Unless I want to admit that I've been listening to rumors."
“我想，是一种预感吧。否则我就得承认，我也听说过那些谣言。”
"Rumors? Which one of the several dozen varieties are you referring to?"
“谣言？谣言有数十个不同的版本，你指的是哪一个？”
"Those that say a renewal of the Galactic Offensive is being planned. It is a hope with me that such is true and that I might play an appropriate part."
“就是即将重新展开泛银河攻势的那个谣言。我倒希望这是真的，那么我也许就能扮演一个适当的角色。”
"Then you think there is a Second Foundation?"
“这么说，你也认为第二基地的确存在？”
"Why not? It would make things so much more interesting."
“有何不可？这就能让一切变得有趣多了。”
"And you find interest in it as well?"
“你还发现这是一件有趣的事？”
"Certainly. In the very mystery of it! What better subject could you find for conjecture? The newspaper supplements are full of nothing else lately……which is probably significant. The Cosmos had one of its feature writers compose a weirdie about a world consisting of beings of pure mind……the Second Foundation, you see……who had developed mental force to energies large enough to compete with any known to physical science. Spaceships could be blasted light-years away, planets could be turned out of their orbits……"
“当然，因为它神秘无比！想要训练自己的想象力，还有比这更好的题目吗？最近报纸的增刊中，全都是这方面的文章……这就耐人寻味。《宇宙报》的一位专栏作家，写了一篇古怪的文章，描述一个纯粹由心灵主宰的世界……您瞧，就是第二基地……那里的人发展出来的精神力量，足以和任何已知的物理科学匹敌。能在几光年外击毁敌方的星舰，还能把行星驱离原有的轨道……”
"Interesting. Yes. But do you have any notions on the subject? Do you subscribe to this mind-power notion?'
“没错，的确很有意思。不过对于这个问题，你自己有没有什么看法？你同意那种心灵力量的说法吗？”
"Galaxy, no! Do you think creatures like that would stay on their own planet? No, sir. I think the Second Foundation remains hidden because it is weaker than we think."
“银河在上，我可不信！您想想看，假如真有那种超人，他们怎么可能窝在自己的行星上？阁下，不可能的。我认为第二基地会隐藏起来，是因为它不如我们想象中那样强大。”
"In that case, I can explain myself very easily. How would you like to head an expedition to locate the Second Foundation?"
“这样的话，我就非常容易说明自己的想法。你愿不愿意率领一支探险队，前去寻找第二基地？”
For a moment Channis seemed caught up by the sudden rush of events at just a little greater speed than he was prepared for. His tongue had apparently skidded to a halt in a lengthening silence.
一时之间，这个突如其来的状况似乎令程尼斯有些不知所措，整个发展比他预料中的还要快一拍。他的舌头显然僵住了，久久说不出话来。
The Mule said dryly: "Well?"
骡冷冰冰地说：“怎么样？”
Channis corrugated his forehead. "Certainly. But where am I to go? Have you any information available?"
程尼斯的额头皱成了数折。“当然好。可是我要到哪里去找呢？您可有任何情报？”
"General Pritcher will be with you……"
“普利吉将军会跟你一起去……”
"Then I'm not to head it?"
“那么，就不是由我带队了？”
"Judge for yourself when I'm done. Listen, you're not of the Foundation. You're a native of Kalgan, aren't you? Yes. Well, then, your knowledge of the Seldon plan may be vague. When the first Galactic Empire was falling, Hari Seldon and a group of psychohistorians, analyzing the future course of history by mathematical tools no longer available in these degenerate times, set up two Foundations, one at each end of the Galaxy, in such a way that the economic and sociological forces that were slowly evolving, would make them serve as foci for the Second Empire. Hari Seldon planned on a thousand years to accomplish that……and it would have taken thirty thousand without the Foundations. But he couldn't count on me. I am a mutant and I am unpredictable by psychohistory which can only deal with the average reactions of numbers. Do you understand?"
“等我说完你再自行判断。听好，你并不是基地人，而是卡尔根土生土长的，对不对？好，那么，你对谢顿计划的了解可能很模糊。当第一银河帝国开始衰落时，哈里·谢顿和一群心理史学家，利用某些数学工具分析历史的未来发展……在如今这个退化的时代，那些数学早已失传……并且设立了两个基地，分别置于银河的两个端点。随着经济和社会背景的逐渐演化，这两个基地就会成为第二帝国的种子。哈里·谢顿预计以一千年的时间完成这个计划……倘若没有这两个基地，则需要三万年之久。然而，我却不在他的算计之中。我是一个突变种，而心理史学只能处理群众的平均反应，所以无法预测我的出现。你了解吗？”
"Perfectly, sir. But how does that involve me?'
“阁下，我完全了解。可是这些跟我又有什么关系呢？”
"You'll understand shortly. I intend to unite the Galaxy now……and reach Seldon's thousand-year goal in three hundred. One Foundation……the world of physical scientists……is still flourishing, under me. Under the prosperity and order of the union, the atomic weapons they have developed are capable of dealing with anything in the Galaxy……except perhaps the Second Foundation. So I must know more about it. General Pritcher is of the definite opinion that it does not exist at all. I know otherwise."
“你马上就会知道了。我打算现在就统一整个银河系……提前七百年完成谢顿的千年大计。在我的统治下，第一基地……那个物理科学家的世界……如今兴盛依旧。以‘联盟’的繁荣和安定作为后盾，他们发展的核武足以横扫银河……或许只有第二基地例外。所以，我必须对它多作些了解。普利吉将军坚决相信它并不存在，我却知道事实并非如此。”
Channis said delicately: "How do you know, sir?"
程尼斯以谨慎的口吻问道：“阁下，您又是如何知道的？”
And the Mule's words were suddenly liquid indignation: "Because minds under my control have been interfered with. Delicately! Subtly! But not so subtly that I couldn't notice. And these interferences are increasing, and hitting valuable men at important times. Do you wonder now that a certain discretion has kept me motionless these years?
骡的言词之中突然充满愤怒。“因为在我控制下的许多心灵，如今都受到外力干扰。做得很细微！很精妙！可是我仍旧察觉到了。这种干扰现象不断增加，常常在紧要关头发生在重要人物身上。因此这些年来，我必须小心谨慎，不敢轻举妄动，现在你知道原因了吗？
"That is your importance. General Pritcher is the best man left me, so he is no longer safe. Of course, he does not know that. But you are Unconverted and therefore not instantly detectable as a Mule's man. You may fool the Second Foundation longer than one of my own men would……perhaps just sufficiently longer. Do you understand?"
“这就是你得天独厚的优点。普利吉将军已是我最得力的手下，所以他的处境岌岌可危。当然，他自己并不知道这一点。然而，你不是一名‘回转者’，因此不易被发现你在为我效命。比起我的任何部下，你能将第二基地瞒骗得更久……也许刚好足够久。你了解吗？”
"Um-mmm. Yes. But pardon me, sir, if I question you. How are these men of yours disturbed, so that I might detect change in General Pritcher, in case any occurs. Are they Unconverted again? Do they become disloyal?"
“嗯……嗯，有道理。但是，阁下，请允许我问您一个问题。我想知道，您那些手下究竟是如何被干扰的。这样一来，若是普利吉将军发生什么变化，我也许就能察觉到。他们是否不再‘回转’了？是否对您不再忠诚？”
"No. I told you it was subtle. It's more disturbing than that, because its harder to detect and sometimes I have to wait before acting, uncertain whether a key man is being normally erratic or has been tampered with. Their loyalty is left intact, but initiative and ingenuity are rubbed out. I'm left with a perfectly normal person, apparently, but one completely useless. In the last year, six have been so treated. Six of my best." A corner of his mouth lifted. "They're in charge of training bases now……and my most earnest wishes go with them that no emergencies come up for them to decide upon."
“不，我说过干扰极为精妙，比你想象中还要麻烦。由于那种变化难以识破，有时我在采取行动之前，必须静观其变，因为不能确定某个重要人物身上的变化，究竟是干扰的结果，或者只是普通的反常现象。他们的忠诚并没有改变，可是进取心和智力却大打折扣。表面上一个个完全正常，其实全部成了废物。过去一年间，就有六个人发生这种变化，六个我最得力的手下。”他一边的嘴角微微上扬，“他们现在被派去管理训练中心……我衷心希望，不会发生任何需要他们决断的紧急状况。”
"Suppose, sir ... suppose it were not the Second Foundation. What if it were another, such as yourself……another mutant?"
“阁下，万一……万一不是第二基地干的。倘若是另外一个，像您自己这样的，另一个突变种？”
"The planning is too careful, too long range. A single man would be in a greater hurry. No, it is a world, and you are to be my weapon against it."
“对方的计划实在太谨慎，也太深谋远虑。倘若只有一个人，一定不会这么沉得住气。不，那是某个世界所采取的行动，而你将是我对付它的武器。”
Channis' eyes shone as he said: "I'm delighted at the chance."
程尼斯的眼睛亮了起来，他说：“我很高兴能有这个机会。”
But the Mule caught the sudden emotional upwelling. He said: "Yes, apparently it occurs to you, that you will perform a unique service, worthy of a unique reward……perhaps even that of being my successor. Quite so. But there are unique punishments, too, you know. My emotional gymnastics are not confined to the creation of loyalty alone."
骡却捕捉到了对方突然涌现的情感。“没错，你显然动了这个念头，想要立下一件盖世功劳，让你有资格得到最大的犒赏……或许甚至成为我的接班人。这不成问题。可是你要知道，你也可能受到最严厉的惩罚。我的情感控制能力，并非仅仅只能诱发忠诚之心。”
And the little smile on his thin lips was grim, as Channis leaped out of his seat in horror.
他的嘴角露出浅笑，看起来阴森可怖，程尼斯吓得从椅子上跳起来。
For just an instant, just one, flashing instant, Channis had felt the pang of an overwhelming grief close over him. It had slammed down with a physical pain that had blackened his mind unbearably, and then lifted. Now nothing was left but the strong wash of anger.
在那一瞬间，仅仅那么一刹那，程尼斯感到一股排山倒海而来的悲痛。它夹着肉体的痛楚猛扑而下，令他的心灵几乎无法承受。下一刻它便消失无踪，除了一股激烈的怒火，没有留下任何迹象。
The Mule said: "Anger won't help ... yes, you're covering it up now, aren't you? But I can see it. So just remember……that sort of business can be made more intense and kept up. I've killed men by emotional control, and there's no death crueler."
骡又开口说：“发怒是没有用的……对，现在你掩饰住了，对不对？但我还是看得出来。所以你要牢牢记住……刚才那种感觉，我能让它变得更强烈，更持久。我曾以情感控制的手法处决叛徒，再也没有更残酷的死法了。”
He paused: "That's all!"
他顿了顿之后说：“我说完了！”
The Mule was alone again. He let the lights die and the wall before him kicked to transparency again. The sky was black, and the rising body of the Galactic Lens was spreading its bespanglement across the velvet depths of space.
于是骡又变得孤独一人。他关掉灯光，面前的墙壁便恢复透明。天空已被黑暗笼罩，逐渐升起的“银河透镜”在天鹅绒般深邃的太空中闪闪发光。
All that haze of nebula was a mass of stars so numerous that they melted one into the other and left nothing but a cloud of light.
这团朦胧的星云是由无数恒星所组成的，由于数目实在太多，看起来像是融合在一起，变成一大团光耀的云朵。
And all to be his……"
所有的星辰，都将是他的……
And now but one last arrangement to make, and he could sleep.
如今只差临门一脚，他今晚可以休息了。
FIRST INTERLUDE
第一插曲
The Executive Council of the Second Foundation was in session. To us they are merely voices. Neither the exact scene of the meeting nor the identity of those present are essential at the point.
第二基地的“执行评议会”正在举行会议。对我们而言，他们只是许多不同的声音。会议的实际场景，以及与会者的身份，目前都还无关紧要。
Nor, strictly speaking, can we even consider an exact reproduction of any part of the session……unless we wish to sacrifice completely even the minimum comprehensibility we have a right to expect.
严格说来，我们甚至不能妄想重塑会议的任何一幕……除非，连我们所能期待的最低限度了解，我们都想完全牺牲。
We deal here with psychologists……and not merely psychologists. Let us say, rather, scientists with a psychological orientation. That is, men whose fundamental conception of scientific philosophy is pointed in an entirely different direction from all of the orientations we know. The "psychology" of scientists brought up among the axioms deduced from the observational habits of physical science has only the vaguest relationship to PSYCHOLOGY.
我们所叙述的人物都是心理学家……却并非普通的心理学家。其实我们应该说，他们是倾向于心理学研究的科学家。这句话的意思是，他们对于“科学哲学”的基本观念，与我们所知道的一切完全南辕北辙。由物理科学的实证传统所培养出来的科学家，他们心目中的“心理学”，与“第二基地心理学”仅有极模糊的关系。
Which is about as far as I can go in explaining color to a blind man……with myself as blind as the audience.
这就像是设法向盲人解释色彩的概念……更何况，笔者与读者同样算是盲人。
The point being made is that the minds assembled understood thoroughly the workings of each other, not only by general theory but by the specific application over a long period of these theories to particular individuals. Speech as known to us was unnecessary. A fragment of a sentence amounted almost to long-winded redundancy. A gesture, a grunt, the curve of a facial line……even a significantly timed pause yielded informational juice.
应该先说明的是，参与集会的所有心灵，对于彼此的工作都彻底了解……不只是一般的理论，还包括这些理论长时间应用于特殊个体的效果。我们所熟悉的语言在此毫无用处。即使是只字片语，也等于是冗长的废话。一个手势、一个鼻息、一个简单的表情，甚至一个意味深长的停顿，都包含了丰富无比的讯息。
The liberty is taken, therefore, of freely translating a small portion of the conference into the extremely specific word-combinations necessary to minds oriented from childhood to a physical science philosophy, even at the risk of losing the more delicate nuances.
在作过如此的声明后，我们就可以将会议的某一小段，翻译成极端特殊的语言组合。这是为了迁就读者们自幼即受物理科学熏陶的心灵，即使有可能丧失微妙的神韵，也必须要冒这个险。
There was one "voice" predominant, and that belonged to the individual known simply as the First Speaker.
这个会议，由其中一个“声音”主导全场。这个“声音”属于某位与会人士，他的头衔是“第一发言者”。
He said: "It is apparently quite definite now as to what stopped the Mule in his first mad rush. I can't say that the matter reflects credit upon ... well, upon the organization of the situation. Apparently, he almost located us, by means of the artificially heightened brain-energy of what they call a 'psychologist' on the First Foundation. This psychologist was killed just before he could communicate his discovery to the Mule. The events leading to that killing were completely fortuitous for all calculations below Phase Three. Suppose you take over."
他说：“究竟是什么阻止了骡当初的疯狂攻势，如今已经相当明显而确定。我不敢说这个结果应该归功……嗯，归功于我们对情况的控制。他显然差一点就找到我们，因为他借助于一位第一基地的所谓‘心理学家’，并且以人为方式提高那人的脑能量。正当那位心理学家要将他的发现告知骡的时候，幸好及时被击毙了。‘第三阶段’之下的所有计算，皆证明导致他遇害的事件纯属偶然。下面请你继续说明。”
It was the Fifth Speaker who was indicated by an inflection of the voice. He said, in grim nuances: "It is certain that the situation was mishandled. We are, of course, highly vulnerable under mass attack, particularly an attack led by such a mental phenomenon as the Mule. Shortly after he first achieved Galactic eminence with the conquest of the First Foundation, half a year after to be exact, he was on Trantor. Within another half year he would have been here and the odds would have been stupendously against us……96.3 plus or minus 0.05% to be exact. We have spent considerable time analyzing the forces that stopped him. We know, of course, what was driving him on so in the first place. The internal ramifications of his physical deformity and mental uniqueness are obvious to all of us. However, it was only through penetration to Phase Three that we could determine……after the fact……tbe possibility of his anomalous action in the presence of another human being who had an honest affection for him.
于是“第五发言者”开始发言，他的声音非常特别。这位发言者以严厉的口气说：“那个情状的处理方式绝对是个错误。当然，面对强大的攻击，我们根本没有招架的余地，尤其是面对具有强大精神力量的异人‘骡’所主导的攻击。在他征服了第一基地，开始称霸银河不久，正确说来是半年后，他就已经到了川陀。在他抵达川陀后，半年内很可能就会找到这里来，而他的胜算极大……正确说来是96.3%，误差正负万分之五。我们花了许多时间来分析当初遏止他的那些力量。当然，我们知道他最初的动机究竟为何。他具有天下无双的精神异禀，肉体却是先天畸形，这种内在矛盾我们都看得很清楚。然而，唯有借由洞察‘第三阶段’，我们才能断定……虽然是后见之明……面对一个对他有真感情的人，他表现出反常行为的可能性。
"And since such an anomalous action would depend upon the presence of such another human being at the appropriate time, to that extent the whole affair was fortuitous. Our agents are certain that it was a girl that killed the Mule's psychologist……a girl for whom the Mule felt trust out of sentiment, and whom he, therefore, did not control mentally……simply because she liked him.
“既然他的反常行为取决于另外那人能否在适当时机出现，就这方面而言，整个事件只是一个偶然。我们的特工早已确定，凶手是一名普通女子。由于感情作祟，骡对那名女子过于信赖，因此没有控制她的心灵……只是因为她喜欢他。
"Since that event……and for those who want the details, a mathematical treatment of the subject has been drawn up for the Central Library……which warned us, we have held the Mule off by unorthodox methods with which we daily risk SeIdon's entire scheme of history. That is all."
“那个事件……对于想要了解详情的人，可以到‘中央图书馆’去查阅对整个事件所作的数学分析……它对我们是个警告，因为我们制止骡的方法，其实是极不正统的。所以说，我们天天面临着整个谢顿计划灰飞烟灭的危险。我的发言到此为止。”
The First Speaker paused an instant to allow the individuals assembled to absorb the full implications. He said: "The situation is then highly unstable. With Seldon's original scheme bent to the fracture point……and I must emphasize that we have blundered badly in this whole matter, in our horrible lack of foresight……we are faced with an irreversible breakdown of the Plan. Time is passing us by. I think there is only one solution left us……and even that is risky.
第一发言者等了一下，好让在座众人充分领会刚才那番话的含意。然后他说：“因此，目前的情况极不稳定。谢顿的原始计划已被扭曲，几乎到了断折点……我必须强调，在这个事件中，我们由于极度欠缺先见之明，因而铸成了大错……我们目前所面临的，是整个计划彻底瓦解，再也无法恢复。时间不会停下来等我们。我认为，我们只剩最后一条路……而这个办法仍有风险。
"We must allow the Mule to find us……in a sense."
“就某种意义而言，我们必须主动让骡找到我们。”
Another pause, in which he gathered the reactions, then: "I repeat……in a sense!"
他再等了一下，看了看众人的反应，又说：“我重复一次……就某种意义而言！”