经典科幻文学:《生命 宇宙及一切》第2章2
I thought you must be dead… he said simply.
So did I for a while, said Ford, and then I decided I was a lemon for a couple of weeks. A kept myself amused all that time jumping in and out of a gin and tonic.
Arthur cleared his throat, and then did it again.
Where, he said, did you?…
Find a gin and tonic? said Ford brightly. I found a small lake that thought it was a gin and tonic, and jumped in and out of that. At least, I think it thought it was a gin and tonic.
I may, he added with a grin which would have sent sane men scampering into trees, have been imagining it.
He waited for a reaction from Arthur, but Arthur knew better than that.
Carry on, he said levelly.
The point is, you see, said Ford, that there is no point in driving yourself mad trying to stop yourself going mad. You might just as well give in and save your sanity for later.
And this is you sane again, is it? said Arthur. I ask merely for information.
I went to Africa, said Ford.
Yes?
Yes.
What was that like?
And this is your cave, is it? said Ford.
Er, yes, said Arthur. He felt very strange. After nearly four years of total isolation he was so pleased and relieved to see Ford that he could almost cry. Ford was, on the other hand, an almost immediately annoying person.
Very nice, said Ford, in reference to Arthur’s cave. You must hate it.
Arthur didn’t bother to reply.
Africa was very interesting, said Ford, I behaved very oddly there.
He gazed thoughtfully into the distance.
I took up being cruel to animals, he said airily. But only, he added, as a hobby.
Oh yes, said Arthur, warily.
Yes, Ford assured him. I won’t disturb you with the details because they would.
What?
“我以为你一定是死了……”他坦白地说道。
“是的，有一段时间。”福特说，“然后我决定当几个星期的柠檬。跳进一杯杜松子酒加汤力水里，再跳出来，这能让我保持好心情。”
阿瑟清了清嗓子，接着又清了清嗓子。
“你，”他说，“在哪……？”
“找到一杯杜松子酒加汤力水？”福特愉快地说，“我找到了一个小湖，把它当成一杯杜松子酒加汤力水，然后跳进去，再跳出来。至少，我把它想成一杯杜松子酒加汤力水。”
“我可以，”他接着说，带着一种能让一个正常人去撞树的灿烂笑容，“想象它就是。”
他等了一会阿瑟的反应，但阿瑟比他想象的更理解这一切。
“振作点。”他冷静地回答。
“值得注意的是，你瞧，”福特说，“疯狂地努力使自己不要疯掉，这不值得。不如干脆就放弃，还能保持正常呢。”
“你这就叫又正常啦，是吧？”阿瑟说，“我只是咨询一下罢了。”
“我去了非洲。”福特说，
“是吗？”
“是的。”
“那儿怎么样？”
“这么说，这是你的山洞，对吧？”福特说。
“呃，是的。”阿瑟说，他觉得怪怪的。经过了四年的绝对的独处，他是如此高兴、如此宽心能看到福特出现。都快哭出来了。另一方面，福特，却是一个能让人迅速感到恼火的人。
“很不错，”福特说，就阿瑟的山洞发表评论，“你一定很讨厌它。”
阿瑟懒得回答了。
“非洲很有趣，”福特说，“我在那儿搞过一些新玩法。”
他目视远方，充满沉思。
“我曾经乐于残忍地对待动物，”他轻轻地说，“不过仅仅是，”他补充道，“一种爱好，”
“哦，是的。”阿瑟小心翼翼地说。
“是的。”福特肯定道，“我就不用那些细节来困扰你了，因为他们一定会的。”
“什么？”
