經典科幻文學:《生命 宇宙及一切》第11章3

All it requires is simply the ability to throw yourself forward with all your weight, and the willingness not to mind that it’s going to hurt.
That is, it’s going to hurt if you fail to miss the ground.
Most people fail to miss the ground, and if they are really trying properly, the likelihood is that they will fail to miss it fairly hard.
Clearly, it’s the second point, the missing, which presents the difficulties.
One problem is that you have to miss the ground accidentally. It’s no good deliberately intending to miss the ground because you won’t. You have to have your attention suddenly distracted by something else when you’re halfway there, so that you are no longer thinking about falling, or about the ground, or about how much it’s going to hurt if you fail to miss it.
If, however, you are lucky enough to have your attention momentarily distracted at the crucial moment by, say, a gorgeous pair of legs (tentacles, pseudopodia, according to phyllum and/or personal inclination) or a bomb going off in your vicinity, or by suddenly spotting an extremely rare species of beetle crawling along a nearby twig, then in your astonishment you will miss the ground completely and remain bobbing just a few inches above it in what might seem to be a slightly foolish manner.
This is a moment for superb and delicate concentration.
Bob and float, float and bob.
Ignore all considerations of your own weight and simply let yourself waft higher.
Do not listen to what anybody says to you at this point because they are unlikely to say anything helpful.
They are most likely to say something along the lines of, “Good God, you can’t possibly be flying!”
It is vitally important not to believe them or they will suddenly be right.
Waft higher and higher.
Try a few swoops, gentle ones at first, then drift above the treetops breathing regularly.
Do not wave at anybody.
When you have done this a few times you will find the moment of distraction rapidly becomes easier and easier to achieve. You will then learn all sorts of things about how to control your flight, your speed, your manoeuvrability, and the trick usually lies in not thinking too hard about whatever you want to do, but just allowing it to happen as if it was going to anyway.
You will also learn how to land properly, which is something you will almost certainly cock up, and cock up badly, on your first attempt.
There are private flying clubs you can join which help you achieve the all-important moment of distraction. They hire people with surprising bodies or opinions to leap out from behind bushes and exhibit and/or explain them at the crucial moments. Few genuine hitch-hikers will be able to afford to join these clubs, but some may be able to get temporary employment at them.
Trillian read this longingly, but reluctantly decided that Zaphod wasn’t really in the right frame of mind for attempting to fly, or for walking through mountains or for trying to get the Brantisvogan Civil Service to acknowledge a change-of-address card, which were the other things listed under the heading “Recreational Impossibilities”.
Instead, she flew the ship to Allosimanius Syneca, a world of ice, snow, mind-hurtling beauty and stunning cold. The trek from the snow plains of Liska to the summit of the Ice Crystal Pyramids of Sastantua is long and gruelling, even with jet skis and a team of Syneca Snowhounds, but the view from the top, a view which takes in the Stin Glacier Fields, the shimmering Prism Mountains and the far ethereal dancing icelights, is one which first freezes the mind and then slowly releases it to hitherto unexperienced horizons of beauty, and Trillian, for one, felt that she could do with a bit of having her mind slowly released to hitherto unexperienced horizons of beauty.
They went into a low orbit. There lay the silver-white beauty of Allosimanius Syneca beneath them. Zaphod stayed in bed with one head stuck under a pillow and the other doing crosswords till late into the night.
Trillian nodded patiently again, counted to a sufficiently high number, and told herself that the important thing now was just to get Zaphod talking.
She prepared, by dint of deactivating all the robot kitchen synthomatics, the most fabulously delicious meal she could contrive delicately oiled meals, scented fruits, fragrant cheeses, fine Aldebaran wines.
She carried it through to him and asked if he felt like talking things through.
Zark off, said Zaphod.

你只需用盡全身力量往前跳，同時要有不怕疼的意志。
也就是說，如果沒能做到“不碰到地上”，就會很疼。
很多人會碰到地上，如果他們真的做得很標準，那多半會重重地碰到地上。
顯然，第二步“不碰到”，是最具難度之處。
問題之一，你得偶然地不碰到地面。努力不碰到地面是錯誤的，那樣的話你一定會碰到。當跳到一半時，你得讓注意力瞬間被別的什麼東西吸引住，那樣你纔不會想着跌倒，也不會想着地面，也不會想着碰到地面會有多疼。
如果，你真的很幸運，你的注意力竟然在關鍵時刻被，比如說，一雙絕美的腿（觸鬚/僞足——以所屬門類和/或個人取向爲準），或是在你身邊爆炸的炸彈，或是突然瞄到一種無比稀有的甲蟲爬在旁邊的嫩枝上。那時，你便會驚奇地發現，自己沒有碰到地面，而是在地面上方一兩寸的地方飄忽，也許會稍顯呆傻。
這時，需要非常巧妙地掌握注意力。
飄忽遊蕩，遊蕩飄忽。
丟掉所有關於重量的意識，只需讓自己浮得更高一點。
這時，不要聽任何人對你說話，因爲他們一般說不出什麼有用的話。
他們多半會說這類話：“老天啊，你不是在飛吧！”
不要相信他們，這一點極度重要。一信他們的話，他們就會說中了。
浮得再高一點，再高一點。
試試能否向前撲躍。先輕點撲，然後可以飄到樹頂上去，保持呼吸勻暢。
不要向任何人揮手。
多做幾次，你就會越來越容易做到瞬間走神。之後，你將學會更多飛行方法，如何控制速度、運用飛技。還有那種思維的祕訣，即對什麼事都不要想太多，讓它發生就是了，反正總要那樣的。
你還將學會如何正確着陸，這一步很可能搞砸，尤其是第一次時，會嚴重搞砸。
你可以加入私人飛行俱樂部，他們能幫你完成那最重要的走神時刻。他們僱有專門人員，或是擁有驚人的美體，或是擁有驚人的觀點。他們會從樹叢後面突然蹦出來，展示和/或解釋上述事物。真正的漫遊者中，極少人能進得起這種俱樂部，不過有的可能被僱去做事。
崔莉安不勝嚮往地讀着。可她很不情願地意識到，以贊福德現在的精神狀態，實在不適合嘗試飛行、嘗試穿山行走、嘗試說服布拉提斯沃根民事部承認一種地址變更卡——這些都列在“不可能之娛樂”條目之下。
於是，她將飛船轉而開向了阿羅絲瑪尼烏·西內卡，一個冰雪世界，美得驚心，凍得嚇人。從麗斯卡雪原長途跋涉，直到薩斯坦圖的冰晶金字塔頂，是一段漫長而疲憊的旅程。即使有噴氣式滑雪板和西內卡雪犬隊也無濟於事。然而到了金字塔頂端，縱覽斯丁冰川區的景象，晶瑩閃爍的棱鏡山脈，天盡頭聖潔的冰光——你的頭腦先是僵住，然後慢慢釋放到那有生之年從未經歷的美的極致。崔莉安覺得，自己正需要讓頭腦慢慢釋放，到那有生之年從未經歷的美的極致。
他們離那兒越來越近。軌道之下，便是阿羅絲瑪尼烏·西內卡的銀白世界了。贊福德還躺在牀上，一個腦袋塞在枕頭下面，另一個在熬夜做着填字遊戲。
崔莉安再次忍耐地點點頭，從一數到一個足夠大的數，告訴自己，現在最重要的是讓贊福德講話。
她準備了一下。由於所有自動廚房合成機已經停止運轉，她盡最大努力，做了色香俱全的一餐飯——肥美誘惑的肉食，清新芬芳的水果，香濃撲鼻的奶酪，以及來自畢宿五的美酒。
她把飯菜端到贊福德面前，問他是否願意說說話。
“贊上你的嘴。”贊福德說。