4 Library

第4章 图书馆

VENABILI, DORS:……Historian, born in Cinna…… Her life might well have continued on its uneventful course were it not for the fact that, after she had spent two years on the faculty of Streeling University, she became involved with the young Hari Seldon during The Flight……

铎丝·凡纳比里：……历史学家，生于锡纳……若非她在斯璀璘大学担任教职两年后，邂逅了处于“逃亡期”的青年哈里·谢顿，她很可能继续过着平静无波的日子……

ENCYCLOPEDIA GALACTICA

……《银河百科全书》

The room that Hari Seldon found himself in was larger than Hummins room in the Imperial Sector. It was a bedroom with one corner serving as a washroom and with no sign of any cooking or dining facilities. There was no window, though set in the ceiling was a grilled ventilator that made a steady sighing noise.

哈里·谢顿如今置身的房间，比夫铭在皇区的住所来得宽敞。它是一间套房，其中一角充作盥洗间，却不见任何烹饪或进餐设备。四面都没有窗户，不过天花板上有个罩着网格的抽风机，不断发出稳定的轻微噪音。

Seldon looked about a bit ruefully.

谢顿带着些许失望，四处张望了一下。

Hummin interpreted that look with his usual assured manner and said, "Its only for tonight, Seldon. Tomorrow morning someone will come to install you at the University and you will be more comfortable."

夫铭以惯有的自信猜到了谢顿的心事，他说：“谢顿，只是今晚暂住而已。明天早上会有人来，把你安置到大学里，你就会比较舒服了。”

"Pardon me, Hummin, but how do you know that?"

“对不起，夫铭，可是你又怎么知道？”

"I will make arrangements. I know one or two people here"……he smiled briefly without humor……"and I have a favor or two I can ask repayment for. Now lets go into some details."

“我会做好安排，我在这里认识一两个人。”他露出一丝冷笑，“我帮助过他们，可以请他们还我一两个人情。现在，我们来谈谈细节。”

He gazed steadily at Seldon and said, "Whatever you have left in your hotel room is lost. Does that include anything irreplaceable?"

他定睛凝视着谢顿，又说：“你留在旅馆房间的行李等于通通丢了。里面有没有任何无法弥补的东西？”

"Nothing really irreplaceable. I have some personal items I value for their association with my past life, but if they are gone, they are gone. There are, of course, some notes on my paper. Some calculations. The paper itself."

“没有什么真正无法弥补的。有些私人物品我很珍惜，因为具有纪念价值，不过丢了就丢了吧。此外，当然还有些和论文有关的笔记、一些计算稿，以及那篇论文。”

"Which is now public knowledge until such time as it is removed from circulation as dangerous……which it probably will be. Still, Ill be able to get my hands on a copy, Im sure. In any case, you can reconstruct it, cant you?"

“那篇论文如今是公开的资料，哪天它被视为危险的邪说，才会禁止流传……这是可能发生的事。话说回来，我总有办法弄到一份副本，这点我绝对肯定。无论如何，你都能重新推导一遍，对不对？”

"I can. Thats why I said there was nothing really irreplaceable. Also, Ive lost nearly a thousand credits, some books, clothing, my tickets back to Helicon, things like that."

“对，所以我说没有什么真正无法弥补的。此外，我还丢了将近一千信用点、一些书籍和衣物，以及回赫利肯的旅票，诸如此类的东西。”

"All replaceable……Now I will arrange for you to have a credit tile in my name, charged to me. That will take care of ordinary expenses."

“全都不成问题。我会用我的名义帮你申请一张信用瓷卡，记到我的账上。这样就能应付你的一般开销。”

"Thats unusually generous of you. I cant accept it."

“你实在慷慨得过分，我不能接受。”

"Its not generous at all, since Im hoping to save the Empire in that fashion. You must accept it."

“一点也不算慷慨，因为我这样做是希望能拯救帝国。你无论如何都要接受。”

"But how much can you afford, Hummin? Ill be using it, at best, with an uneasy conscience."

“可是你付得起多少呢，夫铭？即使我勉强接受，也会良心不安。”

"Whatever you need for survival or reasonable comfort I can afford, Seldon. Naturally, I wouldnt want you to try to buy the University gymnasium or hand out a million credits in largess."

“谢顿，你的基本衣食住行，以及任何合理的享乐，我全都负担得起。自然，我不会希望你试图买下大学体育馆，或是慷慨地捐出一百万信用点。”

"You neednt worry, but with my name on record……"

“你不用担心，可是让我的名字留下记录……”

"It might as well be. It is absolutely forbidden for the Imperial government to exercise any security control over the University or its members. There is complete freedom. Anything can be discussed here, anything can be said here."

“这没有关系，帝国政府绝不能对这所大学或其成员采取任何安全控制。这里有百分之百的自由，任何事都能谈论，什么话都可以说。”

"What about violent crime?"

“万一有暴力犯罪呢？”

"Then the University authorities themselves handle it, with reason and care……and there are virtually no crimes of violence. The students and faculty appreciate their freedom and understand its terms. Too much rowdiness, the beginning of riot and bloodshed, and the government may feel it has a right to break the unwritten agreement and send in the troops. No one wants that, not even the government, so a delicate balance is maintained. In other words, Demerzel himself can not have you plucked out of the University without a great deal more cause than anyone in the University has given the government in at least a century and a half. On the other hand, if you are lured off the grounds by a student-agent……"

“那么校方会以合理而谨慎的方式出面处理……其实几乎没有什么暴力犯罪。学生和教员都珍惜他们拥有的自由，并且了解它的分寸。过度的喧闹是暴动和流血的开端，政府可能就会觉得有权打破不成文约定，而派军队进入校园。没有人愿意发生这种事，甚至政府也不愿意，因而维持着一种微妙的平衡。换句话说，丹莫刺尔本人也不能把你从这所大学抓走，除非大学里出现了至少一个半世纪以来从未有过的严重事端。反之，假如你被特工学生诱出校园……”

"Are there student-agents?"

“有特工学生吗？”

"How can I say? There may be. Any ordinary individual can be threatened or maneuvered or simply bought……and may remain thereafter in the service of Demerzel or of someone else, for that matter. So I must emphasize this: You are safe in any reasonable sense, but no one is absolutely safe. You will have to be careful. But though I give you that warning, I don't want you to cower through life. On the whole, you will be far more secure here than you would have been if you had returned to Helicon or gone to any world of the Galaxy outside Trantor."

“我怎么说得准？或许有吧。总之，任何一个普通人都能被威胁、被设计，或是直接被收买，从此就一直为丹莫刺尔或其他人服务。所以我必须强调一点：理论上你无论如何都很安全，可是没有任何人是绝对安全的，你必须自己多加小心。不过，虽然我给你这样的警告，我却不希望你的日子过得畏畏缩缩。整体而言，比起回到赫利肯或是跑到川陀以外的任何世界，你待在这里要安全得多。”

"I hope so," said Seldon drearily.

“我希望果真如此。”谢顿闷闷不乐地说。

"I know so," said Hummin, "Or I would not feel it wise to leave you."

“我知道的确如此，”夫铭说，“否则我会感到离开你是不智之举。”

"Leave me?" Seldon looked up sharply. "You cant do that. You know this world. I dont."

“离开我？”谢顿猛然抬起头来，“你不能这么做。你了解这个世界，我却不然。”

"You will be with others who know this world, who know this part of it, in fact, even better than I do. As for myself, I must go. I have been with you all this day and I dare not abandon my own life any longer. I must not attract too much attention to myself. Remember that I have my own insecurities, just as you have yours."

“你将和其他了解这个世界的人在一起，事实上，他们对此地的了解甚至在我之上。至于我自己，我必须走了。我已经跟你在一起整整一天，我不敢继续不顾自己的生活。我自己绝不能吸引太多的注意。你应该记得，我和你一样有安全上的顾虑。”

Seldon blushed. "Youre right. I cant expect you to endanger yourself indefinitely on my behalf. I hope you are not already ruined."

谢顿不禁面红耳赤。“你说得对。我不能期望你不断为我赴汤蹈火，希望现在还没有毁了你。”

Hummin said coolly, "Who can tell? We live in dangerous times. Just remember that if anyone can make the times safe……if not for ourselves, then for those who follow after us……it is you. Let that thought be your driving force, Seldon."

夫铭以冷淡的语调说：“谁知道呢？我们生在一个险恶的时代。你只要记住一件事，若说有什么人能创造安全的时代……即使不为我们，也要为我们的后代……那个人就是你。谢顿，让这个想法成为你的原动力。”

Sleep eluded Seldon. He tossed and turned in the dark, thinking. He had have never felt quite so alone or quite so helpless as he did after Hummin had nodded, pressed his hand briefly, and left him behind. Now he was on a strange world……and in a strange part of that world. He was without the only person he could consider a friend (and that of less than a days duration) and he had no idea of where he was going or what he would be doing, either tomorrow or at any time in the future.

今晚睡眠与谢顿无缘。他在黑暗中辗转反侧，思绪一直停不下来。在夫铭点了点头，轻轻握了握他的手，然后离他而去之后，谢顿感受到前所未有的孤独、前所未有的无助。如今他置身一个陌生的世界，而且是这个世界的一个陌生角落。连唯一可以当做朋友的人（却也不到一天的交情）都不在身边，而且他对自己何去何从毫无概念，不论是明天或是未来任何时刻。

None of that was conducive to sleep so, of course, at about the time he decided, hopelessly, that he would not sleep that night or, possibly, ever again, exhaustion overtook him……

当然，这些想法全都无助于入眠。差不多在他绝望地认定今晚将失眠到天亮，而这种情况今后还有可能发生之际，极度的困倦终于将他席卷……

When he woke up it was still dark……or not quite, for across the room he saw a red light flashing brightly and rapidly, accompanied by a harsh, intermittent buzz. Undoubtedly, it was that which had awakened him.

当他醒来的时候，屋内依旧一片黑暗……也并非全然如此，因为在房间另一侧，他看见一道明亮的红光在迅速闪动，伴随着一阵刺耳的、断断续续的嗡嗡声。毫无疑问，将他吵醒的就是这个声音。

As he tried to remember where he was and to make some sort of sense out of the limited messages his senses were receiving, the flashing and buzzing ceased and he became aware of a peremptory rapping.

当他正在努力回忆身在何处，并试图从感官所接收的有限讯息理出一个头绪时，闪光与嗡嗡声突然停止。接着，他听到一阵凶猛的敲击声。

Presumably, the rapping was at the door, but he didn't remember where the door was. Presumably, also, there was a contact that would flood the room with light, but he didn't remember where that was either.

敲击声想必源自房门，他却不记得房门的位置。此外，想必有个开关能让室内大放光明，可是他也忘了开关在哪里。

He sat up in bed and felt along the wall to his left rather desperately while calling out, "One moment, please."

他在床上坐起来，沿着左侧墙壁不顾一切摸过去，同时大声喊道：“请等一下。”

He found the necessary contact and the room suddenly bloomed with a soft light.

他终于找到开关，房间在一瞬间注满柔和的光线。

He scrambled out of bed, blinking, still searching for the door, finding it, reaching out to open it, remembering caution at the last moment, and saying in a suddenly stern, no-nonsense voice, "Whos there?"

他匆匆从床上爬起来，一面眨着眼睛，一面继续寻找房门。等找着之后，正要伸手开门，却在最后一刻想到应该谨慎行事。于是，他突然改用严肃而正经八百的声音说：“是谁？”

A rather gentle womans voice said, "My dame is Dors Venabili and I have come to see Dr. Hari Seldon."

一个颇为温柔的女声答道：“我名叫铎丝·凡纳比里，我来找哈里·谢顿博士。”

Even as that was said, a woman was standing just in front of the door, without that door ever having been opened.

话还未说完，一名女子已经站在门边，此时房门绝对尚未打开。

For a moment, Hari Seldon stared at her in surprise, then realized that he was wearing only a one-piece undergarment. He let out a strangled gasp and dashed for the bed and only then realized that he was staring at a holograph. It lacked the hard edge of reality and it became apparent the woman wasn't looking at him. She was merely showing herself for identification.

一时之间，哈里·谢顿万分惊讶地瞪着她，忽然又想到自己只穿了一件连身内衣。他发出一声像是被掐住脖子的喘息，慌忙向睡床奔去。直到这个时候，他才明白见到的只是个全息像。它不像真人那样轮廓分明，而且这名女子显然并未望着他，她现身只是为了表明身份。

He paused, breathing hard, then said, raising his voice to be heard through the door, "If youll wait, Ill be with you. Give me…… maybe half an hour."

于是他停下脚步，使劲吸了一口气，然后提高音量，好让声音穿出门外。“请你等一下，我很快会帮你开门。给我……或许半小时的时间。”

The woman……or the holograph, at any rate……said, "Ill wait," and disappeared.

那名女子……或者说那个全息像答道：“我会等你。”说完影像就不见了。

There was no shower, so he sponged himself, making a rare mess on the tiled floor in the washroom corner. There was toothpaste but no toothbrush, so he used his finger. He had no choice but to put on the clothes he had been wearing the day before. He finally opened the door.

房里没有淋浴设备，所以他用海绵擦了一个澡，将盥洗间的瓷砖地板弄得极其脏乱。盥洗间备有牙膏，可是没有牙刷，他只好用手指代替。然后，他又不得不套上昨天穿过的衣服。一切准备就绪，他才终于打开房门。

He realized, even as he did so, that she had not really identified herself. She had merely given a name and Hummin had not told him whom to expect, whether it was to be this Dors Somebody or anyone else. He had felt secure because the holograph was that of a personable young woman, but for all he knew there might be half a dozen hostile young men with her.

他在开门的时候，又想到她并未真正表明身份。她只不过报出姓名，但夫铭并没有说来找他的会是什么人……究竟是这个叫铎丝什么的，还是其他任何人。他会感到安全无虞，是因为全息像是个可人的年轻女子。可是他又怎能确定，她身边没有五六个充满敌意的年轻男子随行？

He peered out cautiously, saw only the woman, then opened the door sufficiently to allow her to enter. He immediately closed and locked the door behind her.

他小心翼翼地向外窥探，结果仅仅见到那名女子，于是将房门再拉开一点，刚好足够让她进来。然后，他立刻将房门关上并锁好。

Pardon me, he said, "What time is it?"

“对不起，”他说，“请问现在几点了？”

"Nine," she said, "The day has long since begun."

“九点，”她答道，“已经不早了。”

As far as official time was concerned, Trantor held to Galactic Standard, since only so could sense be made out of interstellar commerce and governmental dealings. Each world, however, also had a local time system and Seldon had not yet come to the point where he felt at home with casual Trantorian references to the hour.

只要是正式计时，川陀一律采用银河标准时间，因为唯有如此，星际贸易与政府行政才能顺利进行。然而，每个世界也都会使用当地计时系统，而对于川陀人随口所说的钟点，谢顿尚未完全熟悉。

"Midmorning?" he said.

“上午？”

"Of course."

“当然。”

"There are no windows in this room," he said defensively.

“这个房间没有窗子。”他为自己辩护。

Dors walked to his bed, reached out, and touched a small dark spot on the wall.

铎丝走到床边，伸手触向墙上一个小黑点。床头正上方的天花板立刻显现一组红色数字：0903。

Red numbers appeared on the ceiling just over his pillow. They read: 0903. She smiled without superiority. "Im sorry," she said. "But I rather assumed Chetter Hummin would have told you Id be coming for you at nine. The trouble with him is hes so used to knowing, he sometimes forgets that others occasionally don't know……And I shouldnt have used radio-holographic identification. I imagine you don't have it on Helicon and Im afraid I must have alarmed you."

她露出丝毫不带优越感的微笑。“很抱歉，”她说，“但我以为契特·夫铭会告诉你，我将在上午九点来找你。他的问题在于他一向无所不知，以致偶尔会忘记别人有时并不知道。而且我不该使用电波全息识别器，我猜你们赫利肯没有这种东西，只怕我一定把你吓着了。”

Seldon felt himself relax. She seemed natural and friendly and the casual reference to Hummin reassured him. He said, "Youre quite wrong about Helicon, Miss……"

谢顿感到松了一口气。她的态度似乎十分随和而友善，而她随口提到了夫铭的名字，也就让他更加放心。他说：“你对赫利肯有相当的误解，凡……小姐。”

"Please call me Dors."

“请叫我铎丝。”

"Youre still wrong about Helicon, Dors. We do have radioholography, but Ive never been able to afford the equipment. Nor could anyone in my circle, so I haven't actually had the experience. But I understood what had happened soon enough."

“铎丝，无论如何，你对赫利肯真的有误解。我们的确有电波全息像，不过我向来买不起那种设备。我周围的人也都没这个能力，所以实际上我并没有经验。但是，我很快就明白了是怎么回事。”

He studied her. She was not very tall, average height for a woman, he judged. Her hair was a reddish-gold, though not very bright, and was arranged in shore curls about her head. (He had seen a number of women in Trantor with their hair so arranged. It was apparently a local fashion that would have been laughed at in Helicon.) She was not amazingly beautiful, but was quite pleasant to look at, this being helped by full lips that seemed to have a slight humorous curl to them. She was slim, well-built, and looked quite young. (Too young, he thought uneasily, to be of use perhaps.)

他开始打量她。她的个子不算很高，就女子而言是中等高度，他这么判断。她的头发是略红的金色，但是不怎么闪亮，烫成了许多短短的发卷。（他在川陀见到许多女子拥有这种发型。这显然是本地的一种流行，在赫利肯则会受到众人的嘲笑。）她并没有惊人的美貌，可是看来赏心悦目，再加上似乎带着些许俏皮弧度的丰满双唇，使她显得更加可爱。她身材苗条，体格健美，而且看来相当年轻。（太年轻了，他不安地想到，可能派不上什么用场。）

"Do I pass inspection?" she asked. (She seemed to have Hummins trick of guessing his thoughts, Seldon thought, or perhaps he himself lacked the trick of hiding them.)

“我通过检查了吗？”她问道。（谢顿心想，她似乎和夫铭一样，也有本事猜中自己的心思，但也或许是他自己没有隐藏心思的本事。）

He said, "Im sorry. I seem to have been staring, but Ive only been trying to evaluate you. Im in a strange place. I know no one and have no friends."

他说：“很抱歉。我好像在瞪着你，但我只是想对你做个估量。我身处一个陌生的地方，什么人都不认识，也没有任何朋友。”

"Please, Dr. Seldon, count me as a friend. Mr. Hummin has asked me to take care of you."

“谢顿博士，请把我当朋友吧。夫铭君特别请我来照顾你。”

Seldon smiled ruefully. "You may be a little young for the job."

谢顿露出一抹苦笑。“就这个工作而言，你可能太年轻了点。”

"Youll find I am not."

“你会发现其实不然。”

"Well, Ill try to be as little trouble as possible. Could you please repeat your name?"

“好吧，我会尽量不惹麻烦。可否请你再讲一遍你的名字？”

"Dors Venabili." She spelled the last name and emphasized the stress on the second syllable. "As I said, please call me Dors and if you don't object too strenuously I will call you Hari. Were quite informal here at the University and there is an almost self-conscious effort to show no signs of status, either inherited or professional."

“铎丝·凡纳比里。”她一字一顿，说得很仔细。“我刚才说过，请叫我铎丝，而你要是不坚决反对，我准备称呼你哈里。在大学里我们相当不拘形式，而且人人都有一种几乎自觉式的努力，避免显露任何地位的象征，不论是天生的还是职位上的。”

"Please, by all means, call me Hari."

“当然没问题，就请你叫我哈里吧。”

"Good. I shall remain informal then. For instance, the instinct for formality, if there is such a thing, would cause me to ask permission to sit down. Informally, however, I shall just sit." She then sat down on the one chair in the room.

“很好，那我就继续不拘形式。比方说，拘泥形式的本能……如果真有这种东西……会让我请求你准我坐下。但是既然不拘形式，我就自便了。”说完，她就坐到室内唯一的一张椅子上。

Seldon cleared his throat. "Clearly, Im not at all in possession of my ordinary faculties. I should have asked you to sit." He sat down on the side of his crumpled bed and wished he had thought to straighten it out somewhat……but he had been caught by surprise.

谢顿清了清喉咙。“显然我还没有完全清醒，我应该先说请你坐才对。”他在皱成一团的床铺边缘坐下，后悔自己未曾想到将它拉平一点……但是刚才他根本措手不及。

She said pleasantly, "This is how its going to work, Hari. First, well go to breakfast at one of the University cafes. Then Ill get you a room in one of the domiciles……a better room than this. Youll have a window. Hummin has instructed me to get you a credit tile in his name, but it will take me a day or two to extort one out of the University bureaucracy. Until thats done, Ill be responsible for your expenses and you can pay me back later……And we can use you. Chetter Hummin told me youre a mathematician and for some reason theres a serious lack of good ones at the University."

她以愉悦的口吻说：“哈里，我把计划跟你说一下。首先，我们到校园某间小餐厅去吃早餐。然后我会帮你在校舍找个房间，会比这间好些，至少会有窗子。夫铭曾嘱咐我用他的名义帮你申请一张信用瓷卡，不过我得花上一两天的时间，才能从官僚的校方行政系统弄一张来。在此之前，我负责支付你的花费，你可以事后再还给我……因为我们可以雇用你。契特·夫铭告诉我说你是个数学家，不知道为什么，这所大学严重缺乏这方面的优秀人才。”

"Did Hummin tell you that I was a good mathematician?"

“夫铭告诉你说我是个优秀的数学家？”

"As a matter of fact, he did. He said you were a remarkable man……"

“事实上，他的确这么说过。他还说你是个了不起的人。”

"Well." Seldon looked down at his fingernails. "I would like to be considered so, but Hummin knew me for less than a day and, before that, he had heard me present a paper, the quality of which he has no way of judging. I think he was just being polite."

“嗯，”谢顿低头望着自己的指甲，“我当然希望自己拥有这种评价，可是夫铭认识我还不到一天，而在此之前，他只听过我发表一篇论文，那篇论文的水准他根本无法判断。我想他那样说只是一种礼貌。”

"I don't think so," said Dors. "He is a remarkable person himself and has had a great deal of experience with people. Ill go by his judgment. In any case, I imagine youll have a chance to prove yourself. You can program computers, I suppose."

“我可不这么想。”铎丝说，“他自己就是个了不起的人，而且他阅人无数，我愿意相信他的判断。无论如何，我想你总有机会证明你自己。我猜，你会写电脑程序吧。”

"Of course."

“当然。”

"Im talking about teaching computers, you understand, and Im asking if you can devise programs to teach various phases of contemporary mathematics."

“我是说教学电脑，这点你要明白。我是在问你，能不能设计一些程序，来教授当今数学的各个领域。”

"Yes, thats part of my profession. Im assistant professor of mathematics at the University of Helicon."

“可以，那是我的专长之一，我是赫利肯大学数学系的助理教授。”

She said, "Yes, I know. Hummin told me that. It means, of course, that everyone will know you are a non-Trantorian, but that will present no serious problems. Were mainly Trantorian here at the University, but theres a substantial minority of Outworlders from any number of different worlds and thats accepted. I wont say that youll never hear a planetary slur but actually the Outworlders are more likely to use them than the Trantorians. Im an Outworlder myself, by the way."

她又说：“是的，我知道，夫铭跟我提过。这就意味着，大家当然都会知道你并非川陀人，不过这并不会构成严重问题。我们这所大学的主要成员是川陀人，但仍有不少来自各个世界的外星人士，这是大家都能接受的。我不敢说你绝不会听到诋毁外星的言语，然而事实上，这些言语出自外星人士之口的机会还比较大。对了，我自己就是外星人士。”

"Oh?" He hesitated and then decided it would be only polite to ask. "What world are you from?"

“哦？”他迟疑了一下，然后决定至少礼貌上该问一问。“你是从哪个世界来的？”

"Im from Cinna. Have you ever heard of it?"

“我来自锡纳星，你听过那个地方吗？”

Hed be caught out if he was polite enough to lie, Seldon decided, so he said, "No."

倘若为了礼貌而撒谎，谢顿判断注定会露出马脚，因此他说：“没有。”

"Im not surprised. Its probably of even less account than Helicon is. Anyway, to get back to the programming of mathematical teaching computers, I suppose that that can be done either proficiently or poorly."

“我并不惊讶，它可能比赫利肯更名不见经传……不管这些，还是回到设计数学教学电脑的问题，我想这项工作也有良莠之分吧。”

"Absolutely."

“完全正确。”

"And you would do it proficiently."

“而你会做得又快又好。”

"I would like to think so."

“我有这个信心。”

"There you are, then. The University will pay you for that, so lets go out and eat. Did you sleep well, by the way?"

“那就没问题。校方会支付你酬劳，所以让我们出去吃一顿吧。对了，你睡得好吗？”

"Surprisingly, I did."

“出乎意料之外，睡得很好。”

"And are you hungry?"

“你饿了吗？”

"Yes, but……" He hesitated.

“饿了，可是……”他迟疑了一下。

She said cheerfully, "But youre worried about the quality of the food, is that it? Well, don't be. Being an Outworlder myself, I can understand your feelings about the strong infusion of microfood into everything, but the University menus aren't bad. In the faculty dining room, at least. The students suffer a bit, but that serves to harden them."

她喜孜孜地说：“可是你担心食物的品质，对不对？嗯，大可不必。同为外星人士，我能了解你对每样东西都掺入过量微生食品的感受，不过大学里的菜肴还不坏，至少教员餐厅如此。学生们则委屈一点，但正好能磨练他们。”

She rose and turned to the door, but stopped when Seldon could not keep himself from saying, "Are you a member of the faculty?"

她起身朝门口走去，但谢顿不吐不快的一句问话又让她停下脚步。“你也是一名教员吗？”

She turned and smiled at him impishly. "Dont I look old enough? I got my doctorate two years ago at Cinna and Ive been here ever since. In two weeks, Ill be thirty."

她转过身来，对他露出顽皮的笑容。“我看起来不够老吗？我两年前在锡纳拿到博士学位，之后就一直待在此地。再过两个星期，我就三十岁了。”

"Sorry," said Seldon, smiling in his turn, "but you cant expect to look twenty-four and not raise doubts as to your academic status."

“对不起，”谢顿回报一个笑容，“但你看起来顶多二十四，很难不让人对你的学位存疑。”

"Arent you nice?" said Dors and Seldon felt a certain pleasure wash over him. After all, he thought, you cant exchange pleasantries with an attractive woman and feel entirely like a stranger.

“你这是体贴吗？”铎丝说。谢顿立刻感到一股喜悦袭上心头，他想：当你和一位迷人的女子谈笑风生时，毕竟不会百分之百感到像个陌生人。

Dors was right. Breakfast was by no means bad. There was something that was unmistakably eggy and the meat was pleasantly smoked. The chocolate drink (Trantor was strong on chocolate and Seldon did not mind that) was probably synthetic, but it was tasty and the breakfast rolls were good.

铎丝说得没错，早餐绝对不差。有一道菜显然是蛋类，肉类则熏得很香。巧克力饮料或许是人工合成的（川陀人喜爱浓烈的巧克力，这点谢顿并不在意），不过相当可口，而面包卷也很好吃。

He felt is only right to say as much. "This has been a very pleasant breakfast. Food. Surroundings. Everything."

他觉得实在应该实话实说。“这是一顿非常美好的早餐，食物，气氛，一切的一切都那么好。”

"Im delighted you think so," said Dors.

“我很高兴你这么想。”铎丝说。

Seldon looked about. There were a bank of windows in one wall and while actual sunlight did not enter (he wondered if, after a while, he would learn to be satisfied with diffuse daylight and would cease to look for patches of sunlight in a room), the place was light enough. In fact, it was quite bright, for the local weather computer had apparently decided is was time for a sharp, clear day.

谢顿四下望了望。一面墙壁上有一排窗户，虽然没有真正的阳光射进来（他突然想到，不知道过一阵子之后，自己会不会逐渐满足于漫射的光线，而不再在室内寻找一片片的阳光），餐厅内仍然光线充足。事实上，这一带相当明亮，地方气候电脑显然决定现在应该是大晴天。

The cables were arranged for four apiece and most were occupied by the full number, but Dors and Seldon remained alone at theirs. Dors had called over some of the men and women and had introduced them. All had been polite, but none had joined them. Undoubtedly, Dors intended that to be so, but Seldon did not see how she managed to arrange it.

每张餐桌都布置成四人座，大多也坐满这个人数，但铎丝与谢顿却单独占据一张餐桌。铎丝曾经和一些男男女女打招呼，并曾为谢顿介绍。那些人都很客气，却没有人加入他们两人。这毫无疑问是铎丝的本意，不过谢顿并未看出她是如何做到的。

He said, "You haven't introduced me to any mathematicians, Dors."

他说：“铎丝，你没有为我介绍任何数学家。”

"I haven't seen any that I know. Most mathematicians start the day early and have classes by eight. My own feeling is that any student so foolhardy as to take mathematics wants to get that part of the course over with as soon as possible."

“我还没看到任何认识的。数学家大多起得很早，八点钟就有课。根据我个人的感觉，任何莽撞到敢修数学课的学生，总是希望愈早上完那堂课愈好。”

"I take it youre not a mathematician yourself."

“我猜你自己不是数学家。”

"Anything but," said Dors with a short laugh. "Anything. History is my field. Ive already published some studies on the rise of Trantor……I mean the primitive kingdom, not this world. I suppose that will end up as my field of specialization……Royal Trantor."

“绝不是，”铎丝发出一声干笑，“绝对不是。我的专长是历史，我已经发表过一些有关川陀兴起的研究……我的意思是原始的王国，而不是这个世界。我想这将成为我专攻的领域……王国时期的川陀。”

"Wonderful," said Seldon.

“太好了。”谢顿说。

"Wonderful?" Dors looked at him quizzically. "Are you interested in Royal Trantor too?"

“太好了？”铎丝不解地望着他，“你也对‘王国川陀’有兴趣？”

"In a way, yes. That and other things like that. Ive never really studied history and I should have."

“就某个角度而言。我并非专指这个问题，还包括其他类似的题目。我从未真正研究过历史，当初真该下点功夫。”

"Should you? If you had studied history, youd scarcely have had time to study mathematics and mathematicians are very much needed……especially at this University. Were full to here with historians," she said, raising her hand to her eyebrows, "and economists and political scientists, but were short on science and mathematics. Chetter Hummin pointed that out to me once. He called it the decline of science and seemed to think it was a general phenomenon."

“是吗？要是你下过功夫研究历史，你就几乎没有时间研究数学，而如今正在闹数学家荒……尤其是这所大学。我们的历史学家、经济学家和政治科学家已经堆到这里，”她一面说，一面将手举到齐眉的高度，“可是我们欠缺科学和数学人才。契特·夫铭曾经向我指出这点，他称之为科学的没落，而且似乎认为这是个普遍现象。”

Seldon said, "Of course, when I say I should have studied history, I don't mean that I should have made it a life work. I meant I should have studied enough to help me in my mathematics. My field of specialization is the mathematical analysis of social structure."

谢顿说：“我说自己当初该对历史下点功夫，当然不是指把它当成我的终生志业。我的意思是，我该获取足够的知识，用来帮助我的数学研究。我的专长领域是社会结构的数学分析。”

"Sounds horrible."

“听来真可怕。”

"In a way, it is. Its very complicated and without my knowing a great deal more about how societies evolved its hopeless. My picture is too static, you see."

“从某方面来说，一点也没错。它非常复杂，我必须对社会演化知道得比现在多得多，否则根本没希望。你知道吗，我提出的绘景过分静态。”

"I cant see because I know nothing about it. Chetter told me you were developing something called psychohistory and that it was important. Have I got it right? Psychohistory?"

“我不知道，因为我对这方面一窍不通。契特告诉过我，你在发展一种叫什么心理史学的理论，而这是一项很重要的工作。我说对了吗？心理史学？”

"Thats right. I should have called it psychosociology, but it seemed to me that was too ugly a word. Or perhaps I knew instinctively that a knowledge of history was necessary and then didn't pay sufficient attention to my thoughts."

“完全正确。我当初应该称之为‘心理社会学’，但我觉得这个名字太别扭。或者，也许我曾经直觉地想到历史知识有绝对的必要性，可是并未真正注意到自己的想法。”

"Psychohistory does sound better, but I don't know what it is."

“心理史学的确比较顺口，但我不懂它究竟是什么。”

"I scarcely do myself." He brooded a few minutes, looking at the woman on the other side of the table and feeling that she might make this exile of his seem a little less like an exile. He thought of the other woman he had known a few years ago, but blocked it off with a determined effort. If he ever found another companion, it would have to be one who understood scholarship and what it demanded of a person.

“我自己也几乎不懂。”谢顿出神地沉思了几分钟。他望着餐桌对面这位女子，觉得她或许会让这次流亡变得比较不像流亡。他又想到几年前认识的另一名女子，却立刻以断然的意志阻断了这个思绪。假如他再结识一个伴侣，这个她一定要对学术有所认识，并了解从事学术研究应该付出多少。

To get his mind onto a new track, he said, "Chetter Hummin told me that the University is in no way troubled by the government."

为了让心思转到另一条轨道上，他说：“契特·夫铭告诉我，这所大学绝不会遭到政府的侵扰。”

"Hes right."

“他说得没错。”

Seldon shook his head. "That seems rather unbelievably forbearing of the Imperial government. The educational institutions on Helicon are by no means so independent of governmental pressures."

谢顿摇了摇头。“帝国政府这种雅量似乎令人无法置信，赫利肯的教育机构绝不可能这么不受政府的压力。”

"Nor on Cinna. Nor on any Outworld, except perhaps for one or two of the largest. Trantor is another matter."

“在锡纳上也不可能，其他外星世界也都一样，或许只有一两个最大的世界例外。川陀则另当别论。”

"Yes, but why?"

“没错，可是为什么呢？”

"Because its the center of the Empire. The universities here have enormous prestige. Professionals are turned out by any university anywhere, but the administrators of the Empire……the high officials, the countless millions of people who represent the tentacles of Empire reaching into every corner of the Galaxy……are educated right here on Trantor."

“因为它是帝国的中心，而此地的大学全都享有极高声誉。任何地方的任何一所大学都能培养出专业人才，可是帝国的行政官员……包括那些高官，以及无数仿佛触须般伸入银河各个角落的低阶官员……通通是在川陀接受教育的。”

"Ive never seen the statistics……" began Seldon.

“我从来没看过统计……”谢顿的话只说了一半。

"Take my word for it. It is important that the officials of the Empire have some common ground, some special feeling for the Empire. And they cant all be native Trantorians or else the Outworlds would grow restless. For that reason, Trantor must attract millions of Outworlders for education here. It doesnt matter where they come from or what their home accent or culture may be, as long as they pick up the Trantorian patina and identify themselves with a Trantorian educational background. Thats what holds the Empire together. The Outworlds are also less restive when a noticeable portion of the administrators who represent the Imperial government are their own people by birth and upbringing."

“相信我吧。让帝国官员有些相同的背景，并对帝国有一种特殊的感情，是十分重要的一件事。他们不能全部是川陀本地人，否则会令外星世界感到不安。由于这个缘故，川陀必须吸引数百万外星人士来此接受教育。不论他们来自何处，不论他们有着怎样的口音或文化，只要他们接受川陀的熏陶，并且认同自己的川陀教育背景。帝国就是这样凝聚起来的。此外，由于代表帝国政府的行政官员有不少是外星世界的同胞，他们生在外星长在外星，外星世界也就因此不难统治了。”

Seldon felt embarrassed again. This was something he had never given any thought to. He wondered if anyone could be a truly great mathematician if mathematics was all he knew. He said, "Is this common knowledge?"

谢顿再次觉得脸红。像这种事，他以前就从未思考过。他不禁产生一个疑惑：假如某人仅仅精通数学一门，他是否能成为真正伟大的数学家？“这是众所周知的吗？”他问。

"I suppose it isn't ," said Dors after some thought. "Theres so much knowledge to be had that specialists cling to their specialties as a shield against having to know anything about anything else. They avoid being drowned."

“我想并不是。”铎丝思考了一下才回答，“需要吸收的知识太多，所以专家一律紧守自己的专长，把它当做一面盾牌，以免需要知晓任何其他方面的知识。他们想避免被知识淹没。”

"Yet you know it."

“而你却知道。”

"But thats my specialty. Im a historian who deals with the rise of Royal Trantor and this administrative technique was one of the ways in which Trantor spread its influence and managed the transition from Royal Trantor to Imperial Trantor."

“那可是我的专长。我是个历史学家，专门研究王国川陀的兴起。川陀能够不断扩张势力，进而从王国川陀跃升至帝国川陀，这种行政管理技巧就是它的法门之一。”

Seldon said, almost as though muttering to himself, "How harmful overspecialization is. It cuts knowledge at a million points and leaves it bleeding."

谢顿几乎是喃喃自语地说：“过度专业化的害处多大呀。它将知识切割成上百万碎片，让它处处在滴血。”

Dors shrugged. "What can one do?……But you see, if Trantor is going to attract Outworlders to Trantorian universities, it has to give them something in return for uprooting themselves and going to a strange world with an incredibly artificial structure and unusual ways. Ive been here two years and Im still not used to it. I may never get used to it. But then, of course, I don't intend to be an administrator, so Im not forcing myself to be a Trantorian.

铎丝耸了耸肩。“又能怎么办呢？不过你要知道，既然川陀想要吸引外星人士进入川陀各大学，就必须给他们一些回报，以补偿他们离乡背井，来到一个具有不可思议的人工建筑，而且生活方式极其特殊的陌生世界。我在此地已有两年，而我仍旧不习惯，或许永远也无法习惯。话说回来，当然啦，我并不想成为行政官员，所以不会强迫自己变成川陀人。

"And what Trantor offers in exchange is not only the promise of a position with high status, considerable power, and money, of course, but also freedom. While students are having their……education, they are free to denounce the government, demonstrate against it peacefully, work out their own theories and points of view. They enjoy that and many come here so that they can experience the sensation of liberty."

“川陀所提供的交换条件，不仅是保证给你崇高的职位、可观的权势，以及想当然尔的财富，除此之外还有自由。在此接受教育时，学生们有自由公然抨击政府，进行和平的反政府示威，并提出他们自己的理论和观点。他们很喜欢这种特权，很多人来这里就是为了体验自由的滋味。”

"I imagine," said Seldon, "that it helps relieve pressure as well. They work off all their resentments, enjoy all the smug self-satisfaction a young revolutionary would have, and by the time they take their place in the Imperial hierarchy, they are ready to settle down into conformity and obedience."

“我猜想，”谢顿说，“这也有助于减轻压力。在这段期间，他们耽溺于年轻革命家的一切自大自满，将内心的愤恨发泄殆尽。等到他们在帝国体制中谋得一官半职，就很容易变得既温顺又服从。”

Dors nodded. "You may be right. In any case, the government, for all these reasons, carefully preserves the freedom of the universities. Its not a matter of their being forbearing at all……only clever."

铎丝点了点头。“你也许说对了。无论如何，政府为了这许多原因，总是谨慎地保持所有大学的自由。并非他们有什么雅量，只能算是精明罢了。”

"And if youre not going to be an administrator, Dors, what are you going to be?"

“如果你不想成为行政官员，铎丝，那你打算做什么呢？”

"A historian. Ill teach, put book-films of my own into the programming."

“历史学家。我准备教书，将我自己的影视书做成教材。”

"Not much status, perhaps."

“只怕不会有太高的地位。”

"Not much money, Hari, which is more important. As for status, thats the sort of push and pull Id just as soon avoid. Ive seen many people with status, but Im still looking for a happy one. Status wont sit still under you; you have to continually fight to keep from sinking. Even Emperors manage to come to bad ends most of the time. Someday I may just go back to Cinna and be a professor."

“也不会有太高的薪水，哈里，这点更重要。至于地位，那是一种吃力不讨好的东西，我避之唯恐不及。我见过许多拥有地位的人，但至今没有找到一个快乐的。地位不会让你稳稳坐着它，你得奋斗不懈才能保持不坠。即使贵为皇帝，也大多没什么好下场。有一天我可能就这么回到锡纳，在那里当一名教授。”

"And a Trantorian education will give you status."

“而川陀的教育背景，会让你拥有地位。”

Dors laughed. "I suppose so, but on Cinna who would care? Its a dull world, full of farms and with lots of cattle, both four-legged and two-legged."

铎丝笑了几声。“我想是吧，可是在锡纳，谁又会在乎呢？它是个枯燥无聊的世界，到处都是农场，有许多牛群，四只脚的和两只脚的都有。”

"Wont you find it dull after Trantor?"

“来过川陀之后，你不会觉得锡纳枯燥无聊吗？”

"Yes, thats what Im counting on. And if it gets too dull, I can always wangle a grant to go here or there to do a little historical research. Thats the advantage of my field."

“没错，我也这么想。假如日子变得太无聊，我总有办法弄到一笔经费，随便到哪里去做点历史研究。这是我这一行的好处。”

"A mathematician, on the other hand," said Seldon with a trace of bitterness at something that had never before bothered him, "is expected to sit at his computer and think. And speaking of computers……" He hesitated. Breakfast was done and it seemed to him more than likely she had some duties of her own to attend to.

“反之，一个数学家，”谢顿带着一丝前所未有的苦涩说，“却被认定就该坐在电脑前面思考。提到电脑……”他迟疑了一下。早餐已经结束，他觉得铎丝必然有些自己的事需要处理。

But she did not seem to be in any great hurry to leave. "Yes? Speaking of computers?"

但她似乎没有急于离开的意思。“怎么样？提到电脑？”

"Would I be able to get permission to use the history library?"

“我能不能获准使用历史图书馆？”

Now it was she who hesitated. "I think that can be arranged. If you work on mathematics programming, youll probably be viewed as a quasi-member of the faculty and I could ask for you to be given permission. Only……"

现在轮到她迟疑了。“我想应该可以安排。你若是接下数学程式设计的工作，或许就会被视为准教员，我就能帮你申请许可。只不过……”

"Only?"

“只不过？”

"I don't want to hurt your feelings, but youre a mathematician and you say you know nothing about history. Would you know how to make use of a history library?"

“我不想让你心里不舒服，但你是一名数学家，而且你说你对历史一无所知。你会知道如何使用历史图书馆吗？”

Seldon smiled. "I suppose you use computers very much like those in a mathematics library."

谢顿微微一笑。“我想你们使用的电脑，应该和数学图书馆的非常接近吧。”

"We do, but the programming for each specialty has quirks of its own. You don't know the standard reference book-films, the quick methods of winnowing and skipping. You may be able to find a hyperbolic interval in the dark……"

“这点没错，可是每个专业领域所用的程式都有自己的行话。你不知道什么是标准参考书，不知道快速筛选和跳读的方法。你也许闭着眼睛都能找到一个双曲微分……”

"You mean hyperbolic integral," interrupted Seldon softly.

“你是说双曲积分。”谢顿轻声插嘴。

Dors ignored him. "But you probably wont know how to get the terms of the Treaty of Poldark in less than a day and a half."

铎丝并未理会他。“可是你也许不知道，如何在不到一天半的时间内，查到波达克条约的详细条款。”

"I suppose I could learn."

“我想我能学。”

"If…… if……" She looked a little troubled. "If you want to, I can make a suggestion. I give a weeks course……one hour each day, no credit……on library use. Its for undergraduates. Would you feel it beneath your dignity to sit in on such a course……with undergraduates, I mean? It starts in three weeks."

“如果……如果……”她看来有些难以启齿，“如果你真要学，我可以做个建议。我负责一个为期一周的图书馆使用法课程……每天一小时，没有学分……是为大学部学生开的。要是让你旁听这种课，我的意思是跟大学部的学生一起，你会不会觉得拉不下脸？它在三周后开始。”

"You could give me private lessons." Seldon felt a little surprised at the suggestive tone that had entered his voice.

“你可以私下为我授课。”谢顿的声音中夹带着暗示的语调，令他自己都感到有些惊讶。

She did not miss it. "I dare say I could, but I think youd be better off with more formal instruction. Well be using the library, you understand, and at the end of the week you will be asked to locate information on particular items of historical interest. You will be competing with the other students all through and that will help you learn. Private tutoring will be far less efficient, I assure you. However, I understand the difficulty of competing with undergraduates. If you don't do as well as they, you may feel humiliated. You must remember, though, that they have already studied elementary history and you, perhaps, may not have."

而她并非没有听出来。“我相信绝无问题，但我认为较正式的授课对你比较好。你要了解，我们会用图书馆来实习，而在一周结束后，我会要你们找出某些历史问题的相关资料。从头到尾，你都得和其他学生竞争，这将有助于你的学习。我向你保证，私下授课的效率会差得多。然而，我能了解和大学生竞争的难处，假如你做得没他们好，你会感到无地自容。不过你必须记住，他们已经修过基本历史，而你，说不定也许没修过。”

"I havent. No may about it. But I wont be afraid to compete and I wont mind any humiliation that may come along……if I manage to learn the tricks of the historical reference trade."

“我的确没修过，不只是‘也许’而已。可是我不会害怕竞争，也不在乎可能出现的窘境……只要我能学到查询历史参考资料的诀窍。”

It was clear to Seldon that he was beginning to like this young woman and that he was gladly seizing on the chance to be educated by her. He was also aware of the fact that he had reached a turning point in his mind.

谢顿心里很清楚，他已经喜欢上这个年轻女子，很高兴能抓住机会当她的学生。他还察觉到一件事实，那就是他的心灵正面临一个转折点。

He had promised Hummin to attempt to work out a practical psychohistory, but that had been a promise of the mind and not the emotions. Now he was determined to seize psychohistory by the throat if he had to……in order to make it practical. That, perhaps, was the influence of Dors Venabili.

他已经答应夫铭，将会试图发展出实用的心理史学，但那只是理智的承诺，与情感无关。如今为了把理论化为实际，真有必要的话，他决心和心理史学斗个你死我活。而这个转变，也许就是受到铎丝·凡纳比里的影响。

Or had Hummin counted on that? Hummin, Seldon decided, might well be a most formidable person.

抑或是夫铭早就料到这点？夫铭这个人，谢顿判断，很可能是个最可怕的人物。

Cleon I had finished dinner, which, unfortunately, had been a formal state affair. It meant he had to spend time talking to various officials……not one of whom he knew or recognized……in set phrases designed to give each one his stroke and so activate his loyalty to the crown. It also meant that his food reached him but lukewarm and had cooled still further before he could eat it.

克里昂一世刚用完晚膳，而这一餐不幸又是正式的国宴。这就代表他必须花上许多时间，对各部门的官员（没有一个是他认识或熟悉的）说些一成不变的言词，为的是让每个人都感到如沐春风，以激励他们对皇室的忠心。这也代表食物送到他面前时只剩一点余温，而在他动口前又凉了许多。

There had to be some way of avoiding that. Eat first, perhaps, on his own or with one or two close intimates with whom he could relax and then attend a formal dinner at which he could merely be served an imported pear. He loved pears. But would that offend the guests who would take the Emperors refusal to eat with them as a studied insult.

一定有什么办法能避免这种情形。也许他应该自己一个人，或是和一两个可以让他无拘无束的亲信先行用餐，然后再去参加正式晚宴，到时他面前只需摆一颗进口梨子。他最爱吃梨子了。但是这样会不会冒犯客人，让他们认为大帝拒绝与他们共餐是一种刻意的羞辱？

His wife, of course, was useless in this respect, for her presence would but further exacerbate his unhappiness. He had married her because she was a member of a powerful dissident family who could be expected to mute their dissidence as a result of the union, though Cleon devoutly hoped that she, at least, would not do so. He was perfectly content to have her live her own life in her own quarters except for the necessary efforts to initiate an heir, for, to tell the truth, he didn't like her. And now that an heir had come, he could ignore her completely.

当然，在这方面，他的妻子没有任何用处，她的出现只会令他恶劣的心情更加恶化。当初他会娶她为妻，只是因为她出身于一个势力强大的异议家族，经由这次联姻，便可指望他们装聋作哑，不再坚持反对立场。不过克里昂衷心希望，至少她个人不会如此。他万分满意于让她在自己的寝宫里过自己的生活，只有必须制造子嗣时例外，因为老实说，他并不喜欢她。如今，既然继位者已经出世，他可以将她完全抛到脑后。

He chewed at one of a handful of nuts he had pocketed from the table on leaving and said, "Demerzel!"

在离开餐桌前，他随手抓了一把胡桃放进口袋。此时他一面嚼着胡桃，一面喊道：“丹莫刺尔！”

"Sire?"

“陛下？”

Demerzel always appeared at once when Cleon called. Whether he hovered constantly in earshot at the door or he drew close because the instinct of subservience somehow alerted him to a possible call in a few minutes, he did appear and that, Cleon thought idly, was the important thing. Of course, there were those times when Demerzel had to be away on Imperial business. Cleon always hated those absences. They made him uneasy.

丹莫刺尔总是在克里昂叫唤后立刻现身。不论是因为他始终徘徊在听力范围所及的门口，或是由于奉承的本能，使他警觉到几分钟后可能会受到召唤，因而及时走到近处，反正他就是出现了。而这点才是最重要的，克里昂无端冒出这个念头。当然，有时丹莫刺尔也得为帝国的事务四处奔走。克里昂一向痛恨这种日子，丹莫刺尔不在身旁总是令他心神不宁。

"What happened to that mathematician? I forget his name."

“那个数学家怎么样了？我忘了他的名字。”

Demerzel, who surely knew the man the Emperor had in mind, but who perhaps wanted to study how much the Emperor remembered, said, "What mathematician is it that you have in mind, Sire?"

丹莫刺尔当然知道大帝指的是什么人，但他或许是要试探一下大帝还记得多少，于是说：“启禀陛下，您指的是哪个数学家？”

Cleon waved an impatient hand. "The fortune-teller. The one who came to see me."

克里昂挥挥手表示不耐烦。“那个算命的，那个来见过我的。”

"The one we sent for?"

“我们请来的那位？”

"Well, sent for, then. He did come to see me. You were going to take care of the matter, as I recall. Have you?"

“好吧，就算是请来的，但他的确来见过我。我记得你说过要处理这桩事，办了没有？”

Demerzel cleared his throat. "Sire, I have tried to."

丹莫刺尔清了清喉咙。“启禀陛下，我尽了力。”

"Ah! That means you have failed, doesnt it?" In a way, Cleon felt pleased. Demerzel was the only one of his Ministers who made no bones of failure. The others never admitted failure, and since failure was nevertheless common, it became difficult to correct. Perhaps Demerzel could afford to be more honest because he failed so rarely. If it werent for Demerzel, Cleon thought sadly, he might never know what honesty sounded like. Perhaps no Emperor ever knew and perhaps that was one of the reasons that the Empire……

“啊！这么说你是失败了吗？”就某方面而言，克里昂感到很高兴。在所有的大臣中，丹莫刺尔是唯一绝不掩饰失败的人。其他人从不承认失败，但由于失败是家常便饭，这个陋习变得难以改正。或许，丹莫刺尔之所以表现得比较诚实，是因为他鲜有失败的时候。要不是有丹莫刺尔，克里昂难过地想到，自己可能永远不知诚实为何物。也许没有一个皇帝知道，也许帝国正是因为诸如此类的事……

He pulled his thoughts away and, suddenly nettled at the others silence and wanting an admission, since he had just admired Demerzels honesty in his mind, said sharply, "Well, you have failed, haven't you?"

他及时将思绪拉回来，对方的沉默却突然令他恼羞成怒。他想听到一句承认，因为他刚刚在心中赞许过丹莫刺尔的诚实，于是厉声问道：“嗯，你已经失败了，对不对？”

Demerzel did not flinch. "Sire, I have failed in part. I felt that to have him here on Trantor where things are……difficult might present us with problems. It was easy to consider that he might be more conveniently placed on his home planet. He was planning to return to that home planet the next day, but there was always the chance of complications……of his deciding to remain on Trantor……so I arranged to have two young alley men place him on his plane that very day."

丹莫刺尔并未胆怯。“启禀陛下，我失败了一部分。我感到若是让他留在川陀，由于此地的情势颇为……困难，可能会为我们带来麻烦。因而我不难想到，把他放在他的母星应该比较容易处理。当时他计划次日回到母星，但总有机会突生变故，让他又决定留在川陀，所以我找来两个街头小混混，准备当天就把他押上飞船。”

"Do you know alley men, Demerzel?" Cleon was amused.

“你认识街头混混吗，丹莫刺尔？”克里昂的兴趣来了。

"It is important, Sire, to be able to reach many kinds of people, for each type has its own variety of use……alley men not the least. As it happens, they did not succeed."

“启禀陛下，有办法找到各式各样的人，是很重要的一件事，因为他们都有各自不同的用处……街头混混的用处也不少。结果没想到，他们并未成功。”

"And why was that?"

“为什么呢？”

"Oddly enough, Seldon was able to fight them off."

“可真奇怪，谢顿竟然有本事打退他们。”

"The mathematician could fight?"

“那个数学家能打？”

"Apparently, mathematics and the martial arts are not necessarily mutually exclusive. I found out, not soon enough, that his world, Helicon, is noted for it……martial arts, not mathematics. The fact that I did not learn this earlier was indeed a failure, Sire, and I can only crave your pardon."

“显然，数学和武术并不一定互不相容。后来我才发现，他的世界赫利肯在这方面十分有名……我是指武术，而不是数学。陛下，我未能及早知晓这件事，这确实是我的疏失，如今我只能恳求您恕罪。”

"But then, I suppose the mathematician left for his home planet the next day as he had planned."

“可是这样的话，我想那个数学家便按照原定计划，隔天就回他的母星去了。”

"Unfortunately, the episode backfired. Taken aback by the event, he decided not to return to Helicon, but remained on Trantor. He may have been advised to this effect by a passerby who happened to be present on the occasion of the fight. That was another unlooked-for complication."

“不幸的是，这个插曲反倒弄巧成拙。由于这个变故的惊吓，他决定暂时不回赫利肯，而要继续留在川陀。他可能是接受了一个路人的劝告，才做出这个决定，那人在他们打架时刚好在场。这是另一个意料之外的发展。”

The Emperor Cleon frowned. "Then our mathematician……what is his name?"

克里昂大帝皱起眉头。“那么我们这位数学家……他到底叫什么名字？”

"Seldon, Sire. Hari Seldon."

“启禀陛下，他叫谢顿，哈里·谢顿。”

"Then this Seldon is out of reach."

“那么，这个谢顿脱离我们的掌握了。”

"In a sense, Sire. We have traced his movements and he is now at Streeling University. While there, he is untouchable."

“启禀陛下，这么说也没错。我们已经追查到他的行踪，他如今在斯璀璘大学。只要他躲在那里，我们就碰不了他。”

The Emperor scowled and reddened slightly. "I am annoyed at that word……untouchable. There should be nowhere in the Empire my hand cannot reach. Yet here, on my own world, you tell me someone can be untouchable. Insufferable!"

大帝显露不悦之色，脸庞微微涨红。“我不喜欢这个词……碰不了。在整个帝国之中，不该有任何角落是我无法掌握的。然而在此地，在我自己的世界上，你却告诉我有人是碰不了的。简直令人无法忍受！”

"Your hand can reach to the University, Sire. You can send in your army and pluck out this Seldon at any moment you desire. To do so, however, is…… undesirable."

“启禀陛下，您的手当然能伸进那所大学。您随时可以派遣军队，把这个谢顿揪出来。然而，这样做的话，会……不受欢迎。”

"Why don't you say impractical, Demerzel. You sound like the mathematician speaking of his fortune-telling. It is possible, but impractical. I am an Emperor who finds everything possible, but very little practical. Remember, Demerzel, if reaching Seldon is not practical, reaching you is entirely so."

“丹莫刺尔，你何不干脆说‘不可行’呢？你这番话，听来就像那个数学家在讲他的命相术：它是可能的，实际上却不可行。我这个皇帝则发现一切都有可能，却很少有实际可行的事。记住，丹莫刺尔，逮捕谢顿或许不可行，逮捕你却是易如反掌。”

Eto Demerzel let this last comment pass. The "man behind the throne" knew his importance to the Emperor, he had heard such threats before. He waited in silence while the Emperor glowered. Drumming his fingers against the arm of his chair, Cleon asked,…… Well then, what good is this mathematician to us if he is at Streeling University?"

伊图·丹莫刺尔并未将最后那句话放在心上。这位“幕后掌权者”知道自己对大帝的重要性，何况以前他也听过这种威胁。当大帝吹胡子瞪眼的时候，他默默等在一旁。克里昂一面用手指敲打着座椅扶手，一面问道：“好吧，如果那个数学家藏在斯璀璘大学，对我们又能有什么用？”

"It may perhaps be possible, Sire, to snatch use out of adversity. At the University, he may decide to work on his psychohistory."

“启禀陛下，绝处逢生后，就有可能柳暗花明。在那所大学里，他或许会决心发展他的心理史学。”

"Even though he insists its impractical?"

“即使他坚持实际上不可行？”

"He may be wrong and he may find out that he is wrong. And if he finds out that he is wrong, we would find some way of getting him out of the University. It is even possible he would join us voluntarily under those circumstances."

“他或许错了，而且有可能会发现自己错了。一旦他发现错在自己，我们马上设法把他弄出那所大学。在那种情况下，他甚至可能会自愿加入我们。”

The Emperor remained lost in thought for a while, then said, "And what if someone else plucks him out before we do?"

大帝陷入沉思好一阵子，然后说：“万一有人抢先一步把他弄走，那该怎么办？”

"Who would want to do that, Sire?" asked Demerzel softy.

“陛下，谁会想要那么做呢？”丹莫刺尔轻声问道。

"The Mayor of Wye, for one," said Cleon, suddenly shouting. "He dreams still of taking over the Empire."

“比如说卫荷区长，”克里昂突然高声喊道，“他仍旧梦想着接掌帝国。”

"Old age has drawn his fangs, Sire."

“启禀陛下，年岁已将他消磨殆尽。”

"Dont you believe it, Demerzel."

“丹莫刺尔，你竟然不相信。”

"And we have no reason for supposing he has any interest in Seldon or even knows of him, Sire."

“启禀陛下，我们没有理由假设他对谢顿有任何兴趣，甚至听说过这个人。”

"Come on, Demerzel. If we heard of the paper, so could Wye. If we see the possible importance of Seldon, so could Wye."

“得了吧，丹莫刺尔。既然我们听说了那篇论文，卫荷自然也能风闻。既然我们看出谢顿潜在的重要性，卫荷同样看得出来。”

"If that should happen," said Demerzel, "or even if there should be a reasonable chance of its happening, then we would be justified in taking strong measures."

“倘若真发生这种事，”丹莫刺尔说，“甚至只是有这样的机会，我们都有正当理由采取激烈手段。”

"How strong?"

“多么激烈？”

Demerzel said cautiously, "It might be argued that rather than have Seldon in Wyes hands, we might prefer to have him in no ones hands. To have him cease to exist, Sire."

丹莫刺尔小心翼翼地答道：“可以这么说，与其让谢顿落入卫荷手中，宁愿让他无法落入任何人的掌握。启禀陛下，就是使他终止存在。”

"To have him killed, you mean," said Cleon.

“你的意思是杀了他。”克里昂说。

"If you wish to put it that way, Sire," said Demerzel.

“启禀陛下，如果您想这么讲，当然也行。”丹莫刺尔答道。

Hari Seldon sat back in his chair in the alcove that had been assigned to him through Dors Venabilis intervention. He was dissatisfied.

待在由铎丝·凡纳比里帮他在图书馆争取到的一间凹室中，哈里·谢顿靠在一张椅子上，心里感到很不满意。

As a matter of fact, although that was the expression he used in his mind, he knew that it was a gross underestimation of his feelings. He was not simply dissatisfied, he was furious……all the more so because he wasn't sure what it was he was furious about. Was it about the histories? The writers and compilers of histories? The worlds and people that made the histories?

事实上，虽然那正是他心中使用的词汇，他也知道“不满意”实在太过低估如今的感觉。他不只不满意，简直就是愤怒。而他又不确定到底为何愤怒，更是为这股怒焰火上加油。他是在气历史吗？还是气那些史书的作者与编者？或是创造历史的各个世界与全体人类？

Whatever the target of his fury, it didn't really matter. What counted was that his notes were useless, his new knowledge was useless, everything was useless.

不论他发怒的对象为何，其实都没什么关系。重要的是他做的笔记没有用，他学到的新知识没有用，一切的一切都没有用。

He had been at the University now for almost six weeks. He had managed to find a computer outlet at the very start and with it had begun work……without instruction, but using the instincts he had developed over a number of years of mathematical labors. It had been slow and halting, but there was a certain pleasure in gradually determining the routes by which he could get his questions answered.

如今，他来到这所大学已将近六周。一开始他就设法找到一套电脑终端机，利用它展开工作……没有任何人指导，仅靠自己钻研数学多年所累积的直觉。进度虽然缓慢，而且并不顺利，不过渐渐发现走哪条路便能找到问题的答案，也自有一番乐趣。

Then came the week of instruction with Dors, which had taught him several dozen shortcuts and had brought with it two sets of embarrassments. The first set included the sidelong glances he received from the undergraduates, who seemed contemptuously aware of his greater age and who were disposed to frown a bit at Dorss constant use of the honorific "Doctor" in addressing him.

后来，铎丝教授的一周课程开始了。这门课教给他数十种捷径，却也带来两组尴尬的窘境。其一包括那些大学生斜眼看人，似乎因为察觉到他的年龄而瞧不起他；每当铎丝频频使用“博士”的尊衔称呼他，他们全都会稍微皱皱眉头。

I don't want them to think, she said, "that youre some backward perpetual student taking remedial history."

“我不希望他们认为，”她说，“你是个永远毕不了业的老学生，正在补修历史学分。”

"But surely youve established the point. Surely, a mere Seldon is sufficient now."

“但你显然已经表明这一点。现在只要叫我‘谢顿’当然就够了。”

"No," Dors said and smiled suddenly. "Besides, I like to call you Dr. Seldon. I like the way you look uncomfortable each time."

“不行。”铎丝突然微微一笑，“此外，我喜欢叫你‘谢顿博士’，我喜欢看你每次露出那种不自在的表情。”

"You have a peculiar sense of sadistic humor."

“你有一种虐待狂的幽默感。”

"Would you deprive me?"

“你要剥夺我的乐趣吗？”

For some reason, that made him laugh. Surely, the natural reaction would have been to deny sadism. Somehow he found it pleasant that she accepted the ball of conversation and fired it back. The thought led to a natural question. "Do you play tennis here at the University?"

不知道为什么，这句话令他开怀大笑。不用说，自然的反应当然应该是否认自己有虐待狂倾向。没想到她却接下这一记“杀球”，并立即予以反击，他觉得实在好玩。这个想法自然而然引发了一个问题：“你在学校打不打网球？”

"We have courts, but I don't play."

“我们有网球场，但是我不会打。”

"Good. Ill teach you. And when I do, Ill call you Professor Venabili."

“很好，我来教你。而我在球场上，会称呼你凡纳比里教授。”

"Thats what you call me in class anyway."

“反正你在课堂上就是这样称呼我的。”

"Youll be surprised how ridiculous it will sound on the tennis court."

“你不会相信它在网球场上听起来多么滑稽。”

"I may get to like it."

“我可能会喜欢。”

"In that case, I will try to find what else you might get to like."

“这样的话，我会试图找出你还可能喜欢些什么。”

"I see you have a peculiar sense of salacious humor."

“我发现你有一种色情狂的幽默感。”

She had put that ball in that spot deliberately and he said, "Would you deprive me?"

她故意把这记杀球打到同一个地方，于是他说：“你要剥夺我的乐趣吗？”

She smiled and later did surprisingly well on the tennis court.

她微笑不语。后来，她在网球场上表现得出奇优异。

"Are you sure you never played tennis?" he said, puffing, after one session.

“你确定自己从没打过网球？”打完一局后，他喘着气问道。

"Positive," she said.

“确定。”她说。

The other set of embarrassments was more private. He learned the necessary techniques of historical research and then burned……in private……at his earlier attempts to make use of the computers memory. It was simply an entirely different mind-set from that used in mathematics. It was equally logical, he supposed, since it could be used, consistently and without error, to move in whatever direction he wanted to, but it was a substantially different brand of logic from that to which he was accustomed.

另一组窘境比较属于私人性质。当他学会查询历史资料的必要技巧，开始试图使用电脑记忆组的时候，曾经（私底下）一败涂地。那简直是与数学界全然不同的思考模式。他认为它应该同样合乎逻辑，因为它可以毫无矛盾、毫无错误地根据他的心意四通八达，可是这种逻辑与他熟悉的那套完全不同。

But with or without instructions, whether he stumbled or moved in swiftly, he simply didn't get any results.

但不论有没有人指导，不论是跌跌撞撞或迅速进入情况，他就是不能得到任何结果。

His annoyance made itself felt on the tennis court. Dors quickly reached the stage where it was no longer necessary to lob easy balls at her to give her time to judge direction and distance. That made it easy to forget that she was just a beginner and he expressed his anger in his swing, firing the ball back at her as though it were a laser beam made solid.

他的恼怒在网球场上露出痕迹。铎丝很快就有长足的进步，他不必再为了给她时间来判断方向与距离，而喂给她好打的高吊球。这使他很容易忘掉她只是个初学者，不知不觉便将愤怒发泄在挥拍动作上，将球使劲向她击去，仿佛射出一道化作固体的激光光束。

She came trotting up to the net and said, "I can understand your wanting to kill me, since it must annoy you to watch me miss the shots so often. How is it, though, that you managed to miss my head by about three centimeters that time? I mean, you didn't even nick me. Cant you do better than that?"

她小跑步来到网前。“我能了解你为什么想要杀我，因为看到我频频漏接，一定让你非常恼火。可是，为什么要让球偏离我的脑袋三厘米左右呢？我的意思是，你甚至没打中我的汗毛，你能不能瞄得更准一点？”

Seldon, horrified, tried to explain, but only managed to sound incoherent.

谢顿吓呆了，连忙想要解释，却只说出一串语无伦次的话。

She said, "Look. Im not going to face any other returns of yours today, so why don't we shower and then get together for some tea and whatever and you can tell me just what you were trying to kill. If it wasn't my poor head and if you don't get the real victim off your chest, youll be entirely too dangerous on the other side of the net for me to want to serve as a target."

她说：“听着，今天我不想再接你的球了。所以我们何不这就去淋浴，再一起喝杯茶什么的，然后你可以告诉我，你想要杀的究竟是什么。如果不是我这颗可怜的脑袋，又如果你不将元凶从心头拔除，那么让你站在球网另一边，把我当成你的靶子，对我而言实在太危险了。”

Over tea he said, "Dors, Ive scanned history after history; just scanned, browsed. I haven't had time for deep study yet. Even so, its become obvious. All the book-films concentrate on the same few events."

喝茶的时候，他说：“铎丝，我已经扫描过无数的历史，只是扫描和浏览而已，我还没有时间做深入研究。即使如此，有件事已经十分明显，所有的影视书都只探讨相同的少数事件。”

"Crucial ones. History-making ones."

“关键的事件，创造历史的事件。”

"Thats just an excuse. Theyre copying each other. There are twenty-five million worlds out there and theres significant mention of perhaps twenty-five."

“那只是个借口，其实它们相互抄袭。银河系共有两千五百万个世界，记载详细的也许只有二十五个。”

Dors said, "Youre reading general Galactic histories only. Look up the special histories of some of the minor worlds. On every world, however small, the children are taught local histories before they ever find out theres a great big Galaxy outside. don't you yourself know more about Helicon, right now, than you know about the rise of Trantor oooof the Great Interstellar War?"

铎丝说：“你目前读的都只是银河通史，应该查查某些小地方的特殊历史。在每个世界上，不论它多么小，学童也都要先学本星历史，然后才知晓外面还有个庞大的银河系。目前为止，你自己对赫利肯的了解，难道不比对川陀的兴起或‘星际大战’更多吗？”

"That sort of knowledge is limited too," said Seldon gloomily. "I know Heliconian geography and the stories of its settlement and of the malfeasance and misfeasance of the planet Jennisek……thats our traditional enemy, though our teachers carefully told us that we ought to say traditional rival. But I never learned anything about the contributions of Helicon to general Galactic history."

“那种知识也有局限。”谢顿以沮丧的口吻说，“我知道赫利肯的地理、它的开拓史，以及詹尼瑟克这颗行星的恶行恶状……那个世界是我们的传统敌人，不过老师们曾经特别嘱咐，说我们应该称之为‘传统的对手’。可是，我从来没学到赫利肯对银河通史有什么贡献。”

"Maybe there werent any."

“或许根本没有。”

"Dont be silly. Of course there were. There may not have been great, huge space battles involving Helicon or crucial rebellions or peace treaties. There may not have been some Imperial competitor making his base on Helicon. But there must have been subtle influences. Surely, nothing can happen anywhere without affecting everywhere else. Yet theres nothing I can find to help me. See here, Dors. In mathematics, all can be found in the computer; everything we know or have found out in twenty thousand years. In history, thats not so. Historians pick and choose and every one of them picks and chooses the same thing."

“别傻了，当然有。也许赫利肯未曾卷入任何大型的太空战事、重大的叛乱事件，或是重要的和平条约，也许没有哪个皇位竞逐者曾以赫利肯为基地，不过微妙的影响一定是存在的。不用说，任何一个角落发生的事件，都会对其他各个角落造成影响。但我找不到对我有任何帮助的资料……听我说，铎丝，在数学领域里，所有的一切都能在电脑中找到，包括过去两万年来我们所知道的或发现的一切。历史界则不然，历史学家总是挑挑拣拣，而且大家都挑拣相同的东西。”

"But, Hari," said Dors, "mathematics is an ooderly thing of human invention. One thing follows from another. There are definitions and axioms, all of which are known. It is…… it is…… all one piece. History is different. It is the unconscious working out of the deeds and thoughts of quadrillions of human beings. Historians must pick and choose."

“可是，哈里，”铎丝说，“数学是人类发明的秩序结构，一样东西紧扣着另一样。其中有定义，有公设，所有这些都是已知的。它是……它是……一个整体。历史则不同，它是万兆人口的行为和思想形成的无意识结构，历史学家必须挑挑拣拣。”

"Exactly," said Seldon, "but I must know all of history if I am to work out the laws of psychohistory."

“正是如此。”谢顿说，“但若想推出心理史学定律，我必须知晓全部的历史。”

"In that case, you wont ever formulate the laws of psychohistory."

“那样的话，你将永远无法写下心理史学定律。”

That was yesterday. Now Seldon sat in his chair in his alcove, having spent another day of utter failure, and he could hear Dorss voice saying, "In that case, you wont ever formulate the laws of psychohistory."

那是昨天的事。谢顿后来又花了一整天而毫无所获，这时正颓然坐在凹室中的椅子上。此刻，他还听得见铎丝的声音：“那样的话，你将永远无法写下心理史学定律。”

It was what he had thought to begin with and if it hadn't been for Hummins conviction to the contrary and his odd ability to fire Seldon with his own blaze of conviction, Seldon would have continued to think so.

这正是自己最初的想法。要不是夫铭坚决相信并非如此，若非他具有奇异的能力，将他的信念像火焰般喷到谢顿身上，谢顿会一直抱持同样的想法。

And yet neither could he quite let go. Might there not be some way out?

然而他却也无法真正放弃。难道就没有任何出路吗？

He couldnt think of any.

他想不出任何解决之道。