經典科幻文學:《生命 宇宙及一切》第8章2

Slartibartfast said:
Because in space travel all the numbers are awful.
He could tell that he wasn’t getting his point across.
Listen, he said. On a waiter’s bill pad numbers dance. You must have encountered the phenomenon.
Well…
On a waiter’s bill pad, said Slartibartfast, reality and unreality collide on such a fundamental level that each becomes the other and anything is possible, within certain parameters.
What parameters?
It’s impossible to say, said Slartibartfast. That’s one of them. Strange but true. At least, I think it’s strange, he added, and I’m assured that it’s true.
At that moment he located the slot in the wall for which he had been searching, and clicked the instrument he was holding into it.
Do not be alarmed, he said, and then suddenly darted an alarmed look at himself, and lunged back, it’s…
They didn’t hear what he said, because at that moment the ship winked out of existence around them and a star-battle-ship the size of a small Midlands industrial city plunged out of the sundered night towards them, star lasers ablaze.
They gaped, pop-eyed, and were unable to scream.

司拉提巴特法斯說：
“因爲在太空旅行中，所有的數字都是可怕的。”
老人知道，他終究還是免不了麻煩。
“聽着，”他說，“侍者帳單上的數字是會跳舞的。你一定遭遇過這種情形……”
“嗯……”
“在侍者的帳單上，”司拉提巴特法斯道，“真實與不真實，發生着極其深層的衝突。二者相互轉化，一切都有可能，只要有特定的參數。”
“什麼參數？”
“難以說清。”司拉提巴特法斯說，“它自己也是其中之一。很奇怪，但是事實。至少，我認爲它很奇怪，我也確信它是事實。”
此時他終於找準了牆上的插孔，把他手上拿着的裝置按了進去。
“別慌張。”他說着，自己的神情卻突然有些慌張。他深吸一口氣：“它是……”
另外兩人沒有聽見他說的話，因爲飛船瞬間變得無影無蹤，一艘有內陸工業城市那麼大的星際戰鬥飛船，憑空出現在他們面前那分成一塊塊的夜空中，激光武器正在猛力開火。
他倆張大了嘴，瞪圓了眼，叫也叫不出來。