Chapter 40

There remains little still to tell.

Beyond what used to be known as the Limitless Lightfields of Flanux until the Grey Binding Fiefdoms of Saxaquine were discovered lying behind them, lie the Grey Binding Fiefdoms of Saxaquine. Within the Grey Binding Fiefdoms of Saxaquine lies the star named Zarss, around which orbits the planet Preliumtarn in which is the land of Sevorbeupstry, and it was to the land of Sevorbeupstry that Arthur and Fenchurch came at last, a little tired by the journey.

And in the land of Sevorbeupstry, they came to the Great Red Plain of Rars, which was bounded on the South side by the Quentulus Quazgar Mountains, on the further side of which, according to the dying words of Prak, they would find in thirty-foot-high letters of fire God’s Final Message to His Creation.

According to Prak, if Arthur’s memory saved him right, the place was guarded by the Lajestic Vantrashell of Lob, and so, after a manner, it proved to be. He was a little man in a strange hat and he sold them a ticket.

Keep to the left, please, he said, keep to the left, and hurried on past them on a little scooter.

They realized they were not the first to pass that way, for the path that led around the left of the Great Plain was well-worn and dotted with booths. At one they bought a box of fudge, which had been baked in an oven in a cave in the mountain, which was heated by the fire of the letters that formed God’s Final Message to His Creation. At another they bought some postcards. The letters had been blurred with an airbrush, so as not to spoil the Big Surprise! it said on the reverse.

Do you know what the message is? they asked the wizened little lady in the booth.

Oh yes, she piped cheerily, oh yes!

She waved them on.

Every twenty miles or so there was a little stone hut with showers and sanitary facilities, but the going was tough, and the high sun baked down on the Great Red Plain, and the Great Red Plain rippled in the heat.

Is it possible, asked Arthur at one of the larger booths, to rent one of those little scooters? Like the one Lajestic Ventrawhatsit had.

The scooters, said the little lady who was serving at an ice cream bar, are not for the devout.

Oh well, that’s easy then, said Fenchurch, we’re not particularly devout. We’re just interested.

Then you must turn back now, said the little lady severely, and when they demurred, sold them a couple of Final Message sunhats and a photograph of themselves with their arms tight around each other on the Great Red Plain of Rars.

They drank a couple of sodas in the shade of the booth and then trudged out into the sun again.

We’re running out of border cream, said Fenchurch after a few more miles. We can go to the next booth, or we can return to the previous one which is nearer, but means we have to retrace our steps again.

They stared ahead at the distant black speck winking in the heat haze; they looked behind themselves. They elected to go on.

They then discovered that they were not only not the first ones to make this journey, but that they were not the only ones making it now.

Some way ahead of them an awkward low shape was heaving itself wretchedly along the ground, stumbling painfully slowly, half-limping, half-crawling.

It was moving so slowly that before too long they caught the creature up and could see that it was made of worn, scarred and twisted metal.

It groaned at them as they approached it, collapsing in the hot dry dust.

第40章

没多少要说的了。

在从发现赛科萨奎恩的灰色联合封地之前，那里曾经作为弗兰诺克斯的无限光域而广为人知，赛科萨奎恩的灰色联合封地就在它的前方。在赛科萨奎恩的灰色联合封地里面有一颗叫做扎尔斯的恒星，在围绕它的轨道上有一颗叫做普里利姆坦的行星，行星上是瑟沃尔博普斯特立大陆，而瑟沃尔博普斯特立大陆就是阿瑟和芬切琪在旅途之后，带着些许的疲惫到达的地方。

他们在最后来到了在瑟沃尔博普斯特立大陆中的拉尔斯红色大平原，这个平原与昆图鲁斯·垮兹噶尔山脉的南边接壤，根据噗啦克临死前所说的，他们可以在山脉的远端找到三十英尺高的火焰字母写称的上帝给自己造物的最后一个讯息。

根据噗啦克所说的，如果阿瑟没记错的话，那个地方由洛布的拉杰斯提克·旺忒拉谢尔守卫，后来证明他记的没错。那是一个戴着奇怪帽子的小个子男人，他卖给他们一张门票。

“一直左拐，”他说，“一直左拐。”然后他就坐着一个小电动车急急忙忙从他们身边经过走开了。

他们意识到自己并不是第一个经过这里的人，因为伸向大平原左方的小路看起来经常有人走动，而且点缀着一些售货亭。他们在一个售货亭上买了一盒软糖，这些软糖是是在山中一个山洞里烤出来的，用的就是上帝给自己造物的最后一个讯息的那些字母的火。他们又在另一个售货亭上买了点明信片。上面的字母被用喷绘工具弄模糊了，“为了不破坏那‘巨大的惊喜’”明信片的背面写着。

“你知道那个讯息是什么吗？”他们问售货亭后那个干瘪的小妇人。

“哦是的，”她开心地叫着，“哦是的。”

她挥手向他们送别。

每过二十英里左右就有一个石砌的小屋子，里面有淋浴和洗漱设施，但是旅途十分艰辛，高悬的太阳烘烤着红色大平原，红色大平原在热浪下微微起着涟漪。

“有没有可能，”阿瑟在一个大一点的售货亭问，“租一台小电动车？就像拉杰斯提克·旺忒拉谢尔开的那样的？”

“电动车，”一个买冰激凌的小妇人说，“是不虔诚的。”

“好的，那就简单了，”芬切琪说，“我们并不怎么虔诚。我只是感兴趣。”

“那你们现在就该回去，”那个小妇人严厉地说，当他们提出抗议的时候，她卖了两顶“最后讯息”的太阳帽和一张以拉尔斯的红色大平原为背景他们紧紧拥抱的照片给他们。

他们在售货亭的阴影里面喝了点汽水，然后再次拖着沉重的步伐走到阳光下。

“我们的保护霜用完了，”走了几英里之后芬切琪说，“我们可以在下一个售货亭买，或者可以回到之前那个售货亭，那样近一点，不过之后我们就得把这段路重走一遍了。”

他们向前盯远处在着蒸腾的热浪中闪烁的黑点；他们向后看了看。他们决定继续向前走。

然后他们发现他们不仅仅不是第一批走这条路的人，而且不是唯一正在走这条路的人。

在他们前面一些的地方，一个笨拙的小影子正在地上可怜巴巴地挪动着身躯，慢慢费力地蹒跚着，半蹭半爬地向前走。

它走的太慢了，没过多久他们就追了上去，并且看清了这个东西是由破旧的，裂开的，扭曲的金属制成的。

他们接近的时候它呻吟了一声，翻倒在热腾腾的灰尘中。