注册
正文 目录 文库目录 文库收藏 中文百科 Wiki百科
基地系列:基地前奏|Prelude to Foundation

第四章|Chapter 4

属类： 双语小说 【分类】魔幻小说 -[作者: 艾萨克-阿西莫夫] 阅读：[13949]
《基地前奏》 在《基地与地球》中广袤荒凉的星际旅程之后,《基地前奏》将镜头拉回到基地三部曲开场之前几十年,繁华的帝国之都川陀。开创整个基地故事根基.故事的时间线来到《基地》的几十年前，彼时的哈里·谢顿还未开创出完整的心理史学，只是发表了一篇论文。但正是这篇关乎可以预言未来的论文将谢顿带上一段逃亡冒险之旅。
《 字+字- 行+行- 页+页- 字+字- 行+行- 页+页- 》
-

伊图·丹莫茨尔出现在皇上面前，以适度尊崇的眼神瞥了皇上一眼：“陛下，您差点就发脾气了。”

1
-

克里昂抬起头来，挤出一个显然是很勉强的微笑：“嗯，没错，那人实在令我非常失望。”

2
-

“但他并未做出能力范围之外的承诺。”

3
-

“他一点能力也没有。”

4
-

“也没有做任何承诺，陛下。”

5
-

“真令人失望。”

6
-

丹莫茨尔说：“或许不只令人失望而已。这人是一颗流失的炮弹，陛下。”

7
-

“一颗流失的什么，丹莫茨尔？你总喜欢用许多古怪的词句。炮弹是什么？”

8
-

丹莫茨尔以严肃的口吻说：“这不过是我年轻时听到的一种说法，陛下。帝国之中充满古怪的词句，有些是川陀从未听说过的，就好像有些川陀的惯用语，其他地方的人根本听不懂一样。”

9
-

“你是来提醒我帝国的疆域辽阔？你说那人是一颗流失的炮弹，这到底是什么意思？”

10
-

“只是指他可能犯下无心之失，因而造成重大伤害。他不知道自己的力量，或者说重要性。”

11
-

“你推论出来的，是吗，丹莫茨尔？”

12
-

“是的，陛下。他是个乡下人，并不了解川陀以及川陀的规矩。过去他从未到过我们的行星，无法表现得像个有教养的人，比如说像个廷臣，但是他竟然敢跟您顶嘴。”

13
-

“有何不可？我准许他有话直说。我取消了繁文缛节，以平等的方式待他。”

14
-

“并不尽然，陛下。您天生就无法平等对待他人，您习惯于发号施令。即使您试图让对方放松心情，也很少有人能做到这一点。大多数人会变得哑口无言，更糟的表现则是奉承、阿谀，而那人却跟您顶嘴。”

15
-

“嗯，你可以认为这点很了不起，丹莫茨尔，可是我不喜欢他。”克里昂看来内心十分不满，“你注意到了吗？他根本没有试着对我解释他的数学理论，好像他知道我一个字也听不懂。”

16
-

“您的确听不懂，陛下。您不是数学家，不是任何一类的科学家，也不是一位艺术家。在许许多多的知识领域中，都有人比您懂得还多，他们的职责就是利用这些知识为您服务。您的身份是皇帝，这点就不亚于他们所有专长的总和。”

17
-

“是吗？如果是个花了许多年月累积知识的老头，令我感到自己对某方面一窍不通，那我倒也不在意。可是这个人，谢顿，只不过跟我同年。他怎么会知道那么多？”

18
-

“他不必学习领袖气质，不必学习如何做出左右他人生死的决策。”

19
-

“有些时候，丹莫茨尔，我会怀疑你是否在讥笑我。”

20
-

“陛下？”丹莫茨尔以责难的口气说。

21
-

“不过算了吧，回到你刚才说的那个流失的炮弹。你为何认为他是危险人物？在我看来，他似乎是个纯真的乡下人。”

22
-

“没错，可是他拥有那套数学理论。”

23
-

“他说那根本没用。”

24
-

“您本来认为它也许有用，在您向我解释之后，我也是这么想，所以其他人也可能抱同样看法。既然这位数学家已将心思集中在这个问题上，他自己的想法或许也会改变。谁知道呢。他也许会研究出利用这套数学的方法。假如他成功了，有办法预测未来，不论是多么朦胧模糊，也等于掌握了极大的权力。即使他自己不希望拥有权力——我总认为如此自制的人少之又少，他也可能会被别人利用。”

25
-

“我试图利用他，可是他不肯。”

26
-

“他没好好考虑，也许现在他就会愿意。假如他不喜欢被您利用，难道就不可能被——比方说——卫荷区长说服吗？”

27
-

“他为什么会愿意帮助卫荷区长，而不愿帮我们？”

28
-

“正如他刚才的解释，个体的情绪与行为是很难预测的。”

29
-

克里昂面露不悦之色，坐在那里沉思良久。“你真的认为，他有可能将他的心理史学发展到真正有用的地步？他十分肯定做不到这一点。”

30
-

“若干时日之后，他或许会认为否认这个可能性是个错误。”

31
-

克里昂说：“这么说，我想我该把他留下来。”

32
-

丹奠获尔说：“不，陛下，当您让他离去时，您的直觉完全正确。若是将他囚禁起来，不论做得如何不着痕迹，也将引起他的愤恨和绝望。这样不但无助于他进一步发展他的理论，也无法使他心甘情愿为我们服务。最好还是放他走，像您所做的那样，但是永远用一条隐形的绳索将他拴住。这样一来，我们就能确定他不至于被陛下您的敌人利用，也可以确定等到时机成熟、他将这个科学理论发展完备时，我们便能收回那条绳索，再把他拉进宫来。到那个时候，我们就可以……态度强硬一点。”

33
-

“可是，万一他被我的敌人抓走——或者该说帝国的敌人，因为毕竟我就等于这个帝国，或是如果他自愿为敌人服务呢？我不认为这点绝无可能，你了解吧。”

34
-

“您的顾虑没有错。我会确保不至于发生这种事，但若是尽了最大努力，却仍出现这种情形，与其让不当的人拥有他，倒不如让谁都得不到。”

35
-

克里昂显得相当不安：“我将这件事完全交到你的手上，丹莫茨尔，但我希望我们不要操之过急。无论如何，他有可能只是个理论科学的买办，根本没什么真正的用处。”

36
-

“很有可能，陛下。不过为了安全起见，最好还是假没此人很重要，或者说也许很重要。假使到头来我们发现，只是在为一个无足轻重的角色伤脑筋，我们不过浪费了一点时间，除此之外不会有其他损失。但是如果我们最后发现，忽略的是个再重要不过的人物，那我们将会丢掉整个银河。”

37
-

“这样很好，”克里昂说，“但我确信我不必知道细节，若是细节果真令人不愉快的话。”　丹莫茨尔说：“让我们期望结果不会是那样。”

38
-

Eto Demerzel emerged and glanced at the Emperor with a hint of proper deference . He said, "Sire, you have almost lost your temper."

1

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

Cleon looked up and, with an obvious effort, managed to smile. "Well, so I did. The man was very disappointing."

2

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

"And yet he promised no more than he offered."

3

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

"He offered nothing."

4

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

"And promised nothing, Sire."

5

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

"It was disappointing."

6

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

Demerzel said, "More than disappointing, perhaps. The man is a loose cannon , Sire."

7

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

"A loose what, Demerzel? You are always so full of strange expressions. What is a cannon?"

8

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

Demerzel said gravely, "It is simply an expression I heard in my youth, Sire. The Empire is full of strange expressions and some are unknown on Trantor, as those of Trantor are sometimes unknown elsewhere."

9

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

"Do you come to teach me the Empire is large? What do you mean by saying that the man is a loose cannon?"

10

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

"Only that he can do much harm without necessarily intending it. He does not know his own strength. Or importance."

11

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

"You deduce that, do you, Demerzel?"

12

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

"Yes, Sire. He is a provincial . He does not know Trantor or its ways. He has never been on our planet before and he cannot behave like a man of breeding, like a courtier. Yet he stood up to--"

13

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

"And why not? I gave him permission to speak. I left off ceremony. I treated him as an equal."

14

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

"Not entirely , Sire. You dont have it within you to treat others as equals. You have the habit of command. And even if you tried to put a person at his ease, there would be few who could manage it. Most would be speechless or, worse, subservient and sycophantic . This man stood up to you."

15

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

"Well, you may admire that, Demerzel, but I didnt like him." Cleon looked thoughtfully discontented. "Did you notice that he made no effort to explain his mathematics to me? It was as though he knew I would not understand a word of it."

16

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

"Nor would you have, Sire. You are not a mathematician , nor a scientist of any kind, nor an artist. There are many fields of knowledge in which others know more than you. It is their task to use their knowledge to serve you. You are the Emperor, which is worth all their specializations put together."

17

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

"Is it? I would not mind being made to feel ignorant by an old man who had accumulated knowledge over many years. But this man, Seldon, is just my age. How does he know so much?"

18

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

"He has not had to learn the habit of command, the art of reaching a decision that will affect the lives of others."

19

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

"Sometimes, Demerzel, I wonder if you are laughing at me."

20

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

"Sire?" said Demerzel reproachfully.

21

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

"But never mind. Back to that loose cannon of yours. Why should you consider him dangerous? He seems a naive provincial to me."

22

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

"He is. But he has this mathematical development of his."

23

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

"He says it is useless."

24

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

"You thought it might be useful. I thought so, after you had explained it to me. Others might. The mathematician may come to think so himself, now that his mind has been focused on it. And who knows, he may yet work out some way of making use of it. If he does, then to foretell the future, however mistily , is to be in a position of great power. Even if he does not wish power for himself, a kind of self-denial that always seems to me to be unlikely, he might be used by others."

25

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

"I tried to use him. He would not."

26

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

"He had not given it thought. Perhaps now he will. And if he was not interested in being used by you, might he not be persuaded by--let us say--the Mayor of Wye?"

27

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

"Why should he be willing to help Wye and not us?"

28

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

"As he explained, it is hard to predict the emotions and behavior of individuals." Cleon scowled

29

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

and sat in thought. "Do you really think he might develop this psychohistory of his to the point where it is truly useful? He is so certain he cannot."

30

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

"He may, with time, decide he was wrong in denying the possibility."

31

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

Cleon said, "Then I suppose I ought to have kept him."

32

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

Demerzel said, "No, Sire. Your instinct was correct when you let him go. Imprisonment , however disguised, would cause resentment and despair, which would not help him either to develop his ideas further or make him eager to help us. Better to let him go as you have done, but to keep him forever on an invisible leash . In this way, we can see that he is not used by an enemy of yourself, Sire, and we can see that when the time comes and he has fully developed his science, we can pull on our leash and bring him in. Then we could be ... more persuasive ."

33

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

"But what if he it picked up by an enemy of mine or, better, of the Empire, for I am the Empire after all, or if, of his own accord, he wishes to serve an enemy--I dont consider that out of the question, you see."

34

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

"Nor should you. I will see to it that this doesnt happen, but if, against all striving, it does happen, it would be better if no one has him than if the wrong person does."

35

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

Cleon looked uneasy. "Ill leave that all in your hands, Demerzel, but I hope were not too hasty. He could be, after all, nothing but the purveyor of a theoretical science that does not and cannot work."

36

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

"Quite possibly, Sire, but it would be safer to assume the man is--or might be--important. We lose only a little time and nothing more if we find that we have concerned ourselves with a nonentity . We may lose a Galaxy if we find we have ignored someone of great importance."

37

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

"Very well, then," said Cleon, "but I trust I wont have to know the details--if they prove unpleasant."

38

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
-

Demerzel said, "Let us hope that will not be the case."

39

读书笔记

是否公开

我的读书笔记

仅对会员开放

网友的读书笔记

仅对会员开放
道德经
论语
孙子兵法
禮記
孟子
尚書
詩經
周易
简典
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

微信小程序

微信公众号

Email:

22745823@qq.com

联系站长：

QQ:22745823

机构翻译

地址翻译

人名翻译

译典登录

译典注册

译典说明

意见反馈

浙ICP备05023696号-8