CHAPTER EIGHTEEN COLLISION
第18章 碰撞
STOR GENDEBAL WAS EDGING TOWARD GAIA ALMOST AS CAUTIOUSLY AS Trevize had--and now that its star was a perceptible disc and could be viewed only through strong filters, he paused to consider.
史陀·坚迪柏缓缓向盖娅之阳推进，几乎跟崔维兹当初一样小心翼翼。等到那颗恒星已经像一个小圆盘，必须透过强力滤光镜观看，他停了下来，开始考虑下一步行动。
Sura Novi sat to one side, looking up at him now and then in a timorous manner.
苏拉·诺微坐在一旁，偶尔抬起头来，用畏怯的目光望着他。
She said softly, “Master?”
她突然轻声说：“师傅？”
“What is it, Novi?” he asked abstractedly.
“什么事，诺微？”他心不在焉地问。
“Are you unhappy?”
“你不高兴吗？”
He looked up at her quickly. “No. Concerned. Remember that word? I am trying to decide whether to move in quickly or to wait longer. Shall I be very brave, Novi?”
他马上抬起头望着她。“不，只是挂心而已，还记得这个词吗？我在考虑到底应该迅速前进，还是要再多等一会儿。我应该表现得非常勇敢吗，诺微？”
“I think you are very brave all times, Master.”
“我认为你一直都非常勇敢，师傅。”
“To be very brave is sometimes to be foolish.”
“勇敢有时是愚蠢的同义词。”
Novi smiled. “How can a master scholar be foolish? --That is a sun, is it not, Master?” She pointed to the screen.
诺微露出微笑。“学者领袖怎么可能愚蠢呢？那是个太阳，对不对，师傅？”她指着屏幕说。
Gendibal nodded.
坚迪柏点了点头。
Novi said, after an irresolute pause, “Is it the sun that shines on Trantor? Is it the Hamish sun?”
诺微迟疑了一下，又问：“它是不是照耀川陀的太阳？是不是阿姆的太阳？”
Gendibal said, “No, Novi. It is a far different sun. There are many suns, billions of them.”
坚迪柏答道：“不是的，诺微，它是另一个截然不同的太阳。银河中有许多太阳，总共有几千亿。”
“Ah! I had known this with my head. I could not make myself believe, however. How is it, Master, that one can know with the head --and yet not believe?”
“啊！其实我的脑袋知道这回事，然而，我没办法让自己相信。怎么会这样呢，师傅？一个人怎么会脑袋知道，却又不相信呢？”
Gendibal smiled faintly, “In your head, Novi--” he began and, automatically, as he said that, he found himself in her head. He stroked it gently, as he always did, when he found himself there-- just a soothing touch of mental tendrils to keep her calm and untroubled--and he would then have left again, as he always did, had not something drawn him back.
坚迪柏浅浅一笑。“在你的脑子里，诺微——”当他这么说的时候，他的意识又自然而然进入她的脑海。就像往常那样，他轻抚着她的心灵；只是用精神触须轻触一下，好让她保持镇定与安宁。若非有东西吸引他的注意，他会像往常那样随即离去。
What he sensed was indescribable in any but mentalic terms but, metaphorically, Novi’s brain glowed. It was the faintest possible glow.
现在他所感觉到的，只能用精神力学的术语形容，但仍然是一种比喻。诺微的大脑发出幽光，一种极其微弱的光辉。
It would not be there except for the existence of a mentalic field imposed from without--a mentalic field of an intensity so small that the finest receiving function of Gendibal’s own well-trained mind could just barely detect it, even against the utter smoothness of Novi’s mentalic structure.
唯有外在精神力场强行侵入，才会发生这种现象。那个精神力场一定极弱，即使借着诺微全然光滑的心灵结构，坚迪柏心灵中最灵敏的接收功能也只能勉强感测到。
He said sharply, “Novi, how do you feel?”
他厉声问道：“诺微，你现在感觉如何？”
Her eyes opened wide. “I feel well, Master.”
她张大眼睛。“我感觉很好啊，师傅。”
“Are you dizzy, confused? Close your eyes and sit absolutely still until I say, ‘Now.”
“你头晕吗？思绪不清吗？赶紧闭上眼睛，一动不动坐着，直到我说‘好’为止。”
Obediently she closed her eyes. Carefully Gendibal brushed away all extraneous sensations from her mind, quieted her thought, soothed her emotions, stroked--stroked-- He left nothing but the glow and it was so faint that he could almost persuade himself it was not there.
她顺从地闭上眼睛。坚迪柏谨慎地除去她心灵中杂乱的感觉，同时抚平她的思绪，安慰她的情感，轻轻地抚摸着，抚摸着。他只让那团幽光留下来，可是它实在太微弱，令他几乎相信那只是错觉。
“Now,” he said and Novi opened her eyes.
“好。”他刚说完，诺微就睁开了眼睛。
“How do you feel, Novi?”
“你感觉如何，诺微？”
“Very calm, Master. Rested.”
“非常平静，师傅，心如止水。”
It was clearly too feeble for it to have any noticeable effect on her.
显然它过于微弱，不至对她造成任何可觉察的效应。
He turned to the computer and wrestled with it. He had to admit to himself that he and the computer did not mesh very well together. Perhaps it was because he was too used to using his mind directly to be able to work through an intermediary. But he was looking for a ship, not a mind, and the initial search could be done more efficiently with the help of the computer.
他转身面向电脑，展开另一回合的搏斗。他必须承认，自己跟这台电脑无法达到水乳交融的程度。或许是因为他过于习惯直接使用精神力量，透过一个媒介当然不会顺手。但他现在是要寻找一艘船舰，而不是一个心灵，借着电脑的帮助，初步的搜寻工作会更有效率。
And he found the sort of ship he suspected might be present. It was half a million kilometers away and it was much like his own in design, but it was much larger and more elaborate.
他果然发现了一艘可疑的船舰。它远在五十万公里外，构造与他所乘的这艘十分相似，不过显然大得多，而且更为精密复杂。
Once it was located with the computer’s help, Gendibal could allow his mind to take over directly. He sent it outward--tight-beamed--and with it felt (or the mentalic equivalent of “felt”) the ship, inside and out.
一旦电脑帮他找到那艘船舰，坚迪柏的心灵就能接掌后续的工作。他向外送出紧密而集中的精神感应，立刻感觉到（在此“感觉”是精神力学的特殊用法）那艘船舰里里外外的一切。
He then sent his mind toward the planet Gaia, approaching it more closely by several millions of kilometers of space--and withdrew. Neither process was sufficient in itself to tell him, unmistakably, which--if either--was the source of the field.
接着，他将心灵朝盖娅行星的方向延伸几百万公里，又随即撤回。但是这两次搜寻过程，都不足以明确告诉他，如果精神力场的确来自其中之一，究竟何者才是真正的场源。
He said, “Novi, I would like you to sit next to me for what is to follow.”
他说：“诺微，不论等一下发生什么事，我要你一直坐在我身边。”
“Master, is there danger?”
“师傅，有危险吗？”
“You are not to be in any way concerned, Novi. I will see to it that you are safe and secure.”
“你丝毫不必挂心，诺微，我一定确保你的安全。”
“Master, I am not concerned that I be safe and secure. If there is danger, I want to be able to help you.”
“师傅，我并不为自己的安危挂心。如果有危险，我希望能够帮助你。”
Gendibal softened. He said, “Novi, you have already helped. Because of you, I became aware of a very small thing it was important to be aware of. Without you, I might have blundered rather deeply into a bog and might have had to pull out only through a great deal of trouble.”
坚迪柏的语气顿时温柔许多，他说：“诺微，你已经帮了很大的忙。由于有你在我身边，我才能发觉一件很小却很重要的事。如果没有你，我或许会一头栽进泥沼里，而且陷得很深，也许要花很大力气才能脱身。”
“Have I done this with my mind, Master, as you once explained?” asked Novi, astonished.
“我是不是用心灵做到的，师傅，就像你告诉我的那样？”诺微以惊讶的语气问道。
“Quite so, Novi. No instrument could have been more sensitive. My own mind is not; it is too full of complexity.”
“正是这样，诺微。没有任何仪器比你的心灵更灵敏，连我都比不上，因为我的心灵复杂度太高了。”
Delight filled Novi’s face. “I am so grateful I can help.”
诺微脸上堆满了喜悦。“能够帮助你，我太高兴了。”
Gendibal smiled and nodded--and then subsided into the somber knowledge that he would need other help as well. Something childish within him objected. The job was his--his alone.
坚迪柏笑着点了点头。但他忽然想到自己竟然需要帮助，心情便蒙上一层阴影。他的孩子气发作了，令他无法接受这个事实。这项任务是他的，只属于他一个人的。
Yet it could not be his alone. The odds were climbing--
但这已经是不可能的事。他的胜算正急遽滑落……
2
2
On Trantor, Quindor Shandess felt the responsibility of First Speakerhood resting upon him with a suffocating weight. Since Gendibal’s ship had vanished into the darkness beyond the atmosphere, he had called no meetings of the Table. He had been lost in his own thoughts.
在川陀上，昆多·桑帝斯感到第一发言者的重担压得他快要窒息。自从坚迪柏的太空船从大气层消失，进入黑暗的太空之后，他就一直闭门沉思，没有再召开过圆桌会议。
Had it been wise to allow Gendibal to go off on his Own? Gendibal was brilliant, but not so brilliant that it left no room for overconfidence. Gendibal’s great fault was arrogance, as Shandess’s own great fault (he thought bitterly) was the weariness of age.
允许坚迪柏单枪匹马出发，究竟是不是明智之举？坚迪柏是个相当杰出的人才，但他并非十全十美，有时难免过分自信。坚迪柏最大的缺点在于傲慢自大，而桑帝斯自己最大的缺点（他难过地想）则是老迈年高。
Over and over again, it occurred to him that the precedent of Preem Palver, flitting over the Galaxy to set things right, was a dangerous one. Could anyone else be a Preem Palver? Even Gendibal? And Palver had had his wife with him.
他一次又一次地想到，当年那位伟大的前辈普芮姆·帕佛，曾在银河各处飞来飞去，亲自摆平许多事情，那是多么危险的行动。有谁能成为另一个普芮姆·帕佛？坚迪柏行吗？何况帕佛还有他的妻子为伴。
To be sure, Gendibal had this Hamishwoman, but she was of no consequence. Palver’s wife had been a Speaker in her own right.
其实，坚迪柏也有旅伴，就是那个阿姆女子，但她根本无足轻重，而帕佛的妻子本身也是发言者。
Shandess felt himself aging from day to day as he waited for word from Gendibal--and with each day that word did not come, he felt an increasing tension.
在等待坚迪柏音讯的这段日子，桑帝斯觉得自己一天比一天衰老。日子一天天过去，却始终音讯全无，他感到神经愈绷愈紧。
It should have been a fleet of ships, a flotilla--
当初应该派出一个舰队，起码是小型舰队……
No. The Table would not have allowed it.
不，圆桌会议不会通过的。
And yet--
然而……
When the call finally came, he was asleep--an exhausted sleep that was bringing him no relief. The night had been windy and he had had trouble falling asleep to begin with. Like a child, he had imagined voices in the wind.
当讯息终于来到时，他正处于睡眠状态——睡得极不安稳，身心根本无法松懈。前半夜一直刮着强风，令他辗转反侧难以成眠。他像个孩子一样，想象着风声中夹杂着人声。
His last thoughts before falling into an exhausted slumber had been a wistful building of the fancy of resignation, a wish be could do so together with the knowledge he could not, for at this moment Delarmi would succeed him.
在他即将进入纷扰的梦乡之际，最后的念头是幻想着退位后的轻松安逸。虽然他渴望早日卸下重担，却也知道目前万万使不得，如果他在此时此刻退位，一定是由德拉米继任第一发言者。
And then the call came and he sat up in bed, instantly awake.
当呼唤传来的时候，他立即由梦中惊醒，在床上坐了起来。
“You are well?” he said.
“你还好吧？”他问。
“Perfectly well, First Speaker,” said Gendibal. “Should we have visual connection for more condensed communication?”
“好得很，第一发言者。”坚迪柏说，“我们是否应该建立影像联系，好让通讯更加简单扼要？”
“Later, perhaps,” said Shandess. “First, what is the situation?”
“也许等会儿吧，”桑帝斯说，“先报告一下，情况怎么样？”
Gendibal spoke carefully, for he sensed the other’s recent arousal and he perceived a deep weariness. He said, “I am in the neighborhood of an inhabited planet called Gaia, whose existence is not hinted at in any of the Galactic records, as far as I know.”
坚迪柏察觉到对方刚刚睡醒，而且极为疲倦烦躁，因此回答得分外仔细。他说：“我在一颗叫做盖娅的住人行星附近，据我所知，没有任何银河记录提到过它。”
“The world of those who have been working to perfect the Plan? The Anti-Mules?”
“这个世界的成员，就是不断改良谢顿计划的人？就是反骡？”
“Possibly, First Speaker. There is the reason to think so. First, the ship bearing Trevize and Pelorat has moved far in toward Gaia and has probably landed there. Second, there is, in space, about half a million kilometers from me, a First Foundation warship.”
“有此可能，第一发言者，这有几个理由。第一，崔维兹和裴洛拉特所乘坐的太空艇，一直朝向盖娅前进，现在可能已经在那里着陆。第二，差不多在距离我五十万公里外的太空中，出现一艘第一基地的战舰。”
“There cannot be this much interest for no reason.”
“大家不会无缘无故对盖娅这么感兴趣。”
“First Speaker, this may not be independent interest. I am here only because I am following Trevize--and the warship may be here for the same reason. It remains only to be asked why Trevize is here.”
“第一发言者，大家的兴趣可能并非不约而同。我来到此地，是因为我一直跟踪崔维兹，那艘战舰可能也是因此而来。现在唯一的问题是，崔维兹为什么到这里来？”
“Do you plan to follow him in toward the planet, Speaker?”
“你打算跟踪他到那颗行星去吗，发言者？”
“I had considered that a possibility, but something has come up. I am now a hundred million kilometers from Gaia and I sense in the space about me a mentalic field--a homogeneous one that is excessively faint. I would not have been aware of it at all, but for the focusing effect of the mind of the Hamishwoman. It is an unusual mind; I agreed to take her with me for that very purpose.”
“我曾经考虑过这个可能性，但是又出现了新的状况。我现在和盖娅的距离是一亿公里，我感测到周围太空中有个精神力场，非常均匀而且极端微弱。若非那个阿姆女子的心灵产生聚焦效应，我自己根本不可能察觉。她的心灵很不寻常，我当初愿意带她同行，正是为了这个目的。”
“You were right, then, in supposing it would be so-- Did Speaker Delarmi know this, do you think?”
“所以说，你的猜测是正确的。你认为德拉米发言者当初知道这一点吗？”
“When she urged me to take the woman? I scarcely think so--but I gladly took advantage of it, First Speaker.”
“当她怂恿我带那女子同行的时候？我想不太可能。但我却能善加利用，第一发言者。”
“I am pleased that you did. Is it your opinion, Speaker Gendibal, that the planet is the focus of the field?”
“我很高兴你做到了。你是否认为，坚迪柏发言者，那颗行星就是精神力场的焦点？”
“To ascertain that, I would have to take measurements at widely spaced points in order to see if there is a general spherical symmetry to the field. My unidirectional mental probe made this seem likely but not certain. Yet it would not be wise to investigate further in the presence of the First Foundation warship.”
“为了确定这一点，我必须对数个彼此相距很远的位置进行测量，以检验场的分布是否具有普遍的球对称。我的‘单向精神探测仪’可能做得到，只是无法肯定。但目前并不适宜再作深入调查，因为我面对着一艘第一基地的战舰。”
“Surely it is no threat.”
“它不至于构成威胁吧。”
“It may be. I cannot as yet be sure that it is not itself the focus of the field, First Speaker.”
“很难讲。目前为止，我还不敢说那艘战舰绝非精神力场的焦点，第一发言者。”
“But they--”
“可是他们……”
“First Speaker, with respect, allow me to interrupt. We do not know what technological advances the First Foundation has made. They are acting with a strange self-confidence and may have unpleasant surprises for us. It must be decided whether they have learned to handle mentalics by means of some of their devices. In short, First Speaker, I am facing either a warship of mentalics or a planet of them.
“第一发言者，很抱歉，请容许我打个岔。我们并不清楚第一基地如今的科技进展；他们的行动显得过分自信，可能会给我们来个意外的惊奇。他们是否发明了控制精神力场的装置，这点我必须先确定才行。简言之，第一发言者，我所面对的是一群精神力学专家，他们或是在那艘战舰中，或是在整颗行星上。
“If it is the warship, then the mentalics may be far too weak to immobilize me, but they might be enough to slow me--and the purely physical weapons on the warship may then suffice to destroy me. On the other hand, if it is the planet that is the focus, then to have the field detectable at such a distance could mean enormous intensity at the surface--more than even I can handle.
“如果他们在那艘战舰中，那个精神力场未免太过薄弱，根本制不住我，但是他们仍有可能牵制我的行动，而战舰上的有形武器就足以消灭我。反之，如果焦点是那颗行星，既然在这么远都能侦测出来，行星表面的强度想必巨大无比，远非我所能对付。
“In either case, it will be necessary to set up a network--a total network--in which, at need, the full resources of Trantor can be placed at my disposal.”
“这两种可能不论何者为真，我们都需要架起一个精神网路，一个整体精神网路。在有需要的时候，我要能支配川陀上所有的精神力量。”
The First Speaker hesitated. “Atotal network. This has never been used, never even suggested--except in the time of the Mule.”
第一发言者犹豫起来。“整体精神网路？过去从来没有用过，甚至没有人建议过——只有面对骡那次例外。”
“This crisis may well be even greater than that of the Mule, First Speaker.”
“这个危机很可能比骡的威胁更为严重，第一发言者。”
“I do not know that the Table would agree.”
“我不相信圆桌会议会同意。”
“I do not think you should ask them to agree, First Speaker. You should invoke a state of emergency.”
“我不认为您需要征求他们同意，第一发言者，您应该宣布进入紧急状况。”
“What excuse can I give?”
“用什么借口？”
“Tell them what I have told you, First Speaker.”
“就把我向您报告的这些告诉他们，第一发言者。”
“Speaker Delarmi will say that you are an incompetent coward, driven to madness by your own fears.”
“德拉米发言者会说你是个无能的懦夫，自己把自己吓疯了。”
Gendibal paused before answering. Then he said, “I imagine she will say something like that, First Speaker, but let her say whatever she likes and I will survive it. What is at stake now is not my pride or self-love but the actual existence of the Second Foundation.”
坚迪柏顿了一下，然后才答道：“我能想象她会说些类似的话，第一发言者，但她爱怎么说就怎么说吧，我都承受得了。目前并非我个人的面子或尊严受到威胁，而是第二基地本身岌岌可危。”
3
3
Harla Branno smiled grimly, her lined face setting more deeply into its fleshy crags. She said, “I think we can push on with it. I’m ready for them.”
赫拉·布拉诺冷冷一笑，满布皱纹的脸庞浮现出更陡峭的起伏。她说：“我想我们可以进军了，我一切都准备好了。”
Kodell said, “Do you still feel sure you know what you’re doing?”
柯代尔说：“你仍然确定明白自己在做什么吗？”
“If I were as mad as you pretend you think I am, Liono, would you have insisted on remaining on this ship with me?”
“如果我真像你故意说的那样，已经陷入疯狂状态，里奥诺，你还会坚持留在这艘舰上陪我吗？”
Kodell shrugged and said, “Probably. I would then be here on the off chance, Madam Mayor, that I might stop you, divert you, at least slow you, before you went too far. And, of course, if you’re not mad--”
柯代尔耸了耸肩，然后说：“也许还是会的。如果真是这样，市长女士，那么在你做得太过分之前，我仍有一点机会阻止你，劝你改弦易辙，至少让你慢下来。当然，如果你并没有发疯……”
“Yes?”--
“怎么样？”
“Why, then I wouldn’t want to have the histories of the future give you all the mention. Let them state that I was here with you and wonder, perhaps, to whom the credit really belongs, eh, Mayor?”
“嗯，那么我不希望将来的历史上，唯独对你大书特书。我要历史学家都会提到你身旁还有个我，也许他们还会感到难以下笔，不知该把真正的功劳归给谁呢，嗯，市长？”
“Clever, Liono, clever--but quite futile. I was the power behind the throne through too many Mayoralties for anyone to believe I would permit such a phenomenon in my own administration.”
“高明，里奥诺，真高明，但你这是白费心机。我在尚未担任市长之前，早已在傀儡市长身后掌权多年，没有人会相信在我亲自出马之后，还会允许这种现象继续存在。”
“We shall see.”
“等着看吧。”
“No, we won’t, for such historical judgments will come after we are dead. However, I have no fears. Not about my place in history and not aboutthat ,” and she pointed to the screen.
“不，我们看不到的，这种历史评价要等我们死后才会出现。然而，我没什么好担心的。我既不担心历史的评价，也不担心那个！”她指了指屏幕。
“Compor’s ship,” said Kodell.
“康普的太空艇。”柯代尔说。
“Compor’s ship, true,” said Branno, “but without Compor aboard. One of our scoutships observed the changeover. Compor’s ship was stopped by another. Two people from the other ship boarded that one and Compor later moved off and entered the other.”
“没错，康普的太空艇，”布拉诺说，“可是康普不在上面。我们有一艘斥候舰侦察到调包的过程。康普的太空艇曾被另一艘船拦下来，有两个人从那艘船登上他的太空艇，然后康普就到那艘船上去了。”
Branno rubbed her hands. “Trevize fulfilled his role perfectly. I cast him out into space in order that he might serve as lightning rod and so he did. He drew the lightning. The ship that stopped Compor was Second Foundation.”
布拉诺双手搓了搓。“崔维兹圆满达成任务。我把他丢到太空中，让他当一根避雷针，他果然不辱使命，果然吸引到闪电。拦下康普的那艘船，正是来自第二基地。”
“How can you be sure of that, I wonder?” said Kodell, taking out his pipe and slowly beginning to pack it with tobacco.
“我有点奇怪，你怎能如此确定？”柯代尔一面说，一面掏出烟斗，慢慢填着烟丝。
“Because I always wondered if Compor might not be under Second Foundation control. His life was too smooth. Things always broke right for him--and he was such an expert at hyperspatial tracking. His betrayal of Trevize might easily have been the simple politics of an ambitious man--but he did it with such unnecessary thoroughness, as though there were more than personal ambition to it.”
“因为我一直怀疑康普可能受到第二基地控制。他这一生实在太顺利，好事总是落到他头上，而且他又是超空间竞逐的大行家。他出卖了崔维兹，这当然可能是野心分子卖友求荣的行为，可是他为何做得那么彻底，仿佛这是超越个人野心的阴谋。”
“All guesswork, Mayor.”
“全都是臆测，市长！”
“The guesswork stopped when he followed Trevize through multiple Jumps as easily as if there had been but one.”
“当崔维兹做了一连串跃迁，康普却像平常一样轻轻松松追上之后，我的话就不再是臆测了。”
“He had the computer to help, Mayor.”
“他有电脑帮忙，市长。”
But Branno leaned her head back and laughed. “My dear Liono, you are so busy devising intricate plots that you forget the efficacy of simple procedures. I sent Compor to follow Trevize, not because I needed to have Trevize followed. What need was there for that? Trevize, however much he might want to keep his movements secret, could not help but call attention to himself in any non-Foundation world he visited. His advanced Foundation vessel--his strong Terminus accent--his Foundation credits--would automatically surround him with a glow of notoriety. And in case of any emergency, he would automatically turn to Foundation officials for help, as he did on Sayshell, where we knew all that he did as soon as he did it-- and quite independently of Compor.
布拉诺仰头靠在椅背上，哈哈大笑几声。“我亲爱的里奥诺，你每天忙着筹划复杂的阴谋诡计，忘了小手段有时也很有效。我派康普去跟踪崔维兹，并不是因为崔维兹需要跟踪。哪有这个需要呢？不论崔维兹的行动如何保密，他只要到了非基地的世界，就一定会引人注目。他驾着基地的先进航具，他带着浓重的端点星口音，他使用基地的信用点，这些都会成为招惹敌意的招牌。而发生紧急状况的时候，他自然而然会去找基地官员求助，就像他在赛协尔时那样——当时他的一举一动，我们全都立刻知道，而且并没有透过康普。”
“No,” she went on thoughtfully, “Compor was sent out to testCompor . And that succeeded, for we gave him a defective computer quite deliberately; not one that was defective enough to make the ship unmaneuverable, but certainly one that was insufficiently agile to aid him in following a multiple Jump. Yet Compor managed that without trouble.”
“不是那么回事，”她用意味深长的语气继续说，“我派康普出去，就是为了测验他这个人，而这个目的果然达到了。我们故意给他一台有问题的电脑，虽然不至于影响太空艇的操作，但绝对无法帮助他做连续跃迁跟踪。可是，康普仍然毫不费力就做到了。”
“I see there’s a great deal you don’t tell me, Mayor, until you decide you ought to.”
“我发现你有很多事没告诉我，市长，直到你认为该说的时候才说。”
“I only keep those matters from you, Liono, that it will not hurt you not to know. I admire you and I use you, but there are sharp limits to my trust, as there is in yours for me--and please don’t bother to deny it.”
“我瞒着你的那些事，里奥诺，全是你知不知道都无关痛痒的。我很欣赏你，也一直重用你，但是我的信任有个明确的界限，就像你对我的信任一样——请别浪费唇舌否认。”
“I won’t,” said Kodell dryly, “and someday, Mayor, I will take the liberty of reminding you of that. --Meanwhile, is there anything else that I ought to know now? What is the nature of the ship that stopped them? Surely, if Compor is Second Foundation, so was that ship.”
“我不会否认的。”柯代尔冷冰冰地说，“总有一天，市长，我会毫不客气地提醒你这一点。此时此刻，还有没有任何我应该知道的事？那艘船的底细究竟如何？假如康普来自第二基地，它当然也是。”
“It is always a pleasure to speak to you, Liono. You see things quickly. The Second Foundation, you see, doesn’t bother to hide its tracks. It has defenses that it relies on to make those tracks invisible, even when they are not. It would never occur to a Second Foundationer to use a ship of alien manufacture, even if they knew how neatly we could identify the origin of a ship from the pattern of its energy use. They could always remove that knowledge from any mind that had gained it, so why bother taking the trouble to hide? Well, our scout ship was able to determine the origin of the ship that approached Compor within minutes of sighting it.”
“跟你谈话总是一件乐事，里奥诺，你的反应迅捷无比。你知道吗，第二基地向来懒得掩藏形迹，他们自有办法让形迹隐形，或说让人视而不见。即使他们知道，我们能根据船舰使用能量的方式，轻而易举辨识它的出处，第二基地分子也从来不想用他人的船舰。无论被任何人发现，他们都能从他心中抹除这段记忆，所以何必多此一举，事先掩藏形迹呢？总之，我们的斥候舰在目击那艘接近康普的太空船之后，几分钟内就判读出它的来历。”
“And now the Second Foundation will wipe that knowledge from our minds, I suppose.”
“我猜，现在第二基地会把这件事从我们心中抹除。”
“If they can,” said Branno, “but they may find that things have changed.”
“如果办得到的话。”布拉诺说，“但他们也许会发现情况变了。”
Kodell said, “Earlier you said you knew where the Second Foundation was. You would take care of Gaia first, then Trantor. I deduce from this that the other ship was of Trantorian origin.”
柯代尔道：“你曾经说，你已经知道第二基地的下落，又说要先收拾盖娅，然后再去收拾川陀。从你那番话中，我推想那艘船来自川陀。”
“You suppose correctly. Are you surprised?”
“猜得完全正确。你感到意外吗？”
Kodell shook his head slowly. “Not in hindsight. Ebling Mis, Toran Darell and Bayta Darell were all on Trantor during the period when the Mule was stopped. Arkady Darell, Bayta’s granddaughter, was born on Trantor and was on Trantor again when the Second Foundation was itself supposedly stopped. In her account of events, there is a Preem Palver who played a key role, appearing at convenient times, and he was a Trantorian trader. I should think it was obvious that the Second Foundation was on Trantor, where, incidentally, Hari Seldon himself lived at the time he founded both Foundations.”
柯代尔缓缓摇了摇头。“现在想来一点都不意外。骡首度受挫的那一次，艾布林·米斯、杜伦·达瑞尔和贝泰·达瑞尔都在川陀。贝泰的孙女艾卡蒂·达瑞尔也生在川陀，而在第二基地理论上被摧毁的那个时间点，她曾经回到出生地。在她自己的记载中，有个名叫普芮姆·帕佛的人扮演了关键的角色，他在紧要关头适时出现，身份是一名川陀行商。第二基地就在川陀上，我想这是再明显不过的事。此外，哈里·谢顿建立两个基地的时候，他本人也住在川陀。”
“Quite obvious, except that no one ever suggested the possibility. The Second Foundation saw to that. It is what I meant when I said they didn’t have to cover their tracks, when they could so easily arrange to have no one look in the direction of those tracks--or wipe out the memory of those tracks after they had been seen.”
“一切十分明显，只是从来没有人联想到这个可能性，而这都是第二基地在背后捣鬼。我刚才说他们不必掩藏形迹，其实就是这个意思。想要不让任何人追查形迹，对他们而言易如反掌。万一不小心被人发现了，他们也能将相关记忆清得一干二净。”
Kodell said, “In that case, let us not look too quickly in the direction in which they may simply be wanting us to look. How is it, do you suppose, that Trevize was able to decide the Second Foundation existed? Why didn’t the Second Foundation stop him?”
柯代尔说：“既然如此，我们就不必急着进行他们意料之中的事。在你看来，崔维兹怎么有办法断定第二基地仍旧存在？第二基地为何不趁早制止他？”
Branno held up her gnarled fingers and counted on them. “First, Trevize is a very unusual man who, for all his obstreperous inability to use caution, hassomething about him that I have not been able to penetrate. He may be a special case. Second, the Second Foundation was not entirely ignorant. Compor was on Trevize’s tail at once and reported him to me. I was relied on to stop Trevize without the Second Foundation having to risk open involvement. Third, when I didn’t quite react as expected--no execution, no imprisonment, no memory erasure, no Psychic Probe of his brain--when I merely sent him out into space, the Second Foundation went further. They made the direct move of sending one of their own ships after him.”
布拉诺扳着枯竹般的手指。“第一，崔维兹是个极不寻常的人，他虽然毛躁而不谨慎，却拥有连我都看不穿的潜能；他也许是个特殊的例外。第二，第二基地并非全然不闻不问，康普很快就盯上崔维兹，然后向我举发他。第二基地想借我的手制止他，这样他们就不必冒险公然介入。第三，当我的反应并不完全符合他们预期——既没有处决或监禁他，也没有对他施以记忆抹除或动用心灵探测器，而只是将他送到太空去——第二基地便开始采取直接行动，派出自己的太空船跟踪他。”
And she added with tight-lipped pleasure, “Oh, excellent lightning rod.”
她紧抿着嘴，露出得意的表情。“喔，这根避雷针实在太棒了。”
Kodell said, “And our next move?”
柯代尔说：“那我们下一步要怎么走？”
“We are going to challenge that Second Foundationer we now face. In fact, we’re moving toward him rather sedately right now.”
“我们要向这位第二基地分子当面挑战，事实上，此时我们正在悄悄向他推进。”
4
4
Gendibal and Novi sat together, side by side, watching the screen.
坚迪柏与诺微并肩坐着，两人一同凝视着屏幕。
Novi was frightened. To Gendibal, that was quite apparent, as was the fact that she was desperately trying to fight off that fright. Nor could Gendibal do anything to help her in her struggle, for he did not think it wise to touch her mind at this moment, lest he obscure the response she displayed to the feeble mentalic field that surrounded them.
诺微十分害怕，这点坚迪柏看得很清楚，而他也看得出来，她在尽全力与恐惧奋战。不过坚迪柏却无法帮助她，在如今这种紧要关头，随便触碰她的心灵乃是不智之举，很可能会影响她对微弱精神力场所产生的反应。
The Foundation warship was approaching slowly--but deliberately. It was a large warship, with a crew of perhaps as many as six, judging from past experience with Foundation ships. Her weapons, Gendibal was certain, would be sufficient in themselves to hold off and, if necessary, wipe out a fleet made up of every ship available to the Second Foundation--if those ships had to rely on physical force alone.
那艘基地战舰正在缓缓接近，显然是有备而来。它是一艘大型战舰，根据基地船舰以往的编制估计，舰员可能多达六人。而且坚迪柏确定，即使面对第二基地所有船舰编成的舰队，它的火力也足以自保，必要时还能将那个舰队一举歼灭——但这是指完全不考虑精神武器的情况。
As it was, the advance of the warship, even against a single ship manned by a Second Foundationer, allowed certain conclusions to be drawn. Even if the ship possessed mentalic ability, it would not be likely to advance into the teeth of the Second Foundation in this manner. More likely, it was advancing out of ignorance--and this might exist in any of several degrees.
事实上，从那艘战舰的前进方式，便能看出一些蹊跷——虽然它面对的，只是单独一艘受到第二基地控制的太空艇。即使那艘战舰拥有精神武力，也不可能主动投入第二基地的虎口。它会如此毫无顾忌地直冲过来，很可能只是不知死活，而这种无知又有各种程度上的差别。
It could mean that the captain of the warship was not aware that Compor had been replaced, or--if aware--did not know the replacement was a Second Foundationer, or perhaps was not even aware what a Second Foundationer might be.
这可能代表舰长并未发觉康普已经被调包，或者虽然发觉了，却不晓得换上来的是第二基地分子，甚至根本不知道第二基地分子是何方神圣。
Or (and Gendibal intended to consider everything) what if the ship did possess mentalic force and, nevertheless, advanced in this self-confident manner? That could only mean it was under the control of a megalomaniac or that it possessed powers far beyond any that Gendibal could bring himself to consider possible.
然而（坚迪柏打算考虑到每一种可能性），万一那艘战舰的确拥有精神武力，而且是充满自信地向前推进呢？这或许仅仅代表它是在一个夸大狂的控制之下，却也可能它真有远非坚迪柏所能想象的强大武力。
But what he considered possible was not the final judgment--
可是，他所考虑到的可能性，全都无法断定真假。
Carefully he sensed Novi’s mind. Novi could not sense mentalic fields consciously, whereas Gendibal, of course, could--yet Gendibal’s mind could not do so as delicately or detect as feeble a mental field as could Novi’s. This was a paradox that would have to be studied in future and might produce fruit that would in the long run prove of far greater importance than the immediate problem of an approaching spaceship.
坚迪柏又谨慎地探了探诺微的心灵。诺微的意识层面无法感知精神力场，而他自己当然做得到。但坚迪柏的心灵并没有那么敏锐，无法像诺微那样能侦测到极微弱的力场。这实在是个吊诡，将来一定要好好研究，也许能够因而得到重要的成果——远比解决目前那艘战舰的威胁更重要的成果。
Gendibal had grasped the possibility of this, intuitively, when he first became aware of the unusual smoothness and symmetry of Novi’s mind--and he felt a somber pride in this intuitive ability he possessed. Speakers had always been proud of their intuitive powers, but how much was this the product of their inability to measure fields by straightforward physical methods and their failure, therefore, to understand what it was that they really did? It was easy to cover up ignorance by the mystical word “intuition.” And how much of this ignorance of theirs might arise from their underestimation of the importance of physics as compared to mentalics?
当初，坚迪柏发觉诺微的心灵具有不寻常的光滑和匀称，便直觉地体察到这个可能性。对于自己拥有这种直觉能力，他难免沾沾自喜。发言者们一向都对自己的直觉感到骄傲，但直觉又是什么呢？是他们无法直接用物理方法测量的精神力场，也就是他们自己完全不了解的一种行为。“无知”不难用“直觉”这个神秘的词汇掩饰，但是他们在这方面的无知，有多少是源自对物理科学的轻视？
And how much ofthat was blind pride? When he became First Speaker, Gendibal thought, this would change. There would have to be some narrowing of the physical gap between the Foundations. The Second Foundation could not face forever the possibility of destruction any time the mentalic monopoly slipped even slightly.
他们的骄傲又是多么盲目？等到他成为第一发言者之后，坚迪柏想，一定要设法改变这种情况，要拉近两个基地在物理科学上的距离。第二基地不能永远像现在这样，一旦无法绝对独霸精神力学，就要面临遭到毁灭的危险。
--Indeed, the monopoly might be slipping now. Perhaps the First Foundation had advanced or there was an alliance between the First Foundation and the Anti-Mules. (That thought occurred to him now for the first time and he shivered.)
事实上，这种情况很可能已经出现了。第一基地也许在精神力学上已有所突破，或者与反骡建立了同盟关系。这是他第一次想到这个可能，立刻感到不寒而栗。
His thoughts on the subject slipped through his mind with a rapidity common to a Speaker--and while he was thinking, he also remained sensitively aware of the glow in Novi’s mind, the response to the gently pervasive mentalic field about them. It wasnot growing stronger as the Foundation warship drew nearer.
他的思绪围绕着这个题目，以一个发言者惯有的速度飞快打转。与此同时，他仍然紧盯着诺微心灵中的幽光，它是那个弥漫四处的精神力场所引发的反应。可是当基地战舰渐渐接近时，那团光辉却不见增强。
This was not, in itself, an absolute indication that the warship was not equipped with mentalics. It was well known that the mentalic field did not obey the inverse-square law. It did not grow stronger precisely as the square of the extent to which distance between emitter and receiver lessened. It differed in this way from the electromagnetic and the gravitational fields. Still, although mentalic fields varied less with distance than the various physical fields did, it was not altogether insensitive to distance, either. The response of Novi’s mind should show a detectable increase as the warship approached--someincrease.
但是绝不能因为这一点，就断定那艘战舰并未配备精神武器。众所周知，精神力场并不遵循“平方反比律”。当发射体与接收体之间的距离缩短时，力场强度并非随着距离呈平方反比式增加。就这方面而言，它与电磁场或重力场都截然不同。话说回来，距离的变化对精神力场所造成的影响，尽管并不像其他物理场那样显着，却也不是全然无关。随着战舰愈来愈近，诺微心灵的反应多少应该有些增加。
(How was it that no Second Foundationer in five centuries--from Hari Seldon on--had ever thought of working out a mathematical relationship between mentalic intensity and distance? This shrugging off of physics must and would stop, Gendibal silently vowed.)
自哈里·谢顿以降，五个世纪以来，为什么没有任何第二基地分子，想到应该推出一个数学关系式，来描述精神力场强度与距离的关系？这种轻视物理学的态度，无论如何要设法制止，坚迪柏暗自发誓。
If the warship possessed mentalics and if it felt quite certain it was approaching a Second Foundationer, would it not increase the intensity of its field to maximum before advancing? And in that case, would not Novi’s mindsurely register an increased response of some kind?
假如那艘战舰拥有精神力场，而且确知自己正在接近第二基地分子，那么在冲锋之前，它难道不会将力场强度调到最大吗？这样的话，诺微的心灵必定会有骤然增强的反应。
--Yet it did not!
但事实并非如此！
Confidently Gendibal eliminated the possibility that the warship possessed mentalics. It was advancing out of ignorance and, as a menace, it could be downgraded.
坚迪柏终于重拾信心，排除了战舰拥有精神武力的可能性。它是因为不知死活才冲过来，根本算不上什么威胁。
The mentalic field, of course, still existed, but it had to originate on Gaia. This was disturbing enough, but the immediate problem was the ship. Let that be eliminated and he could then turn his attention to the world of the Anti-Mules.
当然，那个精神力场仍旧存在，但一定是源自盖娅。虽然它仍是个大麻烦，但当务之急却是那艘战舰。只要先把战舰解决，他就能将注意力集中于反骡的世界。
He waited. The warship would make some move or it would come close enough for him to feel confident that he could pass over to an effective offense.
他耐心地等待。那艘战舰应该会采取某些行动，否则他可以等它足够接近之后，再选择一种最有效的攻势。
The warship still approached--quite rapidly now--and still did nothing. Finally Gendibal calculated that the strength of his push would be sufficient. There would be no pain, scarcely any discomfort --all those on board would merely find that the large muscles of their backs and limbs would respond but sluggishly to their desires.
战舰仍在一步步逼近，速度已经相当快了，却仍未采取任何行动。最后，坚迪柏算定自己的攻击力量已经绰绰有余。他的攻击不会造成任何痛苦或不适，对方的人员只会发现，背部与四肢的肌肉变得无法运作自如。
Gendibal narrowed the mentalic field controlled by his mind. It intensified and leaped across the gap between the ships at the speed of light. (The two ships were close enough to make hyperspatial contact--with its inevitable loss of precision--unnecessary.)
坚迪柏收紧那股由心灵所控制的精神力场。力场立时增强，并以光速投射到对面的战舰。此时双方已经相当接近，使超空间接触变得没有必要，更何况超空间会折损准确度。
And Gendibal then fell back in numbed surprise.
下一刻，坚迪柏惊吓得全身麻痹。
The Foundation warship was possessed of an efficient mentalic shield that gained in density in proportion as his own field gained in intensity. --The warship was not approaching out of ignorance after all--and it had an unexpected if passive weapon
基地战舰竟然拥有高效率的精神力场防护罩，当他发出的精神力场增强之际，防护罩的密度随之暴涨。原来这艘战舰并非不知死活，它至少拥有意料之外的防御性武器。
5
5
“Ah,” said Branno. “He has attempted an attack, Liono. See!”
“啊。”布拉诺说，“他企图发动攻击，里奥诺，你看！”
The needle on the psychometer moved and trembled in its irregular rise.
心灵计的指数异常升高，指针还不停微微颤动。
The development of the mentalic shield had occupied Foundation scientists for a hundred and twenty years in the most secret of all scientific projects, except perhaps for Hari Seldon’s lone development of psychohistorical analysis. Five generations of human beings had labored in the gradual improvement of a device backed by no satisfactory theory.
精神力场防护罩的发展，已经花了基地科学家一百二十年的时间。它是有史以来最保密的科学计划，或许只有哈里·谢顿独立发展的心理史学分析，在机密程度上差堪比拟。前后五代的科学家花了无数心血，不断改良这个装置，却始终未能发展出满意的理论。
But no advance would have been possible without the invention of the psychometer that could act as a guide, indicating the direction and amount of advance at every stage. No one could explain how it worked, yet all indications were that it measured the immeasurable and gave numbers to the indescribable. Branno had the feeling (shared by some of the scientists themselves) that if ever the Foundation could explain the workings of the psychometer, they would be the equal of the Second Foundation in mind control.
所有的进展，全有赖于心灵计的发明。这个装置可以作为一种指标，显示每个阶段的进展方向与程度。谁也不能解释它的工作原理，但它总是能创造奇迹：测量出理论上不可能测出的量，显示出理论无法解释的数据。布拉诺一直有个想法（某些科学家也有同感），一旦基地有人能够解释心灵计的原理，那么在心灵控制这方面，他们就跟第二基地势均力敌了。
But that was for the future. At present, the shield would have to be enough, backed as it was by an overwhelming preponderance in physical weapons.
不过那是将来的事。目前，这个防护罩应该足以应付，况且他们还拥有占了绝对优势的有形武器。
Branno sent out the message, delivered in a male voice from which all overtones of emotion had been removed, till it was flat and deadly.
布拉诺送出一道电讯，那是以男声所载送的讯息，其中剔除了所有的情绪，听来平板而死气沉沉。
“Calling the shipBright Star and its occupants. You have forcibly taken a ship of the Navy of the Foundation Federation in an act of piracy. You are directed to surrender the ship and yourselves at once or face attack.”
“呼叫明星号太空艇与其上人员。你们以武力强行掳获基地联邦舰队的航具。命令你们连人带船立刻投降，否则即将遭到攻击。”
The answer came in natural voice: “Mayor Branno of Terminus, I know you are on the ship. TheBright Star was not taken by piratical action. I was freely invited on board by its legal captain, Munn Li Compor of Terminus. I ask a period of truce that we may discuss matters of importance to each of us alike.”
他们收到的回答，则是一个未经加工的声音：“端点星的布拉诺市长，我知道你在那艘战舰上。明星号并非遭到武力劫持，而是它的主人——端点星的曼恩·李·康普主动邀请我上来的。我提议暂且休战，以便讨论攸关彼此的重大议题。”
Kodell whispered to Branno, “Let me do the speaking, Mayor.”
柯代尔悄声向布拉诺说：“让我来跟他对话，市长。”
She raised her arm contemptuously, “The responsibility is mine, Liono.”
布拉诺不屑地挥了挥手臂。“这是我的责任，里奥诺。”
Adjusting the transmitter, she spoke in tones scarcely less forceful and unemotional than the artificial voice that had spoken before:
她将发射器略加调整，不再令声音失真，但相较于刚才的假音，她现在的声音几乎一样有力，也一样毫无感情。
“Man of the Second Foundation, understand your position. If you do not surrender forthwith, we can blow your ship out of space in the time it takes light to travel from our ship to yours--and we are ready to do that. Nor will we lose by doing this, for you have no knowledge for which we need keep you alive. We know you are from Trantor and, once we have dealt with you, we will be ready to deal with Trantor. We are willing to allow you a period in which to have your say, but since you cannot have much of worth to tell us, we are not prepared to listen long.”
“第二基地的人，认清你的处境。如果你不马上投降，我们会以光速击毁你的太空艇——我们已经作好攻击准备。我们这样做毫无损失，因为我们不必留你这个活口，你并没有我们需要的情报。我们知道你来自川陀，等到把你解决之后，我们下一步就准备解决川陀。我们愿意给你一点时间，不过既然你讲不出什么有用的话，我们可不准备听太久。”
“In that case,” said Gendibal, “let me speak quickly and to the point. Your shield is not perfect and cannot be. You have overestimated it and underestimated me. I can handle your mind and control it. Not as easily, perhaps, as if there were no shield, but easily enough. The instant you attempt to use any weapon, I will strike you--and there is this for you to understand: Without a shield, I can handle your mind smoothly and do it no harm. With the shield, however, I must smash through, which I can do, and I will be unable then to handle you either smoothly or deftly. Your mind will be as smashed as the shield and the effect will be irreversible. In other words, you cannot stop me and I, on the other hand,can stop you by being forced to do worse than killing you. I will leave you a mindless hulk. Do you wish to risk that?”
“既然如此，”坚迪柏说，“就让我尽快一针见血。你的防护罩并不完善，也绝不可能完善。你高估了它，又低估了我，我仍然能接触并控制你的心灵。或许比较起来，会比没有防护罩要困难些，但也不至于多么困难。当你试图启动任何武器时，我就会立刻发动攻击。我必须郑重警告你：假使没有防护罩，我能用稳当的手法操控你的心灵，不会造成任何伤害。然而，有了防护罩的阻隔，我势必得硬闯，这点我绝对办得到。可是这样一来，我就无法做得稳当而灵巧。你的心灵将随着防护罩一起被击碎，而且这种结果是不可逆的。换句话说，你无法阻止我，反之我却能阻止你。但我将被迫令你生不如死，你会变成一具没有心灵的行尸走肉。你希望冒这个险吗？”
Branno said, “You know you cannot do as you say.”
布拉诺说：“你明明知道自己做不到。”
“Do you, then, wish to risk the consequences I have described?” asked Gendibal with an air of cool indifference.
“那么，你并不怕我所描述的那种后果，真想冒险一试？”坚迪柏用冷静而故作轻松的口气问道。
Kodell leaned over and whispered, “For Seldon’s sake, Mayor--”
柯代尔凑过去悄声说：“看在谢顿的份上，市长……”
Gendibal said (not exactly at once, for it took light--and everything at light-speed--a little over one second to travel from one vessel to the other), “I follow your thoughts, Kodell. No need to whisper. I also follow the Mayor’s thoughts. She is irresolute, so you have no need to panic just yet. And the mere fact that I know this is ample evidence that your shield leaks.”
坚迪柏立刻打断他的话（严格说来并非“立刻”，因为光波——或是任何以光速运动的东西——必须花上一秒多一点的时间，才能跨越双方船舰之间的距离）。“我能知道你在想什么，柯代尔，没有必要说悄悄话。我也知道市长的心思，她正在犹豫不决，所以你现在还不必惊慌。我能够知道你们的想法，就是防护罩有漏洞的明证。”
“It can be strengthened,” said the Mayor defiantly.
“它的威力还能加强。”市长以挑衅的语气说。
“So can my mentalic force,” said Gendibal.
“我的精神力量同样可以。”坚迪柏不甘示弱。
“But I sit here at my ease, consuming merely physical energy to maintain the shield, and I have enough to maintain that shield for very long periods of time. You must use mentalic energy to penetrate the shield and you will tire.”
“可是我只需要安坐在这里，利用能源维持这个防护罩。我的战舰有充足的能源，足以让它维持一段极长的时间。你却必须使用精神能量贯穿防护罩，时间一久就会疲倦。”
“I am not tired,” said Gendibal. “At the present moment, neither of you is capable of giving any order to any member of the crew of your ship or to any crewman on any other ship. I can manage so much without any harm to you, but do not make any unusual effort to escape this control, for if I match that by increasing my own force, as I will have to do, you will be damaged as I have said.”
“我现在并不疲倦。”坚迪柏说，“此时此刻，你们两人都无法对舰上人员下达任何命令，其他战舰上的人员就更不用说了。在不伤害你们的限度内，我还能做到这一点。可是千万别用任何不寻常的手段，试图挣脱我的控制。如果我因此被迫增强精神力量——我一定会这么做的——你们两人将会受到永久性伤害。”
“I will wait,” said Branno, placing her hands in her lap with every sign of solid patience. “You will tire and when you do, the orders that will go out will not be to destroy you, for you will then be harmless. The orders will be to send the main Foundation Fleet against Trantor. If you wish to save your world--surrender. A second orgy of destruction will not leave your organization untouched, as the first one did at the time of the Great Sack.”
“我会等下去。”布拉诺将双手摆在膝盖上，表现出十足的耐性。“你终究会疲倦，到时候我就能下达命令。但我的命令并不是消灭你，因为那时你已经失去战斗力；我的命令将是派遣基地主力舰队去对付川陀。如果你希望拯救你的世界，就赶紧投降吧。在大浩劫期间，你们的组织逃过一劫，但这回的全面性毁灭，你们就不会那么幸运了。”
“Don’t you see that if I feel myself tiring, Mayor, which I won’t, I can save my world very simply by destroying you before my strength to do so is gone?”
“市长，难道你还看不出来，如果我自己感到疲累——虽然并不可能——那么我会在力量用尽之前，先奋力将你消灭，这不就能拯救我的世界了吗？”
“You won’t do that. Your main task is to maintain the Seldon Plan. To destroy the Mayor of Terminus and thus to strike a blow at the prestige and confidence of the First Foundation, producing a staggering setback to its power and encouraging its enemies everywhere, will produce such a disruption to the Plan that it will be almost as bad for you as the destruction of Trantor. You might as well surrender.”
“你不会那么做的，你的主要任务是维护谢顿计划。消灭了端点市长，等于对第一基地的威望和自信施以一记重击，使它的势力严重受挫。对于潜伏在银河各处的敌人，这无异是最大的鼓励。谢顿计划将会因此土崩瓦解，对你而言，这个结果和川陀被毁一样可怕。你最好还是投降吧。”
“Are you willing to gamble on my reluctance to destroy you?”
“你是想要拿老命赌一赌，看看我是不是真有顾忌？”
Branno’s chest heaved as she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She then said firmly, “Yes!”
布拉诺深深吸了一口气，又缓缓吐出来，胸部跟着一起一伏。然后她坚定地说：“对！”
Kodell, sitting at her side, paled
坐在她身旁的柯代尔，脸色瞬间变得惨白。
6
6
Gendibal stared at the figure of Branno, superimposed upon the volume of room just in front of the wall. It was a little flickery and hazy thanks to the interference of the shield. The man next to her was almost featureless with haze, for Gendibal had no energy to waste on him. He had to concentrate on the Mayor.
坚迪柏瞪着布拉诺的人影，它凭空出现在舱壁前方的空间。由于防护罩产生的干扰，影像有点闪动而朦胧。她身旁的男子则像一团雾般模糊不清，这是因为坚迪柏不能浪费任何能量，必须将注意力集中于市长身上。
To be sure, she had no image of him in return. She had no way of knowing that he too had a companion, for instance. She could make no judgment from his expressions, from his body language. In this respect, she was at a disadvantage.
反之，她不可能看到坚迪柏的影像。因此，她无法知道他同样有一个同伴，也无法根据他的表情或身体语言作出任何判断。就这方面而言，她显然占了下风。
Everything he had said was true. Hecould smash her at the cost of an enormous expenditure of mentalic force--and in so doing, he could scarcely avoid disrupting her mind irreparably.
他所说的每一件事都是真的。只要他愿意消耗巨大的精神能量，就能粉碎那个防护罩，但是这样一来，她的心灵势必受到永久性损伤。
Yet everything she had said was true as well. Destroying her would damage the Plan as much as the Mule himself had damaged it. Indeed, the new damage might be more serious, since it was now later in the game and there would be less time to retrieve the misstep.
但她所说的一切也同样真确，假如她被消灭，谢顿计划便会遭到重挫，严重程度绝不下于骡所造成的伤害。事实上，这回也许更为严重，因为如今计划已经执行一半，不会再有多少时间补救这个差错。
Worse still, there was Gaia, which was still an unknown quantity --with its mentalic field remaining at the faint and tantalizing edge of detection.
更糟的是，旁边还有一个仍是未知数的盖娅——此时它的精神力场仍然极其微弱，在似有若无的边缘徘徊。
For a moment, he touched Novi’s mind to make sure that the flow was still there. It was, and it was unchanged.
坚迪柏接触了一下诺微的心灵，以确定那团光辉依旧存在。它果然还在那里，而且毫无变化。
She could not have sensed that touch in any way, but she turned to him and in an awed whisper said, “Master, there is a faint mist there. Is it to that you talk?”
诺微自己完全无法感知心灵的探触，但她转过头来，畏怯地悄声说：“师傅，那里有一团模糊的雾气。你就是在对它讲话吗？”
She must have sensed the mist through the small connection between their two minds. Gendibal put a finger to his lips. “Have no fear, Novi. Close your eyes and rest.”
一定是由于两人心灵间的轻度联系，才使她有这种感知。坚迪柏将一根手指放在唇边。“别怕，诺微，闭上眼睛好好休息。”
He raised his voice. “Mayor Branno, your gamble is a good one in this respect. I do not wish to destroy you at once, since I think that if I explain something to you, you will listen to reason and there will then be no need to destroy in either direction.
他又提高音量说：“布拉诺市长，就这点而言，你的确下对了赌注。我不希望立刻消灭你，因为我认为，如果我好好解释，你应该会讲理，而我们双方就不必拼个你死我活。
“Suppose, Mayor, that you win out and that I surrender. What follows? In an orgy of self-confidence and in undue reliance on your mentalic shield, you and your successors will attempt to spread your power over the Galaxy with undue haste. In doing so, you will actually postpone the establishment of the Second Empire, because you will also destroy the Seldon Plan.”
“市长，假定今天你胜利了，而我投降了，后果会如何呢？你和你的继任者将产生浮滥的自信，又过度信赖精神力场防护罩，一定会急于将势力扩张到银河各处。这样一来，其实会延缓第二帝国的建立，因为这同样是毁掉了谢顿计划。”
Branno said, “I am not surprised that you do not wish to destroy me at once and I think that, as you sit there, you will be forced to realize that you do not dare to destroy me at all.”
布拉诺说：“你不希望立刻消灭我，我一点都不惊讶。而且我认为，既然你还坐在那里，你就不得不承认，你根本不敢消灭我。”
Gendibal said, “Do not deceive yourself with self-congratulatory folly.Listen to me. The majority of the Galaxy is still non-Foundation and, to a great extent, anti-Foundation. There are even portions of the Foundation Federation itself that have not forgotten their days of independence. If the Foundation moves too quickly in the wake of my surrender, it will deprive the rest of the Galaxy of its greatest weakness--its disunity and indecision. You will force them to unite by fear and you will feed the tendency toward rebellion within.”
坚迪柏说：“别拿自我陶醉的傻话自欺欺人。好好听我说，银河有一大半仍然不是基地的势力范围，其中反基地的政体还占了很大比例。即使在基地联邦之内，也有某些成员并未忘记过去的独立地位。如果因为我向你们投降，基地便决定迅速行动，那么银河其他部分的最大弱点——分崩离析和优柔寡断——必将随即消失，他们会因为恐惧而不得不团结起来。此外，联邦内部也可能会有叛乱的危机。”
“You are threatening with clubs of straw,” said Branno. “We have the power to win easily against all enemies, even if every world in the non-Foundation Galaxy combined against us, and even if these were helped by a rebellion in half the worlds of the Federation itself. There would be no problem.”
“你这是在危言耸听。”布拉诺说，“我们有足够的力量，可以轻易战胜所有的敌人。即使非基地的世界通通联合起来对付我们，再加上联邦内一半的世界同时叛变，也根本不成问题。”
“Noimmediate problem, Mayor. Do not make the mistake of seeing only the results that appear at once. You can establish a Second Empire merely by proclaiming it, but you will not be able to maintain it. You will have to reconquer it every ten years.”
“只是暂时不成问题，市长，不要犯了凡事只看表面的错误。你只能口头上宣称创建了第二帝国，却无法使它长治久安，你得每隔十年就重新征战一次。”
“Then we will do so until the worlds tire, as you are tiring.”
“那我们就打到那些世界筋疲力尽为止，就像你现在一样。”
“They will not tire, any more than I will. Nor will the process continue for a very long time, for there is a second and greater danger to the Pseudo-Empire you would proclaim. Since it can be temporarily maintained only by an ever-stronger military force which will be ever-exercised, the generals of the Foundation will, for the first time, become more important and more powerful than the civilian authorities. The Pseudo-Empire will break up into military regions within which individual commanders will be supreme. There will be anarchy--and a slide back into a barbarism that may last longer than the thirty thousand years forecast by Seldon before the Seldon Plan was implemented.”
“就像我现在一样，他们不可能疲累的。而且这种情势不会持续太久，因为你所创建的那个假帝国，很快会面临另一波更大的危机。既然它只能暂时凭借强大的军事力量维持，在愈来愈倚仗军事手段之后，将出现一种前所未有的情形，那就是基地将领比文人政府更有地位，更有权势。假帝国将分裂成许多军区，而军区指挥官将成为拥兵自重的军阀。这会渐渐演变成无政府状态，最后则注定回归蛮荒，而且这段蛮荒时期，将比谢顿当年预计的三万年更久。”
“Childish threats. Even if the mathematics of the Seldon Plan predicted all this, it predicts only probabilities--not inevitabilities.”
“这种幼稚的威胁只能吓唬小孩。即使谢顿计划的数学预测到这些，所预测的也只是或然率，并非必然性。”
“Mayor Branno,” said Gendibal earnestly. “Forget the Seldon Plan. You do not understand its mathematics and you cannot visualize its pattern. But you do not have to, perhaps. You are a tested politician; and a successful one, to judge from the post you hold; even more so, a courageous one, to judge from the gamble you are now taking. Therefore, use your political acumen. Consider the political and military history of humanity and consider it in the light of what you know of human nature--of the manner in which people, politicians, and military officers act, react, and interact--and see if I’m not right.”
“布拉诺市长，”坚迪柏苦口婆心地说，“别再提谢顿计划了。你并不了解其中的数学，也无法看出它的模式。不过，或许你不懂也没关系。你是个身经百战的政治人物，而且是十分成功的一位，这点能从你现在的地位看出来；甚至还是勇气十足的一位，这点能从你现在的豪赌看出来。因此，请拿出你的政治智慧，回忆一下人类的政治史和军事史，并且参照你对人性的了解——想想一般民众、政治人物、军方将领通常都是如何行动，如何反应，又是如何互动的——看看我是不是说对了。”
Branno said, “Even if you were right, Second Foundationer, it is a risk we must take. With proper leadership and with continuing technological advance--in mentalics, as well as in physics--we can overcome. Hari Seldon never calculated such advances properly. He couldn’t. Where in the Plan does it allow for the development of a mentalic shield by the First Foundation? Why should we want the Plan, in any case? We will risk founding a new Empire without it. Failure without it would, after all, be better than success with it. We do not want an Empire in which we play puppets to the hidden manipulators of the Second Foundation.”
布拉诺答道：“即使你说对了，第二基地人，我们也必须冒这个险。只要领导有方，再加上科技不断进展——精神力学和物理学齐头并进——我们就能克服一切困难。哈里·谢顿从未正确估算出这些进展，他根本做不到。在整个谢顿计划中，何曾考虑到第一基地会发展出精神力场防护罩？总之，我们何必死守着这个计划？我们宁愿冒险舍弃谢顿计划，自行建立一个新帝国。无论如何，舍弃谢顿计划而失败，总比依靠它而成功要好些。我们不要在建立一个帝国之后，自己成为一群木偶，被幕后的第二基地暗中操纵。”
“You say that only because you do not understand what failure will be like for the people of the Galaxy.”
“你会这么说，是因为你不了解倘若失败，将给银河全体人类带来何等灾难。”
“Perhaps!” said Branno stonily. “Are you beginning to weary, Second Foundationer?”
“也许吧！”布拉诺顽强地说，“你开始感到累了吗，第二基地人？”
“Not at all. --Let me propose an alternative action that you have not considered--one in which I need not surrender to you, nor you to me. --We are in the vicinity of a planet called Gaia.”
“一点也没有。让我提出另一个你未曾想到的方案，它可以使你我谁也不必投降。现在，我们是在一颗叫做盖娅的行星附近。”
“I am aware of that.”
“我晓得。”
“Are you aware that it was probably the birthplace of the Mule?”
“可是你晓不晓得，它可能就是骡的出生地？”
“I would want more evidence than resides in your mere statement to that effect.”
“我需要更多的证据，否则你说破了嘴也没有用。”
“The planet is surrounded by a mentalic field. It is the home of many Mules. If you accomplish your dream of destroying the Second Foundation, you will make yourselves the slaves of this planet of Mules. What harm have Second Foundationers ever done you-- specific, rather than imagined or theorized harm? Now ask yourself what harm a single Mule has done you.”
“这颗行星周围有个精神力场，它必定是一大群骡的老家。你一旦完成摧毁第二基地的梦想，便会成为这颗骡星的奴隶。第二基地究竟对你们造成过什么伤害？我是指实质的伤害，而不是想象中或理论上的。你再扪心自问，一个骡就为你们带来多大的灾难？”
“I still have nothing more than your statements.”
“我听到的仍旧是你的空话。”
“As long as we remain here, I can give you nothing more. --I propose a truce, therefore. Keep your shield up, if you don’t trust me, but be prepared to co-operate with me. Let us, together, approach this planet--and when you are convinced that it is dangerous, then I will nullify its mentalic field and you will order your ships to take possession of it.”
“只要我们一直待在这里，我就无法提供进一步的证据。因此，我提议暂且休战。如果你不信任我，可以继续开着防护罩，但请务必跟我合作一次。让我们一同接近这颗行星，等到你确信它有危险性，我立刻中和它的精神力场，你就命令舰队将它攻占。”
“And then?”
“然后呢？”
“And then, at least, it will be the First Foundation against the Second Foundation, with no outside forces to be considered. The fight will then be clear whereas now, you see, we dare not fight, for both Foundations are at bay.”
“然后嘛，至少我们不必再担心外敌，只剩下第一基地和第二基地对决，这场决战能很快明朗化。而现在，你看，我们都不敢动手，因为你我两个基地都进退维谷。”
“Why did you not say this before?”
“你刚才为什么不早说？”
“I thought I might convince you that we were not enemies, so that we might co-operate. Since I have apparently failed at that, I suggest co-operation in any case.”
“我原本以为可以说服你，让你相信我们不是敌人，那样我们也许就能合作。既然这个努力显然已经失败，我建议好歹试着合作一次。”
Branno paused, her head bent in thought. Then she said, “You are trying to put me to sleep with lullabies. How will you, by yourself, nullify the mentalic field of a whole planet of Mules? The thought is so ludicrous that I cannot trust in the truth of your proposition.”
布拉诺低头沉思了好一会儿，然后才说：“你是想唱摇篮曲哄我入睡。如果这颗行星上住满了骡，你如何凭一己之力中和那个精神力场？这种想法实在荒唐，我不得不怀疑你的提议别有用心。”
“I am not alone,” said Gendibal. “Behind me is the full force of the Second Foundation--and that force, channeled through me, will take care of Gaia. ‘What’s more, it can, at any time, brush aside your shield as though it were thin fog.”
“我可不是人单势孤，”坚迪柏答道，“我有第二基地整个力量做我的后盾。这股力量可以传到我身上来，然后转而对付盖娅。此外，我也随时能使用这股力量，轻易拨开你的防护罩，就像吹散一团薄雾。”
“If so, why do you need my help?”
“既然如此，你为什么还需要我的帮助？”
“First, because nullifying the field is not enough. The Second Foundation cannot devote itself, now and forever, to the eternal task of nullifying, any more than I can spend the rest of my life dancing this conversational minuet with you. We need the physical action your ships can supply. --And besides, if I cannot convince you by reason that the two Foundations should look upon each other as allies, perhaps a co-operative venture of the greatest importance can be convincing. Deeds may do the job where words fail.”
“原因之一，光是中和这个力场没有多大意义。第二基地不能无止无休地致力这项工作，正如我不能永远跟你这样闲扯下去，我们需要你的舰队发动实际攻势。再说，如果我无法凭口舌说服你，让你相信两个基地应该彼此视为盟友，或许合作一次重大的冒险行动，可以让你回心转意。言语无法达成的目标，也许能够通过行动达成。”
A second silence and then Branno said, “I am willing to approach Gaia more closely, if we can approach co-operatively. I make no promises beyond that.”
接着又是一阵沉默，然后布拉诺说：“如果我们可以彼此掩护，我愿意向盖娅更接近一点。除此之外，我可什么也没答应。”
“That will be enough,” said Gendibal, leaning toward his computer.
“那就够了。”坚迪柏马上俯身面向电脑。
Novi said, “No, Master, up to this point, it didn’t matter, but please make no further move. We must wait for Councilman Trevize of Terminus.”
此时诺微突然说：“不行，师傅，目前为止，都还没有什么大碍，但请别再做进一步的行动。我们必须等端点星的崔维兹议员来了再说。”