第三部 死神曼舞 第一章
It was as if the Expeditionary mission was fated to strike a truce with someone, and the Regent just happened to be the only enemy in residence. In another five years the Robotech Masters would arrive in Earthspace, followed three years later by the Regis and her half of the Invid horde; but in 2026(Earth-relative) this was still speculation, and for a few brief days there was talk of peace, trust, and other impossibilities.
远征任务仿佛注定要和某一方签下休战协定，而瑞金特恰巧是此地仅有的敌手。五年后，机器人统治者将会抵达地球空间，再过三年，瑞吉斯和她的半支因维大军也将随之而来。但在2026年（地球相对时间），这仅仅是个推想；而且这几天，还将发生关于和平、信约这类难成之事的会谈。
Ahmed Rashona, That Pass in the Night: The SDF-3 and the Mission to Tirol
——阿梅德·拉朔纳《擦身而过：SDF-3与泰洛远征任务》
A fleet of Invid warships emerged from their transtemporal journey through hyperspace into the cool radiance of Fantoma's primary, like so many shells left revealed on a black sand beach by a receding tide. The mollusklike carriers positioned themselves a respectful distance from the moon they had captured then lost; only the fleet's mullet-shaped flagship continued its approach, menacing in its sealed silence.
因维舰队从异次元太空穿越而来，历经时间之旅，出现在凡托玛主星的冷色光芒当中，仿佛众多贝壳在海潮退去后从漆黑的沙滩上浮现。一艘艘蛤贝形的运兵船都对它们得而复失的那颗卫星敬而远之；只有这鲱鱼形的舰队旗舰仍在继续靠近，用密闭的沉默威胁着它。
At the edge of the ringed giant's shadow, Tirol's guardian, the SDF-3, swung round to face off with the Regent's vessel, the crimson lobes of its main gun brilliantly outlined in starlight.
尘环围绕的巨行星的阴影边缘，藏身着泰洛的卫士，SDF-3。它转过船身与摄政王的旗舰对峙，星光将猩红色堡垒主炮的瓣叶勾勒出耀眼的轮廓。
Aboard the Earth fortress, in the ship's Tactical Information Center, Major General T. R. Edwards watched as a transport shuttle emerged from the tip of one of the flagship's armored tentacles. Edwards trusted that the Regent was aboard the small craft, accompanied certainly by a retinue of guards and scientists. The presence of the Invid fleet made it clear that any acts of aggression or duplicity would spell mutual annihilation for Invid and Humans alike.
地球人堡垒上的战术情报中心里，T·R·爱德华兹少将注视着一艘穿梭运输艇从旗舰上全副武装的一条触手的尖端冒出。爱德华兹相信，摄政王瑞金特就在这艘小船上，身边想必陪着一伙卫兵和科学家组成的随从。因维舰队在此列阵，意图明确：任何攻击或欺骗的举动便意味着双方玉石俱焚。
Admiral Forsythe, who commanded the SDF-3's bridge in the wake of Lisa Hayes's departure with the Sentinels, was now in constant communication with the Invid flagship. It was the Regent who had taken the initiative in suggesting this extraordinary visit, but Forsythe had insisted that the fortress remain at high alert status at least until the Regent was aboard. Disillusioned by decades of war and betrayal, and hardened by the grim realities of recent reversals, it was the Human race that had grown wary of summits, distrustful of those who would sue for peace.
丽莎随哨兵同盟离开后，接替其位指挥SDF-3舰桥的是福尔塞提将军，他正和因维旗舰进行密切的通信。这次不寻常的造访，发起提议的人是瑞金特，但福尔塞提仍坚持在瑞金特登上堡垒之前要保持高度警戒的状态。数十年的战争和背叛让人类不再有任何幻想，而近期的逆境和残酷的现实则更坚定了这种意识；对首脑会议谨慎、对求和一方猜疑的，正是人类。
Scanners and camera remotes monitored the approach of the Regent's shuttlecraft and relayed relevant data to screens in the fortress's cavernous Tactical Center, where techs and staff officers were keeping a close watch on the situation. Edwards moved to the railing of the command balcony for an overview of the room's enormous horizontal situation screen. Studying the positions of the Invid troop carriers in relation to the SDF-3, it occurred to him how easy it would be to fire at them right now, perhaps take half of them out along with the Regent himself before the Invid retaliated. And even then there was a good chance the fortress would survive the return fire, which was bound to be confused. Numerous though they might be, the Invid seemed to lack any real knowledge of strategy. Edwards was convinced that their successful strike against the SDF-3 almost six months ago had been the result of surprise and old-fashioned blind luck. More to the point, he felt that he had an intuitive understanding of this enemy-a second sense birthed during his brief exposure to the brainlike device his own Ghost Squadron had captured on Tirol.
扫描器和远程摄像头监控着瑞金特穿梭艇渐渐驶来，并将相关的数据转播到森森山洞般的堡垒战术中心里的诸多屏幕上；技师和参谋们正在那里密切关注着情势变化。爱德华兹走到指挥露台边，凭栏而望，好将屋内巨大的水平情势屏尽收眼中。他研究着因维运兵舰群与SDF-3的相对位置，突然意识到此刻向他们开火简直是轻而易举：在因维人反击之前，就可以报销掉他们半数船只，连同瑞金特本身一道。而就算反击，也势必会狼狈不堪，堡垒还有很大机会能挺过来。他们或许数量众多，但这些因维人好像对真正的作战策略一窍不通。爱德华兹确信，六个月之前他们对SDF-3的袭击，全是靠着出其不意外加撞了狗屎大运才得手的。更关键的是，他觉得自己对敌人有了直觉上的理解——这是他在那台自己的幽灵中队于泰洛捕获的脑状设备前短暂曝光期间，产生的第二感受。
Edwards reminded himself of the several good reasons for exercising restraint. Apart from the fact that the actual size of the Invid fleet remained unknown, there was this Regis being to wonder about; her whereabouts and motivations had yet to be determined. Besides, he sensed that the Regent had something more than peace negotiations in mind. In any case, the data Edwards had furnished the Invid regarding the Sentinels' ship had already linked the two of them in a separate peace. But Edwards was willing to play out the charade-even if it amounted to nothing more than an opportunity to appraise his potential partner.
爱德华兹找了些充分的理由来提醒自己保持克制。除了因维舰队的实际规模仍未可知之外，还有这个瑞吉斯是个谜团；还不能确定她的去向和动机。还有，他能感到瑞金特此行除了磋商媾和之外还别有用心。总之，爱德华兹之前提供给了因维人关于哨兵之船的资料，这已经将两人用一份另立的和约联结起来。但爱德华兹愿意将这出哑剧演到底——哪怕这意味的只不过是一份评估这位潜在伙伴的机会而已。
He dismissed his musings abruptly and returned to the balcony console, where he received an update on the shuttlecraft's ETA in the fortress docking bay. Then, giving a final moment of attention to the room's numerous screens and displays, he hurried out, adjusting his alloy faceplate as one would a hat, and tugging his dress blues into shape.
他从自己的沉思中抽离，注意力回到露台的控制器上，那里收到了一条关于穿梭艇到达堡垒港区预计时刻的消息更新。接着，他利用最后一刻对屋内众多的屏幕和显示器关注一番后，便匆匆走出；就像别人扶正帽子那样，他边走边调整自己的合金面罩，又将自己身上的军服拉拽伏贴。
The docking bay had been transformed into a kind of parade grounds for the occasion, with everyone present as decked out as they had been at the Hunters' wedding extravaganza. There had been no advance notice of what, if any, protocols were to be observed, but a brass band was on hand nonetheless. The impression the Plenipotentiary Council wished to convey was that of a highly-organized group, strong and decisive, but warlike only as a last resort. The twelve members of the council had a viewstand all to themselves at the edge of a broad magenta circle, concentric to the shuttle's touchdown zone. A majority of the council had ruled against the show of force Edwards had pushed for, but as a concession, he had been allowed to crowd the bay with rank after rank of spit-shined mecha-Battloids, Logans, Hovertanks, Excalibers, Spartans, and the like.
为了这件大事，港区已经变成了一块阅兵场，每个人都像参加卡特夫妇婚礼庆典时那样盛装出席。尽管没有事先通告应当遵循何等礼仪来迎接，现场还是安排了一支铜管军乐队。全权大使委员会希望能传达这种印象——我们的队伍，坚强果敢，战争是万不得已的选择。穿梭艇着陆区域外有一圈宽阔的品红色同心圆环，委员会十二人在圆环边上单独有一个观礼台。委员会大多数人否决了爱德华兹炫耀武力的强烈要求，但作为妥协，允许他在港区里布满一排排油光锃亮的机甲——战斗员、摇石、气垫坦克、石中剑、猛士，不一而足。
The shuttle docked while Edwards was making his way to a preassigned place near the council's raised platform; since he had been the council's spokesperson in arranging the talks, it had been decided that he represent them now in the introductory proceedings. Edwards had of course both seen and fought against the enemy's troops, and he had met face-to-face with the scientists Obsim and Tesla; but neither of these examples had prepared him for his first sight of the Invid Regent, nor had the Royal Hall's communicator sphere given him any sense of the XT's size. Like the lesser beings of the Invid race, the Regent was something of an evolutionary pastiche-a greenish slug-headed bipedal creature whose ontogeny and native habitat was impossible to imagine-but he stood a good twenty feet high and was crowned by an organic cowl or hood, adorned, so it seemed, with a median ridge of eyeball-like tubercles. Dr. Lang had talked about self-generated transformations and reshapings that had little to do with evolution as it had come to be accepted (and expected) on Earth. But all the Protoculture pataphysics in the galaxy couldn't keep Edwards from gaping.
穿梭艇停泊的同时，爱德华兹正前往委员会讲台附近一处预先指定的地点；由于他在安排会谈的过程中已经充当了委员会的发言人，便决定此刻的介绍程序也由他来代表他们。爱德华兹当然与敌军有过交手，也曾当面见过科学家欧布西姆和泰斯拉；但在第一眼看到因维摄政王时，之前那两个先例没能让他免于讶异，皇家大礼堂的通讯球也没能让他对这个外星人的身量产生概念。瑞金特是个进化论的杂糅式产物，这点和那些低级的因维族人一样——都是稍显绿色的蛞蝓头两脚兽，很难设想他们的个体发育方式和栖息地情况——但他身高二十英尺，一块有机体的兜帽状肉甲宛如王冠戴在头上，肉甲中脊线上饰有眼球形的隆起。朗博士曾说起过自生的“转变”和“重塑”和地球上广为接受（并期待）的进化现象几无关联。但这银河系中的史前文化荒诞玄学产物，还是让爱德华兹禁不住目瞪口呆。
A dozen armed and armored troopers preceded the Regent down the shuttle ramp (a ribbed saucer similar in design to the troop carriers), and split into two ranks, genuflecting on either side of what would be the Regent's carpeted path toward the council platform. Recovered, Edwards stepped forward to greet the alien in Tiresian, then repeated the words in English. The Invid threw back the folds of his cerulean robes, revealing four-fingered hands, and glared down at him.
在瑞金特身前，十来个装甲武装的军人走下了穿梭艇舷梯（一个带骨条的碟子，和运兵舰的设计相似），随后他们分列两行，单膝跪在瑞金特前往委员会讲台的地毯通道两侧。爱德华兹定神后走上前，先用泰雷西亚语问候这位外星要人，又用英语重复一遍。因维人将天蓝色的长袍衣褶朝后甩开，露出一双四指大手，目光向下朝他瞪去。
"I learned your language-yesterday," the Regent announced in a voice that carried its own echo."I find your concepts most...amusing."
“我学会了你们的语言——昨天，”瑞金特宣布的声调里回音飘荡，“我发现你们的思想，十分……有趣。”
Edwards looked up into the Regent's black eyes and offered a grin."And rest assured we'll do our best to keep you amused, Your Highness." He was pleased to see the alien's bulbous snout sensors begin to pulsate.
爱德华兹仰头直视瑞金特的一双黑眼，面带笑容。“您大可放心，殿下，我们会尽最大努力让您一直感到有趣的。”他看到外星人球茎般的吻喙感受器开始搏动时，很是得意。
Edwards's one-eyed gaze held the Regent's own for an instant, and that was all he needed to realize that something was wrong-that this being was not the one he had spoken to via the communications sphere. But he kept this to himself, falling aside theatrically to usher the Regent forward to the council platform.
爱德华兹仅用独眼与瑞金特对视了片刻，便意识到这里有问题——这个人不是之前他用通讯球对话的那个家伙。但他没表露出来，做戏似的退到一边，引导瑞金特朝前方委员会的讲台走去。
The Plenipotentiary members introduced themselves one by one, and after further formalities the Regent and his retinue were directed to the amphitheater that had been designated for the talks. The Regent's size had necessitated a specific route, along which Edwards had made certain to place as many varieties of mecha as he could muster. Each hold the summit principals passed through found combat-ready Veritechs and Alphas; each corridor turn, another squad of RDF troops or a contingent of towering Destroids. While aboard, the Regent's every word and step would be monitored by the extensive security system Edwards had made operational as part of his Code Pyramid project-a system that had also managed to find its way into the council's public and private chambers, and into many of the fortress's Robotechnological labs and inner sanctums.
全权大使委员会的成员们一个接一个地自我介绍，进一步的礼节之后，瑞金特和随从们被带到充当会谈场所的阶梯圆剧场去。为了瑞金特的体型，人们专门准备了一条路线，而爱德华兹则尽其所能地确保路线两侧将多多陈列各色机甲。首脑要人经过的每一间船舱里，都是完成作战准备的变形战机和阿尔法机；每个走道拐角，都部署着一支防卫军小队或高大的驱逐士战队。在堡垒上瑞金特的每一句话、每一个脚步都将被监控在案，作为爱德华兹自己“代号金字塔”计划的一部分——这套体系也成功地进入了委员会公开或私人的房间，以及堡垒的机器人技术实验室和各内部场所。
There was a smorgasbord of food and drink awaiting everyone in the amphitheater's antechambers; the Regent nourished himself on applelike fruits his servants brought forth. Edwards noticed that Lang was doing his best to attach himself to the Invid leader, but the Regent seemed unimpressed, refusing to discuss any of the topics the Earth scientist broached. In fact, only Minmei succeeded in getting a rise out of the Regent. Edwards noted that the Invid could barely take his eyes off the singer after she had completed her songs, and he retained a slightly spellbound look long after the introductory addresses had commenced.
圆剧场的前厅摆放着茶点冷餐；仆从们带来的形如苹果的果子让瑞金特大快朵颐。爱德华兹发觉，朗想方设法地接近这位因维摄政王，但瑞金特似乎不为所动，拒绝讨论这个地球人科学家挑起的任何话题。实际上，只有明美成功地勾起了瑞金特的兴致。爱德华兹注意到她的歌曲演唱完毕之后，这个因维人的眼光就几乎没离开过她的身上，而且在欢迎介绍辞开始了好一阵子之后，他脸上依然微微露着一副痴迷神态。
Terms for a truce were slated for follow-up discussions, so civilians and members of the press were permitted to enter the amphitheater itself. Edwards saw to it that Minmei was seated beside him in the front row, where the Regent could get a good look at the two of them.
按日程，和约条款将在后续的讨论中商议，所以准许平民和记者们进入了圆剧场内部。爱德华兹用心将明美安排在自己身边的首排座位，好让瑞金特能将他俩看个清楚。
The alien's initial remarks put to rest any doubts that may have lingered in Edwards's mind concerning the ongoing impersonation. The Regent spoke of misunderstandings on both sides, of a desire to bring peace and order to a section of the galaxy that had known nonstop warfare for centuries. He claimed to understand now just what had prompted the Human forces to undertake their desperate journey, and he sympathized with their present plight, hinting that it might be possible to accelerate the timetable for the Human's return trip to their homeworld-providing, of course, that certain terms could be agreed upon.
外星人的开场白就让爱德华兹心中关于此人冒充身份的疑虑落了地。瑞金特谈到了双方的误会，谈到了对给这片被几百年来连绵不断的战事摧残的星系空间带来和平与秩序的渴望。他宣称如今已理解是什么促使人类大军踏上了这趟危急之旅，而且对人类当前的困境感同身受，并暗示加速人类回航母星的日程表的可能性——当然，前提是，某些条款要先达成一致。
"It's a pity there has been so much loss of life," the Invid continued in the same imperious tone,"both in Tirolspace and during the so-called 'liberation' of Karbarra. But while we may have no cause for further quarrel with your forces here, it must be understood that no leniency could be expected for those of your number who chose to join the Sentinels. And despite what you may have been told by the Tiresians, those worlds-Praxis, Garuda, and the rest-belong to me. The reasons for this are complex and at present irrelevant to the nature of these negotiations, but again we wish to stress that the Sentinels' cause was a misguided one from the start. It was inevitable that they fail sooner or later."
“众多生命消逝，实乃憾事，”因维人骄横地继续说道，“不论是在泰洛空间还是在那所谓的卡巴拉‘解放’战役里。尽管我们可能在这儿与你们的军队没有进一步冲突的动机，但你们必须明白，你们当中那些选择加入哨兵同盟的人，面临的将是绝无宽待。不论你们从泰洛人那里听到了些什么，那些世界——普拉西斯、嘎鲁达、还有其他——都属于我。这个中缘由非常复杂，同我们此刻的谈判也并不相干，但我们希望再次强调，哨兵的目的从一开始就是扭曲的。他们迟早会失败，这是必然的。”
A charged silence fell over the auditorium, and Edwards had to restrain himself from laughing. The Sentinels had not been heard from for four months now. Official word had it that the Farrago was maintaining radio silence for strategic reasons. Then, recently, there had been open speculation that the ship had been badly damaged during the battle for Praxis. But Edwards knew better. He felt Minmei's trembling grasp on his upper arm. Colonel Adams, also seated in the front row, leaned forward to throw him a knowing look.
听众席上积蓄着沉默，而爱德华兹不得不压制自己的情绪，以免大笑出来。哨兵同盟已有四个月杳无音讯。官方说辞是法拉戈号出于战略目的保持着无线电静默。然则最近已有公开的声音推测该船已在普拉西斯的战斗里遭受重创。但爱德华兹知道的更多。他感到明美紧紧握住自己的上臂，颤抖着。同样坐在首排的亚当斯上校，前倾上身，朝他投来意味深长的一瞥。
"We have only recently lost contact with the Farrago," Professor Lang was saying."But I'm certain that once communications are re-established and an accord of some sort is enacted, Admiral Hunter and the others will abide by its terms and return to Tirol."
“我们只是最近才失去了同法拉戈号的联系，”朗教授开口道。“但我确信一旦通讯重新建立，而且某种谅解协议达成后，卡特将军等人会遵守其中条款并回航泰洛的。”
The Invid crossed his massive arms."Yes, I'm sure they would have honored it, Dr. Lang. But I'm afraid it's too late. Four months ago the Sentinels' ship was destroyed-with all hands aboard."
因维人一双巨臂交叠抱起。“是啊，我相信他们会尊重协议的，朗博士。但恐怕已经太迟了。四个月以前，哨兵之船已经完蛋了——船毁人亡，无一幸免。”
A collective gasp rose from the crowd, and Edwards heard Minmei begin to sob."Rick...Jonathan," she said, struggling to her feet, only to collapse across Edwards's lap.
人群中升起了集体惊叹，爱德华兹也听到明美开始抽泣起来。“瑞克……乔纳森，”她说着，脚下不稳，终于瘫倒在爱德华兹的腿上。
Someone nearby screamed. Lang and the rest of the council were standing, their words swallowed up in the noise of dozens of separate conversations. News personnel and members of the general staff were rushing from the room. Edwards snapped an order to his aide to summon a doctor. Adams, meanwhile, was shoving onlookers aside.
边上有个人尖叫起来。朗和其他委员们站起身，他们的话语淹没在上百人分别交谈的嘈杂里。新闻人员和参谋们纷纷冲出房间。爱德华兹朝他的副官厉声下令，赶紧召医生过来。与此同时，亚当斯将旁观者纷纷挡到一边。
Edwards held Minmei protectively. Once again he sought out the Invid's lustrous eyes; and in that glance a pact was affirmed.
爱德华兹保护地抱着明美。又一次，他找到了因维人刺眼的目光；而这一瞥里，交易就此敲定。
But on Praxis the dead walked-those Sentinels who had escaped the destruction of the Farrago, and, unknown to them, a deadly host of archaic creatures returned to life in the bowels of the planet's abandoned Genesis Pits...
但在普拉西斯星，“亡者”们正漫步于此——是那些逃脱了法拉戈号灭顶之灾的哨兵们，以及，他们仍不知晓的，一大群在星球最深处废弃的起源坑里重获新生的古老生物……
"Take a look for yourself," Vince Grant suggested, stepping back from the scanner's monitor screen. Rick Hunter and Jonathan Wolff leaned in to regard the image centered there: an intact drive module that had been blown clear of the ship and had fallen into low orbit around Praxis. Vince was reasonably certain the module's Protoculture-peat engines were undamaged.
“你自己看看吧，”文斯·格兰特建议道，从扫描仪器的监视屏前退后。瑞克·卡特和乔纳森·沃尔夫探身观察屏幕中央的画面：一块完好无损的驱动舱体模块被炸离了飞船，已经坠落到环绕普拉西斯星的低层轨道。文斯有理由确信舱体的史前文化－泥炭引擎没有受损。
"And there's no way to call it down·" Rick asked."A hundred miles or so and an Alpha could reach the thing." Normally, one could fly a Veritech to the moon and back, but not one of the Sentinels' all-but-depleted Alphas was capable of attaining escape velocity.
“没办法把它弄下来吗？”瑞克问道。“一百英里左右的距离，阿尔法机就能接近这玩艺儿。”正常情况下变形战机可以飞月球一个来回，但如今哨兵们燃料枯竭的阿尔法机没有一架有能力达到逃逸速度。
Vince shook his head, his brown face grim."We barely have enough power to keep the nets alive."
文斯摇摇头，棕色的面庞神情严峻。“我们的能源仅够让通讯网络保持工作。”
"Then it might as well be a million miles away," Wolff thought to add.
“那么它就同距离我们百万英里没什么两样。”沃尔夫想了想，补充道。
Vince switched off the screen and the three men sat down to steaming mugs of tea one of the Praxians had brewed up from some indigenous grass. After four months it had come down to this: the GMU's stores were nearly empty and foraging had become one of the group's primary activities. And in all those months they had yet to come up with an explanation for the disappearance of the planet's native population. What was left of the central city and all the surrounding villages were deserted. But whether what Bela called "the Praxian Sisterhood" had chosen to leave had not been ascertained.
文斯关闭了屏幕，三人坐下享用热气腾腾的热茶，那是普拉西斯人用本地青草沏出的饮品。四个月的时间可算尘埃落定：GMU的物资几近枯竭，寻找粮草已经成了这伙人的主要活动之一。而且，这几个月里他们还是没能为这颗星球的原住民集体失踪找到解释。中央城市和周边所有的村庄统统空寂无人。但她们的离去是不是贝拉所称的“普拉西斯姊妹会”的选择，尚不明朗。
Puzzling, too, were the tectonic anomalies and quakes that were continuing to plague the planet, as often as three times a day now. The quakes had convinced the Sentinels' Praxian contingent that Arla-Non--Bela's "mother" and the leader of the Sisterhood-had struck a deal with the Invid to move the planet's population to some other world. Rick wasn't sure if he bought the explanation, but it certainly served a therapeutic need if nothing else.
同样令人疑惑的是地质构造上的异动和地震不断侵袭着这颗星球，现在的频率是一日三次。地震让哨兵中的普拉西斯代表们相信雅拉侬——贝拉之“母”与姊妹会首领——与因维人敲定协议，将星球的居民搬迁到了别的世界。瑞克不确定自己是否能接受这个解释，但这么想能抚平伤痛，也毕竟没什么坏处。
"Look," Rick said, breaking the silence,"they're probably already searching for us. Lang's not about to write us off. And even if the mining operation is close to on-schedule, they'll have at least one ship readied with the capability for a local jump. We just have to hope the Invid have lost interest in this place."
“看看，”瑞克开口打破了沉默，“他们可能已经在搜寻我们了。朗不会打算将我们一笔勾销的。而且即使采矿行动要严格按计划执行，他们也能准备好至少一艘具有本星区内跃迁能力的船。我们就是得期望因维人对这里已丧失兴趣才行。”
The horde's absence these months bordered on the conspicuous; and with the quakes and deserted villages, Cabell had speculated that it was possible the Invid knew something the Sentinels didn't.
因维军团这几个月的缺席，基本上有目共睹；接连的地震和废弃的村庄令卡贝尔推测：可能因维人知道些不为哨兵所知的情况。
Rick's optimism in the face of all this had Vince smiling to himself. Rick would always be a commander whether he liked it or not."It's not Lang we're worried about," he said, speaking for himself and Wolff.
瑞克对这一切的乐观面容让文斯暗自微笑。不管瑞克自己是否情愿，他一直都具有指挥官的意志。“我们要担心的不是朗，”他答道，代表了自己和沃尔夫的意见。
Rick caught his meaning."Edwards has to answer to the council." There was an edge to his voice he didn't mean to put there. Lang had warned Rick about Edwards during one of the last links the Farrago had had with Base Tirol, and it was difficult to keep the memory of that brief deep-space commo from surfacing.
瑞克明白他的意思。“爱德华兹是要向委员会负责的。”他的语气里有一丝尖刻，这倒不是他的本意。在法拉戈号同泰洛基地的最后几次通信中的某一次里，朗早就警告过瑞克关于爱德华兹的问题，那次短暂太空通话的回忆此刻涌现出来，难以抑制。
"Don't underestimate the man's ambitions, Rick," Wolff cautioned."I'm sure they're going to come looking, but I'm willing to bet that Edwards will have the council eating out of his hand by then. Maybe one of us should have-"
“不要低估那人的野心，瑞克，”沃尔夫提示道。“我确信他们会来找的，但我也敢打赌到那时爱德华兹会让委员会对他彻底倚赖。或许我们当中应当有个人——”
"I don't want to go over old ground," Rick cut him off."The only thing that interests me right now is a way to reach that drive module."
“我不想总是老话重提了，”瑞克打断了他。“现在让我有兴趣的唯一的事情，就是能接近那只驱动模块。”
Grant and Wolff exchanged looks and studied their cups of tea. Rick was right, of course: there was no use dwelling on the choices they had made, individually and collectively. Wolff liked to think that at least Vince had Jean by his side and the precious GMU under his feet. But Rick had all but resigned his commission, and Wolff himself had left his heart behind.
格兰特和沃尔夫交换了颜色，又低头望着自己杯中的茶。瑞克是对的，当然：没必要总是为了他们已经做出的选择念念不忘，不论这是个人的选择还是集体的选择。沃尔夫不禁想到，至少文斯身边还有吉英相伴，脚下还踏着珍贵的GMU。但瑞克辞掉了他的军中委任，而沃尔夫自己则将心之所爱抛在身后。
A rumbling sound broke the silence, causing the mugs to skitter across the tabletop. The tremor built in intensity, rattling the command center's consoles and screens, then subsided, rolling away beneath them like contained thunder.
一声隆隆巨响打破了沉默，杯子跳动着越过了台面。震动自身十分强烈，嘎嘎摇动着指挥中心的控制台和屏幕，又渐渐平息下来，仿佛封闭的惊雷在他们脚底下滚动离去。
No one spoke for a moment. Wolff wore a wary look as he loosened his grip on the edge of the table and sat back to exhale a whistle."Course, Praxis could do us in long before the Invid or Edwards."
这片刻间无人开口。沃尔夫神情疲惫，松开紧握着桌边的手，朝后坐坐，吹了声口哨。“当然，普拉西斯会在因维人和爱德华兹之前就干掉我们的。”
"Pleasant thought," Vince told him.
“这想法可真令人愉悦，”文斯回答。
Rick gave them both an angry look."We're going to get to that module if we have to pole-vault there."
瑞克愤怒地望了他俩一眼。“哪怕不得不让我们去撑杆跳，也必须要拿到这个模块。”
Tactical concerns (and personal preference) had kept Vince Grant and Rick somewhat anchored to the GMU (which had been moved inland from its original seaside landing zone); but the rest of the substantially reduced Robotech contingent, along with the XT Sentinels, had opted for Praxis's wooded valleys, the planet's often glorious skies, and rolling hills. Max and Miriya's Skull Squadron had spent most of the past months reconning remote areas, hoping to come upon some trace of the vanished Sisterhood; but they had only succeeded in further depleting already critical reserves of Protoculture fuel. Consequently, the Wolff Pack stuck close to base, Hovertanks shut down. Bela and Gnea and the other Praxians had voluntarily detailed themselves to serve the group's logistical needs, and were assisted in this by the bearlike Karbarrans and vulpine Garudans. Cabell had all but isolated himself, disappearing for long walks from which he would return with samples of native rock or flora. Still a bit uncomfortable with the Humans and not yet fully accepted by the XTs, the Tiresian was often found in the company of Rem, Baldan, Teal, and the limbless Haydonites, Veidt and Sarna. Janice, too, had become an unofficial member of Cabell's eldritch clique, much to Rick and Lisa's puzzlement.
出于战术上的考虑（以及个人的偏好），文斯·格兰特和瑞克像是在GMU里抛了锚（GMU也从最初的海边着陆地带转移到了内陆）；但已经大为削弱的太空堡垒分遣队中其它的人员，则同外星人哨兵们一起，选择了普拉西斯星的密林山谷、灿烂天空、绵延山丘。麦克斯和米莉娅的骷髅中队在过去的几个月里，大部分时间都在侦查偏远地区，希望能发现点儿那早已消失不见的姐妹会的蛛丝马迹；但结果只是进一步白白消耗已经处在临界状态的史前文化燃料储备。于是，沃尔夫战队只能困在基地附近，气垫坦克也关闭了。贝拉和妮雅等普拉西斯人自愿组织起来为这群人的后勤服务，卡巴拉熊人和嘎鲁达狐人也帮着她们。卡贝尔则独自行动，先是一个人消失了，走了很远的路程，回来的时候带了些本地岩石和原产植物的样本。这位泰雷西亚人和人类相处时，仍有些不自在，而外星哨兵们也尚未完全接受他，不过经常能看到他同雷、鲍丹、缇尔、没手没脚的海顿人维特和莎娜在一起。而贾妮斯，也成为了卡贝尔怪客组的非正式成员之一，这让瑞克和丽莎颇有些不解。
Presently, Cabell and Janice were off together on a long walk; they were on a forested slope about fifteen miles from the mobile base when the tremor that had shaken the GMU struck. The minor quake did little more than knock them off balance and loosen some gravel and shale from nearby heights; but it was the morning's second shakeup and it brought a severe look to Cabell's face.
现在，卡贝尔和贾妮斯正一同步行，二人走了很远；当地震袭来晃动着GMU基地时，他俩在距离基地大约15英里的一处林坡上。这个小地震只不过让他们失去平衡晃了几下，松动了边上高地的沙砾页岩而已，但这已经是上午第二次震了，这让卡贝尔的面色十分严峻。
Janice had thought to take hold of the old man's arm and utter a short panicked sound as the ground began to tremble. It was a performance worthy of Minmei's best, although Janice could hardly appreciate it as such-any more than she could fully understand just what had compelled her to seek out Rem and Cabell's company in the first place. That this should somehow please Dr. Lang was a thought as baffling to her as it was discomforting.
大地颤抖时，贾妮斯企图握紧老人的手臂，发出短促恐慌的尖叫。这种表现符合明美的习惯，尽管贾妮斯对此很难欣赏——也很难明白是什么迫使自己一开始就挑出雷和卡贝尔的那伙人来搭伴。这多少能让朗博士高兴吧，这种想法对她来说，既困惑又难受。
"There, there, child," Cabell was saying, patting her hand."It will be over in a moment."
“别慌，孩子，”卡贝尔说，一边拍着她的手。“过一会儿就好了。”
They recommenced their climb when the tremor passed. Janice disengaged herself and urged Cabell to go on with what they had been discussing.
地震过后，他俩又继续上山。贾妮斯松开手，催着卡贝尔继续之前他俩的话题。
"Ah, yes," he said, running a hand over his bald pate,"the trees."
“啊，是啊，”他说，一只手摸着自己光光的头顶，“那些树。”
Janice listened like a student eager for A's.
贾妮斯如同一个渴望高分的学生那样聆听着。
"As you can see, they're nothing like the scrub growth we found on Karbarra-far healthier, much closer to the unmutated form." He motioned with his hand and went up on tiptoes to touch the spherical "canopy" of a healthy-looking specimen. The tendrils that encased the solid-looking sphere and rigid near-translucent trunk seemed to pulse with life. Gingerly, Cabell plucked one of the verdigris-colored applelike fruits, burnished it against his robe, and began to turn it about in his wrinkled hand.
“正像你看到的那样，他们和我们在卡巴拉发现的灌木生长完全不同——更健康、更接近未变异的形态。”他踮起脚尖，伸手触摸一颗外形健康的样本树上的球形“冠”。藤须围笼着外形固实的球冠和坚硬的近乎透明的树干，仿佛具有生命般的脉动。小心翼翼地，卡贝尔摘下了一颗铜绿色苹果般的果实，用自己的袍子擦亮它，满是皱纹的手握着它旋转。
"Even the fruit they bear is different in color and texture-although still a far cry from the true Opteran species. Nevertheless, it may tell us something." He took off his rucksack and placed the sample inside."Look for the ripest ones," the instructed Janice, as she added a second fruit to the pack.
“就算是它们结的果实，颜色和质地也不一样——尽管和真正的奥普特拉品种差的还远。不管怎么说，这能给我们些信息。”他摘下自己的帆布包，把样品放进包里。“找最成熟的那些，”贾妮斯又往包里塞第二个果子时，他告诉她。
Cabell was straightening up when a sudden movement further up the slope caught his eye. Janice heard him start, and turned to follow his narrowed gaze.
卡贝尔挺起身，这时坡上前方突然一动，吸引了他的目光。贾妮斯听到他惊呼，转身跟着他的视线望去。
"What was it·"
“那是什么？”
Cabell stroked his beard."I thought I saw someone up ahead."
卡贝尔捋着自己的胡须。“我以为自己看到前头上面有人。”
"A Praxian·" Janice asked, craning her neck and sharpening her vision.
“是普拉西斯人？”贾妮斯问，伸着脖子，将视觉调整锐利。
"No," he said, shaking his head."I would swear it was Burak!"
“不，”他摇着头答道。“我发誓，那是伯拉克！”
Later, a stone's throw from the grounded GMU, inside the wooden structure that had been designated both quarters and cell, Tesla wolfed down the fruits Burak had picked from the sinister orchard Zor's Flower of Life seedings had spawned on Praxis.
过了一阵子，距稳如磐石的GMU只有一箭之地的木结构建筑里——这房子指定兼作牢房和寝室——泰斯拉正狼吞虎咽着伯拉克从当年佐尔的生命之花种子在普拉西斯扎根的邪恶果园里采来的果子。
"Yes, yes, different, ummm," the Invid was saying in a voice tinged-with rapture.
“是啊，是啊，不同，嗯嗯，”因维人说道，话音里微微带着狂喜。
The young Perytonian tried to avert his eyes, but in the end couldn't help himself from watching Tesla as he ingested fruit after fruit. Moist sucking noises filled the cell.
年轻的佩里顿人想努力转过目光，但最终还是忍不住瞧着泰斯拉一个果子接一个的吞下。牢房里充满着潮湿的吮吸声。
"And you think they may have seen you·" Tesla asked him.
“而你认为他们可能看到你了？”泰斯拉问他。
"It is possible-Cabell, in any case."
“有可能——不管怎样，是卡贝尔。”
Tesla scoffed, still munching and handling the fruits as if they were wealth itself."Cabell is too old to recognize the nose on his own face. Besides, they know I can't subsist on what you call food."
泰斯拉一声嗤笑，嘴里继续大嚼，手中拿捏着果子，仿佛捧着财宝一样。“卡贝尔太老了，连自己脸上的鼻子都看不清楚。还有，他们知道，靠着你们所说的食物我是活不下去的。”
Burak said nothing. It was true enough: the Invid's food stock had been destroyed with the Farrago, and the Sentinels had agreed to place Burak in charge of securing alternative nutrient plants. But Cabell, who was anything but a doddering old man, and perhaps fearing the very transformations Tesla was beginning to undergo, had suggested that the Invid's fruit and Flower intake be regulated-this in spite of the fact that Tesla had to some extent ingratiated himself with the group since their victory on Karbarra. Each evening, Cabell and Jean Grant would look in on Tesla. Burak had been asked to furnish them with a daily log of the amounts gathered and ingested; and the devilish-looking Perytonian was complying-inasmuch as he would file a report. But the report was hardly a reflection of the actual amounts Tesla consumed. Fortunately, though, the Invid's transformations had been limited to brief periods following his meals, when neither Cabell nor Jean were present.
伯拉克什么也没说。的确如此，因维人的食物库存和法拉戈号一起灰飞烟灭了，哨兵们也同意让伯拉克负责保卫这些变种营养作物。但卡贝尔可不是什么糟老头，他担忧着泰斯拉正在经历的“转变”，他此前便提出建议，要管制因维人对果子花儿的摄取量——即使卡巴拉的胜利之后泰斯拉对哨兵颇为讨好迎合，也要如此。每天晚上，卡贝尔和吉英·格兰特会来检查泰斯拉。他们要求伯拉克提供一份日志，登记采摘量和食用量；恶魔样貌的佩里顿人也照做了，尽职尽责地填写报告。但这报告中基本上没有反映出泰斯拉的实际进食量。好在因维人的“转变”只限于进食后的短时间内发生，而那段时间卡贝尔和吉英都不在。
"More," Tesla said now, holding out his hands.
“再来点，”泰斯拉说话了，伸出双手。
Burak regarded the Invid's newly-acquired fifth digit and pulled the basket out of reach."I think you've had enough for today." Burak had heard it said that extraordinary powers could be gained from ingesting the fruits of Haydon's Worlds, but he had never understood that to mean physical transfiguration, and the Invid's recent changes were beginning to fill him with fear.
伯拉克打量着因维人刚刚获得的第五根手指，把篮子拉到他够不到的地方。“我觉得你今天吃的够多了。”伯拉克曾听说，吞食出自海顿诸世界的果子能让人获得超凡的力量，但他从未理解这原来意味着身体的转变，这个因维人近期的变化开始让他充满恐惧。
Tesla's eyes glowed red as he came to his feet, taller by inches than he had stood on Karbarra."You dare to say this to me after all we've been through· You, who sought me out before fate landed us in this despicable situation· And what of your homeworld and the curse you were so feverish to see ended-have you given up hope· Would you renounce your destiny·"
泰斯拉站起身，双目血红，他比在卡巴拉的时候还要高几英寸。“我们经历了这一切，你胆敢对我说这些？听着，是谁在命运将我们扔在这个恶劣境地之前来找我的？还有你的母星、你狂热地想要终结的诅咒该怎么办——你放弃希望了吗？你放弃命中注定的使命了吗？”
Burak took a hesitant step toward the door, the basket clasped to him."You're changing!" he said, pointing to Tesla's hands."They're going to notice it, and what then· They'll cut back on the amounts, put someone else in charge of you. Then what becomes of your promises-what becomes of Peryton·"
伯拉克迟疑地朝门口走了一步，紧紧握住篮子。“你在变！”他说着，指着泰斯拉的双手。“他们会发现的，之后呢？他们会削减供给量，换个人来看管你。那时你的承诺怎么办——佩里顿又怎么办？”
Tesla continued to glare at him a moment more, transmogrifying even as Burak watched. The Invid's skull rippled and expanded, as though being forced to conform to some novel interior design. Gradually, however, Tesla reassumed his natural state and collapsed back into his seat, spent, subdued, and apologetic.
泰斯拉又接着瞪了他一会儿，在伯拉克眼皮下几乎完全变了样子。因维人的头骨如泛开涟漪般膨胀变大，仿佛要它强制适应某种新的内构设计。可是渐渐地，泰斯拉回复了他的本来样貌，猛然朝后倒在座位上，筋疲力尽，垂头丧气，一脸歉意。
"You're right, Burak. We must take care to keep our partnership a carefully-guarded secret." His black, ophidian eyes fixed on Burak."And have no fear for your tortured world. When the time comes for me to assume my rightful place in these events, I shall reward you for these efforts."
“你说的对，伯拉克。我们必须小心，要好好保守我们合作的秘密。”他黑色的毒蛇眼珠紧盯在伯拉克身上。“不要为你那受尽折磨的星球心怀恐惧。当我的时机一到，取得自己应有的正当地位后，我将回报你现在的所有努力。”
"That's all that I ask," Burak told him.
“我只要这些。”伯拉克告诉他。
The two XTs fell silent as a gentle tremor shook the building.
这两个外星人沉默不语，此时一阵和缓的震动将这房子摇晃起来。
Tesla stared at the floor."I sense something about this planet," he announced, his sensor organs twitching as his snout came up."And I think I am beginning to see just what the Regis was doing here."
泰斯拉盯着地面。“我感到这星球有事，”他开始宣告，抬起吻喙，感受器官不停抽动。“而且，我觉得自己开始明白瑞吉斯在这儿都干过些什么。”
《沙丘》六部曲合集
《波西杰克逊》系列合集
《猎魔人》合集
远征任务仿佛注定要和某一方签下休战协定，而瑞金特恰巧是此地仅有的敌手。五年后，机器人统治者将会抵达地球空间，再过三年，瑞吉斯和她的半支因维大军也将随之而来。但在2026年（地球相对时间），这仅仅是个推想；而且这几天，还将发生关于和平、信约这类难成之事的会谈。
Ahmed Rashona, That Pass in the Night: The SDF-3 and the Mission to Tirol
——阿梅德·拉朔纳《擦身而过：SDF-3与泰洛远征任务》
A fleet of Invid warships emerged from their transtemporal journey through hyperspace into the cool radiance of Fantoma's primary, like so many shells left revealed on a black sand beach by a receding tide. The mollusklike carriers positioned themselves a respectful distance from the moon they had captured then lost; only the fleet's mullet-shaped flagship continued its approach, menacing in its sealed silence.
因维舰队从异次元太空穿越而来，历经时间之旅，出现在凡托玛主星的冷色光芒当中，仿佛众多贝壳在海潮退去后从漆黑的沙滩上浮现。一艘艘蛤贝形的运兵船都对它们得而复失的那颗卫星敬而远之；只有这鲱鱼形的舰队旗舰仍在继续靠近，用密闭的沉默威胁着它。
At the edge of the ringed giant's shadow, Tirol's guardian, the SDF-3, swung round to face off with the Regent's vessel, the crimson lobes of its main gun brilliantly outlined in starlight.
尘环围绕的巨行星的阴影边缘，藏身着泰洛的卫士，SDF-3。它转过船身与摄政王的旗舰对峙，星光将猩红色堡垒主炮的瓣叶勾勒出耀眼的轮廓。
Aboard the Earth fortress, in the ship's Tactical Information Center, Major General T. R. Edwards watched as a transport shuttle emerged from the tip of one of the flagship's armored tentacles. Edwards trusted that the Regent was aboard the small craft, accompanied certainly by a retinue of guards and scientists. The presence of the Invid fleet made it clear that any acts of aggression or duplicity would spell mutual annihilation for Invid and Humans alike.
地球人堡垒上的战术情报中心里，T·R·爱德华兹少将注视着一艘穿梭运输艇从旗舰上全副武装的一条触手的尖端冒出。爱德华兹相信，摄政王瑞金特就在这艘小船上，身边想必陪着一伙卫兵和科学家组成的随从。因维舰队在此列阵，意图明确：任何攻击或欺骗的举动便意味着双方玉石俱焚。
Admiral Forsythe, who commanded the SDF-3's bridge in the wake of Lisa Hayes's departure with the Sentinels, was now in constant communication with the Invid flagship. It was the Regent who had taken the initiative in suggesting this extraordinary visit, but Forsythe had insisted that the fortress remain at high alert status at least until the Regent was aboard. Disillusioned by decades of war and betrayal, and hardened by the grim realities of recent reversals, it was the Human race that had grown wary of summits, distrustful of those who would sue for peace.
丽莎随哨兵同盟离开后，接替其位指挥SDF-3舰桥的是福尔塞提将军，他正和因维旗舰进行密切的通信。这次不寻常的造访，发起提议的人是瑞金特，但福尔塞提仍坚持在瑞金特登上堡垒之前要保持高度警戒的状态。数十年的战争和背叛让人类不再有任何幻想，而近期的逆境和残酷的现实则更坚定了这种意识；对首脑会议谨慎、对求和一方猜疑的，正是人类。
Scanners and camera remotes monitored the approach of the Regent's shuttlecraft and relayed relevant data to screens in the fortress's cavernous Tactical Center, where techs and staff officers were keeping a close watch on the situation. Edwards moved to the railing of the command balcony for an overview of the room's enormous horizontal situation screen. Studying the positions of the Invid troop carriers in relation to the SDF-3, it occurred to him how easy it would be to fire at them right now, perhaps take half of them out along with the Regent himself before the Invid retaliated. And even then there was a good chance the fortress would survive the return fire, which was bound to be confused. Numerous though they might be, the Invid seemed to lack any real knowledge of strategy. Edwards was convinced that their successful strike against the SDF-3 almost six months ago had been the result of surprise and old-fashioned blind luck. More to the point, he felt that he had an intuitive understanding of this enemy-a second sense birthed during his brief exposure to the brainlike device his own Ghost Squadron had captured on Tirol.
扫描器和远程摄像头监控着瑞金特穿梭艇渐渐驶来，并将相关的数据转播到森森山洞般的堡垒战术中心里的诸多屏幕上；技师和参谋们正在那里密切关注着情势变化。爱德华兹走到指挥露台边，凭栏而望，好将屋内巨大的水平情势屏尽收眼中。他研究着因维运兵舰群与SDF-3的相对位置，突然意识到此刻向他们开火简直是轻而易举：在因维人反击之前，就可以报销掉他们半数船只，连同瑞金特本身一道。而就算反击，也势必会狼狈不堪，堡垒还有很大机会能挺过来。他们或许数量众多，但这些因维人好像对真正的作战策略一窍不通。爱德华兹确信，六个月之前他们对SDF-3的袭击，全是靠着出其不意外加撞了狗屎大运才得手的。更关键的是，他觉得自己对敌人有了直觉上的理解——这是他在那台自己的幽灵中队于泰洛捕获的脑状设备前短暂曝光期间，产生的第二感受。
Edwards reminded himself of the several good reasons for exercising restraint. Apart from the fact that the actual size of the Invid fleet remained unknown, there was this Regis being to wonder about; her whereabouts and motivations had yet to be determined. Besides, he sensed that the Regent had something more than peace negotiations in mind. In any case, the data Edwards had furnished the Invid regarding the Sentinels' ship had already linked the two of them in a separate peace. But Edwards was willing to play out the charade-even if it amounted to nothing more than an opportunity to appraise his potential partner.
爱德华兹找了些充分的理由来提醒自己保持克制。除了因维舰队的实际规模仍未可知之外，还有这个瑞吉斯是个谜团；还不能确定她的去向和动机。还有，他能感到瑞金特此行除了磋商媾和之外还别有用心。总之，爱德华兹之前提供给了因维人关于哨兵之船的资料，这已经将两人用一份另立的和约联结起来。但爱德华兹愿意将这出哑剧演到底——哪怕这意味的只不过是一份评估这位潜在伙伴的机会而已。
He dismissed his musings abruptly and returned to the balcony console, where he received an update on the shuttlecraft's ETA in the fortress docking bay. Then, giving a final moment of attention to the room's numerous screens and displays, he hurried out, adjusting his alloy faceplate as one would a hat, and tugging his dress blues into shape.
他从自己的沉思中抽离，注意力回到露台的控制器上，那里收到了一条关于穿梭艇到达堡垒港区预计时刻的消息更新。接着，他利用最后一刻对屋内众多的屏幕和显示器关注一番后，便匆匆走出；就像别人扶正帽子那样，他边走边调整自己的合金面罩，又将自己身上的军服拉拽伏贴。
The docking bay had been transformed into a kind of parade grounds for the occasion, with everyone present as decked out as they had been at the Hunters' wedding extravaganza. There had been no advance notice of what, if any, protocols were to be observed, but a brass band was on hand nonetheless. The impression the Plenipotentiary Council wished to convey was that of a highly-organized group, strong and decisive, but warlike only as a last resort. The twelve members of the council had a viewstand all to themselves at the edge of a broad magenta circle, concentric to the shuttle's touchdown zone. A majority of the council had ruled against the show of force Edwards had pushed for, but as a concession, he had been allowed to crowd the bay with rank after rank of spit-shined mecha-Battloids, Logans, Hovertanks, Excalibers, Spartans, and the like.
为了这件大事，港区已经变成了一块阅兵场，每个人都像参加卡特夫妇婚礼庆典时那样盛装出席。尽管没有事先通告应当遵循何等礼仪来迎接，现场还是安排了一支铜管军乐队。全权大使委员会希望能传达这种印象——我们的队伍，坚强果敢，战争是万不得已的选择。穿梭艇着陆区域外有一圈宽阔的品红色同心圆环，委员会十二人在圆环边上单独有一个观礼台。委员会大多数人否决了爱德华兹炫耀武力的强烈要求，但作为妥协，允许他在港区里布满一排排油光锃亮的机甲——战斗员、摇石、气垫坦克、石中剑、猛士，不一而足。
The shuttle docked while Edwards was making his way to a preassigned place near the council's raised platform; since he had been the council's spokesperson in arranging the talks, it had been decided that he represent them now in the introductory proceedings. Edwards had of course both seen and fought against the enemy's troops, and he had met face-to-face with the scientists Obsim and Tesla; but neither of these examples had prepared him for his first sight of the Invid Regent, nor had the Royal Hall's communicator sphere given him any sense of the XT's size. Like the lesser beings of the Invid race, the Regent was something of an evolutionary pastiche-a greenish slug-headed bipedal creature whose ontogeny and native habitat was impossible to imagine-but he stood a good twenty feet high and was crowned by an organic cowl or hood, adorned, so it seemed, with a median ridge of eyeball-like tubercles. Dr. Lang had talked about self-generated transformations and reshapings that had little to do with evolution as it had come to be accepted (and expected) on Earth. But all the Protoculture pataphysics in the galaxy couldn't keep Edwards from gaping.
穿梭艇停泊的同时，爱德华兹正前往委员会讲台附近一处预先指定的地点；由于他在安排会谈的过程中已经充当了委员会的发言人，便决定此刻的介绍程序也由他来代表他们。爱德华兹当然与敌军有过交手，也曾当面见过科学家欧布西姆和泰斯拉；但在第一眼看到因维摄政王时，之前那两个先例没能让他免于讶异，皇家大礼堂的通讯球也没能让他对这个外星人的身量产生概念。瑞金特是个进化论的杂糅式产物，这点和那些低级的因维族人一样——都是稍显绿色的蛞蝓头两脚兽，很难设想他们的个体发育方式和栖息地情况——但他身高二十英尺，一块有机体的兜帽状肉甲宛如王冠戴在头上，肉甲中脊线上饰有眼球形的隆起。朗博士曾说起过自生的“转变”和“重塑”和地球上广为接受（并期待）的进化现象几无关联。但这银河系中的史前文化荒诞玄学产物，还是让爱德华兹禁不住目瞪口呆。
A dozen armed and armored troopers preceded the Regent down the shuttle ramp (a ribbed saucer similar in design to the troop carriers), and split into two ranks, genuflecting on either side of what would be the Regent's carpeted path toward the council platform. Recovered, Edwards stepped forward to greet the alien in Tiresian, then repeated the words in English. The Invid threw back the folds of his cerulean robes, revealing four-fingered hands, and glared down at him.
在瑞金特身前，十来个装甲武装的军人走下了穿梭艇舷梯（一个带骨条的碟子，和运兵舰的设计相似），随后他们分列两行，单膝跪在瑞金特前往委员会讲台的地毯通道两侧。爱德华兹定神后走上前，先用泰雷西亚语问候这位外星要人，又用英语重复一遍。因维人将天蓝色的长袍衣褶朝后甩开，露出一双四指大手，目光向下朝他瞪去。
"I learned your language-yesterday," the Regent announced in a voice that carried its own echo."I find your concepts most...amusing."
“我学会了你们的语言——昨天，”瑞金特宣布的声调里回音飘荡，“我发现你们的思想，十分……有趣。”
Edwards looked up into the Regent's black eyes and offered a grin."And rest assured we'll do our best to keep you amused, Your Highness." He was pleased to see the alien's bulbous snout sensors begin to pulsate.
爱德华兹仰头直视瑞金特的一双黑眼，面带笑容。“您大可放心，殿下，我们会尽最大努力让您一直感到有趣的。”他看到外星人球茎般的吻喙感受器开始搏动时，很是得意。
Edwards's one-eyed gaze held the Regent's own for an instant, and that was all he needed to realize that something was wrong-that this being was not the one he had spoken to via the communications sphere. But he kept this to himself, falling aside theatrically to usher the Regent forward to the council platform.
爱德华兹仅用独眼与瑞金特对视了片刻，便意识到这里有问题——这个人不是之前他用通讯球对话的那个家伙。但他没表露出来，做戏似的退到一边，引导瑞金特朝前方委员会的讲台走去。
The Plenipotentiary members introduced themselves one by one, and after further formalities the Regent and his retinue were directed to the amphitheater that had been designated for the talks. The Regent's size had necessitated a specific route, along which Edwards had made certain to place as many varieties of mecha as he could muster. Each hold the summit principals passed through found combat-ready Veritechs and Alphas; each corridor turn, another squad of RDF troops or a contingent of towering Destroids. While aboard, the Regent's every word and step would be monitored by the extensive security system Edwards had made operational as part of his Code Pyramid project-a system that had also managed to find its way into the council's public and private chambers, and into many of the fortress's Robotechnological labs and inner sanctums.
全权大使委员会的成员们一个接一个地自我介绍，进一步的礼节之后，瑞金特和随从们被带到充当会谈场所的阶梯圆剧场去。为了瑞金特的体型，人们专门准备了一条路线，而爱德华兹则尽其所能地确保路线两侧将多多陈列各色机甲。首脑要人经过的每一间船舱里，都是完成作战准备的变形战机和阿尔法机；每个走道拐角，都部署着一支防卫军小队或高大的驱逐士战队。在堡垒上瑞金特的每一句话、每一个脚步都将被监控在案，作为爱德华兹自己“代号金字塔”计划的一部分——这套体系也成功地进入了委员会公开或私人的房间，以及堡垒的机器人技术实验室和各内部场所。
There was a smorgasbord of food and drink awaiting everyone in the amphitheater's antechambers; the Regent nourished himself on applelike fruits his servants brought forth. Edwards noticed that Lang was doing his best to attach himself to the Invid leader, but the Regent seemed unimpressed, refusing to discuss any of the topics the Earth scientist broached. In fact, only Minmei succeeded in getting a rise out of the Regent. Edwards noted that the Invid could barely take his eyes off the singer after she had completed her songs, and he retained a slightly spellbound look long after the introductory addresses had commenced.
圆剧场的前厅摆放着茶点冷餐；仆从们带来的形如苹果的果子让瑞金特大快朵颐。爱德华兹发觉，朗想方设法地接近这位因维摄政王，但瑞金特似乎不为所动，拒绝讨论这个地球人科学家挑起的任何话题。实际上，只有明美成功地勾起了瑞金特的兴致。爱德华兹注意到她的歌曲演唱完毕之后，这个因维人的眼光就几乎没离开过她的身上，而且在欢迎介绍辞开始了好一阵子之后，他脸上依然微微露着一副痴迷神态。
Terms for a truce were slated for follow-up discussions, so civilians and members of the press were permitted to enter the amphitheater itself. Edwards saw to it that Minmei was seated beside him in the front row, where the Regent could get a good look at the two of them.
按日程，和约条款将在后续的讨论中商议，所以准许平民和记者们进入了圆剧场内部。爱德华兹用心将明美安排在自己身边的首排座位，好让瑞金特能将他俩看个清楚。
The alien's initial remarks put to rest any doubts that may have lingered in Edwards's mind concerning the ongoing impersonation. The Regent spoke of misunderstandings on both sides, of a desire to bring peace and order to a section of the galaxy that had known nonstop warfare for centuries. He claimed to understand now just what had prompted the Human forces to undertake their desperate journey, and he sympathized with their present plight, hinting that it might be possible to accelerate the timetable for the Human's return trip to their homeworld-providing, of course, that certain terms could be agreed upon.
外星人的开场白就让爱德华兹心中关于此人冒充身份的疑虑落了地。瑞金特谈到了双方的误会，谈到了对给这片被几百年来连绵不断的战事摧残的星系空间带来和平与秩序的渴望。他宣称如今已理解是什么促使人类大军踏上了这趟危急之旅，而且对人类当前的困境感同身受，并暗示加速人类回航母星的日程表的可能性——当然，前提是，某些条款要先达成一致。
"It's a pity there has been so much loss of life," the Invid continued in the same imperious tone,"both in Tirolspace and during the so-called 'liberation' of Karbarra. But while we may have no cause for further quarrel with your forces here, it must be understood that no leniency could be expected for those of your number who chose to join the Sentinels. And despite what you may have been told by the Tiresians, those worlds-Praxis, Garuda, and the rest-belong to me. The reasons for this are complex and at present irrelevant to the nature of these negotiations, but again we wish to stress that the Sentinels' cause was a misguided one from the start. It was inevitable that they fail sooner or later."
“众多生命消逝，实乃憾事，”因维人骄横地继续说道，“不论是在泰洛空间还是在那所谓的卡巴拉‘解放’战役里。尽管我们可能在这儿与你们的军队没有进一步冲突的动机，但你们必须明白，你们当中那些选择加入哨兵同盟的人，面临的将是绝无宽待。不论你们从泰洛人那里听到了些什么，那些世界——普拉西斯、嘎鲁达、还有其他——都属于我。这个中缘由非常复杂，同我们此刻的谈判也并不相干，但我们希望再次强调，哨兵的目的从一开始就是扭曲的。他们迟早会失败，这是必然的。”
A charged silence fell over the auditorium, and Edwards had to restrain himself from laughing. The Sentinels had not been heard from for four months now. Official word had it that the Farrago was maintaining radio silence for strategic reasons. Then, recently, there had been open speculation that the ship had been badly damaged during the battle for Praxis. But Edwards knew better. He felt Minmei's trembling grasp on his upper arm. Colonel Adams, also seated in the front row, leaned forward to throw him a knowing look.
听众席上积蓄着沉默，而爱德华兹不得不压制自己的情绪，以免大笑出来。哨兵同盟已有四个月杳无音讯。官方说辞是法拉戈号出于战略目的保持着无线电静默。然则最近已有公开的声音推测该船已在普拉西斯的战斗里遭受重创。但爱德华兹知道的更多。他感到明美紧紧握住自己的上臂，颤抖着。同样坐在首排的亚当斯上校，前倾上身，朝他投来意味深长的一瞥。
"We have only recently lost contact with the Farrago," Professor Lang was saying."But I'm certain that once communications are re-established and an accord of some sort is enacted, Admiral Hunter and the others will abide by its terms and return to Tirol."
“我们只是最近才失去了同法拉戈号的联系，”朗教授开口道。“但我确信一旦通讯重新建立，而且某种谅解协议达成后，卡特将军等人会遵守其中条款并回航泰洛的。”
The Invid crossed his massive arms."Yes, I'm sure they would have honored it, Dr. Lang. But I'm afraid it's too late. Four months ago the Sentinels' ship was destroyed-with all hands aboard."
因维人一双巨臂交叠抱起。“是啊，我相信他们会尊重协议的，朗博士。但恐怕已经太迟了。四个月以前，哨兵之船已经完蛋了——船毁人亡，无一幸免。”
A collective gasp rose from the crowd, and Edwards heard Minmei begin to sob."Rick...Jonathan," she said, struggling to her feet, only to collapse across Edwards's lap.
人群中升起了集体惊叹，爱德华兹也听到明美开始抽泣起来。“瑞克……乔纳森，”她说着，脚下不稳，终于瘫倒在爱德华兹的腿上。
Someone nearby screamed. Lang and the rest of the council were standing, their words swallowed up in the noise of dozens of separate conversations. News personnel and members of the general staff were rushing from the room. Edwards snapped an order to his aide to summon a doctor. Adams, meanwhile, was shoving onlookers aside.
边上有个人尖叫起来。朗和其他委员们站起身，他们的话语淹没在上百人分别交谈的嘈杂里。新闻人员和参谋们纷纷冲出房间。爱德华兹朝他的副官厉声下令，赶紧召医生过来。与此同时，亚当斯将旁观者纷纷挡到一边。
Edwards held Minmei protectively. Once again he sought out the Invid's lustrous eyes; and in that glance a pact was affirmed.
爱德华兹保护地抱着明美。又一次，他找到了因维人刺眼的目光；而这一瞥里，交易就此敲定。
But on Praxis the dead walked-those Sentinels who had escaped the destruction of the Farrago, and, unknown to them, a deadly host of archaic creatures returned to life in the bowels of the planet's abandoned Genesis Pits...
但在普拉西斯星，“亡者”们正漫步于此——是那些逃脱了法拉戈号灭顶之灾的哨兵们，以及，他们仍不知晓的，一大群在星球最深处废弃的起源坑里重获新生的古老生物……
"Take a look for yourself," Vince Grant suggested, stepping back from the scanner's monitor screen. Rick Hunter and Jonathan Wolff leaned in to regard the image centered there: an intact drive module that had been blown clear of the ship and had fallen into low orbit around Praxis. Vince was reasonably certain the module's Protoculture-peat engines were undamaged.
“你自己看看吧，”文斯·格兰特建议道，从扫描仪器的监视屏前退后。瑞克·卡特和乔纳森·沃尔夫探身观察屏幕中央的画面：一块完好无损的驱动舱体模块被炸离了飞船，已经坠落到环绕普拉西斯星的低层轨道。文斯有理由确信舱体的史前文化－泥炭引擎没有受损。
"And there's no way to call it down·" Rick asked."A hundred miles or so and an Alpha could reach the thing." Normally, one could fly a Veritech to the moon and back, but not one of the Sentinels' all-but-depleted Alphas was capable of attaining escape velocity.
“没办法把它弄下来吗？”瑞克问道。“一百英里左右的距离，阿尔法机就能接近这玩艺儿。”正常情况下变形战机可以飞月球一个来回，但如今哨兵们燃料枯竭的阿尔法机没有一架有能力达到逃逸速度。
Vince shook his head, his brown face grim."We barely have enough power to keep the nets alive."
文斯摇摇头，棕色的面庞神情严峻。“我们的能源仅够让通讯网络保持工作。”
"Then it might as well be a million miles away," Wolff thought to add.
“那么它就同距离我们百万英里没什么两样。”沃尔夫想了想，补充道。
Vince switched off the screen and the three men sat down to steaming mugs of tea one of the Praxians had brewed up from some indigenous grass. After four months it had come down to this: the GMU's stores were nearly empty and foraging had become one of the group's primary activities. And in all those months they had yet to come up with an explanation for the disappearance of the planet's native population. What was left of the central city and all the surrounding villages were deserted. But whether what Bela called "the Praxian Sisterhood" had chosen to leave had not been ascertained.
文斯关闭了屏幕，三人坐下享用热气腾腾的热茶，那是普拉西斯人用本地青草沏出的饮品。四个月的时间可算尘埃落定：GMU的物资几近枯竭，寻找粮草已经成了这伙人的主要活动之一。而且，这几个月里他们还是没能为这颗星球的原住民集体失踪找到解释。中央城市和周边所有的村庄统统空寂无人。但她们的离去是不是贝拉所称的“普拉西斯姊妹会”的选择，尚不明朗。
Puzzling, too, were the tectonic anomalies and quakes that were continuing to plague the planet, as often as three times a day now. The quakes had convinced the Sentinels' Praxian contingent that Arla-Non--Bela's "mother" and the leader of the Sisterhood-had struck a deal with the Invid to move the planet's population to some other world. Rick wasn't sure if he bought the explanation, but it certainly served a therapeutic need if nothing else.
同样令人疑惑的是地质构造上的异动和地震不断侵袭着这颗星球，现在的频率是一日三次。地震让哨兵中的普拉西斯代表们相信雅拉侬——贝拉之“母”与姊妹会首领——与因维人敲定协议，将星球的居民搬迁到了别的世界。瑞克不确定自己是否能接受这个解释，但这么想能抚平伤痛，也毕竟没什么坏处。
"Look," Rick said, breaking the silence,"they're probably already searching for us. Lang's not about to write us off. And even if the mining operation is close to on-schedule, they'll have at least one ship readied with the capability for a local jump. We just have to hope the Invid have lost interest in this place."
“看看，”瑞克开口打破了沉默，“他们可能已经在搜寻我们了。朗不会打算将我们一笔勾销的。而且即使采矿行动要严格按计划执行，他们也能准备好至少一艘具有本星区内跃迁能力的船。我们就是得期望因维人对这里已丧失兴趣才行。”
The horde's absence these months bordered on the conspicuous; and with the quakes and deserted villages, Cabell had speculated that it was possible the Invid knew something the Sentinels didn't.
因维军团这几个月的缺席，基本上有目共睹；接连的地震和废弃的村庄令卡贝尔推测：可能因维人知道些不为哨兵所知的情况。
Rick's optimism in the face of all this had Vince smiling to himself. Rick would always be a commander whether he liked it or not."It's not Lang we're worried about," he said, speaking for himself and Wolff.
瑞克对这一切的乐观面容让文斯暗自微笑。不管瑞克自己是否情愿，他一直都具有指挥官的意志。“我们要担心的不是朗，”他答道，代表了自己和沃尔夫的意见。
Rick caught his meaning."Edwards has to answer to the council." There was an edge to his voice he didn't mean to put there. Lang had warned Rick about Edwards during one of the last links the Farrago had had with Base Tirol, and it was difficult to keep the memory of that brief deep-space commo from surfacing.
瑞克明白他的意思。“爱德华兹是要向委员会负责的。”他的语气里有一丝尖刻，这倒不是他的本意。在法拉戈号同泰洛基地的最后几次通信中的某一次里，朗早就警告过瑞克关于爱德华兹的问题，那次短暂太空通话的回忆此刻涌现出来，难以抑制。
"Don't underestimate the man's ambitions, Rick," Wolff cautioned."I'm sure they're going to come looking, but I'm willing to bet that Edwards will have the council eating out of his hand by then. Maybe one of us should have-"
“不要低估那人的野心，瑞克，”沃尔夫提示道。“我确信他们会来找的，但我也敢打赌到那时爱德华兹会让委员会对他彻底倚赖。或许我们当中应当有个人——”
"I don't want to go over old ground," Rick cut him off."The only thing that interests me right now is a way to reach that drive module."
“我不想总是老话重提了，”瑞克打断了他。“现在让我有兴趣的唯一的事情，就是能接近那只驱动模块。”
Grant and Wolff exchanged looks and studied their cups of tea. Rick was right, of course: there was no use dwelling on the choices they had made, individually and collectively. Wolff liked to think that at least Vince had Jean by his side and the precious GMU under his feet. But Rick had all but resigned his commission, and Wolff himself had left his heart behind.
格兰特和沃尔夫交换了颜色，又低头望着自己杯中的茶。瑞克是对的，当然：没必要总是为了他们已经做出的选择念念不忘，不论这是个人的选择还是集体的选择。沃尔夫不禁想到，至少文斯身边还有吉英相伴，脚下还踏着珍贵的GMU。但瑞克辞掉了他的军中委任，而沃尔夫自己则将心之所爱抛在身后。
A rumbling sound broke the silence, causing the mugs to skitter across the tabletop. The tremor built in intensity, rattling the command center's consoles and screens, then subsided, rolling away beneath them like contained thunder.
一声隆隆巨响打破了沉默，杯子跳动着越过了台面。震动自身十分强烈，嘎嘎摇动着指挥中心的控制台和屏幕，又渐渐平息下来，仿佛封闭的惊雷在他们脚底下滚动离去。
No one spoke for a moment. Wolff wore a wary look as he loosened his grip on the edge of the table and sat back to exhale a whistle."Course, Praxis could do us in long before the Invid or Edwards."
这片刻间无人开口。沃尔夫神情疲惫，松开紧握着桌边的手，朝后坐坐，吹了声口哨。“当然，普拉西斯会在因维人和爱德华兹之前就干掉我们的。”
"Pleasant thought," Vince told him.
“这想法可真令人愉悦，”文斯回答。
Rick gave them both an angry look."We're going to get to that module if we have to pole-vault there."
瑞克愤怒地望了他俩一眼。“哪怕不得不让我们去撑杆跳，也必须要拿到这个模块。”
Tactical concerns (and personal preference) had kept Vince Grant and Rick somewhat anchored to the GMU (which had been moved inland from its original seaside landing zone); but the rest of the substantially reduced Robotech contingent, along with the XT Sentinels, had opted for Praxis's wooded valleys, the planet's often glorious skies, and rolling hills. Max and Miriya's Skull Squadron had spent most of the past months reconning remote areas, hoping to come upon some trace of the vanished Sisterhood; but they had only succeeded in further depleting already critical reserves of Protoculture fuel. Consequently, the Wolff Pack stuck close to base, Hovertanks shut down. Bela and Gnea and the other Praxians had voluntarily detailed themselves to serve the group's logistical needs, and were assisted in this by the bearlike Karbarrans and vulpine Garudans. Cabell had all but isolated himself, disappearing for long walks from which he would return with samples of native rock or flora. Still a bit uncomfortable with the Humans and not yet fully accepted by the XTs, the Tiresian was often found in the company of Rem, Baldan, Teal, and the limbless Haydonites, Veidt and Sarna. Janice, too, had become an unofficial member of Cabell's eldritch clique, much to Rick and Lisa's puzzlement.
出于战术上的考虑（以及个人的偏好），文斯·格兰特和瑞克像是在GMU里抛了锚（GMU也从最初的海边着陆地带转移到了内陆）；但已经大为削弱的太空堡垒分遣队中其它的人员，则同外星人哨兵们一起，选择了普拉西斯星的密林山谷、灿烂天空、绵延山丘。麦克斯和米莉娅的骷髅中队在过去的几个月里，大部分时间都在侦查偏远地区，希望能发现点儿那早已消失不见的姐妹会的蛛丝马迹；但结果只是进一步白白消耗已经处在临界状态的史前文化燃料储备。于是，沃尔夫战队只能困在基地附近，气垫坦克也关闭了。贝拉和妮雅等普拉西斯人自愿组织起来为这群人的后勤服务，卡巴拉熊人和嘎鲁达狐人也帮着她们。卡贝尔则独自行动，先是一个人消失了，走了很远的路程，回来的时候带了些本地岩石和原产植物的样本。这位泰雷西亚人和人类相处时，仍有些不自在，而外星哨兵们也尚未完全接受他，不过经常能看到他同雷、鲍丹、缇尔、没手没脚的海顿人维特和莎娜在一起。而贾妮斯，也成为了卡贝尔怪客组的非正式成员之一，这让瑞克和丽莎颇有些不解。
Presently, Cabell and Janice were off together on a long walk; they were on a forested slope about fifteen miles from the mobile base when the tremor that had shaken the GMU struck. The minor quake did little more than knock them off balance and loosen some gravel and shale from nearby heights; but it was the morning's second shakeup and it brought a severe look to Cabell's face.
现在，卡贝尔和贾妮斯正一同步行，二人走了很远；当地震袭来晃动着GMU基地时，他俩在距离基地大约15英里的一处林坡上。这个小地震只不过让他们失去平衡晃了几下，松动了边上高地的沙砾页岩而已，但这已经是上午第二次震了，这让卡贝尔的面色十分严峻。
Janice had thought to take hold of the old man's arm and utter a short panicked sound as the ground began to tremble. It was a performance worthy of Minmei's best, although Janice could hardly appreciate it as such-any more than she could fully understand just what had compelled her to seek out Rem and Cabell's company in the first place. That this should somehow please Dr. Lang was a thought as baffling to her as it was discomforting.
大地颤抖时，贾妮斯企图握紧老人的手臂，发出短促恐慌的尖叫。这种表现符合明美的习惯，尽管贾妮斯对此很难欣赏——也很难明白是什么迫使自己一开始就挑出雷和卡贝尔的那伙人来搭伴。这多少能让朗博士高兴吧，这种想法对她来说，既困惑又难受。
"There, there, child," Cabell was saying, patting her hand."It will be over in a moment."
“别慌，孩子，”卡贝尔说，一边拍着她的手。“过一会儿就好了。”
They recommenced their climb when the tremor passed. Janice disengaged herself and urged Cabell to go on with what they had been discussing.
地震过后，他俩又继续上山。贾妮斯松开手，催着卡贝尔继续之前他俩的话题。
"Ah, yes," he said, running a hand over his bald pate,"the trees."
“啊，是啊，”他说，一只手摸着自己光光的头顶，“那些树。”
Janice listened like a student eager for A's.
贾妮斯如同一个渴望高分的学生那样聆听着。
"As you can see, they're nothing like the scrub growth we found on Karbarra-far healthier, much closer to the unmutated form." He motioned with his hand and went up on tiptoes to touch the spherical "canopy" of a healthy-looking specimen. The tendrils that encased the solid-looking sphere and rigid near-translucent trunk seemed to pulse with life. Gingerly, Cabell plucked one of the verdigris-colored applelike fruits, burnished it against his robe, and began to turn it about in his wrinkled hand.
“正像你看到的那样，他们和我们在卡巴拉发现的灌木生长完全不同——更健康、更接近未变异的形态。”他踮起脚尖，伸手触摸一颗外形健康的样本树上的球形“冠”。藤须围笼着外形固实的球冠和坚硬的近乎透明的树干，仿佛具有生命般的脉动。小心翼翼地，卡贝尔摘下了一颗铜绿色苹果般的果实，用自己的袍子擦亮它，满是皱纹的手握着它旋转。
"Even the fruit they bear is different in color and texture-although still a far cry from the true Opteran species. Nevertheless, it may tell us something." He took off his rucksack and placed the sample inside."Look for the ripest ones," the instructed Janice, as she added a second fruit to the pack.
“就算是它们结的果实，颜色和质地也不一样——尽管和真正的奥普特拉品种差的还远。不管怎么说，这能给我们些信息。”他摘下自己的帆布包，把样品放进包里。“找最成熟的那些，”贾妮斯又往包里塞第二个果子时，他告诉她。
Cabell was straightening up when a sudden movement further up the slope caught his eye. Janice heard him start, and turned to follow his narrowed gaze.
卡贝尔挺起身，这时坡上前方突然一动，吸引了他的目光。贾妮斯听到他惊呼，转身跟着他的视线望去。
"What was it·"
“那是什么？”
Cabell stroked his beard."I thought I saw someone up ahead."
卡贝尔捋着自己的胡须。“我以为自己看到前头上面有人。”
"A Praxian·" Janice asked, craning her neck and sharpening her vision.
“是普拉西斯人？”贾妮斯问，伸着脖子，将视觉调整锐利。
"No," he said, shaking his head."I would swear it was Burak!"
“不，”他摇着头答道。“我发誓，那是伯拉克！”
Later, a stone's throw from the grounded GMU, inside the wooden structure that had been designated both quarters and cell, Tesla wolfed down the fruits Burak had picked from the sinister orchard Zor's Flower of Life seedings had spawned on Praxis.
过了一阵子，距稳如磐石的GMU只有一箭之地的木结构建筑里——这房子指定兼作牢房和寝室——泰斯拉正狼吞虎咽着伯拉克从当年佐尔的生命之花种子在普拉西斯扎根的邪恶果园里采来的果子。
"Yes, yes, different, ummm," the Invid was saying in a voice tinged-with rapture.
“是啊，是啊，不同，嗯嗯，”因维人说道，话音里微微带着狂喜。
The young Perytonian tried to avert his eyes, but in the end couldn't help himself from watching Tesla as he ingested fruit after fruit. Moist sucking noises filled the cell.
年轻的佩里顿人想努力转过目光，但最终还是忍不住瞧着泰斯拉一个果子接一个的吞下。牢房里充满着潮湿的吮吸声。
"And you think they may have seen you·" Tesla asked him.
“而你认为他们可能看到你了？”泰斯拉问他。
"It is possible-Cabell, in any case."
“有可能——不管怎样，是卡贝尔。”
Tesla scoffed, still munching and handling the fruits as if they were wealth itself."Cabell is too old to recognize the nose on his own face. Besides, they know I can't subsist on what you call food."
泰斯拉一声嗤笑，嘴里继续大嚼，手中拿捏着果子，仿佛捧着财宝一样。“卡贝尔太老了，连自己脸上的鼻子都看不清楚。还有，他们知道，靠着你们所说的食物我是活不下去的。”
Burak said nothing. It was true enough: the Invid's food stock had been destroyed with the Farrago, and the Sentinels had agreed to place Burak in charge of securing alternative nutrient plants. But Cabell, who was anything but a doddering old man, and perhaps fearing the very transformations Tesla was beginning to undergo, had suggested that the Invid's fruit and Flower intake be regulated-this in spite of the fact that Tesla had to some extent ingratiated himself with the group since their victory on Karbarra. Each evening, Cabell and Jean Grant would look in on Tesla. Burak had been asked to furnish them with a daily log of the amounts gathered and ingested; and the devilish-looking Perytonian was complying-inasmuch as he would file a report. But the report was hardly a reflection of the actual amounts Tesla consumed. Fortunately, though, the Invid's transformations had been limited to brief periods following his meals, when neither Cabell nor Jean were present.
伯拉克什么也没说。的确如此，因维人的食物库存和法拉戈号一起灰飞烟灭了，哨兵们也同意让伯拉克负责保卫这些变种营养作物。但卡贝尔可不是什么糟老头，他担忧着泰斯拉正在经历的“转变”，他此前便提出建议，要管制因维人对果子花儿的摄取量——即使卡巴拉的胜利之后泰斯拉对哨兵颇为讨好迎合，也要如此。每天晚上，卡贝尔和吉英·格兰特会来检查泰斯拉。他们要求伯拉克提供一份日志，登记采摘量和食用量；恶魔样貌的佩里顿人也照做了，尽职尽责地填写报告。但这报告中基本上没有反映出泰斯拉的实际进食量。好在因维人的“转变”只限于进食后的短时间内发生，而那段时间卡贝尔和吉英都不在。
"More," Tesla said now, holding out his hands.
“再来点，”泰斯拉说话了，伸出双手。
Burak regarded the Invid's newly-acquired fifth digit and pulled the basket out of reach."I think you've had enough for today." Burak had heard it said that extraordinary powers could be gained from ingesting the fruits of Haydon's Worlds, but he had never understood that to mean physical transfiguration, and the Invid's recent changes were beginning to fill him with fear.
伯拉克打量着因维人刚刚获得的第五根手指，把篮子拉到他够不到的地方。“我觉得你今天吃的够多了。”伯拉克曾听说，吞食出自海顿诸世界的果子能让人获得超凡的力量，但他从未理解这原来意味着身体的转变，这个因维人近期的变化开始让他充满恐惧。
Tesla's eyes glowed red as he came to his feet, taller by inches than he had stood on Karbarra."You dare to say this to me after all we've been through· You, who sought me out before fate landed us in this despicable situation· And what of your homeworld and the curse you were so feverish to see ended-have you given up hope· Would you renounce your destiny·"
泰斯拉站起身，双目血红，他比在卡巴拉的时候还要高几英寸。“我们经历了这一切，你胆敢对我说这些？听着，是谁在命运将我们扔在这个恶劣境地之前来找我的？还有你的母星、你狂热地想要终结的诅咒该怎么办——你放弃希望了吗？你放弃命中注定的使命了吗？”
Burak took a hesitant step toward the door, the basket clasped to him."You're changing!" he said, pointing to Tesla's hands."They're going to notice it, and what then· They'll cut back on the amounts, put someone else in charge of you. Then what becomes of your promises-what becomes of Peryton·"
伯拉克迟疑地朝门口走了一步，紧紧握住篮子。“你在变！”他说着，指着泰斯拉的双手。“他们会发现的，之后呢？他们会削减供给量，换个人来看管你。那时你的承诺怎么办——佩里顿又怎么办？”
Tesla continued to glare at him a moment more, transmogrifying even as Burak watched. The Invid's skull rippled and expanded, as though being forced to conform to some novel interior design. Gradually, however, Tesla reassumed his natural state and collapsed back into his seat, spent, subdued, and apologetic.
泰斯拉又接着瞪了他一会儿，在伯拉克眼皮下几乎完全变了样子。因维人的头骨如泛开涟漪般膨胀变大，仿佛要它强制适应某种新的内构设计。可是渐渐地，泰斯拉回复了他的本来样貌，猛然朝后倒在座位上，筋疲力尽，垂头丧气，一脸歉意。
"You're right, Burak. We must take care to keep our partnership a carefully-guarded secret." His black, ophidian eyes fixed on Burak."And have no fear for your tortured world. When the time comes for me to assume my rightful place in these events, I shall reward you for these efforts."
“你说的对，伯拉克。我们必须小心，要好好保守我们合作的秘密。”他黑色的毒蛇眼珠紧盯在伯拉克身上。“不要为你那受尽折磨的星球心怀恐惧。当我的时机一到，取得自己应有的正当地位后，我将回报你现在的所有努力。”
"That's all that I ask," Burak told him.
“我只要这些。”伯拉克告诉他。
The two XTs fell silent as a gentle tremor shook the building.
这两个外星人沉默不语，此时一阵和缓的震动将这房子摇晃起来。
Tesla stared at the floor."I sense something about this planet," he announced, his sensor organs twitching as his snout came up."And I think I am beginning to see just what the Regis was doing here."
泰斯拉盯着地面。“我感到这星球有事，”他开始宣告，抬起吻喙，感受器官不停抽动。“而且，我觉得自己开始明白瑞吉斯在这儿都干过些什么。”