Part Six - Alpha

第六部阿尓发星

Trevize stared at Pelorat for a long moment, and withan expression of clear displeasure. Then he said, "Is there somethingyou saw that I did not, and that you did not tell me about?"

崔维兹瞪了裴洛拉特良久，脸上露出明显的不悦神情。然后他说：“你看到什么我没看到的，却没有告诉我？”

"No," answered Pelorat mildly. "You saw it and, as I just said,I tried to explain, but you were in no mood to listen to me."

“没有。”裴洛拉特好言好语答道：“你也看到了，正如我刚才说的，我试图向你解释，你却没心情听我说。”

"Well, try again."

“好，你就再试一次。”

Bliss said, "Don't bully him, Trevize."

宝绮思说：“别对他凶，崔维兹。”

"I'm not bullying him. I'm asking for information. And don't youbaby him."

“我没对他凶，我只是在问问题，你别宠坏他。”

"Please," said Pelorat, "listen to me, will you, and not to eachother. Do you remember, Golan, that we discussed early attemptsto discover the origin of the human species? Yariff's project? Youknow, trying to plot the times of settlement of various planets on theassumption that planets would be settled outward from the world of originin all directions alike. Then, as we moved from newer to older planets,we would approach the world of origin from all directions."

“拜托，”裴洛拉特道：“都听我说，你们两位，不要你一言我一语的——你还记不记得，葛兰，我们讨论过早年寻找人类起源的尝试？那个亚瑞弗计划？你知道，就是试图标出每颗行星创建的年代。这个计划根据的假设，是人类当年以起源世界为中心，同时向四面八方进行殖民。因此，若从较新的行星逐步追溯到较老的行星，就能从各个方向汇聚到起源世界。”

Trevize nodded impatiently. "What I remember is that it didn't workbecause the dates of settlement were not reliable."

崔维兹不耐烦地点了点头。“我记得这个方法根本行不通，因为每个世界的创建年代都不可靠。”

"That's right, old fellow. But the worlds that Yariff was workingwith were part of the second expansion of the human race. By then,hyperspatial travel was far advanced, and settlement must have grown quiteragged. Leapfrogging very long distances was very simple and settlementdidn't necessarily proceed outward in radial symmetry. That surely addedto the problem of unreliable dates of settlement.

“没有错，老伙伴。但亚瑞弗研究的世界都是第二波殖民者建立的，当时超空间旅行极为先进，殖民世界一定已分布得相当凌乱，因为跨越星球殖民并非难事，殖民世界不一定呈径向对称向外扩张。这一点，当然增加了创建年代的不确定性。

"But just think for a moment, Golan, of the Spacer worlds. Theywere in the first wave of settlement. Hyperspatial travel was lessadvanced then, and there was probably little or no leapfrogging. Whereasmillions of worlds were settled, perhaps chaotically, during the secondexpansion, only fifty were settled, probably in an orderly manner, inthe first. Whereas the millions of worlds of the second expansion weresettled over a period of twenty thousand years; the fifty of the firstexpansion were settled over a period of a few centuries almostinstantaneously, in comparison. Those fifty, taken together, shouldexist in roughly spherical symmetry about the world of origin.

“可是你再想想，葛兰，想想那些外世界，它们是由第一波殖民者建立的。当时超空间旅行没那么进步，后来居上的情形可能很少，甚至根本没有。虽然在第二波扩张时，几千万个世界的建立也许毫无规律；第一波却只有五十个世界，它们有可能分布得很规则。虽然第二波扩张持续两万年，建立了数千万个世界；第一波的五十个世界，则是几世纪间的成果——相较之下，几乎像是同时建立的。这五十个世界放在一起，应该大略构成球对称，而对称中心就是那个起源世界。

"We have the co-ordinates of the fifty worlds. You photographed them,remember, from the statue. Whatever or whoever it is that is destroyinginformation that concerns Earth, either overlooked those co-ordinates, ordidn't stop to think that they would give us the information we need. Allyou have to do, Golan, is to adjust the co-ordinates to allow for thelast twenty thousand years of stellar motions, then find the center ofthe sphere. You'll end up fairly close to Earth's sun, or at least towhere it was twenty thousand years ago."

“我们已经有这五十个世界的座标，你拍摄下来了，记得吗，你坐在石像上拍的。不论什么力量或什么人试图毁掉地球的资料，他不是忽略了这些座标，就是没想到它们会提供我们所需的资料。你现在需要做的，葛兰，就是调整那些座标，修正两万年来的恒星运动，然后找出球形的中心，那个中心便会相当接近地球之阳，至少接近它两万年前的位置。”

Trevize's mouth had fallen slightly open during the recital and ittook a few moments for him to close it after Pelorat was done. He said,"Now why didn't I think of that?"

当裴洛拉特滔滔不绝时，崔维兹的嘴巴不自觉地微微张开，等到长篇大论结束，又过了好一会儿之后，他才终于阖上嘴巴。“可是我为什么没想到呢？”

"I tried to tell you while we were still on Melpomenia."

“我们还在梅尔波美尼亚的时候，我就试图告诉你。”

"I'm sure you did. I apologize, Janov, for refusing to listen. Thefact is it didn't occur to me that " He paused in embarrassment.

“我绝对相信你尝试过，而我却拒绝听，我向你道歉，詹诺夫。其实我根本没料到……”他感到很不好意思，没再往下说。

Pelorat chuckled quietly, "That I could have anything of importanceto say. I suppose that ordinarily I wouldn't, but this was somethingin my own field, you see. I am sure that, as a general rule, you'd beperfectly justified in not listening to me."

裴洛拉特默默笑了一下。“没料到我会说出什么重要的话。我想通常我的确不会，不过这件事是我的本行，你懂了吧。我自己也承认，一般说来你大可不必听我唠叨。”

"Never," said Trevize. "That's not so, Janov. I feel like a fool,and I well deserve the feeling. My apologies again and I must nowget to the computer."

“没这回事，”崔维兹说：“不是这样的，詹诺夫。我觉得自己是个笨蛋，而我活该有这种感觉。我再次向你道歉——现在我得去找电脑了。”

He and Pelorat walked into the pilot-room, and Pelorat, as always,watched with a combination of marveling and incredulity as Trevize'shands settled down upon the desk, and he became what was almost a singleman computer organism.

于是他们两人一同走进驾驶舱。当崔维兹双手放在桌面上，几乎与电脑合成单一“人／机”有机体时，裴洛拉特望着他，像往常一样既惊叹又无法置信。

"I'll have to make certain assumptions, Janov," said Trevize, ratherblankfaced from computer-absorption. "I have to assume that the firstnumber is a distance in parsecs, and that the other two numbers are anglesin radians, the first being up and down, so to speak, and the other,right and left. I have to assume that the use of plus and minus in thecase of the angles is Galactic Standard and that the zero-zzzzzzzzz mark is Melpomenia's sun."

“我必须做些假设，詹诺夫。”由于崔维兹与电脑已融为一体，他的表情有点茫然。“我得假设第一个数字是距离，单位为秒差距：其他两个数字是角度，都是以径为单位，勉强可说第一个角度标示上下，另一个标示左右。我必须假设角度的正负号依据的是银河标准规约，而那三个零值代表梅尔波美尼亚的太阳。”

"That sounds fair enough," said Pelorat.

“听来很有希望。”裴洛拉特说。

"Does it? There are six possible ways of arranging the numbers, fourpossible ways of arranging the signs, distances may be in light-yearsrather than parsecs, the angles in degrees, rather than radians. That'sninety-six diferent variations right there. Add to that, the point thatif the distances are light-years, I'm uncertain as to the length of theyear used. Add also the fact that I don't know the actual conventionsused to measure the angles from the Melpomenian equator in one case,I suppose, but what's their prime meridian?"

“是吗？数字的排列共有六种可能，正负号的组合共有四种可能，距离的单位也许是光年而不是秒差距，角度的单位也许是度而不是径，这就构成九十六种不同的变化。此外，如果距离单位是光年，我不确定用的是哪种年；另一个问题是，我不知道测量角度用的究竟是什么规约——我想，其中之一应是以梅尔波美尼亚的赤道为准，可是本初子午线在哪里？”

Pelorat frowned. "Now you make it sound hopeless."

裴洛拉特皱起眉头。“听你这么一说，好像又绝望了。”

"Not hopeless. Aurora and Solaria are included in the list, and Iknow where they are in space. I'll use the co-ordinates, and see ifI can locate them. If I end up in the wrong place, I will adjust theco-ordinates until they give me the right place, and that will tell mewhat mistaken assumptions I am making as far as the standards governingthe co-ordinates are concerned. Once my assumptions are corrected,I can look for the center of the sphere."

“没有绝望。奥罗拉和索拉利都在这份名单上，而我知道它们在太空中的位置。我将根据座标试着寻找它们，如果找错地方，我就改用另一种规约，直到座标给出正确位置为止。这样我便能知道，我在座标规约上做的假设有何错误。假设一旦改正了，我就可以开始寻找那个球心。”

"With all the possibilities for change, won't it make it difficultto decide what to do?"

“有那么多可能的变化，做出决定会不会很难？”

"What?" said Trevize. He was increasingly absorbed. Then, whenPelorat repeated the question, he said, "Oh well, chances are that theco-ordinates follow the Galactic Standard and adjusting for an unknownprime meridian isn't difficult. These systems for locating points in spacewere worked out long ago, and most astronomers are pretty confident theyeven antedate interstellar travel. Human beings are very conservativein some ways and virtually never change numerical conventions once theygrow used to them. They even come to mistake them for laws of nature,I think. Which is just as well, for if every world had its ownconventions of measurement that changed every century, I honestly thinkscientific endeavor would stall and come to a permanent stop."

“什么？”崔维兹越来越全神贯注。裴洛拉特将问题着复一遍之后，他才回答道：“喔，还好，这些座标遵循的很可能是银河标准规约，找出未知的本初子午线并不困难。标定太空位址的各种系统出现得很早，大多数天文学家都相当肯定它们甚至是在星际旅行前建立的。人类在某些方面非常保守，用惯一组数值规约之后，就不会做任何更改。我想，甚至有人会将它们误认为自然法则——其实这样也好，因为若是每个世界都有自己的测量规约，而且每个世纪都做改变，我相信科学发展绝对会因而受阻，甚至永远停滞不前。”

He was obviously working while he was talking, for his words camehaltingly. And now he muttered, "But quiet now."

他显然一面说话一面工作，因为他的话始终断断续续。此时他又喃喃道：“现在保持肃静。”

After that, his face grew furrowed and concentrated until, afterseveral minutes, he leaned back and drew a long breath. He said quietly,"The conventions hold. I've located Aurora. There's no question aboutit. See?"

说完这句话，他整个脸皱起来，神情显得极为专注。几分钟之后，他才靠回椅背，深深吸了一口气，以平静的口吻说：“规约的确成立，我已经找到奥罗拉。绝对没问题——看到了吗？”

Pelorat stared at the field of stars, and at the bright one near thecenter and said, "Are you sure?"

裴洛拉特凝视着星像场，目光聚焦在接近中央的一颗后星上。“你确定吗？”

Trevize said, "My own opinion doesn't matter. Thecomputer is sure. We've visited Aurora, after all. We haveits characteristics its diameter, mass, luminosity, temperature,spectral details, to say nothing of the pattern of neighboring stars. Thecomputer says it's Aurora."

崔维兹说：“我自己的意见不重要，重要的是电脑的肯定。毕竟我们造访过奥罗拉，它的特征我们十分清楚——直径、质量、光度、温度、光谱细目等等，更遑论附近恒星的分布模式——电脑说它就是奥罗拉。”

"Then I suppose we must take its word for it."

“那么我想，我们必须接受它的话。”

"Believe me, we must. Let me adjust the viewscreen and the computercan get to work. It has the fifty sets of co-ordinates and it will usethem one at a time."

“相信我，我们必须接受。让我调整一下显像屏幕，电脑就能开始工作。五十组座标早巳输入，它会一个一个处理。”

Trevize was working on the screen as he spoke. The computer worked inthe four dimensions of space-time routinely, but, for human inspection,the viewscreen was rarely needed in more than two dimensions. Now thescreen seemed to unfold into a dark volume as deep as it, was tall andbroad. Trevize dimmed the room lights almost totally to make the viewof star-shine easier to observe.

崔维兹一面说，一面开始调整屏幕。虽然电脑通常在四维时空中运作，但将结果呈现给人类时，显像屏幕鲜有超过二维的需要。然而现在，屏幕似乎展成一个漆黑的三维空间，深度与长宽相当。崔维兹将舱内的光线几乎完全熄灭，好让星光的影像更易于观察。

"It will begin now," he whispered.

“现在要开始了。”他低声道。

A moment later, a star appeared then another thenanother. The view on the screen shifted with every addition so that allmight be included. It was as though space was moving backward from theeye so that a more and more panoramic view could be taken. Combine thatwith shifts up or down, right or left……

一会儿之后，便出现一颗恒星——接着是另一颗——然后又是一颗。每多出现一颗星，屏幕的影像即变换一次，将所有星光皆纳入屏幕。看起来，仿佛太空在他们眼前逐渐远去，因此得见越来越多的全景。除此之外，还有上下的移动，左右的移动……

Eventually, fifty dots of light appeared, hovering in three-dimensionalspace.

最后，五十个光点尽数出现，全部悬挂在三维太空中。

Trevize said, "I would have appreciated a beautiful sphericalarrangement, but this looks like the skeleton of a snowball that hadbeen patted into shape in a big hurry, out of snow that was too hardand gritty."

崔维兹说：“我本来希望能看到一个美丽的球状排列，但这看来却像个匆促捏成的雪球，而且是由过硬、砂砾过多的雪捏成的。”

"Does that ruin everything?"

“这样会不会前功尽弃？”

"It introduces some difficulties, but that can't be helped, Isuppose. The stars themselves aren't uniformly distributed, and certainlyhabitable planets aren't, so there are bound to be unevennesses in theestablishment of new worlds. The computer will adjust each of thosedots to its present position, allowing for its likely motion in thelast twenty thousand years even in that time it won't mean muchof an adjustment and then fit them all into a `best-sphere.' It will find a spherical surface, in other words, from which the distanceof all the dots is a minimum. Then we find the center of the sphere,and Earth should be fairly close to that center. Or so we hope. Itwon't take long."

“会增加些困难，我想，但这也是没办法的事。恒星本身的分布并不均匀，可住人行星当然也一样，因此新世界一定不会构成完美的几何图形。电脑会考虑过去两万年最可能的运动模式，将每个光点调整到目前的位置——即使过了那么长的时间，需要的调整其实也不多。然后，再利用它们建构一个‘最佳球面’，换句话说，就是在太空中找出一个球面，使所有光点与它的距离都是最小值。最后我们再求出那个球面的球心，地球就应该在那个球心附近，至少我们希望如此——这不会花太多时间。”

It didn't. Trevize, who was used to accepting miraclesfrom the computer, found himself astonished at how little time ittook.

果然未花太多时间。虽然崔维兹对这台电脑创造的奇迹习以为常，它的速度还是令他惊讶不已。

Trevize had instructed the computer to sound a soft, reverberatingnote upon deciding upon the co-ordinates of the best-center. There wasno reason for that, except for the satisfaction of hearing it and knowingthat perhaps the search had been ended.

崔维兹刚才对电脑下过一道指令，要它在定出“最佳球心”后，发出一个柔和而余音袅袅的音调。这样做没有什么特殊理由，只不过为了心理上的满足，因为一旦听到这个声音，也许就代表这次的探索已接近尾声。

The sound came in a matter of minutes, and was like the gentlestroking of a mellow gong. It swelled till they could feel the vibrationphysically, and then slowly faded.

电脑几分钟后便发出声音，听来像是轻敲铜锣所激起的柔美响声。音量由小而大，直到他们都能感到微微震动，才慢慢消逝在空气中。

Bliss appeared at the door almost at once. "What's that?" she asked,her eyes big. "An emergency?"

宝绮思几乎立刻出现在舱门口。“什么声音？”她瞪大眼睛问道：“紧急状况吗？”

Trevize said, "Not at all."

“不，没事。”崔维兹说。

Pelorat added eagerly, "We may have located Earth, Bliss. That soundwas the computer's way of saying so."

裴洛拉特热心地补充道：“我们也许找到地球的位置了，宝绮思，那一声就是电脑报告这个好消息的方式。”

She walked into the room. "I might have been warned."

她走进驾驶舱。“事先也该告诉我一声。”

Trevize said, "I'm sorry, Bliss. I didn't mean it to be quite that loud."

崔维兹说：“抱歉，宝绮思，我没想到声音会那么大。”

Fallom had followed Bliss into the room and said, "Why was there thatsound, Bliss?"

菲龙跟着宝绮思走了进来，问道：“为什么有那个声音，宝绮思？”

"I see she's curious, too," said Trevize. He sat back, feelingdrained. The next step was to try the finding on the real Galaxy, tofocus on the coordinates of the center of the Spacer worlds and see if aG-type star was actually present. Once again, he was reluctant to takethe obvious step, unable to make himself put the possible solution tothe actual test.

“我看得出来她也很好奇。”崔维兹往椅背一靠，感到十分疲倦。下一步，是在真实银河中验证这个发现——将寻找焦点集中在外世界中心的座标上，看看是否真有G型恒星存在。但他再次变得优柔寡断，不愿进行这个简单的步骤，无法让自己面对真实测验的可能答案。

"Yes," said Bliss. "Why shouldn't she? She's as human as we are."

“没错，”宝绮思说：“她为何不该好奇呢？她和我们一样是人类。”

"Her parent wouldn't have thought so," said Trevize abstractedly. "Iworry about the kid. She's bad news."

“她的单亲可不会这么想，”崔维兹心不在焉地说：“这个小孩令我担心，她是个麻烦。”

"In what way has she proven so?" demanded Bliss.

“何以见得？”宝绮思质问。

Trevize spread his arms. "Just a feeling."

崔维兹双手一摊，答道：“只是一种感觉。”

Bliss gave him a disdainful look, and turned to Fallom. "We are tryingto locate Earth, Fallom."

宝绮思白了他一眼，再转身对菲龙说：“我们正在设法寻找地球，菲龙。”

"What's Earth?"

“什么是地球？”

"Another world, but a special one. It's the world our ancestors camefrom. Do you know what the word `ancestors' means from your reading,Fallom?"

“另一个世界，不过是很特别的一个，我们的祖先都来自那个世界。你从那些读物中，有没有学到‘祖先’是什么意思，菲龙？”

"Does it mean……?" But the last word was not in Galactic.

“是不是XX？”最后那个词汇并非银河标准语。

Pelorat said, "That's an archaic word for `ancestors,' Bliss. Our word`forebears' is closer to it."

裴洛拉特说：“那是祖先的古字，宝绮思。我们的语言中跟它最接近的是‘先人’。”

"Very well," said Bliss, with a sudden brilliant smile. "Earth is theworld where our forebears came from, Fallom. Yours and mine and Pel'sand Trevize's."

“太好了。”宝绮思突然露出灿烂的笑容。“我们的先人都来自地球，菲龙。你的、我的、裴的、崔维兹的先人都是。”

"Yours, Bliss and mine also." Fallom sounded puzzled. "Bothof them?"

“你的，宝绮思……还有我的也是，”菲龙的口气似乎透着疑惑，“他们都是从地球来的？”

"There's just one set of forebears," said Bliss. "We had the sameforebears, all of us."

“先人只有一种，”宝绮思说：“你的先人就是我的先人，大家的先人全都一样。”

Trevize said, "It sounds to me as though the child knows very wellthat she's different from us."

崔维兹说：“听来这孩子好像十分明白她和我们不同。”

Bliss said to Trevize in a low voice, "Don't say that. She must bemade to see she isn't. Not in essentials."

宝绮思对崔维兹低声道：“别那么说，一定要让她认为自己没什么不同，没有根本上的差异。”

"Hermaphrodism is essential, I should think."

“雌雄同体是根本上的差异，我这么想。”

"I'm talking about the mind."

“我指的是心灵。”

"Transducer-lobes are essential, too."

“转换叶突也是根本上的差异。”

"Now, Trevize, don't be difficult. She's intelligent and humanregardless of details."S

“喂，崔维兹，别那么难伺候。姑且不论那些细节，她既聪明又有人性。”

he turned to Fallom, her voice rising to its normal level. "Thinkquietly about this, Fallom, and see what it means to you. Your forebearsand mine were the same. All the people on all the worlds many,many worlds all had the same forebears, and those forebears livedoriginally on the world named Earth. That means we're all relatives,doesn't it? Now go back to our room and think of that."

她转身面对菲龙，将音量恢复正常大小。“静静想一想，菲龙，想想这对你有什么意义。你的先人和我的先人一样，在每个世界上——很多、很多的世界——每一个人都拥有共同的先人，那些先人原来住在一个叫作地球的世界。这就表示我们都是亲戚，对下对？现在回到我们的舱房，想一想我说的话。”

Fallom, after bestowing a thoughtful look on Trevize, turned and ranoff, hastened on by Bliss's affectionate slap on her backside.

菲龙若有所思地看了崔维兹一眼，随即转身跑开，宝绮思还在她臀部亲昵地拍了一下。

Bliss turned to Trevize, and said, "Please, Trevize, promise me youwon't make any comments in her hearing that will lead her to think she'sdifferent from us."

然后宝绮思转向崔维兹说：“拜托，崔维兹，答应我，以后她在附近的时候，不要再说那些话，免得她认为自己跟我们不同。”

Trevize said, "I promise. I have no wish to impede or subvert theeducational procedure, but, you know, she is different from us."

崔维兹说：“我答应你，我并不想妨碍或破坏她的学习过程。可是，你也知道，她的确跟我们不一样。”

"In ways. As I'm different from you, and as Pel is."

“只是某些方面有差异，就像我跟你有所不同，裴跟你也不完全一样。”

"Don't be naīve, Bliss. The differences in Fallom's case aremuch greater."

“别太天真了，宝绮思，菲龙的差异要大得多。”

"A little greater. The similarities are vastly moreimportant. She, and her people, will be part of Galaxia some day, anda very useful part, I'm sure."

“大一点而己。比较之下，她和我们的相似点却重要得多。她和她的同胞有一天会成为盖娅星系的一部分，而且我相信，还是极有用的一部分。”

"All right. We won't argue." He turned to the computer with clearreluctance. "And meanwhile, I'm afraid I have to check the supposedposition of Earth in real space."

“好吧，我们别争论了。”他万分不情愿地转身面对电脑，“现在，恐怕我得在真实太空中，查证一下地球是否在那个位置上。”

"Afraid?"

“恐怕？”

"Well," Trevize lifted his shoulders in what he hoped was ahalf-humorous way, "what if there's no suitable star near the place?"

“嗯，”崔维兹耸起双肩，希望做个至少有些像开玩笑的动作，“万一附近没有符合条件的恒星，那该怎么办？”

"Then there isn't," said Bliss.

“没有就没有吧。”宝绮思说。

"I'm wondering if there's any point in checking it out now. We won't be able to make a Jump for several days."

“我不知道现在查证是否有任何意义，几天之内我们都还无法进行跃迁。”

"And you'll be spending them agonizing over the possibilities. Findout now. Waiting won't change matters."

“但这几天你却会为了揣测答案而坐立不安。现在就查出来，等待不会改变既有事实。”

Trevize sat there with his lips compressed for a moment, then said,"You're right. Very well, then here goes."

崔维兹紧抿着嘴坐在那里，过了一会儿，他才说：“你说得对。好，那么——就开始吧。”

He turned to the computer, placed his hands on the handmarks on thedesk, and the viewscreen went dark.

他再度转身面向电脑，双手按在桌面的手掌轮廓上，显像屏幕立刻变得一片漆黑。

Bliss said, "I'll leave you, then. I'll make you nervous if Istay." She left, with a wave of her hand.

宝绮思说：“那么我走了，我留下来会让你神经紧张。”她挥了挥手，离开驾驶舱。

"The thing is," he muttered, "that we're going to be checking thecomputer's Galactic map first and even if Earth's sun is in the calculatedposition, the map should not include it. But we'll then……"

“现在我们要做的，”崔维兹喃喃说道：“首先是检查一下电脑的银河舆图。即使地球之阳真在计算出的位置上，舆图应该也没有收录。不过我们再……”

His voice trailed off in astonishment as the viewscreen flashedwith a background of stars. These were fairly numerous and dim, with anoccasional brighter one sparkling here and there, well scattered overthe face of the screen. But quite close to the center was a star thatwas brighter than all the rest.

他的声音在惊讶中逐渐消失；显像屏幕上闪现出了群星背景，星辰的数量极多，在屏幕上分布得很平均，大部分都十分暗淡，偶尔穿插着一颗较明亮的恒星。不过在相当接近中央的地方，有颗令众星黯然失色的明亮星辰。

"We've got it," said Pelorat jubilantly. "We've got it, old chap. Lookhow bright it is."

“找到了！”裴洛拉特高声欢呼：“我们找到了，老弟，看看它有多亮。”

"Any star at centered co-ordinates would look bright," said Trevize,clearly trying to fight off any initial jubilation that might proveunfounded. "The view, after all, is presented from a distance of a parsecfrom the centered co-ordinates. Still, that centered star certainly isn'ta red dwarf, or a red giant, or a hot blue-white. Wait for information;the computer is checking its data banks."

“位于座标中心的恒星看来都很明亮。”崔维兹显然试图压抑过早的欢喜，以免将来证明是一场空。“毕竟这个影像的像源，距离座标中心只有一秒差距。但话说回来，中央那颗恒星显然不是红矮星或红巨星，光芒也不是高温的蓝白色。等资料出来再说，电脑正在查寻它的资料库。”

There was silence for a few seconds and then Trevize said,"Spectral class G-2." Another pause, then, "Diameter, 1.4 millionkilometers mass, 1.02 times that of Terminus's sun surfacetemperature, 6,000 absolute rotation slow, just under thirtydays no unusual activity or irregularity."

经过几秒钟的沉默后，崔维兹说：“光谱型为G 2。”他又顿了一会儿，才继续说下去。“直径，一百四十万公里——质量，端点星之阳的一点零二倍——表面温度，绝对温标六千度——自转速率缓慢，周期接近三十天——没有异常活动或不规则的变化。”

Pelorat said, "Isn't all that typical of the kind of star about whichhabitable planets are to be found?"

裴洛拉特说：“这些不都是拥有可住人行星的典型条件吗？”

"Typical," said Trevize, nodding in the dimness. "And, therefore,what we'd expect Earth's sun to be like. If that is where life developed,the sun of Earth would have set the original standard."

“很典型，”崔维兹一面说，一面在昏暗中点着头。“因此符合我们对地球之阳的预期。如果生命的确源自地球，地球之阳就树立了最初的典范。”

"So there is a reasonable chance that there would be a habitableplanet circling it."

“所以说，周围有颗可住人行星的机会相当大。”

"We don't have to speculate about that," said Trevize, who soundedpuzzled indeed over the matter. "The Galactic map lists it as possessinga planet with human life but with a question mark."

“我们不必臆测这一点。”崔维兹的声音有些困惑，“根据银河舆图的记载，它有颗拥有人类生命的行星——可是后面加了一个问号。”

Pelorat's enthusiasm grew. "That's exactly what we would expect,Golan. The life-bearing planet is there, but the attempt to hide thefact obscures data concerning it and leaves the makers of the map thecomputer uses uncertain."

裴洛拉特的兴致越来越高。“那正是我们预期的情况，葛兰。那里的确有颗住人行星，可是那神秘的力量企图掩盖这个事实，因此有关资料模糊不清，使电脑舆图制作者无法确定。”

"No, that's what bothers me," said Trevize. "That's not what we shouldexpect. We should expect far more than that. Considering the efficiencywith which data concerning Earth has been wiped out, the makers of themap should not have known that life exists in the system, let alonehuman life. They should not even have known Earth's sun exists. TheSpacer worlds aren't on the map. Why should Earth's sun be?"

“不，令我不安的就是这点。”崔维兹说：“那并非我们应当预期的结果，我们应当预期的是更极端的情况。想想看，地球的相关资料被清除得多彻底，制图者不该知道那行星系有生命存在，更别提人类生命。他们甚至不该知道地球之阳的存在，外世界全都不在舆图中，地球之阳为何会被收录呢？”

"Well, it's there, just the same. What's the use of arguing thefact? What other information about the star is given?"

“嗯，无论如何，它就是在那里。这是事实，何必质疑呢？那颗恒星还有没有其他资料？”

"A name."

“有个名字。”

"Ah! What is it?"

“啊！叫什么？”

"Alpha."

“阿尔发。”

There was a short pause, then Pelorat said eagerly, "That's it,old man. That's the final bit of evidence. Consider the meaning."

顿了顿之后，裴洛拉特热切地说：“那就对了，老友，那是最后一个小小的佐证——想想它的含意。”

"Does it have a meaning?" said Trevize. "It's just a name to me,and an odd one. It doesn't sound Galactic."

“它有什么含意吗？”崔维兹说：“对我而言，它只是个名字，而且还是个古怪的名字，听来不像是银河标准语。”

"It isn't Galactic. It's in a prehistoric language ofEarth, the same one that gave us Gaia as the name of Bliss's planet."

“的确不是银河标准语，它是地球的一种史前语言。宝绮思的行星叫作盖娅，也是源自这种语言。”

"What does Alpha mean, then?"

“那么，阿尔发是什么意思？”

"Alpha is the first letter of the alphabet of that ancientlanguage. That is one of the most firmly attested scraps of knowledgewe have about it. In ancient times, `alpha' was sometimes used to meanthe first of anything. To call a sun `Alpha,' implies that it's thefirst sun. And wouldn't the first sun be the one around which a planetrevolved that was the first planet to bear human life Earth?"

“那个古老的语言，第一个字母叫‘阿尔发’，这是最可靠的史前知识片断之一。在遥远的古代，阿尔发有时用来代表第一件事物，如果某个太阳被命名为阿尔发，就意味着它是第一个太阳。第一个太阳难道不就是人类最初的行星——地球所环绕的恒星吗？”

"Are you sure of that?"

“你确定？”

"Absolutely," said Pelorat.

“绝对确定。”裴洛拉特说。

"Is there anything in early legends you're the mythologist,after all that gives Earth's sun some very unusual attribute?"

“在早期的传说中——毕竟你是神话学家——有没有提到地球之阳有什么很特殊的性质？”

"No, how can there be? It has to be standard by definition, and thecharacteristics the computer has given us ate as standard as possible,I imagine. Aren't they?"

“没有，怎么会呢？根据定义，它应该是最标准的，而电脑告诉我们的那些特征，我猜想再标准不过了。到底是不是？”

"Earth's sun is a single star, I suppose?"

“我想地球之阳应该是颗单星？”

Pelorat said, "Well, of course! As far as I know, all inhabited worldsorbit single stars."

裴洛拉特说：“嗯，当然啦！据我所知，所有的住人世界环绕的都是单星。”

"So I would have thought myself," said Trevize. "The trouble isthat that star in the center of the viewscreen is not a single star,it is a binary. The brighter of the two stars making up the binary isindeed standard and it is that one for which the computer supplied uswith data. Circling that star with a period of roughly eighty years,however, is another star with a mass four-fifths that of the brighterone. We can't see the two as separate stars with the unaided eye, butif I were to enlarge the view, I'm sure we would."

“这点我早就该想到。”崔维兹说：“问题是，显像屏幕中央那颗恒星并非单星，而是一对双星。双星之中较后的那颗的确很标准，电脑提供我们的就是有关它的资料。然而，另有一颗恒星环绕着它，其周期大约是八十年，质量是较后那颗的五分之四。我们无法用肉眼看出它们其实是两颗星，但若将影像放大，我确定我们就看得出来。”

"Are you certain of that, Golan?" said Pelorat, taken aback.

“你肯定这点吗，葛兰？”裴洛拉特着实吃了一惊。

"It's what the computer is telling me. And if we are looking at abinary star, then it's not Earth's sun. It can't be."

“这是电脑告诉我的。如果我们眼前是一对双星，那它就不是地球之阳，不可能是。”

Trevize broke contact with the computer, and the lightsbrightened.

崔维兹中断了与电脑的接触，舱内顿时大放光明。

That was the signal, apparently, for Bliss to return, with Fallomtagging after her. "Well, then, what are the results?" she asked.

这显然就是请宝绮思回来的讯号，菲龙则紧紧跟在她身后。“好啦，结果怎么样？”宝绮思问。

Trevize said tonelessly, "Somewhat disappointing. Where I expectedto find Earth's sun, I found a binary star, instead. Earth's sun is asingle star, so the one centered is not it."

崔维兹以平板的语调说：“多少有些令人失望。在我原本希望找到地球之阳的地方，却出现一对双星。地球之阳是颗单星，所以中央那颗绝对不是。”

Pelorat said, "Now what, Golan?"

裴洛拉特说：“现在怎么办，葛兰？”

Trevize shrugged. "I didn't really expect to see Earth's suncentered. Even the Spacers wouldn't settle worlds in such a way as toset up an exact sphere. Aurora, the oldest of the Spacer worlds, mighthave sent out settlers of its own and that may have distorted the sphere,too. Then, too, Earth's sun may not have moved at precisely the averagevelocity of the Spacer worlds."

崔维兹耸了耸肩。“我原本就没指望在正中央看到地球之阳。即使是外世界人建立的世界，也不会恰好形成完美的球面。奥罗拉——那个最古老的外世界——也可能产生自己的殖民者，这就可能使球面扭曲。此外，地球之阳在太空中的运动速度，也许和外世界的平均速度不尽相同。”

Pelorat said, "So the Earth can be anywhere. Is that what you'resaying?"

裴洛拉特说：“所以地球可能在任何地方，你是不是这个意思？”

"No. Not quite `anywhere.' All these possible sources of error can'tamount to much. Earth's sun must be in the vicinity of theco-ordinates. The star we've spotted almost exactly at the co-ordinatesmust be a neighbor of Earth's sun. It's startling that there should bea neighbor that so closely resembles Earth's sun except for beinga binary but that must be the case."

“不，不能说是‘任何地方’。所有可能的误差加起来也不会太大，地球之阳一定位于球心座标附近。我们找的那颗几乎刚好在座标上的恒星，一定是地球之阳的近邻。地球之阳竟然有个如此相似的邻居——唯有它是双星这点例外，这实在令人惊讶，但事实一定是如此。”

"But we would see Earth's sun on the map, then, wouldn't we? I mean,near Alpha?"

“不过，这样的话，我们应该能在舆图上看到地球之阳，对不对？我的意思是——在阿尔发的附近？”

"No, for I'm certain Earth's sun isn't on the map at all. It was thatwhich shook my confidence when we first spied Alpha. Regardless of howmuch it might resemble Earth's sun, the mere fact that it was on themap made me suspect it was not the real thing."

“不能，因为我确定地球之阳根本不在舆图上。就是由于这个缘故，我们最初找到阿尔发的时候，我才会感到信心动摇。不论它和地球之阳有多接近，光凭它被收录在舆图中这一点，就让我怀疑它不是真货。”

"Well, then," said Bliss. "Why not concentrate on the same co-ordinatesin real space? Then, if there is any bright star close to the center,a star that does not exist in the computer's map, and if it is verymuch like Alpha in its properties, but is single, might it not beEarth's sun?"

“好吧，那么，”宝绮思说：“何不将注意力集中到真实太空的这组座标上？然后，如果发现有颗明亮的恒星接近中心，可是不在电脑舆图中，又如果这颗恒星的性质和阿尔发非常相近，却是一颗单星，那它不就是地球之阳吗？”

Trevize sighed. "If all that were so, I'd be willing to wager halfmy fortune, such as it is, that circling that star you speak of wouldbe the planet Earth. Again, I hesitate to try."

崔维兹叹了一口气。“如果一切如你所说，我愿意拿我的一半财产打赌，赌你所说的恒星就是地球这颗行星的太阳。可是，现在我又有些犹豫，不想验证这个假设。”

"Because you might fail?"

“因为你可能失败？”

Trevize nodded. "However," he said, "just give me a moment or two tocatch my breath, and I'll force myself to do so."

崔维兹点了点头。“不过，”他说：“给我一点时间喘口气，我会强迫自己去做。”

And while the three adults looked at each other, Fallom approachedthe computer-desk and stared curiously at the handmarks upon it. Shereached out her own hand tentatively toward the markings, and Trevizeblocked the motion with a swift outthrusting of his own arm and a sharp,"Mustn't touch, Fallom."

正当三个大人面面相觑之际，菲龙走近电脑桌面，好奇地瞪着上面的手掌轮廓。她的手向那个轮廓探去，崔维兹赶紧伸出手臂格开，同时厉声道：“不准乱碰，菲龙。”

The young Solarian seemed startled, and retreated to the comfort ofBliss's encircling arm.

小索拉利人似乎吓了一跳，立坑阢进宝绮思温暖的臂膀中。

Pelorat said, "We must face it, Golan. What if you find nothing inreal space?"

裴洛拉特说：“我们必须面对现实，葛兰。如果你在太空中什么也没找到，那该怎么办？”

"Then we will be forced to go back to the earlier plan," said Trevize,"and visit each of the forty-seven Spacer worlds in turn."

“那我们将被迫着拾原先的计划，”崔维兹说：“一一去造访其他四十七个外世界。”

"And if that yields nothing, Golan?"

“万一那样也一无所获呢，葛兰？”

Trevize shook his head in annoyance, as though to prevent that thoughtfrom taking too deep a root. Staring down at his knees, he said abruptly,"Then I will think of something else."

崔维兹心烦意乱地摇了摇头，仿佛要阻止那种想法在脑中生根。他低头看了看自己的膝盖，突然冒出一句：“那时我会再想别的办法。”

"But what if there is no world of forebears at all?"

“可是如果根本没有先人的世界呢？”

Trevize looked up sharply at the treble voice. "Who said that?" heasked.

听到这个女高音般的声音，崔维兹猛然抬起头，“谁在说话？”

It was a useless question. The moment of disbelief faded, and he knewvery well who the questioner was.

这其实是多此一问，他很快便想到发问者是谁。

"I did," said Fallom.

“我说的。”菲龙答道。

Trevize looked at her with a slight frown. "Did you understand theconversation?"

崔维兹望着她，微微皱起眉头。“你听得懂我们的谈话吗？”

Fallom said, "You are looking for the world of forebears, but youhaven't found it yet. Maybe there isn't no such world."

菲龙说：“你们在寻找先人的世界，可是你们还没找到，也许根本没有一个世界。”

" Any such world," said Bliss softly.

“‘那个’世界。”宝绮思轻声纠正她。

"No, Fallom," said Trevize seriously. "There has been a very bigeffort to hide it. To try so hard to hide something means there issomething there to hide. Do you understand what I am saying?"

“不，菲龙，”崔维兹以严肃的口吻说：“是有人花了很大工夫将它藏起来。如此努力隐藏一样东西，意味着那样东西必须隐藏起来。你了解我的意思吗？”

"Yes," said Fallom. "You do not let me touch the hands on the deck. Because you do not let me do that means it would be interesting totouch them."

“我懂。”菲龙说：“就像你不让我碰桌上的手影，这就意味着碰一碰会很有趣。”

"Ah, but not for you, Fallom. Bliss, you are creating a monsterthat will destroy us all. Don't ever let her in here unless I'm at thedesk. And even then, think twice, will you?"

“啊，但不是给你碰的，菲龙——宝绮思，你在制造一个怪物，她会把我们全毁了。除非我坐在电脑前面，否则再也别让她进来；即使我在电脑前，也请你凡事先想想好吗？”

The small byplay, however, seemed to have shaken him out of hisirresolution. He said, "Obviously, I had better get to work. If I justsit here, uncertain as to what to do, that little fright will take overthe ship."

这段小插曲似乎驱走了他的优柔寡断。“显然，我最好现在就开始工作。假如我只是坐在这里，无法决定该怎么做，那小丑怪马上就会接管这艘太空船。”

The lights dimmed, and Bliss said in a low voice, "You promised,Trevize. Do not call her a monster or a fright in her hearing."

舱内灯光立刻变暗，宝绮思压低声音说：“答应我，崔维兹，她在附近的时候，别称她怪物或丑怪。”

"Then keep an eye on her, and teach her some manners. Tell her childrenshould be never heard and seldom seen."

“那就好好盯牢她，教她应有的礼节。告诉她小孩不该跟大人讲话，还要尽量少在大人面前出现。”

Bliss frowned. "Your attitude toward children is simply appalling,Trevize."

宝绮思皱起眉头。“你对小孩子的态度实在太过分了，崔维兹。”

"Maybe, but this is not the time to discuss the matter."

“或许吧，不过现在不是讨论这个问题的时候。”

Then he said, in tones in which satisfaction and relief were equallyrepresented, "There's Alpha again in real space. And to its left,and slightly upward, is almost as bright a star and one that isn't inthe computer's Galactic map. That is Earth's sun. I'llwager all my fortune on it."

然后，他以满意与宽心的语调说：“那是真实太空中的阿尔发——在它的左侧，稍微偏上的位置，是一颗几乎同样明亮、并未收录在银河舆图中的恒星。我敢拿我所有的财产打赌，那就是地球之阳。”

"Well, now," said Bliss, "we won't take any part ofyour fortune if you lose, so why not settle the matter in a forthrightmanner? Let's visit the star as soon as you can make the Jump."

“好啦，”宝绮思说：“即使你输了，我们也不会拿走你任何财产，所以何不直截了当找出答案？一旦能进行跃迁，我们就立刻造访那颗恒星。”

Trevize shook his head. "No. This time it's not a matter ofirresolution or fear. It's a matter of being careful. Three times we'vevisited an unknown world and three times we've come up against somethingunexpectedly dangerous. And three times, moreover, we've had to leavethat world in a hurry. This time the matter is ultimately crucial andI will not play my cards in ignorance again; or at least in any moreignorance than I can help. So far, all we have are vague stories aboutradioactivity, and that is not enough. By an odd chance that no one couldhave anticipated, there is a planet with human life about a parsec from Earth……"

崔维兹摇了摇头。“不——这次并非由于犹豫或恐惧，而是为了小心谨慎。我们造访了三个未知的世界，三次都遭到始料未及的危险，而且三次都被迫匆匆离去。这次是最紧要的关键，我不要再盲目行事，至少在能力范围内要尽量避免。直到目前为止，我们知道的只是有关放射性的含混传说，那根本不够。但是绝不会有人料到，在距离地球约一秒差距的地方，竟然有颗拥有人类生命的行星……”

"Do we really know that Alpha has a planet with human life on it?" putin Pelorat. "You said the computer placed a question mark after that."

“阿尔发周围，真有一颗拥有人类生命的行星吗？”裴洛拉特问道：“你说电脑在后面打了个问号。”

"Even so," said Trevize, "it's worth trying. Why not take a look atit? If it does indeed have human beings on it, let us find out what theyknow about Earth. For them, after all, Earth is not a distant thing oflegend; it is a neighbor world, bright and prominent in their sky."

“即使如此，”崔维兹说：“也值得我们试一试。为什么不去瞧瞧呢？倘若上面果真住有人类，我们就去问问他们对地球了解多少。毕竟，对他们而言，地球不是传说中遥不可及的世界，而是他们的近邻，在他们的天空，地球之阳一定既明亮又耀眼。”

Bliss said thoughtfully, "It's not a bad idea. It occurs to me thatif Alpha is inhabited and if the inhabitants are not your thoroughlytypical Isolates, they may be friendly, and we might be able to get somedecent food for a change."

宝绮思以深思熟虑的口吻说：“这个主意不坏。我突然想到，如果阿尔发拥有一个住人世界，居民又不是你们这种典型的孤立体，那么他们也许很友善，我们就有可能获得一些美食换换口味。”

"And meet some pleasant people," said Trevize. "Don't forget that. Will it be all right with you, Janov?"

“还能结识一些和蔼可亲的人，”崔维兹说：“别忘了这一点。你同意这样做吗，詹诺夫？”

Pelorat said, "You make the decision, old chap. Wherever you go,I will go, too."

裴洛拉特说：“由你决定，老弟。不论你到哪里，我一定奉陪。”

Fallom said suddenly, "Will we find Jemby?"

菲龙突然问道：“我们会不会找到健比？”

Bliss said hastily, before Trevize could answer, "We will look forit, Fallom."

宝绮思赶紧抢在崔维兹前面回答：“我们会找找看，菲龙。”

And then Trevize said, "It's settled then. On to Alpha."

于是崔维兹说：“那就这么决定了，向阿尔发前进。”

"Two big stars," said Fallom, pointing to the viewscreen.

“两颗大星星。”菲龙指着显像屏幕说。

"That's right," said Trevize. "Two of them. Bliss, do keep aneye on her. I don't want her fiddling with anything."

“没错，”崔维兹说：“有两颗——宝绮思，切记要看好她，我不想让她乱碰任何东西。”

"She's fascinated by machinery," said Bliss.

“她对机械装置很着迷。”宝绮思说。

"Yes, I know she is," said Trevize, "but I'm not fascinated by herfascination. Though to tell you the truth, I'm as fascinated asshe is at seeing two stars that bright in the viewscreen at the sametime."

“是啊，我知道，”崔维兹说：“可是我不敢领教——不过老实告诉你，看到显像屏幕上两颗恒星同时闪耀，我倒是跟她一样着迷。”

The two stars were bright enough to seem to be on the point of showinga disc each of them. The screen had automatically increasedfiltration density in order to remove the hard radiation and dim thelight of the bright stars so as to avoid retinal damage. As a result,few other stars were bright enough to be noticeable, and the two thatwere reigned in haughty near-isolation.

那两颗恒星的确相当灿烂，几乎呈圆盘状，两者皆如此。屏幕早已自动增强过滤密度，用来消除“硬辐射”并减低星光亮度，以避免对视网膜构成伤害。结果，屏幕上只剩下少数几颗亮星，那对双星则以高傲而近乎孤立的王者姿态高挂天际。

"The thing is," said Trevize, "I've never been this close to a binarysystem before."

“事实上，”崔维兹说：“我以前从未如此接近一个双星系。”

"You haven't?" said Pelorat, open astonishment in his voice. "How isthat possible?"

“没有？”裴洛拉特声音中透出几许讶异，“怎么可能呢？”

Trevize laughed. "I've been around, Janov, but I'm not the Galacticrover you think I am."

崔维兹哈哈大笑。“虽然我在太空中来来去去，詹诺夫，但我并非你想像中的那种银河游侠。”

Pelorat said, "I was never in space at all till I met you, Golan, butI always thought that anyone who did manage to get into space……"

裴洛拉特说：“在我遇到你之前，葛兰，我从来没到过太空。但我总是认为，任何人只要上了太空……”

"Would go everywhere. I know. That's natural enough. The troublewith planet-bound people is that no matter how much their mind may tellthem otherwise, their imaginations just can't take in the true size ofthe Galaxy. We could travel all our lives and leave most of the Galaxyunpenetrated and untouched. Besides, no one ever goes to binaries."

“就什么地方都会去。我了解，那是很自然的想法。足不离地的人最大的问题，就是不论理智如何说服他们，他们仍然无法想像银河的实际大小。即使我们在太空旅行一辈子，银河绝大多数地方还是碰不到。此外，根本没有人去过双星系。”

"Why not?" said Bliss, frowning. "We on Gaia know little astronomycompared to the traveling Isolates of the Galaxy, but I'm under theimpression that binaries aren't rare."

“为什么？”宝绮思皱着眉头说：“比起遍游银河的孤立体，我们盖娅上的人对天文学知道不多，可是在我的印象中，双星似乎并不罕见。”

"They're not," said Trevize. "There are substantially more binariesthan there are single stars. However, the formation of two stars in closeassociation upsets the ordinary processes of planetary formation. Binarieshave less planetary material than single stars do. Such planets as doform about them often have relatively unstable orbits and are very rarelyof a type that is reasonably habitable.

“的确如此。”崔维兹说：“其实说起来，双星的数量比单星还多。不过，两颗靠得很近的恒星生成之后，会害得行星无法循一般过程形成。双星拥有的行星物质比单星少，即使双星系中有行星形成，通常轨道也不太稳定，极少出现适于住人的行星。

"Early explorers, I imagine, studied many binaries at close range but,after a while, for settlement purposes, they sought out only singles. And,of course, once you have a densely settled Galaxy, virtually all travelinvolves trade and communications and is carried on between inhabitedworlds circling single stars. In periods of military activity, I supposebases were sometimes set up on small, otherwise-uninhabited worldscircling one of the stars of a binary that happened to be strategicallyplaced, but as hyperspatial travel came to be perfected, such bases wereno longer necessary."

“早期的星际探险者，我猜想，一定在近距离研究过许多双星。可是一段时日后，为了殖民的目的而探索时，他们的目标便仅限于单星。当然啦，一旦银河到处遍布殖民世界，几乎所有的星际旅行都和贸易或交通有关，而且一律在单星的住人世界间进行。在军事活动频仍时期，我想，假如某对双星刚好具有战略地位，有时会在环绕双星之一的小型、无人居住的世界上设立据点。可是随着超空间旅行渐趋完善，那样的据点也就变得没必要了。”

Pelorat said humbly, "It's amazing how much I don't know."

裴洛拉特虚心地说：“真不敢想像我有多么孤陋寡闻。”

Trevize merely grinned. "Don't let that impress you, Janov. WhenI was in the Navy, we listened to an incredible number of lectures onoutmoded military tactics that no one ever planned, or intended to use,and were just talked about out of inertia. I was just rattling off a bitof one of them. Consider all you know about mythology, folklore,and archaic languages that I don't know, and that only you and a veryfew others do know."

崔维兹只是咧嘴微笑。“别被我唬到了，詹诺夫。我在舰队的时候，听过无数过时军事战术的演讲，根本没有人计划或意图使用那些战术，讨论它们纯粹是一种传统，我只不过随便卖弄了点——话说回来，你懂得那么多神话学、民俗学，以及古代语文，这些我都一窍不通，只有你和少数专家才懂。”

Bliss said, "Yes, but those two stars make up a binary system andone of them has an inhabited planet circling it."

宝绮思说：“没错，但那两颗恒星的确构成一个双星系，其中之一的轨道上却有颗住人行星。”

"We hope it does, Bliss," said Trevize. "Everything has itsexceptions. And with an official question mark in this case, which makesit more puzzling. No, Fallom, those knobs are not toys. Bliss,either keep her in handcuffs, or take her out."

“我们希望是这样，宝绮思。”崔维兹说：“凡事皆有例外，再加上标了一个正式的问号，就使它更加令人费解——不行，菲龙，那些按钮不是玩具——宝绮思，要不就用手铐把她铐起来，要不就带她出去。”

"She won't hurt anything," said Bliss defensively, but pulled theSolarian youngster to herself just the same. "If you're so interestedin that habitable planet, why aren't we there already?"

“她不会弄坏任何东西。”宝绮思虽然在为菲龙辩护，仍将那索拉利小孩拉到自己身边。“如果你对那颗可住人行星这么有兴趣，我们还在这儿等什么？”

"For one thing," said Trevize, "I'm just human enough to want tosee this sight of a binary system at close quarters. Then, too, I'mjust human enough to be cautious. As I've already explained, nothinghas happened since we left Gaia that would encourage me to be anythingbut cautious."

“原因之一，”崔维兹说：“这是人之常情，我想乘机在近距离观察一下双星系。此外，谨慎也是人之常情，我自然不例外。正如我已解释过的，自从我们离开盖娅后，没有一件事不让我变得更小心谨慎。”

Pelorat said, "Which one of those stars is Alpha, Golan?"

裴洛拉特说：“这两颗恒星哪颗是阿尔发，葛兰？”

"We won't get lost, Janov. The computer knows exactly which one isAlpha, and, for that matter, so do we. It's the hotter and yellower ofthe two because it's the larger. Now the one on the right has a distinctorange tinge to its light, rather like Aurora's sun, if you recall. Doyou notice?"

“我们不会迷路的，詹诺夫。电脑清楚究竟哪颗是阿尔发，因此我们也知道。它是温度较高、颜色较黄的那颗，因为它的体积比较大。而右侧的那颗，则发出明显的橙色光芒，有点像奥罗拉的太阳，如果你还记得。你注意到了吗？”

"Yes, now that you call it to my attention."

“经你这么一提醒，我就注意到了。”

"Very well. That's the smaller one. What's the second letterof that ancient language you speak of?"

“很好，它是较小的那颗。你提到的那种古老语言，第二个字母是什么？”

Pelorat thought a moment, and said, "Beta."

裴洛拉特想了一下，然后说：“贝它。”

"Then let's call the orange one Beta and the yellow-white one Alpha,and it's Alpha we're heading for right now."

“那就让我们称橙色的恒星为贝它，称黄白色的恒星为阿尔发，我们现在的目标正是阿尔发。”