经典科幻文学:《生命 宇宙及一切》第18章6
日期:2014-12-25 10:01

(单词翻译:单击)

英文原版

You may go, said Agrajag, after I have killed you.
No, that won’t be any use, explained Arthur, beginning to climb up the hard stone incline of his carved slipper, because I have to save the Universe, you see. I have to find a Silver Bail, that’s the point. Tricky thing to do dead.
Save the Universe! spat Agrajag with contempt. You should have thought of that before you started your vendetta against me! What about the time you were on Stavromula Beta and someone…
I’ve never been there, said Arthur.
–…tried to assassinate you and you ducked. Who do you think the bullet hit? What did you say?
Never been there, repeated Arthur. What are you talking about? I have to go.
Agrajag stopped in his tracks.
You must have been there. You were responsible for my death there, as everywhere else. An innocent bystander! He quivered.
I’ve never heard of the place, insisted Arthur. I’ve certainly never had anyone try to assassinate me. Other than you. Perhaps I go there later, do you think?
Agrajag blinked slowly in a kind of frozen logical horror.
You haven’t been to Stavromula Beta… yet? he whispered.
No, said Arthur, I don’t know anything about the place. Certainly never been to it, and don’t have any plans to go.
Oh, you go there all right, muttered Agrajag in a broken voice, you go there all right. Oh zark! he tottered, and stared wildly about him at his huge Cathedral of Hate. I’ve brought you here too soon!
Suddenly he rallied, and turned a baleful, hating eye on Arthur.
I’m going to kill you anyway! he roared. Even if it’s a logical impossibility I’m going to zarking well try! I’m going to blow this whole mountain up! He screamed, Let’s see you get out of this one, Dent!
He rushed in a painful waddling hobble to what appeared to be a small black sacrificial altar. He was shouting so wildly now that he was really carving his face up badly. Arthur leaped down from his vantage place on the carving of his own foot and ran to try to restrain the three-quarters-crazed creature.
He leaped upon him, and brought the strange monstrosity crashing down on top of the altar.
Agrajag screamed again, thrashed wildly for a brief moment, and turned a wild eye on Arthur.
You know what you’ve done? he gurgled painfully. You’ve only gone and killed me again. I mean, what do you want from me, blood?
He thrashed again in a brief apoplectic fit, quivered, and collapsed, smacking a large red button on the altar as he did so.
Arthur started with horror and fear, first at what he appeared to have done, and then at the loud sirens and bells that suddenly shattered the air to announce some clamouring emergency. He stared wildly around him.
The only exit appeared to be the way he came in. He pelted towards it, throwing away the nasty fake leopard-skin bag as he did so.
He dashed randomly, haphazardly through the labyrinthine maze, he seemed to be pursued more and more fiercely by claxons, sirens, flashing lights.
Suddenly, he turned a corner and there was a light in front of him.
It wasn’t flashing. It was daylight.
“你可以走,”阿格拉贾格说,“在我杀了你之后!”
“不,那样不好……”阿瑟一边解释着,一边开始往那双石刻拖鞋上爬,“我得去拯救宇宙,明白吗。我得去找银横木,那是很重要的。虽然很可笑。”
“拯救宇宙!”阿格拉贾格轻蔑地啐了一口,“你跟我积下宿怨之前怎么没想过!还有一次,你在斯塔洛缪拉β星上,有人……”
“我没去过那儿。”阿瑟说。
“……要暗杀你,你闪开了。你认为那颗子弹打中了谁呢!?你怎么解释?”
“真没去过。”阿瑟重复道,“你在说什么啊,我得走了。”
阿格拉贾格停住脚步。
“你肯定去过。你要为我在那儿的死亡负责。和其他地方的死亡一样。我,一个无辜的路人!”他浑身颤抖。
“我从没听过那个地方,”阿瑟坚持道,“我也肯定没人想要暗杀我。除了你。也许以后我会去。你说呢?”
阿格拉贾格呆呆地眨眨眼。
“你还没有……去过斯塔洛缪拉β星?”他轻轻地说。
“没有,”阿瑟说,“我对那儿一无所知。肯定没去过。也没准备去。”
“噢,那你就去吧。”阿格拉贾格绝望地喃喃着,“那你就去吧!噢赞的!”他跌跌撞撞,像疯子似的看着这座巨型仇恨教堂,“我让你过来得太早了!”
突然,他又停了下来,恶狠狠地盯着阿瑟。
“反正我要杀了你!”他愤怒地说,“就算从逻辑上说不可能,我还是他赞的要试试看!我要把整座山都炸掉!“他尖叫道,“我看你怎么逃出去!邓特!”
他踉跄着跑开了,奔向一个像是黑祭祀圣坛的地方。他疯狂地号叫着,把脸上划出好多口子。阿瑟从他的据点——他自己的脚的雕像上——跳下来,想去阻止那个疯了四分之三的家伙。
阿瑟朝他扑过去,碰掉了祭坛上一块怪里怪气的东西,那东西砸了下来。
阿格拉贾格又尖叫了一声,全身不住地发抖,他愤怒地转向阿瑟。
“你知道你都干了什么吗?”他因痛苦而发出咯咯的声音,“你又杀了我一次。我真想知道,你要从我这儿得到什么?血吗?”
他又剧烈地抽搐了一下,颤抖着,终于瘫倒在地。死之前,用尽最后的力气、拍向祭坛上红色的大按钮。
阿瑟惊恐万分,先是为他自己的所作所为,后是因为听见突然回荡在大厅里的警报声,这意味着有紧急情况。他连忙环顾四周。
他进来的路似乎是唯一的出口。他冲了出去,同时一把扔掉那难看的假豹皮袋子。
他如没头苍蝇一般,在这复杂的迷宫中乱冲乱撞。他觉得自己身后,有无数多的警笛、鬼叫、探照灯在追赶。
突然,前方的转角处出现了光明。
那不是灯光,那是阳光。

背景阅读

作者简介:

道格拉斯·亚当斯(Douglas Noël Adams,1952年3月11日-2001年5月11日)是一位英国广播剧作家、和音乐家,尤其以《银河系漫游指南》系列作品出名。亚当斯自称为“极端无神论者”。在去世以前,他是一位非常受欢迎的演讲者,尤其是在科技和环保等题材方面。他在49岁时的早逝在科幻和奇幻社群中引起了极大的哀悼。

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