經典科幻文學:《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?
“你到底聽不聽？”他憤憤地說。
“我在聽啊，”阿瑟說，“不過不知道有沒有用。”
福特抓着他睡袍的領邊，慢慢地、仔細地、耐心地告訴他，就像自己是電話公司收費員一樣。
“有一些……”他說，“由不確定性組成的集合……”他說，“它們處在整個架構裏……”他說
阿瑟傻乎乎地望着福特正拉住的睡袍邊緣。福特趕在阿瑟說出什麼傻話之前繼續講道：
“…也就是時間與空間的架構裏。”他說。
“啊，這樣。”阿瑟說。
“對，這樣。”福特肯定道。
他們倆立在史前地球的這座小山坡上，定定地盯着對方。
“就沒了？”阿瑟道。
“它，”福特補充道，“製造了不確定性的集合。”
“它造的？”阿瑟說。他的目光堅定不移。
“它造的。”福特以同樣沉靜的表情答道。
“很好。”阿瑟道。
“懂了？”福特說，
“沒。”阿瑟說。
一段短暫的沉默。
“這次談話的問題，”阿瑟臉上先是顯現出一種沉思般的表情，然後開口道，“就是它跟我以前的那些談話太不同了。以前那些，正如我剛纔所說，大多是跟樹的談話。他們可不像這樣。除了有幾次，我和榆樹的談話有點不順暢以外。”
“阿瑟。”福特說。
“嗨？是的？”阿瑟說。
“相信我告訴你的就對了。它們非常非常簡單。”
“啊，我不確定能相信這一點。”
兩人坐下來，以便理理自己的思路。
福特拿出亞以太自動感應器。這個裝置正低沉地嗡嗡着，亮着微弱的一點光。
“沒電了？”阿瑟問。
“不是，”福特說，“有個正在移動的時空中的波瀾，一個漩子，一個不確定性的集合，就在我們附近。”
“在哪？”
