经典科幻文学:《生命 宇宙及一切》第2章6
Will you listen? he snapped.
I have been listening, said Arthur, but I’m not sure it’s helped.
Ford grasped him by the lapels of his dressing gown and spoke to him as slowly and distinctly and patiently as if he were somebody from a telephone company accounts department.
There seem… he said, to be some pools… he said, of instability… he said, in the fabric… he said…
Arthur looked foolishly at the cloth of his dressing gown where Ford was holding it. Ford swept on before Arthur could turn the foolish look into a foolish remark.
–…in the fabric of space-time, he said.
Ah, that, said Arthur.
Yes, that, confirmed Ford.
They stood there alone on a hill on prehistoric Earth and stared each other resolutely in the face.
And it’s done what? said Arthur.
It, said Ford, has developed pools of instability.
Has it? said Arthur, his eyes not wavering for a moment.
It has, said Ford with a similar degree of ocular immobility.
Good, said Arthur.
See? said Ford.
No, said Arthur.
There was a quiet pause.
The difficulty with this conversation, said Arthur after a sort of pondering look had crawled slowly across his face like a mountaineer negotiating a tricky outcrop, is that it’s very different from most of the ones I’ve had of late. Which, as I explained, have mostly been with trees. They weren’t like this. Except perhaps some of the ones I’ve had with elms which sometimes get a bit bogged down.
Arthur, said Ford.
Hello? Yes? said Arthur.
Just believe everything I tell you, and it will all be very, very simple.
Ah, well I’m not sure I believe that.
They sat down and composed their thoughts.
Ford got out his Sub-Etha Sens-O-Matic. It was making vague humming noises and a tiny light on it was flickering faintly.
Flat battery? said Arthur.
No, said Ford, there is a moving disturbance in the fabric of space-time, an eddy, a pool of instability, and it’s somewhere in our vicinity.
Where?
“你到底听不听？”他愤愤地说。
“我在听啊，”阿瑟说，“不过不知道有没有用。”
福特抓着他睡袍的领边，慢慢地、仔细地、耐心地告诉他，就像自己是电话公司收费员一样。
“有一些……”他说，“由不确定性组成的集合……”他说，“它们处在整个架构里……”他说
阿瑟傻乎乎地望着福特正拉住的睡袍边缘。福特赶在阿瑟说出什么傻话之前继续讲道：
“…也就是时间与空间的架构里。”他说。
“啊，这样。”阿瑟说。
“对，这样。”福特肯定道。
他们俩立在史前地球的这座小山坡上，定定地盯着对方。
“就没了？”阿瑟道。
“它，”福特补充道，“制造了不确定性的集合。”
“它造的？”阿瑟说。他的目光坚定不移。
“它造的。”福特以同样沉静的表情答道。
“很好。”阿瑟道。
“懂了？”福特说，
“没。”阿瑟说。
一段短暂的沉默。
“这次谈话的问题，”阿瑟脸上先是显现出一种沉思般的表情，然后开口道，“就是它跟我以前的那些谈话太不同了。以前那些，正如我刚才所说，大多是跟树的谈话。他们可不像这样。除了有几次，我和榆树的谈话有点不顺畅以外。”
“阿瑟。”福特说。
“嗨？是的？”阿瑟说。
“相信我告诉你的就对了。它们非常非常简单。”
“啊，我不确定能相信这一点。”
两人坐下来，以便理理自己的思路。
福特拿出亚以太自动感应器。这个装置正低沉地嗡嗡着，亮着微弱的一点光。
“没电了？”阿瑟问。
“不是，”福特说，“有个正在移动的时空中的波澜，一个漩子，一个不确定性的集合，就在我们附近。”
“在哪？”
