CHAPTER FOURTEEN FORWARD!
第14章 前进！
JANOV PELORAT LOOKED OUT AT THE DIM LANDSCAPE IN THE GRAYING dawn with an odd mixture of regret and uncertainty.
詹诺夫·裴洛拉特望着灰暗曙光中的朦胧景色，心中交杂着遗憾与犹疑。
“We aren’t staying long enough, Golan. It seems a pleasant and interesting world. I would like to learn more about it.”
“我们待的时间还不够，葛兰。这似乎是个既亲切又有趣的世界，我希望能再多了解一点。”
Trevize looked up from the computer with a wry smile. “You don’t think I would like to? We had three proper meals on the planet--totally different and each excellent. I’d like more. And the only women we saw, we saw briefly--and some of them looked quite enticing, for--well, for what I’ve got in mind.”
原本埋首操作电脑的崔维兹抬起头来，露出一抹苦笑。“你以为我不想啊？我们在这颗行星上吃了三顿正餐，风味完全不同，但都是美味佳肴，我真想多吃几顿呢。我们也没遇见几个女人，而且都是走马看花。她们有些看起来相当诱人，嗯，你晓得我心里想什么。”
Pelorat wrinkled his nose slightly. “Oh, my dear chap. Those cowbells they call shoes, and all wrapped around in clashing colors, and whatever do they do to their eyelashes. Did you notice their eyelashes?”
裴洛拉特微微皱起鼻头。“喔，我亲爱的兄弟。她们的鞋子简直像牛铃铛，衣服五颜六色俗不可耐，还有她们的睫毛，简直无所不用其极。你注意到她们的睫毛没有？”
“You might just as well believe I noticed everything, Janov. What you object to is superficial. They can easily be persuaded to wash their faces and, at the proper time, off come the shoes and the colors.”
“你大可相信我注意到了每一件事，詹诺夫。你讨厌的那些都只是表象，只要稍加劝诱，她们就会把脸洗干净，而在适当的时候，还会把鞋子和五颜六色通通褪去。”
Pelorat said, “I’ll take your word for that, Janov. However, I was thinking more of investigating the matter of Earth further. ‘What we’ve been told about Earth, thus far, is so unsatisfactory, so contradictory--radiation according to one person, robots according to another.”
裴洛拉特说：“这点我愿意相信你，葛兰。然而，我是想进一步打探地球的资料。目前为止，我们听到的有关地球的说法，没有一则令人满意，而且彼此充满矛盾——一个人强调放射性，另一个则强调机器人。”
“Death in either case.”
“但两人都说地球已死。”
“True,” said Pelorat reluctantly, “but it may be that one is true and not the other, or that both are true to some extent, or that neither is true. Surely, Janov, when you hear tales that simply shroud matters in thickening mists of doubt,surely you must feel the itch to explore, to find out.”
“这倒是真的。”裴洛拉特答得很勉强，“但可能只有一种说法正确，或者两种说法都只有部分正确，或者两人说的都不是事实。无论如何，葛兰，这些传说只会让真相更加扑朔迷离，你听到这些说法，想必也心痒难熬，忍不住要一探究竟，找出真正的答案。”
“I do,” said Golan. “By every dwarf star in the Galaxy, I do. The problem at hand, however, is Gaia. Once that is straightened out, we can go to Earth, or come back here to Sayshell for a more extended stay. But first, Gaia.”
“没错。”崔维兹说，“我向银河中每一颗矮星发誓，你说得没错。然而，我们眼前的问题是盖娅。一旦把这件事弄清楚，我们就可以前往地球，或者回到赛协尔来多待些日子。可是，盖娅第一优先。”
Pelorat nodded, “The problem at hand! If we accept what Quintesetz told us, death is waiting for us on Gaia. Ought we to be going?”
裴洛拉特点了点头。“眼前的问题！如果我们相信昆特瑟兹的说法，死神正在盖娅恭候我们，我们到底该不该去？”
Trevize said, “I ask myself that. Are you afraid?”
崔维兹说：“我也问过自己这个问题。你会害怕吗？”
Pelorat hesitated as though he were probing his own feelings. Then he said in a quite simple and matter-of-fact manner. “Yes. Terribly!”
裴洛拉特犹豫了半天，仿佛在钻研自己的心灵。然后，他用相当简单且实事求是的态度答道：“我怕，怕死了！”
Trevize sat back in his chair and swiveled to face the other. He said, just as quietly and matter-of-factly, “Janov, there’s no reason for you to chance this. Say the word and I’ll let you off on Sayshell with your personal belongings and with half our credits. I’ll pick you up when I return and it will be on to Sirius Sector, if you wish, and Earth, if that’s where it is. If I don’t return, the Foundation people on Sayshell will see to it that you get back to Terminus. No hard feelings if you stay behind, old friend.”
崔维兹往椅背上一靠，转过头来面对着裴洛拉特。他也用沉稳而实事求是的态度说：“詹诺夫，你没有理由冒这种险。只要你说句话，我就让你留在赛协尔，你可以把自己的行李卸下，并留下一半的信用点。等我返航的时候，我会再来接你，那时只要你有兴趣，我们再去天狼星区，假如地球真在那里，我们一定把它找出来。万一我一去不返，赛协尔上的基地官员会负责送你回端点星。老朋友，假如你打算留在此地，我不会感到不舒服。”
Pelorat’s eyes blinked rapidly and his lips pressed together for a few moments. Then he said, rather huskily, “Old friend? We’ve known each other what? A week or so? Isn’t it strange that I’m going to refuse to leave the ship? Iam afraid, but I want to remain with you.”
裴洛拉特猛眨着眼睛，嘴唇紧闭了好一阵子。然后他才开口，用稍微粗哑的声音说：“老朋友？我们认识才多久？差不多一个星期吧？可是我拒绝离去，这是不是很奇怪？我的确很害怕，可是我要留下来陪你。”
Trevize moved his hands in a gesture of uncertainty. “But why? I honestly don’t ask it of you.”
崔维兹做了一个不明白的手势。“可是为什么呢？我真的没有要求你留下。”
“I’m not sure why, but I ask it of myself. It’s--it’s-- Golan, I have faith in you. It seems to me you always know what you’re doing. I wanted to go to Trantor where probably--as I now see-- nothing would have happened.You insisted on Gaia and Gaia must somehow be a raw nerve in the Galaxy. Things seem tohappen in connection with it. And if that’s not enough, Golan, I watched you force Quintesetz to give you the information about Gaia. That wassuch a skillful bluff. I was lost in admiration.”
“我也不清楚为什么，但这是我心甘情愿的。因为……因为……葛兰，我对你有信心，我觉得你总是知道自己在做些什么。我原本打算去川陀，现在我已经明白，即使真的去了，也可能一无所获。是你坚持我们到盖娅去，盖娅就一定是银河的一个重要枢纽，许多事情似乎都跟它有所牵连。假如这还嫌不够，葛兰，我还目睹了你逼迫昆特瑟兹的手段。那实在是高明的诈术，令他不得不把盖娅的详情吐露给你。总之，我对你实在佩服得五体投地。”
“You have faith in me, then.”
“这么说，你对我真的有信心。”
Pelorat said, “Yes, I do.”
裴洛拉特说：“是的，我有信心。”
Trevize put his hand on the other’s upper arm and seemed, for a moment, to be searching for words. Finally he said, “Janov, will you forgive me in advance if my judgment is wrong, and if you in one way or another meet with--whatever unpleasant may be awaiting us?”
崔维兹按着对方的上臂，似乎在思索该怎么接口。最后他终于说：“詹诺夫，如果我判断错误，让你我遇到什么不愉快的事，可不可以请你事先原谅我？”
Pelorat said, “Oh, my dear fellow, why do you ask? I make the decision freely formy reasons, not yours. And, please--let us leave quickly. I don’t trust my cowardice not to seize me by the throat and shame me for the rest of my life.”
裴洛拉特答道：“喔，我亲爱的伙伴，你为何这么问？我是由于个人的因素，才作出这个决定，和你没有关系。现在，拜托，我们尽快离开吧。我的懦弱不知何时会再度发作，让我羞愧得再也抬不起头来。”
“As you say, Janov,” said Trevize. “We’ll leave at the earliest moment the computer will permit. This time, we’ll be moving gravitically--straight up--as soon as we can be assured the atmosphere above is clear of other ships. And as the surrounding atmosphere grows less and less dense, we’ll put on more and more speed. Well within the hour, we’ll be in open space.”
“遵命，詹诺夫。”崔维兹道，“一旦电脑说没问题，我们第一时间就离开这里。这一次，只要确定大气层上方没有其他船舰，我们就要使用重力推进——垂直上升。随着周遭大气变得愈来愈稀薄，我们的速度就会愈来愈快。要不了一小时，我们就能到太空了。”
“Good,” Pelorat said and pinched the tip off a plastic coffee container. The opened orifice almost at once began steaming. Pelorat put the nipple to his mouth and sipped, allowing just enough air to enter his mouth to cool the coffee to a bearable temperature.
“太好啦。”裴洛拉特一面说，一面捏开一个塑胶咖啡容器的盖子，开口处几乎立时冒出热气。他将奶嘴含在口中，开始吸吮容器内的咖啡，同时吸进适量的空气，将咖啡冷却到适当的温度。
Trevize grinned. “You’ve learned how to use those things beautifully. You’re a space veteran, Janov.”
崔维兹咧嘴一笑。“你已经学会熟练地使用这些东西，称得上太空老兵了，詹诺夫。”
Pelorat stared at the plastic container for a moment and said, “Now that we have ships that can adjust a gravitational field at will, surely we can use ordinary containers, can’t we?”
裴洛拉特盯着那个塑胶容器，好一会儿才说：“既然我们的太空艇可以随意调节重力场，我们当然能用普通的咖啡杯，对不对？”
“Of course, but you’re not going to get space people to give up their space-centered apparatus. How is a space rat going to put distance between himself and surface worms if he uses an openmouthed cup? See those rings on the walls and ceilings? Those have been traditional in spacecraft for twenty thousand years and more, but they’re absolutely useless in a gravitic ship. Yet they’re there and I’ll bet the entire ship to a cup of coffee that your space rat will pretend he’s being squashed into asphyxiation on takeoff and will then sway back and forth from those rings as though he’s under zero-gray when its gee-one--normal-grav, that is--on both occasions.”
“当然，但是你无法让众多的太空常客，放弃那些太空专用设备。‘太空飞鼠’如果也用普通的咖啡杯，如何显得跟‘地上爬虫’有一大段距离？你看到舱壁和舱顶的那些圆环吗？两万多年来，这种吊环是太空航具不可或缺的配备，但在重力推进的船舰中，吊环却完全派不上用场，可是它们并未消失。我敢拿这艘太空艇打赌一杯咖啡，在起飞的时候，太空老兵还是会假装被压得窒息；当船舰维持着一个Ｇ，也就是正常重力时，他们却会拉着吊环荡来荡去，仿佛仍旧处于失重状态。总之，这两件事我都敢打赌。”
“You’re joking.”
“你在开玩笑。”
“Well, maybe a little, but there’s always social inertia to everything--even technological advance. Those useless wall rings are there and the cups they supply us have nipples.”
“嗯，也许有一点，不过凡事都有社会惯性，连科技的进展也不例外。所以才会有那些没用的吊环，以及配有奶嘴的杯子。”
Pelorat nodded thoughtfully and continued to sip at his coffee. Finally he said, “And when do we take off?”
裴洛拉特心领神会地点了点头，然后继续喝他的咖啡。喝完之后，他才问道：“我们什么时候起飞？”
Trevize laughed heartily and said, “Got you. I began talking about wall rings and you never noticed that we were taking off right at that time. We’re a mile high right now.”
崔维兹一面开怀大笑，一面说：“骗倒你啦。当我谈论那些吊环的时候，我们正在起飞，你却完全没注意到。现在，我们已经有一英里高了。”
“You don’t mean it.”
“你又在唬我。”
“Look out.”
“看看外面。”
Pelorat did and then said, “But I never felt a thing.”
裴洛拉特依言照做，然后说：“可是我一点感觉也没有。”
“You’re not supposed to.”
“你本来就不该有感觉。”
“Aren’t we breaking the regulations? Surely we ought to have followed a radio beacon in an upward spiral, as we did in a downward spiral on landing?”
“我们这样做不会违规吗？我是说，我们应该像降落时那样做螺旋状飞行，跟着无线电指标盘旋而上，对不对？”
“No reason to, Janov. No one will stop us. No one at all.”
“我们没有理由那样做，詹诺夫。没有人会阻拦我们，没有任何人会。”
“Coming down, you said……”
“降落的时候，你说……”
“That was different. They weren’t anxious to see us arrive, but they’re ecstatic to see us go.”
“那是两码子事。他们不怎么欢迎我们到来，却恨不得列队欢送我们离去。”
“Why do you say that, Golan? The only person who talked to us about Gaia was Quintesetz and he begged us not to go.”
“你怎么这样讲呢，葛兰？跟我们谈到盖娅的只有昆特瑟兹一个人，而他曾经央求我们别去。”
“Don’t you believe it, Janov. That was for form. He made sure we’d go to Gaia. --Janov, you admired the way I bluffed the information out of Quintesetz. I’m sorry, but I don’t deserve the admiration. If I had done nothing at all, he would have offered the information. If I had tried to plug my ears, he would have shouted it at me.”
“你可别相信他，詹诺夫。他只是做个样子罢了，无论如何他也要诱使我们前往盖娅。詹诺夫，你说佩服我从他口中诈取内幕的本事，很抱歉，我实在愧不敢当。即使我什么也没做，他终究还是会自动告诉我们。如果我把耳朵塞起来，他甚至会冲着我大吼大叫。”
“Why do you say that, Golan? That’s crazy.”
“你怎么这样讲呢，葛兰？这简直是疯言疯语。”
“Paranoid? Yes, I know.” Trevize turned to the computer and extended his sense intently. He said, “We’re not being stopped. No ships in interfering distance, no warning messages of any kind.”
“你是指妄想症吗？是的，我知道。”崔维兹转身面向电脑，专心地将感官延伸出去，然后说：“我们没有遭到阻拦，没有船舰在拦截距离内，也没有收到任何警告讯号。”
Again he swiveled in the direction of Pelorat. He said, “Tell me, Janov, how did you find out about Gaia? You knew about Gaia while we were still on Terminus. You knew it was in the Sayshell Sector. You knew the name was, somehow, a form of Earth. Where did you hear all this?”
他又把身子一转，对着裴洛拉特说：“告诉我，詹诺夫，你是如何发现盖娅的？当我们还在端点星的时候，你就已经晓得盖娅了。你知道它位于赛协尔星区，也知道它的名字可说跟地球同义。这些都是从哪里听来的？”
Pelorat seemed to stiffen. He said, “If I were back in my office on Terminus, I might consult my files. I have not broughteverything with me--certainly not the dates on which I first encountered this piece of data or that.”
裴洛拉特似乎呆住了，他答道：“如果我还在端点星上的研究室里面，或许可以翻翻旧档案。我可没有随身带着所有的东西，例如发现某一项资料的日期，这类记录就绝对不在身边。”
“Well, think about it,” said Trevize grimly. “Consider that the Sayshellians themselves are close-mouthed about the matter. They are so reluctant to talk about Gaia as it really is that they actually encourage a superstition that has the common people of the sector believing that no such planet exists in ordinary space. In fact, I can tell you something else. Watch this!”
“好，你想想看。”崔维兹绷着脸说，“赛协尔人自己对这件事守口如瓶。他们不愿意谈论盖娅的真面目，政府甚至鼓吹迷信，让这个星区的民众普遍认为，普通空间中并没有这样一颗行星。其实，我还能告诉你一件事。注意看！”
Trevize swung to the computer, his fingers sweeping across the direction hand-rests with the ease and grace of long practice. When he placed his hands on the manuals, he welcomed their warm touch and enclosure. He felt, as always, a bit of his will oozing outward.
崔维兹再度转身面对电脑，手指在指令感应板上轻快掠过，动作熟练、自然而潇洒。当他将双手按在掌印上的时候，随即体验到温暖的接触与拥抱。与此同时，他又像往常一样，感觉到部分的意识渗了出去。
He said, “This is the computer’s Galactic map, as it existed within its memory banks before we landed on Sayshell. I am going to show you that portion of the map that represents the night sky of Sayshell as we saw it this past night.”
他说：“这是电脑记忆库中的银河地图，来自赛协尔的资料还没有加进去。我准备让你看的部分，对应于我们昨晚看到的赛协尔夜空。”
The room darkened and a representation of a night sky sprang out onto the screen.
整个舱房暗了下来，屏幕上出现一片夜空的景象。
Pelorat said in a low voice, “As beautiful as we saw it on Sayshell.”
裴洛拉特沉声道：“跟我们在赛协尔看到的一样美丽。”
“More beautiful,” said Trevize, impatiently. “There is no atmospheric interference of any kind, no clouds, no absorption at the horizon. But wait, let me make an adjustment”
“其实更加美丽。”崔维兹用不耐烦的口气说，“这个显像中，没有任何种类的大气干扰，而且没有云雾，也没有地平线附近的吸收作用。不过请等一等，我来作些调整。”
The view shifted steadily, giving the two the uncomfortable impression that it was they who were moving. Pelorat instinctively took hold of the arms of his chair to steady himself.
显像开始平稳地挪移，使两人产生本身正在移动的错觉。裴洛拉特下意识地紧紧抓住座椅扶手。
“There!” said Trevize. “Do you recognize that?”
“那里！”崔维兹说，“你认得出来吗？”
“Of course. Those are the Five Sisters--the pentagon of stars that Quintesetz pointed out. It is unmistakable.”
“当然，那正是五姐妹——昆特瑟兹指给我们看的那个正五边形，绝对错不了。”
“Yes indeed. But where is Gaia?”
“的确没错，可是盖娅在哪里？”
Pelorat blinked. There was no dim star at the center.
裴洛拉特猛眨眼睛，却不见中央处有任何黯淡的星辰。
“It’s not there,” he said.
“不在那里。”他说。
“That’s right. It’s not there. And that’s because its location is not included in the data banks of the computer. Since it passes the bounds of likelihood that those data banks were deliberately made incomplete in this respect for our benefit, I conclude that to the Foundation Gaiactographers who designed those data banks--and who had tremendous quantities of information at their disposal-- Gaia was unknown.”
“对了，不在那里，因为它的位置不在这台电脑的资料库中。不过，这些资料库几乎不可能特别为了我们而故意做得不完整，因此我断定，基地上设计这些资料库的银河地理学家，纵使拥有数量庞大的资料，却对盖娅一无所知。”
“Do you suppose if we had gone to Trantor……” began Pelorat.
“你想，假如我们到川陀去……”裴洛拉特说。
“I suspect we would have found no data on Gaia there, either. Its existence is kept a secret by the Sayshellians--and even more so, I suspect, by the Gaians themselves. You yourself said a few days ago it was not entirely uncommon that some worlds deliberately stayed out of sight to avoid taxation or outside interference.”
“我猜即使到了那里，也无法找到任何有关盖娅的资料。赛协尔人一直将它的存在视为秘密，而且据我猜测，盖娅星人本身更会严格保密。几天前，你自己告诉我这并非不寻常的现象，有些世界为了逃税或避免外界干扰，会故意把自己隐藏起来。”
“Usually,” said Pelorat, “when mapmakers and statisticians come across such a world, they are found to exist in thinly populated sections of the Galaxy. It’s isolation that makes it possible for them to hide. Gaia is not isolated.”
“通常星图绘制者或天体统计师，”裴洛拉特说，“只有在银河中星辰稀疏的区域，才会偶尔发现这种世界。它们能够隐匿起来，是因为位置偏远孤立，盖娅却不是这样。”
“That’s right. That’s another of the things that makes it unusual. So let’s leave this map on the screen so that you and I might continue to ponder the ignorance of our Gaiactographers--and let me ask you again-- In view of this ignorance on the part of the most knowledgeable of people, how didyou come to hear of Gaia?”
“没错，这是它另一个不寻常的地方。所以让我们把星图留在屏幕上，以便你我继续探讨银河地理学家疏漏的原因。让我再问你一遍，既然连这方面的专家都不知道盖娅，你又是如何获悉的？”
“I have been gathering data on Earth myths, Earth legends, and Earth histories for over thirty years, my good Golan. Without my complete records, how could I possibly……”
“我的好葛兰，我花了三十多年的时间，不断搜集地球的神话、地球的传说和地球的历史。现在我身边没有完整的记录，我又怎么能……”
“We can begin somewhere, Janov. Did you learn about it in, say, the first fifteen years of your research or in the last fifteen?”
“我们可以找个切入点，詹诺夫。比方说，你第一次听说它的名字，是在你研究工作的前十五年，还是后十五年？”
“Oh! Well, if we’re going to be that broad, it was later on.”
“哦？嗯，如果这么粗略划分，那当然是后十五年。”
“You can do better than that. Suppose I suggest that you learned of Gaia only in the last couple of years.”
“你还可以回想得更清楚一点。例如，我猜你是最近几年才听说盖娅的。”
Trevize peered in Pelorat’s direction, felt the absence of any ability to read an unseen expression in the dimness, and raised the light level of the room a bit. The glory of the representation of the night sky on the screen dimmed in proportion. Pelorat’s expression was stony and revealed nothing.
崔维兹凝望着裴洛拉特，却无法看见对方隐藏在阴暗中的表情，于是将舱房的光线调亮一点。屏幕上壮观的夜空景象随即变得有些朦胧，而裴洛拉特则面无表情，看不出任何端倪。
“Well?” said Trevize.
“怎么样？”崔维兹问道。
“I’m thinking,” said Pelorat mildly. “You may be right. I wouldn’t swear to it. When I wrote Jimbor of Ledbet University, I didn’t mention Gaia, though in that case it would have been appropriate to do so, and that was in--let’s see--in ‘~ and that was three years ago. I think you’re right, Golan.”
“我正在想呢。”裴洛拉特说，“你大概猜对了，但我可不敢发誓。我在写信给列德贝特大学的吉姆柏教授时，并没有提到盖娅，假如当时我已经知道，照理说应该会跟他提一提。而那是，让我想想看，那是九五年，也就是三年前的事。我想你说对了，葛兰。”
“And how did you come upon it?” asked Trevize. “In a communication? A book? A scientific paper? Some ancient song? How? --Come on!”
“你又是怎么发现的呢？”崔维兹追问道，“在某次通信中？某本书里？某篇科学论文中？还是一首古老的歌谣？怎么发现的？拜托！”
Pelorat sat back and crossed his arms. He fell into deep thought and didn’t move. Trevize said nothing and waited.
裴洛拉特靠着椅背，双臂交握胸前，整个人一动不动，陷入深度的沉思。崔维兹闭上嘴巴默默等待。
Finally Pelorat said, “In a private communication. --But it’s no use asking me from whom, my dear chap. I don’t remember.”
最后，裴洛拉特终于开口：“是在一次私人通信中。但是，我亲爱的兄弟，千万别问我是谁写的信，我可不记得了。”
Trevize moved his hands over his sash. They felt clammy as he continued his efforts to elicit information without too clearly forcing words into the other’s mouth. He said, “From a historian? From an expert in mythology? From a Gaiactographer?”
崔维兹双手渗出冷汗，顺手在宽腰带上抹了一下。他不敢直接逼问，只能技巧地引导裴洛拉特逐步回想。“是一位历史学家写的信？还是一位神话学专家？或是一位银河地理学家？”
“No use. I cannot match a name to the communication.”
“没有用的，我没法帮那封信配上一个名字。”
“Because, perhaps, there was none.”
“或许，因为根本没有署名。”
“Oh no. That scarcely seems possible.”
“喔，不，这简直不可能。”
“Why? Would you have rejected an anonymous communication?”
“为什么？你不理会不具名的信件吗？”
“I suppose not.”
“我想那倒不至于。”
“Did you ever receive any?”
“你接到过这种信件吗？”
“Once in a long while. In recent years, I had become well known in certain academic circles as a collector of particular types of myths and legends and some of my correspondents were occasionally kind enough to forward material they had picked up from nonacademic sources. Sometimes these might not be attributed to anyone in particular.”
“难得才有一次。最近这些年，我在某些学术圈中变得小有名气，许多人都知道我专门搜集特定的神话和传说。跟我保持书信往来的学者，如果从非学术性来源发现相关资料，有时会好心地转寄一份给我。这一类信件，有些就没有署名。”
Trevize said, “Yes, but did you ever receive anonymous information directly, and not by way of some academic correspondent?”
崔维兹说：“好的，但你是否直接收到过未具名的，又不是由学术圈朋友转寄来的资料？”
“That sometimes happened--but very rarely.”
“偶尔会有，可是非常罕见。”
“And can you be certain that this was not so in the case of Gaia?”
“你能否确定，盖娅的资料不是这样来的？”
“Such anonymous communications took place so rarely that I should think Iwould remember if it had happened in this case. Still, I can’t say certainly that the information was not of anonymous origin. Mind, though, that’s not to say that Idid receive the information from an anonymous source.”
“未具名的通信实在太少见，盖娅的资料如果真是这样来的，我想我应该记得才对。话说回来，我也无法确定那个资料是否来源不明。不过请注意，这并不代表我真是从匿名信件获知的。”
“I realize that. But it remains a possibility, doesn’t it?”
“这点我了解。但可能性总还是有的，对不对？”
Pelorat said, very reluctantly, “I suppose it does. But what’s all this about?”
裴洛拉特非常勉强地说：“我想应该是吧，可是你问这些干什么呢？”
“I’m not finished,” said Trevize peremptorily. “Where did you get the information from--anonymous or not? What world?”
“我还没有问完。”崔维兹用蛮横的口气说，“暂且不论是否匿名，你是从哪里收到那份资料的？哪一个世界？”
Pelorat shrugged. “Come now, I haven’t the slightest idea.”
裴洛拉特耸了耸肩。“饶了我吧，我毫无印象。”
“Could it possibly have been from Sayshell?”
“有没有可能来自赛协尔？”
“I told you. I don’t know.”
“我跟你说过，我不知道。”
“I’m suggesting youdid get it from Sayshell.”
“照我说，你的资料正是来自赛协尔。”
“You can suggest all you wish, but that does not necessarily make it so.”
“你爱怎么说都行，但你说的不一定就是事实。”
“No? When Quintesetz pointed out the dim Star at the center of the Five Sisters, you knew at once it was Gaia. You said so later on to Quintesetz, identifying it before he did. Do you remember?”
“不一定？当昆特瑟兹指着五姐妹中央那颗暗星的时候，你马上知道它是盖娅。而在昆特瑟兹尚未告诉我们之前，你就先说了出来，记得吗？”
“Yes, of course.”
“记得，当然记得。”
“How was that possible? How did you recognize at once that the dim star was Gaia?”
“这怎么可能呢？你怎能立刻认出那颗暗星正是盖娅？”
“Because in the material I had on Gaia, it was rarely referred to by that name. Euphemisms were common, many different ones. One of the euphemisms, several times repeated, was ‘the little Brother of the Five Sisters.’ Another was ‘the Pentagon’s Center’ and sometimes it was called ‘o Pentagon.’ When Quintesetz pointed out the Five Sisters and the central star, the allusions came irresistibly to mind.”
“因为我手上那个有关盖娅的传说，其实很少用盖娅这个名称。通常都是用比喻的说法，而且有许多不同的比喻。其中一个重复过好几次的是‘五姐妹的小兄弟’，另一个则是‘五边形之心’，有时也称为‘五边形中点’。当昆特瑟兹指出五姐妹和中央那颗星的时候，这些隐喻立刻在我的脑海浮现。”
“You never mentioned those allusions to me earlier.”
“以前你从未跟我提过这些隐喻。”
“I didn’t know what they meant and I didn’t think it would have been important to discuss the matter with you, who were a……” Pelorat hesitated.
“我原来并不知道它们的意义，也不觉得有必要跟你讨论这个问题，因为你是……”说到这里，裴洛拉特犹豫起来。
“A nonspecialist?”
“一个外行？”
“Yes.”
“是的。”
“You realize, I hope, that the pentagon of the Five Sisters is an entirely relative form.”
“我希望你会了解，五姐妹排出的正五边形，并非一种绝对的形状。”
“What do you mean?”
“这话是什么意思？”
Trevize laughed affectionately. “You surface worm. Do you think the sky has an objective shape of its own? That the stars are nailed in place? The pentagon has the shape it has from the surface of the worlds of the planetary system to which Sayshell Planet belongs-- and from thereonly . From a planet circling any other star, the appearance of the Five Sisters is different. They are seen from a different angle, for one thing. For another, the five stars of the pentagon are at different distances from Sayshell and, seen from other angles, there could be no visible relationship among them at all. One or two stars might be in one half of the sky, the others in the other half. See here……”
崔维兹乐得哈哈大笑。“你果真是地上的爬虫，你以为天空具有实质的形体吗？星辰都被钉在天上吗？唯有在赛协尔行星所属的行星系，人们才会看到五姐妹构成一个正五边形。在环绕其他恒星的行星看来，五姐妹所呈现的形状都不一样。原因之一是观察的角度变了；原因之二，这五颗星和赛协尔行星的距离各不相同，如果从其他角度观察，或许根本看不出什么几何图形。可能其中一两颗星在这半个天球，其他三四颗却在另一半。你看……”
Trevize darkened the room again and leaned over the computer. “There are eighty-six populated planetary systems making up the Sayshell union. Let us keep Gaia--or the spot where Gaia ought to be--in place” (as he said that, a small red circle appeared in the center of the pentagon of the Five Sisters) “and shift to the skies as seen from any of the other eighty-six worlds taken at random.”
崔维兹又关上舱房灯光，同时俯身面向电脑。“赛协尔联盟总共由八十六个住人行星系组成。让我们将盖娅——或者说盖娅的位置——予以固定，”当他这么说的时候，五边形中央处立刻出现一个小红圈，“然后在其他八十五个行星系中，随机选取一些世界，将显像转换成那些世界的星空。”
The sky shifted and Pelorat blinked. The small red circle remained at the center of the screen, but the Five Sisters had disappeared. There were bright stars in the neighborhood but no tight pentagon. Again the sky shifted, and again, and again. It went on shifting. The red circle remained in place always, but at no time did a small pentagon of equally bright stars appear. Sometimes what might be a distorted pentagon of stars--unequally bright--appeared, but nothing like the beautiful asterism Quintesetz had pointed out.
星空的景象开始变换，裴洛拉特猛眨着眼睛。小红圈一直保持在屏幕正中央，可是五姐妹早已消失无踪。红圈周围虽然有些亮星，却没有构成紧致的几何图形。星空一变再变，一直变个不停。红圈始终固定在原处，可是从未出现亮度相当的恒星所构成的正五边形。偶尔会有个扭曲的五边形，五颗星的亮度也不尽不同。昆特瑟兹指出的那个完美几何结构，从头到尾没有在屏幕上出现过。
“Had enough?” said Trevize. “I assure you, the Five Sisters can never be seen exactly as we have seen it from any populated world but the worlds of the Sayshell planetary system.”
“看够了吗？”崔维兹说，“我向你保证，唯有在赛协尔行星系的各个世界上，五姐妹看起来才像我们昨天见到的样子。”
Pelorat said, “The Sayshellian view might have been exported to other planets. There were many proverbs in Imperial times--some of which linger into our own, in fact--that are Trantor-centered.”
裴洛拉特说：“赛协尔的观点有可能流传到其他行星。帝政时期，很多谚语都是以川陀为基准，有些甚至传到了我们的端点星。”
“With Sayshell as secretive about Gaia as we know it to be? And why should worlds outside the Sayshell union be interested? Why would they care about a ‘little Brother of the Five Sisters’ if there were nothing in the skies at which to point?”
“我们现在知道，赛协尔将盖娅视为天大的秘密，你难道还相信那种事吗？而赛协尔联盟之外的世界，又为何会对这种传说有兴趣？如果夜空中没有那样的星象，又有谁会关心‘五姐妹的小兄弟’呢？”
“Maybe you’re right.”
“你也许说对了。”
“Then don’t you see that your original information must have come from Sayshell itself? Not just from somewhere in the union, but precisely from the planetary system to which the capital world of the union belongs.”
“既然如此，难道你还没想到，你收到的盖娅资料必定来自赛协尔？它甚至不是来自赛协尔联盟某个角落，而正是联盟首都世界所属的那个行星系。”
Pelorat shook his head. “You make it sound as though it must, but it’s not something I remember. I simply don’t.”
裴洛拉特摇了摇头。“你说得好像真有那么回事，可是我怎么都记不得，我就是想不起来了。”
“Nevertheless, youdo see the force of my argument, don’t you?”
“至少，你看出我的论证多么有说服力了吧？”
“Yes, I do.”
“是的，我看出来了。”
“Next-- When do you suppose the legend could have originated?”
“接下来的问题是，你认为这个传说是什么时候出现的？”
“Anytime. I should suppose it developed far back in the Imperial Era. It has the feel of an ancient……”
“任何时间都有可能。我猜早在帝政时代便已形成，它具有那种古老色彩……”
“You are wrong, Janov. The Five Sisters are moderately close to Sayshell Planet, which is why they’re so bright. Four of them have high proper motions in consequence and no two are part of a family, so that they move in different directions. Watch what happens as I shift the map backward in time slowly.”
“你错了，詹诺夫。五姐妹和赛协尔行星的距离不算远，所以看起来才会那么明亮。由于这个缘故，其中四颗具有高度的‘自行’，而它们又分属不同的星族，因此自行的方向各不相同。我将星图的时间慢慢往回调，你看看会发生什么事。”
Again the red circle that marked the site of Gaia remained in place, but the pentagon slowly fell apart, as four of the stars drifted in different directions and the fifth shifted slightly.
代表盖娅的小红圈依然保持原来的位置，正五边形却渐渐分开，其中一颗缓缓挪动，其他四颗则向不同的方向迅速飘移。
“Look at that, Janov,” said Trevize. “Would you say that was a regular pentagon?”
“注意看，詹诺夫。”崔维兹说，“你还能说它是正五边形吗？”
“Clearly lopsided,” said Pelorat.
“显然一边大一边小。”裴洛拉特答道。
“And is Gaia at the center?”
“盖娅还在正中央吗？”
“No, it’s well to the side.”
“不，偏到一边去了。”
“Very well. That is how the asterism looked one hundred and fifty years ago. One and a half centuries, that’s all. --The material you received concerning ‘the Pentagon’s Center’ and so on made no real sense till this centuryanywhere , not even in Sayshell. The material you received had to originate in Sayshell and sometime in this century, perhaps in the last decade. And you got it, even though Sayshell is so close-mouthed about Gaia.”
“很好。这是一百五十年前，那五颗星所呈现的形状，只不过距今一个半世纪而已。你收到的那份资料，其中有‘五边形之心’之类的描述，在本世纪之前，这些说法在任何地方都没有意义，甚至赛协尔也不例外。你收到的那份资料必定源自赛协尔，而且还是本世纪的产物，甚至有可能不到十年的历史。虽然赛协尔对盖娅守口如瓶，你却能无意中获得那份资料。”
Trevize put the lights on, turned the star map off, and sat there staring sternly at Pelorat.
崔维兹把灯打开，并关掉星图的显像，然后他坐在原处，以凌厉的目光瞪着裴洛拉特。
Pelorat said, “I’m confused. What’s this about?”
裴洛拉特说：“我被你搞糊涂了，这究竟是怎么回事？”
“You tell me. Consider! Somehow I got the idea into my head that the Second Foundation still existed. I was giving a talk during my election campaign. I started a bit of emotional byplay designed to squeeze votes out of the undecided with a dramatic ‘If the Second Foundation still existed--’ and later that day I thought to myself: What if itdid still exist? I began reading history books and within a week, I was convinced. There was no real evidence, but I have always felt that I had the knack of snatching the right conclusion out of a welter of speculation. This time, though……”
“你自己说吧。想想看！不久以前，不知怎么搞的，我忽然想到第二基地依旧存在。那时我在竞选议员，正准备作一场竞选演说。为了吸收游离选票，我故作惊人之语，说了些诉诸情感的题外话：‘万一第二基地仍旧存在……’当天稍后，我独自寻思：这件事有没有可能是真的？于是我开始阅读相关的历史书籍，不到一个星期，我就说服了自己。纵使没有什么真凭实据，但是长久以来，我总是感到自己拥有一种奇妙的本能，能从纷乱的臆测中撷取正确的结论。这一次，虽然……”
Trevize brooded a bit, then went on. “And look at what has happened since. Of all people, I chose Compor as my confidant and he betrayed me. Whereupon Mayor Branno had me arrested and sent into exile. Why into exile, rather than just having me imprisoned, or trying to threaten me into silence? And why in a very late-model ship which gives me extraordinary powers of Jumping through the Galaxy? And why, of all things, does she insist I take you and suggest that I help you search for Earth?
崔维兹沉思了一下，然后继续说：“看看接下来发生了什么事。世上的人那么多，我偏偏对康普推心置腹，最后被他给出卖了。结果布拉诺市长逮捕了我，又把我放逐到太空中。可是她为何选择放逐，而不是干脆将我囚禁，或是试着威胁我住口？又为什么给我一艘最新型的太空艇，让我能在银河中进行不可思议的跃迁？更奇怪的是，她为什么坚持要我带你同行，并建议我帮助你寻找地球？
“And why was I so certain that we should not go to Trantor? I was convinced you had a better target for our investigations and at once you come up with the mystery world of Gaia, concerning which, as it now turns out, you gained information under very puzzling circumstances.
“而我自己，又为何那么肯定我们不该去川陀？对于我们的探索计划，我确信你心中有个更好的目标，而你立刻就提到盖娅这个神秘世界。如今事实证明，你的资料来源近乎一个谜。
“We go to Sayshell--the first natural stop--and at once we encounter Compor, who gives us a circumstantial story about Earth and its death. He then assures us its location is in the Sirius Sector and urges us to go there.”
“我们来到赛协尔——这是理所当然的第一站——竟然立刻碰到康普。他主动对我们说了一段地球的兴亡史，然后向我们保证，地球位于天狼星区，并且怂恿我们到那里去。”
Pelorat said, “There you are. You seem to be implying that all circumstances are forcing us toward Gaia, but, as you say, Compor tried to persuade us to go elsewhere.”
裴洛拉特道：“你矛盾了。照你这么说，好像所有的情势都在促使我们前往盖娅，可是你自己也说，康普试图说服我们到别处去。”
“And in response, I was determined to continue on our original line of investigation out of my sheer distrust for the man. Don’t you suppose that that was what he might have been counting on? He may have deliberately told us to go elsewhere just to keep us from doing so.”
“冲着他那句话，我就决心维持我们原先的调查路线，因为我再也不相信这个人。你难道没有想到，这也许正是他期望的结果吗？他可能是故意劝我们到别处去，目的则是希望我们不要离开。”
“That’s mere romance,” muttered Pelorat.
“那只是你的幻想。”裴洛拉特嘀咕道。
“Is it? Let’s go on. We get in touch with Quintesetz simply because he was handy……”
“是吗？让我们继续推敲下去。我们去找昆特瑟兹，只因为他刚好就在附近……”
“Not at all,” said Pelorat. “I recognized his name.”
“并不尽然，”裴洛拉特说，“我记得他的名字。”
“It seemed familiar to you. You had never read anything he had written--that you could recall. Why was it familiar to you? --In any case, it turned out he had read a paper of yours and was overwhelmed by it--and how likely wasthat ? You yourself admit your work is not widely known.
“你只是觉得那名字眼熟。你从来没有读过他写的任何东西，至少你不记得了。你为何还会觉得眼熟呢？反之，他刚巧读过你的一篇论文，而且对它万分倾倒。这样的机会到底有多大？你自己也承认，你的研究工作并不怎么出名。
“What’s more, the young lady leading us to him quite gratuitously mentions Gaia and goes on to tell us it is in hyperspace, as though to be sure we keep it in mind. When we ask Quintesetz about it, he behaves as though he doesn’t want to talk about it, but he doesn’t throw us out--even though I am rather rude to him. He takes us to his home instead and, on the way there, goes to the trouble of pointing out the Five Sisters. He even makes sure we note the dim star at the center. Why? Is not all this an extraordinary concatenation of coincidence?”
“还有呢，那个带我们去见他的妙龄女郎，也无缘无故跟我们提到盖娅，还告诉我们它在超空间里，好像一定要让我们牢记在心。当我们向昆特瑟兹问起盖娅的时候，他表现得好像不愿意谈，但是并没有把我们轰出去——即使我对他很不客气。他反而把我们带到他家里，而且半路上还不厌其烦地指出五姐妹。他甚至特别提到中央那颗暗星，生怕我们没注意到。为什么呢？这一切，难道不是一连串异常的巧合吗？”
Pelorat said, “If you list it like that……”
裴洛拉特说：“如果你这么铺陈……”
“List it any way you please,” said Trevize. “I don’t believe in extraordinary concatenations of coincidence.”
“随便你喜欢怎么铺陈都行。”崔维兹说，“我就是不信能有这么一连串异常的巧合。”
“What does all this mean, then? That we are being maneuvered to Gaia?”
“那么，这一切又有什么特别的意义呢？有人暗中策动我们前往盖娅？”
“没错。”
“By whom?”
“是谁？”
Trevize said, “Surely there can be no question about that. Who is capable of adjusting minds, of giving gentle nudges to this one or that, of managing to divert progress in this direction or that?”
崔维兹说：“这个问题根本不必问。谁有能力调整他人的心灵？谁能悄悄改变他人的心意？谁又有办法转移各种事件的发展方向？”
“You’re going to tell me it’s the Second Foundation.”
“你是在告诉我，正是第二基地干的。”
“Well, what have we been told about Gaia? It is untouchable. Fleets that move against it are destroyed. People who reach it do not return. Even the Mule didn’t dare move against it--and the Mule, in fact, was probably born there. Surely it seems that Gaiais the Second Foundation--and finding that, after all, is my ultimate goal.
“嗯，我们听说的盖娅是个怎样的世界？它是招惹不得的。进攻它的舰队一律全军覆没，到过那里的人通通有去无回，就连骡都不敢与它为敌。事实上，骡有可能就是那里出生的。我当然认为盖娅正是第二基地，而寻找第二基地，毕竟是我的最终目标。”
Pelorat shook his head. “But according to some historians, the Second Foundation stopped the Mule. How could he have been one of them?”
裴洛拉特又摇了摇头。“可是根据某些历史学家的说法，骡正是被第二基地制伏的。他怎么可能是其中的一分子？”
“A renegade, I suppose.”
“我猜，他是叛徒吧。”
“But why should we be so relentlessly maneuvered toward the Second Foundation by the Second Foundation?”
“可是第二基地为何又处心积虑，策动我们前往他们的大本营呢？”
Trevize’s eyes were unfocused, his brow furrowed. He said, “Let’s reason it out. It has always seemed important to the Second Foundation that as little information as possible about it should be available to the Galaxy. Ideally it wants its very existence to remain unknown. We know that much about them. For a hundred twenty years, the Second Foundation was thought to be extinct and that must have suited them right down to the Galactic core. Yet when I began to suspect that theydid exist, they did nothing. Compor knew. They might have used him to shut me up one way or another--had me killed, even. Yet they did nothing.”
崔维兹的目光没有焦点，眉头也深锁起来。他回答说：“让我们来推理一番。第二基地似乎一直遵奉一个信条，就是对自身的一切尽量保密。最理想的情况，是银河中无人知晓他们的存在，这点我们可以肯定。过去一百二十年来，大家都认为第二基地已经灭绝，而这必定彻底符合他们的理想。但是，当我开始怀疑他们仍旧存在时，他们却毫无反应。康普知道这件事，而他们本来可以透过他，用各种方法让我闭嘴，甚至将我杀害。可是他们毫无反应。”
Pelorat said, “They had you arrested, if you want to blame that on the Second Foundation. According to what you told me, that resulted in the people of Terminus not knowing about your views. The people of the Second Foundation accomplished that much without violence and they may be devotees of Salvor Hardin’s remark that ‘Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.”
裴洛拉特说：“他们害你遭到逮捕，这笔账可以记到第二基地头上。根据你的说法，这就导致端点星的民众无法知晓你的看法。第二基地的人没有动用武力，就达到了这个重大目的，他们可以说绝对信奉塞佛·哈定的名言：‘武力是无能者最后的手段’。”
“But keeping it from the people of Terminus accomplishes nothing. Mayor Branno knows my view and--at the very least--must wonder if I am correct. So now, you see, it is too late for them to harm us. If they had gotten rid of me to begin with, they would be in the clear. If they had left me alone altogether, they might have still remained in the clear, for they might have maneuvered Terminus into believing I was an eccentric, perhaps a madman. The prospective ruin of my political career might even have forced me into silence as soon as I saw what the announcement of my beliefs would mean.
“可是掩住端点星民众的耳目并没有意义，布拉诺市长已经知道我的看法，而且，至少会怀疑我可能是对的。所以现在，你看，他们要伤害我都已经太迟了。如果他们一开始就把我铲除，谁都不会怀疑到他们头上。如果他们一直不碰我，或许也不会受到任何怀疑，因为他们能设法使端点星上每一个人，都相信我是怪人，甚至可能是个疯子。我一旦了解到，如果将自己的信念公诸于世，会立刻毁掉自己的政治前途，那我大概就会被迫闭嘴。
“And now it is too late for them to do anything. Mayor Branno was suspicious enough of the situation to send Compor after me and --having no faith in him either, being wiser than I was--she placed a hyper-relay on Compor’s ship. In consequence, she knows we are on Sayshell. And last night, while you were sleeping, I had our computer place a message directly into the computer of the Foundation ambassador here on Sayshell, explaining that we were on our way to Gaia. I took the trouble of giving its co-ordinates, too. If the Second Foundation does anything to us now, I am certain that Branno will have the matter investigated--and the concentrated attention of the Foundation must surely be what they don’t want.”
“可是如今，他们做什么都太迟了。布拉诺市长已经对情势相当起疑，才会派康普来跟踪我。她特地在康普的太空艇上装了超波中继器，因为她并不信任康普，这点可比我要聪明。因此，她知道我们到了赛协尔。昨晚你入睡后，我叫电脑送出一道电讯，直接传到基地驻赛协尔大使的电脑。我说我们正在飞往盖娅途中，甚至连盖娅的坐标也一并附上。假使第二基地现在对我们采取任何行动，我确定布拉诺会追查到底。而吸引基地的注意，则是他们绝对不愿见到的事。”
“Would they care about attracting the Foundation’s attention, if they are so powerful?”
“如果他们那么厉害，还会在乎是否吸引基地的注意吗？”
“Yes,” said Trevize forcefully. “They lie hidden because, in some ways, they must be weak and because the Foundation is technologically advanced perhaps beyond even what Seldon himself might have foreseen. The very quiet, even stealthy, way in which they’ve been maneuvering us to their world would seem to show their eager desire to do nothing that will attract attention. And if so, then they have already lost, at least in part--for they’ve attracted attention and I doubt they can do anything to reverse the situation.”
“会的。”崔维兹斩钉截铁地说，“他们始终躲躲藏藏，一定是因为他们某些方面仍旧薄弱，而基地的科技又太过先进，甚至可能超出谢顿的预料。他们用那么委婉，甚至鬼祟的手段，设法把我们弄到他们的世界，似乎代表他们不愿作出任何引人注目的举动。果真如此，就等于他们已经输了，至少输了一部分，因为他们早已引起注意。我不信他们还有什么办法能扭转这个局势。”
Pelorat said, “But why do they go through all this? Why do they ruin themselves--if your analysis is correct--by angling for us across the Galaxy? What is it they want of us?”
裴洛拉特说：“但是他们为什么这样做呢？如果你的分析正确，他们大老远把我们引诱到银河这一端来，不是等于自取灭亡吗？他们想从我们这里得到些什么？”
Trevize stared at Pelorat and flushed. “Janov,” he said, “I have a feeling about this. I have this gift of coming to a correct conclusion on the basis of almost nothing. There’s a kind ofsureness about me that tells me when I’m right--and I’m sure now. There’s something I have that they want--and want enough to risk their very existence for. I don’t know what it can be, but I’ve got to find out, because if I’ve got it and if it’s that powerful, then I want to be able to use it for what I feel is right.” He shrugged slightly. “Do you still want to come along with me, old friend, now that you see how much a madman I am?”
崔维兹瞪着裴洛拉特，一张脸涨得通红。“詹诺夫，”他说，“我对这件事有个感觉。我具有一种特殊天赋，能够从趋近于零的线索中，推敲出正确的结论。当我的想法正确时，心中会出现一种信念，而我现在就有这种自信。他们的确想从我身上得到些什么，而且亟需得到，这才会甘冒曝光的危险进行一切。我不知道他们究竟想要什么，但我一定要找出来，因为如果我真有什么异能，而且又是威力无穷，我希望自己能善加运用，只用在我认为正确的事情上。”他微微耸了耸肩，“既然你晓得了我是个多么疯狂的人，老朋友，你还要跟我一道去吗？”
Pelorat said, “I told you I had faith in you. I still do.”
裴洛拉特答道：“我告诉过你，我对你有信心，现在我仍然这么想。”
And Trevize laughed with enormous relief. “Marvelous! Because another feeling I have is that you are, for some reason, also essential to this whole thing. In that case, Janov, we move on to Gaia, full speed. Forward!”
崔维兹大大松了一口气，忍不住哈哈大笑。“好极了！因为我还有一个感觉，就是你在整个事件中也扮演一个重要角色。既然这样，詹诺夫，我们就全速航向盖娅。前进！”
2
2
Mayor Harla Branno looked distinctly older than her sixty-two years. She did not always look older, but she did now. She had been sufficiently wrapped up in thought to forget to avoid the mirror and had seen her image on her way into the map room. So she was aware of the haggardness of her appearance.
赫拉·布拉诺市长看来绝不只六十二岁。她并非总是显得那么苍老，但今天正是如此。由于心事重重，刚才走进地图室的时候，她忘记避开可恶的镜子，跟自己的影像打了一个照面。所以说，她晓得自己的形容变得多么憔悴枯槁。
She sighed. It drained the life out of one. Five years a Mayor and for twelve years before that the real power behind two figureheads. All of it had been quiet, all of it successful, all of it--draining. How would it have been, she wondered, if there had been strain--failure --disaster.
她长叹一声，这份差事能把一个人耗得油尽灯枯。她已经担任五年的市长，而在此之前的十二个年头，她躲在两个傀儡市长身后，其实早已大权在握。十七年来，一切都很平静，一切都很成功，一切都——很累人。顺顺利利尚且如此，假如是疲累、挫败和霉运的组合，她实在难以想象。
Not so bad for her personally, she suddenly decided. Action would have been invigorating. It was the horrible knowledge that nothing but drift was possible that had worn her out.
她突然间领悟到，自己的运气的确还不坏。但一想到自己只能随波逐流，不能有什么大作为，这个可怕的想法就会令她万念俱灰。
It was the Seldon Plan that was successful and it was the Second Foundation that made sure it would continue to be. She, as the strong hand at the helm of the Foundation (actually theFirst Foundation, but no one on Terminus ever thought of adding the adjective) merely rode the crest.
谢顿计划一向相当成功，而第二基地会确保它今后继续一帆风顺。她身为基地的伟大舵手（正式的名称是“第一”基地，但在端点星上，从来没人想到加上这个形容词），只能算是躬逢其盛罢了。
History would say little or nothing about her. She merely sat at the controls of a spaceship, while the spaceship was maneuvered from without.
历史将不会记得她这个人，顶多只是一笔带过。她就像坐在一艘太空船的驾驶舱中，但太空船实际上是由外界遥控。
Even Indbur III, who had presided over the Foundation’s catastrophic fall to the Mule, had donesomething . He had, at least, collapsed.
就连茵德布尔三世都做了一点事，基地是在他掌权之际，陷落于骡手中。至少，他导致了基地的短暂覆亡。
For Mayor Branno there would be nothing!
可是后人回顾历史，会说布拉诺市长什么都没做！
Unless this Golan Trevize, this thoughtless Councilman, this lightning rod, made it possible--
除非这个葛兰·崔维兹，这名莽撞的议员，这根避雷针，替她扭转乾坤……
She looked at the map thoughtfully. It was not the kind of structure produced by a modern computer. It was, rather, a three-dimensional cluster of lights that pictured the Galaxy holographically in midair. Though it could not be made to move, to turn, to expand, or to contract, one could move about it and see it from any angle.
她若有所思地凝视着地图。这套地图并非新型电脑所产生的那种，而是一团三维激光阵列投射在半空中的银河全息图。虽然它无法移动、旋转、扩张、收缩，使用者却可以四处走动，从不同的角度观察这个模型。
A large section of the Galaxy, perhaps a third of the whole (excluding the core, which was a “no-life’s land”) turned red when she touched a contact. That was the Foundation Federation, the more than seven million inhabited worlds ruled by the Council and by herself--the seven million inhabited worlds who voted for and were represented in the House of Worlds, which debated matters of minor importance, and then voted on them, and never, by any chance, dealt with anything of major importance.
她按下一个开关，银河就有一大片变成红色（如果不算“无生命地带”的核心区域，差不多占了整体的三分之一）。这个红色区域代表基地联邦，总共涵盖超过七百万个住人世界，全都在“议会”与她自己的统治下。这七百多万个世界也都各自选出代表，组成一个庞大的“行星议院”，成天争论一些鸡毛蒜皮的小事，然后郑重其事地表决，却从来没有机会处理任何重大议题。
Another contact and a faint pink jutted outward from the edges of the Federation, here and there. Spheres of influence! This was not Foundation territory, but the regions, though nominally independent, would never dream of resistance to any Foundation move.
她又按了一下开关，联邦边缘各处便冒出许多粉红色。这代表影响力的范围！那些区域并非基地疆域，但它们虽然名义上是独立的，却连做梦也不敢反对基地的任何行动。
There was no question in her mind that no power in the Galaxy could oppose the Foundation (not even the Second Foundation, if one but knew where it was), that the Foundation could, at will, reach out its fleet of modern ships and simply set up the Second Empire.
她心中百分之百确定，银河中没有任何势力能与基地抗衡（甚至第二基地亦然，只可惜找不到它），基地可以随心所欲派出最精良的星际舰队，轻而易举建立起第二帝国。
But only five centuries had passed since the beginning of the Plan. The Plan called for ten centuries before the Second Empire could be set up and the Second Foundation would make sure the Plan would hold. The Mayor shook her sad, gray head. If the Foundation acted now, it would somehow fail. Though its ships were irresistible, action now would fail.
可是谢顿计划执行至今，只过了五个世纪而已。根据这个计划，必须历经十个世纪的准备期，第二帝国方能建立，而第二基地会确保谢顿计划正确执行。市长满面愁容地摇了摇头，牵动了满头灰发。如果现在就采取行动，基地无论如何都会失败。虽然基地舰队无坚不摧，仍旧无法避免失败的命运。
Unless Trevize, the lightning rod, drew the lightning of the Second Foundation--and the lightning could be traced back to its source.
除非崔维兹这根避雷针，能够吸引第二基地发出的闪电，如此就能设法追踪闪电的来源。
She looked about. Where was Kodell? This was no time for him to be late.
她四下张望，柯代尔在哪里？在这个节骨眼，他实在不该迟到。
It was as though her thought had called him, for he came striding in, smiling cheerfully, looking more grandfatherly than ever with his gray-white mustache and tanned complexion. Grandfatherly, but not old. To be sure, he was eight years younger than she was.
柯代尔仿佛感应到她的召唤，大摇大摆走了进来。他从来没有显得如此慈祥和蔼，脸上带着愉快的笑容，配上两撇灰白的胡子与晒黑的皮肤。虽说慈祥和蔼，他并不算老，事实上，他比她足足年轻八岁。
How was it he showed no marks of strain? Did not fifteen years as Director of Security leave its scar?
他怎么一点倦容都没有？当了十五年的安全局局长，竟然不曾在他脸上留下任何痕迹？
3
3
Kodell nodded slowly in the formal greeting that was necessary in initiating a discussion with the Mayor. It was a tradition that had existed since the bad days of the Indburs. Almost everything had changed, but etiquette least of all.
柯代尔恭谨地缓缓点了点头，这是与市长进行讨论之前的必要礼节。这类规矩是茵德布尔家族传下来的陋习，如今一切几乎皆已改变，唯独礼仪规范是唯一的例外。
He said, “Sorry I’m late, Mayor, but your arrest of Councilman Trevize is finally beginning to make its way through the anesthetized skin of the Council.”
他说：“抱歉我来迟了，市长。不过你逮捕崔维兹那件事，麻木的议会终于开始有反应了。”
“Oh?” said the Mayor phlegmatically. “Are we in for a palace revolution?”
“哦？”市长以冷静的口气答道，“快要爆发宫廷革命了吗？”
“Not the least chance. We’re in control. But there’ll be noise.”
“门都没有，一切都在我们控制之下，只是将会有些聒噪。”
“Let them make noise. It will make them feel better, and I--I shall stay out of the way. I can count, I suppose, on general public opinion?”
“让他们去聒噪吧，那会使他们觉得舒服一点，而我——我将置身事外。我猜想，我可以诉诸民意的支持吧？”
“I think you can. Especially away from Terminus. No one outside Terminus cares what happens to a stray Councilman.”
“我想没问题，尤其是端点星以外的世界。出了端点星，没有人会关心一名失踪议员的下落。”
“I do.”
“可是我关心。”
“Ah? More news?”
“啊？又有消息了？”
“Liono,” said the Mayor, “I want to know about Sayshell.”
“里奥诺，”市长说，“我想知道赛协尔的详情。”
“I’m not a two-legged history book,” said Liono Kodell, smiling.
“我可不是长了腿的历史课本。”里奥诺·柯代尔带着微笑答道。
“I don’t want history. I want the truth. Why is Sayshell independent? --Look at it.” She pointed to the red of the Foundation on the holographic map and there, well into the inner spirals, was an in-pocketing of white.
“我不要听历史，我要知道事实。为什么赛协尔是独立的？你看。”她指着全息地图的红色部分，在旋臂的内圈深处，有一块被团团围住的白色区域。
Branno said, “We’ve got it almost encapsulated--almost sucked in--yet it’s white. Our map doesn’t even show it as a loyal-ally-in-pink.”
布拉诺说：“我们几乎把它完全封死，几乎吞没了它，但它仍是白色的。根据我们的地图，它甚至不是粉红色的忠诚盟邦。”
Kodell shrugged. “It’s not officially a loyal ally, but it never bothers us. It is neutral.”
柯代尔耸了耸肩。“虽然并非正式的忠诚盟邦，它从来不招惹我们，一直是中立的。”
“All right. See this, then.” Another touch at the controls. The red sprang out distinctly further. It covered nearly half the Galaxy. “That,” said Mayor Branno, “was the Mule’s realm at the time of his death. If you’ll peer in among the red, you’ll find the Sayshell union, completely surrounded this time, but still white. it is the only enclave left free by the Mule.”
“好吧，那你再看看这个。”她又按了一下开关，红色区域突然扩大许多，几乎涵盖了半壁银河。“这是骡死亡之际，”布拉诺市长说，“他所控制的领域。如果你向红色区域里面望去，就会发现赛协尔联盟那时完全遭到包围，但仍然是白色的。它是骡唯一放过的包围区域。”
“It was neutral then, too.”
“它当时也是中立的。”
“The Mule had no great respect for neutrality.”
“骡可不怎么尊重中立。”
“He seems to have had, in this case.”
“对赛协尔，他似乎破了例。”
“Seemsto have had. What has Sayshell got?”
“似乎破了例，赛协尔有什么本事？”
Kodell said, “Nothing! Believe me, Mayor, she is ours any time we want her.”
柯代尔答道：“什么都没有！相信我，市长，只要我们想要它，它随时是我们的。”
“Is she? Yet somehow she isn’t ours.”
“是吗？但事实上它并不是我们的。”
“There’s no need to want her.”
“还没有这个需要。”
Branno sat back in her chair and, with a sweep of her arm over the controls, turned the Galaxy dark. “I think we now want her.”
布拉诺上身靠向椅背，手臂轻轻扫过开关，关上了银河地图。“我想现在我们得要它了。”
“Pardon, Mayor?”
“我没听懂，市长？”
“Liono, I sent that foolish Councilman into space as a lightning rod. I felt that the Second Foundation would see him as a greater danger than he was and see the Foundation itself as the lesser danger. The lightning would strike him and reveal its origin to us.”
“里奥诺，我把那个笨蛋议员送到太空，是要他当一根避雷针。我觉得第二基地会被他唬到，会认为他是相当危险的人物，甚至比基地更加危险。他注定会遭到雷击，而我们就能找出雷电的源头。”
“Yes, Mayor!”
“这个我懂，市长！”
“My intention was that he go to the decayed ruins of Trantor to fumble through what--if anything--was left of its Library and search for the Earth. That’s the world, you remember, that these wearisome mystics tell us was the site of origin of humanity, as though that matters, even in the unlikely case it is true. The Second Foundation couldn’t possibly have believed that was really what he was after and they would have moved to find out what he was really looking for.”
“我本来的打算，是要他前往川陀那个废墟，到那座图书馆去翻箱倒柜一番，设法寻找地球的下落。你应该记得，那些无聊的玄学家常常强调，地球就是人类起源之处。他们说得头头是道，虽然那几乎不可能是真的。第二基地不会相信他要找的真是地球，因此必定会采取行动，查出他的真正目标。”
“But he didn’t go to Trantor.”
“可是他并没有去川陀。”
“No. Quite unexpectedly, he has gone to Sayshell. Why?”
“没错，出乎我意料之外，他竟然跑到赛协尔去了。为什么呢？”
“I don’t know. But please forgive an old bloodhound whose duty it is to suspect everything and tell me how you know he and this Pelorat have gone to Sayshell. I know that Compor reports it, but how far can we trust Compor?”
“我不知道。但是请原谅我这只老猎犬，我的职责就是怀疑每一件事，所以请告诉我，你是怎样获悉他和那个裴洛拉特去了赛协尔。我知道康普曾经作过报告，但是我们又能信任康普几分？”
“The hyper-relay tells us that Compor’s ship has indeed landed on Sayshell Planet.”
“那个超波中继器告诉我们，康普的太空艇确实降落在赛协尔行星。”
“Undoubtedly, but how do you know that Trevize and Pelorat have? Compor may have gone to Sayshell for his own reasons and may not know--or care--where the others are.”
“这点毫无疑问，但你怎么知道崔维兹和裴洛拉特也在那里？康普飞往赛协尔可能另有原因，他也许并不知道，或者根本不关心另外两人的下落。”
“The fact is, that our ambassador on Sayshell has informed us of the arrival of the ship on which we placed Trevize and Pelorat. I am not ready to believe the ship arrived at Sayshell without them. What is more, Compor reports having talked to them and, if he cannot be trusted, we have other reports placing them at Sayshell University, where they consulted with a historian of no particular note.”
“事实上，驻赛协尔大使已经通知我们，崔维兹和裴洛拉特的太空艇抵达了赛协尔，我可不信那艘太空艇会自动飞去。此外康普在报告中说，他跟他们交谈过，即使他不值得信任，我们还有他们两人到了赛协尔大学的目击报告，他们去那里拜访一个名不见经传的历史学家。”
“None of this,” said Kodell mildly, “has reached me.”
“这些报告，”柯代尔以温和的口气说，“我全部没有收到。”
Branno sniffed. “Do not feel stepped on. I am dealing with this personally and the information has now reached you--with not much in the way of delay, either. The latest news--just received--is from the ambassador. Our lightning rod is moving on. He stayed on Sayshell Planet two days, then left. He is heading for another planetary system, he says, some ten parsecs away. He gave the name and the Galactic co-ordinates of his destination to the ambassador, who passed them on to us.”
布拉诺嗤之以鼻。“别吃味了。这些报告都由我亲自处理，而且我这就在知会你，并没有延误多少时间。最新的一则消息，是大使刚刚送来的，我们的避雷针又上路了。他在赛协尔行星待了两天，然后就离开了。他告诉大使，他要航向另一个行星系，该处距离赛协尔约十秒差距。他还把目的地的名称和银河坐标传给了大使，大使又转来给我们。”
“Is there anything corroborative from Compor?”
“康普有没有证实这些事？”
“Compor’s message that Trevize and Pelorat have left Sayshell came even before the ambassador’s message. Compor has not yet determined where Trevize is going. Presumably he will follow.”
“大使向我们报告这件事之前，康普就报告了同样的消息。当时康普还不确定崔维兹要去哪里，想必他会继续跟踪。”
Kodell said, “We are missing the why’s of the situation.” He popped a pastille into his mouth and sucked at it meditatively. “Why did Trevize go to Sayshell? Why did he leave?”
柯代尔说：“我们还不清楚变故的前因后果。”他将一颗含片丢进嘴里，若有所思地吮着，“为什么崔维兹要去赛协尔？为什么又会离开？”
“The question that intrigues me most is: Where? Where is Trevize going?”
“我最感兴趣的问题则是‘何处’，崔维兹要去哪里？”
“You did say, Mayor, did you not, that he gave the name and coordinates of his destination to the ambassador. Are you implying that he lied to the ambassador? Or that the ambassador is lying to us?”
“你刚才不是说过了吗，市长，他把目的地的名称和坐标都给了大使。你是在暗示他对大使说谎？或是大使欺骗了我们？”
“Even assuming everyone told the truth all round and that no one made any errors, there is a name that interests me. Trevize told the ambassador he was going to Gaia. That’s G-A-I-A. Trevize was careful to spell it.”
“即使假设人人都说实话，而且没有任何无心之失，那个名称也令我感到好奇。崔维兹告诉大使说他要去盖娅，盖子的‘盖’，女字旁的‘娅’，崔维兹特别强调了一遍。”
Kodell said, “Gaia? I never heard of it.”
柯代尔说：“盖娅？我从未听说过。”
“Indeed? That’s not strange.” Branno pointed to the spot in the air where the map had been. “Upon the map in this room, I can set up, at a moment’s notice, every star--supposedly--around which there circles an inhabited world and many prominent stars with uninhabited systems. Over thirty million stars can be marked out--if I handle the controls properly--in single units, in pairs, in clusters. I can mark them out in any of five different colors, one at a time, or all together. What I cannot do is locate Gaia on the map. As far as the map is concerned, Gaia does not exist.”
“是吗？这并不奇怪。”布拉诺向刚才呈现显像地图的位置指了指，“从这个房间的地图中，理论上，我随时能叫出每一颗拥有住人世界的恒星，以及虽然没有住人行星系，本身却十分显着的星体。只要我操作得当，总共可以标示出超过三千万颗——包括独立的、成对的、挤成一团的。我可以标出五种不同的色彩，或是一个一个来，或是一次全部解决。可是，我无法在其中找到盖娅的位置。在这套地图中，盖娅根本不存在。”
Kodell said, “For every star the map shows, there are ten thousand it doesn’t show.”
柯代尔说：“这套地图显示的恒星，只占银河中总数的万分之一。”
“Granted, but the stars it doesn’t show lack inhabited planets and why would Trevize want to go to an uninhabited planet?”
“话是不错，可是那些未显示出来的恒星，周围都没有住人行星。崔维兹为何要去一颗无人行星呢？”
“Have you tried the Central Computer? It has all three hundred billion Galactic stars listed.”
“你有没有试过中央电脑？它将银河的三千亿颗恒星通通收录了。”
“I’ve been told it has, but does it? We know very well, you and 1, that there are thousands of inhabited planets that have escaped listing on any of our maps--not only on the one in this room, but even on the Central Computer. Gaia is apparently one of them.”
“我也是这么听说的，但是能信吗？你我两人知道得非常清楚，我们的任何一套地图，都漏掉了数千颗住人行星——不只是这个房间里的地图，中央电脑的资料也一样。盖娅显然就是其中之一。”
Kodell’s voice remained calm, even coaxing. “Mayor, there may well be nothing at all to be concerned about. Trevize may be off on a wild goose chase or he may be lying to us and there is no star called Gaia--and no star at all at the co-ordinates he gave us. He is trying to throw us off his scent, now that he has met Compor and perhaps guesses he is being traced.”
柯代尔的口气冷静依旧，甚至有点像在哄小孩子。“市长，八成没什么好操心的。崔维兹或许只是瞎闯一番，也可能是故意要骗我们，其实根本没有一颗叫盖娅的星星，他给我们的坐标上其实什么都没有。他这样做只是为了摆脱我们，既然他跟康普碰过面，或许已经猜到自己被跟踪了。”
“How will this throw us off the scent? Compor will still follow. No, Liono, I have another possibility in mind, one with far greater potentiality for trouble. Listen to me……”
“这样做如何能摆脱我们？康普当然会跟踪下去。不，里奥诺，我心中另有一个想法，我们很可能会有更大的麻烦。听我说……”
She paused and said, “This room is shielded, Liono. Understand that. We cannot be overheard by anyone, so please feel free to speak. And I will speak freely, as well.
她顿了顿，然后说：“这个房间完全屏蔽，里奥诺，你要了解这一点。我们不会被任何人窃听，所以请你畅所欲言，我自己也会这么做。
“This Gaia is located, if we accept the information, ten parsecs from Sayshell Planet and is therefore part of the Sayshell union. The Sayshell union is a well-explored portion of the Galaxy. All its star systems--inhabited or not inhabited--are recorded and the inhabited ones are known in detail. Gaia is the one exception. Inhabited or not, none have heard of it; it is present in no map. Add to this that the Sayshell union maintains a peculiar state of independence with respect to the Foundation Federation, and did so even with respect to the Mule’s former realm. It has been independent since the fall of the Galactic Empire.”
“如果我们相信那些情报，这个盖娅距离赛协尔行星只有十秒差距，因此是赛协尔联盟的一部分。在整个银河中，赛协尔联盟算是经过充分探勘的区域。其中所有的行星系，不论有没有住人，都有详细的记录，而住人世界的资料更是巨细无遗。只有盖娅是唯一的例外，姑且不论是否有人居住，总之没有任何人听说过，也没有任何地图收录它。此外，赛协尔联盟对基地联邦保持着奇特的独立状态，甚至对当年的骡也维持独立。自从银河帝国崩溃之后，它就一直是独立的。”
“What of all this?” asked Kodell cautiously.
“这些又有何相干？”柯代尔谨慎地问道。
“Surely the two points I have made must be connected. Sayshell incorporates a planetary system that is totally unknown and Sayshell is untouchable. The two cannot be independent. Whatever Gaia is, it protects itself. It sees to it that there is no knowledge of its existence outside its immediate surroundings and it protects those surroundings so that outsiders cannot take over.”
“我讲的这两点一定有关联。赛协尔包容一个无人知晓的行星系，而赛协尔是个碰不得的地方，这两点不可能没有牵连。盖娅不论是怎样的世界，都把自己保护得很周密。除了近邻，它绝不让外界知晓自身的存在。而且它一直在保护这些近邻，令外人无法征服。”
“You are telling me, Mayor, that Gaia is the seat of the Second Foundation?”
“你是在告诉我，市长，盖娅正是第二基地的大本营？”
“I am telling you that Gaia deserves inspection.”
“我是在告诉你，盖娅值得好好调查一番。”
“May I mention an odd point that might be difficult to explain by this theory?”
“我能否提出一个怪问题，或许是你的理论不容易解释的。”
“Please do.”
“请说。”
“If Gaia is the Second Foundation and if, for centuries, it has protected itself physically against intruders, protecting all of the Sayshell union as a broad, deep shield for itself, and if it has even prevented knowledge of itself leaking into the Galaxy--then why has all that protection suddenly vanished? Trevize and Pelorat leave Terminus and, even though you had advised them to go to Trantor, they go immediately and without hesitation to Sayshell and now to Gaia. What is more, you can think of Gaia and speculate on it. Why are you not somehow prevented from doing So?”
“如果盖娅正是第二基地，又如果数个世纪以来，它一直成功地抵御外界的入侵，并且保护整个赛协尔，把那个联盟当做广阔深厚的防护盾，又如果，它始终避免让自身的行藏泄露到银河各处——那么，这些保护网为何突然通通消失？崔维兹和裴洛拉特离开端点星之后，虽然你建议他们到川陀去，他们却毫不迟疑地立刻前往赛协尔，如今又转向盖娅。更何况，你自己也能想到并怀疑盖娅。为什么你不会被某种外力阻止呢？”
Mayor Branno did not answer for a long time. Her head was bent and her gray hair gleamed dully in the light. Then she said, “Because I think Councilman Trevize has somehow upset things. He has done something--or is doing something--that is in some way endangering the Seldon Plan.”
布拉诺市长低下头来，灰白的发丝在灯光下闪着黯淡的光芒。沉默良久之后，她终于答道：“我想，是因为崔维兹议员无意中搅乱了这个局面。他曾经做过的，或者正在进行的什么事，在某方面危及了谢顿计划。”
“That surely is impossible, Mayor.”
“这绝对不可能，市长。”
“I suppose everything and everyone has its flaws. Even Hari Seldon was not perfect, surely. Somewhere the Plan has a flaw and Trevize has stumbled upon it, perhaps without even knowing that he has. We must know what is happening and we must be on the spot.”
“我认为没有任何事或任何人是十全十美的，甚至哈里·谢顿也并非完美无缺。谢顿计划某处必定存在缺陷，刚好给崔维兹撞上了，也许连他自己都不晓得。我们必须了解到底是怎么回事，因此必须到现场去。”
Finally Kodell looked grave. “Don’t make decisions on your own, Mayor. We don’t want to move without adequate consideration.”
柯代尔终于显得面色凝重。“千万别自作主张，市长。我们尚未深思熟虑，不可贸然采取行动。”
“Don’t take me for an idiot, Liono. I’m not going to make war. I’m not going to land an expeditionary force on Gaia. I just want to be on the spot--or near it, if you prefer. Liono, find out for me--I hate talking to a war office that is as ridiculously hidebound as one is sure to be after one hundred and twenty years of peace, but you don’t seem to mind--just how many warships are stationed close to Sayshell. Can we make their movements seem routine and not like a mobilization?”
“别把我当成白痴，里奥诺，我并不想发动战争，也不是要派远征军去登陆盖娅。我只是要亲临现场，或说尽量接近那里。里奥诺，帮我个忙。我不喜欢跟军部的人打交道，经过一百二十年的和平岁月，那些人一定都变得迂腐不堪，可是你好像并不在乎。你帮我查查，我们有多少战舰布署在赛协尔附近，能否让它们看起来像是例行调防，避免对方发现我们正在动员？”
“In these piping times of peace, there are not many ships in the vicinity, I am sure. But I will find out.”
“在如今的太平盛世，我确定附近不会有太多战舰，但我会帮你查出来。”
“Even two or three will be sufficient, especially if one is of the Supernova class.”
“即使两三艘也足够了，如果其中有‘超新星级’就再好不过。”
“What do you want to do with them?”
“你打算要它们做什么？”
“I want them to nudge as close to Sayshell as they can--without creating an incident--and I want them sufficiently close to each other to offer mutual support.”
“我要它们尽可能向赛协尔推进，但不可引发任何事端。我还要它们彼此足够接近，以便相互支援。”
“What’s all this intended for?”
“这样做到底是为什么？”
“Flexibility. I want to be able to strike if I have to.”
“机动运用，我要在必要时能立刻发动攻击。”
“Against the Second Foundation? If Gaia can keep itself isolated and untouchable against the Mule, it can surely withstand a few ships now.”
“对抗第二基地？如果盖娅能让骡都退避三舍，当然不会把几艘战舰放在眼里。”
Branno said, with the gleam of battle in her eyes, “My friend, I told you that nothing and no one is perfect, not even Hari Seldon. In setting up his Plan, he could not help being a person of his times. He was a mathematician of the days of the dying Empire, when technology was moribund. It followed that he could not have made sufficient allowance in his Plan for technological advance. Gravities, for instance, is a whole new direction of advance he could not possibly have guessed at. And there are other advances, too.
布拉诺眼中射出炽烈的斗志，她说：“老朋友，我刚才说过，没有哪件事或哪个人是完美的，就连哈里·谢顿都不例外。他在拟定那个千年计划时，绝对无法超越当时的格局。他是垂死的帝国所培养出来的数学家，当年所有的科技皆已奄奄一息，因而在他的计划中，无法充分考虑未来科技的进展。比如说，重力子学就是一门崭新的科技，当时他不可能预料得到。此外，我们在其他方面也突飞猛进。”
“Gaia might also have advanced.”
“盖娅也可能一直在进步。”
“In isolation? Come. There are ten quadrillion human beings within the Foundation Federation, from among whom contributors to technological advance can step forward. A single isolated world can do nothing in comparison. Our ships will advance and I will be with them.”
“在闭门造车的情况下？得了吧。基地联邦总共拥有千兆人口，这才能够集思广益，使各种科技获得长足的进展，一个孤立的世界怎能相提并论。我们的战舰将向前推进，而我要一起去。”
“Pardon me, Mayor. What was that?”
“对不起，市长，你说什么？”
“I will be going myself to the ships that will gather at the borders of Sayshell. I wish to see the situation for myself.”
“我要亲自登上集结在赛协尔边境的战舰，我想亲眼观察实际状况。”
Kodell’s mouth fell open for a moment. He swallowed and made a distinct noise as he did so. “Mayor, that is--not wise.” If ever a man clearly intended a stronger remark, Kodell did.
柯代尔张着嘴一阵子，然后咽了咽口水，喉咙发出一声怪响。“市长，那是——不智之举。”为了强调自己的观点，他显然已极尽所能。
“Wise or not,” said Branno violently, “I will do it. I am tired of Terminus and of its endless political battles, its infighting, its alliances and counteralliances, its betrayals and renewals. I’ve had seventeen years at the center of it and I want to do something else--anything else. Out there,” she waved her hand in a direction taken at random, “the whole history of the Galaxy may be changing and I want to take part in the process.”
“不管是否明智，”布拉诺以激昂的语气说，“我都要这么做。我已经对端点星厌烦透顶，恨透了这里无止无休的政治斗争、派系对抗、合纵连横以及背叛出卖。我在政治漩涡中心已有十七年之久，现在我想要干点别的，什么都好。而在那里，”她挥手随便指了一个方向，“整个银河的历史也许将被改写，我要亲自参与这件盛事。”
“You know nothing about such things, Mayor.”
“你对这种事根本一窍不通，市长。”
“Who does, Liono?” She rose stiffly to her feet. “As soon as you bring me the information I need on the ships and as soon as I can make arrangements for carrying on with the foolish business at home, I will go. --And, Liono, don’t try to maneuver me out of this decision in any way or I’ll wipe out our long friendship in a stroke and break you. I can still dothat .”
“谁又通呢，里奥诺？”她站了起来，动作有些僵硬。“一旦你帮我把那些战舰的资料找来，一旦我能把此地的糊涂账交代清楚，我就即刻起程。还有，里奥诺，别试图用任何方法改变我的心意，否则我会把老交情一笔勾销，将你撤职处分。这点至少我还做得到。”
Kodell nodded. “I know you can, Mayor, but before you decide, may I ask you to reconsider the power of Seldon’s Plan? What you intend may be suicide.”
柯代尔点了点头。“我知道你做得到，市长，但在你下决心之前，能否请你再考虑一下谢顿计划的威力？你打算做的也许是自取灭亡。”
“I have no fears on that score, Liono. It was wrong with respect to the Mule, whom it could not anticipate--and a failure to anticipate at one time implies the possibility of failure at another.”
“这点我倒并不害怕，里奥诺。谢顿计划没有料到骡的出现，有一就有二，既然它的计算曾经失误，就有可能再度失灵。”
Kodell sighed. “Well then, if you are really determined, I will support you to the best of my ability and with complete loyalty.”
柯代尔叹了一口气。“好吧，如果你真的心意已决，我就只好忠心耿耿地全力以赴了。”
“Good. I warn you once again that you had better mean that remark with all your heart. And with that in mind, Liono, let us move on to Gaia. Forward!”
“很好。我再警告你一次，你这句话最好真正出自肺腑。牢记这一点，里奥诺，我们向盖娅进发吧。前进！”