經典科幻文學:《生命 宇宙及一切》尾章6

Yes, he said at last in rather a strained drawl. I did have a question. Or rather, what I actually have is an Answer. I wanted to know what the Question was.
Prak nodded sympathetically, and Arthur relaxed a little.
It’s… well, it’s a long story, he said, but the Question I would like to know is the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything. All we know is that the Answer is Forty-Two, which is a little aggravating.
Prak nodded again.
Forty-Two, he said. Yes, that’s right.
He paused. Shadows of thought and memory crossed his face like the shadows of clouds crossing the land.
I’m afraid, he said at last, that the Question and the Answer are mutually exclusive. Knowledge of one logically precludes knowledge of the other. It is impossible that both can ever be known about the same universe.
He paused again. Disappointment crept into Arthur’s face and snuggled down into its accustomed place.
Except, said Prak, struggling to sort a thought out, if it happened, it seems that the Question and the Answer would just cancel each other out and take the Universe with them, which would then be replaced by something even more bizarrely inexplicable. It is possible that this has already happened, he added with a weak smile, but there is a certain amount of Uncertainty about it. A little giggle brushed through him.
Arthur sat down on a stool.
Oh well, he said with resignation, I was just hoping there would be some sort of reason.
Do you know, said Prak, the story of the Reason?
Arthur said that he didn’t, and Prak said that he knew that he didn’t.
He told it.

“是的，”他還有點不情願，聲音拖得老長，“我是有個問題。其實，是有個答案。我想知道問題是什麼。”
普啦刻點點頭，表示理解。阿瑟覺得舒服點了。
“這是……唉，說來話長。那個問題可是關於生命、宇宙及一切的終極問題。我們只知道答案是42。不僅沒用，反而搞得更麻煩了。”
普啦刻又點點頭。
“42，是的，沒錯。”
他停了停，臉上浮現出思緒如潮、回憶萬千的陰影，好似雲朵的陰影飄過大地一般。
“恐怕……”他終於又道，“問題和答案是互不相容的。從邏輯上講，知道了一個就必須蔽掉另一個。兩者不能在一個宇宙中同時爲人所知。”
他又停了停。阿瑟顯出失望的神情，但很快恢復了正常。
“而且，”普啦刻努力思索着，說，“如果真的都被知道了，那麼問題和答案，就會彼此刪除，把宇宙也刪掉，然後會出現更加古怪、無法解釋的東西來代替它們。這種事很可能已經發生了。”他虛弱地笑了笑，“但是具有相當的不確定性。”
阿瑟坐在了凳子上。
“噢，好吧，”他放棄了，“我只希望能有個理由什麼的。”
“你知道，”普啦刻說，“理由的故事嗎？”
阿瑟說不知道，普啦刻說他知道他不知道。
他開始講故事。