經典科幻文學:《生命 宇宙及一切》第4章(9)

Well, the supernatural brigade certainly seems to be out in force here today… burbled a radio happily to itself.
What I need, shouted Ford, by way of clarifying his previous remarks, is a strong drink and a peer-group. He continued to run, pausing only for a moment to grab Arthur’s arm and drag him along with him. Arthur had adopted his normal crisis role, which was to stand with his mouth hanging open and let it all wash over him.
They’re playing cricket, muttered Arthur, stumbling along after Ford. I swear they are playing cricket. I do not know why they are doing this, but that is what they are doing. They’re not just killing people, they’re sending them up, he shouted, Ford, they’re sending us up!
It would have been hard to disbelieve this without knowing a great deal more Galactic history than Arthur had so far managed to pick up in his travels. The ghostly but violent shapes that could be seen moving within the thick pall of smoke seemed to be performing a series of bizarre parodies of batting strokes, the difference being that every ball they struck with their bats exploded wherever it landed. The very first one of these had dispelled Arthur’s initial reaction, that the whole thing might just be a publicity stunt by Australian margarine manufacturers.
And then, as suddenly as it had all started, it was over. The eleven white robots ascended through the seething cloud in a tight formation, and with a few last flashes of flame entered the bowels of their hovering white ship, which, with the noise of a hundred thousand people saying “foop”, promptly vanished into the thin air out of which it had wopped.
For a moment there was a terrible stunned silence, and then out of the drifting smoke emerged the pale figure of Slartibartfast looking even more like Moses because in spite of the continued absence of the mountain he was at least now striding across a fiery and smoking well-mown lawn.
He stared wildly about him until he saw the hurrying figures of Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect forcing their way through the frightened crowd which was for the moment busy stampeding in the opposite direction. The crowd was clearly thinking to itself about what an unusual day this was turning out to be, and not really knowing which way, if any, to turn.
Slartibartfast was gesturing urgently at Ford and Arthur and shouting at them, as the three of them gradually converged on his ship, still parked behind the sight-screens and still apparently unnoticed by the crowd stampeding past it who presumably had enough of their own problems to cope with at that time.
They’ve garble warble farble! shouted Slartibartfast in his thin tremulous voice.
What did he say? panted Ford as he elbowed his way onwards.
Arthur shook his head.
“They’ve…” something or other, he said.
They’ve table warble farble! shouted Slartibartfast again.
Ford and Arthur shook their heads at each other.
It sounds urgent, said Arthur. He stopped and shouted.
What?

“嗯，看來超自然組織的成員今天在這裏出動了……”廣播裏一個愉快的聲音東拉西扯地說。
“我需要的，”福特爲他之前所說的作着補充，“是夠勁兒的酒和同齡的夥伴！”他繼續跑着，中間停了一下，抓住阿瑟的手臂，拉他一起跑。阿瑟已經切換到他在危機時的狀態，即嘴巴大張，讓一切都在他身邊飛逝。
“他們在打板球。”阿瑟在福特身後踉踉蹌蹌，口中喃喃自語，“我發誓他們在打板球，我不知道他們爲什麼這麼做，但他們就是在打。他們不只是在殺人，他們還在模仿人類！”他的大叫起來，“福特，他們在模仿我們！”
如果我們比阿瑟多懂點銀河系歷史（要比他至今從旅行裏瞭解到的多得多才行），我們就不難理解現在這一切了。這些在煙幕中時隱時現的、可怕的施暴者，似乎在表演一出古怪的戲仿節目，模仿的正是揮拍振拍的動作。與普通打球不同的是，他們往哪揮拍，哪兒就爆炸。阿瑟看到這些的第一反應是：也許這只是澳洲專業人員搞的一次大型特技表演罷了。
然後，一切突然之間結束，正如它突然之間開始。十一個白色機器人整整齊齊排成一隊，升上了翻滾的雲朵裏。當最後一點火光收進那艘懸浮的白色飛船，它發出一聲好象成百上千人同時說“呼”的聲音。隨後，敏捷地消失在它剛纔“喔”出來的空氣中。
一時間到處一片死寂。之後，從漸漸飄散的煙霧裏，司拉提巴特法斯特面色蒼白地走出來。他看起來更像摩西了——雖然還是沒有山，不過至少，這片修剪好的草坪現在也在冒煙了。
老人慌亂地環顧四周，找到兩個匆忙的身影——是阿瑟和福特，他們正奮力穿過朝着反方向逃命的驚恐的人羣。人羣顯然覺得，今天是多麼反常的一天啊，簡直（他們不知要如何形容），簡直了。
司拉提巴特法斯朝福特和阿瑟急促地做着手勢，一邊喊着什麼。三人越來越靠近飛船，飛船依然停在助視屏後面，很明顯，依然沒有被逃命的人羣瞧見。他們自然得先忙着處理自己的問題。
“他們拿大威大威去威！”司拉提巴特法斯的聲音顫抖着尖聲叫道。
“他說什麼？”福特一邊用手肘努力開路，一邊氣喘吁吁地問。
阿瑟搖搖頭。
“他們……什麼什麼。”他說。
“他們漲大那大威去威！”司拉提巴特法斯又叫道。
福特和阿瑟相視搖頭。
“聽上去挺緊急。“阿瑟說。他停下來向司拉提巴特法斯喊道：
“什麼？”