Chapter 14: Dead Planet

第十四章死星

Trevize felt depressed. What few victories he had hadsince the search began had never been definitive; they had merely beenthe temporary staving off of defeat.

崔维兹觉得很沮丧。这趟寻找从开始到现在，他的几个小胜利都没什么重要性，只能算暂时侥幸让失败擦身而过。

Now he had delayed the Jump to the third of the Spacer worlds tillhe had spread his unease to the others. When he finally decided that hesimply must tell the computer to move the ship through hyperspace, Peloratwas standing solemnly in the doorway to the pilot-room, and Bliss wasjust behind him and to one side. Even Fallom was standing there, gazingat Trevize owlishly, while one hand gripped Bliss's hand tightly.

现在，他将跃迁到第三个外世界的时间延后，却使其他人也感染到下安的情绪。当他终于下定决心，让电脑将太空艇驶入超空间时，裴洛拉特站在驾驶舱门口，一脸严肃的表情，宝绮思则在他的后侧。就连菲龙也站在那里，一只手紧紧抓住宝绮思的手，像个老学究似地盯着崔维兹。

Trevize had looked up from the computer and had said, ratherchurlishly, "Quite the family group!" but that was only his own discomfortspeaking.

崔维兹抬起头，目光从电脑栘开，带着几分火气说：“好一个全家福！”他会这么说，纯粹是由于心神不宁。

He instructed the computer to Jump in such a way as to reenter spaceat a further distance from the star in question than was absolutelynecessary. He told himself that that was because he was learningcaution as a result of events on the first two Spacer worlds, but hedidn't believe that. Well underneath, he knew, he was hoping that hewould arrive in space at a great enough distance from the star to beuncertain as to whether it did or did not have a habitable planet. Thatwould give him a few more days of in-space travel before he could findout, and (perhaps) have to stare bitter defeat in the face.

他开始指示电脑进行跃迁，故意安排在重返普通空间时，让太空艇与目标恒星的距离超过实际需要。他告诉自己，那是因为在前两个外世界上发生的事，让他学到了谨慎的重要，但他其实并不相信这种解释。他知道，在自己内心深处，希望能在重返太空时，与那颗恒星保持相当的距离，以便无法确定它究竟有没有可住人行星。这能让他多做几天太空旅行，然后才揭晓谜底，同时（也许）不得不面对失败的苦果。

So now, with the "family group" watching, he drew a deep breath,held it, then expelled it in a between-the-lips whistle as he gave thecomputer its final instruction.

因此现在，在“全家福”的观礼下，他深深吸一口气，憋了一会儿，再像吹口哨似地吐出来。与此同时，他对电脑下达最后一道指令。

The star-pattern shifted in a silent discontinuity and the viewscreenbecame barer, for he had been taken into a region in which the starswere somewhat sparser. And there, nearly in the center, was a brightlygleaming star.

群星的图样默默进行着不连续的变化。最后，显像屏幕变得较空洞，他们已来到一处恒星较疏的区域。在靠近中央的位置，可以见到一颗闪闪发后的星辰。

Trevize grinned broadly, for this was a victory of sorts. After all,the third set of co-ordinates might have been wrong and there might havebeen no appropriate G-type star in sight. He glanced toward the otherthree, and said, "That's it. Star number three."

崔维兹咧嘴笑了一下，因为这也算一项胜利。毕竟，第三组座标有可能是错的，可能根本看不到符合条件的G型恒星。他看了其他人一眼，然后说：“就是它，第三号恒星。”

"Are you sure?" asked Bliss softly.

“你确定吗？”宝绮思轻声问。

"Watch!" said Trevize. "I will switch to the equi-centered view inthe computer's Galactic map, and if that bright star disappears, it'snot recorded on the map, and it's the one we want."

“注意看！”崔维兹说：“我要把屏幕转成电脑银河舆图的同心画面，如果那颗明亮的恒星消失，就代表舆图没有收录，那它就是我们要找的那颗。”

The computer responded to his command, and the star blinked outwithout any prior dimming. It was as though it had never been, but therest of the starfield remained as it was, in sublime indifference.

电脑立即回应他的指令，那颗行星在瞬间消失，连一点余光都没有，彷佛从来不曾存在。其他的星像却丝毫未受影响，看来仍是那般庄严壮丽。

"We've got it," said Trevize.

“我们找到了。”崔维兹说。

And yet he sent the Far Star forward at little more than halfthe speed he might easily have maintained. There was still the questionof the presence or absence of a habitable planet, and he was in no hurryto find out. Even after three days of approach, there was still nothingto be said about that, either way.

即使如此，他还是让远星号慢速前进，速度仅维持在普通速度的一半。还有一个谜底尚未揭晓，那就是可住人行星是否存在，但他并不急于找出答案。甚至飞行了三天后，这个问题仍然没有任何进展。

Or, perhaps, not quite nothing. Circling the star was a large gasgiant. It was very far from its star and it gleamed a very pale yellowon its daylight side, which they could see, from their position, as athick crescent.

不过，也许不能说毫无进展。有颗距离恒星非常遥远的气态巨行星，环绕着这颗恒星运动，它的白昼区映出暗淡的黄色光芒。从他们目前的位置看来，它就像一弯肥厚的新月。

Trevize did not like its looks, but he tried not to show it and spokeas matter-of-factly as a guidebook. "There's a big gas giant out there,"he said. "It's rather spectacular. It has a thin pair of rings and twosizable satellites that can be made out at the moment."

崔维兹并不喜欢它的模样，但尽量不表现出来。他像个有声旅行指南一样，以平板的语调说：“那里有颗很大的气态巨行星，看起来相当壮观。现在我们可以看到，它有一对细薄的行星环，还有两颗硕大的卫星。”

Bliss said, "Most systems include gas giants, don't they?"

宝绮思说：“大多数行星系都具有气态巨行星，对不对？”

"Yes, but this is a rather large one. Judging from the distance ofits satellites, and their periods of revolution, that gas giant is almosttwo thousand times as massive as a habitable planet would be."

“没错，不过这颗体积相当大。根据两颗卫星和它的距离，以及卫星的公转周期判断，这颗巨行星的质量约为可住人行星的两千倍。”

"What's the difference?" said Bliss. "Gas giants are gas giants andit doesn't matter what size they are, does it? They're always present atgreat distances from the star they circle, and none of them are habitable,thanks to their size and distance. We just have to look closer to thestar for a habitable planet."

“那有什么差别？”宝绮思说：“气态巨行星就是气态巨行星，不论体积是大是小，对不对？它们距离所环绕的恒星总是非常遥远，由于体积过大、距离过远，所以一律不适于住人。想要发现可住人行星，我们必须到那颗恒星附近去找。”

Trevize hesitated, then decided to place the facts on the table. "Thething is," he said, "that gas giants tend to sweep a volume of planetaryspace clean. What material they don't absorb into their own structureswill coalesce into fairly large bodies that come to make up theirsatellite system. They prevent other coalescences at even a considerabledistance from themselves, so that the larger the gas giant, the morelikely it is to be the only sizable planet of a particular star. There'lljust be the gas giant and asteroids."

崔维兹迟疑了一下，便决定公布实情。“问题是，”他说：“气态巨行星会扫净行星系的大片太空；没被它们吸收到自身结构中的物质，会聚结成相当大的天体，形成它们的卫星系。它们阻止了其他的聚结现象，影响力甚至达到很远的距离。所以气态巨行星越大，就越有可能是唯一的大型行星，除了那颗巨行星，行星系中会只有些小行星。”

"You mean there is no habitable planet here?"

“你的意思是，这里没有可住人的行星？”

"The larger the gas giant, the smaller the chance of a habitableplanet and that gas giant is so massive it is virtually a dwarf star."

“气态巨行星体积越大，可住人行星存在的机会就越小。这颗气态巨行星如此庞大，简直就是一颗矮星。”

Pelorat said, "May we see it?"

裴洛拉特说：“我们可以看看吗？”

All three now stared at the screen (Fallom was in Bliss's room withthe books).

于是三人一起盯着屏幕。（菲龙正在宝绮思的舱房看书。）

The view was magnified till the crescent filled the screen. Crossing that crescent a distance above center was a thin dark line, the shadow of the ring system which could itself be seen a small distance beyond the planetary surface as a gleaming curve that stretched into the darkside a short distance before it entered the shadow itself.

画面不断放大，直到那个新月形占满整个屏幕。一条细长的黑线跨越新月的上半部，那是行星环造成的阴影。行星环本身是一道窄窄的曲线，与行星表面有一小段距离，在它被阴影遮蔽前，有小部分延伸到了行星的暗面。

Trevize said, "The planet's axis of rotation is inclined aboutthirty-five degrees to its plane of revolution, and its ring is in theplanetary equatorial plane, of course, so that the star's light comesin from below, at this point in its orbit, and casts the ring's shadowwell above the equator."

崔维兹说：“这颗行星的自转轴对公转平面的倾角约为三十五度，而它的行星环当然位于赤道面，所以在目前的轨道位置上，恒星的光线由下方射来，将行星环投影在赤道上方相当远处。”

Pelorat watched raptly. "Those are thin rings."

裴洛拉特看得出神。“那些都是细小的行星环。”

"Rather above average size, actually," said Trevize.

“事实上，已经在平均大小之上。”崔维兹答道。

"According to legend, the rings that circle a gas giant in Earth'splanetary system are much wider, brighter, and more elaborate than thisone. The rings actually dwarf the gas giant by comparison."

“根据传说，在地球所属的行星系中，那颗具有行星环的气态巨行星，它的行星环比这个要更宽、更后、更精致得多，甚至让那颗气态巨行星相形见绌。”

"I'm not surprised," said Trevize. "When a story is handed on fromperson to person for thousands of years, do you suppose it shrinks inthe telling?"

“我一点也不惊讶，”崔维兹说：“一个故事口耳相传好几千年，你认为它会被越说越缩吗？”

Bliss said, "It's beautiful. If you watch the crescent, it seems towrithe and wriggle before your eyes."

宝绮思说：“它实在美丽，如果你仔细望着那个新月形，它似乎会在你眼前翻滚腾挪。”

"Atmospheric storms," said Trevize. "You can generally see that moreclearly if you choose an appropriate wavelength of light. Here, let metry." He placed his hands on the desk and ordered the computer to workits way through the spectrum and stop at the appropriate wavelength.

“那是大气风暴，”崔维兹说：“如果你选取适当波长的光波，一般说来可看得更清楚些。来，让我试试看。”他将双手放到桌面，命令电脑将光谱逐一过滤，然后褂讪在一个适当的波长。

The mildly lit crescent went into a wilderness of color that shiftedso rapidly it almost dazed the eyes that tried to follow. Finally,it settled into a red-orange, and, within the crescent, clear spiralsdrifted, coiling and uncoiling as they moved.

原本显得微微发后的新月形，突然变成一团变幻不定的色彩，由于变幻速率实在太快，看得人眼花撩乱。最后，它变成橘红色，而在新月的内部，有许多正在漂移的明显螺旋状物体，它们一面运动，一面不断收紧或松弛。

"Unbelievable," muttered Pelorat.

“真是难以置信。”裴洛拉特喃喃说道。

"Delightful," said Bliss.

“太可爱了。”宝绮思说。

Quite believable, thought Trevize bitterly, and anything butdelightful. Neither Pelorat nor Bliss, lost in the beauty, bothered tothink that the planet they admired lowered the chances of solving themystery Trevize was trying to unravel. But, then, why should they? Bothwere satisfied that Trevize's decision had been correct, and theyaccompanied him in his search for certainty without an emotional bondto it. It was useless to blame them for that.

没什么难以置信，也一点都不可爱，崔维兹难过地想。裴洛拉特与宝绮思都被眼前的美景迷住，根本没想到他们所赞美的这颗行星的存在，大大减低了崔维兹解开谜团的机会。可是话说回来，他们为何要想到这些呢？他们两人深信崔维兹的选择正确，他们只是陪伴他进行求证的探索，本身没有感情的负担，自己根本就不应该责怪他们。

He said, "The dark side seems dark, but if our eyes were sensitive tothe range just a little beyond the usual long-wave limit, we would seeit as a dull, deep, angry red. The planet is pouring infrared radiationout into space in great quantities because it is massive enough to bealmost red-hot. It's more than a gas giant; it's a sub-star."

他说：“暗面看来虽然很黑，但我们眼睛若能看到比可见光波长稍长一点的光线，就能看出它其实是阴暗浓着的火红色。这颗行星向太空放出大量的红外辐射，因为它大到几乎红热的程度。它已经超越气态巨行星，简直是一颗‘次恒星’。”

He waited a little longer and then said, "And now let's put that objectout of our mind and look for the habitable planet that may exist."

他停了丰晌，又继续说：“现在，我们暂时把它抛在脑后，开始寻找可能存在的可住人行星。”

"Perhaps it does," said Pelorat, smiling. "Don't give up, oldfellow."

“也许真的存在，”裴洛拉特带着微笑说：“别放弃，老伙伴。”

"I haven't given up," said Trevize, without true conviction. "Theformation of planets is too complicated a matter for rules to be hardand fast. We speak only of probabilities. With that monster out in space,the probabilities decrease, but not to zero."

“我尚未放弃，”崔维兹虽然这样说，自己却不怎么有信心。“行星形成的过程太复杂，无法建立一套严格规律，我们只能以机率讨论。有那么一个庞然大物在太空中，机率便会降低许多，可是并不等于零。”

Bliss said, "Why don't you think of it this way? Since the first twosets of co-ordinates each gave you a habitable planet of the Spacers, thenthis third set, which has already given you an appropriate star, shouldgive you a habitable planet as well. Why speak of probabilities?"

宝绮思说：“你为什么不这样想——前面两组座标，分别提供了一个外世界人居住的行星，那么这第三组座标，既然已经提供一颗符合条件的恒星，就应该也能让你找到一颗可住人行星。为什么还要谈机率？”

"I certainly hope you're right," said Trevize, who did not feel atall consoled. "Now we will shoot out of the planetary plane and in towardthe star."

“我当然希望你说得对，”崔维兹说，却一点没有感到安慰。“现在我们要飞出行星轨道面，向中心的恒星前进。”

The computer took care of that almost as soon as he had spoken hisintention. He sat back in his pilot's chair and decided, once again,that the one evil of piloting a gravitic ship with a computer so advancedwas that one could never never pilot any othertype of ship again.

他说完他的意图之后，电脑几乎立刻开始行动。他靠在驾驶座上，再次肯定一件事实；驾驶一艘拥有这么先进电脑的重力太空艇，后遗症之一是不能——再也不能——驾驶任何其他型号的船舰。

Could he ever again bear to do the calculations himself? Could he bearto have to take acceleration into account, and limit it to a reasonablelevel? In all likelihood, he would forget and pour on the energytill he and everyone on board were smashed against one interior wallor another.

他还能忍受亲自进行那些计算吗？能忍受必须考虑加速效应，将它限定在合理范围内吗？最可能出现的状况，是他会忘掉那些问题，而让船舰全速前进，直到他与其他乘客都被抛向舱壁，撞得粉身碎骨为止。

Well, then, he would continue to pilot this one ship oranother exactly like it, if he could even bear to make so much of achange always.

嗯，那么，他将继续驾驶远星号——或是其他一模一样的太空艇，假如他街能忍受那么一点点的改变——直到永远。

And because he wanted to keep his mind off the question of thehabitable planet, yes or no, he mused on the fact that he had directedthe ship to move above the plane, rather than below. Barring anydefinite reason to go below a plane, pilots almost always chose to goabove. Why?

由于他想暂时忘掉有没有可住人行星的问题，他开始沉思另一件事——他刚才命令太空艇离开轨道面，是飞到轨道面的上方。若不是有什么特殊原因，必须飞到轨道面之下，驾驶员几乎总选择向上飞，这是为什么呢？

For that matter, why be so intent on considering one directionabove and the other below? In the symmetry of space that was pureconvention.

其实严格说来，何必非得将某个方向想成上方，而将另一侧想成下方呢？将太空视为对称空间的概念，纯粹只是一种约定俗成的规约。

Just the same, he was always aware of the direction in which anyplanet under observation rotated about its axis and revolved about itsstar. When both were counterclockwise, then the direction of one's raisedarm was north, and the direction of one's feet was south. And throughoutthe Galaxy, north was pictured as above and south as below.

然而，在观察一颗行星时，他总会注意到它的自转与公转方向。如果两者都是反时针，那么举起手臂指的方向就是北方，两脚的方向则是南方。而在银河每个角落，北方总是被想像成上方，南方则是下方。

It was pure convention, dating back into the primeval mists, and itwas followed slavishly. If one looked at a familiar map with south above,one didn't recognize it. It had to be turned about to make sense. Andall things being equal, one turned north and "above."

这纯粹是一种规约，可远溯到迷雾般的太古时代，人类一直盲目沿用至今。一张原本熟悉的舆图，如果南面朝上来看就一定看不懂，必须转过来才显得有意义。在一般状况下，任何人都会习惯向北走，也就是“向上”。

Trevize thought of a battle fought by Bel Riose, the Imperialgeneral of three centuries before, who had veered his squadron below theplanetary plane at a crucial moment, and caught a squadron of vessels,waiting and unprepared. There were complaints that it had been an unfairmaneuver by the losers, of course.

崔维兹想到三世纪前的一位帝国大将——贝尔·里欧思领导的一场战役。在某个关键时刻，他命令分遗舰队转向轨道面下方，而敌军一个中队在毫无警戒的情况下，被里欧思的战舰逮个正着。后来有人抱怨，说这是一种投机行动——当然是出自输家之口。

A convention, so powerful and so primordially old, must have startedon Earth and that brought Trevize's mind, with a jerk, back tothe question of the habitable planet.

如此影响深远且与人类同样古老的规约，一定是源自地球。想到这里，崔维兹的心思又被拉回可住人行星的问题上。

Pelorat and Bliss continued to watch the gas giant as it slowlyturned on the viewscreen in a slow, slow back-somersault. The sunlitportion spread and, as Trevize kept its spectrum fixed in the orange-redwavelengths, the storm-writhing of its surface became ever madder andmore hypnotic.

裴洛拉特与宝绮思仍然盯着那颗气态巨行星，看它以非常、非常缓慢的动作，在屏幕上慢速倒翻着筋斗。现在日照部分渐渐扩大，崔维兹将光谱褂讪在橘红色波长上，它表面翻腾的风暴变得更狂乱，更有一种催眠力量。

Then Fallom came wandering in and Bliss decided it must take a napand that so must she.

这时菲龙晃进了驾驶舱，宝绮思认为它应该小睡一会儿，她自己也一样有这个需要。

Trevize said to Pelorat, who remained, "I have to let go of the gasgiant, Janov. I want to have the computer concentrate on the search fora gravitational blip of the right size."

裴洛拉特单独留下。崔维兹对他说：“我必须撤掉气态巨行星的画面，詹诺夫。我要让电脑集中全力，开始寻找大小恰当的重力讯标。”

"Of course, old fellow," said Pelorat.

“当然好，老伙伴。”裴洛拉特说。

But it was more complicated than that. It was not just a blip of theright size that the computer had to search for, it was one of the rightsize and at the right distance. It would still be several days beforehe could be sure.

不过实际情形要复杂得多。电脑所要寻找的，不只是一个大小恰当的讯标而已，这个讯标还必须发自体积与距离都符合条件的行星才行。还得等上好几天，他才能得到确定的答案。

Trevize walked into his room, grave, solemn indeedsomber and started perceptibly.

崔维兹走进自己的舱房，表情凝着而严肃——其实应该说是阴郁。然后，他着实吃了一惊。

Bliss was waiting for him and immediately next to her was Fallom,with its loincloth and robe bearing the unmistakable fresh odor ofsteaming and vacupressing. The youngster looked better in that than inone of Bliss's foreshortened nightgowns.

宝绮思正在那里等他，菲龙紧靠在她身边，它身上的袍子与束腰散发出一股清新气味，一闻就知道经过蒸气洗涤与真空熨烫。这孩子穿上自己的衣裳，要比穿着宝绮思大了几号的睡袍好看得多。

Bliss said, "I didn't want to disturb you at the computer, but nowlisten. Go on, Fallom."

宝绮思说：“你刚才在电脑旁边，我不想打扰你，不过现在请听——开始吧，菲龙。”

Fallom said, in its high-pitched musical voice, "I greetyou, Protector Trevize. It is with great pleasure that I amap ad accompanying you on this ship through space. I am happy,too, for the kindness of my friends, Bliss and Pel."

菲龙便以高亢而带有音乐性的语调说：“我问候您，保护者崔维兹。我感到万分荣幸，干……更……跟随您乘太空船遨游太空。我也很快乐，因为我有两个亲切的朋友，宝绮思和裴。”

Fallom finished and smiled prettily, and once again Trevize thoughtto himself: Do I think of it as a boy or as a girl or as both or asneither?

菲龙说完后，露出一个可爱的笑容。崔维兹再度暗忖：我到底将它当成男孩还是女孩，或者都是，或者都不是？

He nodded his head. "Very well memorized. Almost perfectlypronounced."

他点了点头。“记得非常熟，发音几乎完全正确。”

"Not at all memorized," said Bliss warmly. "Fallom composed thisitself and asked if it would be possible to recite it to you. I didn'teven know what Fallom would say till I heard it said."

“完全不是死记的，”宝绮思热切地说：“菲龙自己拟好稿子，然后问我可不可以背诵给你听，我事先甚至不知道菲龙会说什么。”

Trevize forced a smile, "In that case, very good indeed." He noticed Bliss avoided pronouns when she could.

崔维兹勉强挤出一丝微笑。“这样的话，的确很不简单。”他注意到宝绮思提到菲龙时，尽量避免使用代名词。

Bliss turned to Fallom and said, "I told you Trevize would likeit. Now go to Pel and you can have some more reading if youwish."

宝绮思转头对菲龙说：“我告诉你崔维兹会喜欢的——现在去找裴，如果你有兴趣，可以再向他要些读物。”

Fallom ran off, and Bliss said, "It's really astonishing how quicklyFallom is picking up Galactic. The Solarians must have a special aptitudefor languages. Think how Bander spoke Galactic merely from hearing iton hyperspatial communications. Those brains may be remarkable in waysother than energy transduction."

菲龙跑开之后，宝绮思说：“菲龙学习银河标准语的速度真是惊人，索拉利人对语言一定有特殊天分。想想看，班德仅藉着收听超波通讯，就能说得一口不错的银河标准语。除了能量转换，它们的大脑也许还有其他异于常人之处。”

Trevize grunted.

崔维兹只是哼了一声。

Bliss said, "Don't tell me you still don't like Fallom."

宝绮思说：“别告诉我说你仍不喜欢菲龙。”

"I neither like nor dislike. The creature simply makes me uneasy. Forone thing, it's a grisly feeling to be dealing with a hermaphrodite."

“我无所谓喜欢不喜欢，那小东西就是让我感到不自在。比方说吧，想到跟一个雌雄同体打交道，就令人觉得浑身不舒服。”

Bliss said, "Come, Trevize, that's ridiculous. Fallom is a perfectlyacceptable living creature. To a society of hermaphrodites, think howdisgusting you and I must seem males and females generally. Eachis half of a whole and, in order to reproduce, there must be a temporaryand clumsy union."

宝绮思说：“得了吧，崔维兹，这样说实在可笑，菲龙可算完全正常的生物。对一个雌雄同体的社会而言，想想看你我有多么恶心——不是男性，就是女性。每种性别只能算一半，为了生育下一代，必须以丑怪的方式暂时结合。”

"Do you object to that, Bliss?"

“你反对这点吗，宝绮思？”

"Don't pretend to misunderstand. I am trying to view us from thehermaphroditic standpoint. To them, it must seem repellent in the extreme;to us, it seems natural. So Fallom seems repellent to you, but that'sjust a shortsighted parochial reaction."

“别装作误解我的意思，我是试图以雌雄同体的立场审视我们。对他们而言，那种事一定显得极其可厌，但对我们而言则相当自然。所以菲龙才会引起你的反感，但那只是短视而褊狭的反应。”

"Frankly," said Trevize, "it's annoying not to know the pronoun touse in connection with the creature. It impedes thought and conversationto hesitate forever at the pronoun."

“坦白说，”崔维兹道：“不知该用什么代名词称呼这小东西，实在是一件很烦人的事。为了烦恼代名词的问题，思路和谈话会一直被打断。”

"But that's the fault of our language," said Bliss, "and notof Fallom. No human language has been devised with hermaphroditismin mind. And I'm glad you brought it up, because I've been thinkingabout it myself. Saying `it,' as Bander itself insisted on doing,is no solution. That is a pronoun intended for objects to which sex isirrelevant, and there is no pronoun at all for objects that are sexuallyactive in both senses. Why not just pick one of the pronouns arbitrarily,then? I think of Fallom as a girl. She has the high voice of one, forone thing, and she has the capacity of producing young, which is thevital definition of femininity. Pelorat has agreed; why don't you do so,too? Let it be `she' and `her.'"

“但这是我们语言的缺失，”宝绮思说：“不是菲龙的问题。人类的语言在发展过程中，从未将雌雄同体考虑在内。我很高兴你提出这个问题，因为我自己也一直在想。如果使用‘它’，像班德自己坚持的那样，并不是个解决之道，因为那个代名词是用来指称与性别无关的事物。在我们的语言中，根本没有代名词同时适合两种性别。那么，何不随便选一个呢？我把菲龙当成女孩，原因之一是她拥有女性的尖锐声调，此外她也能生育下一代，这是女性最重要的特征之一。裴洛拉特已经同意了，你何不一样接受呢？我们就用‘她’称呼菲龙吧。”

Trevize shrugged. "Very well. It will sound peculiar to point outthat she has testicles, but very well."

崔维兹耸了耸肩。“很好，指出‘她’有睾丸听来会很奇怪，即使如此，还是很好。”

Bliss sighed. "You do have this annoying habit of trying to turneverything into a joke, but I know you are under tension and I'll makeallowance for that. Just use the feminine pronoun for Fallom, please."

宝绮思叹了口气。“你的确有个惹人厌的习惯，喜欢把每件事都拿来开玩笑。不过我知道你有很大的压力，所以这点我缓理解。就用阴性代名词称呼菲龙吧，拜托。”

"I will." Trevize hesitated, then, unable to resist, said, "Fallomseems more your surrogate-child every time I see you together. Is itthat you want a child and don't think Janov can give you one?"

“我会的。”崔维兹犹豫了一下，终于忍不住说道：“我每次看到你们在一起，就越来越觉得你把菲龙当成子女的代替品。是不是因为你想要个孩子，却认为詹诺夫无法做到？”

Bliss's eyes opened wide. "He's not there for children! Do you thinkI use him as a handy device to help me have a child? It is not time forme to have a child, in any case. And when it is time, it will have tobe a Gaian child, something for which Pel doesn't qualify."

宝绮思睁大了眼睛。“我跟他在一起可不是为了孩子！难道你认为，我把他当成帮我生孩子的方便工具？更何况，我还没到该生儿育女的时候，将来时候到了，我得生育一个盖娅之子，这件事裴根本无能为力。”

"You mean Janov will have to be discarded?"

“你的意思是詹诺夫必须被抛弃？”

"Not at all. A temporary diversion, only. It might even be broughtabout by artificial insemination."

“当然不会，只是暂时分开，甚至可能会用人工授精的方式。”

"I presume you can only have a child when Gaia's decision is thatone is necessary; when there is a gap produced by the death of analready-existing Gaian human fragment."

“我想，必须等盖娅决定有此需要、等到某个原本存在的盖娅人类成员死去，产生一个空缺的时候，你才能生育一个孩子。”

"That is an unfeeling way of putting it, but it is true enough. Gaiamust be well proportioned in all its parts and relationships."

“这是种冷酷无情的说法，不过也算得上实情。盖娅的每个部分及其相互间的每一种关系，都必须维持完美的均衡。”

"As in the case of the Solarians."

“就像索拉利人的情形一样。”

Bliss's lips pressed together and her face grew a little white. "Notat all. The Solarians produce more than they need and destroy theexcess. We produce just what we need and there is never a necessity ofdestroying as you replace the dying outer layers of your skin byjust enough new growth for renewal and by not one cell more."

宝绮思紧抿着嘴唇，脸色变得有些苍白。“完全不同。索拉利人生产的数量超过需要，就将过剩的人口销毁；我们生产的子女则刚好符合需要，从来不必杀害任何生命。就像你的皮肤表层坏死之后，便会长出恰到好处的新皮肤，不会多长出一个细胞来。”

"I see what you mean," said Trevize. "I hope, by the way, that youare considering Janov's feelings."

“我了解你的意思。”崔维兹说：“顺便提一下，我希望你考虑到詹诺夫的感受。”

"In connection with a possible child for me? That has never come upfor discussion; nor will it."

“有关我可能生个小孩的事？这个问题从未讨论过，将来也绝对不会。”

"No, I don't mean that. It strikes me you are becoming moreand more interested in Fallom. Janov may feel neglected."

“不，我不是指那个——我在想，你对菲龙越来越感兴趣，詹诺夫也许会觉得被冷落了。”

"He's not neglected, and he is as interested in Fallom as I am. Sheis another point of mutual involvement that draws us even closertogether. Can it be that you are the one who feelsneglected?"

“他没有受到冷落，他跟我一样对菲龙很有兴趣。她是我们另一个共同的喜好，甚至将我们两人拉得更接近。感觉受冷落的会不会是你？”

" I ?" He was genuinely surprised.

“我？”崔维兹大吃一惊。

"Yes, you. I don't understand Isolates any more than you understandGaia, but I have a feeling that you enjoy being the central point ofattention on this ship, and you may feel cut out by Fallom."

“对，就是你。我不了解孤立体，就像你不了解盖娅一样，可是我有种感觉，你喜欢成为这艘太空船中注意力的焦点，你也许感到这个地位被菲龙取代了。”

"That's foolish."

“真是荒谬。”

"No more foolish than your suggestion that I am neglecting Pel."

“而你竟然认为我冷落裴，那是同样荒谬的想法。”

"Then let's declare a truce and stop. I'll try to view Fallom as agirl, and I shall not worry excessively about you being inconsiderateof Janov's feelings."

“那么让我们宣布停战吧。我会试着把菲龙当成女孩，也不会再过度担心你不顾詹诺夫的感受。”

Bliss smiled. "Thank you. All is well, then."

宝绮思微微一笑。“谢谢你，那么一切都没问题了。”

Trevize turned away, and Bliss then said, "Wait!"

崔维兹转过身去，宝绮思突然说：“等一等！”

Trevize turned back and said, just a bit wearily, "Yes?"

崔维兹又转回来，带着点厌烦的口气说：“什么事？”

"It's quite clear to me, Trevize, that you're sad and depressed. I amnot going to probe your mind, but you might be willing to tell me what'swrong. Yesterday, you said there was an appropriate planet in this systemand you seemed quite pleased. It's still there, I hope. The findinghasn't turned out to be mistaken, has it?"

“我很清楚地感觉到，崔维兹，你现在既悲伤又沮丧。我不会刺探你的心灵，但你也许愿意告诉我有什么不对劲。昨天，你说这个行星系中有颗条件符合的行星，还似乎相当高兴——我希望它仍在那里，那个发现该不是个错误吧？”

"There's an appropriate planet in the system, and it's still there,"said Trevize.

“在这个行星系中，的确有颗条件符合的行星，而它仍在那里。”崔维兹说。

"Is it the right size?"

“大小刚好吗？”

Trevize nodded. "Since it's appropriate, it's of the right size. Andit's at the right distance from the star as well."

崔维兹点了点头。“既然说它条件符合，大小当然刚好，而且它和恒星的距离也相符。”

"Well, then, what's wrong?"

“嗯，那么，到底有什么问题？”

"We're close enough now to analyze the atmosphere. It turns out thatit has none to speak of."

“我们现在足够接近它，已经能分析它的大气成分，结果显示它谈不上有大气层。”

"No atmosphere?"

“没有大气层？”

"None to speak of. It's a nonhabitable planet, and there is no othercircling the sun that has even the remotest capacity for habitability. Wehave come up with zero on this third attempt."

“谈不上有大气层，它是颗不可住人的行星。而环绕这个太阳的其他行星，都没有半点可住人的条件。这第三次的尝试，我们的结果是一无所获。”

Pelorat, looking grave, was clearly unwilling to intrudeon Trevize's unhappy silence. He watched from the door of the pilot-room,apparently hoping that Trevize would initiate a conversation.

裴洛拉特看来面色凝着，他显然不愿搅扰崔维兹抑郁不乐的沉默。他站在驾驶舱门口观望，意思很明显，希望崔维兹能主动开口说话。

Trevize did not. If ever a silence seemed stubborn, his did.

崔维兹却一直没开口，沉默的状态就像是生了根似的。

And finally, Pelorat could stand it no longer, and said, in a rathertimid way, "What are we doing?"

最后裴洛拉特实在忍不住了，他带着几分怯意说：“我们现在在做什么？”

Trevize looked up, stared at Pelorat for a moment, turned away,and then said, "We're zeroing in on the planet."

崔维兹抬起头，瞪了裴洛拉特一会儿，又将头转过去，然后说：“我们正对准那颗行星飞去。”

"But since there's no atmosphere "

“可是，既然它没有大气层……”

"The computer says there's no atmosphere. Till now,it's always told me what I've wanted to hear and I've accepted it. Nowit has told me something I don't want to hear, and I'mgoing to check it. If the computer is ever going to be wrong, this isthe time I want it to be wrong."

“是电脑说它没有大气层。长久以来，它告诉我的都是我想听的，而我一直照单全收；如今它告诉我一些我不想听的，所以我准备查验一下。假如这台电脑也会犯错，现在就是我希望它犯错的时候。

"Do you think it's wrong?"

“你认为它出了错吗？”

"No; I don't."

“不，我不这么想。”

"Can you think of any reason that might make it wrong?"

“你想得到可能令它犯错的原因吗？”

"No, I can't."

“不，我想不出来。”

"Then why are you bothering, Golan?"

“那你为何还要麻烦呢，葛兰？”

And Trevize finally wheeled in his seat to face Pelorat, his facetwisted in near-despair, and said, "Don't you see, Janov, that I can'tthink of anything else to do? We drew blanks on the first two worlds asfar as Earth's location is concerned, and now this world is a blank. Whatdo I do now? Wander from world to world, and peer about and say, `Pardonme. Where's Earth?' Earth has covered its tracks too well. Nowhere hasit left any hint. I'm beginning to think that it will see to it thatwe're incapable of picking up a hint even if one exists."

崔维兹终于转身面对裴洛拉特，脸孔扭曲，表情近乎绝望。“詹诺夫，难道你看不出来，我已经走投无路了吗？在前两个世界上，我们寻找地球下落的结果是一场空，这个世界又是一片空白。现在我该怎么办？从一个世界游荡到另一个世界，睁大眼睛四处张望，逢人便问：‘对不起，请问地球在哪里？’地球将它的踪迹隐藏得太好了，哪里都没留下任何线索。我甚至开始怀疑，即使有什么线索存在，它也绝对下会让我们找到。”

Pelorat nodded, and said, "I've been thinking along those linesmyself. Do you mind if we discuss it? I know you're unhappy, old chap,and don't want to talk, so if you want me to leave you alone, I will."

裴洛拉特点了点头，然后说：“我自己也在顺着这个方向思索，你介不介意我们讨论一下？我知道你很不高兴，也不想说话，老弟，所以如果你要我离开，我马上就走。”

"Go ahead, discuss it," said Trevize, with something that wasremarkably like a groan. "What have I got better to do than listen?"

“开始讨论吧，”崔维兹的声音简直像呻吟，“除了洗耳恭听，我还有什么好做的？”

Pelorat said, "That doesn't sound as though you really want me to talk,but perhaps it will do us good. Please stop me at any time if you decideyou can stand it no longer. It seems to me, Golan, that Earth neednot take only passive and negative measures to hide itself. It need notmerely wipe out references to itself. Might it not plant false evidenceand work actively for obscurity in that fashion?"

于是裴洛拉特说：“听你这种口气，好像并非真想让我开口，不过谈谈也许对我们都有好处。你受不了的时候，请随时叫我闭嘴——我有个感觉，葛兰，地球不一定仅采取被动、消极的方法，将自己隐藏起来，也不一定只是清除有关它的参考资料，难道它不会安排一些假线索，用这种主动的方法制造烟幕？”

"How do you mean?"

“怎么说？”

"Well, we've heard of Earth's radioactivity in several places,and that sort of thing would be designed to make anyone break off anyattempt to locate it. If it were truly radioactive, it would be totallyunapproachable. In all likelihood, we would not even be able to setfoot on it. Even robot explorers, if we had any, might not survivethe radiation. So why look? And if it is not radioactive, it remainsinviolate, except for accidental approach, and even then it might haveother means of masking itself."

“嗯，我们在好几处地方，都听说过地球具有放射性，这种说法可能是故意捏造的，好让大家都打消寻找它的念头。假如它真有放射性，它就万万接近不得，最可能的情况是，我们根本无法踏上地球。就算我们有机器人，它们也可能无法抵御放射线的伤害。所以何必还要找呢？反之，假如它没有放射性，却能因此不受侵犯，除非有人在无意间接近，而即使如此，它或许也有其他的隐蔽方法。”

Trevize managed a smile. "Oddly enough, Janov, that thought hasoccurred to me. It has even occurred to me that that improbable giantsatellite has been invented and planted in the world's legends. As forthe gas giant with the monstrous ring system, that is equally improbableand may be equally planted. It is all designed, perhaps, to have uslook for something that doesn't exist, so that we go right through thecorrect planetary system, staring at Earth and dismissing it because,in actual fact, it lacks a large satellite or a triple-ringed cousin ora radioactive crust. We don't recognize it, therefore, and don't dreamwe are looking at it. I imagine worse, too."

崔维兹勉强挤出一丝微笑。“真奇怪，詹诺夫，我刚好也想到这点。我甚至想到，那颗未必存在的巨大卫星是虚构的，被故意放进这个世界的传说中。至于具有过大行星环的气态巨行星也一样未必存在，很可能也是捏造出来的。这些或许都是刻意的安排，好让我们寻找一些根本不存在的东西，让我们来到正确的行星系，双眼瞪着地球的时候，反而对它视而不见。因为事实上它没有一颗巨大的卫星，没有具放射性的地壳，它的近邻也没有什么三着行星环。因此，我们无法认出它来，作梦也想不到它就在我们眼前——我还想像到更糟的情况。”

Pelorat looked downcast. "How can there be worse?"

裴洛拉特显得垂头丧气。“怎么可能还有更糟的情况？”

"Easily when your mind gets sick in the middle of the night andbegins searching the vast realm of fantasy for anything that can deependespair. What if Earth's ability to hide is ultimate? What if our mindscan be clouded? What if we can move right past Earth, with its giantsatellite and with its distant ringed gas giant, and never see any ofit? What if we have already done so?"

“很简单。在半夜里，当你沮丧到极点时，就会开始在无际的幻想天地间遨游，寻找任何能令你更绝望的东西。若是地球自我隐藏的法力无边呢？若是它能蒙蔽我们的心灵呢？若是我们经过地球附近时，虽然它的确有巨大的卫星，它的邻居也有巨大的行星环，我们却根本视若无睹呢？若是我们早就错过了呢？”

"But if you believe that, why are we……?"

“可是如果你相信这些，我们为何还……”

"I don't say I believe that. I'm talking about mad fancies. We'llkeep on looking."

“我没说我相信，我说的只是些疯狂的幻想，我们还是会继续寻找。”

Pelorat hesitated, then said, "For how long, Trevize? At some point,surely, we'll have to give up."

裴洛拉特迟疑了一下，然后说：“要持续多久呢，崔维兹？到了某一地步，我们当然就得放弃。”

"Never," said Trevize fiercely. "If I have to spend the rest of mylife going from planet to planet and peering about and saying, `Please,sir, where's Earth?' then that's what I'll do. At any time, I can takeyou and Bliss and even Fallom, if you wish, back to Gaia and then takeof on my own."

“绝不，”崔维兹厉声道：“即使我必须花一辈子的时间，从一颗行星飞到另一颗行星，睁大眼睛四处张望，逢人便问：‘先生请问，地球在哪里？’我也一定会这么做。我随时可以带你和宝绮思回盖娅，甚至送菲龙一起去，如果你们希望的话，然后我再自己上路。”

"Oh no. You know I won't leave you, Golan, and neither willBliss. We'll go planet-hopping with you, if we must. But why?"

“喔，不，你知道我不会离开你，葛兰，宝绮思也不会。如果有必要，我们会跟你一起踏遍每颗行星。可是这又是为什么呢？”

"Because I must find Earth, and because I will. I don'tknow how, but I will. Now, look, I'm trying to reach a positionwhere I can study the sunlit aide of the planet Without its suit beingtoo close, so just let me be for a while."

“因为我必须找到地球，因为我一定会找到。我不知道是在什么情况下，但我一定会找到它——现在，听着，我要设法前往一个适当位置，以便研究这颗行星的日照面，又不至于和它的太阳过于接近，所以暂时别打扰我。”

Pelorat fell silent, but did not leave. He continued to watch whileTrevize studied the planetary image, more than half in daylight, on thescreen. To Pelorat, it seemed featureless, but he knew that Trevize,bound to the computer, saw it under enhanced circumstances.

裴洛拉特不再说话，但也没有离开。他留在原处继续旁观，看着崔维兹研究屏幕上的行星影像。行星有一半以上处于白昼。对裴洛拉特而言，它似乎毫无特色，不过他也知道，崔维兹现在与电脑联系在一起，各种感知能力已大为增强。

Trevize whispered, "There's a haze."

崔维兹悄声道：“那里有一团薄雾。”

"Then there must be an atmosphere," blurted out Pelorat.

“那一定就有大气层。”裴洛拉特脱口而出。

"Not necessarily much of one. Not enough to support life, butenough to support a thin wind that will raise dust. It's a well-knowncharacteristic of planets with thin atmospheres. There may even besmall polar ice caps. A little water-ice condensed at the poles, youknow. This world is too warm for solid carbon dioxide. I'll haveto switch to radar-mapping. And if I do that I can work more easily onthe nightside."

“没有多少，不足以维持生命，但足以产生能掀起灰尘的微风。对一个拥有稀薄大气的行星而言，这是一种很普遍的特征，它甚至还可能有小型极地冰冠——凝结在极地的少数‘水冰’，你知道吧。这个世界的温度过高，不可能有固态二氧化碳。我必须切换到雷达映像，这样一来，我就能在夜面顺利工作。”

"Really?"

“真的吗？”

"Yes. I should have tried it first, but with a virtually airlessand, therefore, cloudless planet, the attempt with visible light seemsso natural."

“是的。我应该一开始就试着那样做，可是这颗行星根本没空气，因此也没有云层，尝试用可见光观察似乎很自然。”

Trevize was silent for a long time, while the viewscreen grew fuzzywith radar-reflections that produced almost the abstraction of a planet,something that an artist of the Cleonian period might have produced. Thenhe said, "Well " emphatically, holding the sound for a while,and was silent again.

崔维兹维持了长久的沉默，在这段期间，显像屏幕中的雷达反射模糊不清，仿佛是一颗行星的抽象画，有点像某位克里昂时期艺术家的画风。然后他使劲地说了声：“好——”这个声音维持了一阵子，之后他再度陷入沉默。

Pelorat said, at last, "What's the `well' about?"

裴洛拉特终于忍不住问道：“什么东西‘好’”？

Trevize looked at him briefly. "No craters that I can see."

崔维兹很快瞥了他一眼。“我看不到任何陨石坑。”

"No craters? Is that good?"

“没有陨石坑？这是好现象吗？”

"Totally unexpected," said Trevize. His face broke into a grin,"And very good. In fact, possibly magnificent."

“完全出乎意料之外。”他咧嘴笑了笑，又说：“非常好的现象。事实上，可能是好极了。”

Fallom remained with her nose pressed against theship's porthole, where a small segment of the Universe was visible inthe precise form in which the eye saw it, without computer enlargementor enhancement.

菲龙的鼻子一直贴着太空艇的舷窗，透过这个窗口，能直接以肉眼观察宇宙的一小部分。这可说是最自然的景观，完全未经电脑的放大或增强。

Bliss, who had been trying to explain it all, sighed and said in a lowvoice to Pelorat, "I don't know how much she understands, Pel dear. Toher, her father's mansion and a small section of the estate it stoodupon was all the Universe. I don't think she was ever out at night,or ever saw the stars."

宝绮思刚才试着为菲龙解释宇宙的奥秘，现在她叹了一口气，低声对裴洛拉特说：“我不知道她了解多少，亲爱的裴。她单亲的那座宅邸，以及宅邸附近一小部分的属地，对她而言就是整个宇宙。我想她未曾在夜晚到过户外，也从来没见过星星。”

"Do you really think so?"

“你真这么想吗？”

"I really do. I didn't dare show her any part of it until she hadenough vocabulary to understand me just a little and how fortunateit was that you could speak with her in her own language."

“我真这么想。我本来不敢让她看到任何太空景观，直到她懂得够多的字汇，可以稍微了解我的话——你多么幸运啊，能用她的语言跟她交谈。”

"The trouble is I'm not very good at it," said Peloratapologetically. "And the Universe is rather hard to grasp if you come atit suddenly. She said to me that if those little lights are giant worlds,each one just like Solaria they're much larger than Solaria, ofcourse that they couldn't hang in nothing. They ought to fall,she says."

“问题是我不算很懂。”裴洛拉特歉然道：“如果事先毫无准备，宇宙是个相当不易掌握的概念。她曾对我说，假如那些小扁点都是巨大的世界，每个都像素拉利一样——当然啦，它们都比索拉利大得多——那它们就不能凭空挂在那里，它们应该掉下来，她这么说。”

"And she's right, judging by what she knows. She asks sensiblequestions, and little by little, she'll understand. At least she'scurious and she's not frightened."

“根据她既有的知识来判断，她说得没错。她问的都是合理的问题，一点一滴慢慢累积，最后她终缓理解。至少她有好奇心，而且她不害怕。”

"The thing is, Bliss, I'm curious, too. Look how Golan changed assoon as he found out there were no craters on the world we're headingfor. I haven't the slightest idea what difference that makes. Do you?"

“其实，宝绮思，我自己也好奇。葛兰发现前面那个世界没陨石坑之后，你看他立刻有多大转变。这究竟有什么差别，我完全没概念，你呢？”

"Not a bit. Still he knows much more planetology than we do. We canonly assume he knows what he's doing."

“一点也没有。然而他的行星学知识比我们丰富得多，我们只能假设他知道自己在做什么。”

"I wish I knew."

“真希望我也知道。”

"Well, ask him."

“那么，去问问他。”

Pelorat grimaced. "I'm always afraid I'll annoy him. I'm sure hethinks I ought to know these things without being told."

裴洛拉特现出为难的表情。“我一直担心会惹他心烦，我可以肯定，他认为我该知道这些事，根本用不着他来告诉我。”

Bliss said, "That's silly, Pel. He has no hesitation in asking youabout any aspect of the Galaxy's legends and myths which he thinks mightbe useful. You're always willing to answer and explain, so why shouldn'the be? You go ask him. If it annoys him, then he'll have a chance topractice sociability, and that will be good for him."

宝绮思说：“这是傻话，裴。有关银河中的神话传说，他认为可能有用的，随时会毫不犹豫地向你请教，你也总是乐意回答和解释，他又为何不该如此？你现在就去问他，如果这样做惹他心烦，他就得到一个练习做人处事的机会，这样对他也有好处。”

"Will you come with me?"

“你要跟我一起去吗？”

"No, of course not. I want to stay with Fallom and continue to tryto get the concept of the Universe into her head. You can always explainit to me afterward once he explains it to you."

“不，当然不去。我要跟菲龙在一起，继续试着将宇宙的概念装进她脑子里。以后你随时可以解释给我听——只要他对你解释过。”

Pelorat entered the pilot-room diffidently. He wasdelighted to note that Trevize was whistling to himself and was clearlyin a good mood.

裴洛拉特怯生生地走进驾驶舱。他很高兴发现崔维兹正在吹口哨，显然心情相当好。

"Golan," he said, as brightly as he could.

“葛兰。”他尽可能以快活的语气说。

Trevize looked up. "Janov! You're always tiptoeing in as thoughyou think it's against the law to disturb me. Close the door and sitdown. Sit down! Look at that thing."

崔维兹抬起头来。“詹诺夫！你每次进来总是蹑手蹑脚，好像认为打扰我会犯法似地。把门关上，坐下，坐下！你看看这个。”

He pointed to the planet on the viewscreen, and said, "I haven'tfound more than two or three craters, each quite small."

他指着映在显像屏幕上的行星，然后说：“我只找到两三个陨石坑，而且都相当小。”

"Does that make a difference, Golan? Really?"

“那有什么差别吗，葛兰？真有吗？”

"A difference? Certainly. How can you ask?"

“差别？当然有。你怎么会这样问？”

Pelorat gestured helplessly. "It's all a mystery to me. I was ahistory major at college. I took sociology and psychology in addition tohistory, also languages and literature, mostly ancient, and specializedin mythology in graduate school. I never came near planetology, or anyof the physical sciences."

裴洛拉特做了个无奈的手势。“这些对我而言都神秘无比。大学时我主修历史，除此之外我还修过社会学和心理学，也修了一些语言和文学课程，大多数是古代语文；在研究所的时候，我则专攻神话学。我从来没有接触过行星学，或是其他自然科学。”

"That's no crime, Janov. I'd rather you know what you know. Yourfacility in ancient languages and in mythology has been of enormous useto us. You know that. And when it comes to a matter of planetology,I'll take care of that."

“那也没错啊，詹诺夫，我宁愿你只精通这些知识。你对古代语言和神话学的素养，对我们一直有莫大助益，这点你自己也知道——遇到有关行星学的问题，我会负责解决的。”

He went on, "You see, Janov, planets form through the smashingtogether of smaller objects. The last few objects to collide leave cratermarks. Potentially, that is. If the planet is large enough to be a gasgiant, it is essentially liquid under a gaseous atmosphere and the finalcollisions are just splashes and leave no marks.

他继续说：“你可知道，詹诺夫，行星是由较小天体碰撞聚合所形成的。最后撞上来的那些天体，就会造成陨石坑的痕迹，我的意思是有这种可能。假如一颗行星大到气态巨行星的程度，大气层下其实全是液态结构，最后那批撞击就只会溅起若干液体，不会留下任何痕迹。

"Smaller planets which are solid, whether icy or rocky, do showcrater marks, and these remain indefinitely unless an agency for removalexists. There are three types of removals.

“较小的固态行星，不论是冰或岩石构成的，都一定会有陨石坑的痕迹。除非存在某种消除作用，否则它们永远不会消失。而消除作用会在三种情况下产生：

"First, a world may have an icy surface overlying a liquid ocean. Inthat case, any colliding object breaks through the ice and splasheswater. Behind it the ice refreezes and heals the puncture, so tospeak. Such a planet, or satellite, would have to be cold, and wouldnot be what we would consider a habitable world.

“第一种情况，这个世界的液态海洋上浮着一层冰。这样一来，任何撞击都会将冰击碎，并且令水花四溅。不久冰层会重新冻结，打个比方，就是使撞破的伤口愈合。这样的行星或卫星温度一定很低，不可能是我们所谓的可住人世界。”

"Second, if a planet is intensely active, volcanically, then aperpetual lava flow or ash fallout is forever filling in and obscuringany craters that form. However, such a planet or satellite is not likelyto be habitable either.

“第二种情况，如果这个世界的火山活动剧烈，那么一旦有陨石坑形成，熔岩流或火山灰落尘便会源源不断灌进来，将陨石坑渐渐湮没。然而，这样的行星或卫星也不可能适合人类居住。”

"That brings us to habitable worlds as a third case. Such worlds mayhave polar ice caps, but most of the ocean must be freely liquid. They mayhave active volcanoes, but these must be sparsely distributed. Such worldscan neither heal craters, nor fill them in. There are, however, erosioneffects. Wind and flowing water will erode craters, and if there is life,the actions of living things are strongly erosive as well. See?"

“可住人世界则构成第三种情况。这种世界也许有极地冰冠，但大部分海洋一定都是自由流体。它们也可能有活火山，可是一定分布得很稀疏。这种世界如果出现了陨石坑，它既无法自行愈合，也没有东西可供填补。不过它上面有侵蚀作用，风或流动的水都会不断侵蚀陨石坑，如果还有生命，生物活动也具有强力的侵蚀作用。懂了吧？”

Pelorat considered that, then said, "But, Golan, I don't understandyou at all. This planet we're approaching……"

裴洛拉特思索了一下，然后说：“可是，葛兰，我一点也下了解你的意思。我们要去的这颗行星……”

"We'll be landing tomorrow," said Trevize cheerfully.

“我们明天就要登陆。”崔维兹兴高采烈地说。

"This planet we're approaching doesn't have an ocean."

“我们要去的这颗行星并没有海洋。”

"Only some thin polar ice caps."

“只有很薄的极地冰冠。”

"Or much of an atmosphere."

“也没有多少大气。”

"Only a hundredth the density of the atmosphere on Terminus."

“只有端点星大气密度的百分之一。”

"Or life."

“也没有生命。”

"Nothing I can detect."

“我没侦测到生命现象。”

"Then what could have eroded away the craters?"

“那么，有什么东西能侵蚀掉陨石坑呢？”

"An ocean, an atmosphere, and life," said Trevize. "Look, if thisplanet had been airless and waterless from the start, any craters that hadbeen formed would still exist and the whole surface would be cratered. Theabsence of craters proves it can't have been airless and waterless fromthe start, and may even have had a sizable atmosphere and ocean in thenear past. Besides, there are huge basins, visible on this world, thatmust have held seas, and oceans once, to say nothing of the marks ofrivers that are now dry. So you see there was erosion andthat erosion has ceased so short a time ago, that new cratering has notyet had time to accumulate."

“海洋、大气和生物。”崔维兹答道。“听着，假如这颗行星一开始就没有空气和水分，陨石坑形成后就不会消失，它的表面会到处都坑坑洞洞。这颗行星上几乎没有陨石坑，证明它原本一定含有空气和水分，而且不久之前，也许还有相当丰沛的大气和海洋。此外，看得出这个世界有些巨大的海盆，那里过去一定曾是汪洋一片，而干涸河床的痕迹更不在话下。所以你看，侵蚀作用过去的确存在，是不久之前才停止的，而新的陨石坑还来不及累积。”

Pelorat looked doubtful. "I may not be a planetologist, but it seems tome that if a planet is large enough to hang on to a dense atmosphere forperhaps billions of years, it isn't going to suddenly lose it, is it?"

裴洛拉特看来一脸疑惑。“我也许不是行星学家，可是我也知道，这么大的一颗行星，足以维持浓厚的大气数十亿年之久，不可能突然让大气流失，对不对？”

"I shouldn't think so," said Trevize. "But this world undoubtedlyheld life before its atmosphere vanished, probably human life. My guessis that it was a terraformed world as almost all the human-inhabitedworlds of the Galaxy are. The trouble is that we don't really know whatits condition was before human life arrived, or what was done to it inorder to make it comfortable for human beings, or under what conditions,actually, life vanished. There may have been a catastrophe that suckedoff the atmosphere and that brought about the end of human life. Or theremay have been some strange imbalance on this planet that human beingscontrolled as long as they were here and that went into a vicious cycleof atmospheric reduction once they were gone. Maybe we'll find the answerwhen we land, or maybe we won't. It doesn't matter."

“我也认为不可能。”崔维兹说：“但这个世界在大气流失前，上面无疑有生命存在，也许还是人类生命。根据我的猜测，它是个经过改造的世界，就像银河中几乎每个住人世界一样。问题是人类抵达之前，它的自然条件如何；人类为了使它适于住人，又对它进行过何种改造；还有，生命究竟是在什么情况下消失的，这些问题的答案我们都不知道。有可能曾经发生一场‘激变’，将大气层一扫而光，一举结束了人类生命。也可能人类在这颗行星居住时，维持着一种奇异的非平衡状态，而人类消失之后，它就陷入恶性循环，导致大气变得越来越稀薄。或许我们登陆之后就能找到答案，也可能根本找不到，不过这点无关紧要。”

"But surely neither does it matter if there was life here once,if there isn't now. What's the difference if a planet has always beenuninhabitable, or is only uninhabitable now?"

“如果那上面现在没有生命，过去是否有生命存在，同样是无关紧要的一件事。一个世界始终不可住人，和一度曾可住人，两者又有什么差别呢？”

"If it is only uninhabitable now, there will be ruins of the one-time inhabitants."

“假如只有现在不可住人，当年的居民应该会留下些遗迹。”

"There were ruins on Aurora "

“奥罗拉也有许多遗迹……”

"Exactly, but on Aurora there had been twenty thousand years of rainand snow, freezing and thawing, wind and temperature change. And therewas also life don't forget life: There may not have been humanbeings there, but there was plenty of life. Ruins can be eroded justas craters can. Faster. And in twenty thousand years, not enough wasleft to do us any good. Here on this planet, however, there hasbeen a passage of time, perhaps twenty thousand years, perhaps less,without wind, or storm, or life. There has been temperature change,I admit, but that's all. The ruins will be in good shape."

“一点也没错，但奥罗拉经历了两万年的雨雪风霜，以及起伏剧烈的温度变化。此外那里还有生命——别忘了那些生命；那里也许不再有人类的踪迹，可是仍有众多生命。遗迹也像陨石坑一样会遭到侵蚀，甚至更快。经过了两万年，不会留下什么对我们有用的东西。然而这颗行星曾经有过一段时期，也许长达两万年，也许少一点，上面没有任何风雨或生命。我承认，温度变化还是有的，不过那是唯一的不利因素，那些遗迹应该保存得相当好。”

"Unless," murmured Pelorat doubtfully, "there are no ruins. Is itpossible that there was never any life on the planet, or never any humanlife at any rate, and that the loss of the atmosphere was due to someevent that human beings had nothing to do with?"

“除非，”裴洛拉特以怀疑的口吻喃喃说道：“上面根本没有任何遗迹。有没有可能这颗行星上从未出现生命，或是根本没有人类居住饼，而造成大气流失的事件其实也和人类无关？”

"No, no," said Trevize. "You can't turn pessimist on me, because itwon't work. Even from here, I've spotted the remains of what I'm surewas a city. So we land tomorrow."

“不，不可能，”崔维兹说：“你无法使我变得悲观，我绝不会放弃希望。即使在这里，我也已经侦察到一些遗迹，我可以确定那是座城市——所以我们明天就要登陆。”

Bliss said, in a worried tone, "Fallom is convincedwe're going to take her back to Jemby, her robot."

宝绮思以忧虑的口吻说：“菲龙深信我们是要带她回到健比——她的机器人身边。”

"Umm," said Trevize, studying the surface of the world as it slidback under the drifting ship. Then he looked up as though he had heardthe remark only after a delay. "Well, it was the only parent she knew,wasn't it?"

“喔——”崔维兹一面说，一面研究着太空艇下方急速掠过的地表。然后他抬起头，仿佛现在才听见那句话。“嗯，那是她唯一认识的亲人，对不对？”

"Yes, of course, but she thinks we've come back to Solaria."

“没错，当然没错，但她以为我们回到了索拉利。”

"Does it look like Solaria?"

“它看来像素拉利吗？”

"How would she know?"

“她怎么会知道？”

"Tell her it's not Solaria. Look, I'll give you one or two referencebookfilms with graphic illustrations. Show her close-ups of a numberof different inhabited worlds and explain that there are millions ofthem. You'll have time for it. I don't know how long Janov and I willhave to wander around, once we pick a likely target and land."

“告诉她那不是索拉利。听好，我会给你一两套附有图解的胶卷参考书，让她看看各种住人世界的特写，再向她解释一下，这样的世界总共有好几千万。你会有时间做这件事：一旦我们选定目标着陆之后，我不知道詹诺夫和我会在外面徘徊多久。”

"You and Janov?"

“你和詹诺夫？”

"Yes. Fallom can't come with us, even if I wanted her to, which Iwould only want if I were a madman. This world requires space suits,Bliss. There's no breathable air. And we don't have a space suit thatwould fit Fallom. So she and you stay on the ship."

“对，菲龙不能跟我们一块去，即使我想要她去也办不到——但除非我是疯子，否则我不会有那种念头。这个世界需要太空衣，宝绮思，上面没有可供呼吸的空气。我们没有适合菲龙穿的太空衣，所以她得跟你留在太空船内。”

"Why I?"

“为什么跟我？”

Trevize's lips stretched into a humorless smile. "I admit," he said,"I would feel safer if you were along, but we can't leave Fallom onthis ship alone. She can do damage even if she doesn't mean to. I musthave Janov with me because he might be able to make out whatever archaicwriting they have here. That means you will have to stay with Fallom. Ishould think you would want to."

崔维兹的嘴角扯出一个假笑。“我承认，”他说：“如果你跟我们一起行动，我会比较有安全感，可是我们不能把菲龙单独留在太空船上。她有可能造成破坏，即使只是无心之失。我必须让詹诺夫跟着我，因为他也许看得懂此地的古代文书。这就表示你得和菲龙留在这里，我认为你应该愿意。”

Bliss looked uncertain.

宝绮思显得犹豫不决。

Trevize said, "Look. You wanted Fallom along, when I didn't. I'mconvinced she'll be nothing but trouble. So her presence introducesconstraints, and you'll have to adjust yourself to that. She's here,so you'll have to be here, too. That's the way it is."

崔维兹说：“你看，当初是你要带菲龙同行，我根本就反对，我确信她只会是个麻烦。因此——她的出现带来一些束缚，你就必须做些自我调适。她待在这里，所以你也得待在这里，没有别的办法。”

Bliss sighed. "I suppose so."

宝绮思叹了一口气。“我想是吧。”

"Good. Where's Janov?"

“好，詹诺夫呢？”

"He's with Fallom."

“他和菲龙待在一起。”

"Very well. Go and take over. I want to talk to him."

“很好，你去换班，我有话跟他说。”

Trevize was still studying the planetary surface when Pelorat walkedin, clearing his throat to announce his presence. He said, "Is anything wrong, Golan?"

裴洛拉特走进来的时候，崔维兹还在研究行星地表。他先清了清喉咙，表示他已经到了。“有什么问题吗，葛兰？”

"Not exactly wrong, Janov. I'm just uncertain. This is a peculiar worldand I don't know what happened to it. The seas must have been extensive,judging from the basins left behind, but they were shallow. As nearly as Ican tell from the traces left behind, this was a world of desalinizationand canals or perhaps the seas weren't very salty. If they weren'tvery salty, that would account for the absence of extensive salt flatsin the basins. Or else, when the ocean was lost, the salt content waslost with it which certainly makes it look like a human deed."

“不能算真正有问题，詹诺夫，我只是不太确定。这是个很特殊的世界，我不知道它发生过什么变故。当初海洋一定极辽阔，这点可以从海盆看出来，不过它们都很浅。从这些地理遗迹中，我所能做出的最佳判断，是这个世界原本有许多河渠，海洋曾经进行淡化的手续，也可能海水本来就没什么盐分。如果当初海洋中的盐分不多，就能解释海盆中为何没有大片盐田。或者也有可能，在海水流失的过程中，盐分跟着一起流失——这就会使它看来像人为的结果。”

Pelorat said hesitantly, "Excuse my ignorance about such things,Golan, but does any of this matter as far as what we are looking foris concerned?"

裴洛拉特迟疑地说：“很抱歉，我对这些事一窍不通，葛兰，但这些有任何一样跟我们寻找的目标有关吗？”

"I suppose not, but I can't help being curious. If I knew just howthis planet was terraformed into human habitability and what it was likebefore terraforming, then perhaps I would understand what has happenedto it after it was abandoned or just before, perhaps. And if wedid know what happened to it, we might be forewarned against unpleasantsurprises."

“我想应该没有，可是我忍不住感+B981到好奇。这颗行星如何被改造成适于人类居住，它在改造之前又是什么面貌，我若知道这些答案，或许就能了解它在遭到遗弃之后——或者也许是之前，曾经发生什么变故。要是我们知道发生了什么事，也许就能提早防范，避免发生不愉快的意外。”

"What kind of surprises? It's a dead world, isn't it?"

“什么样的意外？它是个死去的世界，不是吗？”

"Dead enough. Very little water; thin, unbreathable atmosphere;and Bliss detects no signs of mental activity."

“的确死透了。水分非常少，大气稀薄而不能呼吸，宝绮思也侦测不到精神活动的迹象。”

"That should settle it, I should think."

“我认为这就够确定了。”

"Absence of mental activity doesn't necessarily imply lack oflife."

“不存在精神活动，不一定代表没有生物。”

"It must surely imply lack of dangerous life."

“至少表示一定没有危险的生物。”

"I don't know. But that's not what I want to consult youabout. There are two cities that might do for our first inspection. Theyseem to be in excellent shape; all the cities do. Whatever destroyed theair and oceans did not seem to touch the cities. Anyway, those two citiesare particularly large. The larger, however, seems to be short on emptyspace. There are spaceports far in the outskirts but nothing in the cityitself. The one not so large does have empty space, so it will be easierto come down in its midst, though not in formal spaceports but then,who would care about that?"

“我不知道——不过我想请教你的不是这个。我找到两座城市，可当作我们探查的第一站，它们的状况似乎极佳，其他的城市也都一样。不管空气和海洋是被什么力量毁掉的，城市似乎完全未被波及。言归正传，那两个城市特别大，但较大的那个似乎缺少空地，它的外缘远方有些太空航站，市内却没有这类场所。另外那个稍微小一点的，市内则有些开阔的空间，所以比较容易降落在市中心，不过那里并不是正式的太空航站——可是话说回来，谁又会计较呢？”

Pelorat grimaced. "Do you want me to make the decision,Golan?"

裴洛拉特显得愁眉苦脸。“你是要我做决定吗，葛兰？”

"No, I'll make the decision. I just want your thoughts."

“不，我自己会做决定，我只是想知道你的看法。”

"For what they're worth, a large sprawling city is likely to be acommercial or manufacturing center. A smaller city with open space islikely to be an administrative center. It's the administrative centerwe'd want. Does it have monumental buildings?"

“如果你不嫌弃的话——向四方延伸的大城比较像商业或制造业中心，具有开放空间的较小城市则较像行政中心。我们的目标应该是行政中心，那里有纪念性建筑物吗？”

"What do you mean by a monumental building?"

“你所谓的纪念性建筑物是什么意思？”

Pelorat smiled his tight little stretching of the lips. "Iscarcely know. Fashions change from world to world and from time totime. I suspect, though, that they always look large, useless, andexpensive. Like the place where weeeere on Comporellon."

裴洛拉特微微一笑，拉长了他紧绷的嘴唇。“我也不清楚，各个世界的建筑风格都不相同，也会随着时间改变。不过，我猜它们总是看来大而无当，而且豪华奢侈，就像我们在康普隆时置身的那个建筑。”

Trevize smiled in his turn. "It's hard to tell looking straightdown, and when I get a sideways glance as weeapproach or leave, it'stoo confusing. Why do you prefer the administrative center?"

这回轮到崔维兹露出微笑。“垂直看下去很难分辨，而我们在着陆或起飞时，虽然可以从侧面观察，看出去也会是一团混乱。你为什么比较中意行政中心？”

"That's where we're likely to find the planetary museum, library,archives, university, and so on."

“那里较有可能找到行星博物馆、图书馆、档案中心、大学院校等等机构。”

"Good. That's where we'll go, then; the smaller city. And maybewe'll find something. We've had two misses, but maybe we'll find somethingthis time."

“好，我们就去那里，去那个较小的城市，也许我们能有所发现。我们已经失败两次，这次也许能有什么发现。”

"Perhaps it will be three times lucky."

“说不定这是‘幸运的三度梅’。”

Trevize raised his eyebrows. "Where did you get that phrase?"

崔维兹扬起眉毛。“你从哪里听来这句成语？”

"It's an old one," said Pelorat. "I found it in an ancient legend. Itmeans success on the third try, I should think."

“这是个古老的成语，”裴洛拉特说：“我是在一则古代传说中发现的。它的意思是第三次的尝试终于带来成功，我这么想。”

"That sounds right," said Trevize. "Very well, then three timeslucky, Janov."

“听来很有道理。”崔维兹说：“很好——幸运的三度梅，詹诺夫。”