Chapter 7: Leaving Comporellon
第7章 告别康普隆
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Luncheon consisted of a heap of soft, crusty balls thatcame in different shades and that contained a variety of fillings.
叫来的午餐是许多松软的丸子，有很多种不同颜色，面皮里面包着各式各样的馅。
Deniador picked up a small object which unfolded into a pair of thin,transparent gloves, and put them on. His guests followed suit.
丹尼亚多首先拿起一样东西，摊开之后原来是一双透明的薄手套。他戴上手套，客人们也都有样学样。
Bliss said, "What is inside these objects, please?"
宝绮思说：“请问这里面包了些什么？”
Deniador said, "The pink ones are filled with spicy chopped fish, agreat Comporellian delicacy. These yellow ones contain a cheese fillingthat is very mild. The green ones contain a vegetable mixture. Do eatthem while they are a quite warm. Later we will have hot almond pie andthe usual beverages. I might recommend the hot cider. In a cold climate,we have a tendency to heat our foods, even desserts."
丹尼亚多说：“粉红色的里面包着辛辣鱼浆，那可是康普隆的一大美食；这些黄色的，里面的馅是清淡的干酪；绿色的则是什锦蔬菜。你们一定要趁热吃，待会儿还有热杏仁派以及饮料，我推荐你们喝热苹果汁。这里气候寒冷，我们习惯将食物加热，甚至甜点也不例外。”
"You do yourself well," said Pelorat.
“你吃得不错嘛。”裴洛拉特说。
Not really, said Deniador. "I'm being hospitable to guests. Formyself, I get along on very little. I don't have much body mass tosupport, as you have probably noticed."
“并不尽然，”丹尼亚多答道，“现在我是在招待客人。我自己一个人的时候，吃得非常简单。我身上没有多少肉需要养，你们也许已经注意到了。”
Trevize bit into one of the pink ones and found it very fishy indeed,with all overlay of spices that was pleasant to the taste but which,he thought, along with the fish itself, would remain with him for therest of the day and, perhaps, into the night.
崔维兹咬了一口粉红色丸子，发觉的确有很重的鱼腥味，鱼浆外面包的佐料也相当可口。不过他也想到，这个味道再加上鱼腥味，将会整天挥之不去，或许还得带着这些味道入梦。
When he withdrew the object with the bite taken out of it, he foundthat the crust had closed in over the contents. There was no squirt,no leakage, and, for a moment, he wondered at the purpose of thegloves. These seemed no chance of getting his hands moist and stickyif he didn't use them, so he decided it was a matter of hygiene. Thegloves substituted for a washing of the hands if that were inconvenientand custom, probably, now dictated their use even if the hands werewashed. (Lizalor hadn't used gloves when he had eaten with her the daybefore. Perhaps that was because she was a mountain woman.)
咬了一口之后，他发现面皮立即合上，把里面的馅重新包起来，不会有任何汁液溅漏。他突然起了一个疑问，不知道那副手套有什么作用。即使不戴手套，也不必担心双手会弄湿或变粘，因此他断定那是一种卫生习惯。在不方便洗手的时候，可以用手套代替，演变到现在，即使已经洗过手，或许习惯上还是必须戴上手套。（昨天，他与李札乐一同进餐时，她并未使用这种手套，可能由于她是山地女人的缘故。）
He said, "Would it be unmannerly to talk business over lunch?"
他说：“午餐时间谈正事会不会不礼貌？”
By Comporellian standards, Councilman, it would be, but you are myguests, and we will go by your standards. If you wish to speak seriously,and do not think or care that that might diminish yourpleasure in the food, please do so, and I will join you.
“依照康普隆的规范，的确不礼貌，议员先生。但你们是客人，我们就遵循你们的规范吧。如果你们想谈正经事，而不认为或不介意会破坏你们的食欲，那就请便吧，我愿意奉陪。”
Trevize said, "Thank you. Minister Lizalor implied no, shestated quite bluntly that Skeptics were unpopular on this world. Is that so?"
崔维兹说：“谢谢你。李札乐部长曾经暗示——不，她很不客气地明说——怀疑论者在这个世界并不受欢迎，这是真的吗？”
Deniador's good humor seemed to intensify. "Certainly. How hurt we'd beif we weren't. Comporellon, you see, is a frustrated world. Without anyknowledge of the details, there is the general mythic belief, that once,many millennia ago, when the inhabited Galaxy was small, Comporellonwas the leading world. We never forget that, and the fact that in knownhistory we have not been leaders irks us, fills us thepopulation in general, that is with a feeling of injustice.
丹尼亚多的好心情似乎更上一层楼。“当然啦，如果不是这样，我们不知会多伤心呢。你瞧，康普隆是个充满挫折感的世界。尽管过去的历史谁也不清楚，一般人却有一种空幻的信仰，认为在许多仟年以前，当住人银河的规模还很小的时候，康普隆曾经是领袖群伦的世界，这点我们一直念念不忘。但在可考的历史中，我们却从未居于领导地位，这个事实令我们很不舒服，让我们——我是说一般民众——心中有一种愤愤不平的感觉。
"Yet what can we do? The government was forced to be a loyal vassalof the Emperor once, and is a loyal Associate of the Foundation now. Andthe more we are made aware of our subordinate position, the strongerthe belief in the great, mysterious days of the past become.
“可是我们能怎么办？政府曾经被迫效忠帝国的皇帝，如今则是基地的忠诚附庸。我们愈是明了自己的次等地位，就愈相信传说中那段伟大的岁月。
"What, then, can Comporellon do? They could never defy the Empire inolder times and they can't openly defy the Foundation now. They takerefuge, therefore, in attacking and hating us, since we don't believethe legends and laugh at the superstitions.
“那么，康普隆人能做些什么呢？过去他们无法和帝国抗争，如今又不能公开向基地挑衅。于是他们攻击我们、憎恨我们，用这种方式来寻求慰藉，因为我们不相信那些传说，并且对那些迷信嗤之以鼻。
"Nevertheless, we are safe from the grosser effects ofpersecution. We control the technology, and we fill the faculties of theUniversities. Some of us, who are particularly outspoken, have difficultyin teaching classes openly. I have that difficulty, for instance, thoughI have my students and hold meetings quietly off-campus. Nevertheless,if we were really driven out of public life, the technology wouldfail and the Universities would lose accreditation with the Galaxygenerally. Presumably, such is the folly of human beings, the prospectsof intellectual suicide might not stop them from indulging their hatred,but the Foundation supports us. Therefore, we are constantly scoldedand sneered at and denounced and never touched."
“然而，我们不必担心受到更大的迫害。我们控制了科技，而在大学担任教职的也是我们这些人。其中有些人特别敢说话，因而难以公开授课。比如说，我自己就有这个麻烦，不过我还是有学生，我们定期在校外悄悄聚会。但是，如果真的禁止我们公开活动，那么科技便要停摆，每一所大学都会失去全银河的认可。事实上，这种学术自杀的严重后果，也许还无法令他们收敛仇恨的心态，想必这就是人类的愚昧，幸好还有基地支持我们。所以说，虽然我们不断受到谩骂、讥嘲和公开抨击，却仍旧能安然无事。”
Trevize said, "Is it popular opposition that keeps you from tellingus where Earth is? Do you fear that, despite everything, the anti-Skepticfeeling might turn ugly if you go too far?"
崔维兹说：“是不是由于大众的反对，使你不愿告诉我们地球在哪里？虽然你刚才那么说，但你是否害怕如果做得太过分，反怀疑论者的情绪会升高到危险的程度？”
Deniador shook his head. "No. Earth's location is unknown. I am nothiding anything from you out of fear or for any other reason."
丹尼亚多摇了摇头。“不是这样，地球的位置的确无人知晓。我并非由于恐惧，或是其他任何原因，而对你们有所隐瞒。”
"But look," said Trevize urgently. "There are a limited numberof planets in this sector of the Galaxy that possess the physicalcharacteristics associated with habitability, and almost all ofthem must be not only inhabitable, but inhabited, and therefore wellknown to you. How difficult would it be to explore the sector for aplanet that would be habitable were it not for the fact that it wasradioactive? Besides that, you would look for such a planet with a large,satellite in attendance. Between radioactivity and a large satellite,Earth would be absolutely unmistakable and could not be missed evenwith only a casual search. It might take some time but that would bethe only difficulty."
“可是你听我说，”崔维兹急切道，“在银河这个星区中，自然条件适宜住人的行星数量有限，而且，大多数的可住人行星必定都已有人居住，因此你们应该相当熟悉。想要在这个星区寻找一颗特殊的行星，它除了带有放射性，具有其他一切适宜住人的条件，这究竟有多么困难呢？此外，你还有另一个线索，就是那颗行星有一颗巨大的卫星相伴。既然有了放射性和巨大卫星两个特征，地球绝不会被误认，甚至随便找一找，也应该找得到。或许需要花点时间，但那却是唯一的麻烦。”
Deniador said, "The Skeptic's view is, of course, that Earth'sradioactivity and its large satellite are both simply legends. If welook for them, we look for sparrow-milk and rabbit-feathers."
丹尼亚多说：“就怀疑论者的观点而言，地球的放射性和旁边那颗巨大卫星，当然都只是传说而已。如果我们去寻找这些特征，就跟寻找麻雀奶和兔子羽毛一样荒唐。”
Perhaps, but that shouldn't stop Comporellon from at least takingon the search. If they find a radioactive world of the proper size forhabitability, with a large satellite, what an appearance of credibilityit would lend to Comporellian legendry in general.
“或许吧，可是那还不至于使康普隆人完全放弃。如果他们能找到一个充满放射性的世界，大小刚好适宜住人，旁边还有一颗巨大的卫星，那么康普隆民间传说的可信度不知会提高多少。”
Deniador laughed. "It may be that Comporellon doesn't search for thatvery reason. If we fail, or if we find an Earth obviously differentfrom the legends, the reverse would take place. Comporellian legendryin general would be blasted and made into a laughingstock. Comporellonwouldn't risk that."
丹尼亚多大笑几声。“也许正是由于这个原因，康普隆从未进行这类探索。假如我们失败，或是找到一个跟传说显然不符的地球，便会产生适得其反的效果。康普隆的民间传说马上会垮台，变成大家的笑柄。康普隆不会冒这个险。”
Trevize paused, then went on, very earnestly, "Besides, even ifwe discount those two uniquities if there is such a word inGalactic of radioactivity and a large satellite, there is a thirdthat, by definition, must exist, without any reference to legends. Earthmust have upon it either a flourishing life of incredible diversity,or the remnants of one, or, at the very least, the fossil record of sucha one."
崔维兹顿了一下，再用非常认真的口气说：“好吧，即使我们不强调放射性和巨大卫星这两个‘唯一点’——姑且假设银河标准语有这种说法——根据定义，一定还有第三个唯一点，它和任何传说都毫无瓜葛。那就是如今在地球上，即使没有众多生机盎然、多彩多姿的生命形态，也总会有一些留存下来，不然至少也该保有化石记录。”
Deniador said, "Councilman, while Comporellon has sent out noorganized search party for Earth, we do have occasion totravel through space, and we occasionally have reports from ships thathave strayed from their intended routes for one reason or another. Jumpsare not always perfect, as perhaps you know. Nevertheless, there havebeen no reports of any planets with properties resembling those of thelegendary Earth, or any planet that is bursting with life. Nor is any shiplikely to land on what seems an uninhabited planet in order that the crewmight go fossil-hunting. If, then, in thousands of years nothing of thesort has been reported, I am perfectly willing to believe that locatingEarth is impossible, because Earth is not there to be located."
丹尼亚多说：“议员先生，虽然康普隆未曾有组织地找寻过地球，我们有时还是得作些太空旅行。偶尔会有船舰由于种种原因而迷途，它们照例要将经过作成报告。跃迁并非每次都完美无缺，这点或许你也知道。然而，在所有的报告中，从未出现跟传说中的地球性质相似的世界，或是挤满各种生命形态的行星。船舰又不可能只为了搜集化石，而在一颗看似无人居住的行星登陆。如果说，过去数千年来，从来没有疑似地球的报告出现，我就绝对愿意相信找寻地球是不可能的事，因为地球根本不在这里，又怎么找得到呢？”
Trevize said, in frustration, "But Earth must besomewhere . Somewhere there is a planet on which humanityand all the familiar forms of life associated with humanity evolved. IfEarth is not in this section of the Galaxy, it must be elsewhere."
崔维兹以充满挫折感的语调说：“可是地球一定在某个地方。在银河某个角落，存在着一颗行星，人类以及人类熟悉的其他生命形态，都是从那里演化出来的。如果地球不在银河这一区，就一定在其他星区。”
"Perhaps," said Deniador cold-bloodedly, "but in all this time,it hasn't turned up anywhere."
“或许如此吧，”丹尼亚多冷冷地说，“但是直到目前为止，它还没在任何一处出现过。”
"People haven't really looked for it."
“大家未曾真正仔细找过。”
"Well, apparently you are. I wish you luck, but I would never bet onyour success."
“嗯，显然你们就会。我祝你们好运，但我绝不会赌你们成功。”
Trevize said, "Have there been attempts to determine the possibleposition of Earth by indirect means, by some means other than a directsearch?"
崔维兹说：“有没有人试图以间接的方法，就是除了直接寻找之外的其他方法，来判定地球可能的位置？”
"Yes," said two voices at once. Deniador, who was the owner of one ofthe voices, said to Pelorat, "Are you thinking of Yariff's project?"
“有！”两个声音同时响起。丹尼亚多是其中之一，他对裴洛拉特说：“你是否想到了亚瑞夫计划？”
"I am," said Pelorat.
“是的。”裴洛拉特答道。
Then would you explain it to the Councilman? I think he would morereadily believe you than me.
“那么可否请你跟议员先生解释一下？我想他比较容易相信你。”
Pelorat said, "You see, Golan, in the last days of the Empire, therewas a time when the Search for Origins, as they called it, was a popularpastime, perhaps to get away from the unpleasantness of the surroundingreality. The Empire was in a process of disintegration at that time,you know.
于是裴洛拉特说：“你可知道，葛兰，在帝国末期，所谓的‘起源寻找’曾经风靡一时，许多人把它当作一种消遣，也许是为了逃避令人不快的现实。当时帝国已渐渐土崩瓦解，这你是知道的。
"It occurred to a Livian historian, Humbal Yariff, that whatever theplanet of origin, it would have settled worlds near itself sooner thanit would settle planets farther away. In general, the farther a worldfrom the point of origin the later it would have been settled.
“李维星的一位历史学家韩波·亚瑞夫，就想到了一个间接的方法。他的依据是，不论起源行星是哪一颗，一定会先在附近的行星建立殖民世界。一般说来，一个世界距离那个原点愈远，殖民者抵达的时间就愈晚。
"Suppose, then, one recorded the date of settlement of all habitableplanets in the Galaxy, and made networks of all that were a given numberof millennia old. There could be a network drawn through all planets tenthousand years old; another through those twelve thousand years old, stillanother through those fifteen thousand years old. Each network would, intheory, be roughly spherical and they should be roughly concentric. Theolder networks would form spheres smaller in radius than the youngerones, and if one worked out all the centers they should fall within acomparatively small volume of space that would include the planet of origin Earth."
“那么，假使将银河所有住人行星的创建日期整理出来，然后以仟年为单位，把历史同样久远的行星连成网络。比如说，具有一万年历史的行星构成一个网络，具有一万两千年历史的行星构成另一个网络，具有一万五千年历史的行星又构成另一个网络。理论上来说，每个网络都会近似一个球面，而且差不多是同心球。较古老的行星所构成的网络，半径应该小于较年轻的行星网络。如果把每个网络的球心都找出来，它们在太空中的分布范围应该相当小，而那个范围就应该包含起源行星——地球。”
Pelorat's face was very earnest as he kept drawing spherical surfaceswith his cupped hands. "Do you see my point, Golan?"Trevize nodded.
裴洛拉特用握成杯状的双手画出一个个球面，脸上的表情非常认真。“你明白我的意思吗，葛兰？”
Yes. But I take it that it didn't work.
崔维兹点了点头。“明白，但我猜没有成功。”
"Theoretically, it should have, old fellow. One trouble was that timesof origin were totally inaccurate. Every world exaggerated its own ageto one degree or another and there was no easy way of determining ageindependently of legend."
“理论上应该办得到，老伙伴。麻烦的是创建年代都不正确，每个世界多少都会将本身的历史夸大拉长，可是除了传说，又没有其他简单的方法能够断定历史的长短。”
Bliss said, "Carbon-14 decay in ancient timber."
宝绮思说：“古老树木中的碳十四衰变。”
"Certainly, dear," said Pelorat, "but you would have had to getco-operation from the worlds in question, and that was never given. Noworld wanted its own exaggerated claim of age to be destroyed and theEmpire was then in no position to override local objections in a matterso unimportant. It had other things on its mind.
“当然可以，亲爱的，”裴洛拉特说，“但你必须得到那些世界的合作才行。事实上从来没有人愿意那么做，每个世界都不希望夸大的历史遭到推翻。帝国当时又不能为了这么小的事，强行压制各地的反对声浪，它有更重要的事需要操心。
"All that Yariff could do was to make use of worlds that were onlytwo thousand years old at most, and whose founding had been meticulouslyrecorded under reliable circumstances. There were few of those, andwhile they were distributed in roughly spherical symmetry, the centerwas relatively close to Trantor, the Imperial capital, because that waswhere the colonizing expeditions had originated for those relativelyfew worlds.
“因此亚瑞夫所能做的，只是善加利用那些顶多只有两千年历史，而且创建过程拥有详实可靠记录的世界。那些世界为数不多，虽然它们的分布大致符合球对称，球心却相当接近川陀，也就是昔日帝国的首都。因为那些并不算多的新世界，最初的殖民者全部来自川陀。
"That, of course, was another problem. Earth was not the only point oforigin of settlement for other worlds. As time went on, the older worldssent out settlement expeditions of their own, and at the time of theheight of Empire, Trantor was a rather copious source of those. Yariffwas, rather unfairly, laughed at and ridiculed and his professional reputation was destroyed."
“那当然是另一个问题。地球并非星际殖民的唯一起点，一段时日之后，较古老的殖民世界便会送出自己的殖民队伍，而在帝国全盛时期，川陀成了殖民者的主要出产地。说来真不公平，亚瑞夫因此成为众人的笑柄，他的学术声誉也因而断送。”
Trevize said, "I get the story, Janov. Dr. Deniador, is therethen nothing at all you could give me that represents the faintestpossibility of hope? Is there any other world where it is conceivablethere may be some information concerning Earth?"
崔维兹说：“来龙去脉我听懂了，詹诺夫。丹尼亚多博士，这样说来，你甚至连一丝渺茫的希望都不能给我？请问在其他世界上，有没有可能找到关于地球的线索呢？”
Deniador sank into doubtful thought for a while. "We-eeell," he saidat last, drawing out the word hesitantly, "as a Skeptic I must tell youthat I'm not sure that Earth exists, or has ever existed. However "He fell silent again.
丹尼亚多陷入迟疑的沉思，好一会儿之后才终于开口。“嗯——嗯，”他先发出一声犹豫的感叹，接着才说，“身为一名怀疑论者，我必须告诉你，我不确定地球如今是否存在，或者是否曾经存在过。然而——”他再度沉默不语。
Finally, Bliss said, "I think you've thought of something that mightbe important, Doctor."
最后终于由宝绮思接口：“我猜，博士，你想到一件可能很重要的事。”
"Important? I doubt it," said Deniador faintly. "Perhaps amusing,however. Earth is not the only planet whose position is a mystery. Thereare the worlds of the first group of Settlers; the Spacers, as theyare called in our legends. Some call the planets they inhabited the`Spacer worlds'; others call them the `Forbidden Worlds.' The lattername is now the usual one.
“重要吗？我很怀疑。”丹尼亚多轻声说，“不过也许很有意思。地球不是唯一行踪成谜的行星，第一波殖民者——在我们的传说中，称他们为‘太空族’——他们的世界如今也不知所踪。有些人管那些世界叫‘太空世界’，也有人称之为‘禁忌世界’，后者现在较为通用。
"In their pride and prime, the legend goes, the Spacers had lifetimesstretching out for centuries, and refused to allow our own short-livedancestors to land on their worlds. After we had defeated them, thesituation was reversed. We scorned to deal with them and left them tothemselves, forbidding our own ships and Traders to deal with them. Hencethose planets became the Forbidden Worlds. We were certain, so the legendstates, that He Who Punishes would destroy them without our intervention,and, apparently, He did. At least, no Spacer has appeared in the Galaxyto our knowledge, in many millennia."
“传说是这么说的，在他们的黄金时代，太空族使寿命延长到数个世纪，并且拒绝让我们的短寿命祖先登陆他们的世界。在我们击败他们之后，情势有了一百八十度的逆转，我们不屑和他们来往，禁止我们的船舰和行商跟他们接触，要让他们自生自灭。因此那些行星变成了禁忌世界。根据传说的记述，我们确定根本无需插手，惩罚者便会毁灭他们，而他显然做到了。至少，据我们所知，已经有许多仟年，不曾见到太空族在银河出现。”
"Do you think that the Spacers would know about Earth?" saidTrevize.
“你认为太空族会知道地球的下落吗？”崔维兹问。
"Conceivably, since their worlds were older than any of ours. That is,if any Spacers exist, which is extremely unlikely."
“想必如此，他们的世界比我们任何一个世界都要古老。但前提是必须还有太空族存在，而这是极端不可能的事。”
"Even if they don't exist, their worlds do and may containrecords."
“即使他们早就不存在了，他们的世界总该还在，或许会保有一些记录。”
If you can find the worlds.
“前提是你能找到这些世界。”
Trevize looked exasperated. "Do you mean to say that the key to Earth,the location of which is unknown, may be found on Spacer worlds, the location of which is also unknown?"
崔维兹看来冒火了。“你的意思是，想要寻找下落不明的地球，应该能在太空世界上找到线索，可是那些世界同样下落不明？”
Deniador shrugged. "We have had no dealings with them for twentythousand years. No thought of them. They, too, like Earth, have recededinto the mists."
丹尼亚多耸了耸肩。“我们已经有两万年未跟它们来往，连想都没有想到它们。而它们也像地球一样，隐藏到了历史的迷雾中。”
"How many worlds did the Spacers live on?"
“太空族分布在多少个世界上？”
"The legends speak of fifty such worlds a suspiciously roundnumber. There were probably far fewer."
“传说中有五十个这样的世界——一个可疑的整数，实际上可能少得多。”
"And you don't know the location of a single one of the fifty?"
“你却不知道其中任何一个的位置？”
"Well, now, I wonder "
“嗯，这个，我想——”
"What do you wonder?"
“你想些什么？”
Deniador said, "Since primeval history is my hobby, as it isDr. Pelorat's, I have occasionally explored old documents in search ofanything that might refer to early time; something more than legends. Lastyear, I came upon the records of an old ship, records that were almostindecipherable. It dated back to the very old days when our world wasnot yet known as Comporellon. The name `Baleyworld' was used, which,it seems to me, may be an even earlier form of the `Benbally world'
丹尼亚多说：“由于太古历史是我的业余嗜好，我和裴洛拉特博士一样，有时会翻查些古老的文件，找找看有没有任何提到太古时期的记载，我是指比传说更可靠的记载。去年，我发现了藏在一艘古代太空船中的记录，那些记录几乎已经无法解读。它的年代非常久远，当时我们的世界还不叫康普隆，而是使用‘贝莱世界’这个名称。我认为，我们传说中的‘班伯利世界’，可能就是从那个名字演变而来的。”
of our legends."Pelorat said, excitedly, "Have you published?"
裴洛拉特兴奋地问：“你发表了吗？”
"No," said Deniador. "I do not wish to dive until I am sure thereis water in the swimming pool, as the old saying has it. You see, therecord says that the captain of the ship had visited a Spacer world andtaken off with him a Spacer woman."
“没有。”丹尼亚多说，“正如一句古老格言所云：在我确定泳池有水没水之前，我可不愿往下跳。你可知道，那个记录中提到一件事，那艘太空船的船长造访过某个太空世界，还带了一名太空族女子离去。”
Bliss said, "But you said that the Spacers did not allow visitors."
宝绮思道：“可是你刚才说，太空族不允许他人造访。”
"Exactly, and that is the reason I don't publish the material. It sounds incredible. There are vague tales that could be interpreted asreferring to the Spacers and to their conflict with the Settlers ourown ancestors. Such tales exist not only on Comporellon but onmany worlds in many variations, but all are in absolute accord in onerespect. The two groups, Spacers and Settlers, did not mingle. Therewas no social contact, let alone sexual contact, and yet apparentlythe Settler captain and the Spacer woman were held together by bondsof love. This is so incredible that I see no chance of the story beingaccepted as anything but, at best, a piece of romantic historicalfiction."
“没错，这正是我未将记录发表的原因，它听来实在难以置信。有些暧昧不明的传说事迹，可以解释为太空族的故事，包括他们和我们的祖先‘银河殖民者’之间的冲突。这类传说事迹并不是康普隆的特产，许多世界上都有大同小异的故事，但有一点完全一致——太空族和银河殖民者绝不会在一起，双方没有社交接触，更别提两性间的接触。可是那个记录中的殖民者船长和太空族女子，却显然因爱情而结合，这实在太不可思议。我不相信这个故事有可能被人接受，顶多只会被视为一篇浪漫的历史小说。”
Trevize looked disappointed. "Is that all?"
崔维兹显得很失望。“就这样吗？”
"No, Councilman, there is one more matter. I came across somefigures in what was left of the log of the ship that might or mightnot represent spatial co-ordinates. If they were and I repeat,since my Skeptic's honor compels me to, that they might not be theninternal evidence made me conclude they were the spatial co-ordinatesof three of the Spacer worlds. One of them might be the Spacer worldwhere the captain landed and from which he withdrew his Spacer love."
“不只这样，议员先生，还有另外一件事。我在太空船残存的航行日志中，发现了一些数据，可能代表几组空间坐标，但也可能不是。假如真是的话——我再重复一遍，怀疑论者的荣誉心使我必须这样说，也有可能并不是——那么，内在证据使我得到一个结论，它们是三个太空世界的空间坐标。其中一个，或许就是那名船长曾经登陆的世界，他就是从那个世界带走了他的太空族爱人。”
Trevize said, "Might it not be that even if the tale is fiction,the coordinates are real?"
崔维兹说：“就算这个故事纯属杜撰，有没有可能坐标仍是真实的？”
"It might be," said Deniador. "I will give you the figures, and youare free to use them, but you might get nowhere. And yet I havean amusing notion." His quick smile made its appearance.
“有这个可能。”丹尼亚多说，“我会把那些数字给你，你喜欢怎样利用都可以，不过你可能一无所获——但我有个很有趣的想法。”他又展现了短暂的笑容。
"What is that?" said Trevize.
“什么想法？”崔维兹问。
What if one of those sets of co-ordinates represented Earth?
“万一其中一组坐标代表地球的位置呢？”
27
27
Comporellon's sun, distinctly orange, was larger inappearance than the sun of Terminus, but it was low in the sky and gaveout little heat. The wind, fortunately light, touched Trevize's cheekwith icy fingers.
康普隆的太阳射出纯正的橙色光芒，看来比端点星的太阳还要大，但由于它相当接近地平线，只能送来微弱的热量。好在风并不强，不过吹在崔维兹脸颊上，仍然令他感到冰冷刺痛。
He shivered inside the electrified coat he had been given by MitzaLizalor, who now stood next to him. He said, "It must warm up sometime,Mitza."
他的身子瑟缩在电暖大衣里发抖，那件衣服是蜜特札·李札乐送给他的，她现在就站在他身旁。他说：“总该有暖和的时候吧，蜜特札。”
She glanced up at the sun briefly, and stood there in the emptiness ofthe spaceport, showing no signs of discomfort tall, large, wearinga lighter coat than Trevize had on, and if not impervious to the cold,at least scornful of it.
她很快瞥了太阳一眼。站在这个空旷的太空航站里，她并未显出任何不适。高大的她身上穿的大衣比崔维兹的还薄，即使她并非一点也不怕冷，至少表现得毫不在乎。
She said, "We have a beautiful summer. It is not a long one but ourfood crops are adapted to it. The strains are carefully chosen so thatthey grow quickly in the sun and do not frostbite easily. Our domesticanimals are well furred, and Comporellian wool is the best in the Galaxyby general admission. Then, too, we have farm settlements in orbitabout Comporellon that grow tropical fruit. We actually export cannedpineapples of superior flavor. Most people who know us as a cold worlddon't know that."
她说：“我们有个美丽的夏季，虽然为时不长，但农作物都能适应。作物品种全部经过精挑细选，能在阳光下迅速生长，而且不容易受霜害。本地的动物都生有厚实的毛皮，举世公认全银河最佳的羊毛即产自康普隆。此外，康普隆的轨道上还有许多太空农场，上面种植各种热带水果，我们还外销风味绝佳的凤梨罐头。大多数的人都不知道这些，只知道我们是个寒冷的世界。”
Trevize said, "I thank you for coming to see us off, Mitza, and forbeing willing to co-operate with us on this mission of ours. For my ownpeace of mind, however, I must ask whether you will find yourself inserious trouble over this."
崔维兹说：“我很感谢你来为我们送行，蜜特札，并感谢你愿意跟我们合作，让我们能继续完成任务。然而，为了让我自己心安理得，我必须问一句，你会不会为自己惹上大麻烦？”
"No!" She shook her head proudly. "No trouble. In the first place, Iwill not be questioned. I am in control of transportation, which meansI alone set the rules for this spaceport and others, for the entrystations, for the ships that come and go. The Prime Minister dependson me for all that and is only too delighted to remain ignorant of itsdetails. And even if I were questioned, I have but to tell thetruth. The government would applaud me for not turning the ship over tothe Foundation. So would the people if it were safe to let them know. Andthe Foundation itself would not know of it."
“不会！”她骄傲地摇了摇头，“不会有任何麻烦。首先，不会有人来质问我，一切运输系统皆由我控制，也就是说，这座太空航站和其他航站的法规，以及有关入境站、船舰来去的所有法规，通通由我一个人制定。我全权处理这些事情，总理乐得不必为任何细节烦心。就算我受到诘问，也只要据实相告即可。政府一定会称赞我未将太空艇交给基地，如果不妨让民众也知道，他们的反应想必也一样。而基地根本不会晓得这件事。”
Trevize said, "The government might be willing to keep the ship fromthe Foundation, but would they be willing to approve your letting ustake it away?"
崔维兹说：“政府或许愿意见到基地未能如愿，但是你放走了我们，他们会赞成你的决定吗？”
Lizalor smiled. "You are a decent human being, Trevize. You havefought tenaciously to keep your ship and now that you have it you takethe trouble to concern yourself with my welfare."
李札乐微微一笑。“你是个高尚的君子，崔维兹。你为了保住太空艇，不屈不挠奋战到底，现在你成功了，又开始为我的安危操心。”
She reached toward himtentatively as though tempted to give some sign of affection and then,with obvious difficulty, controlled the impulse.
她试着向他靠近，仿佛忍不住想做个亲昵的动作。不过，显然在经过一番挣扎后，她终于克制住这个冲动。
She said, with a renewed brusqueness, "Even if they question mydecision, I have but to tell them that you have been, and still are,searching for the Oldest, and they will say I did well to get rid ofyou as quickly as I did, ship and all, And they will perform the ritesof atonement that you were ever allowed to land in the first place,though there was no way we might have guessed what you were doing."
她又恢复了率直的口气，说道：“即使他们质疑我的决定，我只消告诉他们，你一直都在寻找最古世界，他们就一定会说我做得对，的确应该尽快摆脱你们，连太空艇一块赶走。然后他们会进行一些赎罪仪式，以弥补当初准许你登陆的错误，虽然我们原先无法猜到你在做什么。”
"Do you truly fear misfortune to yourself and the world because ofmy presence?"
“你当真担心由于我的出现，而为你自己和这个世界带来不幸吗？”
Indeed, said Lizalor stolidly. Then she said, more softly, "Youhave brought misfortune to me, already, for now that I have known you,Comporellian men will seem more sapless still. I will be left with anunappeasable longing. He Who Punishes has already seen to that."
“的确如此。”李札乐生硬地答道，再改用较缓和的语气说，“你已经为我带来不幸，我认识你之后，康普隆的男人会显得更加索然无味。我的渴求从此再也无法满足，惩罚者已经决定让我万劫不复。”
Trevize hesitated, then said, "I do not wish you to change your mindon this matter, but I do not wish you to suffer needless apprehension,either. You must know that this matter of my bringing misfortune on youis simply superstition."
崔维兹迟疑了一下，然后说：“我并非希望你改变自己的想法，但我也不希望你被无谓的忧虑困扰。你必须知道，所谓我会带来不幸这种说法，只不过是迷信罢了。”
"The Skeptic told you that, I presume."
“我想，是那个怀疑论者告诉你的。”
"I know it without his telling me."
“他不必告诉我，我也一样知道。”
Lizalor brushed her face, for a thin rime was gathering on herprominent eyebrows and said, "I know there are some who think itsuperstition. That the Oldest brings misfortune is, however, a fact. It has been demonstrated many times and all the clever Skeptical argumentscan't legislate the truth out of existence."
李札乐伸手抹了抹脸，因为她突出的双眉上积了一道细霜。“我知道有些人认为这是迷信，可是最古世界会带来噩运，却是千真万确的事。过去已经有许多实例，不管怀疑论者如何巧言善辩，也无法否定既有的事实。”
She thrust out her hand suddenly. "Good-bye, Golan. Get on the shipand join your companions before your soft Terminian body freezes in ourcold, but kindly wind."
她突然伸出右手。“再会了，葛兰。进太空艇跟你的伙伴会合吧，免得你那娇弱的端点星身子，在我们寒冷的和风里冻僵了。”
"Good-bye, Mitza, and I hope to see you when I return."
“告辞了，蜜特札，希望我回来的时候能再见到你。”
"Yes, you have promised to return and I have tried to believe thatyou would. I have even told myself that I would come out and meet youat your ship in space so that misfortune would fall only on me and notupon my world but you will not return."
“是啊，你答应过会回来，我也试着让自己相信。我甚至告诉自己，到时我将飞到太空，在你的太空艇中和你相会，这样噩运就只会降临在我身上，不至于殃及我的世界——可是你不会再回来了。”
"Not so! I will! I would not give you up that easily, having hadpleasure of you." And at that moment, Trevize was firmly convinced thathe meant it.
“不！我会回来！你曾带给我这样的快乐，我不会那么轻易放弃。”此时此刻，崔维兹坚决相信自己是认真的。
"I do not doubt your romantic impulses, my sweet Foundationer, butthose who venture outward on a search for the Oldest will never comeback anywhere. I know that in my heart."
“我不怀疑你的浪漫冲动，可爱的基地人，可是那些冒险寻找最古世界的人，全都永远回不来了——回不到任何地方，我自己心里很清楚。”
Trevize tried to keep his teeth from chattering. It was from coldand he didn't want her to think it was from fear. He said, "That, too,is superstition."
崔维兹尽力不让牙齿打战，虽然只是因为天气寒冷，他的牙齿才不受控制，但他不愿让她以为那是由于自己胆怯。他说：“那也是迷信。”
"And yet," she said, "that, too, is true."
“不过，”她说，“那也是事实。”
28
28
It was good to be back in the pilot-room of theFar Star . It might be cramped for room. It might be a bubble ofimprisonment in infinite space. Nevertheless, it was familiar, friendly,and warm.
回到远星号驾驶舱的感觉真好。它或许只是无尽星空中的一个小囚笼，当成房间实在太挤了些，然而，它却令人感到那么熟悉、那么友善而温暖。
Bliss said, "I'm glad you finally came aboard. I was wondering howlong you would remain with the Minister."
宝绮思说：“我很高兴你终于上来了，我正在想，不知道你还要跟那位部长厮磨多久。”
"Not long," said Trevize. "It was cold."
“没有多久，”崔维兹说，“天气冷得很。”
"It seemed to me," said Bliss, "that you were considering remainingwith her and postponing the search for Earth. I do not like to probeyour mind even lightly, but I was concerned for you and that temptationunder which you labored seemed to leap out at me."
“我有一种感觉，”宝绮思说，“你曾经考虑留下来陪她，而将寻找地球的行程延后。我不愿探触你的心灵，哪怕只是轻轻一碰，可是我关心你，而你受到的诱惑似乎传到我身上了。”
Trevize said, "You're quite right. Momentarily at least, I felt thetemptation. The Minister is a remarkable woman and I've never met anyonequite like her. Did you strengthen my resistance, Bliss?"
崔维兹说：“你说得相当正确，至少有那么片刻，我的确感受到了诱惑。部长是个不同凡响的女人，我从未遇到过第二个。你加强了我的抵抗力吗，宝绮思？”
She said, "I've told you many times I must not and will not tamper withyour mind in any way, Trevize. You beat down the temptation, I imagine,through your strong sense of duty."
她答道：“我告诉你多少次了，我不能也不会以任何方式影响你的心灵，崔维兹。我猜，你是借着强烈的责任感，自己战胜了这个诱惑。”
"No, I rather think not." He smiled wryly. "Nothing so dramatic andnoble. My resistance was strengthened, for one thing, by the fact thatis was cold, and for another, by the sad thought that it wouldn't takemany sessions with her to kill me. I could never keep up the pace."
“不，我倒不那么想。”他苦笑了一下，“不可能那么崇高、那么戏剧性。我的抵抗力的确被强化了，一来是由于天气太冷，二来是我有个不祥的预感，假如我继续跟她在一起，不出几回合就会要我的命，我永远无法跟上她的步调。”
Pelorat said, "Well, anyway, you are safely aboard. What are we goingto do next?"
裴洛拉特道：“嗯，不管怎么说，你毕竟安全返回太空艇了。下一步我们要做什么？”
"In the immediate future, we are going to move outward throughthe planetary system at a brisk pace until we are far enough fromComporellon's sun to make a Jump."
“眼前要做的，是以轻快的速度离开这个行星系，直到距离康普隆的太阳够远了，我们再来进行跃迁。”
"Do you think we will be stopped or followed?"
“你想我们会被拦截或跟踪吗？”
"No, I really think that the Minister is anxious only that we go awayas rapidly as possible and stay away, in order that the vengeance of HeWho Punishes not fall upon the planet. In fact……"
“不，我真心相信部长渴望我们尽快离去，而且永远不会回来，以免惩罚者的报复降临这颗行星。其实——”
"Yes?"
“什么？”
"She believes the vengeance will surely fall on us. She is underthe firm conviction that we will never return. This, I hasten to add,is not an estimate of my probable level of infidelity, which she has hadno occasion to measure. She meant that Earth is so terrible a bearer of misfortune that anyone who seeks it must die in the process."
“她相信报复一定会降在我们身上，她坚决相信我们再也不会回来。我得说明一下，并不是她料到我可能会背信，她没有机会估量我的信用。她的意思是，地球是个可怕的不祥之物，任何人试图寻找它，都一定会死在半途。”
Bliss said, "How many have left Comporellon in search of Earth thatshe can make such a statement?"
宝绮思说：“康普隆有多少人寻找过地球，才使得她这么肯定？”
"I doubt that any Comporellian has ever left on such a search. I toldher that her fears were mere superstition."
“我怀疑没有任何康普隆人尝试过。我曾告诉她，她的恐惧只不过是迷信。”
"Are you sure you believe that, or have you let hershake you?"
“你确定自己相信这一点吗，还是你也被她动摇了？”
"I know her fears are the purest superstition in the form she expressesthem, but they may be well founded just the same."
“我知道她所表现的恐惧纯属迷信，但是她的恐惧仍然可能有根有据。”
"You mean, radioactivity will kill us if we try to land on it?"
“你的意思是说，如果我们试图登陆地球，放射性会要我们的命？”
"I don't believe that Earth is radioactive. What I do believe is thatEarth protects itself. Remember that all reference to Earth in the Libraryon Trantor has been removed. Remember that Gaia's marvelous memory, inwhich all the planet takes part down to the rock strata of the surfaceand the molten metal at the core, stops short of penetrating far enoughback to tell us anything of Earth.
“我不相信地球具有放射性，但我的确相信地球会保护自己。还记得吗，川陀那座图书馆中有关地球的资料全被移走了。此外，盖娅虽然拥有惊人的记忆，行星的每个部分都参与其中，甚至包括地表的岩层和地心的熔融金属，却也无法回溯到够远的过去，以致不能告诉我们任何有关地球的事。
"Clearly, if Earth is powerful enough to do that, it might also becapable of adjusting minds in order to force belief in its radioactivity,and thus preventing any search for it. Perhaps because Comporellon isso close that it represents a particular danger to Earth, there is thefurther reinforcement of a curious blankness. Deniador, who is a Skepticand a scientist, is utterly convinced that there is no use searching forEarth. He says it cannot be found. And that is why the Minister'ssuperstition may be well founded. If Earth is so intent on concealingitself, might it not kill us, or distort us, rather than allow us tofind it?"
“显然，假如地球果真那么有力量，或许也能调整人类的心灵，迫使大家都相信它具有放射性，这样便能吓阻任何寻找它的念头。可能是因为康普隆和地球极为接近，对地球形成特别的威胁，所以又被加上一重诡异的茫然。丹尼亚多是个怀疑论者，也是一位科学家，他百分之百相信寻找地球是白费力气，认为地球不可能找得到——这就是部长的迷信也许有根据的原因。地球这么希望隐藏自己，难道不会将我们杀害，或是将我们引入歧途，而会任由我们找到它吗？”
Bliss frowned and said, "Gaia……"
宝绮思皱着眉头说：“盖娅……”
Trevize said quickly, "Don't say Gaia will protect us. Since Earthwas able to remove Gaia's earliest memories, it is clear that in anyconflict between the two Earth will win."
崔维兹立刻打断她的话。“别说盖娅会保护我们，既然地球有办法消除盖娅最早的记忆，那么在双方的任何冲突中，地球显然都会是赢家。”
Bliss said coldly, "How do you know that the memories were removed? Itmight be that it simply took time for Gaia to develop a planetary memoryand that we can now probe backward only to the time of the completionof that development. And if the memory was removed, howcan you be sure that it was Earth that did it?"
宝绮思冷冷地说：“你怎么知道那些记忆是被消除的？也许只是因为盖娅需要一段时间来发展行星级记忆，才无法回溯到那个记忆尚未完成的时代。不过，即使在此之前的记忆的确遭到外力消除，你又怎能确定是地球干的？”
Trevize said, "I don't know. I merely advance my speculations."
崔维兹说：“我不知道，我只是提出我的臆测罢了。”
Pelorat put in, rather timidly, "If Earth is so powerful, and so intenton preserving its privacy, so to speak, of what use is our search? Youseem to think Earth won't allow us to succeed and will kill us if thatwill be what it takes to keep us from succeeding. In that case, is thereany sense in not abandoning this whole thing?"
裴洛拉特突然插嘴，怯生生地说：“假如地球那么有力量，又如此坚持保留隐私——姑且这么说——我们的努力又有什么用？你似乎认为地球不会让我们找到，而且若有必要，它还会将我们全部杀害。在这种情况下，难道我们不该放弃整个计划吗？”
"It might seem we ought to give up, I admit, but I have this powerfulconviction that Earth exists, and I must and will find it. And Gaiatells me that when I have powerful convictions of this sort, I am alwaysright."
“我们似乎应该放弃，这点我承认，但我如此强烈地坚信地球存在，就一定要也一定会把它找到。盖娅不断在提醒我，当我有这么强烈的信念时，我的想法总是正确的。”
"But how can we survive the discovery, old chap?"
“可是我们发现地球之后，如何才能全身而退，老弟？”
"It may be," said Trevize, with an effort at lightness, "that Earth,too, will recognize the value of my extraordinary rightness and will leaveme to myself. But and this is what I am finally gettingat I cannot be certain that you two will survive and that is ofconcern to me. It always has been, but it is increasing now and it seemsto me that I ought to take you two back to Gaia and then proceed on myown. It is I, not you, who first decided I must search for Earth; it is I,not you, who see value in it; it is I, not you, who am driven. Let it beI, then, not you, who take the risk. Let me go on alone. Janov?"
“有一个可能，”崔维兹尽力以轻松的口吻说，“由于我具有这种非比寻常的正确判断力，地球或许也会体认到我的价值，而不会对我下手。可是——这就是我想要指出的——我无法确定你们两位是否也能生还，而我担心的正是这件事。我一直有个念头，如今这个念头更强了，那就是我应该带你们两位回到盖娅，然后由我自己继续进行探索。首先断定我必须寻找地球的人，是我而不是你们；看出其中重要性的人，也是我而不是你们；不得不这么做的人，更是我自己而不是你们。所以说，让我来冒这个险吧，你们没有这个必要。让我一个人继续好吗，詹诺夫？”
Pelorat's long face seemed to grow longer as he buried his chin inhis neck. "I won't deny I feel nervous, Golan, but I'd be ashamed toabandon you. I would disown myself if I did so."
裴洛拉特将下巴埋在颈际，使他的长脸显得更长。“我不否认自己感到嫉妒，葛兰，可是如果弃你不顾，我会万分羞愧，会无地自容。”
"Bliss?"
“宝绮思？”
"Gaia will not abandon you, Trevize, whatever you do. If Earth shouldprove dangerous, Gaia will protect you as far as it can. And in any case,in my role as Bliss, I will not abandon Pel, and if he clings to you,then I certainly cling to him."
“盖娅绝不会弃你不顾，崔维兹，不论你做什么都一样。假如地球真是个危险的地方，盖娅会尽全力保护你。而扮演宝绮思这个角色的我，无论如何也不能舍弃裴，如果他决定紧跟着你，那我当然要紧跟着他。”
Trevize said grimly, "Very well, then. I've given you your chance. Wego on together."
崔维兹绷着脸说：“很好，我已经给过你们机会了，让我们一起上路吧。”
"Together," said Bliss.
“一起走。”宝绮思说。
Pelorat smiled slightly, and gripped Trevize'sshoulder. "Together. Always."
裴洛拉特轻轻一笑，伸手抓住崔维兹的肩头。“永远走在一起。”
29
29
Bliss said, "Look at that, Pel."
宝绮思说：“你看这里，裴。”
She had been making use of the ship's telescope by hand, almostaimlessly, as a change from Pelorat's library of Earth-legendry.
她刚才以手动方式操纵着太空艇的望远镜，但是并没有什么特定目标，只不过想换换脑筋，以免终日沉溺在裴洛拉特的地球传说图书馆中。
Pelorat approached, placed an arm about her shoulders and looked atthe viewscreen. One of the gas giants of the Comporellian planetary systemwas in sight, magnified till it seemed the large body it really was.
裴洛拉特走过来，一只手臂搭在她的肩膀，双眼则向显像屏幕望去。康普隆行星系的气态巨星之一已经出现，经过多次放大后，画面看来就像实物一般庞大。
In color it was a soft orange streaked with paler stripes. Viewedfrom the planetary plane, and more distant from the sun than the shipitself was, it was almost a complete circle of light.
在彩色的显像中，它的表面呈淡橙色，并带有一些较暗的条纹。由于这颗行星比远星号距离太阳更远，又是从行星轨道面上向它望去，因此看来几乎是个完美的光圈。
"Beautiful," said Pelorat.
“真美丽。”裴洛拉特说。
"The central streak extends beyond the planet, Pel."
“中央的条纹延伸到了行星之外，裴。”
Pelorat furrowed his brow and said, "You know, Bliss, I believeit does."
裴洛拉特紧皱着眉头说：“你知道吗，宝绮思，我相信真是这样。”
"Do you suppose it's an optical illusion?"
“你想这是一种‘光幻视’吗？”
Pelorat said, "I'm not sure, Bliss. I'm as much a space-novice asyou are Golan!"
裴洛拉特说：“我不敢肯定，宝绮思，我跟你一样是太空新兵——葛兰！”
Trevize answered the call with a rather feeble "What is it?" andentered the pilot-room, looking a bit rumpled, as though he had just beennapping on his bed with his clothes on which was exactly what hehad been doing.
崔维兹对这声叫唤的回应是一句相当微弱的“什么事？”他随着这声回答走进驾驶舱，衣服显得有点皱，好像刚才在床上和衣打过盹——事实也正是如此。
He said, in a rather peevish way, "Please! Don't be handling theinstruments."
他带着几分不悦说：“拜托！别动那些装置。”
"It's just the telescope," said Pelorat. "Look at that."
“只不过是望远镜罢了。”裴洛拉特说，“你看那个。”
Trevize did. "It's a gas giant, the one they call Gallia, accordingto the information I was given."
崔维兹依言看了一眼。“那是一颗气态巨星，根据我获得的资料，他们管它叫葛里亚。”
"How can you tell it's that one, just looking?"
“只是这样看看，你怎么知道就是那颗？”
"For one thing," said Trevize, "at our distance from the sun, andbecause of the planetary sizes and orbital positions, which I've beenstudying in plotting our course, that's the only one you could magnifyto that extent at this time. For another thing, there's the ring."
“理由之一，”崔维兹说，“根据我们现在和太阳的距离，再考虑各行星的大小以及它们在轨道上的位置——拟定航道时，我已经把这些资料研究得很透彻——此时此刻，它是你唯一能放大到这种程度的行星。另一个理由，是它有个行星环。”
"Ring?" said Bliss, mystified.
“行星环？”宝绮思困惑不已。
"All you can see is a thin, pale marking, because we're viewing italmost edge-on. We can zoom up out of the planetary plane and give youa better view. Would you like that?"
“你们现在能看到的，只是个又细又暗的条纹，因为我们几乎是从正侧面取景。我们可以急速拉升，离开行星轨道面，让你们有个较佳的视野。你们想不想这么做？”
Pelorat said, "I don't want to make you have to recalculate positionsand courses, Golan. "
裴洛拉特说：“我不想让你重新计算位置和航道，葛兰。”
"Oh well, the computer will do it for me with little trouble." He sat down at the computer as he spoke and placed his hands on the markings thatreceived them. The computer, finely attuned to his mind, did the rest.
“喔，放心，电脑会帮我处理，不怎么麻烦。”他一面说，一面坐到电脑前，将双手放在那两个手掌轮廓上。接下来，与他的心灵精密调谐的电脑，便开始负责所有的操作。
The Far Star , free of fuel problems or of inertial sensations,accelerated rapidly, and once again, Trevize felt a surge of love for acomputer-and-ship that responded in such a way to him as thoughit was his thought that powered and directed it, as though it were apowerful and obedient extension of his will.
没有燃料问题也毫无惯性效应的远星号立即加速。对于作出如此回应的电脑与太空艇，崔维兹再度感到一股强烈的爱意。仿佛他的思想化成了动力与指令，又仿佛它就是自己意志的延伸，不但强而有力，而且温驯服从。
It was no wonder the Foundation wanted it back; no wonder Comporellonhad wanted it for itself. The only surprise was that the force ofsuperstition had been strong enough to cause Comporellon to be willingto give it up.
难怪基地想把它要回去，也难怪康普隆想将它据为己有。唯一令人讶异的事，是迷信的力量竟然如此之大，令康普隆自动放弃了这个野心。
Properly armed, it could outrun or outfight any ship in the Galaxy,or any combination of ships provided only that it did not encounteranother ship like itself.
若有适当的武装，远星号能追击或打败银河中任何一艘船舰，甚至任何一支舰队，只要别碰到另一艘同型号太空艇就好。
Of course, it was not properly armed. Mayor Branno, in assigning himthe ship, had at least been cautious enough to leave it unarmed.
当然，它现在没有任何武装。布拉诺市长将太空艇拨给他的时候，至少还有足够的警觉性，没让它配备任何武器。
Pelorat and Bliss watched intently as the planet, Gallia, slowly,slowly, tipped toward them. The upper pole (whichever it was) becamevisible, with turbulence in a large circular region around it, whilethe lower pole retired behind the bulge of the sphere.
裴洛拉特与宝绮思注视着显像屏幕，葛里亚星正缓缓地、缓缓地朝他们倾斜。上方的那一极（姑且不论是南极或北极）已经出现，周围有一大圈湍流，下方那一极则被球体的鼓胀部分所遮掩。
At the upper end, the dark side of the planet invaded the sphere oforange light, and the beautiful circle became increasingly lopsided.
在行星顶端，暗面不断侵入橙色部分，使这个美丽的圆盘变得愈来愈不对称。
What seemed more exciting was that the central pale streak was nolonger straight but had come to be curved, as were the other streaks tothe north and south, but more noticeably so.
但更令人兴奋的，或许是中央那道暗纹不再是直线，而渐渐变成一个弧形，就像其他偏北或偏南的条纹一样，只是弧度更为显着。
Now the central streak extended beyond the edges of the planet verydistinctly and did so in a narrow loop on either side. There was noquestion of illusion; its nature was apparent. It was a ring of matter,looping about the planet, and hidden on the far side.
现在能够看得非常清楚了，中央暗纹的确延伸出行星的边缘，在两侧形成狭窄的弧形。这绝对不是幻象，其本质十分明显。那是由物质所构成的环状天体，沿着行星周围绕一圈，另一侧则隐藏在行星背后。
"That's enough to give you the idea, I think," said Trevize. "If wewere to move over the planet, you would see the ring in its circularform, concentric about the planet, touching it nowhere. You'll probablysee that it's not one ring either but several concentric rings."
“我想，这便足以给你们一个概念。”崔维兹说，“假如我们飞到这颗行星的正上方，你们将会看到一个圆形的环，它和这颗行星是同心圆，不过两者完全没有接触。你们还有可能发现，它其实并非单一的环，而是由数个同心环组成。”
"I wouldn't have thought it possible," said Pelorat blankly. "Whatkeeps it in space?"
“我认为简直不可能，”裴洛拉特愣愣地说，“是什么让它停留在太空的？”
"The same thing that keeps a satellite in space," said Trevize. "Therings consist of tiny particles, every one of which is orbiting theplanet. The rings are so close to the planet that tidal effects preventit from coalescing into a single body."
“跟卫星能停留在太空的道理相同。”崔维兹说，“行星环由许多细微的粒子组成，每个粒子都环绕着行星运转。由于这些环距离行星太近，‘潮汐效应’使它们无法聚结成一个球体。”
Pelorat shook his head. "It's horrifying when I think of it, oldman. How is it possible that I can have spent my whole life as a scholarand yet know so little about astronomy?"
裴洛拉特摇了摇头。“想想实在太令人难过了，老友。我当了一辈子学者，怎么可能对天文学知道得那么少？”
"And I know nothing at all about the myths of humanity. No one canencompass all of knowledge. The point is that these planetaryrings aren't unusual. Almost every single gas giant has them, even ifit's only a thin curve of dust. As it happens, the sun of Terminus has notrue gas giant in its planetary family, so unless a Terminian is a spacetraveler, or has taken University instruction in astronomy, he's likelyto know nothing about planetary rings. What is unusual is a ring thatis sufficiently broad to be bright and noticeable, like that one. It'sbeautiful. It must be a couple of hundred kilometers wide, at least."
“而我则对人类的传奇一无所知，没有人能够拥抱所有的知识。事实上，这些行星环没什么稀奇，几乎每颗气态巨星都有，即使有时只是一圈稀薄的尘埃。端点星的太阳所领导的行星家族，碰巧没有真正的气态巨星，因此端点星上的居民，除非是个星际旅行者，或者在大学里修过天文学课程，否则很可能不知道行星环是什么。如果行星环十分宽广，因而明亮且显眼，像现在这个这样，那才是不寻常的现象。它实在壮丽，一定至少有几百公里宽。”
At this point, Pelorat snapped his fingers. " That's what it meant."
此时，裴洛拉特突然弹响一下手指。“正是这个意思。”
Bliss looked startled. "What is it, Pel?"
宝绮思吓了一跳。“什么意思，裴？”
Pelorat said, "I came across a scrap of poetry once, very ancient,and in an archaic version of Galactic that was hard to make out but thatwas good evidence of great age. Though I shouldn't complain of thearchaism, old chap. My work has made me an expert on various varietiesof Old Galactic, which is quite gratifying even if it is of no use tome whatever outside my work. What was I talking about?"
裴洛拉特说：“我曾经读过某一首诗的片段，那是一首非常古老的诗，用一种古体的银河标准语写成，很不容易读懂，正好证明它的年代十分久远。不过，我不该抱怨古文体难懂，老弟。由于工作的关系，我精通好几种古银河语文，即使在工作领域之外对我没什么用处，仍然让我很有成就感——我刚才说什么来着？”
Bliss said, "An old scrap of poetry, Pel dear."
宝绮思说：“一首古诗的片段，亲爱的裴。”
"Thank you, Bliss," he said. And to Trevize, "She keeps close trackof what I say in order to pull me back whenever I get off-course, whichis most of the time."
“谢谢你，宝绮思。”然后，裴洛拉特又对崔维兹说，“她总是很注意我在说什么，以便我一旦离题——这是常有的事——她随时能把我拉回来。”
"It's part of your charm, Pel," said Bliss, smiling.
“这是你的魅力之一，裴。”宝绮思微笑着说。
"Anyway, this scrap of poetry purported to describe the planetarysystem of which Earth was part. Why it should do so, I don't know,for the poem as a whole does not survive; at least, I was never ableto locate it. Only this one portion survived, perhaps because of itsastronomical content. In any case, it spoke of the brilliant triplering of the sixth planet `both brade and large, sae the woruld shronk incomparisoun.' I can still quote it, you see. I didn't understand what aplanet's ring could be. I remember thinking of three circles on one sideof the planet, all in a row. It seemed so nonsensical, I didn't botherto include it in my library. I'm sorry now I didn't inquire." He shookhis head. "Being a mythologist in today's Galaxy is so solitary a job,one forgets the good of inquiring.""
“总之，那个片段主要是在描述地球所在的行星系，至于为何要做这个描述，我并不清楚，因为完整的诗句已经散佚，至少我从来没办法找到。流传下来的只有这一部分，或许是由于其中的天文学内容。总之，它提到第六颗行星拥有光辉灿烂的三重行星环。‘既宽且大，与之相较，世界相形见绌。’你看，我现在还能吟诵呢。以前我不明了行星环是什么东西，我记得曾经设想，也许该行星的一侧有三个圆圈排成一列，但这似乎十分无稽，所以我懒得收在我的图书馆中。我当初没有追根究底，现在想来十分遗憾。”他摇了摇头，又说，“在今日银河中，神话学家是个很孤独的行业，使人忘了追根究底的好处。”
Trevize said consolingly, "You were probably right to ignore it,Janov. It's a mistake to take poetic chatter literally.
崔维兹安慰他说：“你当初没理会它，也许是正确的态度，詹诺夫，对诗意的文字不可过分认真。”
But that's what was meant, said Pelorat, pointing at thescreen. "That's what the poem was speaking of. Three wide rings,concentric, wider than the planet itself."
“但那正是它的意思，”裴洛拉特指着显像屏幕说，“那首诗所提到的景象，正是三个宽阔的同心环，宽度超过了行星本身。”
Trevize said, "I never heard of such a thing. I don't think ringscan be that wide. Compared to the planet they circle, they are alwaysvery narrow."
崔维兹说：“我从来没听过这种事，我认为行星环不可能那么宽，相较于它们所环绕的行星，行星环总是非常狭长。”
Pelorat said, "We never heard of a habitable planet with a giantsatellite, either. Or one with a radioactive crust. This is uniquenessnumber three. If we find a radioactive planet that might be otherwisehabitable, with a giant satellite, and with another planet in thesystem that has a huge ring, there would be no doubt at all that we hadencountered Earth."
裴洛拉特说：“我们也从未听说哪个可住人行星拥有一颗巨大的卫星，或是它的地壳具有放射性，现在这个则是它的第三项唯一性。我们若能找到一颗除了放射性之外，具有一切适宜住人条件的行星，它拥有一颗巨大的卫星，而且在那个行星系中，另一颗行星拥有宽阔的行星环，那就毫无疑问，代表我们发现地球了。”
Trevize smiled. "I agree, Janov. If we find all three, we willcertainly have found Earth."
崔维兹微微一笑。“我同意，詹诺夫，假如我们找到这三项特征，我们就一定找到了地球。”
"If!" said Bliss, with a sigh.
“假如！”宝绮思叹了一口气。
30
30
They were beyond the main worlds of the planetarysystem, plunging outward between the positions of the two outermostplanets so that there was now no significant mass within 1.5 billionkilometers. Ahead lay only the vast cometary cloud which, gravitationally,was insignificant.
他们已经飞越这个行星系各主要世界，此刻正在最远的两颗行星之间继续往外冲，因此在十五亿公里内，并没有任何稍具规模的天体。前方只有一大团彗星云，不会产生多大的重力效应。
The Far Star had accelerated to a speed of 0.1 c , onetenth the speed of light. Trevize knew well that, in theory, the shipcould be accelerated to nearly the speed of light, but he also knew that,in practice, 0.1 c was the reasonable limit.
远星号已加速到光速的十分之一。崔维兹很清楚，理论上来说，这艘太空艇可加速到接近光速，不过他也明白，实际上，十分之一光速已是合理的极限。
At that speed, any object with appreciable mass could be avoided,but there was no way of dodging the innumerable dust particles in space,and, to a far greater extent even, individual atoms and molecules. Atvery fast speeds, even such small objects could do damage, scouring andscraping the ship's hull. At speeds near the speed of light, each atomsmashing into the hull had the properties of a cosmic ray particle. Underthat penetrating cosmic radiation, anyone on board ship would not long survive.
以这个速度飞行，能够避开任何稍具质量的物体，却无法闪避太空中无数的尘埃粒子，而为数更多的原子与分子更不在话下。在极高速航行时，即使那么微小的物体也会磨损或刮伤艇体，造成十分严重的损害。假如以接近光速的速度飞行，每个撞向艇体的原子都具有宇宙线的性质。而曝露在无孔不入的宇宙线辐射下，太空艇中每一个人都无法幸免。
The distant stars showed no perceptible motion in the viewscreen,and even though the ship was moving at thirty thousand kilometers persecond, there was every appearance of its standing still.
在显像屏幕上，远方的恒星看不出任何动静。虽然太空艇以每秒三万公里的速度运动，各方面看起来，它都显得像是静止在太空中。
The computer scanned space to great distances for any oncoming objectof small but significant size that might be on a collision course, andthe ship veered gently to avoid it, in the extremely unlikely case thatthat would be necessary. Between the small size of any possible oncomingobject, the speed with which it was passed, and the lack of inertialeffect as the result of the course change, there was no way of telling whether anything ever took place in the nature of what might be termed a"close call."
电脑正在进行长距离扫描，以侦测任何可能与太空艇相撞的物体，它们即使体积有限，仍会构成严重的威胁。在可能性极低的必要情况下，太空艇会稍微转向闪避。但由于可能来袭的物体都很小，相对速度也不太大，而且太空艇改变航向时又不会产生惯性效应，因此根本无法知道是否出现过堪称“千钧一发”的状况。
Trevize, therefore, did not worry about such things, or even giveit the most casual thought. He kept his full attention on the threesets of co-ordinates he had been given by Deniador, and, particularly,on the set which indicated the object closest to themselves.
因此崔维兹一点都不担心这种事，甚至连想都不想。他把所有的注意力，全都集中在丹尼亚多交给他的三组坐标上，而他特别注意的，则是与目前位置最接近的那组坐标。
"Is there something wrong with the figures?" asked Peloratanxiously.
“坐标有什么问题吗？”裴洛拉特紧张兮兮地问。
"I can't tell yet," said Trevize. "Co-ordinates in themselves aren'tuseful, unless you know the zero point and the conventions used insetting them up the direction in which to mark off the distance,so to speak, what the equivalent of a prime meridian is, and so on."
“我现在还不能确定。”崔维兹说，“坐标本身并没有用，你还得知道零点在哪里，以及设定坐标的规约——比如说订定距离所依据的方向，用什么当作本初子午线等等。”
"How do you find out such things?" said Pelorat blankly.
“你怎么找得出这些东西？”裴洛拉特茫然问道。
"I obtained the co-ordinates of Terminus and a few other knownpoints, relative to Comporellon. If I put them into the computer,it will calculate what the conventions must be for such co-ordinatesif Terminus and the other points are to be correctly located. I'm onlytrying to organize things in my mind so that I can properly program thecomputer for this. Once the conventions are determined, the figures wehave for the Forbidden Worlds might possibly have meaning."
“我取得了端点星以及其他几个已知点相对于康普隆的坐标，只要我将它们输进电脑，电脑便会算出究竟该用哪种规约，这些坐标才能对应端点星以及其他几个点的正确位置。我只是想将这些事在脑中整理一下，这样我就能对电脑发出适当的指令。一旦确定了规约，我们手中的三组禁忌世界坐标值就可能有意义了。”
"Only possibly?" said Bliss.
“只是可能而已？”宝绮思问。
"Only possibly, I'm afraid," said Trevize. "These are old figuresafter all presumably Comporellian, but not definitely. What ifthey are based on other conventions?"
“恐怕只是可能而已。”崔维兹说，“那些毕竟是相当古老的坐标，想必用的是康普隆规约，但无法绝对肯定。万一它们是根据其他规约呢？”
"In that case?"
“万一真是这样呢？”
In that case, we have only meaningless figures. But we justhave to find out.
“万一真是这样，我们得到的就只是一堆毫无意义的数字。可是，我们好歹也要确定一下。”
His hands flickered over the softly glowing keys of the computer,feeding it the necessary information. He then placed his hands onthe handmarks on the desk. He waited while the computer worked out theconventions of the known co-ordinates, paused a moment, then interpretedthe co-ordinates of the nearest Forbidden World by the same conventions,and finally located those co-ordinates on the Galactic map in itsmemory.
他双手在微微发亮的按键上轻快滑动，将必要的资料输进电脑，然后将双手放在桌面的手掌轮廓上，静待电脑确定这些已知坐标所用的规约。答案出来之后，他顿了一下，随即命令电脑使用相同的规约，算出最近一个禁忌世界的位置，最后终于在电脑记忆库的银河地图中，找出了这组坐标对应的地点。
A starfield appeared on the screen and moved rapidly as it adjusteditself. When it reached stasis, it expanded with stars bleeding off theedges in all directions until they were almost all gone. At no pointcould the eye follow the rapid change; it was all a speckled blur. Untilfinally, a space one tenth of a parsec on each side (according to theindex figures below the screen) was all that remained. There was nofurther change, and only half a dozen dial sparks relieved the darknessof the screen.
屏幕上出现一个星像场，并且自动迅速移动，在达到停滞状态后又开始不断扩大，将周围各个方向的星辰都挤出屏幕，直到几乎所剩无几。肉眼完全跟不上这种迅疾的变化，以致画面看来只是一团模糊的斑点。最后硕果仅存的，只有边长十分之一秒差距的一个正方范围（根据屏幕下方标示的数值）。然后就一直没有进一步的变化，在漆黑的屏幕上，只剩下六个黯淡的光芒点缀其间。
"Which one is the Forbidden World?" asked Pelorat softly.
“哪个才是禁忌世界？”裴洛拉特轻声问道。
"None of them," said Trevize. "Four of them are red dwarfs, one anear-red dwarf, and the last a white dwarf. None of them can possiblyhave a habitable world in orbit about them."
“全都不是。”崔维兹说，“其中四颗是红矮星，一颗是准红矮星，另一颗是白矮星。在这些恒星的轨道上，都不可能有可住人世界。”
How do you know they're red dwarfs just by looking at them?
“单凭这样看一眼，你怎么就知道那些是红矮星？”
Trevize said, "We're not looking at real stars; we're looking at asection of the Galactic map stored in the computer's memory. Each oneis labeled. You can't see it and ordinarily I couldn't see it either,but as long as my hands are making contact, as they are, I am aware of aconsiderable amount of data on any star on which my eyes concentrate."
崔维兹说：“我们现在看到的并不是真实的恒星，而是电脑记忆库中银河地图的一小部分，其中每颗恒星都标有简介，只不过你无法看到，通常我同样也看不到。可是一旦我的双手和电脑进行接触，像现在这样，那么当我注视某颗恒星时，我就能知道不少的相关资料。”
Pelorat said in a woebegone tone, "Then the co-ordinates areuseless."
裴洛拉特以悲伤的语调说：“那么，这些坐标毫无用处了。”
Trevize looked up at him, "No, Janov. I'm not finished. There'sstill the matter of time. The co-ordinates for the Forbidden Worldare those of twenty thousand years ago. In that time, both it andComporellon have been revolving about the Galactic Center, and theymay well be revolving at different speeds and in orbits of differentinclinations and eccentricities. With time, therefore, the two worldsmay be drifting closer together or farther apart and, in twenty thousandyears, the Forbidden World may have drifted anywhere from one-half tofive parsecs off the mark. It certainly wouldn't be included in thattenth-parsec square."
崔维兹抬起头望着他。“不，詹诺夫，我的话还没说完。我们还要考虑时间因素，这组坐标是两万年前的，在这段时间中，那个禁忌世界和康普隆都绕着银河中心公转，两者的公转速度、轨道倾角和离心率都很可能并不相同。因此，随着时光的流逝，这两个世界不是渐渐接近，就是愈来愈远。过了两万年之后，那个禁忌世界如今的位置，和坐标值的偏差可能在半个到五个秒差距之间，当然不会在这个边长十分之一秒差距的方格内。”
"What do we do, then?"
“那么，我们该怎么办？”
"We have the computer move the Galaxy twenty thousand years back intime relative to Comporellon."
“我们以康普隆为原点，让电脑将银河的时间往前推两万年。”
"Can it do that?" asked Bliss, sounding rather awe-struck.
“它能这样做吗？”宝绮思的声音听来有点肃然起敬。
"Well, it can't move the Galaxy itself back in time, but it can movethe map in its memory banks back in time."
“嗯，它无法使银河本身回到过去，但能让记忆库中的地图时光倒流。”
Bliss said, "Will we see anything happen?"
宝绮思说：“我们能看到任何变化吗？”
"Watch," said Trevize.
“看！”崔维兹说。
Very slowly, the half-dozen stars crawled over the face of thescreen. A new star, not hitherto on the screen, drifted in from the lefthand edge, and Pelorat pointed in excitement. "There! There!"
屏幕上原有的六颗恒星开始缓缓挪动，此外另有一颗恒星出现在屏幕左侧，并且渐渐向中央漂移。裴洛拉特兴奋地指着它说：“来了！来了！”
Trevize said, "Sorry. Another red dwarf. They're very common. Atleast three fourths of all the stars in the Galaxy are red dwarfs."
崔维兹说：“抱歉，又是一颗红矮星。它们非常普遍，银河中的恒星至少有四分之三是红矮星。”
The screen settled down and stopped moving.
屏幕上的画面停下来，不再继续移动。
"Well?" said Bliss.
“然后呢？”宝绮思说。
Trevize said, "That's it. That's the view of that portion of theGalaxy as it would have been twenty thousand years ago. At the verycenter of the screen is a point where the Forbidden World ought to beif it had been drifting at some average velocity."
崔维兹答道：“这就是了，这就是银河那一小部分在两万年前的样子。如果那个禁忌世界以平均速度进行星移，就应该出现在屏幕正中央。”
"Ought to be, but isn't," said Bliss sharply.
“应该出现，可是没有啊。”宝绮思尖声道。
"It isn't," agreed Trevize, with remarkably little emotion.
“的确没有。”崔维兹表示同意，声音几乎不带任何情绪。
Pelorat released his breath in a long sigh. "Oh, too bad, Golan."
裴洛拉特长长叹了一口气。“啊，太糟了，葛兰。”
Trevize said, "Wait, don't despair. I wasn't expecting to see thestar there."
崔维兹说：“且慢，不要绝望，我原本就并未指望看到那颗恒星。”
"You weren't?" said Pelorat, astonished.
“并未指望？”裴洛拉特显得极为讶异。
"No. I told you that this isn't the Galaxy itself, but the computer'smap of the Galaxy. If a real star is not included in the map, we don'tsee it. If the planet is called `Forbidden' and has been called so fortwenty thousand years, the chances are it wouldn't be included in themap. And it isn't, for we don't see it."
“是的。我跟你说过，这并不是真实的银河，而是电脑中的银河地图。某颗恒星若没收录在地图中，我们就看不到。如果一颗行星被称为‘禁忌’，而且这个名称沿用了两万年，它就八成不会被收在地图里。事实上果真如此，因为我们看不到它。”
Bliss said, "We might not see it because it doesn't exist. TheComporellian legends may be false, or the co-ordinates may be wrong."
宝绮思说：“或许因为它不存在，所以我们才看不到。康普隆的传说可能是杜撰的，也可能这些坐标并不正确。”
"Very true. The computer, however, can now make an estimate as towhat the co-ordinates ought to be at this time, now that it has locatedthe spot where it may have been twenty thousand years ago. Using theco-ordinates corrected for time, a correction I could only have madethrough use of the star map, we can now switch to the real starfield ofthe Galaxy itself."
“说得很对。不过，电脑既然找出了那个世界在两万年前的可能位置，就能估计出它如今的坐标。根据做过时间修正的坐标——唯有利用星图我才能作出这个修正——现在我们可以切换到真实的银河星像场。”
Bliss said, "But you only assumed an average velocity for the ForbiddenWorld. What if its velocity was not average? You would not now have thecorrect co-ordinates."
宝绮思说：“但你只是假设禁忌世界一直以平均速度进行星移，万一它的速度有异于平均速度呢？这样的话，你得到的坐标就不正确了。”
"True enough, but a correction, assuming average velocity, is almostcertain to be closer to its real position, than if we had made no timecorrection at all."
“说得没错，但是相较于未作时间修正的结果，我们几乎可以肯定，根据平均速度的假设作了修正之后，得到的结果将更接近真实的位置。”
"You hope!" said Bliss doubtfully.
“你想得真美！”宝绮思以怀疑的口吻说。
"That's exactly what I do," said Trevize. "I hope. And now let's look at the real Galaxy."
“我正是这么想。”崔维兹说，“但愿不出我所料，现在就让我们看看真实的银河。”
The two onlookers watched tensely, while Trevize (perhaps to reducehis own tensions and delay the zero moment) spoke softly, almost asthough he were lecturing.
两位旁观者聚精会神地盯着屏幕，崔维兹则以轻松的语调慢慢解释（或许是为了缓和自己的紧张情绪，并且延后揭晓谜底的时刻），好像在发表一场演讲。
"It's more difficult to observe the real Galaxy," he said. "The map inthe computer is an artificial construction, with irrelevancies capable ofbeing eliminated. If there is a nebula obscuring the view, I can removeit. If the angle of view is inconvenient for what I have in mind, I canchange the angle, and so on. The real Galaxy, however, I must take asI find it, and if I want a change I must move physically through space,which will take far more time than it would take to adjust a map."
“观测真实的银河比较困难。”他说，“电脑中的地图是人工产物，不相干的东西都能除去。比如说，如果有个星云遮蔽视线，我可以将它消除；如果视角和我的预期不合，我可以调整到更方便的角度。然而观测真实银河的时候，我必须照单全收，毫无选择的余地。假使我想有所改变，必须在太空中实际变换位置，花的时间会比调整地图多得多。”
And as he spoke, the screen showed a star cloud so rich in individualstars as to seem an irregular heap of powder.
当他说到这里的时候，屏幕上出现了一团恒星云，里面挤满一颗又一颗的星辰，看来像是一堆散乱的粉末。
Trevize said, "That's a large angle view of a section of the MilkyWay, and I want the foreground, of course. If I expand the foreground,the background will tend to fade in comparison. The co-ordinate spotis close enough to Comporellon so that I should be able to expand itto about the situation I had on the view of the map. Just let me putin the necessary instructions, if I can hold on to my sanity longenough. Now ."
崔维兹说：“那是银河某个区段的大角度画面，当然，我想要的是前景。如果我把前景扩大，相较之下背景就会变得朦胧。这个坐标点和康普隆足够接近，所以我应该能将它扩大到和地图中的画面一致。我只消输入必要的指令，但愿我的清醒能撑得足够久。开始！”
The starfield expanded with a rush so that thousands of stars pushedoff every edge, giving the watchers so real a sensation of moving towardthe screen that all three automatically leaned backward as though inresponse to a forward rush.
星像场陡然扩大，成千上万的恒星被急速推出屏幕。三个人突然觉得向屏幕冲过去，由于感觉过于逼真，他们都不由自主向后一仰，仿佛是对一股推力所产生的自然反应。
The old view returned, not quite as dark as it had been on the map,but with the half-dozen stars shown as they had been in the originalview. And there, close to the center, was another star, shining far morebrightly than the others.
先前的画面又出现了，虽然不似地图那般暗，但是六颗恒星都在原先的位置上。此外，在接近中央的部分，还出现了另一颗恒星，它的光芒比其他恒星都明亮许多。
"There it is," said Pelorat, in an awed whisper.
“它在那里。”裴洛拉特悄声道，声音中充满了敬畏。
"It may be. I'll have the computer take its spectrum and analyzeit." There was a moderately long pause, then Trevize said, "Spectralclass, G-4, which makes it a trifle dimmer and smaller than Terminus'ssun, but rather brighter than Comporellon's sun. And no G-class starshould be omitted from the computer's Galactic map. Since this one is,that is a strong indication that it may be the sun about which theForbidden World revolves."
“可能就是它，我会让电脑摄取它的光谱，然后详加分析。”沉默相当一段时间之后，崔维兹又说：“光谱型为g4，因此它比端点星的太阳小一点并且暗一点，不过要比康普隆的太阳明亮些。电脑的银河地图不该漏掉任何Ｇ型恒星，既然这颗遭到遗漏，很可能表示它就是那个禁忌世界所环绕的太阳。”
Bliss said, "Is there any chance of its turning out that there is nohabitable planet revolving about this star after all?"
宝绮思说：“有没有可能到头来却发现，这颗恒星周围根本没有可住人行星？”
"There's a chance, I suppose. In that case, we'll try to find theother two Forbidden Worlds."
“我想，有这个可能。倘若真是那样，我们再设法寻找另外两个禁忌世界。”
Bliss persevered. "And if the other two are false alarms, too?"
宝绮思固执地说：“万一另外两个世界也是空欢喜一场呢？”
"Then we'll try something else."
“那我们再尝试别的办法。”
"Like what?"
“比如说？”
"I wish I knew," said Trevize grimly.
“但愿我知道。”崔维兹绷着脸说。