21 The Answer That Satisfied
第21章 满意的答案(1)
Turbor laughed suddenly…… laughed in huge, windy gusts that bounced ringingly off the walls and died in gasps. He shook his head, weakly, and said, "Great Galaxy, this goes on all night. One after another, we put up our straw men to be knocked down. We have fun, but we don't get anywhere. Space! Maybe all planets are the Second Foundation. Maybe they have no planet, just key men spread on all the planets. And what does it matter, since Darell says we have the perfect defense?"
屠博突然哈哈大笑……笑声好像一阵呼啸的巨风，在墙壁上来回反弹，许久之后才消失在喘息声中。他有气无力地摇摇头，才说：“银河啊，整个晚上不断发生这种事。我们列出一个接一个的假想敌，我们玩得很开心，却没有任何具体结论。太空啊！也许每颗行星都是第二基地。也许他们根本没有任何据点，重要人物都散布在不同的行星上。这又有什么关系呢？反正达瑞尔说，我们已经有完美的防御武器。”
Darell smiled without humor. "The perfect defense is not enough, Turbor. Even my Mental Static device is only something that keeps us in the same place. We cannot remain forever with our fists doubled, frantically staring in all directions for the unknown enemy. We must know not only how to win, but whom to defeat. And there is a specific world on which the enemy exists."
达瑞尔皮笑肉不笑。“屠博，光有完美的防御武器还不够。我的‘精神杂讯器’离完美还差得远，而且即使它真的完美无缺，也只能让我们待在一个地方。我们总不能永远磨拳擦掌，虎视眈眈地防范着未知的敌人。我们不仅要知道该如何打胜仗，还得知道该打败什么人。而我可以肯定，敌人的确盘踞在某个世界上。”
"Get to the point," said Anthor, wearily. "What's your information?"
“赶紧直说吧。”安索催促道，“你究竟有什么情报？”
"Arcadia," said Darell, "sent me a message, and until I got it, I never saw the obvious. I probably would never have seen the obvious. Yet it was a simple message that went: 'A circle has no end.?Do you see?"
“艾嘉蒂娅送了一个口信给我。”达瑞尔说：“在我收到口信前，从未注意到那个明显的事实。而且，我可能永远不会注意到。那只不过是简单的一句话：‘圆没有端点’。你们听得懂吗？”
"No," said Anthor, stubbornly, and he spoke, quite obviously, for the others.
“不懂。”安索以倔强的语气答道，而这显然代表大家的意见。
"A circle has no end," repeated Munn, thoughtfully, and his forehead furrowed.
“圆没有端点。”孟恩若有所思地重复了一遍，同时皱起了眉头。
"Well," said Darell, impatiently, "it was clear to me?What is the one absolute fact we know about the Second Foundation, eh……I'll tell you! We know that Hari Seldon located it at the opposite end of the Galaxy. Homir Munn theorized that Seldon lied about the existence of the Foundation. Pelleas Anthor theorized that Seldon had told the truth that far, but lied about the location of the Foundation. But I tell you that Hari Seldon lied in no particular; that he told the absolute truth.
“好啦，”达瑞尔不耐烦地说，“我认为意思相当明显……对于第二基地，我们掌握的一项绝对的事实是什么，啊？让我告诉你们！我们知道哈里·谢顿将它设在银河的另一端。侯密尔·孟恩提出一个理论，认为谢顿其实是在唬人。裴礼斯·安索提出另一个理论，认为谢顿的话半真半假，第二基地的确存在，但是谢顿故意谎报它的位置。可是我要告诉各位，哈里·谢顿其实完全没有说谎，他说的都是千真万确的事实。
"But, what is the other end……The Galaxy is a flat, lens-shaped object. A cross section along the flatness of it is a circle, and a circle had no end…… as Arcadia realized. We…… we, the First Foundation…… are located on Terminus at the rim of that circle. We are at an end of the Galaxy, by definition. Now follow the rim of that circle and find the other end. Follow it, follow it, follow it, and you will find no other end. You will merely come back to your starting point?
“可是，哪里又是‘另一端’呢？银河系是一个扁平、凸透镜状的天体。它的横截面是一个圆，而圆形是没有端点的……这就是艾嘉蒂娅悟出的道理。我们……我们第一基地……位于端点星，而端点星在这个圆的边缘。所以根据定义，我们处于银河的端点。现在，你沿着这个圆周一直走，去寻找所谓的‘另一端’。你一直走，一直走，一直走，结果根本找不到‘另一端’。你只会回到原来的起点……
"And there you will find the Second Foundation."
“而在‘那里’，你将会找到第二基地。”
"There?" repeated Anthor. "Do you mean here?"
“那里？”安索重复了一遍，“你是指这里？”
"Yes, I mean here!" cried Darell, energetically. "Why, where else could it possibly be……You said yourself that if the Second Foundationers were the guardians of the Seldon Plan, it was unlikely that they could be located at the so-called other end of the Galaxy, where they would be as isolated as they could conceivably be. You thought that fifty parsecs distance was more sensible. I tell you that that is also too far. That no distance at all is more sensible. And where would they be safest……Who would look for them here……Oh, it's the old principle of the most obvious place being the least suspicious.
“是的，我是指这里！”达瑞尔中气十足地吼道，“除此之外，还会有其他可能吗？你自己说的，第二基地分子若是谢顿计划的守护者，他们就不太可能位在所谓的‘银河另一端’，否则，他们想必会完全与世隔绝。你认为卡尔根距离较为合理，我告诉你，那里还是太远了。最合理的距离，是根本没有任何距离。而他们藏在哪里最安全呢？谁又会在这里寻找他们呢？最明显的地方就是最隐密的地方，这是亘古不变的真理。
"Why was poor Ebling Mis so surprised and unmanned by his discovery of the location of the Second Foundation……There he was, looking for it desperately in order to warn it of the coming of the Mule, only to find that the Mule had already captured both Foundations at a stroke. And why did the Mule himself fail. in his search……Why not……If one is searching for an unconquerable menace, one would scarcely look among the enemies already conquered. So the Mind-masters, in their own leisurely time, could lay their plans to stop the Mule, and succeeded in stopping him.
“当可怜的艾布林·米斯发现了第二基地下落时，他为何那么惊讶、那么气馁？他飞过大半个银河，拼了命也要找到第二基地，以便警告他们骡快打来了，竟然发现骡已经一举攻下两个基地。而骡自己的寻找为何又会失败呢？怎么可能不会？你如果要去搜索一个危险的敌人，该不会在自己的俘虏堆里找吧。因此，那些心灵科学大师才能争取到充裕的时间，布置好天衣无缝的计划，最后终于成功遏止了骡。
"Oh, it is maddeningly simple. For here we are with our plots and our schemes, thinking that we are keeping our secrecy…… when all the time we are in the very heart and core of our enemy's stronghold. It's humorous."
“喔，这实在简单得令人生气。我们在这里绞尽脑汁计划一切，以为我们神不知鬼不觉……没想到我们始终待在敌人根据地的正中心。这实在太滑稽了。”
Anthor did not remove the skepticism from his face, "You honestly believe this theory, Dr. Darell?"
安索脸上的疑惑仍旧没有消失。“达瑞尔博士，你真心相信这个理论吗？”
"I honestly believe it."
“我真心相信。”
"Then any of our neighbors, any man we pass in the street might be a Second Foundation superman, with his mind watching yours and feeling the pulse of its thoughts."
“那么我们的左邻右舍，我们在街上遇到的任何人，都有可能是第二基地的超人。他们或许正在窥视你的心灵，正在感知其中的脉动。”
"Exactly."
“正是如此。”
"And we have been permitted to proceed all this time, without molestation?"
“而我们的计划竟然还能进行那么久，至今未受干涉？”
"Without molestation……Who told you we were not molested……You, yourself, showed that Munn has been tampered with. What makes you think that we sent him to Kalgan in the first place entirely of our own volition…… or that Arcadia overheard us and followed him on her own volition……Hah! We have been molested without pause, probably. And after all, why should they do more than they have……It is far more to their benefit to mislead us, than merely to stop us."
“未受干涉？谁告诉你说我们没有受到干涉？你，你自己，证明了孟恩的心灵遭到干扰。你以为当初我们派他去卡尔根，是完全出于我们的自由意志吗？而艾嘉蒂娅窃听到我们的谈话，因此跟他一起去了，又是出于她的自由意志吗？哈！我们也许不断受到干涉呢。总之，他们何必作出过度的反应呢？对他们而言，误导我们远比阻止我们有利得多。”
Anthor buried himself in meditation and emerged therefrom with a dissatisfied expression. "Well, then, I don't like it. Your Mental Static isn't worth a thought. We can't stay in the house forever and as soon as we leave, we're lost, with what we now think we know. Unless you can build a little machine for every inhabitant in the Galaxy."
安索低头沉思了一阵子，然后，带着一副不以为然的表情抬起头来。“好吧，但我还是不喜欢这个理论。你的‘精神杂讯’根本不值一哂。我们不能永远躲在房间里，可是根据我们现在的认知，一旦走出房门，我们就等于输掉了。除非你能将这个装置缩小，发给全银河的居民一人一个。”
"Yes, but we're not quite helpless, Anthor. These men of the Second Foundation have a special sense which we lack. It is their strength and also their weakness. For instance, is there any weapon of attack that will be effective against a normal, sighted man which is useless against a blind man?"
“没错，安索，但我们并非全然无可奈何。那些第二基地分子拥有我们欠缺的特殊感官。这是他们的长处，也正是他们的弱点。比如说，你能不能想象一种武器，对普通的明眼人具有杀伤力，却对盲人毫无作用？”
"Sure," said Munn, promptly. "A light in the eyes."
“当然可以。”孟恩抢着答道，“刺眼的光线。”
"Exactly," said Darell. "A good, strong blinding light."
“完全正确。”达瑞尔说，“高强度、足以使人失明的光线。”
"Well, what of it?" asked Turbor.
“可是，这又是什么意思？”屠博问道。
"But the analogy is clear. I have a Mind Static device. It sets up an artificial electromagnetic pattern, which to the mind of a man of the Second Foundation would be like a beam of light to us. But the Mind Static device is kaleidoscopic. It shifts quickly and continuously, faster than the receiving mind can follow. All right then, consider it a flickering light; the kind that would give you a headache, if continued long enough. Now intensify that light or that electromagnetic field until it is blinding…… and it will become a pain, an unendurable pain. But only to those with the proper sense; not to the unsensed."
“这个类比相当明显。我已经制成了‘精神杂讯器’，它可以发射一种人造的电磁波，而这种电磁波对第二基地分子的影响，正如普通光束对我们所造成的效应。不过‘精神杂讯器’很像万花筒，它不断迅速变换着型样，绝不是任何心灵跟得上的。好，现在请想象一束强烈的闪光，看久了会令人头痛的那种光束。若将这种光束增强，直到足以令人目盲……就会带来肉体上的痛楚，一种无法忍受的痛楚。但是它只对具有视觉的人才会造成伤害，对于盲人根本没有作用。”
"Really?" said Anthor, with the beginnings of enthusiasm. "Have you tried this?"
“真的吗？”安索开始感兴趣了，“你试验过吗？”
"On whom……Of course, I haven't tried it. But it will work."
“用谁来试验呢？我当然还没有试过，但是它一定有效。”
"Well, where do you have the controls for the Field that surrounds the house……Id like to see this thing."
“喔，那么控制此地杂讯场的开关在哪里？我想看看那玩意。”
"Here." Darell reached into his jacket pocket. It was a small thing, scarcely bulging his pocket. He tossed the black, knob-studded cylinder to the other.
“在这里。”达瑞尔将手伸进外衣口袋，掏出一个通体黑色、附有一些键钮的圆柱体。那个装置很小，放在口袋里几乎看不出来。达瑞尔掏出来之后，便顺手丢给安索。
Anthor inspected it carefully and shrugged his shoulders. "It doesn't make me any smarter to look at it. Look Darell, what mustn't I touch……I don't want to turn off the house defense by accident, you know."
安索仔细地检视着，然后耸了耸肩。“光是这样看，根本看不出什么苗头。喂，达瑞尔，哪里是我不能碰的？你也知道，我可不想无意中关掉这栋房子的保护伞。”
"You won't," said Darell, indifferently. "That control is locked in place." He flicked at a toggle switch that didn't move.
“不会的，”达瑞尔随口答道，“控制开关已经锁住了。”他朝一个捺跳开关轻弹了一下，果然一动也不动。
"And what's this knob?"
“这个旋钮又是做什么的？”
"That one varies rate of shift of pattern. Here…… this one varies the intensity. It's that which I've been referring to."
“那是用来改变型样的变换速率。这个……这是改变强度的，我刚才提到过。”
"May I……asked Anthor, with his finger on the intensity knob. The others were crowding close.
“我可以……”安索问道，手指已经按在强度旋钮上。其他三个人也凑了过来。
"Why not?" shrugged DarelI. "It won't affect us."
“有何不可？”达瑞尔耸耸肩，“反正对我们没有作用。”
Slowly, almost wincingly, Anthor turned the knob, first in one direction, then in another. Turbor was gritting his teeth, while Munn blinked his eyes rapidly. It was as though they were keening their inadequate sensory equipment to locate this impulse which could not affect them.
安索慢慢地、几乎畏畏缩缩地开始转动旋钮，先朝一个方向转，然后再转回来。屠博紧张得咬紧牙根，孟恩则是两眼迅速眨个不停。仿佛他们都想将自己的感官发挥到极限，试图感受那个不会影响他们的电磁脉冲。
Finally, Anthor shrugged and tossed the control box back into Darell's lap. "Well, I suppose we can take your word for it. But it's certainly hard to imagine that anything was happening when I turned the knob."
最后，安索又耸了耸肩，将那个控制器丢回达瑞尔的膝盖上。“嗯，我想我们可以相信你的话。可是实在难以想象，当我转动旋钮的时候，真有什么事情发生。”
"But naturally, Pelleas Anthor," said Darell, with a tight smile. "The one I gave you was a dummy. You see I have another." He tossed his jacket aside and seized a duplicate of the control box that Anthor had been investigating, which swung from his belt.
“自然是不会的，裴礼斯·安索。”达瑞尔露出一个僵硬的笑容，“我给你的那个是假的。你看我这里还有一个。”他脱掉外衣，解下挂在腰际的另一个一模一样的控制器。
"You see," said Darell, and in one gesture turned the intensity knob to maximum.
“你看。”达瑞尔一面说，一面把强度旋钮转到底。
And with an unearthly shriek, Pelleas Anthor sank to the floor. He rolled in his agony; whitened, gripping fingers clutching and tearing futilely at his hair.
伴着一声可怕至极的惨叫，裴礼斯·安索倒在地板上。他痛苦万分，拼命打滚，脸色一片死灰，十指猛力抓扯自己的头发。
Munn lifted his feet hastily to prevent contact with the squirming body, and his eyes were twin depths of horror. Semic and Turbor were a pair of plaster casts; stiff and white.
孟恩两只眼睛充满恐惧，他赶紧抬起双脚，以免碰到这个扭动不已的躯体。瑟米克与屠博则成了一对石膏像，脸色苍白，全身僵硬。
Darell, somber, turned the knob back once more. And Anthor twitched feebly once or twice and lay still. He was alive, his breath racking his body.
达瑞尔带着凝重的表情，将旋钮转回原来的位置。安索微微抽动了一两下，就静静地躺在那里。他显然还活着，急促的呼吸带动着身体剧烈起伏。
"Lift him on to the couch," said Darell, grasping the young man's head. "Help me here."
“把他抬到沙发上去。”达瑞尔说完，就伸手去抱他的头。“帮我一下。”
Turbor reached for the feet. They might have been lifting a sack of flour. Then, after long minutes, the breathing grew quieter, and Anthor's eyelids fluttered and lifted. His face was a horrid yellow; his hair and body was soaked in perspiration, and his voice, when he spoke, was cracked and unrecognizable.
屠博赶忙去抬安索的脚。两人好像抬一袋面粉那样，把他抬到沙发上去。过了好几分钟，安索的呼吸逐渐缓和，眼皮跳动一阵子后终于张开。他的脸色变得蜡黄，头发和身体全被汗水湿透，而当他开口的时候，声音沙哑得令人听不懂他在说什么。
"Don't," he muttered, "don't! Don't do that again! You don't know?You don't know?Oh-hhh." It was a long, trembling moan.
“不要，”他喃喃道，“不要！不要再开了！你们不知道……你们不知道……喔……喔。”最后是长长一声发颤的哀号。
"We won't do it again," said Darell, "if you will tell us the truth. You are a member of the Second Foundation?"
“只要你说实话，”达瑞尔道，“我们不会再让你吃苦头。你是第二基地的成员吗？”
"Let me have some water," pleaded Anthor.
“给我喝点水。”安索哀求道。
"Get some, Turbor," said Darell, "and bring the whiskey bottle."
“屠博，拿点水来。”达瑞尔说，“顺便把那瓶威士忌带来。”
He repeated the question after pouring a jigger of whiskey and two glasses of water into Anthor. Something seemed to relax in the young man……"
达瑞尔灌了安索一小杯威士忌，再喂他喝了两大杯水，然后重复了一遍刚才的问题。年轻人似乎放松了一点……
"Yes," he said, wearily. "I am a member of the Second Foundation."
“是的，”他疲惫不堪地说，“我是第二基地的一员。”
"Which," continued Darell, "is located on Terminus…… here?"
达瑞尔继续问道：“它就在端点星上……在这里？”
"Yes, yes. You are right in every particular, Dr. Darell."
“是的，是的。达瑞尔博士，全都给你猜对了。”
"Good! Now explain what's been happening this past half year. Tell us!"
“很好！现在解释一下过去一年发生的事。告诉我们！”
"I would like to sleep," whispered Anthor.
“我想睡觉。”安索细声地说。
"Later! Speak now!"
“等一下再睡！先把话说完！”
A tremulous sigh. Then words, low and hurried. The others bent over him to catch the sound, "The situation was growing dangerous. We knew that Terminus and its physical scientists were becoming interested in brain-wave patterns and that the times were ripe for the development of something like the Mind Static device. And there was growing enmity toward the Second Foundation. We had to stop it without ruining SeIdon's Plan.
安索先发出颤抖的叹息，然后才开始说话。他说得又快，声音又小，众人必须俯下身来才听得清楚。“情势越来越危险。我们知道端点星的科学家，开始对脑波分析产生兴趣，而且发展‘精神杂讯器’这类装置的时机也成熟了。此外，你们对第二基地的敌意越来越浓。我们必须阻止，却又不能波及谢顿计划。
"We……we tried to control the movement. We tried to join it. It would turn suspicion and efforts away from us. We saw to it that Kalgan declared war as a further distraction. That's why I sent Munn to Kalgan. Stettin's supposed mistress was one of us. She saw to it that Munn made the proper moves……"
“我们……我们试图控制这个行动，试图加入这个行动。这样就能转移对我们的疑心和注意力。我们策动卡尔根宣战，则是为了进一步转移你们的力量。这就是我让孟恩去卡尔根的原因。那个史铁亭的所谓宠姬，也是我们的一分子。她负责导演孟恩的每一步行动……”
"Callia is……cried Munn, but Darell waved him silent.
“嘉莉竟是……”孟恩大叫一声，达瑞尔却挥手要他安静。
Anthor continued, unaware of any interruption, "Arcadia followed. We hadn't counted on that…… can't foresee everything…… so Callia maneuvered her to Trantor to prevent interference. That's all. Except that we lost."
安索并未注意到有人插嘴，他继续说：“结果艾嘉蒂娅也跟去了。我们没有算到这一步……不可能预见每一件事……所以嘉莉设法把她送到川陀，以免她的介入误了大事。这就是整个的计划，只不过我们还是失败了。”
"You tried to get me to go to Trantor, didn't you?" asked Darell.
“你也曾经想把我骗去川陀，对不对？”达瑞尔又问。
Anthor nodded, "Had to get you out of the way. The growing triumph in your mind was clear enough. You were solving the problems of the Mind Static device."
安索点点头。“必须把你支开。你心中逐渐升高的得意之情太明显了。我们知道你正在研发‘精神杂讯器’。”
"Why didn't you put me under control?"
“你们为何不控制我呢？”
"Couldn't……couldn't. Had my orders. We were working according to a Plan. If I improvised, I would have thrown everything off. Plan only predicts probabilities……you know that……like Seldon's Plan." He was talking in anguished pants, and almost incoherently. His head twisted from side to side in a restless fever. "We worked with individuals……not groups……very low probabilities involved……lost out. Besides……if control you……someone else invent device……no use……had to control times……more subtle……First Speaker's own plan……don't know all angles……except……didn't work a-aaa……He ran down.
“不能……不能。我有我的命令。我们依照计划行事。我若自作主张，会毁掉全盘的计划。我们的计划只能预测几率……你知道的……就像谢顿计划一样。”他一面说一面痛苦地喘息，几乎已经语无伦次。他的脑袋还剧烈地左右摇摆。“我们针对个人订定计划……不是群体……几率非常低……导致失败。此外……如果控制你……其他人也会发明……没有用……必须控制时机……更巧妙的……第一发言者自己的计划……不知道全盘的……除了……没有成功……啊……”他筋疲力尽了。
Darell shook him roughly, "You can't sleep yet. How many of you are there?"
达瑞尔使劲摇他。“你还不能睡，你们总共有多少人？”
"Huh……Whatjasay……oh……not many……be surprised fifty……don't need more."
“啊？你说啥……喔……不多……你会惊讶的……五十……足够了。”
"All here on Terminus?"
“都在端点星吗？”
"Five……six out in Space……like Callia……got to sleep."
“五……六个在别的世界……就像嘉莉……我要睡了。”
He stirred himself suddenly as though to one giant effort, and his expressions gained in clarity. It was a last attempt at self-justification, at moderating his defeat.
他突然甩了甩头，仿佛拼命力图振作，而且的确显得清醒不少。他想在挫败之后争回一点颜面，这是他所能做的最后一件事。
"Almost got you at the end. Would have turned off defenses and seized you. Would have seen who was master. But you gave me dummy controls……suspected me all along?
“已经几乎击败你了。原本可以关掉防御装置，把你抓起来。原本可以证明谁才是主宰。你却给了我一个假的控制器……从一开始就怀疑我……”
And finally he was asleep.
他终于睡着了。
Turbor said, in awed tones, "How long did you suspect him, Darell?"
屠博用余悸犹存的口吻问道：“达瑞尔，你怀疑他有多久了？”
"Ever since he first came here," was the quiet response. "He came from Kleise, he said. But I knew Kleise; and I knew on what terms we parted. He was a fanatic on the subject of the Second Foundation and I had deserted him. My own purposes were reasonable, since I thought it best and safest to pursue my own notions by myself. But I couldn't tell Kleise that; and he wouldn't have listened if I had. To him, I was a coward and a traitor, perhaps even an agent of the Second Foundation. He was an unforgiving man and from that time almost to the day of his death he had no dealings with me. Then, suddenly, in his last few weeks of life, he writes me…… as an old friend…… to greet his best and most promising pupil as a co-worker and begin again the old investigation.
“打从他刚出现。”他用平静的口吻说：“他说，他是从克莱斯那里来的。可是我很了解克莱斯，也了解我俩为何不欢而散。他对第二基地这个题目充满狂热，而我却曾经遗弃他。我那样做自有道理，因为我认为独自研究自己的理论，才是最好、最安全的做法。可是我无法向克莱斯解释这一点，即使我说了，他也听不进去。在他心目中，我是一名懦夫兼叛徒，甚至也许是第二基地的间谍。他是个爱记仇的人，从那时候起，直到他快去世了，都一直没有和我联络。然后，突然间，在他生命的最后一周，他竟然写信给我……以一个老朋友的身份……向我推荐他最优秀、最有前途的学生，要我们两人合作，继续昔日的探索。
"It was out of character. How could he possibly do such a thing without being under outside influence, and I began to wonder if the only purpose might not be to introduce into my confidence a real agent of the Second Foundation. Well, it was so……"
“这并不像他的作为。假如没有外力影响，他怎么可能有如此的举动？所以我开始怀疑，怀疑这件事唯一的目的，是要我接纳一名真正的第二基地间谍。嗯，事实证明果真如此……”
He sighed and closed his own eyes for a moment.
他叹了一口气，闭起眼睛好一阵子。
Semic put in hesitantly, "What will we do with all of them……these Second Foundation fellas?"
瑟米克迟疑地插嘴道：“那些第二基地的人……我们该拿他们怎么办？”
"I don't know," said Darell, sadly. "We could exile them, I suppose. There's Zoranel, for instance. They can be placed there and the planet saturated with Mind Static. The sexes can be separated, or, better still, they can be sterilized…… and in fifty years, the Second Foundation will be a thing of the past. Or perhaps a quiet death for all of them would be kinder."
“我也不知道。”达瑞尔以悲伤的口吻说，“我想，可以把他们集体放逐。比如说，佐拉尼星就很适合。把他们送到那里，并且在那颗行星上布满‘精神杂讯’。男女可以隔离开来，更好的办法是令他们绝育……五十年后，第二基地就会成为历史。除此之外，安乐死或许是更仁慈的办法。”
"Do you suppose," said Turbor, "we could learn the use of this sense of theirs. Or are they born with it, like the Mule."
“你认为我们学得会他们那种感应力吗？”屠博问道，“或是像骡一样，那是他们与生俱来的？”
"I don't know. I think it is developed through long training, since there are indications from encephalography that the potentialities of it are latent in the human mind. But what do you want that sense for……It hasn't helped them."
“我不知道。我想那是长期训练的结果，因为根据脑电图，人类的心灵普遍具有这类潜能。可是你要那种能力干什么？连他们自己都未能受惠。”
He frowned.
达瑞尔皱起眉头。
Though he said nothing, his thoughts were shouting.
虽然他不再开口，心中却在呐喊。
It had been too easy…… too easy. They had fallen, these invincibles, fallen like book-villains, and he didn't like it.
这一切都太容易了……太容易了。他们失败了，这些所向无敌的超人，像故事书中的坏蛋一样被一网打尽，他并不喜欢这个结局。
Galaxy! When can a man know he is not a puppet……How can a man know he is not a puppet?
银河啊！一个人要何时才能确知自己不是傀儡？又要如何才能确知自己不是傀儡？
Arcadia was coming home, and his thoughts shuddered away from that which he must face in the end.
艾嘉蒂娅马上就要回来了，自己终将面对那个难题，但是他强迫自己暂时忘掉这件事。
She was home for a week, then two, and he could not loose the tight check upon those thoughts. How could he……She had changed from child to young woman in her absence, by some strange alchemy. She was his link to life; his fink to a bittersweet marriage that scarcely outlasted his honeymoon.
她回来了，一个星期过去了，两个星期过去了，他始终无法忘怀那个念头。他怎么可能不想呢？不知是什么魔法作祟，她出门在外这段时间，已经从女孩变成了少女。她是他生命的延续，是那段苦乐参半、骤然结束的婚姻所留下的唯一纪念。
And then, late one evening, he said as casually as he could, "Arcadia, what made you decide that Terminus contained both Foundations?"
某一天晚上，他尽可能像是随口问道：“艾嘉蒂娅，你是怎样断定端点星上有两个基地的？”
They had been to the theater; in the best seats with private trimensional viewers for each; her dress was new for the occasion, and she was happy.
今晚在戏院中，他们坐在最好的座位，两人都有专用的三维视镜。她特别穿了一件新衣服，玩得开心极了。
She stared at him for a moment, then tossed it off. "Oh, I Don't know, Father. It just came to me."
她瞪着他好一会儿，然后干脆地答道：“喔，爸爸，我不知道。我就是想到了。”
A layer of ice thickened about Dr. Darell's heart.
达瑞尔博士的心头立刻蒙上一层冰霜。
"Think," he said, intensely. "This is important. What made you decide both Foundations were on Terminus."
“好好想一想。”他用急切的口吻说，“这点非常重要。你是怎样断定两个基地都在端点星上？”
She frowned slightly. "Well, there was Lady Callia. I knew she was a Second Foundationer. Anthor said so, too."
她微微皱起眉头。“嗯，我遇到了嘉莉贵妇。我知道她是第二基地的人，安索也是这么说的。”
"But she was on Kalgan," insisted Darell. "What made you decide on Terminus?"
“但是她在卡尔根，”达瑞尔追根究底，“你怎样断定就是端点星呢？”
And now Arcadia waited for several minutes before she answered. What had made her decide……What had made her decide?
回答这个问题之前，艾嘉蒂娅沉默了好几分钟。她是怎么断定的？是怎么断定的？
She had the horrible sensation of something slipping just beyond her grasp.
她心中升起一种可怕的感觉，感到无法完全掌握自己。
She said, "She knew about things…… Lady Callia did…… and must have had her information from Terminus. Doesn't that sound right, Father?
她答道：“她知道许多事……我是说嘉莉贵妇……她的情报一定是从端点星来的。爸爸，这样说难道不合理吗？”
But he just shook his head at her.
他却只是对她摇头。
"Father," she cried, "I knew. The more I thought, the surer I was. It just made sense."
“爸爸，”她喊道，“我就是知道。我越想就越肯定，这完全合情合理。”
There was that lost look in her father's eyes, "It's no good, Arcadia. Its no good. Intuition is suspicious when concerned with the Second Foundation. You see that, don't you……It might have been intuition…… and it might have been control!"
父亲眼中露出茫然的目光。“艾嘉蒂娅，很糟糕，实在很糟糕。凡是牵涉到第二基地，直觉都是一种可疑的征兆。你自己也了解吧？它可能只是单纯的直觉……却也可能是控制的结果！”
"Control! You mean they changed me……Oh, no. No, they couldn't." She was backing away from him. "But didn't Anthor say I was right……He admitted it. He admitted everything. And you've found the whole bunch right here on Trantor. Didn't you……Didn't you?" She was breathing quickly.
“控制！你是指他们令我改变了？喔，不。不，这绝对不可能。”她一面后退一面说，“安索不是说我的猜测正确吗？他已经承认了，承认了每一件事。而且你们也在端点星上，把那些人一网打尽了。对不对？对不对？”她的呼吸越来越急促。
"I know, but?Arcadia, will you let me make an encephalographic analysis of your brain?'
“我知道，不过……艾嘉蒂娅，你愿不愿意让我为你做一次脑电图分析？”
She shook her head violently, "No, no! I'm too scared."
她拼命摇头。“不，不！我害怕极了。”
"Of me, Arcadia……There's nothing to be afraid of. But we must know. You see that, don't you?"
“艾嘉蒂娅，你怕我吗？根本没有什么好怕的。可是我们一定要弄明白。你自己也了解吧？”
She interrupted him only once, after that. She clutched at his arm just before the last switch was thrown. "What if I am different, Father……What will you have to do?"
在整个过程中，她只打了一次岔。当他正要打开最后一个开关时，她突然抓住他的手臂。“爸爸，万一我真有问题呢？你得怎么做？”
"I won't have to do anything, Arcadia. If you're different, well leave. Well go back to Trantor, you and I, and……and we won't care about anything else in the Galaxy."
“艾嘉蒂娅，我什么都不必做。万一你真有什么变异，我们就离开这里。你和我，我们回川陀去，从此……从此我们永不过问银河的一切。”
Never in Darell's life had an analysis proceeded so slowly, cost him so much, and when it was over, Arcadia huddled down and dared not look. Then she heard him laugh and that was information enough. She jumped up and threw herself into his opened arms.
在达瑞尔一生中，从来没有任何分析做得这么慢，或是耗费这么多心力。等到终于结束，艾嘉蒂娅蜷缩成一团，不敢张开眼睛。但她随即听到父亲的笑声，这就足以代表一切。她立刻跳起来，扑向父亲的怀抱。
He was babbling wildly as they squeezed one another, "The house is under maximum Mind Static and your brain-waves are normal. We really have trapped them, Arcadia, and we can go back to living."
当两人紧紧拥抱时，达瑞尔欣喜若狂，喋喋不休地说：“这间屋子有最强的‘精神杂讯’，而你的脑波仍然正常。艾嘉蒂娅，我们真的逮到他们了，我们可以恢复正常生活了。”
"Father," she gasped, "can we let them give us medals now?"
“爸爸，”她喘着气说，“我们现在可以接受奖章了吗？”
"How did you know I抎 asked to be left out of it?" He held her at arm's mind; you know everything. All right, you can have your medal on a platform, with speeches."
“你怎么知道我婉谢这件事？”他伸直双手按着她的肩膀，瞪了她好一会儿，然后又开怀大笑。“没关系啦，反正什么事都瞒不过你。好吧，你可以上台去接受奖章，并且当众致辞。”
"And Father?"
“还有，爸爸？”
"Yes?"
“啊？”
"Can you call me Arkady from now on."
“从今以后，你能不能叫我艾卡蒂？”
"But?Very well, Arkady."
“可是……没问题，艾卡蒂。”
Slowly the magnitude of the victory was soaking into him and saturating him. The Foundation…… the First Foundation…… now the only Foundation…… was absolute master of the Galaxy. No further barrier stood between themselves and the Second Empire…… the final fulfillment of Seldon's Plan.
胜利的骄傲渐渐渗入并充盈他心中。基地……第一基地……现在则是唯一的基地……成了银河系绝对的主宰。再也没有任何障碍横亘于第二帝国……谢顿计划的最终目标……与他们之间。
They had only to reach for it……"
只要不断前进就行了……
Thanks to……
谢天谢地……