6 One Man, the Mule……and Another
第6章 一人，骡……与第三者
Two men, apparently relaxed and entirely at ease, poles apart physically……with every nerve that served as emotional detector quivering tensely.
这两个人表面上看来轻松自在，实际上刚好相反……他们体内每一根职司情感侦测的神经，都紧张得不停在颤抖。
The Mule, for the first time in long years, had insufficient surety of his own way. Channis knew that, though he could protect himself for the moment, it was an effort……and that the attack upon him was none such for his opponent. In a test of endurance, Channis knew he would lose.
这么多年来，骡第一次对自己的手法动摇信心。程尼斯心知肚明，虽然他暂时能自保，却是全力以赴的结果……对方的攻击则不费吹灰之力。在这场耐力比赛中，程尼斯明白自己迟早会败下阵来。
But it was deadly to think of that. To give away to the Mule an emotional weakness would be to hand him a weapon. There was already that glimpse of something……a winner's something……in the Mule's mind.
但他万万不该动这个念头。将情感弱点暴露给骡，无异于献给他一柄致命武器。在骡的心灵中，已经隐约浮现一丝不同的情绪……胜者的情绪。
To gain time……"
设法争取时间……
Why did the others delay? Was that the source of the Mule's confidence? What did his opponent know that he didn't? The mind he watched told nothing. If only he could read ideas. And yet……
其他人为什么迟迟不来？骡正是因此而信心满满吗？他的对手究竟知道哪些他不知道的事？他紧盯着对方的心灵，可是毫无发现。他若能看透他人的心思就好了，不过……
Channis braked his own mental whirling roughly. There was only that; to gain time……
程尼斯猛力煞住纷乱不堪的思绪。他只让精神集中在一个念头：设法争取时间……
Channis said: "Since it is decided, and not denied by myself after our little duel over Pritcher, that I am a Second Foundationer, suppose you tell me why I came to Tazenda."
程尼斯说：“既然你已经确定我是第二基地分子，而在我们借着普利吉小斗一番之后，我也不想再否认了。可否请你告诉我，我为什么要到达辛德。”
"Oh, no," and the Mule laughed, with high-pitched confidence, "I am not Pritcher. I need make no explanations to you. You had what you thought were reasons. Whatever they were, your actions suited me, and so I inquire no further."
“喔，不。”骡哈哈大笑，笑声高亢而充满自信。“我可不是普利吉，我不需要对你作任何解释。你有许多自以为是的理由。不管那些理由是什么，你的行动既然符合我的需要，我就懒得再追问。”
"Yet there must be such gaps in your conception of the story. Is Tazenda the Second Foundation you expected to find? Pritcher spoke much of your other attempt at finding it, and of your psychologist tool, Ebling Mis. He babbled a bit sometimes under my ... uh ... slight encouragement. Think back on Ebling Mis, First Citizen."
“在你对这件事的认知中，却一定还有盲点。达辛德真是你要找的第二基地吗？普利吉对我提过你以前的努力，还有那位成为你的工具的心理学家……艾布林·米斯。在我的……嗯……轻微的鼓励下，他不时会透露一些历史。第一公民，你回想一下艾布林·米斯。”
"Why should I?" Confidence!
“我何必那么做？”声音充满自信！
Channis felt that confidence edge out into the open, as if with the passage of time, any anxiety the Mule might be having was increasingly vanishing.
程尼斯感到那股自信即将满溢，似乎是随着时间的流逝，骡本来可能还残存的不安情绪渐渐消失无踪。
He said, firmly restraining the rush of desperation: "You lack curiosity, then? Pritcher told me of Mis' vast surprise at something. There was his terribly drastic urging for speed, for a rapid warning of the Second Foundation? Why???????Ebling Mis died. The Second Foundation was not warned. And yet the Second Foundation exists."
他尽力克制住强烈的绝望感，又说：“那么，你并没有什么好奇心？普利吉告诉我，米斯曾经大吃一惊。他拼了命也要争取时间，想尽早警告第二基地。为什么？为什么呢？后来艾布林·米斯死了，第二基地未曾接到警告。可是，第二基地至今依然存在。”
The Mule smiled in real pleasure, and with a sudden and surprising dash of cruelty that Channis felt advance and suddenly withdraw: "But apparently the Second Foundation was warned. Else how and why did one Bail Channis arrive on Kalgan to handle my men and to assume the rather thankless task of outwitting me. The warning came too late, that is all."
此时骡露出真心的微笑，程尼斯惊觉一股残酷的情绪突然逼近，又在下一瞬间撤回。骡答道：“不过第二基地显然接到了警告。否则，拜尔·程尼斯如何又为何会到卡尔根进行活动，对我的手下动手脚，还妄想对我耍阴谋诡计？第二基地当然接到了警告，只不过太迟了点。”
"Then," and Channis allowed pity to drench outward from him, "you don't even know what the Second Foundation is, or anything of the deeper meaning of all that has been going on."
“那么，”程尼斯故意流露出同情的情绪，“你甚至不知道第二基地是什么样的组织，那些具有更深含意的事件，你也不明白它们的真正意义。”
To gain time!
设法争取时间！
The Mule felt the other's pity, and his eyes narrowed with instant hostility. He rubbed his nose in his familiar four-fingered gesture, and snapped: "Amuse yourself, then. What of the Second Foundation?"
骡感觉到了对方的揶揄，他的眼睛眯起来，并闪出一丝敌意。他习惯性地用四根指头摸摸鼻子，再陡然迸出一句：“我就让你说个过瘾吧。第二基地究竟有什么秘密？”
Channis spoke deliberately, in words rather than in emotional symbology. He said: "From what I have heard, it was the mystery that surrounded the Second Foundation that most puzzled Mis. Hari Seldon founded his two units so differently. The First Foundation was a splurge that in two centuries dazzled half the Galaxy. And the Second was an abyss that was dark.
程尼斯刻意改用普通的语言，不再使用情感讯息符号。他说：“据我所知，最令米斯感到疑惑困扰的，是包围着第二基地的重重神秘。当初，哈里·谢顿用完全不同的方式设立这两个基地。第一基地一切光明正大，短短两个世纪就威震半个银河系。反之，第二基地始终隐藏在黑暗的深渊。
"You won't understand why that was, unless you can once again feel the intellectual atmosphere of the days of the dying Empire. It was a time of absolutes, of the great final generalities, at least in thought. It was a sign of decaying culture, of course, that dams had been built against the further development of ideas. It was his revolt against these dams that made Seldon famous. It was that one last spark of youthful creation in him that lit the Empire in a sunset glow and dimly foreshadowed the rising sun of the Second Empire."
“除非你能体验那个垂死帝国当年的学术气氛，否则不可能了解其中的道理。至少在思想上，那是个宏伟的大时代，各式各样的思潮百家争鸣。当然，当时已有文化倾颓的征兆，因为进一步的思想发展遭到了防堵。谢顿之所以能声名大噪，正是因为他和那些学术绊脚石抗争到底。他释放的最后一点创造性火花，不但辉映着第一帝国的落日残照，更预示了第二帝国的旭日初升。”
"Very dramatic. So what?"
“非常戏剧化。后来呢？”
"So he created his Foundations according to the laws of psychohistory, but who knew better than he that even those laws were relative. He never created a finished product. Finished products are for decadent minds. His was an evolving mechanism and the Second Foundation was the instrument of that evolution. We, First Citizen of your Temporary union of Worlds, we are the guardians of Seldon's Plan. Only we!"
“因此，他根据心理史学的定律，亲手创立了两个基地。可是他比任何人更清楚，那些定律并非绝对的。他从未创造任何成品，只有退化的心灵才需要所谓的成品。他的心血结晶是一种不断演化的机制，而第二基地正是演化的原动力。我们……短命行星联盟的第一公民，我告诉你……我们才是谢顿计划的守护者。我们才是！”
"Are you trying to talk yourself into courage," inquired the Mule, contemptuously, "or are you trying to impress me? For the Second Foundation, Seldon's Plan, the Second Empire all impresses me not the least, nor touches any spring of compassion, sympathy, responsibility, nor any other source of emotional aid you may be trying to tap in me. And in any case, poor fool, speak of the Second Foundation in the past tense, for it is destroyed."
“你想拿这些话为自己壮胆吗？”骡用轻蔑的语气问，“还是你想要说服我？无论是第二基地、谢顿计划或第二帝国，我一概不屑一顾；它们无法激起我一点点的同情、怜悯、责任感，或是任何你试图投射给我的情感。从现在开始，可怜的傻子，你得用过去式来描述第二基地，因为它被摧毁了。”
Channis felt the emotional potential that pressed upon his mind rise in intensity as the Mule rose from his chair and approached. He fought back furiously, but something crept relentlessly on within him, battering and bending his mind back……and back.
当骡站起身来，向对方走近时，程尼斯发觉压迫自己心灵的情感势能陡然增强。他拼命抵抗，却感到体内有什么东西在爬动，在无情地敲击与扭搅他的心灵。
He felt the wall behind him, and the Mule faced him, skinny arms akimbo, lips smiling terribly beneath that mountain of nose.
他发觉自己已经背对着墙壁，而骡就在他面前，皮包骨的双臂叉在腰际，嘴唇在硕大无比的鼻子下扯出一个可怖的笑容。
The Mule said: "Your game is through, Channis. The game of all of you-of all the men of what used to be the Second Foundation. Used to be! Used to be!
骡又开口说：“程尼斯，你的游戏该结束了。你们这些人……所有那些曾经隶属第二基地的人，都已经是过去式！过去式！
"What were you sitting here waiting for all this time, with your babble to Pritcher, when you might have struck him down and taken the blaster from him without the least effort of physical force? You were waiting for me, weren't you, waiting to greet me in a situation that would not too arouse my suspicions.
“你或许不动一根指头就能把普利吉击倒，抢走他的核铳，却只是一个劲对他喋喋不休，你到底是在等什么？你其实是在等我，好让我来到时不至于太起疑，对不对？
"Too bad for you that I needed no arousal. I knew you. I knew you well, Channis of the Second Foundation.
“只可惜我根本不必起疑。第二基地的程尼斯，我早就看穿你，彻底看穿你了。
"But what are you waiting for now? You still throw words at me desperately, as though the mere sound of your voice would freeze me to my seat. And all the while you speak, something in your mind is waiting and waiting and is still waiting. But no one is coming. None of those you expect……none of your allies. You are alone here, Channis, and you will remain alone. Do you know why?
“但你现在又在等什么呢？你仍旧拼命对我滔滔不绝，好像能用声波把我禁锢在椅子上。而你在说话的时候，心中从头到尾都在等待、等待、等待。可是根本不会有任何人到来，你所等待的人……你的盟友一个也不会来。程尼斯，你落单了，这种情况永远不会改变。你知道为什么吗？
"It is because your Second Foundation miscalculated me to the very dregs of the end. I knew their plan early. They thought I would follow you here and be proper meat for their cooking. You were to be a decoy indeed……a decoy for a poor, foolish weakling mutant, so hot on the trail of Empire that he would fall blindly into an obvious pit. But am I their prisoner?
“因为你的第二基地对我完全估计错误。我早就知道他们的计划：他们以为我跟踪你到了这里，就可以让他们任意宰割。你的确是一个诱饵，用来引出这个可怜、愚蠢、孱弱的突变种……他是多么热衷于建立一个帝国，因而对脚下明显的陷阱视而不见。可是，我现在是他们的阶下囚吗？
"I wonder if it occurred to them that I抎 scarcely be here without my fleet……against the artillery of any unit of which they are entirely and pitifully helpless? Did it occur to them that I would not pause for discussion or wait for events?
“我不知道他们有没有想到，无论我到哪里，几乎都有舰队跟随。面对我的舰队，不论是哪一支，他们都完全束手无策。也不知道他们有没有想到，我不会为了谈判而按兵不动或静观其变。
"My ships were launched against Tazenda twelve hours ago and they are quite, quite through with their mission. Tazenda is laid in ruins; its centers of population are wiped out. There was no resistance. The Second Foundation no longer exists, Channis……and I, the queer, ugly weakling, am the ruler of the Galaxy."
“十二个小时前，我的舰队已经开始对达辛德发动攻击，他们的任务执行得相当、相当彻底。达辛德如今已是一片焦土，人口集中地区全被夷为平地。根本没有出现任何抵抗。程尼斯，第二基地已经不复存在……而我，我这个丑怪孱弱的畸形人，终于成为全银河的统治者。”
Channis could do nothing but shake his head feebly. "No……No……"
程尼斯唯有缓缓摇头叹息。“不可能……不可能……”
"Yes……Yes……"mimicked the Mule. "And if you are the last one alive, and you may be, that will not be for long either."
“可能……可能……”骡模仿着他的语气，“你很可能是最后一名幸存者，却也活不了多久了。”
And then there followed a short, pregnant pause, and Channis almost howled with the sudden pain of that tearing penetration of the innermost tissues of his mind.
接着，出现了一阵短暂而意味深长的停顿。忽然间，程尼斯感到心灵深处被贯穿了，随之而来的是一阵撕心裂肺的痛楚，令他几乎发出呻吟。
The Mule drew back and muttered: "Not enough. You do not pass the test after all. Your despair is pretense. Your fear is not the broad overwhelming that adheres to the destruction of an ideal, but the puny seeping fear of personal destruction."
骡及时收回精神力量，喃喃说道：“不够，你并没有通过测验。你的绝望是装出来的。你的恐惧感不够强烈，那并非理想破灭该有的反应，只是个人面对生死关头的微弱恐惧。”
And the Mule抯 weak hand seized Channis by the throat in a puny grip that Channis was somehow unable to break.
骡伸出瘦弱的手掌，轻轻扼住程尼斯的喉头，程尼斯偏偏无法挣脱。
"You are my insurance, Channis. You are my director and safeguard against any underestimation I may make." The Mule's eyes bore down upon him. Insistent?Demanding?
“程尼斯，你是我的保障。万一我低估了任何事，你可以提醒我，还能够保护我。”骡的双眼向下凝视他，坚决地要得到答案。
"Have I calculated rightly, Channis? Have I outwitted your men of the Second Foundation? Tazenda is destroyed, Channis, tremendously destroyed; so why is your despair pretense? Where is the reality? I must have reality and truth! Talk, Channis talk. Have I penetrated then, not deeply enough? Does the danger still exist? Talk, Channis. Where have I done wrong?"
“程尼斯，我的计算都正确吗？我是否智取了你们第二基地的人马？达辛德被摧毁了，程尼斯，彻彻底底摧毁了，但你的绝望为何还是假装的呢？真相究竟是什么？我一定要知道真相和实情！说话，程尼斯，说话啊。是不是我洞察得还不够透彻？危险依然存在吗？程尼斯，你说话啊。我到底做错了哪一点？”
Channis felt the words drag out of his mouth. They did not come willingly. He clenched his teeth against them. He bit his tongue. He tensed every muscle of his throat.
程尼斯感到一字一句从口中扯出来，完全违背自己的意愿。他咬紧牙关，咬住舌头，还绷紧了喉咙的每一根神经。
And they came out……gasping……pulled out by force and tearing his throat and tongue and teeth on the way.
那些话仍旧脱口而出。他大口喘着气，任由那股力量拉扯着他的喉咙、舌头、牙齿，一路将那些话硬扯了出来。
"Truth," he squeaked, "truth……"
“真相是，”他尖声道，“真相……”
"Yes, truth. What is left to be done?"
“对，真相。我还有什么没做到的？”
"Seldon founded Second Foundation here. Here, as I said. I told no lie. The psychologists arrived and took control of the native population."
“谢顿将第二基地设在这里。我早就说是这里，我并没有说谎。当初那些心理学家来到这个世界，控制了本地的居民。”
"Of Tazenda?" The Mule plunged deeply into the flooding torture of the other's emotional upwellings……tearing at them brutally. "It is Tazenda I have destroyed. You know what I want. Give it to me."
“达辛德吗？”骡再度深入对方翻腾而痛苦的心灵，毫不留情地肆意翻找。“我已经毁灭了达辛德。你知道我要什么，快告诉我。”
"Not Tazenda. I said Second Foundationers might not be those apparently in power; Tazenda is the figurehead? The words were almost unrecognizable, forming themselves against every atom of will of the Second Foundationer, "Rossem?RRRRRRRRRRsem is the world?
“不是达辛德。我说过，第二基地分子也许不是表面上的掌权者；达辛德只是傀儡……”这些话说得含混不清，每个字都违背了这位第二基地分子的心意。“罗珊……罗珊……罗珊才是你要找的世界……”
The Mule loosed his grip and Channis dropped into a huddle of pain and torture.
骡松开手，程尼斯马上痛苦地缩成一团。
"And you thought to fool me?" said the Mule, softly.
“你原来想要骗我吗？”骡轻声地说。
"You were fooled." It was the last dying shred of resistance in Channis.
“你的确上当了。”这是程尼斯最后一点垂死的反击。
"But not long enough for you and yours. I am in communication with my Fleet. And after Tazenda can come Rossem. But first……"
“可是你们并没有争取到足够的时间。我一直和我的舰队保持联络。解决了达辛德之后，下一个目标就是罗珊。不过首先……”
Channis felt the excruciating darkness rise against him, and the automatic lift of his arm to his tortured eyes could not ward it off. It was a darkness that throttled, and as he felt his tom, wounded mind reeling backwards, backwards into the everlasting black……there was that final picture of the triumphant Mule……laughing matchstick……that long, fleshy nose quivering with laughter.
程尼斯感到令人无法忍受的黑暗扑天盖地而来，他自然而然伸出手臂，挡在痛苦不堪的双眼之前，却无法阻挡这波攻势。这片黑暗几乎令他窒息，他还觉得受创的心灵蹒跚地向后退，退到永恒的黑暗中……那里有个得意洋洋的骡，好像一根开怀大笑的火柴棒，又粗又长的鼻子在笑声中不停摇摆。
The sound faded away. The darkness embraced him lovingly.
笑声不久便逐渐消退，只剩下黑暗紧紧拥抱着他。
It ended with a cracking sensation that was like the jagged glare of a lightning flash, and Channis came slowly to earth while sight returned painfully in blurry transmission through tear-drenched eyes.
直到另一种感觉突然迸现，仿佛是一道锯齿状的强烈闪电，才终于驱走无边的黑暗。程尼斯渐渐清醒过来，视觉也慢慢恢复，噙着泪水的双眼已能看到一个模糊的影像。
His head ached unbearably, and it was only with a stab of agony that he could bring up a hand to it.
头痛简直令他无法忍受，而他必须承受着巨大的痛楚，才能将一只手抬到头部。
Obviously, he was alive. Softly, like feathers caught up in an eddy of air that had passed, his thoughts steadied and drifted to rest. He felt comfort suck in……from outside. Slowly, torturedly, he bent his neck……and relief was a sharp pang.
显然，他还活着。他的思绪好像一团羽毛，被气流卷起之后又缓缓落向地面，再度恢复静止。他感到体内充斥一股舒畅的暖流……那是从外面钻进来的。他强忍着巨痛，试着慢慢扭动颈部，却又带来一阵锥心刺骨的痛楚。
For the door was open; and the First Speaker stood just inside the threshold. He tried to speak, to shout, to warn……but his tongue froze and he knew that a part of the Mule's mighty mind still held him and clamped all speech within him.
现在门又打开了；第一发言者已经进入室内，站在门槛旁边。程尼斯想要说话，想要大叫，想要发出警告……舌头却僵住了，这才知道骡的威猛心灵仍未完全放开他，仍然钳制住他的发声器官。
He bent his neck once more. The Mule was still in the room. He was angry and hot-eyed. He laughed no longer, but his teeth were bared in a ferocious smile.
程尼斯再度转动颈子。骡依旧在屋内，双眼冒出怒火。他不再张口大笑，却露出牙齿，展现一个狰狞的笑容。
Channis felt the First Speaker's mental influence moving gently over his mind with a healing touch and then there was the numbing sensation as it came into contact with the Mule's defense for an instant of struggle and withdrew.
程尼斯感觉到，第一发言者的精神力量正在他心中轻轻挪动，为他疗伤止痛。可是不久之后，它就遇到骡的防御，只经过短暂的缠斗便被击退，一阵麻木感再度袭向程尼斯。
The Mule said gratingly, with a fury that was grotesque in his meagre body: "Then another comes to greet me." His agile mind reached its tendrils out of the room……out……"
怒火充满骡的瘦弱身躯，使他看来更加丑怪。他咬牙切齿地说：“又有一个人来欢迎我。”他的心灵伸出灵巧的触须，一直伸到室外，并且继续延伸……延伸……
"You are alone," he said.?
“你是单枪匹马来的。”他说。
And the First Speaker interrupted with an acquiescence: "I am thoroughly alone. It is necessary that I be alone, since it was I who miscalculated your future five years ago. There would be a certain satisfaction to me in correcting that matter without aid. Unfortunately, I did not count on the strength of your Field of Emotional Repulsion that surrounded this place. It took me long to penetrate. I congratulate you upon the skill with which it was constructed."
第一发言者点了点头。“我绝对只有一个人。我确有必要这么做，因为五年前，是我对你的未来计算错误。所以我有个小小的心愿，那就是由我自己独力扭转局势。不幸的是，我没想到你布下的‘情感禁制场’威力如此强大，花了我好多时间才破解。你有这般能耐，实在可喜可贺。”
"Thank you for nothing," came the hostile rejoinder. "Bandy no compliments with me. Have you come to add your brain splinter to that of yonder cracked pillar of your realm?"
“我可不领情。”骡以凶狠的口气答道，“你少来这一套。你到这里来，是不是要用你那少得可怜的精神力量，援助你们这位即将崩溃的栋梁之才？”
The First Speaker smiled: "Why, the man you call Bail Channis performed his mission well, the more so since he was not your mental equal by far. I can see, of course, that you have mistreated him, yet it may be that we may restore him fully even yet. He is a brave man, sir. He volunteered for this mission although we were able to predict mathematically the huge chance of damage to his mind……a more fearful alternative than that of mere physical crippling."
第一发言者微微一笑。“哈，你称之为拜尔·程尼斯的这个人，已经圆满达成任务，由于他的精神力量远不及你，他的表现更加难能可贵。当然，我看得出来，你让他吃了不少苦头，即使如此，或许我们还是有办法使他完全康复。阁下，他是个勇敢的人。这个任务是他自愿的，虽然事前我们用数学推算出来，他的心灵受创的机会极大……这种下场比单纯的肉体残废更可怕。”
Channis' mind pulsed futilely with what he wanted to say and couldn't; the warning he wished to shout and was unable to. He could only emit that continuous stream of fear……fear……"
程尼斯在心中拼命挣扎，他想要说话，想要大声发出警告，可是偏偏做不到。他唯一能发出的只有恐惧……持续不断的恐惧……
The Mule was calm. "You know, of course, of the destruction of Tazenda."
骡显得很冷静。“你当然知道达辛德被毁灭了。”
"I do. The assault by your fleet was foreseen."
“我知道，我们早已预见你的舰队会发动攻击。”
Grimly: "Yes, so I suppose. But not prevented, eh?"
“是的，不出我所料。可是你们未能阻止，嗯？”这回声音冷酷。
"No, not prevented." The First Speaker's emotional symbology was plain. It was almost a self-horror; a complete self-disgust: "And the fault is much more mine than yours. Who could have imagined your powers five years ago. We suspected from the start……from the moment you captured Kalgan……that you had the powers of emotional control. That was not too surprising, First Citizen, as I can explain to you.
“没错，未能阻止。”第一发言者发出清晰的情感讯息符号，几乎全然是自怨自责与恶心憎恶的情绪。“对于这个错误，我必须承担比你更大的责任。五年前，谁能够想象你的力量会这么大？我们从一开始……当你攻下卡尔根的那一刻……就怀疑你拥有控制情感的能力。这点并不令我们惊讶，第一公民，我现在就能解释给你听。
"Emotional contact such as you and I possess is not a very new development. Actually it is implicit in the human brain. Most humans can read emotion in a primitive manner by associating it pragmatically with facial expression, tone of voice and so on. A good many animals possess the faculty to a higher degree; they use the sense of smell to a good extent and the emotions involved are, of course, less complex.
“像你我所拥有的这种精神力量，其实不是什么崭新的异能。事实上，它始终潜伏在人类的大脑。大多数的人都能察觉他人最表层的情感，例如根据面部的表情、说话的语气等等。许多动物在这方面的天赋更高，它们使用嗅觉的本领出神入化，当然，牵涉到的情感则较为简单。
"Actually, humans are capable of much more, but the faculty of direct emotional contact tended to atrophy with the development of speech a million years back. It has been the great advance of our Second Foundation that this forgotten sense has been restored to at least some of its potentialities.
“人类这方面的潜力其实极大，可是一百万年前，随着语言的发展，情感直接接触的机能逐渐萎缩。我们第二基地最大的成就，就是唤醒这个沉睡的感官，使它至少恢复到某种程度。
"But we are not born with its full use. A million years of decay is a formidable obstacle, and we must educate the sense, exercise it as we exercise our muscles. And there you have the main difference. You were born with it.
“可是我们并非天生具有这些能力。百万年的退化是个艰难的障碍，我们必须锻炼这种感官，就像锻炼自己的肌肉一样。就这点而言，你得天独厚。你的能力是与生俱来的。
"So much we could calculate. We could also calculate the effect of such a sense upon a person in a world of men who did not possess it. The seeing man in the kingdom of the blind?We calculated the extent to which a megalomania would take control of you and we thought we were prepared. But for two factors we were not prepared.
“以上这些，我们都有能力计算出来。因此，我们也能计算出一个具有这种能力的人，在普通人的世界里所造成的效应。就好像明眼人到了盲人国那样……我们算出了夸大妄想对你的影响程度，认为我们已经有所准备。但是，我们忽略了两个重要因素。
"The first was the great extent of your sense. We can induce emotional contact only when in eyeshot, which is why we are more helpless against physical weapons than you might think. Sight plays such an enormous part. Not so with you. You are definitely known to have had men under control, and, further, to have had intimate emotional contact with them when out of sight and out of earshot. That was discovered too late.
“第一，你的精神力量有效范围极广。我们的精神接触，只能在目力所及的范围内施行，因此面对普通武器的时候，我们比你想象中更加无助。因为视觉扮演一个极重要的角色。而你却没有这种限制，我们现在已经确定，你不但能以精神力量控制他人，而且在视觉和听觉范围之外，仍然能和他们维持密切的情感联系。这一点，我们发现得太晚了。
"Secondly, we did not know of your physical shortcomings, particularly the one that seemed so important to you, that you adopted the name of the Mule. We didn't foresee that you were not merely a mutant, but a sterile mutant and the added psychic distortion due to your inferiority complex passed us by. We allowed only for a megalomania……not for an intensely psychopathic paranoia as well.
“第二，我们原本不知道你有肉体上的缺陷，尤其是你把这个缺陷看得那么严重，甚至因此自称为‘骡’。我们只知道你是突变种，未曾预见你并没有生殖能力，因而忽略了你的自卑感所引发的异常心理。我们只是准备对付一名夸大狂，而不是精神严重错乱的偏执狂。
"It is myself that bears the responsibility for having missed all that, for I was the leader of the Second Foundation when you captured Kalgan. When you destroyed the First Foundation, we found out……but too late……and for that fault millions have died on Tazenda."
“我自己应该对这些失算负全部责任，因为当你攻陷卡尔根的时候，我已经是第二基地的领导者。在你打垮第一基地之后，我们终于发现一切真相……不过为时已晚……由于这个错误，导致达辛德数百万人送了命。”
"And you will correct things now?" The Mules thin lips curled, his mind pulsing with hate: "What will you do? Fatten me? Restore me to a masculine vigor? Take away from my past the long childhood in an alien environment. Do you regret my sufferings? Do you regret my unhappiness? I have no sorrow for what I did in my necessity. Let the Galaxy Protect itself as best it can, since it stirred not a whit for my protection when I needed it."
“你现在打算扭转乾坤吗？”骡的两片薄唇扭曲着，内心则汹涌着恨意。“你准备怎么做？把我养胖？帮我恢复男性雄风？将凄惨的童年从我的过去一笔勾销？你同情我的遭遇吗？你为我的不幸感到难过吗？对于我不得不做的事，我一点都不懊悔。当我最需要保护的时候，整个银河系没有半个人伸出援手，现在就让银河尽力自卫吧。”
Your emotions are, of course," said the First Speaker, "only the children of your background and are not to be condemned……merely changed. The destruction of Tazenda was unavoidable. The alternative would have been a much greater destruction generally throughout the Galaxy over a period of centuries. We did our best in our limited way. We withdrew as many men from Tazenda as we could. We decentralized the rest of the world. Unfortunately, our measures were of necessity far from adequate. It left many millions to die……do you not regret that?"
“你的这些情绪，”第一发言者说，“当然是过去的背景造成的，我们不应苛责……只该设法改变。达辛德的毁灭是无可避免的。否则另一个结果，是整个银河系遭到更严重的破坏，而且会持续数个世纪。我们已经在能力范围内尽了最大的努力。我们尽可能撤离达辛德的居民，无法撤走的也尽量疏散。可惜的是，我们做到的比真正需要的少得太多，害得数百万人因而丧生……你不觉得遗憾吗？”
"Not at all……any more than I regret the hundred thousand that must die on Rossem in not more than six hours."
“一点也不会……六小时内，罗珊的十万居民也全会死光，而我一样毫不遗憾。”
"On Rossem?" said the First Speaker, quickly.
“罗珊？”第一发言者迅速问道，并转身面向程尼斯。
He turned to Channis who had forced himself into a half-sitting posture, and his mind exerted its force. Channis, felt the duel of minds strain over him, and then there was a short snapping of the bond and the words came tumbling out of his mouth: "Sir, I have failed completely. He forced it from me not ten minutes before your arrival. I could not resist him and I offer no excuses. He knows Tazenda is not the Second Foundation. He knows that Rossem is."
程尼斯勉力维持着半坐的姿势，运用精神力量苦撑着。他觉得有两个心灵在自己身上决战，接着感到精神枷锁崩开了一瞬间，口中立刻吐出一大串话：“发言者，我彻底失败了。在您抵达之前十分钟，他逼我说出了真相。我无力抵抗他，这都是我的错。他已经知道达辛德不是第二基地，他已经知道罗珊才是。”
And the bonds closed down upon him again.
精神枷锁重新闭合，再度将他紧紧困住。
The First Speaker frowned: "I see. What is it you are planning to do?"
第一发言者皱着眉说：“我懂了。你现在计划怎么做？”
"Do you really wonder? Do you really find it difficult to penetrate the obvious? All this time that you have preached to me of the nature of emotional contact……all this time that you have been throwing words such as megalomania and paranoia at me, I have been working. I have been in contact with my Fleet and it has its orders. In six hours, unless I should for some reason counteract my orders, they are to bombard all of Rossem except this lone village and an area of a hundred square miles about it. They are to do a thorough job and are then to land here.
“你真的不知道吗？你真的看不透这么明显的事实吗？刚才你在对我说教，告诉我情感接触的本质，用夸大狂、偏执狂等等字眼骂我的时候，我其实正忙着呢。我一直和我的舰队保持联络，而他们已经接到命令。六小时后，除非有什么原因让我收回成命，他们会开始轰炸整个罗珊，只留下这个小村庄，以及周围一百平方英里的范围。他们会彻底执行任务，然后全部降落此地。
"You have six hours, and in six hours, you cannot beat down my mind, nor can you save the rest of Rossem."
“你还有六个小时，而在这六小时中，你无法击倒我的心灵，也不能拯救整个罗珊。”
The Mule spread his hands and laughed again while the First Speaker seemed to find difficulty in absorbing this new state of affairs.
骡摊开双手，再度发出狂笑，第一发言者则似乎无法接受这个新的情势。
He said: "The alternative?"
他说：“另一条路呢？”
"Why should there even be an alternative? I can stand to gain no more by any alternative. Is it the lives of those on Rossem I'm to be chary of? Perhaps if you allow my ships to land and submit, all of you……all the men on the Second Foundation……to mental control sufficient to suit myself, I may countermand the bombardment orders. It may be worthwhile to put so many men of high intelligence under my control. But then again it would be a considerable effort and perhaps not worth it after all, so I'm not particularly eager to have you agree to it. What do you say, Second Foundationer? What weapon have you against my mind which is as strong as yours at least and against my ships which are stronger than anything you have ever dreamed of possessing?"
“为什么一定要有另一条路？另一条路对我绝对没有好处。我该心疼罗珊居民的性命吗？或许，假如你们允许我的星舰安然降落，而且你们全部……第二基地所有的人马……都置于我的精神控制之下，让我感到满意，我会考虑撤回轰炸的命令。能掌握这么多高智力的头脑，想必是很值得的事。不过这样做可能得花很大的力气，或许根本得不偿失，所以我并不特别希望你会同意。第二基地分子，你怎么说呢？你究竟有什么武器，能够对付一个至少和你旗鼓相当的心灵，以及你做梦也想不到的强大舰队？”
"What have I?" repeated the First Speaker, slowly: "Why nothing……except a little grain……such a little grain of knowledge that even yet you do not possess."
“我有什么武器？”第一发言者慢慢将这个问题重复一遍，“我什么都没有……除了一点点……一点点连你也不知道的情报。”
"Speak quickly," laughed the Mule, "speak inventively. For squirm as you might, you won't squirm out of this."
“那就快说，”骡哈哈大笑，“说得天花乱坠吧。即使你是一条泥鳅，这回也逃不出我的掌心。”
"Poor mutant," said the First Speaker, "I have nothing to squirm out of. Ask yourself……why was Bail Channis sent to Kalgan as a decoy……Bail Channis, who though young and brave is almost as much your mental inferior as is this sleeping officer of yours, this Han Pritcher. Why did not I go, or another of our leaders, who would be more your match?"
“可怜的突变种啊，”第一发言者说，“我根本就不想逃。问问你自己……为什么拜尔·程尼斯会被送到卡尔根当诱饵？拜尔·程尼斯虽然既年轻又勇敢，可是他的精神力量跟你相比，和这位正在呼呼大睡的军官汉·普利吉也差不多。为什么我不亲自出马，或者选派我们其他的领导者，那些和你势均力敌的人，来执行这项任务呢？”
"Perhaps," came the supremely confident reply, "you were not sufficiently foolish, since perhaps none of you are my match."
“或许，”骡以万分的信心答道，“你还没有笨到那种程度。可能你也明白，你们没有一个是我的对手。”
"The true reason is more logical. You knew Channis to be a Second Foundationer. He lacked the capacity to hide that from you. And you knew, too, that you were his superior, so you were not afraid to play his game and follow him as he wished you to in order to outwit him later. Had I gone to Kalgan, you would have killed me for I would have been a real danger, or had I avoided death by concealing my identity, I would yet have failed in persuading you to follow me into space. It was only known inferiority that lured you on. And had you remained on Kalgan, not all the force of the Second Foundation could have harmed you, surrounded as you were by your men, your machines, and your mental power."
“真正的理由其实更合逻辑。你知道程尼斯是第二基地分子，他没有能力瞒过你这一点。此外，你也知道他不是你的对手，所以不怕将计就计，索性依照他的计划跟踪至此，以便最后反过来制住他。假使当初是我去卡尔根，由于我会对你构成真正的威胁，你很可能会杀掉我。即使我将身份隐藏得很好，因而保住性命，也很难让你从太空一路跟踪我到这里。正是因为你觉得胜券在握，才会被引诱出来。假使你留在卡尔根，在你的人马、你的武器、你的精神力量重重保护之下，第二基地倾全力也动不了你一根汗毛。”
"My mental power is yet with me, squirmer," said the Mule, "and my men and machines are not far off."
“老泥鳅，我的精神力量仍旧存在。”骡说，“而我的人马、我的武器也并非远在天边。”
"Truly so, but you are not on Kalgan. You are here in the Kingdom of Tazenda, logically presented to you as the Second Foundation……very logically presented. It had to be so presented, for you are a wise man, First Citizen, and would follow only logic."
“完全正确，但是你并不在卡尔根。你如今身在达辛德王国境内，而你以为达辛德就是第二基地，认为一切都合情合理。这是我们精心策划的结果，因为你是个精明至极的人物，第一公民，你只相信合乎逻辑的事。”
"Correct, and it was a momentary victory for your side, but there was still time for me to worm the truth from your man, Channis, and still wisdom in me to realize that such a truth might exist."
“说得很对，但那只能让你们暂时得意一下。我还有时间从你们的程尼斯口中挖掘出真相，而我也至少还有头脑，知道这种真相应该存在。”
"And on our side, oh, not-quite-sufficiently-subtle one, was the realization that you might go that one step further and so Bail Channis was prepared for you."
“不过我们这一方，还没有狡诈到那种程度的一方，已经料到你会采取这个行动，所以特别为你准备了拜尔·程尼斯。”
"That he most certainly was not, for I stripped his brain clean as any plucked chicken. It quivered bare and open before me and when he said Rossem was the Second Foundation, it was basic truth for I had ground him so flat and smooth that not the smidgeon of a deceit could have found refuge in any microscopic crevice."
“那我确定他有负所托，因为我将他的脑子掏得一干二净。他的心灵在我脚下颤抖，对我完全开放、完全赤裸。当他说罗珊就是第二基地的时候，说的是百分之百的实话。我已经把他的心灵整个摊开辗平，检视了每一个微观的隙缝，再小的谎言也无所遁形。”
"True enough. So much the better for our foresight. For I have told you already that Bail Channis was a volunteer. Do you know what sort of a volunteer? Before he left our Foundation for Kalgan and you, he submitted to emotional surgery of a drastic nature. Do you think it was sufficient to deceive you? Do you think Bail Channis, mentally untouched, could possibly deceive you? No, Bail Channis was himself deceived, of necessity and voluntarily. Down to the inmost core of his mind, Bail Channis honestly believes that Rossem is the Second Foundation.
“非常正确，比我们预料中的还要好。我已经对你说过，拜尔·程尼斯是一名志愿者。你知道他志愿做的是什么事吗？在他到卡尔根去投效你之前，接受了一种彻底的心灵改造手术。你认为这样做能不能瞒得过你？假使拜尔·程尼斯未曾接受手术，你以为他有可能骗得了你吗？其实，拜尔·程尼斯自己也被蒙在鼓里，不过那是必须的，也是他自愿的。在心灵的最深处，拜尔·程尼斯老老实实地相信罗珊就是第二基地。
"And for three years now, we of the Second Foundation have built up the appearance of that here in the Kingdom of Tazenda, in preparation and waiting for you. And we have succeeded, have we not? You penetrated to Tazenda, and beyond that, to Rossem……but past that, you could not go."
“三年来，我们第二基地在达辛德王国布置的这一切，就是为了等你自投罗网。我们已经成功了，对不对？你找到达辛德，进而又找到罗珊……到此为止，线索就断了。”
The Mule was upon his feet: "You dare tell me that Rossem also, is not the Second Foundation?"
骡猛然站起来。“难道你敢说，罗珊也不是第二基地？”
Channis, from the floor, felt his bonds burst for good, under a stream of mental force on the part of the First Speaker and strained upright. He let out one long, incredulous cry: "You mean Rossem is not the Second Foundation?"
倒在地上的程尼斯，感到第一发言者传来一股力量，将他的精神枷锁完全扯裂。他一跃而起，不可置信地大吼道：“您说罗珊并不是第二基地？”
The memories of life, the knowledge of his mind……everything……whirled mistily about him in confusion.
他所有的记忆，心中的各种知识，一切的一切……此时全部混淆不清，模模糊糊地绕着他打转。
The First Speaker smiled: "You see, First Citizen, Channis is as upset as you are. Of course, Rossem is not the Second Foundation. Are we madmen then, to lead you, our greatest, most powerful, most dangerous enemy to our own world? Oh, no!
第一发言者微微一笑。“第一公民，你看，程尼斯像你一样烦乱。当然，罗珊并不是第二基地。我们难道疯了吗，竟然会引领我们最强大、最危险的敌人，来到我们自己的世界？喔，不会的！
"Let your Fleet bombard Rossem, First Citizen, if you must have it so. Let them destroy all they can. For at most they can kill only Channis and myself……and that will leave you in a situation improved not in the least.
“第一公民，倘若你执迷不悟，就让你的舰队来轰炸罗珊吧。让他们尽力摧毁一切吧。因为他们顶多只能杀掉程尼斯和我自己……可是这样做，丝毫无法改善你目前的处境。
"For the Second Foundation's Expedition to Rossem which has been here for three years and has functioned, temporarily, as Elders in this village, embarked yesterday and are returning to Kalgan. They will evade your Fleet, of course, and they will arrive in Kalgan at least a day before you can, which is why I tell you all this. Unless I countermand my orders, when you return, you will find a revolting Empire, a disintegrated realm, and only the men with you in your Fleet here will be loyal to you. They will be hopelessly outnumbered. And moreover, the men of the Second Foundation will be with your Home Fleet and will see to it that you reconvert no one. Your Empire is done, mutant."
“第二基地的远征军早在三年前就来到罗珊，一直以本村长老的身份在活动，而他们昨天已经离开此地，正在前往卡尔根途中。当然，他们会避开你的舰队，而且至少能比你早一天到达卡尔根，因此我敢把一切都告诉你。除非我收回成命，否则等你回到卡尔根，将会面对一个叛乱四起、四分五裂的帝国，只剩随你来这里的舰队会继续效忠。他们绝不可能以寡敌众。此外，第二基地的人马将渗入你的后备舰队，确保你无法将任何人重新‘回转’。突变种，你的帝国完了。”
Slowly, the Mule bowed his head, as anger and despair cornered his mind completely, "Yes. Too late?Too late?Now I see it."
骡缓缓垂下头，愤怒与绝望占满他的心灵。“是的。太晚了……太晚了……现在我懂了。”
"Now you see it," agreed the First Speaker, "and now you don't."
“现在你懂了，”第一发言者附和着，“现在你又不懂了。”
In the despair of that moment, when the Mule's mind lay open, the First Speaker……ready for that moment and pre-sure of its nature……entered quickly. It required a rather insignificant fraction of a second to consummate the change completely.
骡的心灵因绝望而门户大开，第一发言者早已蓄势待发，趁着这个千载难逢的机会立刻钻进去。他只花了万分之一秒的时间，就顺利完成对骡的改造。
The Mule looked up and said: "Then I shall return to Kalgan?
骡抬起头来，问道：“那么我应该回卡尔根去？”
"Certainly. How do you feel?"
“当然。你感觉如何？”
"Excellently well." His brow puckered: "Who are you?"
“感觉非常好，”他皱起眉头，“你是谁？”
"Does it matter?"
“有什么关系吗？”
"Of course not." He dismissed the matter, and touched Pritcher's shoulder: "Wake up, Pritcher, we're going home."
“当然没有。”他抛下这个念头，拍拍普利吉的肩膀。“醒醒，普利吉，我们要回家了。”
It was two hours later that Bail Channis felt strong enough to walk by himself. He said: "He won't ever remember?"
两小时后，拜尔·程尼斯终于觉得行动自如了。他说：“他不会再想起来吗？”
"Never. He retains his mental powers and his Empire……but his motivations are now entirely different. The notion of a Second Foundation is a blank to him, and he is a man of peace. He will be a far happier man henceforward, too, for the few years of life left him by his maladjusted physique. And then, after he is dead Seldon's Plan will go on……somehow."
“永远不会。他会保有他的精神力量以及他的帝国……但是他的动机完全改变了。第二基地这个概念如今成为一片空白，而他也变成一位和平主义者。而且从今以后，他会比以前快乐得多，就这样度过他的余生。由于身体机能失调，他没有几年好活了。然后，一旦他死了，谢顿计划便会继续……总会继续下去的。”
"And it is true," urged Channis, "it is true that Rossem is not the Second Foundation? I could swear……I tell you I know it is. I am not mad."
“这么说的话，”程尼斯追问，“罗珊真的不是第二基地？我可以发誓……我告诉您，我明明知道。我可没有精神错乱。”
"You are not mad, Channis, merely, as I have said, changed. Rossem is not the Second Foundation. Come! We, too, will return home."
“程尼斯，你没有精神错乱，正如我所说，你只是被改造了。罗珊并不是第二基地。走吧！我们也该回家了。”
LAST INTERLUDE
最后插曲
Bail Channis sat in the small white-tiled room and allowed his mind to relax. He was content to live in the present. There were the walls and the window and the grass outside. They had no names. They were just things. There was a bed and a chair an books that developed themselves idly on the screen at the foot of his bed. There was the nurse who brought him his food.
拜尔·程尼斯坐在贴满白色瓷砖的小房间中，让心灵完全放松。对于目前的生活，他感到相当满意。房间里有墙壁、有窗户，外面还有草地。它们却没有名字，它们只是“东西”。室内还有一张床，一把椅子，床脚的屏幕则呆板地放映着书籍的内容。护士每天进来几回，为他送来食物。
At first he had made efforts to piece together the scraps of things he had heard. Such as those two men talking together.
起初，他并未试图将听到的零星声音拼凑起来，例如下面两个人的对话。
One had said: "Complete aphasia now. It抯 cleaned out, and I think without damage. It will only be necessary to return the recording of his original brain-wave makeup."
其中一个人说：“现在的症状是完全的失语症。这表示清理干净了，我想他没有受到什么伤害。接下来需要做的，只是将他原来的脑波记录输回去。”
He remembered the sounds by rote, and for some reason they seemed peculiar sounds……as if they meant something. But why bother.
他把那些声音硬背下来。不知道为什么，那些声音好像十分特殊……似乎代表某种意义。可是又何必操这个心呢？
Better to watch the pretty changing colors on the screen at the foot of the thing he lay on.
还不如乖乖躺在这个“东西”上面，看着前方那个“东西”的色彩变幻。
And then someone entered and did things to him and for a long time, he slept.
然后有一个人走进来，对他做了一件事。于是他沉沉睡去，睡了很久很久。
And when that had passed, the bed was suddenly a bed and he knew he was in a hospital, and the words he remembered made sense.
醒来之后，“床”突然就是“床”了。他知道自己在医院里，硬记的那些声音也都有了意义。
He sat up: "What's happening?"
他坐起来，问道：“发生了什么事？”
The First Speaker was beside him, "You're on the Second Foundation, and you have your mind back……your original mind."
第一发言者就在旁边，他说：“你在第二基地，你的心智，你原来的心智，已经恢复了。”
"Yes! Yes!" Channis came to the realization that he was himself, and there was incredible triumph and joy in that.
“是的！是的！”程尼斯想起了自己是谁，因而感到无比的骄傲与喜悦。
"And now tell me," said the First Speaker, "do you know where the Second Foundation is now?"
“现在告诉我，”第一发言者说，“你知道第二基地在哪里吗？”
And the truth came flooding down in one enormous wave and Channis did not answer. Like Ebling Mis before him, he was conscious of only one vast, numbing surprise.
真相如巨浪汹涌而来，程尼斯却没有立即回答。像当年的艾布林·米斯一样，他只是体会到一阵巨大而令人麻木的惊愕。
Until he finally nodded, and said: "By the Stars of the Galaxy……now, I know."
最后他终于点点头，说道：“银河众星在上……现在，我知道了。”