經典科幻文學:《基本上無害 Mostly Harmless》 第18章2

‘You!’ said Ford Prefect.

“你！”福特.長官說。

‘You!’ said Arthur Dent.

“你！”阿瑟.鄧特說。

Ford groaned again.

福特又開始呻吟。

‘What do you need to have explained this time?’ he said, and closed his eyes in some kind of despair.

“這次你又有什麼需要我解釋的？”他有些絕望似的閉上了眼。

Five minutes later he was sitting up and rubbing the side of his head, where he had quite a large swelling.

五分鐘之後，他坐起來揉腦袋，那兒已經腫了老大一塊。

‘Who the hell was that woman?’ he said. ‘Why are we surrounded by squirrels, and what do they want?’

“那女人他媽的到底是誰？”他問，“這些松鼠幹嘛老圍着我們？它們想幹嘛？”

‘I’ve been pestered by squirrels all night,’ said Arthur. ‘They keep on trying to give me magazines and stuff.’

“我已經給松鼠翻了一整晚。”阿瑟說，“它們老想給我雜誌之類的東西。”

Ford frowned. ‘Really?’ he said.

福特皺起眉頭，“當真？”

‘And bits of rag.’

“還有一片片的破布。”

Ford thought.

福特開始動腦筋。

‘Oh,’ he said. ‘Is this near where your ship crashed?’

“哦，”他說，“這兒是不是在你飛船墜毀的地方附近？”

‘Yes,’ said Arthur. He said it a little tightly.

“沒錯。”阿瑟的聲音有些發緊。

‘That’s probably it. Can happen. Ship’s cabin robots get destroyed. The cyberminds that control them survive and start infesting the local wildlife. Can turn a whole ecosystem into some kind of helpless thrashing service industry, handing out hot towels and drinks to passers-by. Should be a law against it. Probably is. Probably also a law against there being a law against it so everybody can get nice and worked up. Hey ho. What did you say?’

“大概就是這個了。的確可能。飛船的乘務機器人都被毀了，控制它們的電子腦卻活下來，開始騷擾當地的野生動物。它能把整個生態系統都改造成莫名其妙的服務業，不停地給路人遞熱毛巾和飲料之類。該立個法禁止這種事情。多半已經立了。多半還有條法律禁止立法禁止這種事情，這麼一來大家都可以好好發通脾氣。嘿嘿。你說什麼來着？”

‘I said, and the woman is my daughter.’

“我說的是，而且那個女人是我女兒。”

Ford stopped rubbing his head.

福特揉腦袋的手定住了。