海奥华预言双语版（二）

核毁灭

Atomic destruction

屏幕上的图像可以用一个词来描述——废墟。一片“土堆”杂乱无章地分布在我们观察到的一段段街道上。一般它们是一个挨着一个；有些单独散落出来，还有些位于建筑的入口中间。不知不觉中，镜头拉近了，接着我很快就发现这些“土堆”原来是车辆——一些在外形上有些像平底船的车辆。

A single word can impart what was being reflected from the panel: ‘Desolation’. The street we were observing, piece by piece, was cluttered with ‘mounds’ generally arranged one behind the other. Some stood apart while others lay right in the middle of the openings to the buildings. Imperceptibly, the camera zoomed closer and I soon understood that these ‘mounds’ had to be vehicles - vehicles that were somewhat similar in shape to flat-bottomed boats.

在我四周，宇航员们正在注视着她们的工作台。每个小球都伸出一个缓慢降向地面的长管，管子的一端在碰到地面时扬起了一小团尘埃，我由此意识到那些车上也覆盖着一层厚厚的灰尘，使它们的形状变得模糊难认了。不消说，河流上方小球的管子伸进了水里。现在，我的注意力完全集中到了屏幕上，因为那场面太妙了——你会感觉自己就像在那条街上似的。

Around me, the astronauts were attending to their desks. From each sphere emerged a long tube that descended slowly towards the surface. When the end of the tube touched the ground, a little cloud of dust rose, and I realised that the vehicles too were covered in a thick blanket of dust,rendering them formless and unrecognisable. Of course, the sphere that hovered above the river had its tube in the water. My attention was now riveted on the panel, for the scene was quite fascinating - one had the exact impression of being in the street.

我特别注意了一下一栋大楼入口处的阴影，我敢说那里有什么东西在动……

My attention was especially drawn to a darkened place in the entrance of a huge building. I could have sworn something moved...

同时，我也感到了宇航员间的某种情绪扰动。突然，随着一阵震动，那“东西”出现在了视野中。我被眼前的景象吓了一大跳，至于我的“女主人”们，除了一些轻微的感叹和更快的交谈外，我得说她们看起来并不怎么吃惊。尽管我们可以十分清楚地在屏幕上看到一只可怕的蟑螂，它约有两米长，80厘米高。

I also felt there was a certain agitation among the astronauts. Abruptly, and with a series of jerks, the ‘thing’ emerged into the light. I was horrified by what I saw. As for my ‘hostesses’, apart from some utterances spoken more quickly, and a few exclamations in which emotion could be discerned, I must say that they didn’t really seem surprised. However, what we were seeing so clearly on the panel was a horrible cockroach, about two metres long and 80 centimetres high.

读者肯定曾有几次在碗柜和潮湿处见过这种地球上的虫子，特别是在天气炎热时。

The reader will certainly have seen, at one time or another, these nasty little insects we have on Earth, particularly in hot climates, living in cupboards and damp places.

你会同意它令人生厌，但它们中长度最大的也没超过五厘米。所以，现在按我刚才所说的尺寸想象一下，你就会明白它是多么让人恶心。

You will agree that they are loathsome, but the biggest would be no more than five centimetres in length.Imagine then, one with the dimensions I have just described. It was truly an abomination.

小球开始收回管子，但就在管子刚离地一米时，那生物突然向正在动着的管子冲来。不可思议的是，当大楼下面又冒出一大群蟑螂时——它们一个压着一个地蜂拥而出，它又停了下来。就在那时，小球发出一束强烈的蓝光扫过虫群，立刻将它们分解成了碳末。只见一团黑烟遮住了大楼的入口。

The tube from the sphere began to retract, yet was still a metre from the ground when suddenly, the creature hurried forward to attack this thing which moved. Untrustingly, it stopped again, when from under the building, a veritable swarm of the creatures emerged, spilling one over the other. Just then, a ray of intense blue light beamed from the sphere and swept over the group, reducing it instantly to carbonised dust. A cloud of black smoke hid the entrance to the building from view.

我更好奇了，看了一下另几个屏幕，不过它们都显示正常。河流上方的小球正在向我们返回；山上的那个小球收回了它的管子，稍稍升高后又将管子同它顶上的第二个圆筒放了下来。我猜宇航员们应该是在采集土壤、空气和水的样本。由于处在灵体状态，我没法问涛任何问题，她看起来一直在忙着和另外两个“女主人”讨论什么。这些小球开始快速向我们飞来，很快就到了准备被飞船“回收”的状态。

My curiosity further aroused,I watched the other screens, but they indicated no problems. The sphere from the river was returning towards us, and the sphere on the hill retracted its tube, moved a little higher and lowered the tube again, along with a second cylinder above the sphere.I had guessed,of course, that the astronauts were collecting samples of soil, water and air. Being in Astral body, I couldn’t ask Thao any questions; in any case, she seemed quite busy conferring with two of the ‘hostesses. The spheres began climbing towards us and were soon ready to be ‘reabsorbed’ by our spacecraft.

当操作都完成后，涛和那两个宇航员就将座位一转，背对着她们各自的操作台。随后，屏幕上的图像一下全变了。

When the operation was complete, Thao and the two astronauts mentioned took their places opposite their respective desks. Instantly, the images we received on the panel and screens changed completely.

我意识到当所有人都坐稳时，我们就要出发了。令我好奇的是，所有宇航员的坐姿都差不多。后来我得知这是因为一个力场将她们固定住了，就像在地球上我们用安全带固定一个特技演员一样。

I understood we were leaving when each one took her place. I observed that all the astronauts had a similar posture in their seats that intrigued me. I later learned that a force field restrained them exactly as a security harness would have restrained a stuntman on Earth.

阳光透过一片红色的雾气照在星球上，我们就在那时起飞了。我觉得我们是在一个固定高度绕着这个星球飞行。其实，我可以看见我们正在飞过的一片沙漠样区域，干枯的河床在上面纵横交错，有些交成了直角。我想它们可能是运河，或至少经过了人工修建。

The suns illuminated the planet through a reddish fog. We had left by then, and I assumed we were following the contour of the planet, at the same altitude. In fact, we could see a desert-like area passing by, dissected by dry riverbeds that sometimes crossed each other at right angles. It occurred to me they might be canals, or at least had been man made.

大屏幕上出现了一个显然是完好的城市，接着它消失了，屏幕也变为一片空白。飞船明显在星球上空提高了速度，因为小屏幕上显示出的一个湖泊或内陆海直接一闪而过。突然，我听到了几声感叹，接着飞船就立刻减速了，再次打开的大屏幕显示出一个湖的特写画面，我们停了下来。

The panel revealed images of a town apparently intact, then it disappeared and the screen went blank. The vessel had obviously gained speed in flying over the planet, as the images on the smaller screens, showing a lake or inland sea, flashed by quickly.Suddenly,several exclamations were heard and we immediately slowed down. The panel was turned on and presented a close-up of the lake. We stopped.

我们可以清楚地看到一段湖岸，还可以看见在岸边一些巨石后面的立方体建筑，我想那大概是住所。飞船一停，那些小球就又像刚才那样开始工作了。

We could clearly see a portion of the coast and, beyond some large rocks by the lake, we could make out cube-like structures which I imagined to be habitations. As soon as we had stopped, the spheres began their operations again, just as they had earlier.

一个停在湖岸上方约40到60米的小球传回了一些非常好的图像，它的管子直接进了沙滩中。一幅传回的画面上十分清晰地显示了一群人……的确，乍一看，他们和我们地球人一样。

We received some excellent shots taken from one of the spheres that hovered above the beach at a height I judged to be 40 to 60 metres from the ground. Its tube extended right to the shore. Very clearly, it transmitted a scene of a group of human beings... Indeed, at first sight, they were identical to people found on Earth.

我们可以很清楚地观察他们：屏幕中央显示出一个女人的脸，我看不出她的年龄；她有着棕色的皮肤，长发垂胸。从另一个屏幕上，我可以看到她一丝不挂，似乎只有脸是畸形的——她是个先天性愚型患者。

We had a very close view. In the middle of the panel appeared the face of a woman of uncertain age. She had brown skin, with long black hair that fell to her breasts. As we could see on another screen, she was quite naked. Only her face appeared to be deformed - she was Mongoloid.

当我看到她时，我并没有意识到她是个残疾人，我想当然地以为我们遇到了一个和我们稍微不同的人种——就像科幻小说家喜欢描写的那样——都是畸形的，有着大耳朵或诸如此类的特征。然而，从别的屏幕上观察时，我发现他们不论男女看起来都像波利尼西亚人；不过他们中明显有超过半数的人不是身有残疾，就是看起来像被麻风病侵蚀过。

When I saw her, I didn’t realise she was deformed, I simply assumed we had to contend with a race of humans only slightly different from our own - as science fiction writers like to describe them - all twisted, with big ears or such like. Still, we had other shots and, in this group, the men and women seemed to resemble the Polynesian race. It was, however, obvious that more than half of these people were either deformed or eaten away by what appeared to be leprosy.

他们正在看向小球，并冲它打着手势，显得极为激动。越来越多的人从那些立方体建筑中冒了出来，看来那的确是他们的居所。在此我想对它们稍加描述：

They were looking towards the sphere and gesticulating, appearing to be greatly agitated. Many more were emerging from the cubic constructions which proved to be their habitations, and on which I will elaborate a little.

这些建筑很像二战时的“掩体”，上面还加有非常粗的，看起来只高出地面约一米的烟囱（我认为那是为了通风）。这些“掩体”的朝向都一样，人们从它位于阴面的开口出来……

These structures closely resembled the ‘blockhaus’ of the Second World War, to which had been added very thick chimneys (installed, I supposed, for the ventilation of the buildings) which only seemed to rise about one metre above the ground. These blockhaus were all built with the same orientation and the people emerging from them, did so by openings on the sides which were in shadow...

毫无预兆地，我发现自己被从后面拉离了屏幕，在飞快地穿过好几面墙后，我意识到自己又一次回到了物理身体所在的那个消毒间铺位上，就像我刚离开它时那样。

Without warning, I felt myself drawn backwards away from the panel. Rapidly, I passed through several partitions until I found myself once again, in the cabin where my physical being lay stretched out on the bunk, just as I had left it.

突然，一切都暗了下来，之后那不舒服的感觉我记得清清楚楚！四肢就像灌了铅一样，并且当我试图移动它们时，我感觉自己就像瘫痪了似的。我不明白是什么使我不能移动，不过我得承认当时我多少是有些慌了，并真心希望自己还可以再次离开我的物理身体，但我也做不到。

Instantly, everything was completely black. How well I remember the unpleasant sensation that followed! My limbs felt like lead and when I tried to move them, it was as if I was paralysed. I could not understand what prevented me from moving. I must confess I panicked a little and wished with all my heart that I might leave my physical body again, but I couldn’t do that either.

不知过了多久，房间里渐渐充满了非常祥和的蓝绿色光。最终，涛进来了，我发现她换了一身衣服。

I don’t know how much time elapsed before the cabin gradually became suffused with the most restful blue-green light. Finally Thao entered, wearing a different suit.

“很抱歉让你久等，米歇。但就在你的物理身体召回你时，我还不能过来帮你。”

‘I am sorry to have made you wait, Michel, but just as your physical body recalled you, it was impossible for me to come and help you.’

“没关系，我完全理解。”我打断道，“但我觉得我出问题了——我动不了了，我敢肯定我体内有什么东西连不上了。”

‘Don’t apologise, I understand perfectly,’ I interrupted, ‘but I believe I have a problem - I can’t move. I’m sure something in me is disconnected.’

她微笑着将手放在我身旁，显然是在操纵一个控制装置，之后，我立刻就自由了。

She smiled and put her hand just beside mine, undoubtedly operating a control mechanism, and immediately I was freed.

“再次表示一千个抱歉，米歇，我本应给你指出安全束的控制钮在哪。这装置装备在了所有的椅子、床和铺位上，一旦坐或躺着的人有一点面临危险的可能，它们就会自动启动。

‘Again, a thousand apologies, Michel. I should have pointed out to you the spot where the control cell for the security harness is found. All the seats, beds or bunks are equipped with them, and they are automatically activated when occupied if there is the least possibility of danger.

当飞船到达一个危险区域时，三台安保电脑就会将力场闭合——这是它们的正确叫法，当危险消失时，它们会自动解除力场。

‘When the vessel arrives in a dangerous area, the three security computers cause the closing of the force fields, to use their proper name. When the danger has passed they automatically release them.

同时，如果我们真想在一个相当危险的区域解除固定，或仅仅只是换个姿势，我们可以将一只手乃至一根手指放在控制钮的前方，力场就会立刻消失。当我们回到座位上时，它会再次自动将我们固定。

‘At the same time, if we do want to be released in a zone deemed dangerous, or even if we simply want to change position, we have only to pass a hand or just a finger in front of the cell and the force field is immediately neutralised. When we return to our seats, we will be automatically restrained again.

现在，我要你去换一下衣服——我会告诉你在哪儿。你将在那个房间里看见一个开着的盒子，你就把你的衣服全放进去——身上除了眼镜外的所有衣物。那里有一套衣服，换上它再回来找我。”

‘Now, I’m going to ask you to go and change - I’ll show you where. In the room, you will see an open trunk where you can put your clothes -in fact, all that you are wearing apart from the glasses. You’ll find a suit there, which you are to put on before meeting me back here.’

我浑身十分僵硬，涛弯下腰，拉着我的手帮我站了起来。我走进她所指的那个小房间，脱光后穿上了那套衣服。让我惊讶的是，尽管身高一米七八的我和我的女主人一比就是个矮子，那套衣服却十分合身。

Thao bent down and taking my hand, she helped me up. I was really quite stiff.I went into the small room she had pointed out, undressed completely and put on the suit, which fitted me perfectly. This was surprising, given that, in spite of my 178 centimetres in height, I was a dwarf compared with my hostesses.

一会儿后，我回到房间，涛递给我一个手铐样的东西，细看才发现它原来是一副巨大的眼镜。

A short time later, back in the cabin, Thao handed me something in the form of a bracelet, which was actually a pair of enormous glasses.

它有点像颜色很深的摩托车护目镜，我在她的要求下将它戴上。但这么做时我得先取下我的眼镜，不然它会被这个大家伙压碎的，它正好适合我眼窝的形状。

A little like motorcycle goggles, they were strongly tinted. At her request, I put them on, but to do so, I was obliged to remove my own glasses, as they would have been crushed by this larger pair. They fitted exactly into the shape of my eye sockets.

“最后一道预防措施。”她说。

‘A last precaution,’ she said.

她抬手指向隔墙，以某种方式激活了一个装置，因为那强光又出现了，而且尽管戴着那深色的护目镜，我还是感觉光线很强；我还又一次感到了冷气流。

Lifting her hand towards the partition, she in some way released a certain mechanism, for the intense light reappeared and I felt the intensity in spite of the strong glasses. I was again aware of the current of cool air.

光灭了，气流也感觉不到了，但涛没动，看起来像在等什么。最终，在听到一个声音后，她拿下我的大护目镜。在我再戴上自己的眼镜后，她就让我跟着她。我们走过我灵体随她走过的那段路，又一次来到了控制室。

The lights went out. The air current could no longer be felt, but Thao did not move, appearing to be waiting for something. Eventually a voice was heard and she removed my large tinted glasses. I replaced them with my own and she asked that I follow her. We took the same route as when I followed her in Astral body, and we found ourselves again, in the command room.

一个显老的宇航员（我在这里说显老，但我可能更应该说“更严肃”，因为她们的年龄好像都一样）迅速向将我领到屏幕前一个座位并要求我待在那的涛打手势，只见涛很快就和她的同事一起工作了，我意识到她们很忙。

One of the older astronauts (I say older but perhaps I should instead say ‘moreserious’ as they all appeared to be about the same age) signalled briefly to Thao who took me to a seat in front of the panel and asked that I stay there. She quickly rejoined her colleague and I realised they were very busy.

而我开始检验自己是否真的能解除力场。一坐下，我就被完全固定在了座位上——一种我一点也不喜欢的感觉。

As for me, I began checking whether I could in fact free myself from the force field. As soon as I sat down, I was effectively plastered to my seat - a feeling I did not like at all.

稍微动动手，我发现只要将手放在控制钮前方，我就可以立刻解脱出来。

Moving my hand slightly, I found I was immediately liberated for as long as my hand remained in front of the cell.

从屏幕上的一个图像可以看见大约500人正站在岸边离“掩体”很近的地方。由于摄像机强大的聚焦能力，我们可以很清楚地看见这些人，他们无论长幼都是裸体；我还又一次看见他们中的很多人不是残疾就是在身上有着可怕的伤口。他们都在向着正采集砂砾和土壤样本的小球打手势，但没人靠过来。其中看起来最强壮的一群男人手持砍刀或军刀样的武器，似乎在观察着什么。

The panel relayed an image of about 500 people standing on the shore and quite near the ‘blockhaus’. Thanks to the close-ups possible with our cameras, we had an excellent view of these people, who were quite naked, from the oldest down to the youngest. Again, I could see many of them were either deformed or sporting ugly wounds. They were all gesturing towards the spheres taking sand and soil samples, but no one approached. The strongest looking men were holding what appeared to be machetes or sabres. They seemed to be watching something.

我感觉肩膀一沉，惊讶地转头一看，原来是涛，她正在微笑地看着我。我清楚地记得那是我第一次欣赏她那美好而高贵的面容。

I felt pressure on my shoulder and turned round, surprised. It was Thao. She smiled at me and I clearly remember appreciating, for the first time, the beauty and nobility of her face.

她有一头金黄色的秀发，长长的像丝一样垂在肩上，使脸形成了完美的椭圆形，宽阔的额头稍微突出。她那蓝紫色的眼睛和长而卷的睫毛会让我们星球上许多女人羡慕的，像海鸥翅膀一样上翘的眉毛也为她增添了一种独特的魅力；在眼睛下边是发亮的，有时看起来蛮有趣的鼻子，它那匀称且在底部略微平坦的样子衬托出一个性感的嘴唇；完美的牙齿会在微笑时露出——太完美了，能让人以为那是假牙（这真使我感到惊奇）；她的下巴形状挺好，但稍有棱角，显出一种多少有些男性化的毅然气质，但并未减少她的魅力；上嘴唇上有一缕淡淡的胡须，若它不是金黄色的，这张完美的脸就该被破坏了。

I have already mentioned her hair, which was long and silky, golden-blond in colour, which fell to her shoulders and framed a face that was perfectly oval in shape. She had a large, slightly protruding forehead. Her blue-mauve eyes and long curled lashes would have been the envy of many women on our planet. Her eyebrows curved upwards, similar to the wings of a seagull, adding a unique charm. Under her eyes, which sparkled and sometime steased, was her nose, well-proportioned and slightly flat at the bottom, which accentuated a sensual mouth. When she smiled, she revealed perfect teeth - so perfect, one could believe they were false. (This would have surprised me.) The chin, well-shaped but slightly angular, suggested a wilful determination that was somewhat masculine, but this did not detract from its charm. A faint shadow of hair above her upper lip could have spoiled this perfect face, were it not blond.

“我发现你已经学会如何解除力场了，米歇。”

‘I see you already know how to free yourself from the force field, Michel.’

我刚要回答，一阵几乎来自所有人的惊叹使我俩的视线转向了屏幕。

I was about to reply, when an almost general exclamation made us turn our eyes to the panel.

湖边的人群正在如潮水般向住处退去，只见他们十分匆忙地钻到下面。同时，手持军刀或镐的男人们站成一排，面对着一群我从未想象过、最难以置信的“东西”。

The people on the beach were surging back en masse towards the habitations and dived inside in one big rush, while a line of men had been formed armed with sabres or picks, facing the most incredible ‘thing’ I could ever have imagined.

一群红蚁——每只都有一头奶牛那么大——从岩石后面冲向沙滩，它们的速度比疾驰的马还快。

A group of red ants, each the size of a cow, were rushing from behind the rocks onto the beach. They moved quicker than horses in gallop.

那群手持武器的男人频频回头，似乎是在比较身后逃向避难所的人们和这些红蚁之间的速度。红蚁已经近了——太近了……

The armed men kept glancing behind, as if to compare the speed at which the people scrambled to safety, with the advance of the ants. Already, the latter were near - too near...

男人们勇敢地面向它们，仅一秒的停顿后，第一只野兽就开始了攻击，我可以清楚地看见它的大颚——每个都有男人的一只胳膊那么大。最初攻击的那只红蚁用诈使一个男人砍向它的军刀劈空，随后它的大颚就立刻环住了他的腰——明显将他切成了两半，另外一对红蚁去帮着将他撕碎；而其余的红蚁则散开追击那些慌张逃离的战士，很快就接近了他们——太快了……

The men faced them bravely as, with only a second’s hesitation, the first beast attacked. We could distinguish the mandibles clearly - each the size of a man’s arm. At first, the creature feigned, enabling the man to strike with his sabre, but he slashed only air. Immediately, the mandibles encircled his waist, severing him cleanly in two. Another pair of ants helped the first to shred him, while the rest launched their assault on the fleeing combatants, gaining rapidly on them - too rapidly...

就在红蚁要追上他们时，一束强得让人难以忍受的电蓝色光自小球射出。只见那些红蚁一个接一个地被它*死，其精准和效率都令我叹为观止。弯曲的烟雾从那些胡乱倒地的红蚁的焦肉上升起，它们的巨腿剧烈地进行着最后的抽搐。

From the sphere, an electric-blue beam of unbearable intensity shot out, just as the ants were upon the men. The creatures were struck dead, one after the other, with amazing precision and effectiveness. Curls of smoke rose from the burnt flesh of the animals strewn over the ground, their enormous legs convulsing in a last spasm.

光束持续地消灭着红蚁，只见它迅速而有条理地消灭着这些巨大的昆虫——它们本应知道自己是无法和这几乎是超自然的力量匹敌而赶紧逃掉的。

The beam continued its devastation among the ants, instantly and systematically annihilating the giant insects. They must have known instinctively that they could not match this almost supernatural force and fled in retreat.

这一切都发生得如此迅速，涛仍在我身边，面露厌恶和悲伤、却没有愤怒的表情。

Everything had happened so quickly. Thao was still at my side, her face reflecting disgust and sadness, rather than anger.

再看屏幕时又出现了一幅新图像——小球在追踪仓皇退却的红蚁，不仅是用摄像机，而且还有致命的光束。其余我估计数目大约在六七百只的虫子也全被消灭了，无一生还。

Another glance at the panel revealed a new scene - of the sphere pursuing the ants in their hasty retreat, not only with the camera, but also with the deadly beam. The rest of the swarm, which I estimated to comprise six or seven hundred, were being decimated. Not one was left alive.

小球返回之前它在沙滩上的位置，伸出一个特殊的工具在尸体中仔细地搜索着。我看到一名坐着的宇航员在对她工作台前的电脑讲话，这促使我问涛是不是她监管着现在进行的工作。

The sphere returned to its earlier position above the beach and produced a special tool with which it combed through the carcasses. I could see one of the astronauts seated at her desk, talking into her computer. This prompted me to ask Thao if she was supervising the work being carried out.

“此刻是这样，因为这个任务并不在既定的计划中。为了研究它们，我们在采集这些生物的标本，特别是几片肺的。我们认为是某种辐射诱发了这种变异形态的生物。实际上，蚁类是没有肺的，而它们突然巨型化的唯一合理解释就是……”涛顿了顿，摄像机传回一幅一些再次钻出掩体的男人朝小球拼命做动作的图像：他们张开双臂，拜倒在地。只见他们重复着这个动作。

‘At the moment, yes, for this work was not originally scheduled. We are taking samples of these creatures, pieces of lung in particular, in order to analyse them. We think that certain types of radiation have produced this mutant form of creature. In fact, ants do not have lungs but the only logical explanation for their sudden gigantism is...’ Thao stopped short. The camera was relaying a picture of the men now re-emerging form their shelters, gesticulating wildly at the sphere. They were holding their arms open-wide and prostrating themselves on the ground. They repeated this pattern.

“他们能看见这艘飞船吗？”我问道。

‘Can they see this vessel?’ I asked.

“不能，我们位于四万米的高空，更何况现在在我们和地面之间还有三层云，不过他们能看见我们的卫星，所以我想他们是在对卫星做出感激的行为。”

‘No. We are at an altitude of 40 000 metres, and, further, there are presently three layers of cloud between the planet and us. On the other hand, they can see our satellite and I think it is to that they are addressing these gestures of gratitude.’

“他们可能把小球当成了一个将他们从毁灭中解救出来的神？”

‘Perhaps they take the sphere to be a God which has saved them from ruin?’

“很有可能。”

‘It’s quite possible.’

“你能告诉我现在发生了什么吗？这些人是谁？”

‘Can you tell me what is happening? Who are these people?’

“给你讲解会花上很长时间，米歇。不过，尽管现在飞船里还有很多活动，我还是可以简单说说来满足你的好奇。”

‘It would take too long to explain to you, Michel, especially now with so much activity in the vessel, but I can satisfy your curiosity by explaining briefly.

“在某种程度上，这些人和现在仍生活在地球上的一些人有着共同的祖先。实际上是：大约二十五万地球年前，他们祖先中的一群人在地球上的一个大陆定居了。他们在这里曾拥有过非常先进的文明，但由于他们之间出现了巨大的政治障碍，最终在150年前用核武器毁灭了自己。”

‘These people are, in a way, the descendants of certain ancestors of people existing still on your planet. In fact, a group of their ancestors peopled a continent on the planet Earth about 250000 of your Earth years ago. Here, they possessed a civilisation which was very advanced but, having raised enormous political barriers between themselves, they finally destroyed themselves, 150 years ago, with the atom.’

“你是说——一场全面的核战争？”

‘Do you mean - a total nuclear war?’

“是的，由连锁反应导致的。为了研究不同地区残留的放射强度，我们经常来采集样本，有时，也会像刚才那样帮助他们。”

‘Yes, brought about by chain reaction. We come, from time to time, to take samples in order to study the degree of radiation still existing in various regions. Sometimes too, just as a few moments ago, we help them.’

“不过在像刚才那样做了之后，他们肯定会把你们当成上帝的！”

‘But they must take you to be God himself after what you did just now!’

涛微笑着点点头。“啊，是的，那当然是真的。米歇，他们把我们当成神，正像你们在地球上的某些祖先也把我们当成了神一样。至今，有些人仍在谈论着我们……”

Thao smiled and nodded her head. ‘Ah yes, that’s certainly true, Michel. They take us to be gods, exactly as, on your planet, certain of your ancestors also took us to be gods. Still, they talk of us...

我肯定表现得极为惊讶，因为涛对我一笑。

I must have shown complete surprise, as Thao threw me a look of amusement.

“我说过我的讲解会有些过快，我们将有足够的时间再来谈这个话题的，而且，这也是你为什么现在和我们在一起的原因。”

‘I told you a moment ago that my explanation is somewhat premature. We’ll have plenty of time to talk of this again. Besides, that’s why you are with us.’

接着她说了声抱歉，然后就回到她在一个“工作台”前的位置去了。屏幕上的图像正在快速变化，小球正在上升；现在可以鸟瞰整个大陆，我在上面注意到了几处绿色和棕色的斑块。在小球又一次返回后，飞船就离开了。

With that, she excused herself and resumed her place in front of a ‘screen-desk’. The images were changing rapidly on the panel. The sphere was on its way up and we had a view of a whole section of the continent, on which, I noticed in places, patches of green and brown. The sphere took its place again within the vessel and we departed.

我们在星球上空以一种极快的速度飞行，于是我便让力场将自己固定在扶手椅上。

We flew over the planet at a breathtaking speed and I allowed myself to be imprisoned in my armchair by the force field.

屏幕上出现了一片大海的海面，我可以在上面认出一个飞速“生长”的岛。

On the screen were images of the waters of an immense ocean. We could distinguish an island, which ‘grew’ rapidly.

尽管很难估计出它的尺寸，但它的海拔看起来非常低。

It seemed to be a very low island although, for me, the problems of estimating dimensions were very real.

之前讲过的所有步骤都重复了一遍：我们停在海岸上空；这次，有四个小球离开飞船向岛屿降了下去。我可以从屏幕上看见摄像机正在扫描的一个海滩。

The entire procedure, already described, was repeated. We stopped above the coast and, this time, four spheres left the spacecraft and descended to the island. On the panel I could see a beach which the camera was scanning.

水边放着看起来像厚板的东西，它四周围着一群赤裸的男人——和我之前看到的那群人是同一个人种。他们似乎并没有注意到小球，我觉得这是由于这次小球停在了更高处，虽然屏幕上一直都是特写镜头。

On the water’s edge lay what looked like thick slabs, around which were gathered naked men - the same kind we had seen earlier. They didn’t appear to have noticed the sphere and I assumed that this time, it was at a much higher altitude, in spite of the ever-closing images we were receiving.

现在，我们可以在屏幕上看见那些男人正将一块厚板搬入水中，它浮在水面上，就像用软木造的一样。他们撑身爬上厚板，熟练地划动大浆使船漂向大海。在离岸很远后，他们扔出了钓线，随后——令我惊讶的是——他们几乎是立刻就把一条看起来很大的鱼拉出了水面。

On the panel, we could now see the men carrying one of the slabs into the waves. It floated, as if made of cork. The men hoisted themselves up on to it, grabbed large oars that they handled skilfully and the boat took to the open sea. When they were a good distance from the shore, they threw out fishing lines and, to my surprise, almost immediately, pulled up fish of what seemed a respectable size.

看着这些人如何求生真是太有意思了——而且还能帮助他们，就像我们都是神明一样。

It was quite fascinating to see how these men were surviving, and to be capable of helping them, as if we were gods.

我解除自己的力场，打算去研究一下其余屏幕接收的不同图像。就在我刚要从座位上起身时，我在没有听到一丝声响的情况下收到一个命令：“待在原处，米歇。”我懵了——这声音就像是从我脑海中发出的一样。我将头转向涛那边，她正在冲我微笑。我打算试一下一件事，于是尽可能努力地想道：“心灵感应很棒，对吗，涛？”

I had released myself from the force field, wanting to go and study the other screens that were receiving different images. Just as I was about to venture from my seat, I received an order, without hearing a sound: ‘Stay where you are, Michel.’ I was stupefied. It was as if the voice was inside my head. I turned my head in Thao’s direction and she was smiling at me. I decided to try something, and thought as hard as I could, ‘Telepathy is great, isn’t it Thao?’

“当然了。”她用同样的方式答道。

‘Of course,’ she replied in the same manner.

“好极了，你能告诉我现在下面的温度是多少吗？”

‘It’s wonderful! Can you tell me what the temperature is down there at the moment?’

她查看了一下她工作台上的数据，“你们的摄氏二十八度，白天的平均温度是三十八度。”

She checked the data at her desk. ‘Twenty-eight of your degrees Celsius. By day, the average temperature is thirty-eight degrees.’

我暗想即使我是个聋哑人，我也可以像用口语一样十分轻易地和涛交谈。

I said to myself if I was deaf and mute, I could communicate with Thao quite as easily as I can with the spoken word.

“确是如此，亲爱的。”

‘Exactly, my dear.’

我有些吃惊地看向涛——我只是在心里想了一下，她就窃听到了，这使我有些不安。

I looked at Thao with some surprise. I had been making a personal reflection and yet she had intercepted my thoughts. I was a little put out by this.

她给了我一个大大的微笑，“别担心，米歇。我只是在和你玩而已，请你原谅。

She gave me a wide smile. ‘Don’t worry, Michel. I was merely being playful and I ask that you forgive me.

正常情况下，我只会在你问我问题时才读你的想法，刚刚我只是想展示一下在这个领域有哪些可能，我不会再这么做了。”

‘Normally, I only read your thoughts when you ask me a question. I just wanted to demonstrate what is possible in this domain; I won’t do it again.’

我也冲她微笑了一下，并重新将注意力移回屏幕。现在我可以在上面看见一个在沙滩上的小球，它离一群男人很近，但他们似乎并没有注意到它。这个小球正在一个距他们约十米远的地方移动沙样，通过心灵感应，我问涛为什么这些人看不到它。

I returned her smile and redirected my attention to the panel. There I could see a sphere on the beach, very close to a group of men who didn’t seem to notice it. This sphere was removing sand samples from a spot about ten metres from the group. By telepathy, I asked Thao why these people were unable to see the machine.

“这是在晚上。”她回答道。

‘It’s night,’ she answered.

“晚上？那我们怎么能把东西看得这么清楚？”

‘Night? But how is it that we can see things so clearly?’

“特殊的摄像机，米歇——有些像你们的红外线。”

‘Special cameras, Michel - something like your infra-reds.’

现在，我才更明白为什么收到的图像不如之前那么“亮”了，不过，特写画面还是十分清晰。就在那时，屏幕上出现了一张明显属于女性的脸。真是太可怕了——这可怜的生命在她本该是左眼的地方有一个巨大的伤口；她的嘴在脸的右侧，看起来就像下巴中间的一个小开口，周围的嘴唇似乎都融在了一起；在她的头顶上，一小丛头发可怜地垂着。

Now I better understood why the images received were less ‘luminous’ than on our preceding stops. However, the close-ups were excellent. Just then, on the panel, we had a shot of a face apparently that of a female. It was really horrible. The poor creature had an enormous gash where her left eye should have been. Her mouth was positioned to the right of her face and appeared as a tiny little opening in the middle of her jaw, around which were lips that seemed fused together. On the top of her head, a single tuft of hair hung pitifully.

我们现在可以看见她的乳房，如果不是其中一个的边上有着化脓的伤口，它们本应是很美丽的。

We could now see her breasts, and very pretty they would have been, if one of them hadn’t had a purulent wound on the side.

“有着那样的乳房，她一定很年轻了？”我问道。

‘With breasts like that she must be young?’ I asked.

“电脑显示她19岁。”

‘The computer puts the age at 19 years.’

“因为辐射？”

‘Radiation?’

“当然。”

‘Of course.’

其他人出现了，有的外表完全正常。其中有一些看起来二十多岁的男人，他们有着健壮的体格。

Other people appeared, some of whom were perfectly normal looking. There were males among them, with an athletic build, who looked to be in their twenties.

“你知道最老的有多少岁吗？”

‘What is the age of the oldest? Do you know?’

“我们至今还没有超过38岁的记录，在这个星球上，一年等于295个27小时的天。如果你现在看屏幕，你可以看见那个英俊、健壮年轻人外阴的近镜头。如你所见，他的生殖器是完全萎缩的。根据以往的考察，我们发现真正有生殖能力的男性数量很少——然而，儿童的数目却有很多。由于所有物种的生存本能都是尽快繁衍后代，因此，显而易见的办法就是让那些有生育能力的男人成为‘种马’，我想这个男人肯定是其中之一。”

‘At present, we have no record of anyone older than 38 years, and a year on this planet is 295 days of 27 hours. Now, if you look at the screen, you can see a close-up of the genital area of that handsome and athletic young man. As you willnote, the genitals are totally atrophied. We’ve already worked out, from previous expeditions, that there are very few men actually capable of procreation - and yet, there are great numbers of children. It’s the survival instinct of all races to reproduce as soon as possible. Thus, the obvious solution would be that the males capable of reproduction are ‘studs’. This man must be one of them, I think.’

的确，从身体特征上看，现在屏幕上显示的那个约30岁的男人显然有着繁衍后代的能力。

Indeed, the camera was showing a man of about 30 years perhaps, possessing physical attributes certainly capable of producing offspring.

我们也可以看见一些小火堆，许多儿童走过去并在旁边游荡，火上正做着饭。

We were also able to see many children coming and going around small fires on which food was cooking.

围坐在火堆旁的男人和女人们正在拿出做好的食物块，将它分给孩子们。那火应该是木柴火，但我不能确定，因为它们燃料的形状更像石头。

The men and women seated around the fireplaces were taking cooked pieces and sharing them with the children. The fires seemed like wood fires, but I couldn’t be sure. They were fuelled by something shaped rather like stones.

火堆后面，之前见过的像船一样的厚板被堆在一起，搭建成一些看起来蛮舒适的避难所。

Behind the fires, slabs similar to the boats seen earlier, were piled and assembled so as to form shelters that looked quite comfortable.

摄像机的拍摄范围内看不到树——也许它们的确存在，因在我们飞越大陆时，我曾注意到一些小块绿地。

In the camera’s field of vision, no trees could be seen - perhaps they did exist, because I had noticed green patches earlier as we flew over the continent.

一些小黑猪在两个小屋之间出现了，它们被三只兴奋的黄狗追赶着，很快就在另一个小屋后面消失了。我惊呆了，并又开始不由自主地怀疑自己是不是真的是在俯视着另一个星球。这些人看起来像我一样——或者更像波利尼西亚人——并且这儿还有狗和猪，这一切都使我越来越惊讶了……

From between two huts, some little black pigs appeared, pursued by three furious yellow dogs, only to disappear rapidly behind another hut. I was dumbfounded and couldn’t help but wonder if I really was looking down on another planet. These humans looked like me - or rather, like Polynesians - and here were dogs and pigs. It was all more and more surprising...

这个小球开始返回了，其他的自然也一样，不过它们是被一些从我那里很难看见的屏幕监视着。“回仓”的操作开始了，所有的小球都和之前一样被顺利地“重吸收”了。

The sphere began to return, as did the other spheres no doubt, that were being monitored by screens I couldn’t easily see from my position. The operation ‘return to ship’ was initiated, and all the spheres ‘reabsorbed’ without incident, the same as before.

我觉得我们要再次离开了，于是就以一个舒服的姿势坐在椅子上，然后让力场将我固定住。

I assumed we were about to leave again and so installed myself comfortably in my seat, allowing the force field to restrain me thus.

一会儿后，这个星球的太阳出现了，一共有两个。之后，就像我们在离开地球时见过的那样，一切都飞快地缩小了。过了似乎很短的时间后，力场解除了，我知道自己可以自由离开我的椅子了，这是个很好的感觉。我注意到涛正在和她的两个“年龄最大的同伴”——如果我可以这么形容的话——向我走来。于是我静立在椅子旁，面朝这三位宇航员。

Some moments later, the suns of the planet appeared, two in number, then everything dwindled rapidly, just as it had done when we left Earth. After a time, which seemed quite short, the force field was neutralised and I understood that I was free to get out of my seat. This was a good feeling. I noticed Thao heading towards me accompanied by two of the ‘oldest’, if I can say so, of her companions. I remained standing beside my seat before the three astronauts.

要看涛，我就已经得抬起头了，可当她用法语向那两位“年龄较大的”宇航员介绍我时，我感觉自己更矮小了——后者直接比涛高出了一头。

In order to look at Thao, I was already obliged to raise my head, but when she introduced me, in French, to the ‘elder’ of them, I felt even smaller. The latter was easily a head taller than Thao.

但当她，毕阿斯特拉开口对我讲起缓慢、却是标准的法语时，我彻底震惊了。她将右手放到我的肩上说道：

I was completely astonished when she, Biastra, spoke to me correctly, although slowly, in French. She placed her right hand on my shoulder, saying,

“很高兴你能登上飞船，米歇。希望你一切都好，并在以后也将如此。请允许我介绍拉涛利，她是我们飞船的副指挥，我则是可以被你称为阿雷透拉（飞船的名字）‘指挥’的人。”

‘I am delighted to have you on board, Michel. I hope that all is well with you and that it continues to be so. May I present Latoli, the second-in-charge of our spacecraft, myself being what you would call ‘Commander-in-Chief of the Alatora.’

她转向拉涛利，用她们的语言说了几句话，于是拉涛利也将手放在我肩上，热情地微笑着；她缓慢地将我的名字重复了好几次，就像一个在说一种新语言时有困难的人一样。

Turning to Latoli, she spoke a few words in her own language and Latoli too, placed her hand on my shoulder. With a warm smile, she repeated my name several times slowly, as would someone who had difficulty pronouncing a new language.

她的手停留在我肩上，然后一种幸福的感觉——一种显然是流动的感觉贯穿了我全身。

Her hand remained on my shoulder and a feeling of well-being, a definite fluid sensation, passed through my body.

我被影响得是如此明显，以至于她们三个都笑了起来。读着我的想法，涛解释道：

I was so obviously overcome by this, that the three of them began to laugh. Reading my thoughts, Thao reassured me.

“米歇，拉涛利拥有一种特殊的天赋，虽然它在我们中并不罕见。你刚才体验到的就是一种从她身上发出的、有益的磁性液体。”

‘Michel, Latoli possesses a special gift, although not rare among our people. What you have been able to experience, is a fluid which is magnetic and beneficial, and which emanated from her.’

“太妙了。”我赞叹道。“请代我向她致谢！”然后我对那两位宇航员说道。“谢谢你们的欢迎。不过我必须得承认现在自己的遭遇实在是太震撼了。对于像我这样的一个地球人来说，这真是一场最难以置信的奇遇。尽管之前我一直认为其他星球上可能生活着像人一样的生物，但我现在还是很难使自己相信这不是个绝妙的梦。

‘It’s wonderful!’ I exclaimed.‘Please compliment her on my behalf.’ I then addressed the two astronauts. ‘Thank you for your welcome, but I must confess I am absolutely astounded by what is happening to me. It really is the most incredible adventure for an Earthling such as me. Although I have always believed in the possibility that other planets might be inhabited by human-like beings, I’m still having a hard time convincing myself that this is not a fantastic dream.

我以前常和地球上的好友探讨一些诸如心灵感应、外星人、以及被我们称为‘飞碟’的东西，但那只不过是在无知中说出的空话和大话罢了。现在，我有了关于平行世界、我们存在的二元性以及其他一些我想了许久的未解之谜的存在证据，我在过去几小时里所经历的这一切是如此地让人兴奋——简直要让我无法呼吸了。”

‘I had often discussed things such as telepathy, extra-terrestrials and what we call ‘flying saucers’ with friends on Earth, but they were just words and grand phrases uttered in ignorance. Now I have the proof of what I had suspected forso long regarding the existence of parallel universes, the duality of our beings, and other unexplained occurrences. To experience all that I have in these last few hours is so exciting it takes my breath away.

拉涛利赞美了我的独白，她用的是我听不懂的语言，但涛立刻就为我翻译了。

Latoli, admiring my monologue, uttered an exclamation, in words I didn’t understand but which Thao immediately translated for me.

“拉涛利完全明白你的思想状态，米歇。”“我也是。”毕阿斯特拉补充道。

‘Latoli understands your state of mind perfectly well, Michel.’ ‘As do I,’ added Biastra.

“她是怎么明白我的话的？”

‘How could she have understood what I said?’

“当你讲话时，她通过心灵感应‘潜入’你的思想中，就像你已经意识到的那样，心灵感应是不受语言限制的。”

‘She has ‘dipped’ telepathically into your mind while you were speaking. As you must realise, telepathy is not hindered by language barriers.’

她们被我的吃惊逗乐了，嘴角保持着上扬。毕阿斯特拉说道：

My astonishment amused them and perpetual smiles played on their lips. Biastra addressed me.

“米歇，我要把你介绍给其他船员了，请你跟着我好吗？”她将手搭在我肩上，领我走向最远的那个控制台，三名宇航员正在那里监控着一些仪器。我还从未靠近过那里，就是在灵体状态时，我也没有留意过那些电脑上所显示的东西。当时，我瞥了一眼屏幕，整个人就彻底呆住了——我眼前见到的符号是阿拉伯数字！我知道读者会和我一样吃惊，但这是事实。屏幕上显示的1s，2s，3s，4s等等，和我们在地球上用的是一样的！

‘Michel, I am going to introduce you to the rest of the crew, if you will kindly follow me.’ She guided me, by the shoulder, to the furthest desk, where three astronauts were monitoring the instruments. I hadn’t yet approached these desks and, even in Astral body, I had not paid any attention to the read-out of these computers. The glance I now gave them immobilised me completely. The numerals before my eyes were in Arabic! I know the reader will be as surprised as I was, but it was fact. The 1s, 2s, 3s 4s etc. appearing on the monitors, were the same numerals that occur on Earth.

毕阿斯特拉注意到了我的吃惊，“这是真的，米歇。对你来说，吃惊是一个接着一个，是不是？别以为我们在拿你寻开心，因为我们完全明白你的困惑，一切都将在合适的时候水到渠成，现在请允许我向你介绍娜欧拉。”

Biastra noticed my astonishment. ‘It is true, isn’t it Michel, for you there is one surprise after another. Don’t think we are having fun at your expense, as we totally understand your wonder. All will fall into place in good time. For the moment please allow me to introduce Naola.’

第一名宇航员起身转向我，并将手放在我肩上，就像毕阿斯特拉和拉涛利做过的那样，我想这个姿势一定和我们的握手差不多。娜欧拉用她们的语言对我说了几句话，然后也将我的名字重复三遍，就像她想将它永远记住似的。她和涛一样高。

The first of the astronauts rose and turned towards me. She placed her hand on my shoulder, as Biastra and Latoli had done. It occurred to me that this gesture must correspond to our handshake. Naola addressed me in her own language and then she, too, repeated my name three times, as if she wanted to commit it to memory forever. She was about the same size as Thao.

每当我被介绍时，同样的仪式都会被重复一遍。这样，我就与所有船员都正式认识了。她们长得都非常像，举例来说，她们的头发仅在长短和颜色上有所不同——颜色都在深铜到亮金之间；有些人的鼻子要比其他人的更长或更宽一些，但所有人眼睛的颜色都显得明亮而不是黯淡；而且她们全都有着非常精巧、模样很好的耳朵。

The same ceremony followed each time I was introduced, and thus I officially made the acquaintance of all the members of the crew. There was a striking resemblance between them. Their hair, for example, varied only in length and shade, which ranged from a dark copper to a light golden-blond. Some had longer or broader noses than others, but all had eyes of a colour which tended towards light rather than dark, and all had very neat, well-shaped ears.

之后，拉涛利、毕阿斯特拉和涛请我坐在那些舒适椅子中的一把上。

Latoli, Biastra and Thao invited me to sit down in one of the comfortable seats.

当我们都舒服地坐好后，毕阿斯特拉就将手以一种特殊的方式在她椅子的扶手旁移动，然后我就看到四个圆盘——它们从空中向我们飘来。每个盘子上都有一个装着黄色液体的容器和一个盛着白色食物的碗。那食物很像棉花糖，但都是颗粒状的；还有个被当成叉子用的扁平“夹子”。它们停在了我们座位的扶手上。

When we were all comfortably installed, Biastra moved her hand in a particular way near the armrest of her seat and-I saw coming towards us, floating in the air - four round trays. Each carried a container of yellowish liquid and a bowl of something whitish with a consistency similar to fairy-floss but in granulated form. Flat ‘tongs’ served as forks.The trays came to rest on the arms of our seats.

我十分好奇，涛提议如果我想吃这些食物，可以跟着她学。她从她的“玻璃杯”里呷了一口，我也照着做了，它喝起来感觉十分适口，就像水和蜂蜜的混合物。同伴们用“夹子”吃碗里的混合物，我学着她们的样子，第一次吃了一口在地球上被我们称为“吗哪”的食品。它像是面包，却很轻，而且没有任何特别的味道。我只将碗里的食物吃了一半就觉得饱了——考虑到这食物的分量，我感到有些惊讶。我喝完饮料，虽然不能说我的进餐方式是否正确，不过我感到了一种幸福感，而且既不渴也不饿了。

I was quite intrigued. Thao suggested, if I wished to partake of this refreshment, I might like to follow her lead. She sipped from her ‘glass’ and I did likewise, finding it quite a pleasant-tasting drink, similar to a water-honey mixture. My companions used the ‘tongs’ to eat the mixture in the bowls. Following their example, I tasted for the first time what we, on Earth, called ‘manna’. Similar to bread, it is however, extremely light and without any particular flavour. I had eaten only half the amount in my bowl when already, I felt satisfied, which surprised me considering the consistency of this food. I finished my drink and, although I couldn’t say I’d dined in fine style, I experienced a sense of well-being and was neither hungry nor thirsty.

“你可能更想吃一顿法国大餐，是不是？”涛嘴边挂着微笑问道。我只是笑了笑，但毕阿斯特拉却扑哧笑了起来。

‘Perhaps you would have preferred a French dish, Michel?’ asked Thao, a smile twitching on her lips. I merely smiled, but Biastra snorted.

就在那时，一个信号将我们的注意力吸引到了屏幕上。一个女人的头部特写出现在了屏幕中央，她的样子和我的女主人们很像。她语速很快，同伴们都在各自的座位上稍微转了下身子以便更好地听她讲话。娜欧拉在她的操作台前和屏幕上的人交谈着，就像我们地球上的电视访谈一样。不知不觉中，屏幕上的近镜头变成了广角镜头，显示出十二名女子，她们每人面前都有一个操作台。

Just then, a signal drew our attention to the panel. In the centre, and in close-up, appeared the head of a woman, resembling my hostesses. She spoke rapidly. My companions turned slightly in their seats to better attend to what was being said. Naola, at her desk, entered into a dialogue with the figure on the screen, just as our television interviewers do on Earth. Imperceptibly, the shot changed from the close-up to a wide angle, revealing a dozen women each in front of a desk.

涛把手放在我肩上，领我走向娜欧拉那边。她让我坐在一个屏幕前，自己则在旁边坐了下来并开始同屏幕上的人们讲话。她用那悦耳的声音快速说了一会儿，还频频向我转头，这一切都表明我是她们交流的主题。

Thao took me by the shoulder and guided me over to Naola, installing me in a seat in front of one of the screens. She took a seat next to me and addressed the people on the monitor. She spoke for some time, rapidly, in her melodious voice, turning frequently towards me. From all evidence, I was the main topic of conversation.

当她结束后，那个女人又出现在切换成近镜头的屏幕上，简短地回了几句话。令我十分惊讶的是，只见她注视着我并微笑道：“你好米歇，希望你能平安到达海奥华。”

When she had finished, the woman re-appeared in close-up, responding in several brief sentences. To my great surprise, her eyes fixed on me and she smiled. ‘Hello Michel, we wish you a safe arrival on Thiaoouba.’

她在等我回应，当我控制住内心的惊讶后，便向她表达了衷心的感谢，这在她的同伴中引发了不少感叹和讨论——她们再次出现在了切换成广角镜头的屏幕上。

She waited for my reply. When I had overcome my surprise, I expressed warm thanks. This, in turn, elicited exclamations and numerous comments from her companions, appearing again in a wide-angle shot on the screen.

“她们听得懂吗？”我问涛。“她们可以通过心灵感应听懂，不过当听到其他星球上的人讲他自己的语言时，她们会很高兴，因为这对她们中的大多数人来说是一个十分稀有的经历。”

‘Did they understand?’ I asked Thao. ‘Telepathically yes, but they are delighted to hear someone from another planet speak his own language. For most of them, this is quite a rare experience.’

涛说了声抱歉，又与屏幕上的人交谈起来，接着毕阿斯特拉也参与到了其中，我觉得那应该是一些技术性的对话。最终，屏幕上的人朝我这边一笑，说道：“待会儿见。”图像就切掉了。

Excusing herself, Thao re-addressed the screen and,what I assumed was a technical conversation, ensued, including Biastra. Eventually, after a smile in my direction and a ‘see you soon’, the picture was cut.

我说“切掉”，是因为屏幕并没有直接变空白，而是变成了一种柔美的颜色——一种靛蓝和绿的混合色，使人感到一阵舒心，它在约一分钟后才渐渐褪去。

I say ‘cut’ because the screen did not simply become blank; rather, the image was replaced by a beautiful, soft colour - a mixture of green and indigo blue - which produced a sense of contentment. It gradually faded after a minute or so.

我转向涛，问她刚才是怎么回事——我们是在与另一艘飞船上的人开会吗？还有海奥巴或者海奥拉是什么？

Turning to Thao, I asked what it had all meant - had we rendezvoused with another spacecraft and what was this Thiaba or Thiaoula..?

“是海奥华，米歇，它是我们给我们星球起的名字，就像你称你们的为‘地球’一样。我们刚刚是在和宇航基地联络，因为我们将在——按地球时间是16小时35分钟后到达海奥华。”在说这句话时，她瞥了一眼最近的一台电脑。

‘Thiaoouba, Michel, is the name we have given to our planet, just as you call yours ‘Earth’. Our intergalactic base has been in touch with us, as we will be arriving in Thiaoouba in 16 of your Earth hours and 35minutes.’ This she had checked with a glance at the nearest computer.

“那么，那些人是你们星球上的技术人员？”

‘Those people then, are technicians on your planet?’

“是的，如我刚才所说，她们是在我们的宇航基地里。

‘Yes, as I just said, at our intergalactic base.’

那个基地一直监视着我们的飞船，如果我们因人员或技术原因陷入困境，她们可以在百分之八十一的情况下使飞船安全返回航空港。”

‘This base monitors our spacecraft continually and if we were in trouble for technical or human reasons, in eighty one per cent of cases, they would be able to control our safe return to port.’

这倒并未使我感到多少吃惊，因为我已经意识到自己是在和一个超级种族接触，她们的技术能力已经超出我的理解。我当时所想到的是：不仅这艘飞船，就是在那个宇航基地中，看起来也是只有女人在操作——像这样一个全由女性组成的团队在地球上是十分少见的。

This did not particularly surprise me as I had realised I was dealing with a superior race, whose technological possibilities were beyond my comprehension. What did occur to me was that, not only this spacecraft, but also the intergalactic base appeared to be manned by only women. An all female team such as this would be quite exceptional on Earth.

我怀疑海奥华也像亚马逊人的领地那样，只有女人……这个画面使我笑了起来，我向来更喜欢与女性而非男性作伴，所以这的确是个值得高兴的想法……

I wondered if Thiaoouba was populated only by women...like space Amazons. I smiled at the image. I have always preferred the company of women rather than men: it was quite a pleasant thought..!

我径直问涛，“你是从一个只有女人的星球上来的吗？”

My question to Thao was direct. ‘Are you from a planet solely populated by women?’

她十分惊讶地看着我，之后脸上露出那种感到挺乐的神情。我有点不安了——我说了什么蠢话了吗？她将手放在我的肩上让我跟着她，我们离开了控制室，然后立刻进入一间气氛十分放松的小屋（名为哈里斯）。她说我们可以在这个房间里不受打扰，因为在里面的人有着绝对隐私；她请我在房间内的那些座位中挑一个坐下。

She looked at me with apparent surprise, then her face lit up with amusement. I was a little concerned. Had I said something stupid? She took me by the shoulder and asked that I follow her. We left the control room and immediately entered a smaller room (called the Haalis)which had quite a relaxing ambience. Thao explained that we would not be interrupted in the room, since the occupants acquired, by their presence, the right to absolute privacy. She invited me to choose one of the many seats that furnished the room.

它们中的有些像床，有些像扶手椅，有些像吊床，还有些像有着可调节椅背的高脚凳。如果我不能在其中找出一个称意的座位，那我可真是个挑剔的人。

Some were like beds, some like armchairs, others resembled hammocks, while others again, were like high stools with adjustable backs. I would have been difficult to please if one of them did not suit my requirements.

刚在她对面的一把扶手椅上坐好，我就看到涛的脸色又严肃了起来。她开口道：

Once settled comfortably in a kind of armchair with Thao facing me, I watched, as her face became serious again. She started to speak.

“米歇，这个飞船上没有女人……”。

‘Michel, there are no women aboard this spacecraft...’

如果她告诉我我现在不在宇宙飞船上，而是在澳大利亚的沙漠里，我还是有可能会相信她的。她看着我难以置信的表情继续道：“也没有任何男人……”。这下，我彻底懵了。

If she had told me that I wasn’t on a spaceship but rather, in the Australian desert, I would have more readily believed her. Seeing the expression of disbelief on my face, she added, ‘neither are there any men.’ At this, my confusion was absolute.

“可是，”我结结巴巴地问道，“你是——什么？只是机器人？”

‘But,’ I faltered, ‘you are - what? Just robots?’

“不，米歇，我想你误会了。简而言之，我们是两性人，你自然知道什么是两性人。”

‘No, I think you misunderstand. In a word, Michel, we are hermaphrodites. You know, of course, what an hermaphrodite is?’

我点了点头，愣了一会后又问道：“你们的星球上只住着两性人吗？”

I nodded, quite dumbfounded, and then asked, ‘Is your whole planet inhabited only by hermaphrodites?’

“是的。”

‘Yes.’

“可是你们的面容和举止更倾向于女性而非男性的呀！”

‘And yet your face and mannerisms are more feminine than masculine.’

“看起来可能确实是这样，但当我告诉你我们不是女人，而是两性人时，请相信我——我们一直是这样的种族。”

‘Indeed, it might appear so, but believe me when I tell you that we are not women, but hermaphrodites. Our race has always been this way.’

“我得承认这太让人混乱了，让我去想你是‘他’而非我从一开始就认为的‘她’是会有困难的。”

‘I must confess, this is all very confusing. I’m going to find it difficult to think of you as ‘he’ rather than the ‘she’ I have done since I’ve been among you.’

“不必这么想，亲爱的，我们就是我们：生活在一个和你们地球世界不同星球上的外星人，我能理解你喜欢把我们分为一个性别或另一个性别，因为你是在以一个地球人和法国人的身份思考问题。或许在这种情况下，你可以用一个英语里的中性词，把我们当成‘它’。”

‘You have nothing to imagine, my dear. We are simply what we are: human beings from another planet living in a world different from yours. I can understand you would like to define us as one sex or the other, for you think as an Earthling and a Frenchman. Perhaps, for once, you could make use of the neuter gender of English and think of us as ‘it’.’

听到这个建议，我露出了微笑，可仍有如坠五里雾中的感觉。就在一会儿前，我还以为自己正身处亚玛逊人之中呢。

I smiled at this suggestion but continued to feel disoriented. Only moments ago, I had believed myself to be among Amazons.

“那你们怎么繁殖后代呢？”我问道，“两性人能繁殖吗？”

‘But how can reproduction of your race occur?’ I asked. ‘Can an hermaphrodite reproduce?’

“我们当然能了，而且和你们在地球上的完全一样，唯一不同的是我们能完全控制生育——但这是另一回事了。你会在合适的时候明白的，不过现在，我们该回大家那里了。”

‘Of course we can, exactly as you do on Earth; the only difference being that we genuinely control the births - but that is another story. In good time, you will understand, but now we should rejoin the others.’

回到控制室后，我发现自己开始用一种新的眼光去看这些宇航员了：看着一个人的下巴，我觉得它比之前看到时更有阳刚之气了；而另一个人的鼻子则显然是男性才会有的；有些人的发型现在看起来更有男子气概了。我意识到我们真的是在按自己的想法，而不是一个人本身来看待对方的。

We returned to the control post, and I found myself looking at these astronauts with new eyes. Looking at the chin of one, I found it to be more masculine than it had seemed earlier. Another’s nose was decidedly masculine, and the hairstyles of some were now manlier. It occurred to me that we really do see people as we think they are and not as they are.

为了减少在“它”们间感到尴尬，我给自己定了个规矩：之前我把它们当成女人，是因为对我而言，它们更像女性而非男性——所以我打算继续把它们当成女性，看看这样行不行。

In order to feel less embarrassed among them, I created a rule for myself: I had taken them to be women, as to me they were more like females than males: thus I would continue to think of them as women and we’d see how that worked.

我可以从我所在的地方看到中央屏幕上那些随我们飞行而移动着的恒星。有时，当我们从有些太近的地方——距离几百万公里——经过时，它们会变得巨大而耀眼。我们也不时能看到一些颜色奇异的行星，我记得其中一颗有着祖母绿的颜色，就像一块巨大的宝石一样；它绿的是那么纯，使我都惊呆了。

From where I was, I could follow, on the central panel, the movement of stars as we proceeded on our way. Sometimes they appeared enormous and blinding as we passed by a little too closely - a few million kilometres from them. At times too, we noticed planets of strange colours. I remember one was of an emerald green, so pure I was stunned. It resembled an enormous jewel.

我看到涛向我走来，就趁机问她在屏幕底部出现的那条光带是怎么回事，那光看起来就像由数以百万计的小型爆炸组成。

Thao approached and I took advantage of the opportunity to ask her about a band of light that had appeared at the base of the screen. This light was composed of what looked like millions of tiny explosions.

“那是我们的——你们在地球上会称为反物质枪的装置在工作，并且那光带其实就是爆炸。以我们目前的飞行速度，最小的陨石都会将飞船撞成碎片。所以，我们使用特殊的舱，在极高的压力下储存某种形态的粉末，并将其导入反物质枪中。你可以把我们的飞船当成一个不断发射加速粒子的粒子发生器，射出的粒子能使在飞船前方及侧面极远处的最小危险物体都分解，这样我们才能保持现在的速度。我们还在飞船四周创造出它自己的磁场……”

‘These are caused by our anti-matter guns, as you would call them on Earth, and are, in fact, explosions. At the speed at which we travel, the most minuscule of meteorites would shatter this spacecraft were we to hit it. So, we make use of specific rooms to store certain forms of dust under enormous pressure, and this is fed into our anti-matter guns.Our vessel could be considered to be a cosmotron, firing streams of accelerated particles that disintegrate the most microscopic of errant bodies in space, for great distances ahead and to the sides of our spacecraft. This is what allows us to attain speeds that we can. Around our vessel, we create our own magnetic field...’

“噢，请别这么快。你知道的，涛，我没什么科学背景，所以当你说粒子发生器和加速粒子时，我会跟不上的。我能理解那的确是很有趣的原理，但我不太擅长技术术语。还有，你能不能再告诉我为什么屏幕上那些行星的颜色会是那样？”

‘Oh please, not so fast. As you know Thao, I have no scientific background and if you speak of cosmotrons and accelerated particles, you are going to lose me. I understand the principle, which is certainly very interesting, but I’m not good on technical terms. Can you tell me instead, why the planets on the screen are coloured the way they are?’

“有的是因为它们的大气层，还有的则是由于围绕着它们的气体导致的，你看到那个在屏幕右侧有着一个尾巴的彩色斑点了吗？”只见那个“东西”正在高速向我们飞来，随着时间一点点过去，我们可以更好地欣赏它了。

‘Sometimes because of their atmospheres and sometimes because of the gases which surround them. Do you see a multicoloured point with a tail, at the right of the screen?’ The ‘thing’ was approaching at high speed. Second by second we were better able to admire it.

“它好像在不停地爆炸和改变着外形，颜色也十分绚丽多彩。”我看着涛说道。

It seemed to explode constantly and change form, its colours indescribably rich. I looked at Thao.

“那是彗星。”她说道。“它绕其恒星一周大约需要你们的55地球年。”

‘It’s a comet,’ she said. ‘It completes a revolution around its sun in approximately 55 of your Earth years.’

“我们离它有多远？”她看了一眼电脑，“4150000公里。”

‘How far are we from it?’ She glanced at the computer: ‘4 150 000 kilometres.’

“涛，”我说道，“你们怎么会用阿拉伯数字呢？还有当你说‘公里’时，你是给我翻译过来了呢？还是你们实际上也用这个单位？”

‘Thao,’ I said, ‘How is it you use the numerals of Arabic? And when you speak of “kilometres”, are you translating for me, or do you actually use this measure?’

“不，我们用尅透和塔尅。你把我们所用的数字当成阿拉伯数字，因为它本来就是我们的——那是我们带到地球上的体系之一。”

‘No. We count in Kato and Taki. We use the numerals that you recognise as Arabic, for the simple reason that it is our own system - one which we took to Earth.’

“你说什么？请再讲一下。”

‘What? Please explain further.’

“米歇，我们离到达海奥华还有几个小时，这应该是开始在某些方面对你进行‘教育’的最好的时间了。如果你乐意的话，我们就回哈里斯吧——就是刚才我们待过的地方。”

‘Michel, we have several hours before arriving at Thiaoouba. This is probably the best time to start ‘educating’ you seriously on certain matters. If you don’t mind, we’ll go back to the Haalis, where we were before.’

我跟着涛，好奇心变得前所未有地强了。

I followed Thao, my curiosity stronger than ever.