經典科幻文學:《基本上無害 Mostly Harmless》第23章3

‘Just a second,’ Ford shouted, and returned to his negotiations with room service. ‘Then we’ll need some natural reserves for the animals that can’t hack it in the wild,’ he said. ‘Set up a team to work out the best places to do that. We might need to buy somewhere like Zaire and maybe some islands. Madagascar. Baffin. Sumatra. Those kind of places. We’ll need a wide variety of habitats. Look, I don’t see why you’re seeing this as a problem. Learn to delegate. Hire whoever you want. Get on to it. I think you’ll find my credit is good. And blue cheese dressing on the salad. Thank you.’

“這就來！”福特喊了一聲，然後繼續和客房服務交涉，“然後我們還需要給那些搞不定野外生存的動物弄些自然保護區。”他說，“找一隊人馬來確定最佳地點，可能需要買些比方說扎伊爾之類的地方，沒準還要幾個島。馬達加斯加，巴芬，蘇門答臘。這一類的，我們需要種類非常豐富的棲息地。聽着，我真不明白你怎麼會覺得有什麼問題，學學怎麼下放委派，想要誰你只管僱去，行動。我想你會發現我的信用值得相信，還有，沙拉要藍奶酪，多些。”

He put the phone down and went through to Arthur, who was sitting on the edge of his bed watching television.

他放下電話去阿瑟那邊。阿瑟正坐在牀沿上看電視。

‘I ordered us some foie gras,’ said Ford.

“我給我們點了些鵝肝。”福特說。

‘What?’ said Arthur, whose attention was entirely focused on the television.

“什麼？”阿瑟的注意力完全在電視上。

‘I said I ordered us some foie gras.’

“我說我給我們點了些鵝肝。”福特說。

‘Oh,’ said Arthur, vaguely. ‘Um, I always feel a bit bad about foie gras. Bit cruel to the geese, isn’t it?’

“哦。”阿瑟含含糊糊地應了一聲，“唔，我對鵝肝總有點那個。對鵝也太殘忍了些不是嗎？”

‘Fuck ‘em,’ said Ford, slumping on the bed. ‘You can’t care about every damn thing.’

“管它們去死。”福特癱倒在牀上，“哪能什麼該死的蠢東西都管得過來。”

‘Well, that’s all very well for you to say, but…’

“恩，你倒是說得輕巧，可……”

‘Drop it!’ said Ford. ‘If you don’t like it I’ll have yours. What’s happening?’

“別廢話了！”福特說，“你要不喜歡我就連你那份一起吃掉。電視上怎麼了？”