The strange thing was pulsating irritably at him, tapping some kind of pseudopodia on the desk.

那个怪东西正朝他好不耐烦地起起伏伏，伸出个伪足模样的玩意拍着桌子。

Arthur shook his head and looked at the next sheet of paper.

阿瑟晃晃脑袋，接着往下看。

Grim, he thought. And the next.

倒胃口，他暗想。然后是下一张。

Very grim. And the next.

非常倒胃口。再下一张。

Oh… Now that looked better.

哦……这地方看来还不错。

It was a world called Bartledan. It had oxygen. It had green hills. It even, it seemed, had a renowned literary culture. But the thing that most aroused his interest was a photograph of a small bunch of Bartledanian people, standing around in a village square, smiling pleasantly at the camera.

那个星球名叫巴忒勒丹。有氧气，有绿色的小山，甚至还有——至少介绍上是这么说的——声名远播的文学传统。不过最能引起阿瑟兴趣的还是一张照片，一小群巴忒勒丹人围在一个存在的广场周围，对着镜头亲切的微笑。

‘Ah,’ he said, and held the picture up to the strange thing behind the desk.

“啊。”他把照片拿给桌子背后的怪东西看。

Its eyes squirmed out on stalks and rolled up and down the piece of paper, leaving a glistening trail of slime all over it.

它的眼睛蠕动到照片上，前前后后地滚了老半天，到处留下亮闪闪的粘液。

‘Yes,’ it said with distaste. ‘They do look exactly like you.’

“没错，”它轻蔑地说，“他们看起来的确跟你一摸一样。”

Arthur moved to Bartledan and, using some money he had made by selling some toenail clippings and spit to a DNA bank, he bought himself a room in the village featured in the picture. It was pleasant there. The air was balmy. The people looked like him and seemed not to mind him being there. They didn’t attack him with anything. He bought some clothes and a cupboard to put them in.

阿瑟搬到了巴忒勒丹，他卖了些脚趾甲渣和唾液给一家DNA银行，用那笔钱在照片上的村子买了间房，那儿很舒服，气候温和。当地人跟他长相接近，而且似乎并不介意多出他这么个人，也没拿任何东西攻击他。他买了些衣服，还买了个壁橱好把衣服装进去。

He had got himself a life. Now he had to find a purpose in it.

生活已经让他搞到手了。现在他需要为它找个目标。