第1章 心理史学家
HARI SELDON:……born in the 11,988th year of the Galactic Era; died 12,069. The dates are more commonly given in terms of the current Foundational Era as 79 to the year 1 F.E. Born to middle-class parents on Helicon, Arcturus sector (where his father, in a legend of doubtful authenticity, was a tobacco grower in the hydroponic plants of the planet), he early showed amazing ability in mathematics. Anecdotes concerning his ability are innumerable, and some are contradictory. At the age of two, he is said to have……
哈里·谢顿：……生于银河纪元11988年，卒于12069年。他的生卒年份通常以目前的基地纪元记载，即生于基地纪元前81年，卒于基地元年。谢顿的故乡为大角星区的赫利肯星，父母为中产阶级的平民。（根据不太可靠的传说，谢顿的父亲是该行星水耕区的烟草农夫。）他自幼即显露惊人的数学天分，关于这些天分的传闻轶事不胜枚举，有些甚至互相矛盾。据说他才两岁的时候，就会……
……Undoubtedly his greatest contributions were in the field of psychohistory. Seldon found the field little more than a set of vague axioms; he left it a profound statistical science.......
……谢顿一生最大的贡献，无疑是心理史学的开拓。在他刚接触这门学问的时候，心理史学只是一组含糊的公设。而在谢顿手中，它成为一门深奥的统计科学……
……The best existing authority we have for the details of his life is the biography written by Gaal Dornick who, as a young man, met Seldon two years before the great mathematician's death. The story of the meeting……
……关于谢顿生平的详细记载，目前保有最权威的资料是盖尔·多尼克所写的传记。在这位伟大的数学家去世之前两年，当时仍是年轻人的多尼克才与他结识。关于他们相遇的故事……
ENCYCLOPEDIA GALACTICA*
——《银河百科全书》
*All quotations from the Encyclopedia Galactica here reproduced are taken from the 116th Edition published in 1020 F.E. by the Encyclopedia Galactica Publishing Co., Terminus, with permission of the publishers.
His name Gaal Dornick and he was just a country boy who had never seen Trantor before. That is, not in real life. He had seen it many times on the hyper-video, and occasionally in tremendous three-dimensional newscasts covering and Imperial Coronation or the opening of a Galactic Council.Even though he had lived all his life on the world of Synnax, which circled a star at edges of the Blue Drift, he waw not cut off from civilization, you see. At that time, no place in the Galaxy was.
他名叫盖尔·多尼克，只是一个乡下孩子，以前从未到过川陀。或者应该说，他并没有真正来过。因为盖尔早已通过超波电视熟悉了这座城市；偶尔也会在巨大的三维新闻幕中，观赏皇帝加冕或银河议会揭幕的盛况。因此，虽然他一直住在“蓝移区”边缘的辛纳克斯行星，却完全没有脱离银河的文明。在那个时代，银河中没有任何角落是与世隔绝的。
There were nearly twenty-five million inhabited planets in the Galaxy then, and not one but owed allegiance to the Empire whose seat was on Trantor. It was the last halfcentury in which that could be said.
当时整个银河系中，有将近二千五百万颗住人行星，这些世界全部效忠定都于川陀的银河帝国。不过这个事实只能再维持半个世纪。
To Gaal, this trip was the undoubted climax of his young, scholarly life. He had been in space before so that the trip, as a voyage and nothing more, meant little to him. To be sure, he had traveled previously only as far as Synnax's only satellite in order to get the data on the mechanics of meteor driftage which he needed for his dissertation, but space-travel was all one whether one travelled half a million miles, or as many light years.
对年轻的盖尔而言，这趟旅程无疑是他学术生涯的第一个高峰。他曾经到过太空，因此旅行本身的意义不算太大。事实上，他以前的太空旅行只是前往辛纳克斯唯一的卫星，去搜集陨石漂移的力学数据，用来作为博士论文的材料。话说回来，太空旅行就是太空旅行，近至五十万英里，远至许多光年之外，其实都没有什么差别。
He had steeled himself just a little for the Jump through hyper-space, a phenomenon one did not experience in simple interplanetary trips. The Jump remained, and would probaly remain forever, the only practical method of travelling between the stars. Travel through ordinary space could proceed at no rate more rapid than that of ordinary light(a bit of scientific knowledge that belonged among the items known since the forgotten dawn of human history), and that would have meant years of travel between even the nearest of inhabited systems. Through hyper-space, that unimaginable region that was neither space nor time, matter nor energy, something nor nothing, one could traverse the length of the Galaxy in the interval between two neighboring instants of time.
即将跃迁进入超空间的时候，他已做好心理准备，这将是“行星际旅行”所没有的经验。到目前为止，或许直到永远，“超空间跃迁”是往来恒星间唯一可行的办法。普通空间中的运动，物体的速率永远无法超过光速。（这个科学小常识，在人类历史的黎明期便已被发现。）这就代表，即使在两个最接近的住人星系间来回一趟，也得花上好几年的时间。可是匪夷所思的超空间完全不同，它既非空间又非时间，既非物质又非能量，既非实有又非虚无；经由超空间，人类能在一刹那间穿越银河。
Gaal had waited for the first of those Jumps with a little dread curled gently in his stomach, and it ended in nothing more than a trifling jar, a little internal kick which ceased and instant before he could be sure he had felt it. That was all.
在等待第一次跃迁时，盖尔心中有些恐惧，腹部有轻微打结的感觉。结果在他尚未确定之前，跃迁所带来的一阵轻微震动，以及体内被轻踢一下的感觉便已消失。就是如此而已。
And after that, there was only the ship, large and glistening; the cool production of 12000 years of Imperial progress; and himself, with his doctorate in mathematics freshly obtained and an invitation from the great Hari Seldon to come to Trantor and join the vast and somewhat mysterious Seldon Project.
然后在盖尔意识中，就只剩下这艘闪闪发光的硕大星船，它是帝国整整一万二千年的科技结晶。此外他想到的就是自己，他刚刚获得数学博士学位，带着伟大的谢顿寄来的邀请函，准备前往川陀加入庞大而略带神秘的“谢顿计划”。
What Gaal was waiting for after the disappointment of the Jump was that first sight of Trantor. He haunted the View-room. The steel shutter-lids were rolled back at announced times and he was always there, watching the hard brilliance of the stars, enjoying the incredible hazy swarm of a star cluster, like a giant conglomeration of fire-flies caught in mid-motion and stilled forever, At one time there was the cold, blue-white smoke of a gaseous nebula within five light years of the ship, spreading over the window like distant mild, filling the room with an icy tinge, and disappearing out of sight two hours later, after another Jump.
跃迁的体验令他失望后，盖尔期待的便是川陀的第一眼。他不时跑到观景室，那里的钢质窗盖在特定时段会卷起来。这些时候他都会待在那里，观看繁星闪耀的光辉，欣赏星团展现出难以置信的朦胧，好像一大群萤火虫永远禁锢在一处。有一阵子，星船周遭五光年范围内布满寒冷、蓝白色的气体星云，像牛奶一般散布在玻璃窗上，为观景室带来一丝寒意。两小时后，星船又做了一次跃迁，那些云气立时消失无踪。
The first of Trantor's sun was that of a hrad, white speck all but lost in a myriad such, and recognizable only because it was pointed out by the ship's guide. The stars were thick here near the Galactic center. But with each Jump, it shone more brightly, drowning out the rest, paling them and thinning them out.
川陀的太阳首次出现的时候，看起来只是一个明亮的白点，若不是星船上的向导指点，根本无法从无数类似的星体中分辨出来。这里接近银河的核心，恒星分布得特别稠密。星船每跃迁一次，那颗恒星就显得更明亮一点，从众恒星中脱颖而出，而其他恒星则愈来愈黯淡稀薄。
An officer came through and said,"View-room will be close for the remainder of the trip. Prepare for landing."
一位高级船员走进来，对乘客说：“我们即将着陆，观景室必须关闭了。”
Gaal had followed after, clutching at the sleeve of the white uniform with the Spaceing-and-Sun of the Empire on it.
盖尔尾随着那位船员，拉了拉船员白色制服的袖子——制服上绣着帝国“星舰与太阳”的国徽。
He said,"Would it be possible to let me stay? I would like to see Trantor."
盖尔说：“能不能让我留下来？我想看看川陀。”
The officer smiled and Gaal flushed a bit. It occurred to hime that he spoke with a provincial accent.
船员对他微微一笑。盖尔有些脸红，他忽然想到自己说话带有乡下口音。
The officer said."We'll be landing on Trantor by morning."
船员说：“我们准备早上在川陀降落。”
"I mean I want to see it from Space."
“我是说，我想从太空中看看川陀。”
"Oh, Sorry, my boy. If this were a space-yacht we might manage it. But we're spinning down, sunside. You wouldn't want to be blinded, burnt, and radiation-scarred all at the same time, would you?"
“喔，抱歉，孩子。如果这是一艘太空游艇，我们就能帮你安排。但是我们将从‘日照面’盘旋而下，你总不希望被太阳灼伤、弄瞎，而且被放射线烧得体无完肤吧？”
Gaal started to walk away.
盖尔只好乖乖走开。
The officer called after hime,"Trantor would only be gray blur anyway, Kid. Why don't you take a space-tour once you hit Trantor. They're cheap."
那位船员却在后面叫住他。“别失望，反正从这里看下去，川陀只是灰蒙蒙的一团。等你抵达川陀后，再去参加太空旅行团吧，很便宜的。”
Gaal looked back,"Thank you very much."
盖尔转过头来。“非常感谢您。”
It was childish to feel disappointed, but childishness comes almost as naturally to a man as to a child, and there was a lump in Gaal's throat. He had never seen Trantor spread out in all its incredibility, as large as life, and he hadn't expected to have to wait longer.
为这种事感到失望实在有点孩子气，但孩子气一样会出现在成人身上，盖尔感到喉咙有些哽咽。他从未看过整个川陀的壮丽景观，没想到还要多等一些时间才能如愿。
The ship landed in a medley of noises. There was the far-off hiss of the atmosphere cutting and sliding past the metal of the ship. There was the steady drone of the conditioners fighting the heat of friction, and the slower rumble of the engines enforcing deceleration. There was the humansound of men and women gathering in the debarkation rooms and the grind of the hoists lifting baggage, mail, and freight to the long axis of the ship,from which they would be later moved along to the unloading platform.
星船在闹哄哄的噪音中降落。金属船身切入大气层擦出嘶嘶声；舱内冷气努力对抗摩擦产生的高热，发出稳定而单调的嗡嗡声；在星船减速时，发动机则传出慢节奏的隆隆声。此外还有登陆室中鼎沸的人声，以及起重机吊运行李、邮件、货物所发出的嘎嘎声。所有的物件都集中在船身中轴，准备等一下传送到卸货月台上。
Gaal felt the slight jar that indicated the ship no longer had an independent motion of its own. Ship's gravity had been giving way toplanetary gravity for hours. Thousands of passengers had been sitting patiently in the debarkation rooms which swung easily on yielding force-fields to accommodate its orientation to the changing direction ofthe gravitational forces. Now they were crawling down curving ramps to thelarge, yawning locks.
盖尔感到一下轻微的震荡，这代表星船关掉了自身的动力，舱内的人工重力也逐渐被行星的重力所取代。刚才的降落过程中，登陆室在人工力场作用下轻轻摇摆，以便在变化的重力间调整方向，数千名旅客都耐心地坐在摇篮般的登陆室中。现在，他们终于能够沿着弯曲的坡道，缓缓挤进一个敞开的巨大气闸了。
Gaal's baggage was minor. He stood at a desk, as it was quickly and expertly taken apart and put together again. His visa was inspected and stamped. He himself paid no attention.
盖尔没有太多的行李。他来到入关处，海关将他的行李迅速而熟练地拆开又装好，然后检查签证并盖章。盖尔有些心不在焉，并未留意这些过程。
This was Trantor! The air seemed a little thicker here, the gravity a bit greater, than on his home planet of Synnax, but he would get used to that. He wondered if he would get used to immensity.
这就是川陀！跟他的家乡辛纳克斯行星比起来，空气似乎浓稠些，重力好像也大了点，但他很快就会习惯的。不过他却怀疑，自己能否习惯川陀的磅礴硕大。
Debarkation Building was tremendous. The roof was almost lost in the heights. Gaal could almost imagine that clouds could form beneath its immensity. He could see no opposite wall; just men and desks and converging floor till it faded out in haze.
入境大厦就是一座硕大无比的建筑物，屋顶简直就在视线之外。盖尔几乎能想象它高耸入云的样子。他甚至看不到对面的墙壁；放眼望去只见汹涌的人潮、无数的办公桌，而地板则在眼前不断延伸，交汇点消失在远方。
The man at the desk was speaking again. He sounded annoyed. He said, "Move on, Dornick." He had to open the visa, look again, before he remembered the name.
海关再度开口，显得有点不耐烦。他说：“走吧，多尼克先生。”他必须打开签证再看一眼，才能叫出盖尔的名字。
Gaal said, "Where? where?
盖尔问道：“哪里……往哪里走？”
The man at the desk jerked a thumb, "Taxis to the right and third left."
海关用大拇指比画了一下。“搭计程飞车就往右走，在第三个通道左转。”
Gaal moved, seeing the glowing twists of air suspended high in nothingness and reading, "TAXIS TO ALL POINTS."
盖尔走了几步，便看见高处凭空出现几个闪亮的大字：“通往各地的计程飞车”。
A figure detached itself from anonymity and stopped at the desk, as Gaal left. The man at the desk looked up and nodded briefly. The figure nodded in return and followed the young immigrant.
盖尔离开海关后，立刻有一个人走过来。海关抬头看了看，便向那人轻轻点了点头。那人也向海关点头示意，便跟着盖尔这位年轻旅客走了。
He was in time to hear Gaal's destination.
他及时听见了盖尔的目的地。
Gaal found himself hard against a railing.
盖尔站在栏杆前不知所措。
The small sign said, "Supervisor." The man to whom the sign referred did not look up. He said, "Where to?"
旁边有个写着“管理员”的标志牌。应该是管理员的那个人并未抬头，只是问道：“去哪里？”
Gaal wasn't sure, but even a few seconds hesitation meant men queuing inline behind him.
盖尔不确定，但就在他犹豫的这几秒钟，后面就排了一条长龙。
The Supervisor looked up, "Where to?"
管理员终于抬起头来。“去哪里？”
Gaal's funds were low, but there was only this one night and then he would have a job. He tried to sound nonchalant, "A good hotel, please."
盖尔没带多少旅费，但是只要熬过今晚，明天他就有工作了。他试着以平静的口吻说：“请帮我找一家高级旅馆。”
The Supervisor was unimpressed, "They're all good. Name one."
管理员却不吃这一套。“都是高级旅馆，你要指明一家。”
Gaal said, desperately, "The nearest one, please."
盖尔无可奈何地说：“请给我最近的一家吧。”
The Supervisor touched a button. A thin line of light formed along the floor, twisting among others which brightened and dimmed in different colors and shades. A ticket was shoved into Gaal's hands. It glowed faintly.
管理员按了一个按钮。地板上出现一条细长光束，加入由各种色彩、明暗各异的光线织成的光网。他又将一张票塞进盖尔手里，这张票竟然也微微发光。
The Supervisor said, "One point twelve."
管理员说：“票价1.12信用点。”
Gaal fumbled for the coins. He said, "Where do I go?"
盖尔一面摸着零钱，一面问：“我该往哪里走？”
Follow the light. The ticket will keep glowing as long as you're pointed in the tight direction.
“沿着这条光线走。只要你的方向正确，票就会一直发亮。”
Gaal looked up and began walking. There were hundreds creeping across the vast floor, following their individual trails, sifting and straining themselves through intersection points to arrive at their respective destinations.
盖尔抬头看了看，便开步向前走。大厅中至少有数百人，全都沿着自己的光线小心翼翼地前进。每次遇到两条光线的交叉口，人人都要辛苦地精挑细选一番，才能摸索到各自的目的地。
His own trail ended. A man in glaring blue and yellow uniform, shining andnew in unstainable plasto-textile, reached for his two bags.
盖尔走到自己这条路的尽头，面前出现一名穿着蓝黄相间制服的司机，他的制服是用永不污损的塑料制成，看来笔挺如新、色泽鲜艳。司机一把抓起盖尔的两件行李。
"Direct line to the Luxor," he said.
“直达豪华旅馆。”司机说。
The man who followed Gaal heard that. He also heard Gaal say, "Fine," andwatched him enter the blunt-nosed vehicle.
跟踪盖尔的人刚好听到这句话，还听到盖尔回答的那声“好”，并且目击盖尔钻进扁圆的计程飞车。
The taxi lifted straight up. Gaal stared out the curved, transparentwindow, marvelling at the sensation of airflight within an enclosedstructure and clutching instinctively at the back of the driver's seat. Thevastness contracted and the people became ants in random distribution. Thescene contracted further and began to slide backward.
计程飞车垂直升起。盖尔从弧形的透明玻璃窗往外看，在封闭结构中飞行的感觉令他惊叹不已，他不自觉地抓住驾驶座的椅背。巨大的景物很快就缩小了，人们变成零乱分布的小蚂蚁。景物继续缩小，随即迅速向后方挪动。
There was a wall ahead. It began high in the air and extended upward out ofsight. It was riddled with holes that were the mouths of tunnels. Gaal'staxi moved toward one then plunged into it. For a moment, Gaal wonderedidly how his driver could pick out one among so many.
不久前方出现了一堵巨墙，它飘浮在半空中，顶端延伸到目力远不可及的天空。墙上有无数小孔，每个小孔都是一条隧道的入口。他们的飞车向其中一个小孔接近，然后一头钻了进去。盖尔万分不解，想不通司机是怎么选择正确入口的。
There was now only blackness, with nothing but the past-flashing of acolored signal light to relieve the gloom. The air was full of a rushingsound.
隧道内一片漆黑，只有一个越退越远的彩色交通标志，勉强驱走幽暗的气氛。周遭则充满了飞车划破空气的噪音。
Gaal leaned forward against deceleration then and the taxi popped out ofthe tunnel and descended to ground-level once more.
当飞车减速时，盖尔不自主向前倾。接着飞车便钻出隧道，重新回到地面。
"The Luxor Hotel," said the driver, unnecessarily. He helped Gaal with hisbaggage, accepted a tenth-credit tip with a businesslike air, picked up awaiting passenger, and was rising again.
“豪华旅馆到了。”司机多此一举地说，然后很有效率地帮盖尔取出行李，并收了0.1信用点的小费，马上载着另一位客人升空了。
In all this, from the moment of debarkation, there had been no glimpse of sky.
从登陆到现在，盖尔还没有瞥见天空。
TRANTOR?..At the beginning of the thirteenth millennium, this tendencyreached its climax. As the center of the Imperial Government for unbrokenhundreds of generations and located, as it was, toward the central regionsof the Galaxy among the most densely populated and industrially advancedworlds of the system, it could scarcely help being the densest and richestclot of humanity the Race had ever seen.
川陀：……在银河帝国第十三个仟年之初，这个趋势达到顶峰。它是帝国政府的中心，数百代未曾间断。川陀位于银河的核心区域，周围都是人口最稠密、工业最发达的世界，因此自然而然变成人类历史上最密集、最富庶的社群。
Its urbanization, progressing steadily, had finally reached the ultimate.
都会化的过程不断地稳定发展，最后终于达到极限。
All the land surface of Trantor, 75,000,000 square miles in extent, was asingle city. The population, at its height, was well in excess of fortybillions. This enormous population was devoted almost entirely to theadministrative necessities of Empire, and found themselves all too few forthe complications of the task. (It is to be remembered that theimpossibility of proper administration of the Galactic Empire under theuninspired leadership of the later Emperors was a considerable factor inthe Fall.) Daily, fleets of ships in the tens of thousands brought theproduce of twenty agricultural worlds to the dinner tables of Trantor....
川陀表面的陆地面积总共七千五百万平方英里，发展成了一个单一的城市。人口最多的时候，超过四百亿之众。这么庞大的人口，几乎都是为了应付帝国行政上的需要，即使如此，仍不足以应付帝国的庞杂行政工作。（别忘了，末期几位平庸的皇帝无法有效管理银河帝国，正是帝国覆亡的一大原因。）为了供应川陀居民口腹之需，每天都有数以万计的太空船队，负责载送来自二十个农业世界的粮食……
Its dependence upon the outer worlds for food and, indeed, for allnecessities of life, made Trantor increasingly vulnerable to conquest bysiege. In the last millennium of the Empire, the monotonously numerousrevolts made Emperor after Emperor conscious of this, and Imperial policybecame little more than the protection of Trantor's delicate jugularvein....
由于川陀依靠其他世界供应粮食，甚至所有的民生用品，它越来越容易以包围的手段征服之。在帝国的最后仟年，从未止歇的叛乱使每位皇帝都警觉到这个危机，保护川陀纤弱的颈动脉遂成了帝国的首要政策……
ENCYCLOPEDIA GALACTICA
——《银河百科全书》
Gaal was not certain whether the sun shone, or, for that matter, whether itwas day or night. He was ashamed to ask. All the planet seemed to livebeneath metal. The meal of which he had just partaken had been labelledluncheon, but there were many planets which lived a standard timescale thattook no account of the perhaps inconvenient alternation of day and night. The rate of planetary turnings differed, and he did not know that ofTrantor.
盖尔不确定现在有没有太阳，甚至不晓得现在是白天还是黑夜，他却羞于启齿问人。整颗行星就像包了一层金属外皮。他刚用过的一餐，上面标明是“午膳”，但如今有许多行星都不管日夜颠倒之类的不便，一律使用银河标准时间。每颗行星的自转速率不尽相同，而他还不知道川陀的正确速率。
At first, he had eagerly followed the signs to the "Sun Room" and found itbut a chamber for basking in artificial radiation. He lingered a moment ortwo, then returned to the Luxor's main lobby.
刚才他还兴致勃勃地循着路标，找到那间所谓的“太阳室”，却发现那里只提供人工辐射日光浴。他只在里面逗留了一会儿，便回到旅馆的大厅。
He said to the room clerk, "Where can I buy a ticket for a planetary tour?"
他问旅馆的职员说：“我在哪里可以参加环球游览？”
Right here.
“就在这里。”
When will it start?
“什么时候出发？”
"You just missed it. Another one tomorrow. Buy a ticket now and we'll reserve a place for you."
“您刚错过一班，不过明天还有。如果现在买票，就会帮您保留一个位子。”
"Oh." Tomorrow would be too late. He would have to be at the Universitytomorrow. He said, "There wouldn't be an observation tower ?or something? I mean, in the open air."
“喔。”明天来不及了，因为明天他必须到川陀大学报到。他又问：“这里有没有观景塔什么的？我的意思是，那种露天建筑物。”
"Sure! Sell you a ticket for that, if you want. Better let me check if it'sraining or not." He closed a contact at his elbow and read the flowingletters that raced across a frosted screen. Gaal read with him.
“当然有！如果您想去，这里也可以买票。最好让我先看看上面有没有下雨。”职员按下手肘旁的一个开关，毛玻璃屏幕上便出现流动的字体。盖尔和他一起盯着看。
The room clerk said, "Good weather. Come to think of it, I do believe it'sthe dry season now." He added, conversationally, "I don't bother with theoutside myself. The last time I was in the open was three years ago. Yousee it once, you know and that's all there is to it. Here's your ticket.
职员说：“好天气。我想起来了，现在应该正是干季。”他又滔滔不绝地说：“我自己懒得到外面去，上次到户外还是三年前的事。你只要看一次，明白那是怎么回事就够了——这是您的票，专用电梯在后面。电梯上写着‘直达高塔’，搭上就没错。”
Special elevator in the rear. It's marked 'To the Tower.' Just take it."The elevator was of the new sort that ran by gravitic repulsion. Gaalentered and others flowed in behind him. The operator closed a contact. Fora moment, Gaal felt suspended in space as gravity switched to zero, andthen he had weight again in small measure as the elevator acceleratedupward. Deceleration followed and his feet left the floor. He squawked against his will.
那部电梯是最新型的，借着反重力装置推动。盖尔走了进去，其他乘客也鱼贯而入。操作员按下一个开关，电梯内的重力就完全消失，有那么一会儿，盖尔感觉自己浮在空中。等到电梯开始加速，他才又感觉到一点重量。可是电梯减速的时候，他真的从地板上飘了起来，令他忍不住哇哇大叫起来。
The operator called out, "Tuck your feet under the railing. Can't you readthe sign?"
操作员吼道：“把脚塞进栏条底下，你看不懂指示标志吗？”
The others had done so. They were smiling at him as he madly and vainlytried to clamber back down the wall. Their shoes pressed upward against thechromium of the railings that stretched across the floor in parallels settwo feet apart. He had noticed those railings on entering and had ignoredthem.
其他人都没有犯这个错误。当盖尔拼命想爬回来，却又做不到的时候，众人对他露出同情的笑容。原来电梯地板上装有许多平行的金属管，每根相隔两英尺，其他乘客都用脚顶在这些镀铬的栏条上。进电梯的时候，他其实看到了这些栏条，只是完全没有放在心上。
Then a hand reached out and pulled him down.
还好有一只手伸出来，及时把他拉回地板。
He gasped his thanks as the elevator came to a halt.
当电梯停下时，盖尔一面喘气一面道谢。
He stepped out upon an open terrace bathed in a white brilliance that hurlhis eyes. The man, whose helping hand he had just now been the recipientof, was immediately behind him.
走出电梯便是一个露天平台，白晃晃的光线令他的眼睛很不舒服。在电梯中向他伸出援手的那个人，此时正紧跟在他后面。
The man said, kindly, "Plenty of seats."
那人以亲切的口吻说：“这里座位很多。”
Gaal closed his mouth; he had been gaping; and said, "It certainly seemsso." He started for them automatically, then stopped.
一直大口喘气的盖尔赶紧合上嘴巴，然后说：“当然，看来没错。”他下意识地要找个座位，却忽然停下来。
He said, "If you don't mind, I'll just stop a moment at the railing. I ?I want to look a bit."
“你不介意的话，我想在栏杆这里站一下。我……我想多看点风景。”他说。
The man waved him on, good-naturedly, and Gaal leaned out over theshoulder-high railing and bathed himself in all the panorama.
那人和蔼地对他挥挥手，盖尔便靠在齐肩高的栏杆上，尽情饱览四处的风光。
He could not see the ground. It was lost in the ever increasingcomplexities of man-made structures. He could see no horizon other thanthat of metal against sky, stretching out to almost uniform grayness, andhe knew it was so over all the land-surface of the planet. There wasscarcely any motion to be seen ? a few pleasure-craft lazed against thesky-but all the busy traffic of billions of men were going on, he knew,beneath the metal skin of the world.
但是他无法看到地面，地面早已被越来越复杂的人工建筑吞没。他也看不见地平线，眼前只有一大片灰蒙蒙的金属与天际接壤，而他知道这颗行星表面处处是同样的景观。放眼望去，几乎是一幅静止的画面——只有几艘旅游飞船懒洋洋地飘浮在天空。盖尔当然晓得，这个世界有着上百亿熙来攘往的忙碌众生，只是他们都生活在巨大的金属外层之下。
There was no green to be seen; no green, no soil, no life other than man.
极目眺望也没有任何绿色的景致，没有植物，没有土壤，也没有人类之外的生物。
Somewhere on the world, he realized vaguely, was the Emperor's palace, setamid one hundred square miles of natural soil, green with trees, rainbowedwith flowers. It was a small island amid an ocean of steel, but it wasn'tvisible from where he stood. It might be ten thousand miles away. He did not know.
他依稀记得，皇宫就在这个世界的某个角落，周围有一百平方英里的自然土壤，那里绿意盎然，花团锦簇。那是钢铁之洋中唯一的孤岛，可惜从这里看不见。也许远在万里之外吧，他也不确定。
Before very long, he must have his tour!
不久之后，他一定要做一次环球旅行！
He sighed noisily, and realized finally that he was on Trantor at last; onthe planet which was the center of all the Galaxy and the kernel of thehuman race. He saw none of its weaknesses. He saw no ships of food landing. He was not aware of a jugular vein delicately connecting the forty billionof Trantor with the rest of the Galaxy. He was conscious only of themightiest deed of man; the complete and almost contemptuously finalconquest of a world.
他大声叹了一口气，终于意识到自己已经抵达川陀。这颗行星是银河的中枢、人类的中心。他还完全看不到川陀的弱点：他没看到载运食物的船只起落；他不知道有个纤弱的颈动脉，联系着川陀四百亿人口与其他世界。他只能体会到人类最伟大的功业，那就是完完全全、近乎傲慢地征服了整个行星。
He came away a little blank-eyed. His friend of the elevator was indicatinga seat next to himself and Gaal took it.
他离开栏杆，心中有几分迷惘。刚才结识的那个人指了指旁边的椅子，盖尔坐了下去。
The man smiled. "My name is Jerril. First time on Trantor?"
那人微微一笑。“我叫杰瑞尔。你第一次来川陀吗？”
Yes, Mr. Jerril.
“是的，杰瑞尔先生。”
Thought so. Jerril's my first name. Trantor gets you if you've got thepoetic temperament. Trantorians never come up here, though. They don't like it. Gives them nerves.
“我想也是。杰瑞尔是我的名字，不是姓。如果你具有诗人气质，川陀会令你着迷的。不过，川陀人从不会到这里来。他们不喜欢这种地方，会令他们神经过敏。”
Nerves! ?My name's Gaal, by the way. Why should it give them nerves? It's glorious.
“神经过敏！喔，我叫盖尔。为什么这里会让他们神经过敏？这里简直壮丽无比。”
"Subjective matter of opinion, Gaal. If you're born in a cubicle and growup in a corridor, and work in a cell, and vacation in a crowded sun-room,then coming up into the open with nothing but sky over you might just giveyou a nervous breakdown. They make the children come up here once a year,after they're five. I don't know if it does any good. They don't get enoughof it, really, and the first few times they scream themselves intohysteria. They ought to start as soon as they're weaned and have the triponce a week."
“盖尔，这都是主观的想法。假如你在斗室中出生，在回廊中长大，又整天在密不通风的房间里工作，假日只会去人挤人的太阳室，那么一旦来到这个开阔的空间，头上除了天空什么也没有，你就很可能神经衰弱。本地人在子女满五岁之后，每年都会带他们上来一次，我不知道这样做有没有好处，不过我认为真的不够。小孩子前几次来，每次都会尖叫到歇斯底里。他们应该早在断奶后就来，而且每星期来一次。”
He went on, "Of course, it doesn't really matter. What if they never comeout at all? They're happy down there and they run the Empire. How high updo you think we are?"d naive.
他继续说：“当然啦，这并不重要。他们一辈子不出来又怎样？他们喜欢躲在里面，高高兴兴管理着帝国。你猜这里有多高？”
He said, "Half a mile?" and wondered if that sounde
盖尔答道：“半英里吧？”他担心猜得太离谱。
"It must have, for Jerril chuckled a little. He said, "No. Just five hundred feet."
想必真的很离谱，因为杰瑞尔轻笑了一下。他说：“不，只有五百英尺。”
"What? But the elevator took about…… ?
“什么？但是电梯走了有……”
"I know. But most of the time it was just getting up to ground level. Trantor is tunneled over a mile down. It's like an iceberg. Nine-tenths of it is out of sight. It even works itself out a few miles into the sub-oceansoil at the shorelines. In fact, we're down so low that we can make use of the temperature difference between ground level and a couple of miles under to supply us with all the energy we need. Did you know that?"
“我知道，不过时间大多花在升到地表的过程。川陀这个城市已经向下发展到一英里深。它就像冰山一样，十分之九都看不见。海岸线附近的海底，甚至向下挖了好几英里。事实上，这种深度足以让我们利用地表和地底的温差，提供我们所需的一切能源。这你知道吗？”
No, I thought you used atomic generators.
“不知道，我以为你们都用核能发电。”
"Did once. But this is cheaper."
“以前用过，但是这种能源比较便宜。”
"I imagine so."
“我也这么想。”
"What do you think of it all?" For a moment, the man's good nature evaporated into shrewdness. He looked almost sly.
“你对川陀的整体印象如何？”一时之间，杰瑞尔的和蔼转为精明，看起来几乎还有点狡猾。
Gaal fumbled. "Glorious," he said, again.
盖尔搜索枯肠，最后还是再说了一遍：“壮丽无比。”
"Here on vacation? Traveling? Sight-seeing?"
“你来这儿度假？还是观光旅行？”
No exactly. At least, I've always wanted to visit Trantor but I came hereprimarily for a job.
“都不算——我一直很想来川陀看看，不过我这次来，主要是为了一份工作。”
"Oh?"
“哦？”
Gaal felt obliged to explain further, With Dr. Seldon's project at the University of Trantor."
盖尔觉得应该解释得更清楚些。“我是来川陀大学，加入谢顿博士的研究计划。”
"Raven Seldon?"
“乌鸦嘴谢顿？”
"Why, no. The one I mean is Hari Seldon. -The psychohistorian Seldon. I don't know of any Raven Seldon."
“啊，不，我是说哈里·谢顿——那位着名的心理史学家。我不认识你说的那位谢顿。”
"Hari's the one I mean. They call him Raven. Slang, you know. He keeps predicting disaster."
“我说的就是哈里·谢顿，大家都叫他乌鸦嘴。那是他的绰号，知道吧，因为他一直在预测灾难。”
"He does? Gaal was genuinely astonished."
“是吗？”盖尔十分震惊。
"Surely, you must know." Jerril was not smiling. "You're coming to work for him, aren't you?"
“你不可能不知道。”杰瑞尔并未露出丝毫笑容，“你不是来跟他工作的吗？”
"Well, yes, I'm a mathematician. Why does he predict disaster? What kind ofdisaster?"
“喔，没错，我是一个数学家。他为什么要预测灾难呢？什么样的灾难？”
"What kind would you think?"
“你猜是什么样的灾难？”
"I'm afraid I wouldn't have the least idea. I've read the papers Dr. Seldonand his group have published. They're on mathematical theory.
“只怕我一点概念也没有。我读过谢顿博士以及他的同僚发表的论文，内容都是数学理论。”
"Yes, the ones they publish."
“没错，你指的是他们发表的那些。”
Gaal felt annoyed. He said, "I think I'll go to my room now. Very pleasedto have met you."
盖尔有点烦了，他说：“非常高兴认识你，我想回房间去了。”
Jerril waved his arm indifferently in farewell.
杰瑞尔随便挥了挥手，算是与盖尔道别。
Gaal found a man waiting for him in his room. For a moment, he was toostartled to put into words the inevitable, "What are you doing here?" thatcame to his lips.
盖尔发现自己的房间里竟然有一个人。一时之间，他由于太过惊讶，一句“你在这里干什么？”到了嘴边却说不出口。
The man rose. He was old and almost bald and he walked with a limp, but hiseyes were very bright and blue.
那人缓缓起身。他的年纪很大，头顶几乎全秃，还跛着一只脚。然而他双眼湛蓝、炯炯有神。
He said, "I am Hari Seldon," an instant before Gaal's befuddled brainplaced the face alongside the memory of the many times he had seen it in pictures.
他说：“我是哈里·谢顿。”盖尔充满困惑的大脑，这时也刚好将面前这个人，与记忆中那个熟悉的影像摆在一起。
PSYCHOHISTORY?..Gaal Dornick, using nonmathematical concepts, has definedpsychohistory to be that branch of mathematics which deals with thereactions of human conglomerates to fixed social and economic stimuli.......
心理史学：……盖尔·多尼克使用非数学的普通概念，将心理史学定义成数学的一支，它专门处理人类群体对特定的社会与经济刺激所产生的反应……
Implicit in all these definitions is the assumption that the humanconglomerate being dealt with is sufficiently large for valid statisticaltreatment. The necessary size of such a conglomerate may be determined bySeldon's First Theorem which ... A further necessary assumption is that thehuman conglomerate be itself unaware of psychohistoric analysis in orderthat its reactions be truly random ...
在各个定义中都隐含一个假设，亦即作为研究对象的人类，总数必须大到足以用统计方法来处理。群体数目的下限，可由“谢顿第一定理”决定……此外还有一个必要的假设，就是群体中无人知晓本身已是心理史学的分析样本，如此才能确保一切反应皆为真正随机……
The basis of all valid psychohistory lies in the development of the Seldon. Functions which exhibit properties congruent to those of such social andeconomic forces as ...
心理史学成功的基础，在于“谢顿函数”的发展与应用。这些函数表现的性质，全等于社会与经济力量的……
ENCYCLOPEDIA GALACTICA
——《银河百科全书》
"Good afternoon, sir," said Gaal. "I...I…"
“午安，博士。”盖尔说，“我……我……”
"You didn't think we were to meet before tomorrow? Ordinarily, we would not have. It is just that if we are to use your services, we must work quickly. It grows continually more difficult to obtain recruits."
“你没想到我们今天就会见面吧？在正常情况下，我们不必急着碰头。但是现在，假如我们想雇用你，就必须尽快行动。如今找人可是越来越不容易了。”
I don't understand, sir.
“博士，我不明白。”
You were talking to a man on the observation tower, were you not?
“你刚才在观景塔上跟一个人聊天，对不对？”
Yes. His first name is Jerril. I know no more about him.
“没错，他叫杰瑞尔。除此之外我对他一无所知。”
His name is nothing. He is an agent of the Commission of Public Safety. He followed you from the space-port.
“他的名字没有任何意义。他是公共安全委员会的人，从太空航站一路跟踪你到这里。”
But why? I am afraid I am very confused.
“但是为什么呢？只怕我越来越糊涂了。”
Did the man on the tower say nothing about me?
“那人没有对你提到我吗？”
Gaal hesitated, "He referred to you as Raven Seldon."
盖尔有些犹豫。“他管您叫乌鸦嘴谢顿。”
Did he say why?
“他有没有说为什么？”
He said you predict disaster.
“他说您总是预测灾难。”
I do. What does Trantor mean to you?
“我的确如此——川陀对你有什么意义？”
Everyone seemed to be asking his opinion of Trantor. Gaal felt incapable of response beyond the bare word, "Glorious."
好像每个人都会问他对川陀的感想。盖尔实在想不出其他的形容词，于是又说一遍：“壮丽无比。”
You say that without thinking. What of psychohistory?
“那是你的直觉印象。如果改用心理史学呢？”
I haven't thought of applying it to the problem.
“我从来没想过用它来分析这种问题。”
"Before you are done with me, young man, you will learn to apply psychohistory to all problems as a matter of course. Observe……" Seldon removed his calculator pad from the pouch at his belt. Men said he kept onebeneath his pillow for use in moments of wakefulness. Its gray, glossyfinish was slightly worn by use. Seldon's nimble fingers, spotted now withage, played along the files and rows of buttons that filled its surface. Red symbols glowed out from the upper tier.
“年轻人，在我们的合作结束之前，你就会学到用心理史学来分析所有的问题，而且会视为理所当然。注意看——”谢顿从挂在腰带上的随身囊中取出一台电算笔记板。传说他在枕头底下也摆了一台，以便突然醒来时随手取用。现在他手中这一台，原本灰色光亮的外表已稍有磨损。谢顿的手指已经起了老人斑，却仍然能在密集的按键间敏捷地舞动。位于电算板上方的显示屏，立刻出现许多红色的符号。
He said, "That represents the condition of the Empire at present."He waited.
谢顿说：“这代表帝国目前的状况。”然后他开始等待。
Gaal said finally, "Surely that is not a complete representation."
盖尔终于说：“但这当然不是一个完整的表现。”
"No, not complete," said Seldon.
“没错，并不完整。”谢顿说。
"I am glad you do not accept my wordblindly. However, this is an approximation which will serve to demonstratethe proposition. Will you accept that?"
“我很高兴你没有盲目接受我的话。然而，这个近似表现足以示范我的命题。这点你接受吗？”
"Subject to my later verification of the derivation of the function, yes."Gaal was carefully avoiding a possible trap.
“接受，但我等会儿还得验证函数的推导过程。”盖尔很小心地避免可能的陷阱。
"Good. Add to this the known probability of Imperial assassination,viceregal revolt, the contemporary recurrence of periods of economicdepression, the declining rate of planetary explorations, the. ...."
“很好。让我们把其他因素的已知几率都加进去，包括皇帝遇刺、总督叛变、当代经济萧条的周期性循环、行星开发率的滑落……”
He proceeded. As each item was mentioned, new symbols sprang to life at histouch, and melted into the basic function which expanded and changed.
谢顿进行着计算。他每提到一个因素，就会有新的符号出现在显示屏上，然后融入原先的函数，使得函数不断地扩充与改变。
Gaal stopped him only once. "I don't see the validity of thatset-transformation."
盖尔只打断他一次。“我不懂这个‘集合变换’为什么成立？”
Seldon repeated it more slowly.
谢顿以更慢的速度示范了一遍。
Gaal said, "But that is done by way of a forbidden sociooperation."
盖尔又说：“但是这种做法，是理论所禁止的‘社会运算’。”
"Good. You are quick, but not yet quick enough. It is not forbidden in thisconnection. Let me do it by expansions."
“很好。你的反应很快，可是仍然不够快。在这种情况下，可以允许这样做。让我用展开式再做一遍。”
The procedure was much longer and at its end, Gaal said, humbly, "Yes, I see now."
这回过程变得很长，等到算完之后，盖尔谦逊地说：“对，我现在懂了。”
Finally, Seldon stopped. "This is Trantor three centuries from now. How doyou interpret that? Eh?" He put his head to one side and waited.
谢顿终于停下来。“这是三个世纪以后的川陀。你要如何解释？啊？”他侧过头去，等着盖尔回答。
Gaal said, unbelievingly, "Total destruction! But ?but that is impossible. Trantor has never been ?"
盖尔感到不可置信。“完全毁灭！但是……但是这绝不可能。川陀从来没有……”
Seldon was filled with the intense excitement of a man whose body only hadgrown old. "Come, come. You saw how the result was arrived at. Put it intowords. Forget the symbolism for a moment."
谢顿突然既激动又兴奋，一点也不像个老态龙钟的老人。“说啊，说啊。你已经看到了导致这个结果的过程。现在用口语说出来，暂且忘掉数学符号。”
Gaal said, "As Trantor becomes more specialized, it be comes more vulnerable, less able to defend itself. Further, as it becomes more and more the administrative center of Empire, it becomes a greater prize. As the Imperial succession becomes more and more uncertain, and the feuds among the great families more rampant, social responsibility disappears. "
盖尔说：“当川陀变得越来越专门化，也就变得越来越脆弱，越来越无法自卫。此外，它越发是帝国的行政中心，也就成了首要的觊觎之的。随着帝位的继承越来越不确定，以及大世族间的摩擦越来越剧烈，社会责任感也就消失了。”
"Enough. And what of the numerical probability of total destruction within three centuries?"
“够了。川陀在三个世纪内完全毁灭的几率是多少？”
I couldn't tell.
“我看不出来。”
"Surely you can perform a field-differentiation?"
“你一定会做‘场微分’吧？”
Gaal felt himself under pressure. He was not offered the calculator pad. Itwas held a foot from his eyes. He calculated furiously and felt his forehead grow slick with sweat.
盖尔感受到明显的压力，但是谢顿并未将电算板递给他，他的眼睛离电算板有一英尺之遥。他只好拼命心算，不一会儿前额就冒汗了。
He said, "About 85%?"
最后他说：“大约85％？”
Not bad, said Seldon, thrusting out a lower lip, "but not good. Theactual figure is 92.5%."
“不坏，”谢顿努着下唇，“但也不能算好。正确的数值是92.5％。”
Gaal said, "And so you are called Raven Seldon? I have seen none of this in the journals."
盖尔说：“这就是他们叫您乌鸦嘴的原因？在学术期刊中，我从来没读到过这些。”
But of course not. This is unprintable. Do you suppose the Imperium couldexpose its shakiness in this manner. That is a very simple demonstration inpsychohistory. But some of our results have leaked out among the aristocracy.
“你当然读不到，这是不能发表的。你想，帝国怎么可能让这种动摇的倾向，如此轻易地曝光呢？这只是心理史学一个非常简单的示范。不过，我们一部分的结果，还是泄露到了贵族手中。”
"That's bad."
“那可糟了。”
"Not necessarily. All is taken into account."
“也不尽然，一切都在我们考虑之中。”
"But is that why I'm being investigated?"
“可是，他们是不是为了这个原因调查我？”
"Yes. Everything about my project is being investigated."
“对。只要和我的计划有关，都会成为调查的对象。”
"Are you in danger, sir?"
“博士，您有危险吗？”
"Oh, yes. There is probability of 1.7% that I will be executed, but ofcourse that will not stop the project. We have taken that into account aswell. Well, never mind. You will meet me, I suppose, at the University tomorrow?"
“喔，没错。我会被处决的几率有1.7％，但即使如此，我的计划也绝对不会终止。我们也已经将这点纳入考虑。好了，不谈这些。明天你会到川陀大学来见我，对吗？”
"I will", said Gaal.
“我一定会去。”盖尔说。
COMMISSION OF PUBLIC SAFETY…The aristocratic coterie rose to powerafter the assassination of Cleon I, last of the Entuns. In the main, theyformed an element of order during the centuries of instability anduncertainty in the Imperium. Usually under the control of the greatfamilies of the Chens and the Divarts, it degenerated eventually into ablind instrument for maintenance of the status quo.... They were notcompletely removed as a power in the state until after the accession of thelast strong Emperor, Cleon H. The first Chief Commissioner....
公共安全委员会：……自从恩腾皇朝最后一位皇帝克里昂一世遇刺后，贵族派便掌握实权。大体说来，在皇权不稳定亦不确定的数个世纪中，他们形成维持秩序的主体。大多数时期，这个委员会由陈氏与狄伐特氏两大世族把持，最后则变质为维持现状的工具……直到帝国最后一位强势皇帝克里昂二世即位，才将委员会的大权尽数释除。首任的主任委员……
... In a way, the beginning of the Commission's decline can be traced tothe trial of Hari Seldon two years before the beginning of the FoundationalEra. That trial is described in Gaal Dornick's biography of Hari Seldon....
就某个角度而言，委员会之所以没落，可追溯到基地纪元前2年，它对谢顿所进行的一次审判。在多尼克所着的谢顿传记中，对那场审判有详细记载……
ENCYCLOPEDIA GALACTICA
——《银河百科全书》
Gaal did not carry out his promise. He was awakened the next morning by amuted buzzer. He answered it, and the voice of the desk clerk, as muted,polite and deprecating as it well might be, informed him that he was underdetention at the orders of the Commission of Public Safety.
结果盖尔并没有赴约。第二天早上，他被微弱的蜂鸣器吵醒，那是旅馆职员打来的电话。那位职员以尽可能细声、礼貌、并且带有一点恳求的口吻，告诉盖尔公共安全委员会已经下令限制他的行动。
Gaal sprang to the door and found it would no longer open. He could onlydress and wait.
盖尔立刻跳到门边，发现房门果然打不开了。他唯一能做的，只有穿好衣服耐心等待。
They came for him and took him elsewhere, but it was still detention. Theyasked him questions most politely. It was all very civilized. He explainedthat he was a provincial of Synnax; that he had attended such and suchschools and obtained a Doctor of Mathematics degree on such and such adate. He had applied for a position on Dr. Seldon's staff and had beenaccepted. Over and over again, he gave these details; and over and overagain, they returned to the question of his joining the Seldon Project. Howhad he heard of it; what were to be his duties; what secret instructionshad he received; what was it all about?
不久委员会便派人将他带走，带到一间拘留所中。他们以最客气的口吻询问他，一切过程都非常文明。盖尔解释自己是从辛纳克斯来的，又详细罗列了他读过的学校，以及获得数学博士学位的年月日。又说了自己如何向谢顿博士申请工作，如何获得录用。他不厌其烦地一遍又一遍重复着详情，他们却一遍又一遍回到他参加“谢顿计划”这个问题上。他当初如何知道有这个计划？他负责的工作？他接受过哪些秘密指示？以及所有的来龙去脉。
He answered that he did not know. He had no secret instructions. He was ascholar and a mathematician. He had no interest in politics.
盖尔回答说完全不知情，他根本没有接受过任何秘密指示。他只是一名学者，一位数学家而已，他对政治毫无兴趣。
And finally the gentle inquisitor asked, "When will Trantor be destroyed?"
最后，那位很有风度的审讯官问道：“川陀什么时候会毁灭？”
Gaal faltered, "I could not say of my own knowledge."
盖尔支吾地说：“我自己并不知道。”
"Could you say of anyone's?"
“你能不能说说别人的意见？”
"How could I speak for another? "
“我怎么能帮别人说话呢？”
He felt warm; overwarm.
他感觉全身发热，非常地热。
The inquisitor said, "Has anyone told you of such destruction; set a date?"And, as the young man hesitated, he went on, "You have been followed,doctor. We were at the airport when you arrived; on the observation towerwhen you waited for your appointment; and, of course, we were able tooverhear your conversation with Dr. Seldon."
审讯官又问：“有没有人跟你讲过这类的毁灭？它什么时候会发生？”当盖尔还在犹豫的时候，他继续说：“博士，我们一直在跟踪你。你抵达太空航站的时候，还有你昨天在观景塔上的时候，旁边都有我们的人。此外，我们当然有办法窃听你和谢顿博士的谈话。”
Gaal said, "Then you know his views on the matter."
盖尔说：“那么，你应该知道他对这个问题的看法。”
Perhaps. But we would like to hear them from you.
“也许吧，但是我们想听你亲自说一遍。”
He is of the opinion that Trantor would be destroyed within threecenturies.
“他认为川陀会在三个世纪内毁灭。”
He proved it, ?uh ?mathematically?
“他证明出来了？用什么……数学吗？”
Yes, he did, ?defiantly.
“是的，他做到了。”盖尔义正辞严地说。
"You maintain the ? uh ? mathematics to be valid, I suppose.
“我想，你认为那个什么数学是可靠的。”
If Dr. Seldon vouches for it, it is valid.
“只要谢顿博士这么说，它就一定可靠。”
Then we will return.
“我们会再来找你。”
"Wait. I have a right to a lawyer. I demand my rights as an Imperialcitizen."
“慢点。我知道我有权利请律师，我要求行使帝国公民权。”
You shall have them.
“你会有律师的。”
And he did.
后来律师果然来了。
It was a tall man that eventually entered, a man whose face seemed allvertical lines and so thin that one could wonder whether there was room fora smile.
终于出现的那位律师又高又瘦，一张瘦脸似乎全是直线条，而且令人怀疑是否能容纳任何笑容。
Gaal looked up. He felt disheveled and wilted. So much had happened, yet hehad been on Trantor not more than thirty hours.
盖尔抬起头，觉得自己看起来一定很落魄。他来到川陀还不满三十个小时，竟然就发生了这么多事情。
The man said, "I am Lors Avakim. Dr. Seldon has directed me to representyou."
那位律师说：“我名叫楼斯·艾法金，谢顿博士命我担任你的法律代表。”
"Is that so? Well, then, look here. I demand an instant appeal to theEmperor. I'm being held without cause. I'm innocent of anything. Of anything. He slashed his hands outward, palms down, "You've got to arrangea hearing with the Emperor, instantly."
“是吗？好，那么听我说，我要求立刻向皇帝陛下上诉。我无缘无故被抓到这里来，我完全是无辜的，完全无辜。”他猛然伸出双手，手掌朝下。“你一定要帮我安排皇帝陛下主持的听证会，立刻就要。”
Avakim was carefully emptying the contents of a flat folder onto the floor. If Gaal had had the stomach for it, he might have recognized Cellomet legalforms, metal thin and tapelike, adapted for insertion within the smallnessof a personal capsule. He might also have recognized a pocket recorder.
艾法金自顾自地将一个夹子里的东西仔细摊在桌上。若不是盖尔心情恶劣，他应该认得出那是一些印在金属带上的法律文件，这种文件最适于塞到小小的随身囊中。此外，他也该认得出旁边那台口袋型录音机。
Avakim, paying no attention to Gaal's outburst, finally looked up. He said,"The Commission will, of course, have a spy beam on our conversation. Thisis against the law, but they will use one nevertheless."
艾法金没有理会盖尔的发作，直到一切就绪才抬起头来。他说：“委员会当然会利用间谍波束刺探我们的谈话。这样做虽然违法，但他们才不管呢。”
Gaal ground his teeth.
盖尔咬牙切齿。
However, and Avakim seated himself deliberately, "the recorder I have onthe table, ?which is a perfectly ordinary recorder to all appearances andperforms it duties well ?has the additional property of completely blanketing the spy beam. This is something they will not find out at once."
“然而，”艾法金从容地坐下来，“我带来的这台录音机——怎么看都是百分之百的普通录音机，功能也一点都不差——具有一项特殊功能，就是能将间谍波束完全屏蔽。他们不会马上发现我动了手脚。”
"Then I can speak."
“那么我可以说话了。”
Of course."
“当然。”
"Then I want a hearing with the Emperor."
“那么我希望皇帝陛下主持我的听证会。”
Avakim smiled frostily, and it turned out that there was room for it on his thin face after all. His cheeks wrinkled to make the room. He said, "You are from the provinces."
艾法金冷冷地笑了笑。他脸上竟然还装得下笑容，原来全靠两颊皱纹上多出来的空间。他说：“你是从外地来的。”
I am none the less an Imperial citizen. As good a one as you or as any ofthis Commission of Public Safety.
“我仍然是帝国公民。我跟你，还有这个公共安全委员会的任何成员完全一样。”
No doubt; no doubt. It is merely that, as a provincial, you do notunderstand life on Trantor as it is, There are no hearings before the Emperor.
“没错，没错。只不过你们住在外地的人，并不了解川陀目前的情况。事实上，早就没有皇帝陛下主持的听证会了。”
To whom else would one appeal from this Commission? Is there other procedure?
“那么我在这里，应该向什么人上诉呢？有没有其他的途径？”
"None. There is no recourse in a practical sense. Legalistically, you mayappeal to the Emperor, but you would get no hearing. The Emperor today isnot the Emperor of an Entun dynasty, you know. Trantor, I am afraid is inthe hands of the aristocratic families, members of which compose theCommission of Public Safety. This is a development which is well predictedby psychohistory."
“没有，实际上没有任何途径。根据法律，你可以向皇帝陛下上诉，但是不会有任何听证会。你可知道，当今的皇帝可不比恩腾皇朝的皇帝。川陀恐怕已经落在贵族门第手中，换句话说，已被公共安全委员会的成员掌握。心理史学早已准确预测到这种发展。”
Gaal said, "Indeed? In that case, if Dr. Seldon can predict the history ofTrantor three hundred years into the future ?
盖尔说：“真的吗？如果真是这样，既然谢顿博士能预测川陀未来三百年的……”
He can predict it fifteen hundred years into the future.
“他最远能预测到未来一千五百年。”
Let it be fifteen thousand. Why couldn't he yesterday have predicted theevents of this morning and warned me. 朜o, I'm sorry. Gaal sat down andrested his head in one sweating palm, "I quite understand that psychohistory is a statistical science and cannot predict the future of asingle man with any accuracy. You'll understand that I'm upset."
“就算他能预测未来一万五千年，昨天为什么不能预测今天早上这些事，也好早点警告我……喔，抱歉。”盖尔坐下来，用冒汗的手掌撑着头。“我很了解心理史学是一门统计科学，预测个人的未来不会有任何准确性。我现在心乱如麻，才会胡言乱语。”
But you are wrong. Dr. Seldon was of the opinion that you would be arrested this morning.
“可是你错了，谢顿博士早已料到今天早上你会被捕。”
What!
“什么！”
"It is unfortunate, but true. The Commission has been more and more hostileto his activities. New members joining the group have been interfered withto an increasing extent. The graphs showed that for our purposes, mattersmight best be brought to a climax now. The Commission of itself was movingsomewhat slowly so Dr. Seldon visited you yesterday for the purpose of forcing their hand. No other reason."
“十分遗憾，但这是实情。对于他所主导的活动，委员会的敌意越来越浓，千方百计地阻挠我们招募新人。数据显示，假如现在就让冲突升到最高点，会对我方最为有利。可是委员会的步调似乎慢了一点，所以谢顿博士昨天去找你，迫使他们采取进一步的行动。没有其他的原因。”
Gaal caught his breath, "I resent ?
盖尔吓得喘不过气。“你们欺人太甚……”
"Please. It was necessary. You were not picked for any personal reasons. You must realize that Dr. Seldon's plans, which are laid out with thedeveloped mathematics of over eighteen years include all eventualities withsignificant probabilities. This is one of them. I've been sent here for noother purpose than to assure you that you need not fear. It will end well;almost certainly so for the project; and with reasonable probability foryou."
“拜托，这是不得已的。我们选择你，绝对没有私人的理由。你必须了解，谢顿博士的计划是他十八年的心血结晶；任何几率够大的偶发性事件，全都会涵盖在里面，现在这件事就是其中之一。我被派来这里，唯一的目的就是安慰你，要你绝对不用害怕。这件事会有圆满的结局；对我们的计划而言，这点几乎能确定；对你个人而言，几率也相当高。”
What are the figures? demanded Gaal.
“几率到底是多少？”盖尔追问。
For the project, over 99.9%.
“对于本计划，几率大于99.9％。”
And for myself?
“那我呢？”
I am instructed that this probability is 77.2%.
“我被告知的数值是77.2％。”
Then I've got better than one chance in five of being sentenced to prisonor to death.
“那么，我被判刑或处决的几率超过五分之一？”
The last is under one per cent.
“后者的几率不到1％。”
"Indeed. Calculations upon one man mean nothing. You send Dr. Seldon tome."
“算了吧，心理史学对个人的几率计算根本没有意义。你叫谢顿博士来见我。”
Unfortunately, I cannot. Dr. Seldon is himself arrested.
“很抱歉，我做不到，谢顿博士自己也被捕了。”
The door was thrown open before the rising Gaal could do more than utter the beginning of a cry. A guard entered, walked to the table, picked up therecorder, looked upon all sides of it and put it in his pocket.
盖尔震惊得站起来，才刚刚叫出半声，房门就被推开了。一名警卫冲进来，一把抓起桌上的录音机，上下左右仔细检查了一遍，然后放进自己的口袋。
Avakim said quietly, "I will need that instrument."
艾法金沉着地说：“我需要那个装置。”
We will supply you with one, Counsellor, that does not cast a staticfield.
“律师先生，我们会拿一个不发射静电场的给你。”
My interview is done, in that case.
“既然如此，我的访谈结束了。”
Gaal watched him leave and was alone.
盖尔眼巴巴望着他离去，又变得孤独无助了。
The trial (Gaal supposed it to be one, though it bore little resemblancelegalistically to the elaborate trial techniques Gaal had read of) had notlasted long. It was in its third day. Yet already, Gaal could no longerstretch his memory back far enough to embrace its beginning.
审判并未进行得太久（盖尔认为那就是审判，虽然它与盖尔从书上读到的那些精细的审判过程几乎没有类似之处），如今才进入第三天。不过，盖尔的记忆却已无法回溯审判开始的情形。
He himself had been but little pecked at. The heavy guns were trained onDr. Seldon himself. Hari Seldon, however, sat there unperturbed. To Gaal,he was the only spot of stability remaining in the world.
盖尔自己只被审问了几句，主要火力都集中在谢顿博士身上。然而，哈里·谢顿始终泰然自若地坐在那里。对盖尔而言，全世界只剩下他是唯一稳定的支点了。
The audience was small and drawn exclusively from among the Barons of theEmpire. Press and public were excluded and it was doubtful that anysignificant number of outsiders even knew that a trial of Seldon was beingconducted. The atmosphere was one of unrelieved hostility toward the defendants.
旁听人士并不多，全是从贵族中精挑细选出来的。新闻界与一般民众一律被拒于门外，因此外界几乎不知道谢顿大审已经开始。法庭内气氛凝重，充满对被告的敌意。
Five of the Commission of Public Safety sat behind the raised desk. Theywore scarlet and gold uniforms and the shining, close-fitting plastic capsthat were the sign of their judicial function. In the center was the ChiefCommissioner Linge Chen. Gaal had never before seen so great a Lord and hewatched him with fascination. Chen, throughout the trial, rarely said aword. He made it quite clear that much speech was beneath his dignity.
公共安全委员会的五位委员坐在高高的长桌后方，他们身穿鲜红与金黄相间的制服，头戴闪亮且紧合的塑质官帽，充分代表他们在法庭上扮演的角色。坐在中央的是主任委员凌吉·陈，盖尔不曾见过这么尊贵的贵族，不禁出神地望着他。整个审判从头到尾，陈主委几乎没有说半句话。多言有失贵族身份，他就是最好的典范。
The Commission's Advocate consulted his notes and the examinationcontinued, with Seldon still on the stand:
这时委员会的检察长看了看笔记，准备继续审讯，而谢顿仍端坐在证人席上。
Q. Let us see, Dr. Seldon. How many men are now engaged in the project ofwhich you are head?
问：我们想知道，谢顿博士，你所主持的这个计划，目前总共有多少人参与？
A. Fifty mathematicians.
答：五十位数学家。
Q. Including Dr. Gaal Dornick?
问：包括盖尔·多尼克博士吗？
A. Dr. Dornick is the fifty-first.
答：多尼克博士是第五十一位。
Q. Oh, we have fifty-one then? Search your memory, Dr. Seldon. Perhapsthere are fifty-two or fifty-three? Or perhaps even more?
问：喔，那么总共应该有五十一位。请好好想一想，谢顿博士，也许还有第五十二、五十三位？或者更多？
A. Dr. Dornick has not yet formally joined my organization. When he does,the membership will be fifty-one. It is now fifty, as I have said.
答：多尼克博士尚未正式加入我的组织，他加入之后，总人数就是五十一。正如我刚才所说，现在只有五十名。
Q. Not perhaps nearly a hundred thousand?
问：有没有可能接近十万人？
A. Mathematicians? No.
答：数学家吗？当然没有。
Q. I did not say mathematicians. Are there a hundred thousand in allcapacities?
问：我并未强调数学家，我是问总人数有没有十万？
A. In all capacities, your figure may be correct.
答：总人数，那您的数目可能正确。
Q. May be? I say it is. I say that the men in your project numberninety-eight thousand, five hundred and seventy-two.
问：可能？我认为千真万确。我认为在你的计划之下，总共有九万八千五百七十二人。
A. I believe you are counting women and children.
答：我想您是把妇女和小孩都算进去了。
Q. (raising his voice) Ninety eight thousand five hundred and seventy-twoindividuals is the intent of my statement. There is no need to quibble.
问：（提高音量）我的陈述只说有九万八千五百七十二人，你不用顾左右而言他。
A. I accept the figures.
答：我接受这个数字。
Q. (referring to his notes) Let us drop that for the moment, then, and takeup another matter which we have already discussed at some length. Would yourepeat, Dr. Seldon, your thoughts concerning the future of Trantor?
问：（看了一下笔记）那么，让我们暂且搁下这个问题，回到原先已讨论到某个程度的那件事。谢顿博士，能否请你再说一遍对川陀未来的看法？
A. I have said, and I say again, that Trantor will lie in ruins within thenext three centuries.
答：我已经说过了，现在我再说一遍，三个世纪之内，川陀将变成一团废墟。
Q. You do not consider your statement a disloyal one?
问：你不认为这种说法代表不忠吗？
A. No, sir. Scientific truth is beyond loyalty and disloyalty.
答：不会的，大人，科学的真理无所谓忠不忠。
Q. You are sure that your statement represents scientific truth?
问：你确定你的说法代表科学的真理吗？
A. I am.
答：我确定。
Q. On what basis?
问：有什么根据？
A. On the basis of the mathematics of psychohistory.
答：根据心理史学的数学架构。
Q. Can you prove that this mathematics is valid'?
问：你能证明这种数学真的成立吗？
A. Only to another mathematician.
答：只能证明给数学家看。
Q. (with a smile) Your claim then is that your truth is of so esoteric anature that it is beyond the understanding of a plain man. It seems to methat truth should be clearer than that, less mysterious, more open to the mind.
问：（带着微笑）你是说，你的真理太过玄奥，超出普通人的理解能力？我却觉得真理应该足够清楚、不带神秘色彩，而且不难让人了解。
A. It presents no difficulties to some minds. The physics of energytransfer, which we know as thermodynamics, has been clear and true throughall the history of man since the mythical ages, yet there may be peoplepresent who would find it impossible to design a power engine. People ofhigh intelligence, too. I doubt if the learned Commissioners?
答：对某些人而言，它当然不困难。让我举个例子，研究能量转移的物理学，也就是通称的热力学，人类从神话时代开始，就已经明了其中的真理。然而今天在场诸位，并非人人都能设计一台发动机，即使聪明绝顶也没办法。不知道博学的委员大人们……
At this point, one of the Commissioners leaned toward the Advocate. Hiswords were not heard but the hissing of the voice carried a certainasperity. The Advocate flushed and interrupted Seldon.
此时，一位委员倾身对检察长耳语。他将声音压得很低，却仍然听得出严苛的口气。检察长立刻满脸通红，马上打断谢顿的陈述。
Q. We are not here to listen to speeches, Dr. Seldon. Let us assume thatyou have made your point. Let me suggest to you that your predictions ofdisaster might be intended to destroy public confidence in the ImperialGovernment for purposes of your own.
问：谢顿博士，我们不是来听你演讲的，姑且假设你已经讲清楚了。让我告诉你，我认为你预测灾难的真正动机，也许是意图摧毁公众对帝国政府的信心，以遂你个人的目的！
A. That is not so.
答：没有这种事。
Q. Let me suggest that you intend to claim that a period of time precedingthe so-called ruin of Trantor will be filled with unrest of various types.
问：我还认为，你意图宣扬在所谓的“川陀毁灭”之前，会有一段充满各种动荡的时期。
A. That is correct.
答：这倒是没错。
Q. And that by the mere prediction thereof, you hope to bring it about, andto have then an army of a hundred thousand available.
问：单凭这项预测，你就想朝那个方向努力，并为此召集十万大军？
A. In the first place, that is not so. And if it were, investigation willshow you that barely ten thousand are men of military age, and none ofthese has training in arms.
答：首先，我想声明事实并非如此。即使真有那么多人，只要调查一下，就会发现役龄男子还不到一万，而且没有任何一人受过军事训练。
Q. Are you acting as an agent for another?
问：你是否替什么组织或个人工作？
A. I am not in the pay of any man, Mr. Advocate.
答：检察长大人，我绝对没有受雇于任何人。
Q. You are entirely disinterested? You are serving science?
问：所以你公正无私，只为科学献身？
A. I am.
答：我的确如此。
Q. Then let us see how. Can the future be changed, Dr. Seldon?
问：那么，让我们看看你如何献身科学。谢顿博士，请问未来可以改变吗？
A. Obviously. This courtroom may explode in the next few hours, or it maynot. If it did, the future would undoubtedly be changed in some minorrespects.
答：当然可以。这间法庭也许会在几小时后爆炸，但也可能不会。如果它爆炸了，未来一定会产生些微变化。
Q. You quibble, Dr. Seldon. Can the overall history of the human race bechanged?
问：谢顿博士，你在诡辩。那么，人类整体历史也能改变吗？
A. Yes.
答：是的。
Q. Easily?
问：容易吗？
A. No. With great difficulty.
答：不，极为困难。
Q. Why?
问：为什么？
A. The psychohistoric trend of a planet-full of people contains a hugeinertia. To be changed it must be met with something possessing a similarinertia. Either as many people must be concerned, or if the number ofpeople be relatively small, enormous time for change must be allowed. Doyou understand?
答：光就一颗行星上的人口而言，“心理史学趋势”就有很大的惯性。想要改变这个趋势，就必须用相当于这股惯性的力量来抵消它。这需要很多人的集体力量，倘若人数太少，想要有所改变就得花费很长的时间。您能了解吗？
Q. I think I do. Trantor need not be ruined, if a great many people decideto act so that it will not.
问：我想我能了解。只要许多人都决定采取行动，川陀就不一定会毁灭。
A. That is right.
答：这样说很正确。
Q. As many as a hundred thousand people?
问：比如说十万人？
A. No, sir. That is far too few.
答：不，大人，差太远了。
Q. You are sure?
问：你确定吗？
A. Consider that Trantor has a population of over forty billions. Considerfurther that the trend leading to ruin does not belong to Trantor alone butto the Empire as a whole and the Empire contains nearly a quintillion humanbeings.
答：请想想看，川陀的总人口数超过四百亿。请再想想，毁灭的倾向并非川陀所独有，而是遍布整个帝国，而银河帝国包含将近千兆的人口。
Q. I see. Then perhaps a hundred thousand people can change the trend, ifthey and their descendants labor for three hundred years.
问：我懂了。不过十万人仍有可能改变这种倾向，只要他们和子子孙孙不断努力经营三百年。
A. I'm afraid not. Three hundred years is too short a time.
答：恐怕还是不行，三百年的时间太短了。
Q. Ah! In that case, Dr. Seldon, we are left with this deduction to be madefrom your statements. You have gathered one hundred thousand people withinthe confines of your project. These are insufficient to change the historyof Trantor within three hundred years. In other words, they cannot preventthe destruction of Trantor no matter what they do.
问：啊！这么说来，谢顿博士，根据你的陈述，我们只剩下一个合理的推论。你用你的计划召集了十万人，却不足以在三百年内改变川陀未来的历史。换句话说，不论他们做什么，都无法阻止川陀的毁灭。
A. You are unfortunately correct.
答：您不幸言中了。
Q. And on the other hand, your hundred thousand are intended for no illegalpurpose.
问：话说回来，你那十万人并没有任何不法意图？
A. Exactly.
答：完全正确。
Q. (slowly and with satisfaction) In that case, Dr. Seldon? Now attend,sir, most carefully, for we want a considered answer. What is the purposeof your hundred thousand?
问：（缓慢而带着满意的口气）既然如此，谢顿博士——现在请注意，全神贯注地听我说，因为我们要一个经过深思熟虑的答案。那十万人到底是用来做什么的？
The Advocate's voice had grown strident. He had sprung his trap; backedSeldon into a comer; driven him astutely from any possibility of answering.
检察长的声音变得越来越尖锐。他冷不防地布下这个圈套，将谢顿逼到死角，并狡狯地斩断所有的退路。
There was a rising buzz of conversation at that which swept the ranks ofthe peers in the audience and invaded even the row of Commissioners. Theyswayed toward one another in their scarlet and gold, only the Chiefremaining uncorrupted.
旁听席上的贵族因此掀起一阵骚动，甚至传染到坐在前排的委员们。除了主任委员不动如山之外，其他四位衣着鲜艳的委员都在忙着交头接耳。
Hari Seldon remained unmoved. He waited for the babble to evaporate.
哈里·谢顿却不为所动，静静地等着骚动消退。
A. To minimize the effects of that destruction.
答：为了将毁灭所带来的影响减到最小程度。
Q. And exactly what do you mean by that?
问：你这句话究竟是什么意思？
A. The explanation is simple. The coming destruction of Trantor is not anevent in itself, isolated in the scheme of human development. It will bethe climax to an intricate drama which was begun centuries ago and which isaccelerating in pace continuously. I refer, gentlemen, to the developingdecline and fall of the Galactic Empire.
答：答案非常简单。川陀将要面临的毁灭，并非人类发展过程中的孤立事件，而是一出大戏的最高潮。这出戏在几世纪前便已开演，今后还会继续加速进行。各位大人，我指的是整个银河帝国的衰亡。
The buzz now became a dull roar. The Advocate, unheeded, was yelling, "Youare openly declaring that? and stopped because the cries of "Treason" fromthe audience showed that the point had been made without any hammering.
原先的骚动此时变成模糊的咆哮。检察长也立刻吼道：“你公然宣传……”然后就打住了，因为旁听席上传来阵阵“叛国”的怒吼，显示这项罪名不必拍板便能定案。
Slowly, the Chief Commissioner raised his gavel once and let it drop. Thesound was that of a mellow gong. When the reverberations ceased, the gabbleof the audience also did. The Advocate took a deep breath.
主任委员将法槌缓缓拿起，重重敲下，法庭内便响起一阵柔美的铜锣声。等到回音消逝，旁听席上的聒噪同时停止。检察长做了一次深呼吸……
Q. (theatrically) Do you realize, Dr. Seldon, that you are speaking of anEmpire that has stood for twelve thousand years, through all thevicissitudes of the generations, and which has behind it the good wishesand love of a quadrillion human beings?
问：（夸张地）谢顿博士，你可明白，你提到的这个帝国已经屹立一万两千年，历经无数代的起起伏伏，受到千兆子民的祝福和爱戴。
A. I am aware both of the present status and the past history of theEmpire. Without disrespect, I must claim a far better knowledge of it thanany in this room.
答：我对帝国的现状和历史都很清楚。请恕我直言，但我必须强调，我在这方面的知识要比在座每一位都多得多。
Q. And you predict its ruin?
问：可是你却预测它的毁灭？
A. It is a prediction which is made by mathematics. I pass no moraljudgements. Personally, I regret the prospect. Even if the Empire wereadmitted to be a bad thing (an admission I do not make), the state ofanarchy which would follow its fall would be worse. It is that state ofanarchy which my project is pledged to fight. The fall of Empire,gentlemen, is a massive thing, however, and not easily fought. It isdictated by a rising bureaucracy, a receding initiative, a freezing ofcaste, a damming of curiosity ?a hundred other factors. It has been goingon, as I have said, for centuries, and it is too majestic and massive amovement to stop.
答：这是数学所作的预测，我并未加入丝毫的道德判断。对于这样的展望，我个人也感到遗憾。即使承认帝国是一种不好的政体——我自己可没这么说——帝国覆亡后的无政府状态会更糟。我的计划所誓言对抗的，正是那个无政府状态。然而各位大人，帝国的覆亡是一件牵连甚广的大事，可没有那么容易对付。它的原因包括官僚的兴起、阶级流动的停滞、进取心的衰退、好奇心的锐减，以及其他上百种因素。正如我刚才所说，它早已悄悄进行了数个世纪，而这种趋势已经病入膏肓、无可救药了。
Q. Is it not obvious to anyone that the Empire is as strong as it ever was?
问：帝国仍如往昔般强盛，这难道不是很明显吗？
A. The appearance of strength is all about you. It would seem to lastforever. However, Mr. Advocate, the rotten tree-trunk, until the verymoment when the storm-blast breaks it in two, has all the appearance ofmight it ever had. The storm-blast whistles through the branches of theEmpire even now. Listen with the ears of psychohistory, and you will hearthe creaking.
答：我们见到的只是表面的强盛，仿佛帝国会延续千秋万世。然而检察长大人，腐朽的树干在被暴风吹成两截之前，看起来也仍旧保有昔日的坚稳。此时此刻，暴风已在帝国的枝干呼啸。我们利用心理史学来倾听，就能听见树枝间的叽嘎声。
Q. (uncertainly) We are not here, Dr. Seldon, to lis?
问：（心虚地）谢顿博士，我们不是来这里听……
A. (firmly) The Empire will vanish and all its good with it. Itsaccumulated knowledge will decay and the order it has imposed will vanish. Interstellar wars will be endless; interstellar trade will decay;population will decline; worlds will lose touch with the main body of theGalaxy. 朅nd so matters will remain.
答：（坚定地）帝国注定将连同它所有的成就一起消逝。它累积的知识将会散佚，它建立的秩序也将瓦解。星际战争将永无休止，星际贸易也必然衰退；人口会急剧减少，而各个世界将和银河主体失去联系。如此的情况会一直持续下去。
Q. (a small voice in the middle of a vast silence) Forever?
问：（在一片静寂中小声问）永远吗？
A. Psychohistory, which can predict the fall, can make statementsconcerning the succeeding dark ages. The Empire, gentlemen, as has justbeen said, has stood twelve thousand years. The dark ages to come willendure not twelve, but thirty thousand years. A Second Empire will rise,but between it and our civilization will be one thousand generations ofsuffering humanity. We must fight that.
答：心理史学不但可以预测帝国的覆亡，还能描述接踵而来的黑暗时代。各位大人，如同检察长所强调的，帝国已经屹立了一万两千年。其后的黑暗时代将不止十二个仟年，它会持续三万年。然后“第二帝国”终将兴起，但在这两个文明之间，将有一千代的人类要受苦受难。我们必须对抗这种厄运。
Q. (recovering somewhat) You contradict yourself. You said earlier that you could not prevent the destruction of Trantor; hence, presumably, the fall; he so-called fall of the Empire.
问：（稍微恢复一点）你自相矛盾。你刚才说无法阻止川陀的毁灭，因此，想必你对所谓的帝国覆亡同样束手无策。
A. I do not say now that we can prevent the fall. But it is not yet toolate to shorten the interregnum which will follow. It is possible,gentlemen, to reduce the duration of anarchy to a single millennium, if mygroup is allowed to act now. We are at a delicate moment in history. Thehuge, onrushing mass of events must be deflected just a little, ?just alittle ?It cannot be much, but it may be enough to remove twenty-ninethousand years of misery from human history.
答：我并没有说可以阻止帝国的覆亡，但是现在还来得及将过渡期缩短。各位大人，只要允许我的人立刻行动，便有可能把无政府时期缩短到一个仟年。我们正在历史的临界点上，必须让那些突如其来的重大事件稍加偏折——只要偏一点就好，也不可能改变太多。但这就足以从人类未来的历史中，消除两万九千年的悲惨时代。
Q. How do you propose to do this?
问：你准备如何进行？
A. By saving the knowledge of the race. The sum of human knowing is beyondany one man; any thousand men. With the destruction of our social fabric,science will be broken into a million pieces. Individuals will know much ofexceedingly tiny facets of what there is to know. They will be helpless anduseless by themselves. The bits of lore, meaningless, will not be passedon. They will be lost through the generations. But, if we now prepare agiant summary of all knowledge, it will never be lost. Coming generationswill build on it, and will not have to rediscover it for themselves. One millennium will do the work of thirty thousand.
答：善加保存人类所有的知识。人类知识的总和，不是一个人甚至一千人所能概括的。当我们的社会组织毁败之后，科学也将分裂成上百万的碎片。到时候，每个人学到的都仅仅是极零碎的片断知识，无用又无益。知识的碎片起不了作用，也不可能再传递下去，它们将遗失在世代交替的过程中。但是，假如我们现在着手将所有知识集中起来，它们就永远不会再遗失。未来的世代可以从这些知识出发，不必自己再重新来过。这样，一个仟年就能完成三万年的功业。
Q. All this……
问：你说的这些……
A. All my project; my thirty thousand men with their wives and children,are devoting themselves to the preparation of an "Encyclopedia Galactica."They will not complete it in their lifetimes. I will not even live to seeit fairly begun. But by the time Trantor falls, it will be complete andcopies will exist in every major library in the Galaxy.
答：我的整个计划，我手下的三万人和他们的妻小，都将献身于《银河百科全书》的准备工作。他们一生都无法完成这个庞大的计划，我甚至见不到这个工作正式展开。但是在川陀覆灭前它一定会完成，到时银河各大图书馆都能保有一套。
The Chief Commissioner's gavel rose and fell. Hari Seldon left the standand quietly took his seat next to Gaal.
主任委员举起法槌敲了一下。哈里·谢顿走下证人席，默默走回盖尔身边的座位。
He smiled and said, "How did you like the show?"
他微笑着说：“你对这场戏有什么看法？”
Gaal said, "You stole it. But what will happen now?"
盖尔答道：“您先发制人。但是接下来会怎么样呢？”
"They'll adjourn the trial and try to come to a private agreement with me."
“他们会休庭，试着和我达成私下协议。”
"How do you know?"
“您怎么知道？”
Seldon said, "I'll be honest. I don't know. It depends on the ChiefCommissioner. I have studied him for years. I have tried to analyze hisworkings, but you know how risky it is to introduce the vagaries of anindividual in the psychohistoric equations. Yet I have hopes."
谢顿说：“老实讲，我并不知道。一切决定都操在这位主委手上。我花了几年时间研究这个人，试图分析他的行为和手段。可是你也了解，将个人无常的行径引进‘心理史学方程式’有多么不可靠。但我仍然抱着希望。”
Avakim approached, nodded to Gaal, leaned over to whisper to Seldon. Thecry of adjournment rang out, and guards separated them. Gaal was led away.
艾法金走过来，向盖尔点了点头，然后弯下腰和谢顿耳语。休庭的铃声忽然响起，法警马上走来将他们分开。盖尔立刻被带走了。
The next day's hearings were entirely different. Hari Seldon and GaalDornick were alone with the Commission. They were seated at a tabletogether, with scarcely a separation between the five judges and the twoaccused. They were even offered cigars from a box of iridescent plasticwhich had the appearance of water, endlessly flowing. The eyes were fooledinto seeing the motion although the fingers reported it to be hard and dry.
第二天的情况完全不同。除了哈里·谢顿与盖尔·多尼克之外，就只有委员会的成员出席。他们一起坐在会议桌前，五位法官与两位被告之间几乎没有隔阂。法官甚至还招待他们两人抽雪茄。塑质雪茄盒表面散发着晕彩，像是一团不停流转的液体；虽然它的确由坚硬干燥的固体制成，却会令眼睛产生运动感的错觉。
Seldon accepted one; Gaal refused.
谢顿拿了一支雪茄，盖尔则婉谢了。
Seldon said, "My lawyer is not present."
谢顿说：“我的律师并不在场。”
A Commissioner replied, "This is no longer a trial, Dr. Seldon. We are hereto discuss the safety of the State."
一位委员答道：“谢顿博士，审判已经结束了。我们今天是来和你讨论国家安全问题。”
Linge Chen said, "I will speak," and the other Commissioners sat back intheir chairs, prepared to listen. A silence formed about Chen into which hemight drop his words.
凌吉·陈突然说：“我来发言。”其他委员立刻正襟危坐，静待主委的高见。室内变得分外宁静，只等陈主委开口了。
Gaal held his breath. Chen, lean and hard, older in looks than in fact, wasthe actual Emperor of all the Galaxy. The child who bore the title itselfwas only a symbol manufactured by Chen, and not the first such, either.
盖尔则屏息等待。事实上，精瘦结实、外表超过实际年龄的陈主委才是银河帝国真正的皇帝。目前那个具有皇帝头衔的小孩子，只不过是他所制造的傀儡，而且还不是第一个。
Chen said, "Dr. Seldon, you disturb the peace of the Emperor's realm. Noneof the quadrillions living now among all the stars of the Galaxy will beliving a century from now. Why, then, should we concern ourselves withevents of three centuries distance?"
陈主委说：“谢顿博士，你骚扰了京畿的安宁。生活在银河各地的千兆子民，没有任何人能再活上一百年。那么，我们为何要关心三个世纪以后的事？”
I shall not be alive half a decade hence, said Seldon, and yet it is of overpowering concern to me. Call it idealism. Call it an identification ofmyself with that mystical generalization to which we refer by the term,'humanity.'"
“我自己还剩不到五年的寿命，”谢顿说：“可是我对未来关心至极。你可以说这是一种理想主义，也可以说我个人认同了‘人类’这个神秘而抽象的概念。”
"I do not wish to take the trouble to understand mysticism. Can you tell mewhy I may not rid myself of you, and of an uncomfortable and unnecessarythree-century future which I will never see by having you executedtonight?"
“我不想浪费精力去了解什么神秘主义。请你直截了当告诉我，为何不能今晚就将你处决，顺便将我自己见不到、既没用又烦人的三世纪后的未来，跟你的尸体一起抛在脑后？”
A week ago, said Seldon, lightly, "you might have done so and perhapsretained a one in ten probability of yourself remaining alive at year'send. Today, the one in ten probability is scarcely one in ten thousand."
“一个星期之前，”谢顿轻描淡写地说，“您这样做，也许还有十分之一的几率活到年底。到了今天，这个几率已经降为万分之一。”
There were expired breaths in the gathering and uneasy stirrings. Gaal feltthe short hairs prickle on the back of his neck. Chen's upper eyelidsdropped a little.
此时喘息声四起，众人变得骚动不安。盖尔甚至感到后颈的汗毛直竖起来，陈主委则微微垂下了眼皮。
"How so?" he said.
“怎么会呢？”他问。
"The fall of Trantor," said Seldon, "cannot be stopped by any conceivable effort. It can be hastened easily, however. The tale of my interrupted trial will spread through the Galaxy. Frustration of my plans to lighten the disaster will convince people that the future holds no promise to them.
“川陀的覆灭，”谢顿说，“是任何努力都无法阻止的。然而，要使它加速却非常容易。这场审判半途终止的消息很快会传遍整个银河，人们会知道这个试图减轻浩劫的计划横遭破坏，因而对未来失去信心。
Already they recall the lives of their grandfathers with envy. They willsee that political revolutions and trade stagnations will increase. Thefeeling will pervade the Galaxy that only what a man can grasp for himselfat that moment will be of any account. Ambitious men will not wait andunscrupulous men will not hang back. By their every action they will hastenthe decay of the worlds. Have me killed and Trantor will fall not withinthree centuries but within fifty years and you, yourself, within a singleyear."
现代人已经对祖父辈的生活充满羡忌，今后还会目睹政治革命的升温和经济萧条的恶化。整个银河会蔓延着一种情绪，认为到了那个时候，自己能抢到些什么才是最重要的。野心家一刻都不会等待，亡命之徒更不可能放弃这个机会。他们将采取的行动，每一步都会加速各个世界的倾颓。假如将我杀掉，川陀覆灭的时刻将提前到未来五十年；而您自己的生命，则会在一年之内结束。”
Chen said, "These are words to frighten children, and yet your death is notthe only answer which will satisfy us."
陈主委说：“这些话只能吓唬小孩子，不过将你处死并非我们唯一的选择。”
He lifted his slender hand from the papers on which it rested, so that onlytwo fingers touched lightly upon the topmost sheet.
他将压在一叠文件上的细瘦手掌抬起来，只剩两根指头按在顶端那张纸上。
"Tell me," he said, "will your only activity be that of preparing this encyclopedia you speak of?"
“告诉我，”他继续说，“你将采取的唯一行动，真的只是准备出版那套百科全书？”
It will.
“是的。”
And need that be done on Trantor?
“需要在川陀进行吗？”
Trantor, my lord, possessss the Imperial Library, as well as the scholarlyresources of the University of Trantor.
“大人，川陀是帝国图书馆的所在地，还有川陀大学丰富的学术资源。”
And yet if you were located elsewhere?, let us say upon a planet wherethe hurry and distractions of a metropolis will not interfere withscholastic musings; where your men may devote themselves entirely and single-mindedly to their work; might not that have advantages?
“可是如果让你们到别处去，比方说到另外一颗行星，以免都会的繁华喧扰打扰你们的学术研究，好让你的手下都能专心一志地投入工作——这样不是也很好吗？”
Minor ones, perhaps.
“也许稍微有点好处。”
"Such a world had been chosen, then. You may work, doctor, at your leisure,with your hundred thousand about you. The Galaxy will know that you areworking and fighting the Fall. They will even be told that you will preventthe Fall." He smiled, "Since I do not believe in so many things, it is notdifficult for me to disbelieve in the Fall as well, so that I am entirelyconvinced I will be telling the truth to the people. And meanwhile, doctor,you will not trouble Trantor and there will be no disturbance of theEmperor's peace.
“那么，地方已经为你们选好了。博士，你如果有空，也可以跟手下的十万人一起工作。我会让整个银河的子民都知道，你们正在为对抗帝国的覆亡而奋斗。我甚至还会透露，你们的工作能够阻止它的覆亡。”他微微一笑，“由于我个人并不相信这些事，也就根本不相信你所谓的覆亡，所以我绝对认为自己在对人民说实话。博士，这样一来，你就不会给川陀带来麻烦，也就不会再搅扰皇帝陛下的安宁。
"The alternative is death for yourself and for as many of your followers as will seem necessary. Your earlier threats I disregard. The opportunity forchoosing between death and exile is given you over a time period stretchingfrom this moment to one five minutes hence."
“除此之外，只剩下将你处决这一条路，还有你的手下，需要处死的也绝不留情。我才不理会你刚才的威胁。从现在开始，我给你整整五分钟的时间，让你选择要接受死刑或是流放。”
Which is the world chosen, my lord? said Seldon.
“大人，您选定的是哪个世界？”谢顿问。
"It is called, I believe, Terminus," said Chen. Negligently, he turned thepapers upon his desk with his fingertips so that they faced Seldon. "It isuninhabited, but quite habitable, and can be molded to suit the necessitiesof scholars. It is somewhat secluded?
“我想它叫做端点星。”陈主委说完，随手将桌上的文件转向谢顿的位置。“现在没有住人，不过相当适宜居住，还能改造得符合学者们的需要。它可算是与世隔绝……”
Seldon interrupted, "It is at the edge of the Galaxy, sir."
谢顿突然插嘴道：“大人，它位于银河的边缘。”
"As I have said, somewhat secluded. It will suit your needs forconcentration. Come, you have two minutes left."Seldon said,
“我说过了，可算是与世隔绝。它正好适合你的需要，在那里一定能专心工作。赶快，只剩两分钟了。”
"We will need time to arrange such a trip. There are twenty thousand families involved."
谢顿说：“我们需要时间来安排这趟大迁移，算来总共有两万多户人家。”
You will be given time.
“你会有足够的时间。”
Seldon thought a moment, and the last minute began to die. He said, "I accept exile."
谢顿又思考了一下，在进入倒数最后一分钟的时候，他终于说：“我接受流放。”
Gaal's heart skipped a beat at the words. For the most part, he was filledwith a tremendous joy for who would not be, to escape death. Yet in all hisvast relief, he found space for a little regret that Seldon had beendefeated.
谢顿这句话让盖尔的心跳停了一拍。他最主要的情绪，是为自己能逃过鬼门关而庆幸不已。但在大大松了一口气的同时，他竟然也因为谢顿被击败而稍感遗憾。
For a long while, they sat silently as the taxi whined through the hundredsof miles of worm-like tunnels toward the University. And then Gaal stirred. He said: "Was what you told the Commissioner true? Would your execution have reallyhastened the Fall?"
在计程飞车呼啸着穿过几百英里蛀孔般的隧道，向川陀大学前进途中，他们有好长一段时间只是默默坐着。最后盖尔忍不住了，问道：“您告诉主委的话当真吗？假使您被处决，真的会加速川陀的覆灭？”
Seldon said, "I never lie about psychohistoric findings. Nor would it haveavailed me in this case. Chen knew I spoke the truth. He is a very cleverpolitician and politicians by the very nature of their work must have aninstinctive feeling for the truths of psychohistory."
谢顿说：“关于心理史学的研究结果，我从来不曾说谎。何况这次说谎根本没有好处。陈主委知道我说的都是实情，他是一位非常精明的政治人物。由于工作的本质，政治人物对心理史学的真理必须有很好的直觉。”
Then need you have accepted exile, Gaal wondered, but Seldon did notanswer.
“那么您需要接受流放吗？”盖尔表示不解，但是谢顿并未回答。
When they burst out upon the University grounds, Gaal's muscles took actionof their own; or rather, inaction. He had to be carried, almost, out of thetaxi.
抵达川陀大学的时候，盖尔的肌肉已经完全不听使唤，他几乎是被拖出飞车的。
All the University was a blaze of light. Gaal had almost forgotten that asun could exist.
整个校园笼罩在一片光海中，盖尔这才想起川陀世界也应该有太阳。
The University structures lacked the hard steel-gray of the rest ofTrantor. They were silvery, rather. The metallic luster was almost ivory incolor.
校园的建筑与川陀其他地方很不一样。这里没有钢铁的青灰色，而是到处充满银色，那是一种类似象牙的金属光泽。
Seldon said, "Soldiers, it seems."
谢顿说：“好像有军人。”
What? Gaal brought his eyes to the prosaic ground and found a sentinelahead of them.
“什么？”盖尔向广场望去，果真看到前方有一名哨兵。
They stopped before him, and a soft-spoken captain materialized from anear-by doorway.
当两人走到哨兵面前时，门口又出现一名口气温和的陆军上尉。
He said, "Dr. Seldon?"
他说：“谢顿博士吗？”
Yes.
“是的。”
We have been waiting for you. You and your men will be under martial lawhenceforth. I have been instructed to inform you that six months will beallowed you for preparations to leave for Terminus.
“我们正在等你。从现在开始，你和你的手下都将接受戒严令的监管。我奉命通知你，你们有六个月的时间可以准备迁移到端点星。”
"Six months!" began Gaal, but Seldon's fingers were upon his elbow withgentle pressure.
“六个月！”盖尔想发作，谢顿却轻轻按住他的手肘。
"These are my instructions," repeated the captain.
“这是我所奉的命令。”军官重复道。
He was gone, and Gaal turned to Seldon, "Why, what can be done in sixmonths? This is but slower murder."
那位军官走开后，盖尔转身对谢顿说：“哈，六个月能干什么？这简直是变相谋杀。”
“安静点，安静点，到我的办公室再说。”
Quietly. Quietly. Let us reach my office.It was not a large office, but it was quite spy-proof and quiteundetectably so. Spy-beams trained upon it received neither a suspicioussilence nor an even more suspicious static. They received, rather, aconversation constructed at random out of a vast stock of innocuous phrases in various tones and voices.
谢顿的办公室并不算大，但是有相当完善、也相当能欺敌的防谍设备。如果有间谍波束射到这里，反射回去的并非令人起疑的静哑，也不是更明显的静电场。对方只会接收到很普通的对话，那是由包含各种声音与腔调的语音库随机产生的。
Now, said Seldon, at his ease, "six months will be enough."
“其实，”谢顿从容地说，“六个月足够了。”
I don't see how.
“我不明白。”
Because, my boy, in a plan such as ours, the actions of others are bent toour needs. Have I not said to you already that Chen's temperamental makeuphas been subjected to greater scrutiny than that of any other single man inhistory. The trial was not allowed to begin until the time andcircumstances were fight for the ending of our own choosing.
“孩子，因为在我们这种计划中，他人的行动全都能为我所用。我不是告诉过你，陈主委是有史以来思维模式被分析得最彻底的一个人。若不是时机和状况已经成熟，确定我们将得到预期的结果，我们根本不会引发这场审判。”
"But could you have arranged……?
“但是您能够安排——”
"…… be exiled to Terminus? Why not?" He put his fingers on a certain spoton his desk and a small section of the wall behind him slid aside. Only hisown fingers could have done so, since only his particular print-patterncould have activated the scanner beneath.
“——被流放到端点星？有何困难？”谢顿在书桌某个角落按了一下，背后的墙壁立刻滑开一小部分。这个按钮设有扫描装置，只会对他的指纹有所反应。
"You will find several microfilms inside," said Seldon. "Take the onemarked with the letter, T."
“里面有几卷微缩胶片，”谢顿说，“你把标着‘端’的那卷取出来。”
Gaal did so and waited while Seldon fixed it within the projector andhanded the young man a pair of eyepieces. Gaal adjusted them, and watchedthe film unroll before his eyes.
盖尔依言取出那卷胶片，谢顿将它装到投影机上，并且递过来一副接目镜。盖尔将接目镜调整好，眼底就展现出微缩胶片的内容。
He said, "But then?
他说：“可是这……”
Seldon said, "What surprises you?"
谢顿问道：“你为何吃惊？”
Have you been preparing to leave for two years?
“您已经花了两年时间准备迁移吗？”
"Two and a half. Of course, we could not be certain that it would beTerminus he would choose, but we hoped it might be and we acted upon that assumption?
“两年半。当然，我们原来无法确定他会选择端点星，但我们希望他会如此决定，所以我们根据这个假设来行动……”
But why, Dr. Seldon? If you arranged the exile, why? Could not events befar better controlled here on Trantor?
“谢顿博士，可是为什么呢？您为什么要作这样的安排？如果留在川陀，不是一切都能掌握得好得多吗？”
"Why, there are some reasons. Working on Terminus, we will have Imperialsupport without ever rousing fears that we would endanger Imperial safety."
“啊，这里头有好几个原因。我们去端点星工作，会得到帝国的支持，不会再引发危及帝国安全的疑惧。”
Gaal said, "But you aroused those fears only to force exile. I still do notunderstand."
盖尔说：“可是当初您引起那些疑惧，正是为了要他们判您流放，这我还是不懂。”
Twenty thousand families would not travel to the end of the Galaxy oftheir own will perhaps.
“要让两万多户人家，心甘情愿地移民到银河的尽头，似乎是不太可能的事。”
But why should they be forced there? Gaal paused, "May I not know?"
“但是何必强迫他们去呢？”盖尔顿了顿，“不能告诉我原因吗？”
Seldon said, "Not yet. It is enough for the moment that you know that ascientific refuge will be established on Terminus. And another will beestablished at the other end of the Galaxy, let us say," and he smiled, "at Star's End. And as for the rest, I will die soon, and you will see more than I……no. Spare me your shock and good wishes. My doctors tell me that I cannot live longer than a year or two. But then, I have accomplished in life what I have intended and under what circumstances may one better die."
“时辰未到。目前能让你知道的，是我们将在端点星建立一个科学避难所。而另一个则会建在银河的另一端，或者可以说，”他微微一笑，“在‘群星的尽头’。至于其他的事，我很快就要死了，你将比我看到得更多——别这样，别这样子。不要吃惊，也不必安慰我。我的医生都说，我顶多只能再活一两年。可是在此之前，我将完成一生中最大的心愿，这也就死而无憾了。”
“And after you die, sir?”
“您离世后，又该如何呢？”
Why, there will be successors ?perhaps even yourself. And thesesuccessors will be able to apply the final touch in the scheme andinstigate the revolt on Anacreon at the right time and in the right manner. Thereafter, events may roll unheeded."
“啊，自然会有后继者——或许你自己也是其中之一。这些人将为我的计划踢出临门一脚，也就是在适当的时机，以适当的方式煽动安纳克里昂叛变。从此之后，一切就会自行运作。”
I do not understand.
“我还是不了解。”
"You will." Seldon's lined face grew peaceful and tired, both at once,"Most will leave for Terminus, but some will stay. It will be easy toarrange. 朆ut as for me," and he concluded in a whisper, so that Gaal couldscarcely hear him, "I am finished."
“你会了解的。”谢顿布满皱纹的脸孔，同时显现出安详与疲惫。“大多数人将会去端点星，但少数人要留下来。这些都不难安排——至于我自己，”他最后一句话非常小声，盖尔只能勉强听见他说的是：“吾事已毕。”