CHAPTER TWO MAYOR
第2章 市长
BRANNO HAD BEEN WAITING FOR AN HOUR, THINKING WEARILY. Technically speaking, she was guilty of breaking and entering. What's more, she had violated, quite unconstitutionally, the rights of a Councilman. By the strict laws that held Mayors to account since the days of Indbur III and the Mule, nearly two centuries before-she was impeachable.
布拉诺已经等了一个小时，在这段时间中，她的思绪始终没有停过。严格说来，她已经犯了侵入私宅的罪行；更有甚者，她也侵犯了一名议员的权利，这更是严重违宪。将近两个世纪前，在茵德布尔三世与骡出现之后，基地订立了数条严格的法令，规范市长在各方面的权限，而根据这些法令，她已经足以遭到弹劾。
On this one day, however, for twenty-four hours she could do no wrong.
然而在今天，在这短短的二十四小时之内，不论她做任何事，都是正确的。
But it would pass. She stirred restlessly.
可是今天终将过去，想到这一点，她便坐立不安。
The first two centuries had been the Golden Age of the Foundation, the Heroic Era-at least in retrospect, if not to the unfortunates who had lived in that insecure time. Salvor Hardin and Hober Mallow had been the two great heroes, semideified to the point of rivaling the incomparable Hari Seldon himself. The three were a tripod on which all Foundation legend (and even Foundation history) rested.
基地历史的头两个世纪，可以算是黄金时期，后人回顾那段历史，都会承认它是“英雄时代”，但是不幸生在那个动荡岁月的人，大概不会同意这一点。塞佛·哈定与侯伯·马洛是当年两位最伟大的英雄，在后人心目中，他们的地位崇高神圣，直逼至高无上的哈里·谢顿。在有关基地的所有传说中（甚至正史也一样），都将他们视为基地的三大支柱。
In those days, though, the Foundation had been one puny world, with a tenuous hold on the Four Kingdoms and with only a dim awareness of the extent to which the Seldon Plan was holding its protective hand over it, caring for it even against the remnant of the mighty Galactic Empire.
话说回来，在那个时代，基地是个单一的小世界，对四王国的控制力量极为薄弱。对于谢顿计划这个保护伞的范围，只有一点模糊的概念。更没有人知道，就连银河帝国残躯对基地的威胁，都早已在谢顿算计之中。
And the more powerful the Foundation grew as a political and commercial entity, the less significant its rulers and fighters had come to seem. Lathan Devers was almost forgotten. If he was remembered at all, it was for his tragic death in the slave mines, rather than for his unnecessary but successful fight against Bel Riose.
等到基地这个政治与经济实体实力愈来愈强大之后，无论统治者或英勇的斗士，地位似乎都不那么重要了。拉珊·迪伐斯几乎已经为人遗忘，即使还有人记得他，想到的也只是他惨死在奴工矿坑中的悲剧，而不是他为了瓦解贝尔·里欧思的攻势而从事的反间计——那是个并没有必要，却十分成功的行动。
As for Bel Riose, the noblest of the Foundation's adversaries, he too was nearly forgotten, overshadowed by the Mule, who alone among enemies had broken the Seldon Plan and defeated and ruled the Foundation. He alone was the Great Enemy-indeed, the last of the Greats.
至于贝尔·里欧思——基地有史以来最高贵的敌手，也早已变得默默无闻，光芒被后来居上的骡所遮掩。遍数基地过去所有的敌人，唯有骡曾经颠覆谢顿计划，并击败且统治过基地。只有骡才是唯一的“大敌”，事实上，他也是银河历史中最后一位“大帝”。
It was little remembered that the Mule had been, in essence, defeated by one person-a woman, Bayta Darell-and that she had accomplished the victory without the help of anyone, -without even the support of the Seldon Plan. So, too, was it almost forgotten that her son and granddaughter, Toran and Arkady Darrell, had defeated the Second Foundation, leaving the Foundation, the First Foundation, supreme.
不过，并没有什么人记得，其实骡是被一个人，一位名叫贝泰·达瑞尔的女性所击败的，而且她的胜利全凭一己之力，甚至没有谢顿计划作为后盾。后来，她的儿子与孙女——杜伦·达瑞尔与艾卡蒂·达瑞尔，又联手击溃第二基地，使这个基地（第一基地）获得唯我独尊的地位，但是这段事迹也几乎为人遗忘。
These latter-day victors were no longer heroic figures. The times had become too expansive to do anything but shrink heroes into ordinary mortals. Then, too, Arkady's biography of her grandmother had reduced her from a heroine to a figure of romance.
这些基地历史中的后起之秀，不再具有任何英雄形象。随着时间轴不断延展，英雄人物都被压缩成普通的凡人。而艾卡蒂为祖母撰写的传记，则是将她从一位女英雄，简化成了传奇小说的女主角。
And since then there had been no heroes-not even figures of romance. The Kalganian war had been the last moment of violence engulfing the Foundation and that had been a minor conflict. Nearly two centuries of virtual peace! A hundred and twenty years without so much as a ship scratched.
从此以后，再也没有英雄出现，就连小说中的传奇人物也消失了。“卡尔根之战”是基地卷入的最后一场战祸，不过只能算小场面而已。所以说，基地已经整整度过两个世纪的和平岁月！而在过去一百二十年间，甚至未曾损失半艘船舰。
It had been a good peace-Branno would not deny that-a profitable peace. The Foundation had not established a Second Galactic Empire-it was only halfway there by the Seldon Plan-but, as the Foundation Federation, it held a strong economic grip on over a third of the scattered political units of the Galaxy, and influenced what it didn't control. There were few places where "I am of the Foundation" was not met with respect. There was no one who ranked higher in all the millions of inhabited worlds than the Mayor of Terminus.
这实在是一段很不错的太平岁月，是一段受用的太平岁月，这点布拉诺绝不否认。虽然基地尚未建立第二银河帝国（根据谢顿计划，目前才完成一半的准备工作），但是分散在银河各处的政治实体，已有三分之一被基地联邦掌控经济命脉；而在那些未受直接控制的领域，基地联邦的影响力也非同小可。行遍银河，只要报出“我是基地公民”，听到的人鲜有不肃然起敬。而在上千万个住人世界中，没有任何人的地位能够媲美“端点市长”。
That was still the title. It was inherited from the leader of a single small and almost disregarded city on a lonely world on the far edge of civilization, some five centuries before, but no one would dream of changing it or of giving it one atom more glory-in-sound. As it was, only the all-but-forgotten title of Imperial Majesty could rival it in awe.
“市长”这个头衔一直沿用至今。五世纪以前，市长只是个小城市的领导者，那个城市是一个孤立世界上唯一的聚落，那个世界则处于银河文明的最边陲。但从来没有人想到过更改这个头衔，或是再加上一点点敬称。如今，仅有几乎遭人遗忘的“皇帝陛下”能令人产生同样的敬畏。
-Except on Terminus itself, where the powers of the Mayor were carefully limited. The memory of the Indburs still remained. It was not their tyranny that people could not forget but the fact that they had lost to the Mule.
只有在端点星是唯一的例外，在这个世界上，市长的权限受到谨慎的规范。对于当年的茵德布尔家族，一般人都还记忆犹新。不过人们无法忘怀的，并不是他们的专制极权，而是在他们的统治下，基地落入骡的手中。
And here she was, Harla Branno, the strongest to rule since the Mule's death (she knew that) and only the fifth woman to do so. On this day only had she been able to use her strength openly.
而她，赫拉·布拉诺，就是现任的市长。自骡死后，她是银河中最强有力的统治者（这点她自己也很清楚），亦是基地有史以来第五位女性市长。但也只有今天，她才有办法公然施展自己的力量。
She had fought for her interpretation of what was right and what should be-against the dogged opposition of those who longed for the prestige-filled Interior of the Galaxy and for the aura of Imperial power-and she had won.
从政多年来，对于何事正确，何者当行，她始终坚持自己的信念，跟那些顽强的反对派奋战到底——那些家伙都在觊觎盛名远播的银河内围，渴望为基地加上帝国的光圈。今天，她终于获得全盘的胜利。
Not yet, she had said. Not yet! Jump too soon for the Interior and you will lose for this reason and for that. And Seldon had appeared and had supported her in language almost identical with her own.
还早哩，她曾经这么说。还早哩！过早跳进银河内围，可能会由于种种原因而遭到惨败。如今，谢顿也站出来为她说话，甚至遣词用字也几乎和她一模一样。
It made her, for a time, in the eyes of all fine Foundation, as wise as Seldon himself. She knew they could forget that any hour, however.
一时之间，在基地所有成员心目中，她成了与谢顿同样睿智的人物。然而，他们随时会忘掉这件事，这点她也心知肚明。
And this young man dared to challenge her on this day of days.
而这个年轻人，偏偏在今天，就敢当众向她挑战。
And he dared to be right?
而且，恐怕他并没有错！
That was the danger of it. He was right? And by being right, he might destroy the Foundation!
危险就在这里，他的看法是对的！而只要他是对的，他就有可能毁掉基地！
And now she faced him and they were alone.
现在，她终于和他面对面，没有第三者在场。
She said sadly, "Could you not have come to see me privately? Did you have to shout it all out in the Council Chamber in your idiotic desire to make a fool of me? What have you done, you mindless boy?"
她以惋惜的口吻说：“难道你不能私下来找我？难道你非得在议会厅咆哮不可？你的想法实在愚蠢，以为这样就能当众羞辱我吗？口没遮拦的孩子，你可知自己闯了什么祸？”
2
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Trevize felt himself flushing and fought to control his anger. The Mayor was an aging woman who would be sixty-three on her next birthday. He hesitated to engage in a shouting match with someone nearly twice his age.
崔维兹觉得自己满脸通红，只好拼命控制住怒火。市长是个上了年纪的女人，就快满六十三岁了。面对这样一个年纪几乎长他一倍的老太婆，他实在不想开口吵架。
Besides, she was well practiced in the political wars and knew that if she could place her opponent off-balance at the start then the battle was half-won. But it took an audience to make such a tactic effective and there was no audience before whom one might be humiliated. There were just the two of them.
何况，她早已在政治斗争中百炼成钢，了解只要一开始便将对手弄得手足无措，一场战争等于已经赢了一半。不过想要这种战术奏效，必须有观众在场，可是如今连一个旁观者都没有，也就不会有人令他感到羞辱。算来算去，也只有他们两人而已。
So he ignored her words and did his best to survey her dispassionately. She was an old woman wearing the unisex fashions which had prevailed for two generations now. They did not become her. The Mayor, the leader of the Galaxy-if leader there could be-was just a plain old woman who might easily have been mistaken for an old man, except that her iron-gray hair was tied tightly back, instead of being worn free in the traditional male style.
所以他对那番话充耳不闻，尽全力维持一副漠然的表情，仔细审视着对方。这个老女人穿着一身中性服装，这种服饰已经流行了两代，但穿在她身上并不适合。这位市长，这位全银河的领袖（如果银河中还有领袖，当然非她莫属），看来像个平庸的老太婆，甚至很容易被误认为是个老头。她与男性唯一的差别，在于她将铁灰色的头发紧扎脑后，而传统的男性发式则完全不束不系。
Trevize smiled engagingly. However much an aged opponent strove to make the epithet "boy" sound like an insult, this particular "boy" had the advantage of youth and good looks-and the full awareness of both.
崔维兹露出一个魅力十足的笑容。这个上了年纪的对手，无论多么努力把“孩子”这个称呼当成羞辱，可是她面前的这个“孩子”，至少拥有年轻和英俊这两方面的优势，而且他完全明白这个事实。
He said, "It's true. I'm thirty-two and, therefore, a boy-in a manner of speaking. And I'm a Councilman and, therefore, ex officio, mindless. The first condition is unavoidable. For the second, I can only say I'm sorry."
于是他说：“完全正确，我今年才三十二岁，所以还能算个孩子。而且身为一名议员，口没遮拦正是我职责所在。关于第一点，我实在无可奈何；至于第二点，我只能说声抱歉。”
"Do you know what you've done? Don't stand there and strive for wit. Sit down. Put your mind into gear, if you can, and answer me rationally."
“你晓得自己闯了什么祸吗？别鬼头鬼脑地站在那里，坐下来。请你尽可能全神贯注，并且理智地回答我的问题。”
"I know what I've done. I've told the truth as I've seen it."
“我知道自己做了什么，我将看穿的真相说了出来。”
"And on this day you try to defy me with it? On this one day when my prestige is such that I could pluck you out of the Council Chamber and arrest you, with no one daring to protest?"
“你偏偏选在这一天向我挑战？选在我的声望如日中天的日子？今天，我有办法把你赶出议会厅，再立刻将你逮捕，其他议员没有一个敢站出来抗议。”
"The Council will recover its breath and it will protest. They may be protesting now. And they will listen to me all the more for the persecution to which you are subjecting me."
“议会迟早会回过神来，然后就会向你抗议。现在，他们可能已经在进行抗议了。你这样迫害我，只会使他们更加听信我。”
"No one will listen to you, because if I thought you would continue what you have been doing, I would continue to treat you as a traitor to the full extent of the law."
“谁也不会听到你讲什么。只要我认为你将继续大鸣大放，我就会继续视你为叛徒，用最严厉的法律办你。”
"I would then have to be tried.. I'd have my day in court."
“那我就必须接受审判，我总有在法庭出现的机会。”
"Don't count on that. A Mayor's emergency powers are enormous, even if they are rarely used."
“你别指望这一点。市长拥有极大的紧急处分权，虽然通常很少动用。”
"On what grounds would you declare an emergency?"
“你凭什么宣布进入紧急状况？”
"I'll invent the grounds. I have that much ingenuity left, and I do not fear taking the political risk. Don't push me, young man. We are going to come to an agreement here or you will never be free again. You will be imprisoned for the rest of your life. I guarantee it.
“我自然会想出名目来，这点智慧我还有，而且我也不怕面对政治危机。别逼我，年轻人。希望我们能在此地达成一个协议，否则你就永远无法重获自由。你将遭到终身监禁，这点我可以向你保证。”
They stared at each other: Branno in gray, Trevize in multishade brown.
两人正面相对——布拉诺的灰色眼睛和崔维兹驳杂的棕色眼睛彼此瞪视。
Trevize said, "What kind of an agreement?"
然后崔维兹问道：“什么样子的协议？”
"Ah. You're curious. That's better. Then we can engage in conversation instead of confrontation. What is your point of view?"
“啊，你感到好奇了，这样就好多了。我们别再剑拔弩张，心平气和谈谈吧。你的看法究竟如何？”
"You know it well. You have been crawling in the mud with Councilman Compor, have you not?"
“你应该清楚得很。你一直和康普议员暗中勾结，对不对？”
"I want to hear it from you-in the light of the Seldon Crisis just passed."
“我想听你亲口说一遍——刚刚过去的这个谢顿危机，你有什么看法？”
"Very well, if that's what you want-Madam Mayor!" (He had been on the brink of saying "old woman.") "The image of Seldon was too correct, too impossibly correct after five hundred years. It's the eighth time he has appeared, I believe. On some occasions, no one was there to hear him. On at least one occasion, in the time of Indbur III, what he had to say was utterly out of synchronization with reality but that was in the time of the Mule, wasn't it? But when, on any of those occasions, was he as correct as he was now?"
“很好，如果你真想听——市长女士！”“老太婆”一词差点脱口而出，“谢顿影像说得未免太正确，过了五百年还能那么准，实在太不可能了。我相信，他这一次重现，是有史以来的第八次。过去有几次，当影像出现时，根本没有任何人在场。而至少有一次，在茵德布尔三世执政时期，他讲的那番话，和实际情况完全不符——但那是在骡崛起的时候，对不对？可是过去七次当中，他何曾像今天这样，一切都预测得那么准确？”
Trevize allowed himself a small smile. "Never before, Madam Mayor, as far as our recordings of the past are concerned, has Seldon managed to describe the situation so perfectly, in all its smallest details."
崔维兹浅浅一笑。“市长女士，根据我们所掌握的记录，谢顿从未将现况描述得如此完美，连最小的细节也分毫不差。”
Branno said, "Is it your suggestion that the Seldon appearance, the holographic image, is faked; that the Seldon recordings have been prepared by a contemporary such as myself, perhaps; that an actor was playing the Seldon role?"
布拉诺道：“你的意思是说，谢顿的全息影像是伪造的？谢顿的录影是他人最近准备的，这个人也许正是我？而谢顿这个角色，则是某个演员扮演的？”
"Not impossible, Madam Mayor, but that's not what I mean. The truth is far worse. I believe that it is Seldon's image we see, and that his description of the present moment in history is the description he prepared five hundred years ago. I have said as much to your man, Kodell, who carefully guided me through a charade in which I seemed to support the superstitions of the unthinking Foundationer."
“并非不可能，市长女士，但我并不是这个意思。真相其实还要糟得多，我相信我们所看到的，的确是谢顿本人的录影，而他对于当代现况的描述，也的确是五百年前所准备的。这些，我都已经向你的手下柯代尔讲过，可是他故意跟我打哑谜，好让我看起来也相信那些只有不用大脑的基地人才会迷信的事。”
"Yes. The recording will be used, if necessary, to allow the Foundation to see that you were never really in the opposition."
“没错，若有必要，那个记录就能派上用场，好让基地上上下下，都认为你从未真正站在反对立场。”
Trevize spread his arms. "But I am. There is no Seldon Plan in the sense that we believe there is, and there hasn't been for perhaps two centuries. I have suspected that for years now, and what we went through in the Time Vault twelve hours ago proves it."
崔维兹双手一摊。“但我明明反对。我们心目中的那个谢顿计划，其实并不存在，大概早在两个世纪前，它就已经烟消云散。这件事我怀疑了好几年，而十二个小时之前，我们在时光穹窿的经历，终于证明了这一点。”
"Because Seldon was too accurate?"
“因为谢顿过于准确？”
"Precisely. Don't smile. That is the final proof."
“正是如此。别笑，这就是铁证。”
"I'm not smiling, as you can see. Go on."
“你该看得出来，我并没有发笑。说下去。”
"How could he have been so accurate? Two centuries ago, Seldon's analysis of what was then the present was completely wrong. Three hundred years had passed since the Foundation was set up and he was wide of the mark. Completely!"
“他怎么可能预测得那么准？两个世纪前，谢顿对现状的分析就完全错误。那时距离基地的建立已有三百年，他的预测已经离谱得过分，完全离谱了！”
"That, Councilman, you yourself explained a few moments ago. It was because of the Mule. The Mule was a mutant with intense mental power and there had been no way of allowing for him in the Plan."
“关于这一点，议员，你自己刚才解释过了，那是因为骡的关系。骡是一个突变异种，具有强大的精神力量，在整个谢顿计划中，根本无法考虑到他。”
"But he was there just the same-allowed or not. The Seldon Plan was derailed. The Mule didn't rule for long and he had no successor. The Foundation regained its independence and its domination, but how could the Seldon Plan have gotten back on target after so enormous a tearing of its fabric?"
“不论考虑到了没有，反正他就是出现了，谢顿计划因此偏离了既定的轨迹。不过骡的统治时间并不长，而且他也没有继承者。基地很快就再度独立，同时拾回昔日的霸权。问题是谢顿计划变得支离破碎之后，又怎么可能会回到正轨呢？”
Branno looked grim and her aging hands clasped together tightly. "You know the answer to that. `'6'e were one of two Foundations. You've read the history books."
布拉诺绷着一张老脸，苍老的双掌紧握在一起。“你自己知道答案，你总该读过历史。除了我们之外，还有另一个基地。”
"I've read Arkady's biography of her grandmother-required reading in school, after all-and I've read her novels, too. I've read the official view of the history of the Mule and afterward. Am I to be allowed to doubt them?"
“我读过艾卡蒂为祖母写的传记——毕竟，那是学校的指定读物——我也看过她写的那些小说。此外，我还读过官方发布的‘骡乱’始末。我可不可以质疑这些文献？”
"In what way?"
“如何质疑？”
"Officially we, the First Foundation, were to retain the knowledge of the physical sciences and to advance them. We were to operate openly, our historical development following-whether we knew it or not-the Seldon Plan. There was, however, also the Second Foundation, which was to preserve and further develop the psychological sciences, including psychohistory, and their existence was to be a secret even from us. The Second Foundation was the fine-tuning agency of the Plan, acting to adjust the currents of Galactic history, when they turned from the paths outlined by the Plan."
“根据公认的说法，我们这个第一基地，目的是保存所有的物理科学知识，进而发扬光大。我们的一切发展都光明正大，我们的历史依循着谢顿计划发展，姑且不论我们是否知情。然而除了我们，另外还有一个第二基地，它的功能是保存并发展各种心理科学，包括心理史学在内。而第二基地的存在必须保密，甚至连我们也不能知道。第二基地是谢顿计划的微调机制，当银河历史的潮流偏离预定轨迹时，它负责将历史导回正轨。”
"Then you answer yourself," said the Mayor. "Bayta Darell defeated the Mule, perhaps under the inspiration of the Second Foundation, although her granddaughter insists that was not so. It was the Second Foundation without doubt, however, which labored to bring Galactic history back to the Plan after the Mule died and, quite obviously, they succeeded. -What on Terminus, then, are you talking about, Councilman?"
“那么你已经回答了自己的问题。”市长说，“贝泰·达瑞尔当年能够击败骡，也许就是受到第二基地的激励，虽然她的孙女一再强调并无此事。无论如何，在骡死去之后，银河历史能够重归谢顿计划，无疑是第二基地努力的成果，他们显然不辱使命。所以说，你究竟想说些什么呢，议员？”
"Madam Mayor, if we follow Arkady Darell's account, it is clear that the Second Foundation, in making the attempt to correct Galactic history, undermined Seldon's entire scheme, since in their attempt to correct they destroyed their own secrecy. We, the First Foundation, realized that our mirror image, the Second Foundation, existed, and we could not live with the knowledge that we were being manipulated. We therefore labored to find the Second Foundation and to destroy it."
“市长女士，如果我们分析艾卡蒂·达瑞尔的说法，就能发现一个明显的事实。第二基地在企图修正银河历史的过程中，无意间破坏了整个谢顿计划，因为在进行修正之际，他们使自己曝了光。我们这个第一基地因而发现我们有一个镜像，也就是第二基地。我们不甘心受他们操控，千方百计找出了第二基地的下落，并且一举将他们消灭。”
Branno nodded. "And we succeeded, according to Arkady Darell's account, but quite obviously, not until the Second Foundation had placed Galactic history firmly on track again after its disruption by the Mule. It is still on track."
布拉诺点了点头。“根据艾卡蒂·达瑞尔的说法，我们后来的确成功了。不过很明显的是，在此之前，一度为骡所搅乱的银河历史，已经被第二基地导回正轨。直到如今，依然没有任何偏差。”
"Can you believe that? The Second Foundation, according to the account, was located and its various members dealt with. That was in 378 F.E., a hundred twenty years ago. For five generations, the have supposedly been operating without the Second Foundation, and yet have remained so close to target where the Plan is concerned that you and the image of Seldon spoke almost identically."
“你能相信这一点吗？根据她的说法，我们找到了第二基地的大本营，逮捕了所有的成员。那件事发生在基地纪元377年，也就是距今一百二十年前。过去整整五个世代，我们都认为第二基地不复存在，一切都是我们独立发展的结果。可是直到如今，我们仍然能够瞄准谢顿计划的目标，而你和谢顿影像所说的话，也几乎一模一样。”
"This might be interpreted to mean that I have seen into the significance of developing history with keen insight:"
“这也许可以作如下解释：我具有敏锐的洞见，能够洞察历史发展的深层意义。”
"Forgive me. I do not intend to cast doubt upon your keen insight, but to me it seems that the more obvious explanation is that the Second Foundation was never destroyed. It still rules us. It still manipulates us. -And that is why we have returned to the track of the Seldon Plan."
“对不起，我无意对你的敏锐洞见表示怀疑，但我认为还有一个更明显的解释，那就是第二基地并未遭到摧毁。它依旧在操控我们，依旧在支配我们，那才是我们重返谢顿计划正轨的真正原因。”
3
3
If the Mayor was shocked by the statement, she showed no sign of it.
若说这番话令市长震惊不已，她丝毫没有表现出来。
It was past 1 A.m. and she wanted desperately to bring an end to it, and yet could not hasten. The young man had to be played and she did not want to have him break the fishing line. She did not want to have to dispose of him uselessly, when he might first be made to serve a function.
现在已经是凌晨一点多了，她极其希望赶快结束这场谈判，却知道绝对不能着急。这个年轻人必须好好对付，她可不希望把钓鱼线绷断。而且，她也不想白白将他作废，因为在此之前，他或许还能发挥一项功能。
She said, "Indeed? You say then that Arkady's tale of the Kalganian war and the destruction of the Second Foundation was false? Invented? A game? A lie?"
她说：“是吗？那么你是说，艾卡蒂写的什么卡尔根之战，以及第二基地被摧毁的经过，全都是假的？是捏造的？是一个骗局？是一堆谎言？”
Trevize shrugged. "It doesn't have to be. That's beside the point. Suppose Arkady's account were completely true, to the best of her knowledge. Suppose all took place exactly as Arkady said it did; that the nest of Second Foundationers was discovered, and that they were disposed of. How can we possibly say, though, that we got every last one of them? The Second Foundation was dealing with the entire Galaxy. They were not manipulating the history of Terminus alone or even of the Foundation alone. Their responsibilities involved more than our capital world or our entire Federation. There were bound to be some Second Foundationers that were a thousand -or more-parsecs away. Is it likely we would have gotten them all?
崔维兹耸了耸肩。“那倒不至于，这样说就离题了。即使假定艾卡蒂的记述全部属实，她的确做到了知无不言，言无不尽；假定所发生过的一切，和艾卡蒂的描述一模一样；第二基地的巢穴确实被寻获，成员也全部被捕。可是我们又凭什么说，他们每一个成员都落网了呢？第二基地所操控的对象，乃是整个的银河系，并非只是端点星上的历史，也并不仅限于第一基地。他们并非只对我们这个首都世界，或者整个联邦负责而已。一定还有某些第二基地分子，藏在一千秒差距之外，甚至更远的地方。我们有可能把他们一网打尽吗？
"And if we failed to get them all, could we say we had won? Could the Mule have said it in his time? He took Terminus, and with it all the worlds it directly controlled-but the Independent Trading Worlds still stood. He took the Trading Worlds-yet three fugitives remained: Ebling Mis, Bayta Darell, and her husband. He kept both men under control and left Bayta-only Bayta-uncontrolled. He did this out of sentiment, if we are to believe Arkady's romance. And that was enough. According to Arkady's account, one person-only Bayta-was left to do as she pleased, and because of her actions the Mule was not able to locate the Second Foundation and was therefore defeated.
“假如我们并未将他们一举成擒，能够声称自己大获全胜吗？当年的骡能这么说吗？他先拿下了端点星，以及它直接控制的所有世界，但独立行商世界仍在奋战。后来行商世界也被他打垮了，却溜走了三个人：艾布林·米斯、贝泰·达瑞尔，还有她的丈夫。骡将其中两人置于控制之下，却完全没有控制贝泰，独独放过了她。如果我们愿意相信艾卡蒂写的小说，骡之所以如此做，乃是因为感情用事，而这就足以改变一切。根据艾卡蒂的记述，全银河只剩下一个人——只剩下贝泰能够随心所欲，而她的行动，果真使得骡无法找到第二基地，因此导致了他最后的失败。
"One person left untouched, and all was Lost! That's the importance of one person, despite all the legends that surround Seldon's Plan to the effect that the individual is nothing and the mass is all.
“仅仅一个人保有自由意志，就能令骡全盘皆输！个人的确能够发挥重大的影响力——虽然围绕着谢顿计划的所有传说，都在强调个体不值得一提，唯有群体才是有意义的。
"And if we left not just one Second Foundationer behind, but several dozen, as seems perfectly likely, what then? Would they not gather together, rebuild their fortunes, take up their careers again, multiply their numbers by recruitment and training, and once mare make us all pawns?"
“假如当初漏网的第二基地分子不只一名，而是好几十个，这似乎是极有可能的，那又会怎么样？难道他们不会重新会合，重建第二基地，再到处招兵买马，经过一段时间的励精图治，然后继续进行他们的工作，使我们再一次成为他们的傀儡？”
Branno said gravely, "Do you believe that?"
布拉诺以严肃的口气说：“你相信有这种可能吗？”
"I am sure of it."
“我绝对可以肯定。”
"But tell me, Councilman? Why should they bother? Why should the pitiful remnant continue to cling desperately to a duty no one welcomes? What drives them to keep the Galaxy along its path to the Second Galactic Empire? And if the small band insists on fulfilling its mission, why should we care? Why not accept the path of the Plan and be thankful that they will see to it that we do not stray or lose our way?"
“可是请你告诉我，议员，他们又为何自找麻烦呢？那些所剩无几的可怜虫，又何必死守着一个没人欢迎的计划？他们尽力使银河朝向第二帝国发展，背后的原动力又是什么？假如他们这一小撮人，坚持一定要完成这件使命，我们又何必在乎？为什么不能接受这个计划的安排，并且对他们心存感激呢？因为他们会尽一切可能，不让我们的历史脚步迷路或走偏了。”
Trevize put his hand over his eyes and rubbed them. Despite his youth, he seemed the more tired of the two. He stared at the Mayor and said, "I can't believe you. Are you under the impression that the Second Foundation is doing this for us? That they are some sort of idealists? Isn't it clear to you from your knowledge of politics-of the practical issues of power and manipulation-that they are doing it for themselves?
崔维兹揉了揉眼睛，虽然他年轻许多，却似乎比对方还要疲倦。然后，他瞪着市长说：“我无法相信你的说法。难道你真以为，第二基地这样做是为了我们吗？难道他们是一群理想主义者？难道你不能根据政治常识，根据权力斗争和领导统驭的实际经验，清清楚楚地看出，他们这么做，其实是为了他们自己？
"We are the cutting edge. We are the engine, the force. We labor and sweat and bleed and weep. They merely control-adjusting an amplifier here, closing a contact there, and doing it all with ease and without risk to themselves. Then, when it is all done and when, after a thousand years of heaving and straining, we have set up the Second Galactic Empire, the people of the Second Foundation will move in as the ruling elite."
“我们是冲锋陷阵的敢死队，是整个机制的发动机和动力之源。我们拼命奋斗，流汗、流血又流泪。他们却只管控制和操纵——调整一下这个放大器，按动一下那个开关，既轻松又自在，而且不必亲身涉险。等到一切大功告成，也就是说，经过一千年的辛苦努力，我们建立起第二银河帝国之后，第二基地的人就会大摇大摆地出现，成为真正的统治阶级。”
Branno said, "Do you want to eliminate the Second Foundation then? Having moved halfway to the Second Empire, do you want to take the chance of completing the task on our own and serving as our own elite? Is that it?"
布拉诺道：“这么说，你是想彻底消灭第二基地？建立第二帝国的工作，我们已经完成一半，你想试试让我们自己当自己的主人，以一己之力完成其余的工作？对不对？”
"Certainly! Certainly! Shouldn't that be what you want, too? You and I won't live to see it, but you have grandchildren and someday I may, and they will have grandchildren, and so on. I want them to have the fruit of our labors and I want them to look back to us as the source, and to praise us for what we have accomplished. I don't want it all to fall to a hidden conspiracy devised by Seldon-who is no hero of mine. I tell you he is a greater threat than the Mule-if we allow his Plan to go through. By the Galaxy, I wish the Mule had disrupted the Plan altogether-and forever. We would have survived him. He was one of a kind and very mortal. The Second Foundation seems to be immortal."
“当然！当然！这难道不也是你的希望吗？虽然你我看不到这一天，可是你有儿孙，将来我也会有，而他们还会再有儿孙，一代一代绵延不绝。我要他们享受我们辛勤努力的成果，我要他们在回顾历史时，将我们视为源头，对我们的成就赞美讴歌。我可不希望一切的心血，都被吸进谢顿所设计的阴谋当中——他并不是我心目中的英雄。我告诉你，如果我们真让他的计划继续下去，他的威胁会比骡更可怕。银河在上，我真希望当年的骡瓦解了整个计划，令它万劫不复。骡死了之后，我们便能好好活下去，他的寿命毕竟有限。可是，第二基地似乎是打不死的。”
"But you would like to destroy the Second Foundation, is that not so?"
“但你想要摧毁第二基地，是不是？”
"If I knew how!"
“只要我知道该怎么做，绝不犹豫！”
"Since you don't know how, don't you think it quite likely they will destroy you?"
“既然你并不知道该怎么做，难道就没有想到，他们很可能先下手为强？”
Trevize looked contemptuous. "I have had the thought that even you might be under their control. Your accurate guess as to what Seldon's image would say and your subsequent treatment of me could be all Second Foundation. You could be a hollow shell with a Second Foundation content."
崔维兹露出了鄙夷的神色。“我甚至曾经怀疑，你可能也在他们控制之下。你准确地猜到谢顿影像将说些什么，还有你后来对付我的那些手段，都有可能是第二基地的阴谋。你也许只剩下一副空壳子，里面已经让第二基地填满了。”
"Then why are you talking to me as you are?"
“那你为何还要跟我说这么多？”
"Because if you are under Second Foundation control, I am lost in any case and I might as well expel some of the anger within me and because, in actual fact, I am gambling that you are not under their control, that you are merely unaware of what you do."
“因为，假如你的确受到第二基地控制，我无论如何是死路一条，这样发泄一下，至少可以出一口怨气——而且，事实上，我仍然赌你并未受他们控制，只是不知道自己在做什么而已。”
Branno said, "You win that gamble, at any rate. I am not under anyone's control but my own. Still, can you be sure I am telling the truth? Were I under control of the Second Foundation, would I admit it? Would I even myself know that I was under their control?
布拉诺说：“无论如何，你显然赌赢了。除了我自己，没有任何人在控制我。话说回来，你能确定我说的是实话吗？假如我的确受到第二基地控制，自己难道会承认吗？甚至，我会知道自己受到他们的控制吗？
"But there is no profit in such questions. I believe I am not under control and you have no choice but to believe it, too. Consider this, however. If the Second Foundation exists, it is certain that their biggest need is to make sure that no one in the Galaxy knows they exist. The Seldon Plan only works well if the pawns-we-are not aware of how the Plan works and of how we are manipulated. It was because the Mule focused the attention of the Foundation on the Second Foundation that the Second Foundation was destroyed in Arkady's time. -Or should I say nearly destroyed, Councilman?
“可是，讨论这些问题一点用处也没有。我相信自己并未受到控制，因此你也不得不买账。然而，你想想看，假使第二基地的确存在，他们最大的需求，一定是希望银河中谁也不知道这个事实。唯有谢顿计划的棋子，也就是我们，对于计划的内容毫不知情，也不晓得自己如何受支配，这个计划才能顺利进行。由于骡的出现，使得第一基地将注意力集中在第二基地身上，第二基地才会在艾卡蒂的时代遭到摧毁——或者我应该说，是几乎被摧毁了，议员，你说对不对？
"From this we can deduce two corollaries. First, we can reasonably suppose that they interfere grossly as little as they can. We can assume it would be impossible to take us all over. Even the Second Foundation, if it exists, must have limits to its power. To take over some and allow others to guess the fact would introduce distortions to the Plan. Consequently, we come to the conclusion that their interference is as delicate, as indirect, as sparse as is possible-and therefore I am not controlled. Nor are you:"
“从这一点，我们能够导出两个推论。第一，我们可以合理地假定，他们所做的各种干预已经尽量降低。由此我们又可以假设，他们不可能完全控制我们。即使第二基地的确存在，它的力量也必定有某种限制。如果控制了一部分的人，却使得其他人因而猜疑，便会令谢顿计划遭到扭曲。因此之故，我们能得到一个结论，他们的干预尽可能做得精巧、间接和分散。所以我并没有受到控制，而你也没有。”
Trevize said, "That is one corollary and I tend to accept it-out of wishful thinking, perhaps. What is the other?"
崔维兹说：“这算是第一个推论，我姑且接受吧——或许，是基于一厢情愿的乐观。另一个推论又是什么？”
"A simpler and more inevitable one. If the Second Foundation exists and wishes to guard the secret of that existence, then one thing is sure. Anyone who thinks it still exists, and talks about it, and announces it, and shouts it to all the Galaxy must, in some subtle way, be removed by them at once, wiped out, done away with. Wouldn't that be your conclusion, too?"
“那是个更简单、更必然的结果。假如第二基地确实存在，却又希望保住这个秘密，那么有一点是绝对肯定的。如果有谁认为它仍旧存在，并且和他人讨论这个可能，甚至在公开场合高谈阔论，闹到整个银河人尽皆知，那么他们一定会立刻用巧妙的手法，将这个人解决掉、铲除掉、消灭掉。你难道不也是这么想吗？”
Trevize said, "Is that why you have taken me into custody, Madam Mayor? To protect me from the Second Foundation?"
崔维兹说：“市长女士，你将我逮捕，就是这个缘故？为了保护我，以免我被第二基地谋害？”
"In a way. To an extent. Liono Kodell's careful recording of your beliefs m11 be publicized not only in order to keep the people o€ Terminus and the Foundation from being unduly disturbed by your silly talk-but to keep the Second Foundation from being disturbed. If it exists, I do not want to have its attention drawn to you."
“就某个角度而言，的确可以这么说。里奥诺·柯代尔精心为你录制的自白，不仅是为了向端点星以及基地的所有民众澄清，让大家不至于被你的妖言迷惑，另一方面，也是想借此让第二基地放心。假如他们真正存在，我不希望你吸引到他们的注意。”
"Imagine that," said Trevize with heavy irony. "For my sake? For my lovely brown eyes?"
“真是难以想象，”崔维兹以极尽讽刺的口吻说，“为我着想？为了我这一对可爱的棕色眼睛？”
Branno stirred and then, quite without warning, laughed quietly. She said, "I am not so old, Councilman, that I am not unaware that you have lovely brown eyes and, thirty years ago, that might have been motive enough. At this time, however, I wouldn't move a millimeter to save them-or all the rest of you-if only your eyes were involved. But if the Second Foundation exists, and if their attention, is drawn to you, they may not stop with you. There's my life to consider, and that of a number of others far mare intelligent and valuable than you-and all the plans we have made."
布拉诺顿时动容，然后，在没有任何征兆之下，她轻轻笑了几声，又说：“我还没有老到那种程度，议员，自然注意到你有一对可爱的棕色眼珠。而且，若是三十年前，这也许就足以构成我的动机。然而现在，我不会为了拯救这对眼睛，或是你身上的其他部分，而伸出半毫米的援手。问题是，假如第二基地的确存在，而且你招惹了他们的注意，那么，他们不会解决了你就罢手。除了我自己这条老命，还有其他许多远较你聪明、远较你具有价值的人——以及我们拟定的所有计划，都会遭到他们威胁。”
"Oh? Do you believe the Second Foundation exists, then, that you react so carefully to the possibility of their response?"
“哦？这么说，你果真相信第二基地的存在，因此行动才会如此谨慎，以防范他们可能的反应？”
Branno brought her fist down upon the table before her. "Of course I do, you consummate fool! If I didn't know the Second Foundation exists, and if I weren't fighting them as hard and as effectively as I could, would I care what you say about such a subject? If the Second Foundation did not exist, would it matter that you are announcing they do? I've wanted for months to shut you up before you went public, but lacked the political power to deal roughly with a Councilman. Seldon's appearance made me look good and gave me the power-if only temporarily-and at that moment, you did go public. I moved at once, and now I will have you killed without a twinge of conscience or a microsecond of hesitation-if you don't do exactly as you're told.
布拉诺一拳打在面前的桌子上。“我当然相信，你这个绝顶的笨蛋！如果我不相信第二基地的存在，如果我没有使出浑身解数跟他们奋战，你拿这个题目大做文章，又干我什么事？假使第二基地只是子虚乌有，你到处宣扬他们的潜在威胁，又有什么关系吗？早在几个月前，我就想趁你尚未公开这件事之际，设法让你闭嘴，可是对于一名议员，我没有权力强行干涉。谢顿影像出现之后，我的声望大振，权力也随即扩张——即使只是暂时而已。就在这个时候，你果然当众引爆这个问题，于是我立即采取行动。现在，如果你还不肯乖乖就范，我马上就处决你，不会有一点点的良心不安，也不会有一微秒的犹豫。
"Our entire conversation now, at an hour in which I would much rather be in bed and asleep, was designed to bring you to the point of believing me when I tell you this. I want you to know that the problem of the Second Foundation, which I was careful to have you outline, gives me reason enough and inclination to have you brainstopped without trial."
“此时此刻，我早就该安稳地进入梦乡，可是我却跟你苦口婆心，就是为了让你相信我所说的一切。我要让你知道，第二基地这个问题——我刚才仔细为你分析过了——就让我有足够的理由和动机，不经审判便让你的脑波终止。”
Trevize half-rose from his seat.
崔维兹准备有所行动了。
Branno said, "Oh, don't make any moves. I'm only an old woman, as you're undoubtedly telling yourself, but before you could place a hand on me, you'd be dead. We are under observation, foolish young man, by my people."
布拉诺说：“喔，不要轻举妄动。我只是个老太婆，你心里一定这么想，可是在你碰到我一根汗毛之前，你就会是个死人。我的手下正在暗中监视，傻里傻气的年轻人。”
Trevize sat down. He said, just a bit shakily, "You make no sense. If you believed the Second Foundation existed, you wouldn't be speaking of it so freely. You wouldn't expose yourself to the dangers to which you say I am exposing myself."
崔维兹只好又坐下来，声音中带着轻微的颤抖说：“你这样做很不合理。如果你相信第二基地的存在，就不应该如此肆无忌惮地说这番话。你说我让自己暴露在危险中，你自己就该设法避免。”
"You recognize, then, that I have a bit more good sense than you do. In other words, you believe the Second Foundation exists, yet you speak freely about it, because you are foolish. I believe it exists, and I speak freely, too-but only because I have taken precautions. Since you seem to have read Arkady's history carefully, you may recall that she speaks of her father having invented what she called a `Mental Static Device.' It serves as a shield to the kind of mental power the Second Foundation has. It still exists and has been improved on, too, under conditions of the greatest secrecy. This house is, for the moment, reasonably safe against their prying. With that understood, let me tell you what you are to do."
“所以说，你自己也已经明白，我至少比你谨慎一点。换句话说，你相信第二基地的确存在，但你随便乱讲，因为你是个笨蛋。我也相信它的存在，现在也敢随便开口——只因为我已经做好防范措施。你既然似乎熟读艾卡蒂的历史小说，就该记得她提到过，她父亲曾经发明一种称为‘精神杂讯器’的装置。面对第二基地的精神力量，它起着防护罩的功能。这个装置并未失传，而且被改良得更有效，这是在极机密的情况下进行的。此时此刻，这栋房子可说是相当安全，不怕遭到刺探。现在你都了解了，我可以开始告诉你，将指派给你什么任务。”
"What's that?"
“什么任务？”
"You are to find out whether what you and I think is so is indeed so. You are to find out if the Second Foundation still exists and, if so, where. That means you will have to leave Terminus and go I know not where-even though it may in the end turn out, as in Arkady's day, that the Second Foundation exists among us. It means you will not return till you have something to tell us; and if you have nothing to tell us, you will never return, and the population of Terminus will be less one fool."
“你我两人已经达成一个共识，我要你替我证实这一点。你得去确定第二基地是否仍然存在，如果答案是肯定的，他们又藏身何处。这就表示，你必须离开端点星，虽然我也不知道你该去哪里找——即使最后，你发现第二基地就在我们身边，就跟艾卡蒂的时代一样，你也得去转一圈。这也就代表，在你得到我们需要的情报之前，绝对不可以回来。如果你始终未能有所发现，那就永远不必回来，这样，至少端点星上少了一个笨蛋。”
Trevize found himself stammering. "How on Terminus can I look for them without giving away the fact? They will simply arrange a death for me, and you will be none the wiser."
崔维兹竟然结结巴巴地说：“我怎么可能一面去寻找他们，一面又保守秘密呢？他们会随便想个办法害死我，这对你根本没有好处。”
"Then don't look for them, you naive child. Look for something else. Look for something else with all your heart and mind, and if, in the process, you come across them because they have not bothered to pay you any attention, then goods You may, in that case, send us the information by shielded and coded hyperwave, and you may then return as a reward."
“那就别去找他们，天真的孩子，你可以去找别的东西。你只要全心全意去找别的，他们就会懒得注意你。如果在寻找的过程中，你无意间发现了他们的踪迹，就再好不过了！你可以送一个密封的超波密码给我们，等于是将功赎罪，便可以回端点星了。”
"I suppose you have something in mind that I should look for."
“要我去找什么，我猜你心里早就有数了。”
"Of course I do. Do you know Janov Pelorat?"
“我当然有数。你认识詹诺夫·裴洛拉特吗？”
"Never heard of him."
“从来没听说过。”
"You will meet him tomorrow. He will tell you what you are looking for and he will leave with you in one of our most advanced ships. There will be just the two of you, for two are quite enough to risk. And if you ever try to return without satisfying us that you have the knowledge we want, then you will be blown out of space before you come within a parsec of Terminus. That's all. This conversation is over."
“你明天就能见到他。他会告诉你该去找什么，而且会跟你一起去，乘坐我们最先进的船舰出发。你们两人将单独行动，因为赌你们两条命就够了。如果，你在尚未获得我们需要的答案之前，就试图返回此地，那么在距离端点星一秒差距之外，你就会被击毁在太空中。就这样，这次的谈话结束了。”
She arose, looked at her bare hands, then slowly drew on her gloves. She turned toward the door, and through it came two guards, weapons in hand. They stepped apart to let her pass.
她站起来，看了看自己的双手，然后慢慢把手套戴上。她向门口走去，外面立刻出现两名警卫，两人都持械在手。他们站定后再往两旁一跨，为她让出一条路来。
At the doorway she turned. "There are other guards outside. Do nothing that disturbs them or you will save us all the trouble of your existence."
她走到门口，又转过头来说：“外面还有更多的警卫，千万别惊扰他们，否则你等于帮我们除掉你这个大麻烦。”
"You will also then lose the benefits I might bring you," said Trevize and, with an effort, lie managed to say it lightly.
“那样的话，我也不可能为你带回任何情报。”崔维兹花了一番力气，才将这句话说得轻描淡写。
"We'll chance that," said Branno with an unamused smile.
“试试看吧。”布拉诺皮笑肉不笑地说。
4
4
Outside Liono Kodell was waiting for her. He said, "I listened to the whole thing, Mayor. You were extraordinarily patient."
里奥诺·柯代尔早已等在屋外，他说：“整个对话我都听到了，市长，你实在非常有耐心。”
"And I am extraordinarily tired. I think the day has been seventy-two hours long. You take over now."
“而且也实在非常疲倦，我觉得今天好像有七十二小时。从现在起，你来接手吧。”
"I will, but tell me- Was there really a Mental Static Device about the house?"
“我会处理的，可是我想知道——在这栋房子附近，真的设有精神杂讯器吗？”
"Oh, Kodell," said Branno wearily. "You know better than that. What was the chance anyone was watching? Do you imagine the Second Foundation is watching everything, everywhere, always? I'm not the romantic young Trevize is; he might think that, but I don't. And even if that were the case, if Second Foundational eyes and ears were everywhere, would not the presence of an MSD have given us away at once? For that matter, would not its use have shown the Second Foundation a shield against its powers existed-once they detected a region that was mentally opaque? Isn't the secret of such a shield's existence-until we are quite ready to use it to the full - something worth not only more than Trevize, but more than you and I together? And yet……"
“喔，柯代尔，”布拉诺以疲惫的口气说，“你自己应该很明白。有人在暗中监视的机会究竟多大？你以为那个第二基地，能够一直监视每个角落的一切吗？我可不是崔维兹那样的浪漫青年；他心里也许这么想，但我可不。而且，即使事实的确如此，假如第二基地的耳目无所不在，我们若是轻易动用杂讯器，不是正好欲盖弥彰吗？一旦第二基地发现，他们的精神力量无法穿透某个区域，就会立刻知晓这个防护罩的存在，对不对？在我们尚未作好万全准备之前，这个秘密武器不但比崔维兹重要，就连你我加起来也比不上它，你说是吗？不过……”
They were in the ground-car, with Kodell driving. "And yet……" said Kodell.
此时他们两人坐在地面车中，由柯代尔亲自驾驶。“不过……”柯代尔问道。
"And yet what?" said Branno. "-Oh yes. And yet that young man is intelligent. I called him a fool in various ways half a dozen times just to keep him in his place, but he isn't one. He's young and he's read too many of Arkady Darell's novels, and they have made him think that that's the way the Galaxy is-but he has a quick insight about him and it will be a pity to lose him."
“不过什么？”布拉诺说，“喔，对了，不过那个年轻人相当聪明。我换了好几种方式连连骂他笨蛋，只是希望他不要得意忘形，事实上他绝不笨。他只是太年轻，又读过太多艾卡蒂·达瑞尔的小说，以为银河真是如同那些小说所描述的。话说回来，他具有敏捷的洞察力，失去他将是一件可惜的事。”
"You are sure then that he will be lost?"
“那么，你确定他会一去不返吗？”
"Quite sure," said Branno sadly. "Just the same, it is better that way. We don't need young romantics charging about blindly and smashing in an instant, perhaps, what it has taken us years to build. Besides, he will serve a purpose. He will surely attract the attention of the Second Foundationers-always assuming they exist and are indeed concerning themselves with us. And while they are attracted to him, they will, perchance, ignore us. Perhaps we can gain even more than the good fortune of being ignored. They may, we can hope, unwittingly give themselves away to us in their concern with Trevize, and let us have an opportunity and time to devise countermeasures."
“相当确定。”布拉诺以哀伤的口吻说，“无论如何，这样做总是比较好。我们可不需要这种浪漫青年去盲目地冲锋陷阵，令我们辛苦多年的经营毁于一旦。何况他还能发挥一项功能，他一定会吸引第二基地的注意——假设他们真正存在，并对我们极为关切。他们一旦被他吸引，就有可能忽略我们。除此之外，也许我们还能有更大的收获。我们可以乐观地希望，当第二基地对付崔维兹的时候，会无意中暴露自己的行踪，而让我们争取到机会和时间，策划出反制行动。”
"Trevize, then, draws the lightning."
“也就是说，让崔维兹去吸引闪电。”
Branno's lips twitched. "Ah, the metaphor I've been looking for. He is our lightning rod, absorbing the stroke and protecting us from harm."
布拉诺一歪嘴。“啊，这正是我一直在找的比喻。他就是保护我们的避雷针，让我们免于遭到雷击。”
"And this Pelorat, who wilt also be in the path of the lightning bolt?"
“而那个裴洛拉特，也会暴露在闪电中？”
"He may suffer, too. That can't be helped."
“他同样会遭殃，那是无可避免的事。”
Kodell nodded. "Well, you know what Salvor Hardin used to say- `Never let your sense of morals keep you from doing what is right."'
柯代尔点了点头。“没关系，你总该记得塞佛·哈定讲过的一句话：‘不要让道德感阻止你做正确的事’。”
"At the moment, I haven't got a sense of morals," muttered Branno. "I have a sense of bone-weariness. And yet-I could name a number of people I would sooner lose than Golan Trevize. He is a handsome young man. -And, of course, he knows it." Her tact words slurred as she closed her eyes and fell into a light sleep.
“此时此刻，我并没有什么道德感，”布拉诺喃喃道，“我只感到腰酸背痛。不过，我宁愿牺牲其他一大串人，也不想失去葛兰·崔维兹。他是个英俊的年轻人，当然，他自己也清楚这一点。”说着说着，她不知不觉闭上了眼睛，开始打起盹来。