Chapter 26 I don’t know, said Zaphod, for what seemed to him like the thirty-seventh time, they could have killed me, but they didn’t. Maybe they just thought I was a kind of wonderful guy or something. I could understand that. The others silently registered their opinions of this theory. Zaphod lay on the cold floor of the flight deck. His back seemed to wrestle the floor as pain thudded through him and banged at his heads. I think, he whispered, that there is something wrong with those anodized dudes, something fundamentally weird. They are programmed to kill everybody, Slartibartfast pointed out. That, wheezed Zaphod between the whacking thuds, could be it. He didn’t seem altogether convinced. Hey, baby, he said to Trillian, hoping this would make up for his previous behaviour. You all right? she said gently. Yeah, he said, I’m fine. Good, she said, and walked away to think. She stared at the huge visiscreen over the flight couches and, twisting a switch, she flipped local images over it. One image was the blankness of the Dust Cloud. One was the sun of Krikkit. One was Krikkit itself. She flipped between them fiercely. Well, that’s goodbye Galaxy, then, said Arthur, slapping his knees and standing up. No, said Slartibartfast, gravely. Our course is clear. He furrowed his brow until you could grow some of the smaller root vegetables in it. He stood up, he paced around. When he spoke again, what he said frightened him so much he had to sit down again. We must go down to Krikkit, he said. A deep sigh shook his old frame and his eyes seemed almost to rattle in their sockets. Once again, he said, we have failed pathetically. Quite pathetically. That, said Ford quietly, is because we don’t care enough. I told you. He swung his feet up on the instrument panel and picked fitfully at something on one of his fingernails. But unless we determine to take action, said the old man querulously, as if struggling against something deeply insouciant in his nature, then we shall all be destroyed, we shall all die. Surely we care about that? Not enough to want to get killed over it, said Ford. He put on a sort of hollow smile and flipped it round the room at anyone who wanted to see it. Slartibartfast clearly found this point of view extremely seductive and he fought against it. He turned again to Zaphod who was gritting his teeth and sweating with the pain. You surely must have some idea, he said, of why they spared your life. It seems most strange and unusual. I kind of think they didn’t even know, shrugged Zaphod. I told you. They hit me with the most feeble blast, just knocked me out, right? They lugged me into their ship, dumped me into a corner and ignored me. Like they were embarrassed about me being there. If I said anything they knocked me out again. We had some great conversations. “Hey… ugh!” “Hi there… ugh!” “I wonder…ugh!” Kept me amused for hours, you know. He winced again. He was toying with something in his fingers. He held it up. It was the Gold Bail the Heart of Gold, the heart of the Infinite Improbability Drive. Only that and the Wooden Pillar had survived the destruction of the Lock intact. I hear your ship can move a bit, he said. So how would you like to zip me back to mine before you… Will you not help us? said Slartibartfast. I’d love to stay and help you save the Galaxy, insisted Zaphod, rising himself up on to his shoulders, but I have the mother and father of a pair of headaches, and I feel a lot of little headaches coming on. But next time it needs saving, I’m your guy. Hey, Trillian baby? She looked round briefly. Yes? You want to come? Heart of Gold? Excitement and adventure and really wild things? I’m going down to Krikkit, she said. 26 “我不知道啊。”赞福德道，“就像这种事，已经发生过几百次了。他们可以杀了我的，可他们没有。也许他们就是觉得我人特好。我很理解的。” 其他人都决定不发表意见。 赞福德躺在冷冰冰的船舱地板上。他觉得从头到脚都在疼。他在地上动来动去。 “我觉得，”他轻声道，“那些铁皮小子有点问题。完全是些怪物。” “他们生来就是为了杀人。”司拉提巴特法斯指出。 “啊，”赞福德一边喘气一边说，“大概就是这个问题吧。”其实他根本没往心里去。 “嘿宝贝儿。”他叫着崔莉安，希望能弥补一下之前的所作所为。 “你还好吧？”她温柔地问道。 “嗯，”他说，“我很好。” “那就好。”她便走开了。她来到控制面板前，凝视着巨大的显示屏，又转了转某个旋钮。她在查看图片资料。一张是漆黑一片的星云，一张是版求的恒星，还有一张是版求星。她狠狠地翻着这些图片。 “是不是该向银河系说再见了？”阿瑟一撑膝盖，站了起来。 “不。” 司拉提巴特法斯面色严峻，“我们的下一步很明确。”他紧锁眉头，皱得可以种颗菜了。他站起来，踱来踱去。想说点什么，可那内容太可怕了，于是他又坐下来。 “咱们得回版求星。”他重重地叹了口气，身子晃了晃，脸有点抽搐。 “咱们又失败了。”他说，“败得很惨，相当惨。” “那是因为，”福特小声说道，“我们不够坚决。我告诉过你的。” 他把脚往控制面板上一搁，在脚指甲里抠了抠。 “可是，如果咱们不行动起来的话，”老人埋怨着，仿佛在与自己内心深处进行搏斗，“咱们就都完了。咱们会死的。这够坚决了吧？” “至少没到想为之送死的地步。”福特回答。他假笑着看着大伙儿。 司拉提巴特法斯觉得，这种观点具有极强的蛊惑性，自己应该努力抵制。他转向赞福德，后者正躺在地上，龇牙咧嘴直冒冷汗呢。 “你总该知道吧，”他问道，“他们为什么放了你。这可是最奇怪的事了。” “我觉得他们自己都不知道。”赞福德耸耸肩，“我说过的，他们用最小的力气打我，打晕了就算数。他们把我拖进飞船，丢到一边，就不管了。好象我在那儿让他们很尴尬似的。我一说话，他们就又把我打晕。我们之间的谈话可有趣了。‘嘿——啊！’‘你好——啊！’‘我想——啊！’我玩了好多次。知道吗。”他又抽搐了一下。 他手里拿着什么东西。举起来一看，原来是金横木——黄金之心，无限非概率驱动器的核心。那把锁炸掉的时候，只有这个和“木柱”保存了下来。 “听说你的飞船挺好的，”他说，“你能不能送我回我的飞船……” “你不帮我们的忙吗？” 司拉提巴特法斯问。 “我挺想帮你们拯救银河系的，”赞福德撑起小半个身子，信誓旦旦地说道，“可我还有母亲、父亲，还有两颗头在痛，我预感到还有别的地方会痛。不过，要是下次银河系需要拯救了，我随叫随到。嘿，崔莉安宝贝儿？” 她茫然地转过来。 “嗯？” “你也来吧？黄金之心？刺激，冒险，最疯狂的玩意儿？” “我要去版求星。”她说。
