Chapter 7 Chapter 7 Farewell to Complon

"According to Complon's norms, Mr. Congressman, it is indeed impolite. But since you are guests, you may as well follow your norms. If you want to talk about serious business and don't think or don't mind that it will spoil your appetite, then please go ahead." Well, I am willing to accompany you." Trevize said, "Thank you. Is it true that Minister Lizale hinted—no, she said it bluntly—that skeptics are welcome in this world?" Daniaduo's good mood seems to be further improved. "Of course, how sad we would be if it weren't for that. Complon, you know, is a world full of frustrations. Although no one knows the history of the past, the average person has a vain belief that in many millennia Once upon a time, when the inhabited galaxy was small, Complon was a world of leaders, a fact we have never forgotten. The fact that we have never been in a leadership position in the history we can test makes us very sad. Uncomfortable, it leaves us -- I mean, the general public -- with a feeling of resentment.

"But what can we do? The government was once forced to be loyal to the emperor of the empire, but now it is a loyal vassal of the base. The more we understand our inferior status, the more the great years in Boxin's legend. "So, what can the Complonians do? They couldn't fight the Empire in the past, and they can't openly challenge the base now. So they attack us, hate us, find solace in this way, because we don't believe the legends , and scoffed at those superstitions. "However, we don't have to worry about greater persecution. We control technology, and it's us who teach in universities. Some of them are so outspoken that it's hard for them to teach in public. For example, I have this problem myself, I still have students though, and we meet regularly and quietly outside the campus. But if we are banned from public activities, then technology will shut down and the university will lose galactic recognition. In fact, the serious consequences of this kind of academic suicide may still be It must be the ignorance of human beings to be unable to restrain their hatred, but fortunately, we have a base to support us. So, although we are constantly being abused, ridiculed and publicly criticized, we are still safe."

Trevize said: "Is it because of popular opposition that you are reluctant to tell us where the earth is? Although you just said that, are you afraid that if you go too far, anti-skeptical sentiment will rise to a dangerous level. level?" Denia shook his head. "No, the location of the Earth is indeed unknown. I am not hiding something from you out of fear, or for any other reason." "But listen to me," Trevize said eagerly, "in the star region of the Milky Way, the number of planets with natural conditions suitable for habitation is limited, and most of the habitable planets must be inhabited, so you Should be quite familiar. How difficult would it be to find a particular planet in this sector that has all the conditions for habitation except radioactivity? And you have another clue, which is the A planet is accompanied by a huge moon. Since the two characteristics of radioactivity and huge satellites, the earth will never be mistaken, and even if it is just a random search, it should be found. It may take a while, but this is the only Trouble."

"From the point of view of skeptics, the radioactivity of the Earth and the giant satellite next to it are nothing more than myths," Deniado said. "If we were to look for these features, it would be like looking for sparrow milk and rabbit feathers." absurd." "Maybe, but that wouldn't make the Complonians give up entirely. If they could find a world full of radioactivity, just about the right size to be habitable, with a giant moon next to it, the credibility of the Complonian folklore will be greatly improved.” Dania laughed a little. "Perhaps it is for this reason that Complon never carried out such explorations. If we failed, or found an Earth that clearly did not fit the legend, it would be counterproductive. Complon's folklore would immediately fall , become the laughing stock of everyone. Complon will not take the risk."

Trevize paused for a moment, and then said in a very serious tone: "Then, even if we don't emphasize the two 'unique points' of radioactivity and giant satellites—let's assume that the Galactic Standard Language has such a statement, according to the definition, it must still be There is a third unique point, which has nothing to do with any legend. That is, if there are not many vigorous and colorful life forms on the earth today, there will always be some remaining, or at least it should be Preserve the fossil record." Deniado said: "Senator, although Complon has no organized plans to find Earth, we still have to do some space travel from time to time. Occasionally ships will get lost for various reasons, and those ships will normally make their journeys." Report. The jump is not perfect every time, and you may know this. However, in all the reports, there is no mention of a world similar to the legendary earth, and no world full of various life forms Planets. It is impossible for a ship to land on a seemingly uninhabited planet just to collect fossils. If there have been no reports of suspected Earth in the past thousands of years, I am absolutely willing to believe that the search for Earth is Impossible, because the earth is not there at all, so how can we find it."

Trevize said in a tone full of frustration: "But the earth must be somewhere. Somewhere in the galaxy, there is a planet from which humans and other life forms that humans are familiar with evolved. .If the earth is not in this region of the Milky Way, it must be in another star region.” "Perhaps so," said Deniado grimly, "but so far it hasn't appeared anywhere." "Everyone has never really searched carefully." "Well, obviously you will. I wish you luck, but I would never bet on your success." Trevize said: "Has anyone tried to determine the possible position of the earth by indirect methods, other than direct searching?"

"Yes—" two voices sounded at the same time.Deniado, who was one of them, said to Pelorat: "Have you ever thought of the Arriv plan?" "Yes," replied Pelorat. "Then could you please explain it to Mr. MP? I think it will be easier for him to believe your words." Then Pelorat said: "Do you know, Gülen, that at the end of the Empire, the so-called 'finding of origins' research was all the rage, and many took it as a diversion, perhaps to escape the unpleasant realities around them .At that time the empire was crumbling and disintegrating, you know that.

"Hanbo Yaref, a historian in Liwei, thought of an indirect method. His basis is that no matter which planet is the original planet, it must first establish a colonized world on a nearby planet. Generally speaking, the farther a world is from that origin, the later the colonists will arrive. "Then, suppose we sort out the creation dates of all the inhabited planets in the Milky Way, and then connect planets with the same history in units of thousands of years into a network. For example, planets with a history of 10,000 years form a network; Another network of thousand-year-old planets; yet another network of 15,000-year-old planets. In theory, each network approximates a sphere, and more or less concentric. The network of older planets , the radius should be smaller than that of the younger planetary network. If the spherical center of each network is found, their distribution in space should be quite small, and that range should contain the original planet-Earth."

Pelorat cupped his hands and drew out spherical surfaces, with an extremely serious expression on his face. "Do you understand me, Grant?" Trevize nodded. "Understood, but I guess he didn't succeed." "Theoretically, it should be possible, old partner. The trouble is that the creation dates are not correct, and each world will exaggerate and lengthen its own history to some extent, but apart from legends, there is no other simple way to determine the length of history." "Carbon fourteen decay in old trees," said Bliss. "Of course, my dear," said Pelorat, "but you must have the cooperation of those worlds, and in fact no one ever wants to do that. Every world does not want exaggerated histories to be overthrown. The Empire was And it can't forcefully suppress the voices of opposition from all over the country for such a small matter. It has more important things to worry about.

"Therefore, all Arifer can do is to use those worlds that have a history of at most two thousand years, and have created a world that has been carefully recorded under reliable circumstances. There are not many of those worlds, although their distribution roughly conforms to spherical symmetry. The heart is rather close to Trantor, the former capital of the Empire, for the first colonists of the few new worlds all came from Trantor. "That's another question, of course. Earth isn't the only starting point for interstellar colonization. After a while, the older colonizing worlds send out their own colonies, and during the height of the Empire, Trantor was the main source of colonization. .It's really unfair to say that Arif has become the laughing stock of everyone, and his academic reputation has been ruined because of this."

Trevize said: "I understand the ins and outs, Janov. Dr. Daniador, according to this, you can't even give me a sliver of hope? Is it possible to find in other worlds? What about clues about Earth?" Daniado fell into hesitant contemplation, and finally spoke after a while. "Hmm..." He let out a hesitant exclamation before saying, "As a skeptic, I must tell you that I'm not sure if Earth exists today, or ever existed. But—" He again in silence. Bao Qisi finally interjected: "I guess, you have thought of something that may be very important, doctor?" "Is it important? I doubt it," Deniado said softly, "but it might be interesting. Earth is not the only planet whose whereabouts are mysterious. The first wave of colonists - in our legends, they are called ' The Outer Worlds' - their worlds are also now missing. Some call those worlds the 'Outer Worlds' stabilizing factor, others call them the 'Forbidden Worlds', the latter being more commonly used now. "The legend goes that, in their golden age, the Outworlders extended life spans to centuries and refused to let our short-lived ancestors land on their world. After we defeated them, the situation was 180 Inversion of degree, we disdain to deal with them, let them fend for themselves, forbid our ships and merchants to contact them. So those planets become taboo worlds. We are sure, the legends say so, we just need to stand by and watch , the Punisher would naturally destroy them, and Robe obviously did. At least, as far as we know, there have been no outsiders in the galaxy for many millennia." "Do you think outsiders will know the whereabouts of Earth?" Trevize asked. "It must be so. Their world is older than any of our worlds. But the premise is that there must be people from other worlds, and this is extremely impossible." "Even if they're long gone, their world should still exist, perhaps with some records." "If you can find these worlds." Trevize looked pissed. "You mean, if you want to find the missing earth, you should be able to find clues in the outer world, but the outer world is also missing?" Daniado shrugged. "We haven't interacted with them for 20,000 years, and we haven't even thought about them. And the outer world is like the earth, hidden in the fog of history." "How many worlds are the outsiders distributed in?" "The legend says there are fifty of these worlds—a dubious round number, and there may actually be far fewer." "And you don't know where any of them are?" "Well, this, I think—" "What do you think?" Deniado said: "Because ancient history is my hobby, like Dr. Pelorat, I sometimes look through some ancient documents to see if there is any record that mentions ancient times, which is more important than legend. Reliable records. Last year, I found records in an ancient spaceship that are almost undecipherable. It is very old, when our world was not called Complon, but used the 'Belley World' The name. I think our fabled 'World of Bunbury' may have evolved from that name." Pelorat asked excitedly, "Have you published it yet?" "No," Deniado said. "As the old adage goes, I don't want to jump in a pool until I'm sure it's full. You know, there's one thing in that record, the spaceship The captain of the ship visited a certain outer world and took an outer world woman with him." Bao Qisi said: "But you just said that people from outside the world do not allow others to visit." "That's right, that's why I didn't publish the record. It sounds incredible. Some ambiguous legends can be explained as stories of people from outside the world, including their conflict with our ancestors 'galactic colonists' Such legends and deeds are not a specialty of Complon. There are similar stories in many worlds, but one thing is completely consistent-the outsiders and the galactic colonists will never be together. Not to mention sexual encounters. But the documented colonist captain and the otherworldly woman, apparently bonded by love, are incredible. I don't believe this story is likely to be accepted, at most it will be viewed as For a romantic historical novel." Trevize looked disappointed. "that's all?" "Not only that, Mr. Congressman, there is another thing. I found some numbers in the remaining logbook of the spaceship, which may represent several sets of space coordinates, but may not. If it is true——I Again, the skeptic's honor leads me to stress that it may not be so—then the inner evidence leads me to the conclusion that they are three outer-world spatial coordinates. One of them, perhaps, is the The world where the captain once landed, he took his lover from the outer world from that world." Trevize said, "Even if the story is apocryphal, is it possible that the coordinates are still true?" "It's possible," Deniado said, "I'll give you the numerology, do whatever you want with it, and you'll probably get nothing—but I have an interesting idea." smile. "What idea?" Trevize asked. "What if one of the sets of coordinates represented the location of the Earth?" Complon's sun is bright orange and appears to be larger than Terminus's sun, but it's so low on the celestial sphere that it sends little heat.Fortunately, the wind was not strong, but it still made Trevize feel cold and stinging when it blew on Trevize's cheek. His body shivered in the electric overcoat, which was given to him by Mitza Lizale, and she was standing beside him now.He said, "There must be a warm time, Mitza." She glanced quickly at the sun.Standing in this empty space station, she never showed any discomfort.The coat that covered her tall figure was thinner than Trevize's, and maybe she wasn't completely numb to the cold, but at least she didn't care at all. She said: "We had a beautiful summer. Although it was not long, the crops were able to adapt. The crop varieties were all carefully selected to grow quickly in the sun and not prone to frost damage. The local animals were born There are thick furs, and Complon is generally considered the best wool in the galaxy. In addition, Complon has many space farms in orbit, growing all kinds of tropical fruits on it, and we also export canned pineapple with excellent flavor. Most people don't know this, only that we are a cold world." Trevize said, "I appreciate your coming to see us off, Mitza, and for your willingness to cooperate with us so that we can continue our mission. However, for my own peace of mind, I must ask, will you Get yourself into big trouble?" "No!" She shook her head proudly, "There won't be any trouble. First, no one will question me. I will control all transportation systems, that is to say, the regulations of this space station and other stations. , and all the regulations concerning entry points, ships coming and going, all made by myself. The Prime Minister relies on me to deal with these matters. Just tell the truth. The government will applaud me when they learn that I didn't turn over the spacecraft to the base; it doesn't matter if the public knows, they'll react the same way. As for the base, they won't know about it at all." Trevize said: "The government may be willing to see the base fail, but are they willing to agree with your decision when you let us go?" Li Zale smiled slightly. "You are a noble man, Trevize. You fought tirelessly to the end to keep the spaceship. Now that you have succeeded, you have begun to worry about my safety." She tried to get closer to him, as if she couldn't help but want to make an intimate gesture.However, apparently after some struggle, she finally resisted the urge. She regained her blunt tone and said: "Even if they question my decision, I just need to tell them that you have been looking for the most ancient world, and they will definitely say that I did the right thing, and I should really get rid of you as soon as possible. Even the spaceships. Then they'll do some ritual of atonement to make up for the mistake of allowing you to land, though we couldn't have guessed what you were doing." "Are you really worried about bringing misfortune to yourself and the world because of my presence?" "Indeed." Li Zale replied bluntly, and then said in a more relaxed tone: "You have brought me misfortune. After I know you, the men in Complon will look even more boring. My The thirst can no longer be satisfied, and the Punisher has decided to doom me." Trevize hesitated for a moment, and then said: "I don't want you to change your mind, but I don't want you to be troubled by unnecessary worries. You must know that the so-called saying that I will bring misfortune is actually nothing more than Just superstition." "I think that's what the skeptic told you." "He doesn't have to tell me, I know just as well." Li Zale wiped her forehead with her hand, and a thin layer of cream was deposited on her protruding double layer. "I know some people think this is superstition, but it is true that the oldest world will bring bad luck. There have been many examples in the past, and no matter how eloquent the skeptics are, they cannot deny the existing facts .” She suddenly held out her right hand. "Slow down, Grant. Get in the spaceship and join your companions, lest your frail Terminus body freeze in our frigid zephyr." "Farewell, Mitza, I hope to see you again when I return." "Yeah, you promised to come back, and I tried to make myself believe it. I even told myself that I would fly to space and meet you in your spaceship, so bad luck would only befall me body, so as not to bring disaster to my world—but you won’t come back.” "No! I will come back! You have brought me such happiness, and I will not give up so easily." At this moment, Trevize firmly believed that he was serious. "I don't doubt your romantic urges, my lovely base people, but those who ventured to find the oldest world will never come back—nowhere, I know it very well." Trevize tried not to let his teeth chatter, and though it was only the cold that kept them from chattering, he didn't want her to think it was cowardice."That's superstition," he said. "But," she said, "that's also true." It's a great feeling to be back in the Far Asterisk cockpit.It's too crowded to think of it as a room, maybe it's just a small cage in the endless starry sky, but it makes people feel so familiar, friendly and warm. Baoqisi said: "I'm glad you finally came up. I was wondering how long you'll have to hang out with that minister." "Not long," Trevize said. "It's freezing cold." "I have a feeling," said Bliss, "that you considered staying with her and putting off your search for Earth. I don't want to touch your heart, even just to touch it, but I care. You, and your temptation seems to have touched me." Trevize said, "You're right, at least for a moment, I did feel the temptation. The Minister is an extraordinary woman, and I've never met another. Have you strengthened my resistance, Bao?" Keith?" She replied, "How many times have I told you that I cannot and will not disturb your mind in any way, Trevize. I guess you have overcome this temptation yourself through a strong sense of responsibility." "No, I don't think so," he smiled wryly. "It can't be so noble and dramatic. My resistance has indeed been strengthened. One is because the weather is too cold; the other is that I have an ominous premonition , if I continue with her, it will kill me within a few rounds, and I will never be able to keep up with her." Pelorat said, "Well, anyway, you're back on the ship safely. What do we do next?" "What we need to do now is to leave this planetary system at a brisk speed until we are far enough from Complon's sun, and then we will make the leap." "Do you think we'll be intercepted or followed?" "No, I truly believe the Minister desires us to leave as soon as possible, and never come back, before the Punisher's vengeance befalls the planet. Actually..." "what?" "She believed that vengeance must be upon us, and she firmly believed that we would not return. I must explain that it was not because she expected that I might break my trust, that she had no opportunity to measure my credit. What she meant was that the earth is a terrible an ominous thing, and whoever tries to find it must die halfway." Bao Qisi said: "How many people in Complon have gone to the earth to make her so sure?" "I doubt any Complonians have ever tried. I told her her fears were nothing more than superstition." "Are you sure you believe this, or are you also shaken by her?" "I know the fears she's showing are pure superstition, but her fears may still be well-founded." "You mean the radiation will kill us if we try to land on Earth?" "I don't believe that the Earth is radioactive, but I do believe that the Earth will protect itself. Remember, everything about Earth was removed from Trantor's library; Part of it is involved, even the rock formations on the surface and the molten metal in the core, but they can't go back far enough to tell us anything about Earth. "Obviously, if the Earth were really that powerful, it might also be able to adjust the human mind to force everyone to believe that it was radioactive, which would deter any attempt to find it. Perhaps because of Complon's proximity to Earth, It poses a special threat, so it is added with a strange blank. Deniado is a skeptic and a scientist. He is 100% convinced that the search for the earth is futile. He said that the earth cannot be found-this That is why the Minister's superstitions may be justified. Wouldn't the Earth, wishing so much to hide itself, kill us, or lead us astray, and let us find it instead?" Bao Qisi frowned and said, "Gaia..." Trevize interrupted her immediately. "Don't say that Gaia will protect us. Since the earth has a way to erase Gaia's earliest memories, then in the conflict between the two sides, the earth will obviously be the winner." Bao Qisi said coldly: "How do you know that those memories were erased? Maybe it's just because Gaia developed star memory after a period of time, so it's impossible to go back to the era before the memory was completed. Even at that The previous memory was indeed erased by external force, how can you be sure that the earth did it?" "I don't know, I'm just speculating," Trevize said. Pelorat interrupted abruptly, asking timidly: "If the earth is so powerful, and so insisting on its privacy--let's say, what is the use of our efforts? You seem to think that the earth will not let us Find it, and, if necessary, kill us all. Shouldn't we abandon the whole plan under the circumstances?" "It seems like we should give up, I admit it, but I believe so strongly in the existence of the Earth that I must and will find it. And Gaia keeps reminding me that when I have such a strong belief, my thoughts are always is correct." "But, brother, how can we get out after we discover the earth?" "There is a possibility—" Trevize said in a relaxed tone as much as possible: "Because of my extraordinary talent, the earth may also recognize my value and not attack me. But—— That's what I'm trying to say—I'm not sure you two will survive, and that's what worries me. I've always had the thought, and it's stronger now, that I should take you two back to Gaia, then it's up to me to continue the quest. It was I, not you, who first decided that I must seek Earth; I, not you, who saw the importance; Not you. So, let me take the risk, you don't have to. Just let me go on—Janov?" Pelorat buried his chin in his neck, and his long face seemed even longer. "I don't deny that I feel uneasy, Grant, but I would be ashamed and ashamed if I left you alone." "Bliss?" "Gaia will never abandon you, Trevize, no matter what you do. If the earth is really a dangerous place, Gaia will do everything in its power to protect you. As for me, playing the role of Bao Qisi, no matter what You can't give up on Pei, if he decides to follow you, then of course I will follow him." Trevize said sullenly, "Very well, I've already given you the opportunity, let's go on the road together." "Let's go together." Baoqisi said. Pelorat smiled lightly, reaching out to grab Trevize's shoulder. "Water goes far together." Bao Qisi said: "Look here, Pei." She was manually manipulating the telescope of the spaceship just now, looking at it aimlessly, so as not to keep her mind stuck in Pelorat's library of earth legends. Pelorat came over, put an arm on her shoulder, and looked at the video screen.One of the gas giants in the Complon system has appeared, zoomed in multiple times to make it appear life-like. In color imaging, its surface appears pale orange with some darker streaks.Since the planet is farther away from the sun than Astrostellar and is viewed from the plane of the planet's orbit, it appears to be an almost perfect disc. "It is beautiful," said Pelorat. "The central stripe extends beyond the planet, Pei." Pelorat frowned and said, "You know, Precise, I believe so." "You think it's a 'phosphene'?" Pelorat said, "I'm not sure, Bliss, I'm a space recruit like you—Glenn!" Bing responded to this call with a rather weak "What's the matter?" Trevize walked into the cockpit following this answer, his clothes looked a little wrinkled, as if he had just taken a nap on the bed with his clothes on - and the fact was so it is. He said with some displeasure: "Please! Don't touch those devices." "It's nothing but a telescope," said Pelorat. "Look at that." Trevize took a look at it. "It's a gas giant planet. According to the information I got, they call it Goliath." "Just looking at it this way, how do you know it's that one?" "One of the reasons," said Trevize, "according to our current distance from the sun, and considering the size and orbital position of the planets—I have studied these data thoroughly when drawing up the course— —At this moment, it is the only planet that you can magnify to this level. Another reason is because it has a planetary ring." "Planetary rings?" Bao Qisi was puzzled. "What you can see now is just a thin, dark streak, because we're viewing it almost from the side. We can zoom up and out of the orbital plane of the planet, so you have a better view. Would you like to Do?" Pelorat said, "I don't want you to recalculate positions and courses, Grant." "Oh, don't worry, the computer will handle it for me, no trouble." He said as he sat in front of the computer and put his hands on the outlines of the two palms.Next, the computer, which was finely tuned with his mind, began to take care of all the operations. With no fuel problems and no inertial effects, the Far Star accelerated immediately.Trevize felt a surge of love again for the computers and spaceships that had responded in this way.It was as if his thought had turned into motivation and instructions, and it seemed that it was an extension of his own will, not only powerful, but also docile and obedient. No wonder the base wanted it back, and no wonder Complon wanted it for himself.The only surprising thing is that superstition should have been so powerful that Complon automatically gave up this ambition. Properly armed, the Farstar would be able to pursue or defeat any ship, or indeed any fleet, in the galaxy, as long as it didn't run into another spaceship of the same type. Of course, it is now unarmed.When Mayor Burano allocated the spaceship to him, he was at least vigilant enough not to equip it with any weapons. Pelorat and Bao Qisi stared at the display screen, and the planet Gloria was slowly, slowly tilting towards them.The upper pole (not to mention the South or North Pole) has emerged, surrounded by a large circle of turbulence; the lower pole is concealed by the bulge in the center of the sphere. At the top of the planet, the dark side intrudes into the orange portion, making this beautiful disk increasingly asymmetrical. Bao's exciting thing is that there is a straight line under the central dark stripe, which gradually becomes an arc, just like other southerly or northerly stripes, but the arc is more pronounced. It can now be seen very clearly that the central fringe does extend beyond the edge of the planet, forming a narrow arc on either side.This is definitely not an illusion. It is very obvious that it is a ring-shaped celestial body made of matter, which circles around the planet, and the other side is hidden behind the planet. "That's enough to give you an idea, I think," Trevize said. "If we fly right over the planet, you'll see a circular ring, concentric with the planet, but two Or there is no contact at all. You may also find that it is not a single ring, but composed of several concentric rings." "It's simply impossible," Pelorat said blankly, "What makes it stay in space?" "The same reason satellites can stay in space," Trevizes said. "Planetary rings are made of tiny particles, and each particle orbits the planet. Because these rings are so close to the planet, the 'tidal effect' makes They can't coalesce into a sphere." Pelorat shook her head. "It's so sad to think about, old friend. How can I know so little about astronomy when I've been a scholar all my life?" "And I know nothing about the human saga. No one can embrace all knowledge. In fact, there is nothing strange about these planetary rings. Almost every gas giant planet has it, even if it is sometimes just a thin ring of dust. Endpoint The family of planets headed by the star's sun doesn't happen to have true gas giants, so residents of Terminus, unless they're an interstellar traveler, or have taken astronomy courses in college, probably don't know what rings are. If the planet It's unusual for the ring to be very wide, to become bright and prominent, like this one now. It's really magnificent, and it must be at least several hundred kilometers wide." At this moment, Pelorat suddenly flicked his fingers with a "snap". "That's exactly what it means." Baoqisi was taken aback. "What did you think of, Pei?" "I once read a fragment of a poem," said Pelorat, "a very old poem, written in an archaic Galactic Standard language, which was rather difficult to read, which just proved its age. ——But I shouldn’t complain that the ancient style is difficult to understand. Due to work, I am proficient in several different ancient galactic languages. Even if this is of no use to me outside the field of work, it still gives me a sense of accomplishment—— What did I just say?" Bao Qisi said: "A fragment of an ancient poem, dear Pei." “谢谢你，宝绮思。”然后，裴洛拉特又对崔维兹说：“她总是很注意我在说什么，以便我一旦离题——这是常有的事——她随时能把我拉回来。” “这是你的魅力之一，裴。”宝绮思微笑着说。 “总之，那个片段主要是描述地球所在的行星系，至于为何有这段描述，我并不清楚，因为完整的诗句已经散轶，至少我从来没办法找到。流传下来的只有这一部分，或许是由于其中的天文学内容。总之，它提到第六颗行星拥有光辉灿烂的三着行星环。'既宽且大，与之相较，世界相形见绌。'你看，我现在还能吟一句。以前我不明了行星环是什么东西，我记得曾经设想，也许在行星的一侧有三个圆圈排成二列，这似乎十分无稽，所以我懒得收在我的图书馆中。我当初没有追根究底，现在想来十分遗憾。”他摇了摇头，又说：“在今日银河中，神话学家是个很孤独的行业，使人忘记了追根究底的好处。” 崔维兹安慰他说：“你当初没有理会它，也许是正确的态度，詹诺夫，对诗意的文字不可过分认真。” “但那就是它的意思，”裴洛拉特指着显像屏幕说：“那首诗所提到的景象，正是三个宽阔的同心环，比行星本身还要宽。” 崔维兹说：“我从来没听过这种事，行星环不可能那么宽，和它们环绕的行星比较，行星环总是非常狭长。” 裴洛拉特说：“我们也从未听说拥有一颗巨大卫星的可住人行星，或是它的地壳具有放射性，现在这个则是第三项唯一性。我们若能找到一颗除了有放射性之外，仍具有一切适于住人条件的行星，它拥有一颗巨大的卫星，而且在它的行星系中，有另一颗行星拥有宽阔的行星环，那么毫无疑问，我们已经发现地球了。” Trevize smiled. “我同意，詹诺夫，假如我们找到这三项特征，我们就一定找到了地球。” “假如！”宝绮思叹了口气。 他们已经飞越过这个行星系的主要世界，此刻正在最外围两颗行星间继续往外冲。十五亿公里内，完全没有稍具规模的天体存在。前面有的只是一大团彗星云，不会产生多大的着力效应。 远星号已加速到光速的十分之一。崔维兹非常清楚，理论上来说，这艘太空艇可加速到接近光速，不过他也很明白，实际上，十分之一光速已经是合理的极限。 以这个速率飞行，能避开任何稍具质量的物体，却无法闪避太空中无数的尘埃粒子，为数更多的原子与分子更不在话下。在极高速航行的过程中，即使那么微小的物体也会磨损、刮伤艇体，造成十分严着的损害。假若以接近光速的速率飞行，每个撞向艇体的原子都具有宇宙线粒子的性质。曝露在无孔不入的宇宙线辐射下，太空艇中每一个人都无法幸免。 在显像屏幕上，远方的恒星看不出任何动静，虽然太空艇以每秒三万公里的速率运动，但从各方面看起来，它都像是静止在太空中。 电脑正在进行长距离扫描，以侦测任何可能与太空艇碰撞的物体，它们即使体积有限，仍然会构成严着的威胁。在必要情况下，太空艇会稍微转向闪避，不过这种情形极不可能发生。由于可能来袭的物体都很小，相对速率也不太大，太空艇改变航向时又不会产生惯性效应，因此身在太空艇中的人，根本无法知道是否出现过堪称“千钧一发”的状况。 因此崔维兹一点都不担心这种事，甚至根本连想都不想。他把所有注意力，全都集中在丹尼亚多交给他的三组座标上，而他特别注意的，则是与他们目前位置最接近的那组座标。 “座标数字有什么问题吗？”裴洛拉特紧张兮兮地问。 “我现在还不能确定，”崔维兹说：“座标数字本身并没有用，你还得知道零点在哪里，以及设定座标所使用的规约——比如说划定距离所依据的方向，以什么作为本初子午线等等。” “这些你怎么找得出来？”裴洛拉特茫然问道。 “我已经取得了端点星和其他几个已知点相对于康普隆的座标，如果我将它们输进电脑，电脑便会算出究竟该用哪种规约，这些座标才能对应端点星和其他几个点的正确位置。我只是想将这些事在脑中整理一下，这样我就能对电脑发出适当的指令。一旦确定了规约，我们拿到的禁忌世界座标值就可能有意义了。” “只是可能而已？”宝绮思问。 “只是可能而已，恐怕就是如此。”崔维兹说：“那些毕竟是相当古老的座标，用的应该是康普隆辨约，伹无法绝对肯定。假如它们根据的是其他规约呢？” “万一真是这样呢？” “万一真是这样，我们得到的只是一堆毫无意义的数字。可是——我们好歹也要确定一下。” 他双手在微微发后的电脑键盘上轻快滑动，将必要的资料输进电脑，然后双手放在桌面的手掌轮廓上，再静待电脑确定这些已知座标所用的规约。答案出来后，他顿了一下，接着命令电脑使用相同的规约，算出最近一个禁忌世界的位置，最后终于在电脑记忆体的银河舆图中，找出了这组座标对应的地点。 屏幕上出现一个星像场，并且自动迅速移动，达到停滞状态后又开始不断扩大，将周围各方向的星辰都挤出屏幕，直到星辰几乎消失殆尽。肉眼根本跟不上这种迅疾的变化，看起来只是一团模糊的斑点。最后屏幕上剩下来的，只有边长十分之一秒差距的正方范围（根据屏幕下方标示的数值）。然后一直没有进一步的变化，在漆黑的屏幕中，只剩下六个暗淡的光芒点缀其间。 “哪个才是禁忌世界？”裴洛拉特轻声问道。 “全都不是，”崔维兹说：“其中四颗是红矮星，一颗是准红矮星，另一颗是白矮星。在这些恒星的轨道上，都不可能有任何可住人世界。” “单凭这样看一眼，你怎么知道那些就是红矮星？” 崔维兹说：“我们现在看到的不是真正的恒星，而是电脑记忆中银河舆图的一小部分，其中每颗恒星都标有简介，只不过你无法看到，通常我一样也看不到。可是一旦我的双手和电脑进行接触，像现在这样，那么我的眼睛注视某颗恒星时，我就能知道不少的相关资料。” 裴洛拉特以悲伤的语调说：“那么，这些座标毫无用处了。” 崔维兹抬起头望着他。“不，詹诺夫，我的话还没说完。我们还要考虑时间因素，这组座标是两万年前的，在这段时间中，那个禁忌世界和康普隆都绕着银河中心公转，两者的公转速率、轨道倾角和离心率都很可能完全不同。因此，随着时光的流逝，两个世界不是渐渐接近，就是距离越来越远。过了两万年后，那个禁忌世界如今所在的位置，与座标值的偏差可能在半个到五个秒差距之间，当然不会在这个十分之一秒差距边长的方格内出现。” “那么，我们该怎么办？” “我们以康普隆为原点，让电脑将银河的时间往前推两万年。” “它能这样做吗？”宝绮思的声音听来有点肃然起敬。 “嗯，它无法使银河本身回到过去，却能让记忆库中的舆图时光倒流。” 宝绮思说：“我们能看到任何变化吗？” “看——”崔维兹说。 屏幕上原来的六颗恒星开始缓缓挪动，此外另有一颗恒星出现在屏幕左侧，且渐渐向中央漂移。裴洛拉特兴奋地指着它说：“来了！来了！” 崔维兹说：“抱歉，又是颗红矮星。它们非常普遍，银河中的恒星至少有四分之三是红矮星。” 屏幕上的画面停下来，星体不再继续移动。 “然后呢？”宝绮思说。 崔维兹答道：“这就是了，这就是银河那一小部分在两万年前的样子。如果那个禁忌世界以平均速度进行星移，就应该出现在屏幕正中央。” “应该出现，可是没有啊。”宝绮思尖声道。 “的确没有。”崔维兹表示同意，声音几乎不带任何情绪。 裴洛拉特长长叹了一口气。“啊，太糟了，葛兰。” 崔维兹说：“且慢，不要绝望，我原本就没指望看到那颗恒星。” “你没有？”裴洛拉特显得极为讶异。 “是的。我跟你说过，这不是真正的银河，而是电脑中的银河舆圆，某颗恒星若没收录在舆图中，我们便不可能看到。假如一颗行星被称为'禁忌'，而且这个名称沿用了两万年，它就八成不会被收在舆图里。事实上果真如此，因为我们看不到它。” 宝绮思说：“也许因为它不存在，所以我们才看不到。康普隆的传说可能是杜撰的，也可能这些座标并不正确。” “说得很对。不过，电脑既然找出了那个世界两万年前的可能位置，就能够估计出它如今的座标。根据修正后的座标——我唯有利用星图才能做出这个修正——我们现在可以切换到真实的银河星像场。” 宝绮思说：“伹你只是假设禁忌世界一直以平均速度进行星移，万一它的速度有异于平均速度呢？那你现在得到的座标就不正确了。” “说得没错，但是和未做时间修正的结果比较，我们几乎可以肯定，根据平均速度的假设进行修正后，得到的结果将更接近真实的位置。” “你真乐观！”宝绮思以怀疑的口吻说。 “我正是那么乐观，”崔维兹说：“希望不出我所料——现在就让我们看看真正的银河。” 两位旁观者聚精会神地盯着屏幕，崔维兹则以轻松的语调慢慢解释（或许是为了缓和自己的紧张情绪，并且延后揭晓谜底的时刻），好像在发表一场演说。 “观察真正的银河比较困难，”他说：“电脑中的舆图是人工产物，不相干的东西可以除去。比如说，如果有个星云遮蔽视线，我能将它消除；如果视角和我的预期不合，我可以调整到更方便的角度。然而观测真实银河的时候，我必须照单全收，毫无选择的余地。假使我想有所改变，必须在太空中真正运动，花的时间会比调整舆图多得多。” 当他说到这里的时候，屏幕上出现了一团恒星云，里面挤满一颗又一颗的星辰，看来像是一堆散乱的粉末。 崔维兹说：“那是银河某个区段的大角度画面，当然，我想要的是前景。如果我把前景扩大，相对之下背景就会变得蒙陇。这个座标点和康普隆足够接近，所以我应该能将它扩大到和舆图中的画面一致。我只需要输入必要的指令，但愿我的头脑能保持足够的清醒。开始——” 星像场陡然扩大，成千上万的恒星被急速推出屏幕。三个人猛然觉得自己向屏幕冲去，由于感觉过于逼真，他们都不由自主向后一仰，彷佛是对一股推力生出的自然反应。 先前的画面又出现了，虽然不似舆图中的那般黑暗，但是那六、七颗恒星都在原先的位置上。此外，在接近中央的部分，还出现了另一颗恒星，它的光芒比其他恒星明后许多。 “它在那里。”裴洛拉特细声道，声音中充满了敬畏。 “可能就是它，我会让电脑摄取它的光谱，然后详加分析。”沉默相当一段时间之后，崔维兹又说：“光谱型为G 4，因此它比端点星的太阳较小、较暗一点，不过比康普隆的太阳要明后些。电脑的银河舆图不该漏掉任何G型恒星，既然这颗遭到遗漏，很可能表示它就是那个禁忌世界环绕的太阳。”宝绮思说：“我们有没有可能到头来却发现，这颗恒星周围根本没有可住人行星？” “有这个可能，我想。倘若真是那样，我们再设法寻找另外两个禁忌世界。” 宝绮思固执地说：“万一另外两个也是空欢喜一场呢？” “那我们再尝试别的办法。” "For example?" “但愿我知道。”崔维兹绷着脸说。