CHAPTER SIX EARTH
第6章 地球
TREVIZE WAS HOT AND ANNOYED. HE AND PELORAT WERE SITTING IN the small dining area, having just completed their midday meal.
崔维兹感到心浮气躁。他跟裴洛拉特正坐在用餐区，刚吃完中饭。
Pelorat said, "We've only been in space two days and I find myself quite comfortable, although I miss fresh air, nature, and all that. Strange! Never seemed to notice all that sort of thing when it was all round me. Still between my wafer and that remarkable computer of yours, I have my entire library with me-or all that matters, at any rate. And I don't feel the least bit frightened of being out in space now. Astonishing!"
裴洛拉特说：“我们在太空才待了两天，我却已经相当适应，虽说我仍会怀念新鲜空气、大自然，以及地面的一切。怪啦！那些东西在身边的时候，我好像从未注意过。话说回来，这里有我的晶片，还有你那台了不起的电脑，就等于所有的藏书都跟着我，我就感到什么都不缺。而且，我现在对身处太空这件事，已经一点恐惧感也没有了。真不可思议！”
Trevize made a noncommittal sound. His eyes were inwardly focused.
崔维兹含糊地应了一声。他正在沉思，并未注意到外界的一切。
Pelorat said gently, "I don't mean to intrude, Golan, but I don't really think you're listening. Not that I'm a particularly interesting person always been a hit of a bore, you know. Still, you seem preoccupied in another way. -Are we in trouble? Needn't be afraid to tell me, you know. Not much I could do, I suppose, but I won't go into panic, dear fellow."
裴洛拉特又轻声说：“我并不是想多管闲事，葛兰，可是我认为你没有真正在听。我不是个特别有趣的人，总是有点令人厌烦，这你是知道的。话说回来，你好像在想什么心事——我们遇上麻烦了吗？你知道吗，你不必顾忌，什么事都可以告诉我。我猜自己帮不上什么忙，但我绝不会惊慌失措，亲爱的伙伴。”
"In trouble?" Trevize seemed to come to his senses, frowning slightly.
“遇上麻烦？”崔维兹似乎回过神来，微微皱了一下眉头。
"I mean the ship. It's a new model, so I suppose there could be something wrong:" Pelorat allowed himself a small, uncertain smile.
“我是指这艘太空艇。它是最新型的，所以我猜也许哪里出了问题。”裴洛拉特露出浅浅而迟疑的笑容。
Trevize shook his head vigorously. "Stupid of me to leave you in such uncertainty, Janov. There's nothing wrong at all with the ship. It's working perfectly. It's just that I've been looking for a hyper-relay."
崔维兹猛力摇了摇头。“我真不该让你产生这种疑虑，詹诺夫。这艘太空艇没什么不对劲，它表现得十全十美。我只不过是在找超波中继器。”
"Ah, I see. -Except that I don't. What is a hyper-relay?"
“啊，我懂了——不过我还是不懂，什么是超波中继器？”
"Well, let me explain, Janov. I am in communication with Terminus. At least, I can be anytime I wish and Terminus can, in reverse, be in communication with us. They know the ship's location, having observed its trajectory. Even if they had not, they could locate us by scanning near-space for mass, which would warn them of the presence of a ship or, possibly, a meteoroid. But they could further detect an energy pattern, which would not only distinguish a ship from a meteoroid but would identify a particular ship, for no two ships make use of energy in quite the same way. In some way, our pattern remains characteristic, no matter what appliances or instruments we turn on and off. The ship may be unknown, of course, but if it is a ship whose energy pattern is on record in Terminus-as ours is-it can be identified as soon as detected:'
“好吧，詹诺夫，让我为你解释一番。我跟端点星保持着联络，至少，我随时联络得上端点星，反之亦然。他们一直在观测这艘太空艇的轨迹，所以知道我们现在的位置。即使他们原先没这样做，也能随时把我们找出来。因为只要扫描近太空的质点，就能定出任何船舰或流星体的位置。但他们还能进一步侦测能量型样，这样不但可以区分船舰和流星体，还能辨识每一艘船舰，因为两艘船舰使用能量的方式绝不会完全一致。总之，不论我们开启或关闭哪些设备或装置，这艘太空艇的能量型样都有固定的特征。如果端点星没有某艘船舰的能量型样记录，它的身份当然无法辨识；反之，像我们这艘太空艇，端点星拥有完整的记录，一旦侦测到它，立刻能辨识出来。”
Pelorat said, "It seems to me, Golan, that the advance of civilization is nothing but an exercise in the limiting of privacy."
裴洛拉特说：“我有一种感觉，葛兰，文明的进步等于是对隐私权的剥削。”
"You may be right. Sooner or later, however, we must move through hyperspace or we will be condemned to remain within a parsec or two of Terminus for the rest of our lives. We will then be unable to engage in interstellar travel to any but the slightest degree. In passing through hyperspace, on the other hand, we undergo a discontinuity in ordinary space. We pass from here to there-and I mean across a gap of hundreds of parsecs sometimes-in an instant of experienced time. We are suddenly enormously far away in a direction that is very difficult to predict and, in a practical sense, we can no longer be detected."
“你也许说对了。然而，迟早我们必须进入超空间，否则注定我们这一辈子，只能在距离端点星一两秒差距的太空游荡，只能进行最低程度的星际旅行。反之，取道超空间，我们在普通空间的航迹就变得不连续。我们能在瞬间由一处跳到另一处，我的意思是，有时可以一举跨越几百秒差距。我们会突然出现在非常遥远的地方，由于方位极难预测，实际上我们再也不会被侦测到。”
"I see that. Yes."
“我懂了，一点都没错。”
"Unless, of course, they have planted a hyper-relay on board. A hyperrelay sends out a signal through hyperspace - a signal characteristic of this ship-and the authorities on Terminus would know where we are at all times. That answers your question, you see. There would be nowhere in the Galaxy we could hide and no combination of jumps through hyperspace would make it possible for us to evade their instruments:"
“当然，除非他们预先在太空艇中植入一个超波中继器。那玩意能送出穿越超空间的讯号——一种对应这艘太空艇的特定讯号——端点星当局就一直能知道我们位在何方。懂了吗，这也等于回答了你的问题。这样一来，我们在银河中就无所遁形，不论做多少次超空间跃迁，都不可能摆脱他们的追踪。”
"But, Golan," bald Pelorat softly, "don't 13'e want Foundation protection?"
“可是，葛兰，”裴洛拉特轻声说，“难道我们不要基地保护吗？”
"Yes, Janov, but only when we ask for it. You said the advance of civilization meant the continuing restriction of privacy. -Well. I don't want to be that advanced. I want freedom to move undetected as I wish - unless and until I want protection So I would feel better, a great deal better, if there weren't a hyper-relay on board."
“当然要，詹诺夫，但只限于我们需要的时候。你刚才说过，文明的进步代表不断剥夺隐私权。哼，我可不想那么进步。我希望有行动自由，不希望随时随地都能被找到，除非我自己请求保护。所以说，假如太空艇上没有超波中继器，我会感到比较舒服，舒服千万倍。”
"Have you found one, Golan?"
“你找到了吗，葛兰？”
"No, I have not. If I had, I might be able to render it inoperative somehow."
“还没有。万一给我找到了，我或许有办法令它失灵。”
"Would you know one if you saw it?"
“如果你看到了，能够一眼认出来吗？”
"That's one of the difficulties. I might not be able to recognize it. I know what a hyper-relay looks like generally and I know ways of testing a suspicious object-but this is a late-model ship, designed for special tasks. A hyper-relay may have been incorporated into its design in such a way as to show no signs of its presence."
“这正是我目前的困难之一，我也许根本认不出来。我知道超波中继器大概像什么样子，也知道如何测试可疑的物件。但这是一艘新型的太空艇，专门为了特殊任务而设计。超波中继器也许成了机件的一部分，外表根本看不出来。”
"On the other hand, maybe there is no hyper-relay present and that's why you haven't found it."
“反之，也可能并没有超波中继器，所以你一直找不到。”
"I don't dare assume that and I don't like the thought of making a jump until I know."
“我不敢这么说，但在弄清楚之前，我不想进行任何跃迁。”
Pelorat looked enlightened. "That's why we've just been drifting through space. I've been wondering why we haven't jumped. I've heard about jumps, you know. Been a little nervous about it, actually-been wandering when you'd order me to strap myself in or take a pill or something like that."
裴洛拉特显得恍然大悟。“原来这就是我们始终在太空飘荡的原因，我一直在纳闷为何还不进行跃迁。你知道吗，我对跃迁略有所闻。老实说，我有一点紧张，不知道你何时会命令我系上安全带，或者吞一颗药丸，或是诸如此类的准备工作。”
Trevize managed a smile. "No need for apprehension. These aren't ancient times. On a ship like this, you just leave it all to the computer. You give it your instructions and it does the rest. You wonít know that anything has happened at all, except that the view of space will suddenly change. If you've ever seen a slide show, you'll know what happens when one slide is suddenly projected in place of another. Well, that's what the jump will seem like."
崔维兹勉强微微一笑。“根本不必担心，现在不是古时候了。在这种船舰上，一切交给电脑即可。你只要下达指令，电脑便会执行。你根本不会察觉发生了什么事，唯一的变化只是太空景观陡然不同了。如果你看过幻灯片，就该知道当幻灯片跳到下一张的时候，会产生什么样的变化。嗯，跃迁的感觉大同小异。”
"Dear me. One won't feel anything? Odd! I find that somewhat disappointing."
“乖乖，竟然毫无感觉？奇怪！我反倒觉得有点失望。”
"I've never felt anything and the ships I've been in haven't been as advanced as this baby of ours. -But it's not because of the hyperrelay that we haven't jumped. We have to get a bit further away from Terminus-and from the sun, too. The farther we are from any massive abject, the easier to control the jump, to make re-emergence into space at exactly desired co-ordinates. In an emergency, you might risk a jump when you're only two hundred kilometers off she surface of a planet and just trust to luck that you'll end up safely. Since there is much mete safe than unsafe volume in the Galaxy, you can reasonably count on safety. Still, there's all-ways the possibility that random factors will cause you to re-emerge within a few million kilometers of a large star or in the Galactic core-and you will find yourself fried before you can blink. The further away you are from mass, the smaller those factors and the less likely it is that anything untoward will happen."
“根据我自己的经验，从来没有任何感觉，而我所搭乘过的船舰，全部比不上现在这艘太空艇。不过，我们还没有进行跃迁，并不是因为超波中继器的关系，而是我们必须再离端点星远一点，也得离太阳远一点。我们距离巨大天体愈远，就愈容易控制跃迁，也就愈容易抵达预定的普通空间坐标。在紧急状况下，即使距离行星表面只有两百公里，有时也必须冒险一跃，这时只能祈祷自己运气够好。由于在银河中，安全的空间比不安全的多得太多，一般说来运气都不会那么坏。话说回来，总是存在着某些随机的因素，可能使你在重返普通空间时，出现在一颗巨大恒星几百万公里附近，甚至掉进银河核心，你还来不及眨一下眼睛，就发现已经被烤焦了。我们距离各个天体愈远，那些因素的影响就愈小，不幸的事件就愈不可能发生。”
"In that case, I commend your caution. We're not in a tearing hurry,"
“这样的话，我很赞赏你的谨慎，我们并非十万火急。”
"Exactly. -Especially since I would dearly love to find the hyperrelay before I make a move. -Or find a way of convincing myself there is no hyper-relay."
“一点都没错。尤其是我在行动之前，很想先找到那个超波中继器，或是设法说服自己超波中继器并不存在。”
Trevize seemed to drift off again into his private concentration and Pelorat said, raising his voice a little to surmount the preoccupation barrier, "How much longer do we have?"
崔维兹似乎又陷入了沉思冥想，裴洛拉特不得不略微提高音量，以超越那道无形的障碍。“我们还有多少时间？”
"What?"
“什么？”
"I mean, when would you make the jump if you had no concerns over the hyper-relay, my dear chap?"
“我的意思是，我亲爱的兄弟，如果不考虑那个超波中继器，你准备在什么时候进行跃迁？”
"At our present speed and trajectory, I should say on our fourth day out. I'll work out the proper time on the computer."
“根据我们目前的速度和轨迹，我估计要等到出发后的第四天。我会用电脑算出正确的时间。”
"Well, then, you still have two days for your search. May I make a suggestion?"
“好吧，那么你还可以找两天。我能提供一个建议吗？”
"Go ahead."
“请说。”
"I have always found in my own work-quite different from yours, of course, but possibly we may generalize-that zeroing in tightly on a particular problem is self-defeating. Why not relax and talk about something else, and your unconscious mind-not laboring under the weight of concentrated thought-may solve the problem for you."
“我从工作中体会出一个心得——我的工作当然和你的截然不同，但是这个道理或许可以推广——我的心得是，如果对某个问题猛钻牛角尖，反倒会弄巧成拙。何不把心情放轻松，跟我谈点什么别的，这样一来，你的潜意识在没有密集思考的压力下，也许就会帮你解决这个难题。”
Trevize looked momentarily annoyed and then laughed. "Well, why not? -Tell me, Professor, what got you interested in Earth? What brought up this odd notion of a particular planet from which we all started?"
崔维兹先是露出厌烦的神情，随即哈哈大笑。“嗯，有何不可？告诉我，教授，你为何会对地球那么感兴趣？你怎么会想到那种古怪的念头，认为人类全都发源于某一颗行星？”
"Ah!" Pelorat nodded his head reminiscently. "That's going back a while. Over thirty years. I planned to be a biologist when I was going to college. I was particularly interested in the variation of species on different worlds. The variation, as you know-well, maybe you don't know, so you won't mind if I tell you-is very small. All forms of life throughout the Galaxy-at least all that we have yet encountered-share a water-based protein/nucleic acid chemistry."
“啊！”裴洛拉特点了点头，沉浸在回忆中。“说来话长，那是三十多年前的事了。我刚进大学的时候，本来想成为一位生物学家，因为我对不同世界的物种变异特别感兴趣。你应该知道，这种变异非常小——嗯，也许你并不知道，所以想必不介意我从头说起。银河各处所有的生命形态，至少目前我们接触到的一切生命，都是以水为介质的蛋白质／核酸生化结构。”
Trevize said, "I went to military college, which emphasized nucleonics and gravities, but I'm not exactly a narrow specialist. I know a bit about the chemical basis of life. We were taught that water, proteins, and nucleic acids are the only possible basis for life."
崔维兹说：“我读的是军事学院，课程偏重核子学和重力子学，但我并非那种知识狭隘的专才，我对生命的化学基础略有所知。我们以前学过，水、蛋白质以及核酸，是唯一可能的生命基石。”
"That, I think, is an unwarranted conclusion. It is safer to say that no other form of life has yet been found-or, at any rate, been recognized - and let it go at that. What is more surprising is that indigenous species - that is, species found on only a single planet and no other-are few in number. Most of the species that exist, including Homo sapiens in particular, are distributed through all or most of the inhabited worlds of the Galaxy and are closely related biochemically, physiologically, and morphologically. The indigenous species, on the other hand, are widely separated in characteristics from both the widespread forms and from each other."
“我认为那个结论并不恰当。比较安全的说法，是至今尚未发现其他形式的生命，或者应该说，还没有辨识出来，反正你知道这点就成了。更令人惊讶的是，所谓的原生物种，也就是除了某颗行星之外，其他世界都不存在的物种，数目竟然都非常少。现今存在的大多数物种，特别是‘智人’，在银河所有的住人世界几乎都能发现，而且无论就生物化学、生理学或形态学而言，彼此都有密切关联。另一方面，原生物种之间的特征却有很大差异，不同行星上的原生物种也几乎没有交集。”
"Well, what of that?"
“嗯，这又怎么样？”
"The conclusion is that one world in the Galaxy-one world-is different from the rest. Tens of millions of worlds in the Galaxy-no one knows exactly how many-have developed life. It was simple life, sparse life, feeble life-not very variegated, not easily maintained, and not easily spread. One world, one world alone, developed life in millions of species-easily millions-some of it very specialized, highly developed, very prone to multiplication and to spreading, and including us. We were intelligent enough to form a civilization, to develop hyperspatial flight, and to colonize the Galaxy-and, in spreading through the Galaxy, we took many other forms of lifeforms related to each other and to ourselves-along with us."
“结论就是银河中某个世界——单独一个世界——和其他世界截然不同。银河中有数千万个世界——没有人确定究竟有多少——都发展出了生命，但都是些简单的、纤弱的、稀稀落落的生命，没有什么变化，不容易存续，更不容易扩散。可是有一个世界，那个唯一的世界，轻而易举发展出几百万种生物，其中有些非常专化，而且高度发展，非常容易增殖和扩散，最后的结果就包括我们在内。我们有足够的智慧形成文明，发展超空间飞行，殖民整个银河系。而在扩展到整个银河的过程中，我们随身带着许多其他的生物，那些生物彼此间都有渊源，也和人类多少有些亲戚关系。”
"If you stop to think of it," said Trevize rather indifferently, "I suppose that stands to reason. I mean, here we are in a human Galaxy. If we assume that it all started on some one world, then that one world would have to be different. But why not? The chances of life developing in that riotous fashion must be very slim indeed - perhaps one in a hundred million-so the chances are that it happened in one life-bearing world out of a hundred million. It had to be one."
“仔细想一想，”崔维兹以相当平淡的口气说，“我认为这种说法站得住脚。我的意思是，这是个充满人类的银河，如果我们假设人类起源于单一的世界，那个世界就必定与众不同。有何不可呢？生命能够那么多样化发展的几率一定很小，也许只有一亿分之一；在一亿个能产生生命的世界当中，才出现一个那样的世界。所以说，顶多只能有一个。”
"But what is it that made that particular one world so different from the others?" said Pelorat excitedly. "What were the conditions that made it unique?"
“但究竟是什么因素，使得那个世界和其他世界如此不同？”裴洛拉特十分激动，“是什么条件使它变得独一无二？”
` "Merely chance, perhaps. After all, human beings and the lifeforms they brought with them now exist on tens of millions of planets, all of which can support life, so all those worlds must be good enough."
“大概只是偶然吧。毕竟，目前在数千万颗行星上，都存在有人类以及人类带去的其他生命形态，那些行星既然都能维持生命，所以条件一定都差不多。”
" "No! Once the human species had evolved, once it had developed a technology, once it had toughened itself in the hard struggle for survival, it could then adapt to life on any world that is in the least hospitable-on Terminus, for instance. But can you imagine intelligent life having developed on Terminus? When Terminus was first occupied by human beings in the days of the EncycIopedists, the highest form of plant life it produced was a mosslike growth on rocks; the highest forms of animal life were small coral-like growths in the ocean and insectlike flying organisms on land. We just about wiped them out and stocked sea and land with fish and rabbits and goats and grass and grain and trees and so on. We have nothing left of the indigenous life, except for what exists in zoos and aquaria."
“不对！人类这个物种一旦演化成功，一旦发展出科技，一旦在艰难的生存斗争中浴火重生，就会具有很强的适应力，即使最不适宜生存的世界，人类也一样能征服，端点星就是很好的例子。可是你能想象，端点星会演化出什么智慧生物吗？当人类初到端点星时，也就是百科全书编者掌权的时代，端点星上最高等的植物，是生长在岩石上的藓类；而最高等的动物，海中的是珊瑚类生物，陆上的则是类似昆虫的飞虫。我们来到之后，将那些生物一扫而光，同时在海洋中放生大量鱼类，又在陆地上繁殖兔子、山羊、草本植物、木本植物、五谷杂粮等等。当地的固有生命如今全部绝种，只有在动物园和水族馆才看得见。”
"Hmm," said Trevize.
“嗯——嗯。”崔维兹无言以对。
Pelorat stared at him for a full minute, then sighed and said, "You don't really care, do you? Remarkable! I find no one who does, somehow. My fault, I think. I cannot make it interesting, even though it interests me so much."
裴洛拉特瞪了他足足一分钟之久，然后发出一声长叹，这才说：“你并非真的感兴趣，对不对？怪啦！我发现好像谁都没有兴趣。我想，这是我自己的错。虽然自己被这个问题深深吸引，我就是无法说得引人入胜。”
Trevize said, "It's interesting. It is. But-but-so what?"
崔维兹说：“这个问题很有趣，真的。可是……可是……又怎么样呢？”
"It doesn't strike you that it might be interesting scientifically to study a world that gave rise to the only really flourishing indigenous ecological balance the Galaxy has ever seen?"
“难道你没有想到，这会是个很有趣的科学研究题目？想想看，一个银河中独一无二的世界，只有在那个世界上，才能产生真正丰富的固有生态。”
"Maybe, if you're a biologist. -I'm not, you see. You must forgive me."
“对一位生物学家而言，也许有趣。可惜我不是，你懂了吧，所以你得原谅我。”
"Of course, dear fellow. It's just that I never found any biologists who were interested, either. I told you I was a biology major. I took it up with my professor and he wasn't interested. He told me to turn to some practical problem. That so disgusted me I took up history instead-which had been rather a hobby of mine from my teenage years, in any case-and tackled the `Origin Question' from that angle."
“当然啦，亲爱的伙伴。只不过，我也从未发现这样的生物学家。我刚才说过，我本来主修的是生物。我曾经拿这个问题请教我的教授，他同样兴趣缺缺，还劝我应该找些实际的问题。这令我十分反感，我索性转攻历史，反正我十几岁的时候，就很喜爱阅读历史书籍。从此以后，我就从历史的角度，来钻研‘起源问题’。”
Trevize said, "But at least it has given you a lifework, so you must be pleased that your professor was so unenlightened."
崔维兹说：“可是这样一来，至少让你找到一个毕生志业，所以你该感谢那位教授的冥顽不灵。”
"Yes, I suppose one might look at it that way. And the lifework is an interesting one, of which I have never tired. -But I do wish it interested you. I hate this feeling of forever talking to myself."
“对，我想这样说也有道理。而且这项毕生志业的确有趣，我始终乐此不疲。但我实在很想挑起你的兴趣，我不喜欢永远这样自言自语。”
Trevize leaned his bead back and laughed heartily.
崔维兹突然仰头大笑，笑得极为开心。
Pelorat's quiet face took or: a trace of hurt. "Why are you laughing at me?"
裴洛拉特平静的面容，露出几许被刺伤的神情。“你为什么嘲笑我？”
"Not you, Janov," said Trevize. "I was laughing at my own stupidity, Where you're concered, I am completely grateful. You were perfectly right, you know,"
“不是你，詹诺夫，”崔维兹说，“我是在笑我自己的愚蠢。我十分感激你的关心，你知道吗，你完全说对了。”
"To take up the importance of human origins?"
“人类起源是个重要的课题？”
"No, no. -Well, yes, that too. -But 1 meant you were right to tell me to stop consciously thinking of my problem and to turn my mind elsewhere. It worked. When you were talking about the manner in which life evolved, it finally occurred to me that I knew how to find that hyperrelay-if it existed."
“不，不——喔，对，那也重要。但我的意思是，你刚才叫我别再拼命想那个问题，应当把心思转移到别处去，这个建议真的有效。当你在讲述生命演化方式的时候，我终于想到了怎样寻找那个超波中继器——除非它不存在。”
"Oh, that!"
“喔，那件事！”
"Yes, that! That's my monomania at the moment. I've been looking for that hyper-relay as though I were on my old scow of a training ship, studying every part of the ship by eye, looking for something that stood out from the rest. I had forgotten that this ship is a developed product of thousands of years of technological evolution. Don't you see?"
“对，那件事！我刚才犯了偏执狂。我原先一直用传统方式寻找，好像还在当年那艘老旧的训练舰上。我用肉眼查看每个角落，试着寻找各种可疑的物件。我忘了这艘太空艇是数万年科技进化的结晶。你懂了吗？”
"No, Golan."
“不懂，葛兰。”
"We have a computer aboard. How could I have forgotten?"
“太空艇上有电脑，我怎么忘了？”
He waved his hand and passed into his own room, urging Pelorat along with him.
他立刻钻进自己的舱房，同时挥手叫裴洛拉特一道来。
"I need only try to communicate," he said, placing his hands onto the computer contact.
“我只要试验它的通讯功能就行了。”他一面说，一面将双手放到电脑感应板上。
It was a matter of trying to reach Terminus, which was now some thousands of kilometers behind.
他试着联络端点星，如今他们已经飞出数万公里。
Reach! Speak! It was as though nerve endings sprouted and extended, reaching outward with bewildering speed-the speed of light, of course - to make contact.
联络！通话！他的神经末梢仿佛长出新芽，不断向外延伸，以不可思议的速度（当然就是光速）伸展到太空，尝试进行接触。
Trevize felt himself touching-well, not quite touching, but sensing - well, not quite sensing, but-it didn't matter, for there wasn't a word for it.
崔维兹感觉自己正在触摸。嗯，不完全是触摸，而是感触。嗯，又不完全是感触，而是……这并不重要，因为根本没有语言可以形容。
He was aware of Terminus within reach and, although the distance between himself and it was lengthening by some twenty kilometers per second, contact persisted as though planet and ship were motionless and separated by a few meters.
他“感到”与端点星取得了联络。虽然两者的距离，正以每秒约二十公里的速度愈拉愈远，联系却始终持续不断。仿佛行星与太空艇都静止不动，而且相距仅数米而已。
He said nothing. He clamped shut. He was merely testing the principle of communication; he was not actively communicating.
他一句话也没说，便将联系切断了。他只是在测试通讯的“原则”，并非真正想做任何通讯。
Out beyond, eight parsecs away, was Anacreon, the nearest large planet-in their backyard, by Galactic standards. To send a message by the same light-speed system that had just worked for Terminus - and to receive an answer as well-would take fifty-two years.
安纳克里昂在八秒差距之外，是距离端点星最近的一颗较大行星。就银河尺度而言，它就是端点星的后院。若是仿照刚才联络端点星的方式，以光速送出一道讯号，想要收到回讯，必须等上五十二个年头。
Reach for Anacreon! Think Anacreon! Think it as clearly as you can. You know its position relative to Terminus and the Galactic core; you've studied its planetography and history; you've solved military problems where it was necessary to recapture Anacreon (in the impossible case - these days-that it was taken by an enemy).
联络安纳克里昂！想象安纳克里昂！尽可能想象清楚。你知道它和端点星以及银河核心的相对位置；你研究过它的历史和它的行星表面学；服役期间，你曾经推演过如何夺回安纳克里昂（如今，它绝不可能遭敌人占领，那只是个假想状况罢了）。
Space! You've been on Anacreon.
太空啊！你曾经到过安纳克里昂。
Picture it! Picture it! You will sense being on it via hyper-relay.
想象它！想象它的模样！利用超波中继器，营造置身其上的感觉。
Nothing! His nerve endings quivered and came to rest nowhere.
什么也没有！他的神经末梢在太空中不停飞舞，却找不到任何栖身之所。
Trevize pulled loose. "There's no hyper-relay on board the Far Star, Janov. I'm positive. -And if I hadn't followed your suggestion, I wonder how long it would have taken me to reach this point."
崔维兹收回意念。“远星号上没有超波中继器，詹诺夫，我现在可以肯定了。假如我没有听从你的建议，不晓得要多久之后，才能得到这个结论。”
Pelorat, without moving a facial muscle, positively glowed. "I'm so pleased to have been of help. Does this mean we jump?"
裴洛拉特的面部肌肉虽然没有动作，却明显露出喜色。“我真高兴能帮得上忙。这是否表示我们可以跃迁了？”
"No, we still wait two more days, to be safe. We have to get away from mass, remember? -Ordinarily, considering that I have a new and untried ship with which I am thoroughly unacquainted, it would probably take me two days to calculate the exact procedure - the proper hyperthrust for the first jump, in particular. I have a feeling, though, the computer will do it all."
“不，为了安全起见，我们还得再等两天。我们必须远离各个天体，还记得吗？这是一艘实验中的新型太空艇，而且我对它完全没有认识，通常在这种情况下，我也许得花两天时间来计算正确的程序，尤其是首度跃迁的恰当‘超推力’。不过，我现在有个感觉，电脑将会完全代劳。”
"Dear me! That leaves us facing a rather boring stretch of time, it seems to me."
“乖乖！看来，我们会等得无聊死了。”
"Boring?" Trevize smiled broadly. "Anything but! You and I, Janov, are going to talk about Earth."
“无聊？”崔维兹露出灿烂的笑容，“绝不可能！你我两人，詹诺夫，要好好聊一聊地球。”
Pelorat said, "Indeed? You are trying to please an old man? That is kind of you. Really it is."
裴洛拉特说：“真的吗？你是想逗老头子开心吧？你心地真好，真的。”
"Nonsense! I'm trying to please myself. Janov, you have made a convert. As a result of what you have told me, I realize that Earth is the most important and the most devouringly interesting object in the Universe."
“乱讲！我是想逗我自己开心。詹诺夫，你终于说服了一个人。从你刚才那番话中，我了解到地球是宇宙间最重要、最有趣无比的一个题目。”
It must surely have struck Trevize at the moment that Pelorat had presented his view of Earth. It was only because his mind was reverberating with the problem of the hyper-relay that he hadn't responded at once. And the instant the problem had gone, he had responded.
当裴洛拉特在讲述他对地球的看法时，崔维兹一定就有了体悟，只是因为超波中继器的问题萦绕心中，所以并未立即作出回应。在那个问题迎刃而解之后，崔维兹果然马上有所反应。
Perhaps the one statement of Hari Seldon's that was most often repeated was his remark concerning the Second Foundation being "at the other end of the Galaxy" from Terminus. Seldon had even named the spot. It was to be "at Star's End."
哈里·谢顿最常为人引述的一句话，大概就是他对第二基地的描述。他曾说第二基地位于“银河的另一端”，甚至还曾为该处命名，称之为“群星的尽头”。
This had been included in Gaal Dornick's account of the day of the trial before the Imperial court. "The other end of the Galaxy? - those were the words Seldon had used to Dornick and ever since that day their significance had been debated.
这句话收录在盖尔·多尼克的记述中。“在银河的另一端……”根据多尼克为谢顿所着的传记，谢顿在接受帝国法庭审判之后，曾经亲口对他这么说。从那一天开始，这句话的含意始终为人争论不休。
What was it that connected one end of the Galaxy with "the other end"? Was it a straight line, a spiral, a circle, or what?
银河某一端与“另一端”究竟靠什么相连？一条直线，一条螺线，一个圆，还是其他的线条？
And now, luminously, it was suddenly clear to Trevize that it was no line and no curve that should-or could-be drawn on the map of the Galaxy. It was more subtle than that.
现在，崔维兹突然间恍然大悟，了解到那既不应该、也不可能是银河地图上的任何直线或曲线。真正的答案，其实更加微妙。
It was perfectly clear that the one end of the Galaxy was Terminus. It was at the edge of the Galaxy, yes-our Foundation's edge -which gave the word "end" a literal meaning. It was, however, also the newest world of the Galaxy at the time Seldon was speaking, a world that was about to be founded, that had not as yet been in existence for a single moment.
端点星是其中的一端，这是毫无疑问的一件事。没错，端点星位于银河的边缘——甚至在基地的边缘——因此“端点”具有字面上的意义。然而，在谢顿说那句话的时候，它也是银河中最新的世界。严格说来它当时尚未存在，只是一个即将建立的世界。
What would be the other end of the Galaxy, in that light? The other Foundation's edge? Why, the oldest world of the Galaxy? And according to the argument Pelorat had presented-without knowing what he was presenting-that could only be Earth. The Second Foundation might well be on Earth.
根据这个观点，银河的另一端又在何处？基地的另一个边缘吗？哈，银河最古老的世界在哪里？照裴洛拉特刚才的说法——尽管他自己并不知道这重意义——唯一的答案就是地球。第二基地当然就在地球上。
Yet Seldon had said the other end of the Galaxy was "at Star's End." Who could say he was not speaking metaphorically? Trace the history of humanity backward as Pelorat did and the line would stretch back from each planetary system, each star that shone down on an inhabited planet, to some other planetary system, some other star from which the first migrants had come, then back to a star before that-until finally, all the lines stretched back to the planet on which humanity had originated. It was the star that shone upon Earth that was "Star's End:"
虽然谢顿曾经说过，银河的另一端叫做“群星尽头”，谁又能断言这不是一种隐喻呢？如果像裴洛拉特那样回溯人类的历史，想象时光不断倒流，便能看到每个住人星系中的人类，逐渐回流到其他的行星系，也就是第一代移民原先的出生地，然后人潮继续不断回流——直到最后，所有的人类都退回到某颗行星，那里便是人类的发源地。而照耀地球的那颗恒星，正是所谓的“群星尽头”。
Trevize smiled and said almost lovingly, "Tell me more about Earth, Janov."
崔维兹露出微笑，用近乎崇拜的口吻说：“再多说些有关地球的事，詹诺夫。”
Pelorat shook his head. "I have told you all there is, really. We will find out more on Trantor."
裴洛拉特摇了摇头。“我知道的都已经告诉你了，真的。我们要到川陀去，才能找到更多资料。”
Trevize said, "No, we won't, Janov. We'll find out nothing there. Why? Because we're not going to Trantor. I control this ship and I assure you we're not."
崔维兹说：“不会的，詹诺夫，我们不会在那里找到任何东西。为什么呢？因为我们并不打算去川陀。太空艇由我驾驶，我向你保证我们不会去。”
Pelorat's mouth fell open. He struggled for breath for a moment and then said, woebegone, "Oh, my dear fellow!"
裴洛拉特的嘴巴立刻张得老大。他好一会儿才喘过气来，用悲凄的语调说：“喔，我亲爱的伙伴！”
Trevize said, "Come an, Janov. Don't look like that. We're going to find Earth."
崔维兹说：“拜托，詹诺夫，别这样子。我的意思是，我们要直接去找地球。”
"But it's only on Trantor that - "
“可是只有川陀才有……”
"No, it's not. Trantor is just someplace you can study brittle films and dusty documents and turn brittle and dusty yourself."
“没有，那里什么也没有。你到川陀去，只能找到尘封的档案，还有变脆的胶卷，到头来自己也会灰头土脸，甚至一捏就碎。”
"For decades, I've dreamed……"
“几十年来，我一直梦想……”
"You've dreamed of finding Earth."
“你梦想能找到地球。”
"But it's only……"
“可是只有到了……”
Trevize stood up, leaned over, caught the slack of Pelorat's tunic, and said, "Don't repeat that, Professor. Don't repeat it. When you first told me we were going to look for Earth, before ever we got onto this ship, you said we were sure to find it because, and I quote your own words, `I have an excellent possibility in mind: Now I don't ever want to hear you say `Trantor' again. I just want you to tell me about this excellent possibility."
崔维兹突然站起来，倾身向前，一把抓住裴洛拉特的短袖袍。“别再说了，教授，别再提那个地方。在我们还没登上太空艇之前，当你第一次告诉我，说我们要去寻找地球时，你说我们一定找得到，因为，让我引述你自己的话：‘我已经胸有成竹’。现在，我不要再听到你提起川陀，我只要你告诉我这个胸有成竹的答案。”
"But it must be confirmed. So far, it's only a thought, a hope, a vague possibility."
“可是必须先证实啊。目前为止，它还只是一种想法，一线希望，一个模糊的可能性。”
"Good! Tell me about it!"
“好！就告诉我这些！”
"You don't understand. You simply don't understand. It is not a field in which anyone but myself has done research. There is nothing historical, nothing firm, nothing real. People talk about Earth as though it's a fact, and also as though it's a myth. There are a million contradictory tales……"
“你不了解，你根本就不了解。除了我，没有任何人研究过这个题目。完全没有历史依据，没有可信的理论，也没有任何真凭实据。当人们谈到地球时，总是抱着半信半疑的态度。至少有一百万种互相矛盾的传说……”
"Well then, what has your research consisted of?"
“好吧，那么，你自己的研究又是怎么做的？”
"I've been forced to collect every tale, every bit of supposed history, every legend, every misty myth. Even fiction. Anything that includes the name of Earth or the idea of a planet of origin. For over thirty years, I've been collecting everything I could find from every planet of the Galaxy. Now if I could only get something more reliable than all of these from the Galactic Library at- But you don't want me to say the word."
“我不得不搜集每一项传说，每一点可能的历史，每一件传闻轶事，每一个扑朔迷离的神话，甚至包括虚构的故事。无论任何资料，只要提到地球这个名字，或是涵盖起源行星的概念，我都不会放过。三十多年来，我从银河中每一颗行星上，尽一切可能搜集各种资料。现在，我只需要到银河图书馆，去查阅一些最权威可靠的资料。偏偏那座图书馆在……但你不准我说那个地名。”
"That's right. Don't say it. Tell me instead that one of these items has caught your attention, and tell me your reasons for thinking why it, of them all, should be legitimate."
“对，别提那个地方。我只要你告诉我，在你所搜集的资料中，哪一条特别吸引你的注意，并且告诉我，你是基于什么理由，认为那是一条可靠的资料。”
Pelorat shook his head. "There, Golan, if you will excuse my saying so, you talk like a soldier or a politician. That is not the way history works."
裴洛拉特摇了摇头。“帮个忙，葛兰，请别介意我说句老实话，你的口气听来像个军人和政客。研究历史可不能用这种方法。”
Trevize took a deep breath and kept his temper. "Tell me how it works, Janov. We've got two days. Educate me."
崔维兹做了一个深呼吸，忍下了这口气。“那就告诉我该用什么方法，詹诺夫。我们有两天的时间，你教教我吧。”
"You can't rely on any one myth or even on any one group. I've had to gather them all, analyze them, organize them, set up symbols to represent different aspects of their content-tales of impossible weather, astronomic details of planetary systems at variance with what actually exists, place of origin of culture heroes specifically stated not to be native, quite literally hundreds of other items. No use going through the entire list. Even two days wouldn't be enough. I spent over thirty years, I tell you.
“绝对不能只靠某一个或几个神话传说。我必须将它们搜集齐全，然后分析整理。我还创立了一些符号，用来代表内容的各种特色，例如不可能存在的气候、不符实际情况的行星天文数据、文化英雄并非源自本土等等，总共好几百项之多，这么说绝不夸张。没有必要跟你讲所有的细目，两天时间一定不够。我告诉过你，我花了三十多年的时间。
"I then worked up a computer program that searched through all these myths for common components and sought a transformation that would eliminate the true impossibilities. Gradually I worked up a model of what Earth must have been like. After all, if human beings all originated on a single planet, that single planet must represent the one fact that all origin myths, all culture-hero tales, have in common. -Well, do you want me to go into mathematical detail?"
“后来我设计出一个电脑程序，能自动搜寻那些神话传说，找出其中的共同点，还能删除绝对不可能的部分。我慢慢建立起一个地球模型，包含了地球应有的各种条件。毕竟，如果人类的确发源自单一的行星，那么该行星的特征，必定会反映在所有的起源神话，以及每一个文化英雄故事中。嗯，你要不要我讲解数学上的细节？”
Trevize said, "Not at the moment, thank you, but how do you know you won't be misled by your mathematics? We know for a fact that Terminus was founded only five centuries ago and that the first human beings arrived as a colony from Trantor but had been assembled from dozens-if not hundreds-of other worlds. Yet someone who did not know this could assume that Hari Seldon and Salvor Hardin, neither of whom were born on Terminus, came from Earth and that Trantor was really a name that stood for Earth. Certainly, if the Trantor as described in Seldon's time were searched for -a world with all its land surface coated with metal-it would not be found and it might be considered an impossible myth."
崔维兹说：“谢谢你，暂时不必。可是你又怎么知道，没有被数学模型误导呢？我们确知端点星是在五百年前才建立的，第一批移民名义上来自川陀，可是他们真正的星籍如果没有上百，也至少包括几十个世界。但某人若不知道这段历史，或许就会假设哈里·谢顿来自地球，因为他并不是在端点星出生的，进而会认为川陀其实就是地球。当然，如果根据谢顿时代的川陀景观——一个表面覆满金属的世界——去寻找川陀，那就一定找不到，而川陀也许就被视为不可能的神话。”
Pelorat looked pleased. "I withdraw my earlier remark about soldiers and politicians, my dear fellow. You have a remarkable intuitive sense. Of course, I had to set up controls. I invented a hundred falsities based on distortions of actual history and imitating myths of the type I had collected. I then attempted to incorporate my inventions into the model. One of my inventions was even based on Terminus's early history. The computer rejected them all. Every one. To be sure, that might have meant I simply lacked the fictional talents to make up something reasonable, but I did my best"
裴洛拉特显得很高兴。“我收回刚才那番军人和政客的批评，我亲爱的伙伴。我现在才发现，你具有了不起的直觉。当然，我得设定一些控制方法。我根据正史以及搜集来的神话传说，穿凿附会了一百组假的历史，其中一组甚至取材自端点星的早期发展史。然后，我试着将这些创作代入地球模型，结果电脑全部加以否决，没有一组例外。老实说，这也许代表我欠缺幻想的天分，没法子编出合理的故事，但我已经尽了全力。”
"I'm sure you did, Janov. And what did your model tell you about Earth?"
“我相信你尽了全力，詹诺夫。根据你的模型，地球又应该是什么样子？”
"A number of things of varying degrees of likelihood. A kind of profile. For instance, about 9o percent of the inhabited planets in the Galaxy have rotation periods of between twenty-two and twenty-six Galactic Standard Hours. Well - " "
“我推算出地球的许多特征，每个特征的可能性不尽相同。比方说，银河中大约有百分之九十的住人行星，自转周期都介于二十二到二十六银河标准小时。这……”
Trevize cut in. "I hope you didn't pay any attention to that, Janov. There's no mystery there. For a planet to be habitable, you don't want it to rotate so quickly that air circulation patterns produce impossibly stormy conditions or so slowly that temperature variation patterns are extreme. It's a property that's self-selective. Human beings prefer to live on planets with suitable characteristics, and then when all habitable planets resemble each other in these characteristics, some say, `What an amazing coincidence,' when it's not amazing at all and not even a coincidence."
崔维兹突然插嘴道：“我希望你没有在这上面花工夫，詹诺夫，这点毫无神秘可言。一颗适宜住人的行星，不可能自转得太快或太慢，前者会使大气环流产生强烈的风暴，后者会使温度呈现极端变化。这其实是人类刻意选择的结果，由于人类喜欢住在条件宜人的行星上，因此所有适宜住人的行星都具有相同的特点。可是有人却说：‘这是多么惊人的巧合！’其实一点都不惊人，甚至不能算巧合。”
"As a matter of fact," said Pelorat calmly, "that's a well-known phenomenon in social science. In physics, too, I believe-but I'm not a physicist and I'm not certain about that. In any case, it is called the `anthropic principle: The observer influences the events he observes by the mere act of observing them or by being there to observe them. But the question is: Where is the planet that served as a model? Which planet rotates in precisely one Galactic Standard Day of twenty-four Galactic Standard Hours?"
“这一点，”裴洛拉特心平气和地说，“事实上是社会科学中众所周知的现象。我相信在物理学中也是一样，但我并非物理学家，所以不太敢肯定。总之它称为‘人择原理’。观测者在观测过程中，无可避免会影响到被观测的事件，有时观测者的存在就足以产生影响。我们现在的问题是，那颗合乎模型的行星在哪里？哪一颗行星的自转周期，刚好是一个银河标准日，也就是二十四个银河标准小时？”
Trevize looked thoughtful and thrust out his lower lip. "You think that might be Earth? Surely Galactic Standard could have been based on the local characteristics of any world, might it not?"
崔维兹努起下唇，显得若有所思。“你认为那就是地球吗？银河标准时间的订定，当然有可能以任何世界的特征时间作标准，对不对？”
"Not likely. It's not the human way. Trantor was the capital world of the Galaxy for twelve thousand years-the most populous world for twenty thousand years-yet it did not impose its rotation period of 1.08 Galactic Standard Days on all the Galaxy. And Terminus's rotation period is 0.91 GSD and we don't enforce ours on the planets dominated by us. Every planet makes use of its own private calculations in its own Local Planetary Day system, and for matters of interplanetary importance converts-with the help of computers-back and forth between LPD and GSD. The Galactic Standard Day must come from Earth]"
“不大可能，这不符合人类的习性。过去一万两千年来，川陀一直是银河的首都；而且足足有两万年的时间，它都是银河中人口最多的世界，可是川陀并没有将它的自转周期——1.08个银河标准日——强行推广到银河各处。端点星的自转周期则是0.91个标准日，我们也没有强迫各行星用这个时间当做一天。每一颗行星都有本身的当地行星日，用它作为计时的标准，而在处理星际间的重要事务时，就会借助于电脑，将行星日和标准日彼此互换。所以说，银河标准日必然源自地球！”
"Why is it a must?"
“为什么必然呢？”
"For one thing, Earth was once the only inhabited world, so naturally its day and year would be standard and would very likely remain standard out of social inertia as other worlds were populated. Then, too, the model I produced was that of an Earth that rotated on its axis in just twenty-four Galactic Standard Hours and that revolved about its sun in just one Galactic Standard Year."
“最重要的一个理由，地球曾经是唯一的住人世界，因此地球上的日和年，自然就会成为标准。而人类殖民到其他世界时，由于社会惯性，这两个单位很可能继续被当做标准。所以我建立的地球模型，自转周期刚好是二十四个银河标准小时，而它围绕太阳公转的周期，则刚好是一个银河标准年。”
"Might that not be coincidence?"
“这难道不会是巧合吗？”
Pelorat laughed. "Now it is you who are talking coincidence. Would you care to lay a wager on such a thing happening by coincidence?"
裴洛拉特哈哈大笑。“现在轮到你认为巧合了。你想不想打赌，赌这件事真是巧合？”
"Well well," muttered Trevize.
“这……这……”崔维兹吞吞吐吐。
"In fact, there's more to it. There's an archaic measure of time that's called the month……"
“事实上，除此之外，还有一个古老的时间单位，称为‘月’……”
"I've heard of it."
“我听说过。”
"It, apparently, about fits the period of revolution of Earth's satellite about Earth. However-'
“它显然就是地球卫星环绕地球的公转周期。然而……”
"Yes?"
“怎么样？”
"Well, one rather astonishing factor of the model is that the satellite I just mentioned is huge-over one quarter the diameter of the Earth itself."
“嗯，我的模型中有个相当惊人的特点，就是那颗卫星实在太大，它的直径超过地球的四分之一。”
"Never heard of such a thing, Janov. There isn't a populated planet in the Galaxy with a satellite like that."
“从没听过有这种事，詹诺夫。放眼银河，不论哪个住人行星，都没有一颗那么大的卫星。”
"But that's good," said Pelorat with animation. "If Earth is a unique world in its production of variegated species and the evolution of intelligence, then we want some physical uniqueness."
“但这可是好现象，”詹诺夫手舞足蹈地说，“如果只有地球才能产生各式各样的物种，还能演化出智慧生物，它就应该具有独一无二的自然条件。”
"But what could a large satellite have to do with variegated species, intelligence, and all that?"
“可是产生各式各样物种和智慧生物，以及其他一切特点，又跟一颗大卫星有什么关联？”
"Well now, there you hit a difficulty. I don't really know. But it's worth examination, don't you think?"
“好啦，现在你问倒我了，我也不知道答案。不过这点很值得深入探讨，你难道不觉得吗？”
Trevize rose to his feet and folded his arms across his chest. "But what's the problem, then? Look up the statistics on inhabited planets and find one that has a period of rotation and of revolution that are exactly one Galactic Standard Day and one Galactic Standard Year in length, respectively. And if it also has a gigantic satellite, you'd have what you want. I presume, from your statement that you `have an excellent possibility in mind,' that you've done just this, and that you have your world."
崔维兹站了起来，双手抱在胸前。“可是这又有什么困难呢？你只要查查住人行星统计表，找一颗自转周期等于银河标准日、公转周期等于银河标准年的行星。如果它刚好拥有一颗巨大的卫星，你就等于找到了。你说过你‘已经胸有成竹’，我猜这就代表你已经这么做了，也已经找到了那个世界。”
Pelorat looked disconcerted. "Well, now, that's not exactly what happened. I did look through the statistics, or at least I had it done by the astronomy department and-well, to put it bluntly, there's no such world."
裴洛拉特露出困窘的表情。“嗯，这个，不是如你想象的那样。我的确查过统计资料，至少曾经请天文学系帮我查过，结果——嗯，让我直说吧，根本没有那样的世界。”
Trevize sat down again abruptly. "But that means your whole argument falls to the ground."
崔维兹又猛然坐下来。“但这就意味着你的整个推论都失败了。”
"Not quite, it seems to me."
“我倒觉得并不尽然。”
"What do you mean, not quite? You produce a model with all sorts of detailed descriptions and you can't find anything that fits. Your model is useless, then. You must start from the beginning."
“什么叫并不尽然？你建立了一个模型，囊括所有详尽的细节，结果却找不到实际符合的行星。这就代表你的模型毫无用处，你必须从头来过。”
"No. It just means that the statistics on populated planets are incomplete. After all, there are tens of millions of them and some are very obscure worlds. For instance, there is no good data on the population of nearly half. And concerning six hundred and forty thousand populated worlds there is almost no information other than their names and sometimes the location. Some galactographers have estimated that there may be up to ten thousand inhabited planets that aren't listed at all. The worlds prefer it that way, presumably. During the Imperial Era, it might have helped them avoid taxation."
“不，那只代表住人行星统计表并不完整。毕竟，住人行星总共有几千万颗，其中一些位置非常偏僻隐匿。比方说，有将近一半的行星，其中人口数目并不精确。此外，还有六十四万个住人世界，除了名称之外，有些顶多再附上方位，其他资料一律空白。根据银河地理学家的估计，未登录于统计表的住人行星也许上万。想必那些世界是故意这样做的，在帝政时期，这样做可能有助于逃税。”
"And in the centuries that followed," said Trevize cynically. "It might have helped them serve as home bases for pirates, and that might have, on occasion, proved more enriching than ordinary trade."
“而之后的几个世纪，”崔维兹以嘲讽的语气说，“这样做则可能有助于把自己的世界当成贼窝。有些时候，干强盗比正经买卖更容易致富。”
"I 'wouldn't know about that," said Pelorat doubtfully.
“这我就不晓得了。”裴洛拉特以怀疑的口吻说。
Trevize said, "Just the same, it seems to me that Earth would have to be on the list of inhabited planets, whatever its own desires. It would be the oldest of them all, by definition, and it could not have been overlooked in the early centuries of Galactic civilization. And once on the list, it would stay on. Surely we could count on social inertia there."
崔维兹又说：“无论如何，不论地球上的居民作何打算，我认为住人行星清单都该包括地球。根据定义，它是最古老的世界，早期的银河文明不可能将它遗漏。而一旦登录在统计表上，它就不会再消失了。这一点，我们当然可以相信社会惯性的效应。”
Pelorat hesitated and looked anguished. "Actually, there-there is a planet named Earth on the list of inhabited planets."
裴洛拉特露出了犹豫和为难的神情。“事实上，还真有呢——在住人行星清单中，真有一个叫地球的。”
Trevize stared. "I'm under the impression that you told me a while ago that Earth was not on the list?"
崔维兹瞪大眼睛。“我以为你刚才明明告诉我，地球并不在那份清单上？”
"As Earth, it is not. There is, however, a planet named Gaia."
“清单上并没有‘地球’这个名字。然而，有个叫做‘盖娅’的行星。”
"What has that got to do with it? Gahyah?"
“盖压？它跟地球又有什么关系？”
"It's spelled GA-I-A. It means `Earth."'
“盖子的‘盖’，女字旁的‘娅’，它的意思就是地球。”
"Why should it mean Earth, Janov, any more than anything else? The name is meaningless to me."
“詹诺夫，为什么它的意思就是地球，而不是其他的东西？这个名字在我听来毫无意义。”
Pelorat's ordinarily expressionless face came close to a grimace. "I'm not sure you'll believe this- If I go by my analysis of the myths, there were several different, mutually unintelligible, languages on Earth."
裴洛拉特的脸孔原本难得有什么表情，此时却好像扮了一个鬼脸。“我不知道你会不会相信——根据我对那些神话传说所作的分析，当年在地球上，存在有好几种不相同的、彼此无法沟通的语言。”
"What?"
“什么？”
"Yes. After all, we have a thousand different ways of speaking across the Galaxy……"
“你没听错。毕竟，在整个银河中，也有上千种不同的腔调……”
"Across the Galaxy, there are certainly dialectical variations, but these are not mutually unintelligible. And even if understanding some of them is a matter of difficulty, we all share Galactic Standard."
“银河各处当然有许多种方言，彼此却不是无法沟通的。有些方言即使不容易听懂，仍未脱离银河标准语的范畴。”
"Certainly, but there is constant interstellar travel. What if some world was in isolation for a prolonged period?"
“当然，但如今星际间保持着持续不断的交流。倘若某个世界孤立了很长一段时间，又会如何呢？”
"But you're talking of Earth. A single planet. Where's the isolation?"
“但你讲的可是地球本身。那是单一的一颗行星，哪来的什么孤立？”
"Earth is the planet of origin, don't forget, where humanity must at one time have been primitive beyond imagining. Without interstellar travel, without computers, without technology at all, struggling up from nonhuman ancestors."
“别忘了，地球是人类起源的行星，必然有过一段难以想象的原始时期，没有星际旅行，没有电脑，甚至没有任何科技。经过了无数的生存竞争，我们的哺乳类祖先才脱颖而出。”
"This is so ridiculous."
“这太荒谬了。”
Pelorat hung his head in embarrassment at that. "There is perhaps no use discussing this, old chap. I never have managed to make it convincing to anyone. My own fault, I'm sure."
裴洛拉特因而露出窘迫的神态。“老弟，讨论这个问题也许根本没用。我从来没有利用它说服过任何人，我可以肯定，这是我自己的错。”
Trevize was at once contrite. "Janov, I apologize. I spoke without thinking. These are views, after all, to which I am not accustomed. You have been developing your theories for over thirty years, while I've been introduced to them all at once. You must make allowances. -Look, I'll imagine that we have primitive people on Earth who speak two completely different, mutually unintelligible, languages.?
崔维兹随即感到后悔。“詹诺夫，我郑重道歉，我刚才是脱口而出。你告诉我的这些观念，毕竟都是我不熟悉的。你花了三十多年的时间，才慢慢建立起这些理论，我却得一下子照单全收，你必须考虑到这一点。听我说，我可以想象地球上出现过原始人，他们发展出两种完全不同、彼此无法沟通的语言……”
"Half a dozen, perhaps," said Pelorat diffidently. "Earth may have been divided into several large land masses and it may be that there were, at first, no communications among them. The inhabitants of each land mass might have developed an individual language."
“或许有六七种之多。”裴洛拉特没什么自信地说，“地球可能分成好几个庞大陆块，起初，各陆块间也许没有任何联系。每个陆块上的居民，都有可能发展出独特的语言。”
Trevize said with careful gravity, "And on each of these land masses, once they grew cognizant of one another, they might have argued an `origin Question' and wondered on which one human beings had first arisen from other animals."
崔维兹刻意以严肃认真的口气说：“各个陆块上的居民，一旦知晓了彼此的存在，可能也会开始争辩‘起源问题’，争论究竟在哪个陆块上，最早出现从动物演化而来的人类。”
"They might very well, Golan. It would be a very natural attitude for them to have."
“非常有可能，葛兰。他们那么做，会是一件非常自然的事。”
"And in one of those languages, Gaia means Earth. And the word `Earth' itself is derived from another one of those languages."
“而在那些语言中，有一种以‘盖娅’代表地球，但是‘地球’这个名称则是源自另一种语言。”
"Yes, yes: '
“对，对。”
"And while Galactic Standard is the language that descended from the particular language in which `Earth' means `Earth,' the people of Earth for some reason call their planet `Gala' from another of their languages."
“那个将地球称作‘地球’的语言，后来发展成银河标准语。可是地球的居民，由于某种原因，却用另一种语言中的‘盖娅’，来称呼他们自己的行星。”
"Exactly! You are indeed quick, Golan."
“完全正确！你学得真快，葛兰。”
"But it seems to me that there's no need to make a mystery of this. If Gaia is really Earth, despite the difference in names, then Gala, by your previous argument, ought to have a period of rotation of just one Galactic Day, a period of revolution of just one Galactic Year, and a giant satellite that revolves about it in just one month."
“但是，我觉得没必要把它想得多玄。如果盖娅真是地球，虽然名称不同，可是根据你先前的论点，这个盖娅的自转周期应该刚好是一个标准日，公转周期正是一个标准年，还具有一颗巨大的卫星，以恰好一个月的公转周期环绕这颗行星。”
"Yes, it would have to be so."
“对，一定应该是这样。”
"Well then, does it or doesn't it fulfill these requirements?"
“好啦，请告诉我，它到底符合还是不符合这些条件？”
"Actually I can't say. The information isn't given in the tables."
“其实我不敢说，统计表上并没有这些资料。”
"Indeed? Well, then, Janov, shall we go to Gaia and time its periods and stare at its satellite?"
“真的吗？好吧，那么，詹诺夫，我们是不是该飞到盖娅，去测一测它的自转和公转周期，并且看一看它的卫星呢？”
"I would like to, Golan," Pelorat hesitated. "The trouble is that the location isn't given exactly, either."
“葛兰，我是很想去。”裴洛拉特相当迟疑，“问题是，它的位置也没有精确的记载。”
"You mean, all you have is the name and nothing more, and that is your excellent possibility?"
“你的意思是，你掌握的光是一个名字，除此之外一无所有，而这就是你所谓的胸有成竹？”
"But that is just why I want to visit the Galactic Library!"
“但这正是我想去银河图书馆的原因！”
"Well, wait. You say the table doesn't give the location exactly. Does it give any information at all?"
“慢着，你说统计表中没有精确位置，究竟有没有其他任何资料？”
"It lists it in the Sayshell Sector-and adds a question mark."
“它被列在赛协尔星区之下，旁边还加上一个问号。”
"Well, then- Janov, don't be downcast. We will go to the Sayshell Sector and somehow we will find Gaia!"
“好啦，詹诺夫，别再垂头丧气了。就让我们飞到赛协尔星区，我们总有办法找到盖娅的！”