17 THE VISI-SONOR
第17章 声光琴
Ebling Mis's house in a not-so-pretentious neighborhood of Terminus City was well known to the intelligentsia, literati, and just-plain-well-read of the Foundation. Its notable characteristics depended, subjectively, upon the source material that was read. To a thoughtful biographer, it was the "symbolization of a retreat from a nonacademic reality," a society columnist gushed silkily at its "frightfully masculine atmosphere of careless disorder," a University Ph.D. called it brusquely, "bookish, but unorganized," a nonuniversity friend said, "good for a drink anytime and you can put your feet on the sofa," and a breezy newsweekly broadcast, that went in for color, spoke of the "rocky, down-to-earth, no-nonsense living quarters of blaspheming, Leftish, balding Ebling Mis."
艾布林·米斯的住宅坐落在端点市一个还算纯朴的社区，基地所有的知识分子、学者，以及任何一个爱读书报的人，对这间房子都不会陌生。不过大家的主观印象不尽相同，端视各人读到的报道出自何处。对于某位心思细腻的传记作家，它是“从非学术的现实隐遁的象征”。某位社会专栏作家，曾经以一针见血的文字，提到室内“杂乱无章的、可怕的雄性气氛”。某位博士曾直率地描述它“有书卷气，但很不整齐”。某位与大学无缘的朋友则说：“随时可以来喝一杯，你还能把脚放在沙发上”。某位生性活泼、喜欢卖弄文采的每周新闻播报员，有一回提到：“离经叛道、激进、粗野的艾布林·米斯，他家的房间显得硬邦邦、实用而正经八百。”
To Bayta, who thought for no audience but herself at the moment, and who had the advantage of first-hand information, it was merely sloppy.
此时，贝泰自己也在心中评价着这座住宅。根据第一手资料，她觉得“邋遢”是唯一的形容词。
Except for the first few days, her imprisonment had been a light burden. Far lighter, it seemed, that this half-hour wait in the psychologist's home ?under secret observation, perhaps……She had been with Toran then, at least……
除了刚到基地那几天，她在拘留期间的待遇都还不错。相较之下，在心理学家的家中等待半小时，似乎比那些日子难熬得多……或许有人正在暗中监视呢？至少，她过去一直和杜伦在一起……
Perhaps she might have grown wearier of the strain, had not Magnifico's long nose drooped in a gesture that plainly showed his own far greater tension.
若不是马巨擘垂下长鼻子，露出一副紧张得不得了的表情，这种迫人的气氛可能会令她更难过。
Magnifico's pipe-stem legs were folded up under a pointed, sagging chin, as if he were trying to huddle himself into disappearance, and Bayta's hand went out in a gentle and automatic gesture of reassurance. Magnifico winced, then smiled.
马巨擘并起细长的双腿，膝盖顶着尖尖的、松弛的下巴，仿佛试着要让自己缩成一团然后消失。贝泰自然而然伸出手来，做了一个温柔的手势为他打气。马巨擘怔了一怔，然后才露出微笑。
"Surely, my lady, it would seem that even yet my body denies the knowledge of my mind and expects of others' hands a blow."
“毫无疑问，我亲爱的女士，似乎直到现在，我的身子还不肯相信我的脑子，总是以为别人还会伸手打我一顿。”
"There's no need for worry, Magnifico. I'm with you, and I won't let anyone hurt you."
“马巨擘，你不用担心。有我跟你在一起，我不会让任何人伤害你。”
The clown's eyes sidled towards her, then drew away quickly. "But they kept me away from you earlier ?and from your kind husband ?and, on my word, you may laugh, but I was lonely for missing friendship."
小丑的目光悄悄转向贝泰，又迅速缩回去。“可是他们原先不让我跟您……还有您那位好心的丈夫在一块。此外，我想告诉您，您也许会笑我，可是失去了友情，我感到十分寂寞。”
"I wouldn't laugh at that. I was, too."
“我不会笑你的，我也有这种感觉。”
The clown brightened, and he hugged his knees closer. He said, "You have not met this man who will see us?" It was a cautious question.
小丑显得开朗多了，将膝盖抱得更紧。“这个要来看我们的人，您还没有见过他吧？”他以谨慎的口气问道。
"No. But he is a famous man. I have seen him in the newscasts and heard quite a good deal of him. I think he's a good man, Magnifico, who means us no harm."
“没错。不过他是名人，我曾经在新闻幕中看过他，也听到过好些他的事情。马巨擘，我想他是好人，他不会想伤害我们。”
"Yes?" The clown stirred uneasily. "That may be, my lady, but he has questioned me before, and his manner is of an abruptness and loudness that bequivers me. He is full of strange words, so that the answers to his questions could not worm out of my throat. Almost, I might believe the romancer who once played on my ignorance with a tale that, at such moments, the heart lodged in the windpipe and prevented speech."
“是吗？”小丑仍然坐立不安，“亲爱的女士，也许您说得对，可是他以前曾经盘问过我，他的态度粗鲁，嗓门又大，令我忍不住发抖。他满口古怪的言语，所以对于他的问题，我使尽吃奶的力气也吐不出半个字。从前有个吟游诗人看我愣头愣脑，就唬我说在这种紧张时刻，心脏会塞到气管里，让人说不出话来，如今我几乎要相信他的话。”
"But it's different now. We're two to his one, and he won't be able to frighten the both of us, will he?"
“不过现在情况不同了。我们两个应付他一个，他没办法把我们两人都吓倒，对不对？”
"No, my lady."
“没错，我亲爱的女士。”
A door slammed somewheres, and the roaring of a voice entered the house. Just outside the room, it coagulated into words with a fierce, "Get the "Ga-LAX-y out of here!" and two uniformed guards were momentarily visible through the opening door, in quick retreat.
不知从哪里传来“砰”的一下关门声，接着是一阵咆哮逐渐逼近。当咆哮声到达门外时，凝聚成凶暴的一句“银……河呀，给我滚开这里！”门口立时闪过两名穿着制服的警卫，一溜烟就不见了。
Ebling Mis entered frowning, deposited a carefully wrapped bundle on the floor, and approached to shake Bayta's hand with careless pressure. Bayta returned it vigorously, man-fashion. Mis did a double-take as he turned to the clown, and favored the girl with a longer look.
艾布林·米斯皱着眉头走进房间，将一个仔细包装的东西放到地上，然后走过来跟贝泰随便握了握手。贝泰则回敬以粗犷的、男士的握手方式。米斯转向小丑后，又不禁回头望了望贝泰，这次目光在她身上停驻许久。
He said, "Married?"
他问道：“结婚了？”
"Yes. We went through the legal formalities."
“是的，我们办过合法的手续。”
Mis paused. Then, "Happy about it?"
米斯顿了顿，又问：“幸福吗？”
"So far."
“目前为止还好。”
Mis shrugged, and turned again to Magnifico. He unwrapped the package, "Know what this is, boy?"
米斯耸了耸肩，又转身面向马巨擘。他打开那包东西，问道：“孩子，知道这是什么吗？”
Magnifico fairly hurled himself out of his seat and caught the multi-keyed instrument. He fingered the myriad knobby contacts and threw a sudden back somersault of joy, to the imminent destruction of the nearby furniture.
马巨擘立刻从座位中弹跳出去，一把抓住那个多键的乐器。他抚摸着上面无数的圆凸按键，突然兴奋得向后翻了一个筋斗，差点把旁边的家具都撞坏了。
He croaked, "A Visi-Sonor ?and of a make to distill joy out of a dead man's heart." His long fingers caressed softly and slowly, pressing lightly on contacts with a rippling motion, resting momentarily on one key then another ?and in the air before them there was a soft glowing rosiness, just inside the range of vision.
他哇哇大叫道：“一把声光琴……而且制作得那么精致，能让死人都心花怒放。”他细长的手指慢慢地、温柔地抚摸着那个乐器，然后又轻快地滑过键盘，手指轮流按下一个个按键。空气中便出现了柔和的蔷薇色光辉，刚好充满每个人的视野。
Ebling Mis said, "All right, boy, you said you could pound on one of those gadgets, and there's your chance. You'd better tune it, though. It's out of a museum." Then, in an aside to Bayta, "Near as I can make it, no one on the Foundation can make it talk right."
艾布林·米斯说：“好啦，孩子，你说你会玩这种乐器，现在有机会了。不过，你最好先调调音，这是我从一家博物馆借出来的。”然后，米斯转身向贝泰说：“据我所知，基地没有任何人会侍候这玩意。”
He leaned closer and said quickly, "The clown won't talk without you. Will you help?"
他靠近了些，急促地说：“没有你在场，小丑就不肯开口。你愿意帮我吗？”
She nodded.
贝泰点了点头。
"Good!" he said. "His state of fear is almost fixed, and I doubt that his mental strength would possibly stand a psychic probe. If I'm to get anything out of him otherwise, he's got to feel absolutely at ease. You understand?"
“太好了！”他说，“他的恐惧状态几乎已经定型，我怀疑他的精神耐力承受不了心灵探测器。如果我想从他那里得到任何讯息，必须先让他感到绝对自在。你了解吗？”
She nodded again.
贝泰又点了点头。
"This Visi-Sonor is the first step in the process. He says he can play it; and his reaction now makes it pretty certain that it's one of the great joys of his life. So whether the playing is good or bad, be interested and appreciative. Then exhibit friendliness and confidence in me. Above all, follow my lead in everything." There was a swift glance at Magnifico, huddled in a comer of the sofa, making rapid adjustments in the interior of the instrument. He was completely absorbed.
“这把声光琴是我计划中的第一步。他说他会演奏这种乐器，根据他现在的反应，我们几乎可以确定，这玩意曾经带给他极大的快乐。所以不论他演奏得是好是坏，你都要显得很有兴趣、很欣赏。然后，你要对我表现出友善和信任。最重要的是，每件事都要看我的眼色行事。”米斯很快瞥了马巨擘一眼，看到他蜷缩在沙发的一角，迅速调整着声光琴的内部机件，一副全神贯注的样子。
Mis said in a conversational tone to Bayta, "Ever hear a Visi-Sonor?"
米斯又像闲话家常般对贝泰说：“你听过声光琴的演奏吗？”
"Once," said Bayta, equally casually, "at a concert of rare instruments. I wasn't impressed."
“听过一次，”贝泰也用很自然的口气说，“是在一场珍奇乐器演奏会中，没什么特别的印象。”
"Well, I doubt that you came across good playing. There are very few really good players. It's not so much that it requires physical co-ordination ?a multi-bank piano requires more, for instance ?as a certain type of free-wheeling mentality." In a lower voice, "That's why our living skeleton there might be better than we think. More often than not, good players are idiots otherwise. It's one of those queer setups that makes psychology interesting."
“嗯，我猜是因为表演的人不尽理想。如今几乎没有真正一流的演奏者。比起其他的乐器，比如说多键盘钢琴，声光琴并不需要全身上下如何协调，反而需要某种灵巧的心智。”接着他压低声音说，“这就是为什么对面那个皮包骨，有可能演奏得比咱们想象中要好。过半数的出色演奏家，在其他方面简直都是白痴。心理学之所以这么有意思，正是因为这种古怪现象还真不少。”
He added, in a patent effort to manufacture light conversation, "You know how the beblistered thing works……I looked it up for this purpose, and all I've made out so far is that its radiations stimulate the optic center of the brain directly, without ever touching the optic nerve. It's actually the utilization of a sense never met with in ordinary nature. Remarkable, when you come to think of it. What you hear is all right. That's ordinary. Eardrum, cochlea, all that. But ?Shh! He's ready. Will you kick that switch. It works better in the dark."
他显然是想要制造轻松的气氛，又补充道：“你知道这个怪里怪气的东西是什么原理？我特地研究了一下，目前我得到的结论是，它产生的电磁辐射能直接刺激脑部的视觉中枢，根本不必触及视神经。事实上，就是制造出一种原本不存在的感觉。你仔细想想，还真是挺神奇的。你平常听到的声音，并没有什么特别之处，不外是经过耳鼓、耳蜗的作用。但是……嘘！他准备好了。请你踢一下那个开关，在黑暗中效果更好。”
In the darkness, Magnifico was a mere blob, Ebling Mis a heavy-breathing mass. Bayta found herself straining her eyes anxiously, and at first with no effect. There was a thin, reedy quaver in the air, that wavered raggedly up the scale. It hovered, dropped and caught itself, gained in body, and swooped into a booming crash that had the effect of a thunderous split in a veiling curtain.
在一片昏暗中，马巨擘看起来只是一小团黑影，艾布林·米斯则是带着浓重呼吸声的一大团。贝泰满心期待地瞪大眼睛，起初却什么也看不到。空气中只存在着细微纤弱的颤动，音阶毫无规律地愈爬愈高。它在极高处徘徊，音量陡然升高，然后猛扑下来撞碎在地上，犹如纱窗外响起一声巨雷。
A little globe of pulsing color grew in rhythmic spurts and burst in midair into formless gouts that swirled high and came down as curving streamers in interfacing patterns. They coalesced into little spheres, no two alike in color ?and Bayta began discovering things.
随着四散迸溅的旋律，一个色彩变幻不定的小球渐渐胀大，在半空中爆裂成众多不规则的团块，一起盘旋而上，然后迅速下落，如同相互交错的弧形彩带。那些团块又凝聚成无数颗小珠子，每颗的色彩都不尽相同……这时候，贝泰开始看出一点名堂了。
She noticed that closing her eyes made the color pattern all the clearer; that each little movement of color had its own little pattern of sound; that she could not identify the colors; and, lastly, that the globes were not globes but little figures.
她发现如果闭起眼睛，彩色的图案反而更加清晰；每颗彩珠的每个小动作都带着特有的节奏；她还发现自己竟然无法确认这些色彩；此外彩珠其实并非珠状，而是许多小小的人形。
Little figures; little shifting flames, that danced and flickered in their myriads; that dropped out of sight and returned from nowhere; that whipped about one another and coalesced then into a new color.
小小的人形，又像是小小的火苗，无数的人形在舞蹈，无数的火苗在闪耀，忽而从视线中消失，一会儿又无端地重现。相互间不断挪换着位置，然后再聚集成新的色彩。
Incongruously, Bayta thought of the little blobs of color that come at night when you close your eyelids till they hurt, and stare patiently. There was the old familiar effect of the marching polka dots of shifting color, of the contracting concentric circles, of the shapeless masses that quiver momentarily. All that, larger, multivaried ?and each little dot of color a tiny figure.
贝泰不禁想到，晚上如果使劲闭起双眼，直到眼睛生疼，再睁开来耐心凝视，就会看到类似的小彩珠。她又联想到一些熟悉的景象：不停变幻颜色的碎花布在面前掠过，许多同心圆同时收缩，还有颤动不已的变形虫等等。不过如今眼前的景象规模更大，变化更多端……每颗小彩珠都是一个小小的人形。
They darted at her in pairs, and she lifted her hands with a sudden gasp, but they tumbled and for an instant she was the center of a brilliant snowstorm, while cold light slipped off her shoulders and down her arm in a luminous ski-slide, shooting off her stiff fingers and meeting slowly in a shining midair focus. Beneath it all, the sound of a hundred instruments flowed in liquid streams until she could not tell it from the light.
他们成双成对向她扑来，她倒抽一口气，赶紧抬起双手。他们却一个个翻滚开来，不一会儿，贝泰便处身于耀眼的暴风雪中心。冷光跃过她的肩头，如滑雪般来到她的手臂，再从她僵凝的十指激射出去，在半空中缓缓聚集成闪亮的焦点。除此之外，还有上百种乐器的旋律，如泉水般淙淙流过，直到她无法从光影中分辨出那些音乐。
She wondered if Ebling Mis were seeing the same thing, and if not, what he did see, The wonder passed, and then?
她很想知道艾布林·米斯是否也看到相同的景象，否则，他又看到些什么呢？这个疑问一闪而过，然后……
She was watching again. The little figures-were they little figures……ittle tiny women with burning hair that turned and bent too quickly for the mind to focus……eized one another in star-shaped groups that turned ?and the music was faint laughter ?girls' laughter that began inside the ear.
她继续凝视。那些小小的人形……他们真是小小的人形吗？其中有许多红发少女，她们旋转和屈身的动作太快了，令她的心灵无法专注。她们一个抓一个，组成星形的队形，然后一起开始旋转。音乐变成了模糊的笑声……是女孩们的笑声在贝泰耳中响起。
The stars drew together, sparked towards one another, grew slowly into structure ?and from below, a palace shot upward in rapid evolution. Each brick a tiny color, each color a tiny spark, each spark a stabbing light that shifted patterns and led the eye skyward to twenty jeweled minarets.
星形一个一个靠拢，彼此互相照耀，再慢慢聚合起来……由下而上，一座宫殿迅速形成。每一块砖都是一种特殊色彩，每一种色彩都闪闪发光，每一道闪光都不断变幻花样。她的目光被引导向上，仰望那二十座镶着宝石的尖塔。
A glittering carpet shot out and about, whirling, spinning an insubstantial web that engulfed all space, and from it luminous shoots stabbed upward and branched into trees that sang with a music all their own.
一条闪闪发光的飞毯激射而出，在半空中回旋飘扬，织成一张无形的巨网，将所有的空间网罗在内。从网中又长出明灿的嫩条，在瞬间开枝散叶，每棵树木都唱出自己的歌。
Bayta sat inclosed in it. The music welled about her in rapid, lyrical flights. She reached out to touch a fragile tree and blossoming spicules floated downwards and faded, each with its clear, tiny tinkle.
贝泰坐在它的正中央。音乐在她周围迅疾喷溅，以抒情的步调四散纷飞。她伸出手，想触摸面前一棵小树，树上的小穗立即向下飘散，消失得无影无踪，带起一阵清脆悦耳的铃声。
The music crashed in twenty cymbals, and before her an area flamed up in a spout and cascaded down invisible steps into Bayta's lap, where it spilled over and flowed in rapid current, raising the fiery sparkle to her waist, while across her lap was a rainbow bridge and upon it the little figures?
音乐中突然加入二十个铙钹，同时一大团火焰在贝泰面前喷涌而出，再沿着无形的阶梯一级级倾泻下来，尽数流向她的裙缘，在那里飞溅并迅速流散。她的腰肢随即被火红的光芒围绕，裙边升起一道彩虹桥，桥上有好些小小的人形……
A palace, and a garden, and tiny men and women on a bridge, stretching out as far as she could see, swimming through the stately swells of stringed music converging in upon her?
一座宫殿，一座花园，一望无际的彩虹桥，桥上有无数小小的男男女女，全都随着弦乐庄严的节奏起舞，最后一起涌向贝泰……
And then ?there seemed a frightened pause, a hesitant, indrawn motion, a swift collapse. The colors fled, spun into a globe that shrank, and rose, and disappeared.
接着……似乎是令人惊讶的停顿，然后又出现裹足不前的动作，继而是一阵迅速的崩溃。所有的色彩立时远遁，集中成一个旋转的球体，愈缩愈小，渐渐上升，最后终于消失。
And it was merely dark again.
现在，又只剩下一片黑暗。
A heavy foot scratched for the pedal, reached it, and the light flooded in; the flat light of a prosy sun. Bayta blinked until the tears came, as though for the longing of what was gone. Ebling Mis was a podgy inertness with his eyes still round and his mouth still open.
米斯伸出大脚探着踏板，然后一脚踩下，室内立刻大放光明，但那只是平淡无趣的太阳光。贝泰不停眨着眼睛，直到淌出眼泪，仿佛在追忆什么心爱的东西。艾布林·米斯矮胖的身躯一动不动，仍然维持着双眼圆瞪、瞠目结舌的表情。
Only Magnifico himself was alive, and he fondled his Visi-Sonor in a crooning ecstasy.
只有马巨擘一个人活蹦乱跳，他兴奋无比地哼着歌，抱着声光琴爱不释手。
"My lady," he gasped, "it is indeed of an effect the most magical. It is of balance and response almost beyond hope in its delicacy and stability. On this, it would seem I could work wonders. How liked you my composition, my lady?"
“我亲爱的女士，”他喘着气说，“这把琴的效果真可说是出神入化，在平衡和响应方面，它的灵敏和稳定几乎超出我的想象。有了这把琴，我简直可以创造奇迹。我亲爱的女士，您喜欢我的作品吗？”
"Was it yours?" breathed Bayta. "Your own?"
“你的作品？”贝泰小声地说，“你自己的作品？”
At her awe, his thin face turned a glowing red to the tip of his mighty nose. "My very own, my lady. The Mule liked it not, but often and often I have played it for my own amusement. It was once, in my youth, that I saw the palace ?a gigantic place of jeweled riches that I saw from a distance at a time of high carnival. There were people of a splendor undreamed of ?and magnificence more than ever I saw afterwards, even in the Mule's service. It is but a poor makeshift I have created, but my mind's poverty precludes more. I call it, 'The Memory of Heaven.'"
看到她吃惊的模样，马巨擘的瘦脸一直涨红到长鼻子的尖端。“我亲爱的女士，的的确确是我自己的作品。骡并不喜欢它，可是我常常、常常从这首曲子中自得其乐。那是我小的时候，有一次，我看到一座宫殿……一座巨大的宫殿，外面镶满金银珠宝；我是在巡回演出的时候，从远远的地方看见的。里头的人穿着我做梦也想不到的华丽衣裳，而且每个人都高贵显赫，后来即使在骡身边，我也没有再见到过那么高贵的人。我这首曲子其实模仿得十分拙劣，可是我的脑子不灵光，不能表现得更好了。我称这首曲子为《天堂的记忆》。”
Now through the midst of the chatter, Mis shook himself to active life. "Here," he said, "here, Magnifico, would you like to do that same thing for others?"
当马巨擘滔滔不绝的时候，米斯终于回过神。“来，”他说，“来，马巨擘，你愿不愿意为其他人这样表演？”
For a moment, the clown drew back. "For others?" he quavered.
一时之间，小丑不知如何是好。“为其他人？”他用发颤的声音说。
"For thousands," cried Mis, "in the great Halls of the Foundation. Would you like to be your own master, and honored by all, wealthy, and……and……his imagination failed him. "And all that……Eh……What do you say?"
“在基地各大音乐厅，为数千人表演。”米斯大声说道，“你愿不愿意做自己的主人，受众人的尊敬，并且赚很多钱，还有……还有……”他的想象力到此为止，“还有一切的一切。啊？你怎么说？”
"But how may I be all that, mighty sir, for indeed I am but a poor clown ungiven to the great things of the world?"
“但是我怎么可能做到呢？伟大的先生，我只是个可怜的小丑，世上的好事永远没有我的份。”
The psychologist puffed out his lips, and passed the back of his hand across his brow. He said, "But your playing, man. The world is yours if you would play so for the mayor and his Trading Trusts. Wouldn't you like that?"
心理学家深深吐了一口气，还用手背擦了擦额头上的汗水。他又说：“老弟，可是你很会表演声光琴。只要你愿意为市长还有他的‘联合企业’表演几场，这个世界就是你的了。你喜不喜欢这个主意？”
The clown glanced briefly at Bayta, "Would she stay with me?"
小丑很快瞥了贝泰一眼。“她会陪着我吗？”
Bayta laughed, "Of course, silly. Would it be likely that I'd leave you now that you're on the point of becoming rich and famous?"
贝泰哈哈大笑。“小傻瓜，当然会。你马上就要名利双收，现在我有可能离开你吗？”
"It would all be yours," he replied earnestly, "and surely the wealth of Galaxy itself would be yours before I could repay my debt to your kindness."
“我要全部献给您。”马巨擘认真地答道，“其实，即使把银河系的财富都献给您，还是不足以报答您的恩情。”
"But," said Mis, casually, "if you would first help me?
“不过，”米斯故意随口说，“希望你能先帮我一个忙……”
"What is that?"
“做什么？”
The psychologist paused, and smiled, "A little surface probe that doesn't hurt. It wouldn't touch but the peel of your brain."
心理学家顿了一顿，然后微微一笑。“小小的表层探测器不会对你造成任何伤害，只会轻轻接触你的大脑表层而已。”
There was a flare of deadly fear in Magnifico's eyes. "Not a probe. I have seen it used. It drains the mind and leaves an empty skull. The Mule did use it upon traitors and let them wander mindless through the streets, until out of mercy, they were killed." He held up his hand to push Mis away.
马巨擘眼中立刻显露无比的恐惧。“千万别用探测器，我见过它的厉害。它会把脑浆吸干，只留下一个空脑壳。骡就是用那东西对付叛徒，让那些人都变成行尸走肉，在大街小巷四处游荡，直到骡大发慈悲，把他们杀死为止。”他举起右手推开米斯。
"That was a psychic probe," explained Mis, patiently, "and even that would only harm a person when misused. This probe I have is a surface probe that wouldn't hurt a baby. "
“你说的是心灵探测器，”米斯耐着性子解释，“即使那种探测器，也只有误用时才会造成伤害。我用的这台是表层探测器，连婴儿也不会受伤。”
"That's right, Magnifico," urged Bayta. "It's only to help beat the Mule and keep him far away. Once that's done, you and I will be rich and famous all our lives."
“马巨擘，他说得没错。”贝泰劝道，“这样做只是为了对付骡，好让他休想接近我们。把骡解决之后，你我下半辈子都能过着荣华富贵的日子。”
Magnifico held out a trembling hand, "Will you hold my hand, then?"
马巨擘伸出抖个不停的右手。“那么，您可不可以抓着我的手？”
Bayta took it in both her own, and the clown watched the approach of the burnished terminal plates with large eyes.
贝泰双手握住他，小丑于是瞪大眼睛，看着那对闪闪发光的电极板向自己渐渐接近。
Ebling Mis rested carelessly on the too-lavish chair in Mayor Indbur's private quarters, unregenerately unthankful for the condescension shown him and watched the small mayor's fidgeting unsympathetically. He tossed away a cigar stub and spat out a shred of tobacco.
在茵德布尔市长的私人起居室中，艾布林·米斯坐在一张过分奢华的椅子上，仍旧表现得随随便便，对市长的礼遇一点也不领情。虽然矮小的市长今天显得坐立不安，米斯却只是毫不同情地冷眼旁观。这时，他将抽完的雪茄丢到地上，并且吐出一口烟丝。
"And, incidentally, if you want something for your next concert at Mallow Hall, Indbur," he said, "you can dump out those electronic gadgeteers into the sewers they came from and have this little freak play the Visi-Sonor for you. Indbur ?it's out of this world."
“茵德布尔，顺便告诉你，如果你正在安排马洛大厅下回的音乐会，”他说，“你可以把那些演奏电子乐器的，全都踢回臭水沟里；只要把那个小畸形人找来，叫他为你表演声光琴就行了。茵德布尔……那简直不是人间的音乐。”
Indbur said peevishly, "I did not call you here to listen to your lectures on music. What of the Mule……Tell me that. What of the Mule?"
茵德布尔不高兴地说：“我把你找来，不是请你为我上音乐课的。骡的底细究竟如何？我要听这个，骡的底细究竟如何？”
"The Mule……Well, I'll tell you ?I used a surface probe and got little. Can't use the psychic probe because the freak is scared blind of it, so that his resistance will probably blow his unprintable mental fuses as soon as contact is made. But this is what I've got, if you'll just stop tapping your fingernails?
“骡啊？嗯，我会告诉你的……我使用表层探测器，得到的资料有限。我不能用心灵探测器，那个畸形人对它有盲目的恐惧感，倘若硬要用，一旦电极接触到他，产生的排斥也许就会令他xxx的精神崩溃。无论如何，我带来一点情报，请你别再敲指甲好不好……
"First place, de-stress the Mule's physical strength. He's probably strong, but most of the freak's fairy tales about it are probably considerably blown up by his own fearful memory, He wears queer glasses and his eyes kill, he evidently has mental powers."
“首先，不用过分强调骡的体能。他也许很强壮，不过畸形人所说的关于这方面的神话，也许被他自己的恐怖记忆放大了许多倍。骡戴着一副古怪的眼镜，而他的眼睛能杀人，这明显表示他拥有精神力量。”
"So much we had at the start," commented the mayor, sourly.
“这些我们当初就知道了。”市长不耐烦地说。
"Then the probe confirms it, and from there on I've been working mathematically."
“那么探测器证实了这点，然后从这里出发，我开始用数学来推导。”
"So……And how long will all this take……Your word-rattling will deafen me yet."
“所以呢？你要花多久时间才能完成？你这样子喋喋不休，我的耳朵快被你吵聋了。”
"About a month, I should say, and I may have something for you. And I may not, of course. But what of it……If this is all outside Seldon's plans, our chances are precious little, unprintable little."
“据我的估计，大约再过一个月，我就能告诉你一些结果。当然，也可能没有结果。但是又有什么关系呢？假如这一切都在谢顿计划之外，我们的机会就太小了，xxx的太小了。”
Indbur whirled on the psychologist fiercely, "Now I have you, traitor. Lie! Say you're not one of these criminal rumormongers that are spreading defeatism and panic through the Foundation, and making my work doubly hard."
茵德布尔恶狠狠地转身面向心理学家。“叛徒，我逮到你啦。你骗人！你还敢说和那些制造谣言的坏蛋不是一伙的？你们散播失败主义，搞得基地人心惶惶，让我的工作加倍困难。”
"I……I?" Mis gathered anger slowly.
“我……我……”米斯也渐渐发火了。
Indbur swore at him, "Because by the dust-clouds of space, the Foundation will win ?the Foundation must win."
茵德布尔对着他赌咒。“星际尘云在上，基地将会胜利……基地一定会胜利。”
"Despite the loss at Horleggor?"
“纵使我们在侯里哥吃了败仗？”
"It was not a loss. You have swallowed that spreading lie, too……We were outnumbered and betreasoned?
“那不是败仗。你也相信那些满天飞的谎言吗？是由于我们兵力悬殊，而且有人叛变……”
"By whom?" demanded Mis, contemptuously.
“什么人煽动叛变？”米斯以轻蔑的口气追问。
"By the lice-ridden democrats of the gutter," shouted Indbur back at him. "I have known for long that the fleet has been riddled by democratic cells. Most have been wiped out, but enough remain for the unexplained surrender of twenty ships in the thickest of the swarming fight. Enough to force an apparent defeat.
“贫民窟里那些满身虱子的民主分子。”茵德布尔回敬他一阵大吼，“舰队里面到处都是民主分子的细胞，这点我很早就知道了。虽然大部分都被铲除，但是难免有漏网之鱼，这就足以解释为什么会有二十艘星舰，竟然在会战最吃紧的时候投降。正因为这样，我们才被打败的。
"For that matter, my rough-tongued, simple patriot and epitome of the primitive virtues, what are your own connections with the democrats?"
“所以说，你这个出言不逊、举止粗野、头脑简单的所谓爱国者，你和那些民主分子到底有什么牵连？”
Ebling Mis shrugged it off, "You rave, do you know that……What of the retreat since, and the loss of half of Siwenna……Democrats again?"
艾布林·米斯却只是耸耸肩。“你在胡说八道，你知道吗？后来的撤退又怎么说，西维纳又怎么会沦陷了一半？也是民主分子的杰作吗？”
"No. Not democrats," the little man smiled sharply. "We retreat ?as the Foundation has always retreated under attack, until the inevitable march of history turns with us. Already, I see the outcome. Already, the so-called underground of the democrats has issued manifestoes swearing aid and allegiance to the Government. It could be a feint, a cover for a deeper treachery, but I make good use of it, and the propaganda distilled from it will have its effect, whatever the crawling traitors scheme. And better than that?
“不，不是民主分子。”小个子市长露出诡异的笑容，“是我们主动撤退……基地每逢遭到攻击，一律都会以退为进，直到不可抗拒的历史发展，变得对我们有利为止。事实上，我已经看到了结果。事实上，由民主分子组成的所谓‘地下组织’已经发表一项声明，宣誓效忠并协助政府。这可能是个阴谋，以便掩护另一个更高明的诡计，但是我可以将计就计，不论那些混账叛徒打的什么主意，这项合作都可以大肆宣传一番。更好的是……”
"Even better than that, Indbur?"
“茵德布尔，更好的是什么？”
"Judge for yourself. Two days ago, the so-called Association of Independent Traders declared war on the Mule, and the Foundation fleet is strengthened, at a stroke, by a thousand ships. You see, this Mule goes too far. He finds us divided and quarreling among ourselves and under the pressure of his attack we unite and grow strong. He must lose. It is inevitable ?as always."
“你自己判断吧。两天前，所谓的‘独立行商协会’已经向骡宣战，因此基地舰队一口气增加了千艘星舰。你瞧，这个骡做得太过分了。他趁着我们内部分裂不和之际开战，可是面对他的来犯，我们马上团结起来，变得强大无比。他非输不可，这是必然的……始终如此。”
Mis still exuded skepticism, "Then you tell me that Seldon planned even for the fortuitous occurrence of a mutant."
米斯仍然透着怀疑。“那么你的意思是说，谢顿连无法预料的突变种也计划在内。”
"A mutant! I can't tell him from a human, nor could you but for the ravings of a rebel captain, some outland youngsters, and an addled juggler and clown. You forget the most conclusive evidence of all ?your own."
“突变种！我看不出他和人类有什么不同，你同样看不出来。我们听到的，只是一个叛变的上尉、两个异邦年轻人，还有一个笨头笨脑的小丑，这四个人的胡说八道。你忘记了最有力的证据……你自己的证据。”
"My own?" For just a moment, Mis was startled.
“我自己的证据？”米斯顿时吃了一惊。
"Your own," sneered the mayor. "The Time Vault opens in nine weeks. What of that……It opens for a crisis. If this attack of the Mule is not the crisis, where is the 'real' one, the one the Vault is opening for……Answer me, you lardish ball."
“你自己的证据。”市长冷冷一笑，“再过九个星期，时光穹窿又要开启了。这代表什么？代表将有一个危机。假如骡发动的攻击其实不算危机，‘真正的’危机又在哪里，穹窿又为什么要开启？回答我，你这个大肉球。”
The psychologist shrugged, "All tight. If it keeps you happy. Do me a favor, though. Just in case……just in case old Seldon makes his speech and it does go sour, suppose you let me attend the Grand Opening."
心理学家又耸耸肩。“好吧，如果这样想能让你心安的话。不过，请你帮个忙，只是预防万一……万一老谢顿发表了演说，结果却出乎我们意料之外，请你让我也出席这个集会。”
"All right. Get out of here. And stay out of my sight for nine weeks."
“好吧，现在你可以滚了。这九个星期中，别让我再看到你。”
"With unprintable pleasure, you wizened horror," muttered Mis to himself as he left.
“我xxx的求之不得，你这又干又瘪的讨厌鬼。”米斯一面走，一面喃喃自语。