经典科幻文学:《生命 宇宙及一切》第11章3

All it requires is simply the ability to throw yourself forward with all your weight, and the willingness not to mind that it’s going to hurt.
That is, it’s going to hurt if you fail to miss the ground.
Most people fail to miss the ground, and if they are really trying properly, the likelihood is that they will fail to miss it fairly hard.
Clearly, it’s the second point, the missing, which presents the difficulties.
One problem is that you have to miss the ground accidentally. It’s no good deliberately intending to miss the ground because you won’t. You have to have your attention suddenly distracted by something else when you’re halfway there, so that you are no longer thinking about falling, or about the ground, or about how much it’s going to hurt if you fail to miss it.
If, however, you are lucky enough to have your attention momentarily distracted at the crucial moment by, say, a gorgeous pair of legs (tentacles, pseudopodia, according to phyllum and/or personal inclination) or a bomb going off in your vicinity, or by suddenly spotting an extremely rare species of beetle crawling along a nearby twig, then in your astonishment you will miss the ground completely and remain bobbing just a few inches above it in what might seem to be a slightly foolish manner.
This is a moment for superb and delicate concentration.
Bob and float, float and bob.
Ignore all considerations of your own weight and simply let yourself waft higher.
Do not listen to what anybody says to you at this point because they are unlikely to say anything helpful.
They are most likely to say something along the lines of, “Good God, you can’t possibly be flying!”
It is vitally important not to believe them or they will suddenly be right.
Waft higher and higher.
Try a few swoops, gentle ones at first, then drift above the treetops breathing regularly.
Do not wave at anybody.
When you have done this a few times you will find the moment of distraction rapidly becomes easier and easier to achieve. You will then learn all sorts of things about how to control your flight, your speed, your manoeuvrability, and the trick usually lies in not thinking too hard about whatever you want to do, but just allowing it to happen as if it was going to anyway.
You will also learn how to land properly, which is something you will almost certainly cock up, and cock up badly, on your first attempt.
There are private flying clubs you can join which help you achieve the all-important moment of distraction. They hire people with surprising bodies or opinions to leap out from behind bushes and exhibit and/or explain them at the crucial moments. Few genuine hitch-hikers will be able to afford to join these clubs, but some may be able to get temporary employment at them.
Trillian read this longingly, but reluctantly decided that Zaphod wasn’t really in the right frame of mind for attempting to fly, or for walking through mountains or for trying to get the Brantisvogan Civil Service to acknowledge a change-of-address card, which were the other things listed under the heading “Recreational Impossibilities”.
Instead, she flew the ship to Allosimanius Syneca, a world of ice, snow, mind-hurtling beauty and stunning cold. The trek from the snow plains of Liska to the summit of the Ice Crystal Pyramids of Sastantua is long and gruelling, even with jet skis and a team of Syneca Snowhounds, but the view from the top, a view which takes in the Stin Glacier Fields, the shimmering Prism Mountains and the far ethereal dancing icelights, is one which first freezes the mind and then slowly releases it to hitherto unexperienced horizons of beauty, and Trillian, for one, felt that she could do with a bit of having her mind slowly released to hitherto unexperienced horizons of beauty.
They went into a low orbit. There lay the silver-white beauty of Allosimanius Syneca beneath them. Zaphod stayed in bed with one head stuck under a pillow and the other doing crosswords till late into the night.
Trillian nodded patiently again, counted to a sufficiently high number, and told herself that the important thing now was just to get Zaphod talking.
She prepared, by dint of deactivating all the robot kitchen synthomatics, the most fabulously delicious meal she could contrive delicately oiled meals, scented fruits, fragrant cheeses, fine Aldebaran wines.
She carried it through to him and asked if he felt like talking things through.
Zark off, said Zaphod.

你只需用尽全身力量往前跳，同时要有不怕疼的意志。
也就是说，如果没能做到“不碰到地上”，就会很疼。
很多人会碰到地上，如果他们真的做得很标准，那多半会重重地碰到地上。
显然，第二步“不碰到”，是最具难度之处。
问题之一，你得偶然地不碰到地面。努力不碰到地面是错误的，那样的话你一定会碰到。当跳到一半时，你得让注意力瞬间被别的什么东西吸引住，那样你才不会想着跌倒，也不会想着地面，也不会想着碰到地面会有多疼。
如果，你真的很幸运，你的注意力竟然在关键时刻被，比如说，一双绝美的腿（触须/伪足——以所属门类和/或个人取向为准），或是在你身边爆炸的炸弹，或是突然瞄到一种无比稀有的甲虫爬在旁边的嫩枝上。那时，你便会惊奇地发现，自己没有碰到地面，而是在地面上方一两寸的地方飘忽，也许会稍显呆傻。
这时，需要非常巧妙地掌握注意力。
飘忽游荡，游荡飘忽。
丢掉所有关于重量的意识，只需让自己浮得更高一点。
这时，不要听任何人对你说话，因为他们一般说不出什么有用的话。
他们多半会说这类话：“老天啊，你不是在飞吧！”
不要相信他们，这一点极度重要。一信他们的话，他们就会说中了。
浮得再高一点，再高一点。
试试能否向前扑跃。先轻点扑，然后可以飘到树顶上去，保持呼吸匀畅。
不要向任何人挥手。
多做几次，你就会越来越容易做到瞬间走神。之后，你将学会更多飞行方法，如何控制速度、运用飞技。还有那种思维的秘诀，即对什么事都不要想太多，让它发生就是了，反正总要那样的。
你还将学会如何正确着陆，这一步很可能搞砸，尤其是第一次时，会严重搞砸。
你可以加入私人飞行俱乐部，他们能帮你完成那最重要的走神时刻。他们雇有专门人员，或是拥有惊人的美体，或是拥有惊人的观点。他们会从树丛后面突然蹦出来，展示和/或解释上述事物。真正的漫游者中，极少人能进得起这种俱乐部，不过有的可能被雇去做事。
崔莉安不胜向往地读着。可她很不情愿地意识到，以赞福德现在的精神状态，实在不适合尝试飞行、尝试穿山行走、尝试说服布拉提斯沃根民事部承认一种地址变更卡——这些都列在“不可能之娱乐”条目之下。
于是，她将飞船转而开向了阿罗丝玛尼乌·西内卡，一个冰雪世界，美得惊心，冻得吓人。从丽斯卡雪原长途跋涉，直到萨斯坦图的冰晶金字塔顶，是一段漫长而疲惫的旅程。即使有喷气式滑雪板和西内卡雪犬队也无济于事。然而到了金字塔顶端，纵览斯丁冰川区的景象，晶莹闪烁的棱镜山脉，天尽头圣洁的冰光——你的头脑先是僵住，然后慢慢释放到那有生之年从未经历的美的极致。崔莉安觉得，自己正需要让头脑慢慢释放，到那有生之年从未经历的美的极致。
他们离那儿越来越近。轨道之下，便是阿罗丝玛尼乌·西内卡的银白世界了。赞福德还躺在床上，一个脑袋塞在枕头下面，另一个在熬夜做着填字游戏。
崔莉安再次忍耐地点点头，从一数到一个足够大的数，告诉自己，现在最重要的是让赞福德讲话。
她准备了一下。由于所有自动厨房合成机已经停止运转，她尽最大努力，做了色香俱全的一餐饭——肥美诱惑的肉食，清新芬芳的水果，香浓扑鼻的奶酪，以及来自毕宿五的美酒。
她把饭菜端到赞福德面前，问他是否愿意说说话。
“赞上你的嘴。”赞福德说。