Chapter 10 Theme Variations IV Love
Lazarus lay lazily on the hammock, scratching his chest.Hamadiyadh said, "It's a complicated question. When I was seventeen, I thought I was in love, but it was just a combination of hormones and self-deception. It took almost a thousand years before I experienced real love. love, and it took me a while to realize I was in love. I forgot that the word 'love' even existed."
Ella Visalo's "Pretty Daughter" looks confused.Lazarus thought that Ella was being too modest: Hamadiyad was not just beautiful, but stunningly beautiful.Even the most discerning of Iskandian's agents would have decided she was perfect, and had bid on it so that she fetched the highest price at the Fatima auction.
Hamadiyad seemed unaware of his own good looks, but Ishtar was.During the first ten days of Ella's daughter becoming a member of Lazarus' "family" (that's how Lazarus saw them. "Family" is an apt word because Ella, Hamadiyad, Ishtar, and Grahid is his descendant, and is now allowed to call him "grandfather"), Ishtar became a little childish, always trying to insert himself in Hamadiyadh and Lazarus, or Hamadiyadh Between De and Grahead, even regardless of his lack of skills.
This parody amused Lazarus.He didn't know if Ishtar was aware of his actions.In the end, he concluded, probably not.His one-liner, with no sense of humor, would be freaked out if she realized she was a teenager again.
But Ishtar's jealousy didn't last long.No matter what happens, Hamadiyad always maintains a gentle and friendly attitude, making it impossible not to like her.Was this, Lazarus wondered, a way of life she had cultivated on purpose to protect herself from the envy of her lesser-looking sisters—or was it simply her nature?He didn't look for answers.Ishtar is now willing to sit next to Hamadiyad, and is even willing to leave some space for Hamadiyad between her and Grahid, and let her help with cooking and doing chores.Hamadiyad became the de facto assistant "Housewife."
"If I have to wait a thousand years to understand that word," replied Hamadiyadh, "then I may never understand it. Minerva says the word cannot be described in Grakta .Although I can speak classical English, I still think in Grakta when I think, which shows that I have not really mastered English. The word 'love' appears frequently in the old English literature, and it has become the language when I think in English. obstacle."
"Then let's talk in Grakta. English has never been used for serious thinking anyway; it's not a language for logical thinking. Rather, it's an emotional language for masking logical fallacies. It's in the process of becoming rational, it hasn't grown into a rational language. Most English speakers don't understand the word 'love' any better than you do, even though they use it all the time."
Lazarus added: "Minerva! We're going to try to define the word 'love.' Would you like to join us? If so, switch to your personality mode."
"Thank you, Lazarus. Ella-Ishtar-Hamadiyad-Grahide, hello." The disembodied contralto replied, "I've always been in personality mode. You allowed me to use my Judgment, so I'm generally in that mode. You look good, Lazarus, getting younger every day."
"I'm feeling young, too. But honey, when you're in personality mode, you should tell us."
"I'm sorry, grandfather!"
"Don't be so humble. You just have to say, 'OK, I see'. If you could just say 'Go to hell with me' or Ella just once, it would do you a lot Bonus. Equivalent to cleaning your circuits."
"But I don't wish to say that to any of you."
"That's the problem. Spend more time with Dora and you'll definitely learn to say it. Have you spoken to her today?"
"I'm talking to Dora, Lazarus. We're playing five-dimensional fun chess, and she's still teaching me the same song you taught her. She taught me a song, and I lead the tenor, She sang backing vocals in soprano. We could hear ourselves through the speakers in the control room. We were singing "The Fury of a Ball." Would you like to hear it?"
Lazarus flinched. "No, no, not this one."
"We practiced a few other songs, 'Tall Lear,' and 'The Ballad of Jack in Yukon,' and 'Bill I Can't Get Rid of'—on this one, Dora sang soprano and bass. And "Four Whores From Canada," which is kind of funny."
"No, Minerva. I'm sorry, Ella, but my computer broke your computer." Lazarus sighed. "That wasn't my intention; I just wanted Minerva to take care of her for me." .Here, all I have left is this stupid spaceship."
"Lazarus," Minerva said reproachfully, "I don't think you should call Dora a stupid spaceship. I think she's very smart. I don't understand why you say she taught me badly." Ella kept lying Basking in the sun on the grass, with a small square over his eyes.He propped himself up on one arm. "I don't think so either, Lazarus. I want to hear that last song. I remember where Canada is, north of the country you were born in."
Lazarus counted silently in his heart, and then said: "Ira, I know, I have ridiculous prejudices against civilized modern people like you. I can't help it. The life of my youth shaped me. I'm impressionable like a duckling, so I've formed ingrained ideas. If you want to listen to pornographic songs popular in uncivilized places, please listen to them in your own room, not here. Minerva, Dora doesn't understand this songs; to her, it was just a little song to coax the children."
"Even though I have a theoretical knowledge, I don't understand the songs either, sir. But they're cheerful, and I'd love to have someone teach me how to sing."
"Well--well then. Is Dora doing all right in other ways?"
"She's a nice girl, Grandpa Lazarus. I think she's happy with my company too. But she was a little upset that no one gave her a bedtime story last night. I told her you were tired and fell asleep , and I told her a story."
"But—Ishtar! Have I missed a day?"
"Yes, sir."
· "Did you have an operation? I don't see any new wounds on my body."
The doctor in charge of Huichun hesitated, "Grandfather, if you insist on discussing medical procedures, I will have to do so. However, discussing these matters does not do the customer any good. I hope you will not insist. Really, sir."
"Yeah. Okay, okay. But the next time you make me miss a day, or a week, or whatever, remind me to pay attention. That way I can give Minerva a bedtime story beforehand. No, that's it." No; you don't want me to know. Well, I'll put the story in Minerva's files, and you remind Minerva."
"I will, grandfather. The cooperation between our customers and us is very important, and the best cooperation is to pay as little attention to our work as possible." Ishtar smiled faintly, "The customers we fear most are rejuvenation doctors. They always I am very worried, and always want to arrange the rejuvenation process by myself." "It's not surprising. I know, 'Honey, I also have the habit of being persistent and doing everything by myself. So, when I kept asking, Just tell me to shut up. But I want to know how I am now? How long will it take us?" Ishtar said hesitantly, "Maybe now is the time I need to tell you... 'shut up' It's time."
"So be it! But your tone is tougher, dear. 'Get out of the control room, you watery-headed fool, stay out and don't come in!' Make him realize that if he If you don't get out quickly, you'll throw him in the brig. Try again." Ishtar grinned, "Grandfather, you're such an old liar."
"I've been so skeptical for a long time, I wish I hadn't shown it. Well, we're talking about 'love'. Minerva, cutie Hama said you told her that the word can't be used in Glacta To express it in English. Do you have any comments to add?"
"Barely so, Lazarus. Can I hold off on answering until the others have finished their comments?"
"You decide. Grahead, you talk less and listen more than anyone else in this family. Would you like to say what you think now?"
"Well, sir, I didn't realize the mystery of the word 'love' until I heard Hamadiyadh say it. But I am still at the stage of learning English, learning it in the natural way that a child learns a mother. .No grammar, sentence structure, dictionary, just listening, speaking, reading. Learning new words through the context of the conversation. With this method, my feeling is that 'love' is something that can be obtained through sex, Extreme joy shared by two people. Don't know, right?"
"Son, it looks like you've read a lot of English literature. It's only natural to get that impression. I hate to say it, but you're 100 percent wrong."
Ishtar looked surprised, but Grahead was lost in thought. "Then I must read some more books."
"Don't bother, Grahead. Most of the authors you read are as wrong as you understand that word. Well, I've used it wrong myself for many years; it's A powerful example of how easily the way English is spoken can be misunderstood. However, whatever 'love' is, it is not sex. I am not denigrating sex. If there is anything in human life than two people cooperating to make one If there is something more important than a child, all the philosophers in history have failed to find it. Also, when we are not planning to have children, sex allows us to maintain the passion of life, turning the drudgery of raising children into A bearable thing. But that's not love. Love is the feeling that exists even when you don't have sexual urges. If we agree on the definition of love like this, then who will try? Ella, how are you? Your English Better than anyone else, and almost as good as I am."
"I can speak better than you, grandfather; what I say is grammatical and you are not."
"Don't be picky, boy; I'll teach you something. Neither Shakespeare nor I let the rules of grammar interfere with our ability to express ourselves. You know, he said to me once—"
"Oh, come on! He died three centuries before you were born."
"Is that true? They opened his tomb and found it empty. In fact, he was Queen Elizabeth's half-brother, and he dyed his hair to hide the fact. Another fact is that they found him so he made a switch. I've died that way several times. Ella, he left his 'second favorite bed' to his wife in his will. Find out who Get his favorite bed, and you'll see what's really going on. Do you want to try to define the word 'love'?" "No. You're switching concepts again. You've been putting what you call The experience of 'love' is divided into two categories. When you discussed this with Minerva a few weeks ago, she categorized it like this: divided 'love' into 'sex' and 'big love'. You just didn't use this Two specialized words. With this ruse, you exclude 'love' from one subcategory, and then claim that the word is restricted to another category. Thus, you equate the definition of 'love' with 'big love', It's just that the technical title of 'big love' is not used. It won't work, Lazarus. In your own words, you stole a card and I found out."
Lazarus nodded appreciatively, "That's great, kid; I read you right. One day when we have enough time to waste, let's debate the issue of solipsism."
"Forget it, Lazarus. You can't bully me like you bullied Grahead. There are only two kinds of love, 'sex' and 'big love'. 'Big love' is rare; 'sex' is common , is almost inevitable. So Grahead thinks 'sex' is all there is to 'love'. Now you're confusing him because he's assuming—incorrectly assuming—that you're an authority on the English language. It's not fair."
Lazarus giggled, "Ella, my boy, when I was a kid, they sold carloads of stinky stuff like professional words and used them as fertilizer to grow alfalfa. These Professional vocabulary is a figment of theologians, pundits, and the like, like a sex manual written by an abstinent priest. Boy, I shy away from these bells and whistles because they're useless , false and misleading. It is entirely possible to have sex without love, love without sex, and a mixture of the two, and no one can tell who is who. But love can indeed be defined, an exact, There is no need for a definition of 'sex' and technical terms like 'sex' and 'big love'."
"That's up to you to define," Ella said, "I promise not to laugh."
"Now is not the time. The problem with using words to define a basic concept like 'love' is that people who haven't experienced it can't understand it. It's like explaining what a rainbow is to a blind person who was born blind. Problems that have existed since time immemorial. Yes, Ishtar, I know you can give blind people cloned eyes, but such problems were unsolvable when I was young. At that time, people could complain to this misfortune People who teach all the physical theories related to the electromagnetic spectrum, accurately tell others the frequency range that the naked eye can see, and then use this frequency to explain each color, and how the refraction and reflection mechanisms form the rainbow phenomenon, the shape of the rainbow How it is, how the frequency is distributed, let him know everything about the rainbow in theory... But you still can't make him feel the breathtaking feeling that the sight of the rainbow arouses in the human heart. Minerva than The blind one is better, because she can see. Dear Minerva, have you ever seen a rainbow?"
"I'll watch it whenever I get the chance, Lazarus, when my external sensing device can see it. Fascinating spectacle indeed!"
"That's right. Minerva can see rainbows, but blind people can't. Electromagnetic theory has nothing to do with actual experience."
"Lazarus," Minerva added, "maybe I can see a rainbow more beautiful than a man can see. My vision is three octaves wide, from fifteen hundred to twelve thousand angstroms." .”
Lazarus whistled. "My eyesight is not as good as yours, but only an octave less. Tell me, girl, can you see the harmonics in these colors?"
"Oh, of course!"
"Well, don't bother explaining the colors to me; I'll just go on being half-blind."
Lazarus added: "This reminds me of a blind man I met on Mars, Ella, when I ran that entertainment center. He—"
"Grandfather," interrupted the Acting Patriarch in a weary voice, "don't treat us like children. Of course, you're the oldest man alive...but the youngest here is me sitting there The one who looked at you with wide-eyed admiration—even she was about the same age as the last time you saw your grandfather. Hamadiyad will be eighty on his next birthday years old. Hey, dear, how many lovers do you have?"
"My God, Ella - who's going to count?"
"Have you ever received money for such a thing?"
"None of your business, father. Do you want to give me some money?"
"Don't talk back, dear; I'm still your father anyway. Lazarus, do you think you'll shock Hamadiyadh by saying such a thing? Prostitution isn't a big business here, amateurs like her Much more, all willing to give. There are still a few whorehouses in New Rome, though, and they're members of the Chamber of Commerce. You should try our upscale resort, Elysium. Wait until you're done with the whole rejuvenation process."
"Great idea," Grahead agreed. "After Ishtar has given you a final full body check, let's celebrate. I invite you, Grandpa; I'll be honored. There's everything in Elysium, massage , hypnosis, the best food and shows. You can ask for anything, and they'll deliver."
"Wait a minute," protested Hamadiyad, "don't be so selfish, Grahid. Let's celebrate with a party of four. How's Ishtar?"
"Of course, dear. Interesting."
"Or six, and find a company for Ella too. How about it, father?"
"It's tempting, dear. You know.. I usually avoid public places, but for this birthday party for Lazarus...you've had a couple of rejuvenation treatments, Lazarus. At birthday parties like this, We all use this to count birthdays.”
"Don't be so inquisitive, little one. As your daughter says: 'Who's going to count?' I don't mind if you make me a birthday cake like the one I used to have when I was a kid. One candle is enough."
"The phallic symbol," Grahead agreed, "an ancient symbol of fertility, appropriate for celebrating rejuvenation. The flame of the candle is also an ancient 'symbol of vitality. Put a candle that actually works, don't use a fake." —if you can find it."
Ishtar said happily: "Of course! There must be someone who can make candles. If not, I will learn how to make one myself. I will also design my own. Semi-realistic, not departing from the original candle shape, but I can make it into a real figure, grandfather; I'm a good amateur sculptor, learned while studying plastic surgery."
"Wait!" protested Lazarus, "all I want is an ordinary candle made of ordinary wax, to make a wish, and blow it out. Thank you, Ishtar, and don't bother. Thank you too 'grahide, but I'll pay the bill. More likely, though, to only have a house party here so Ella doesn't feel like a duck waiting to be shot. Boys, I Seen all kinds of entertainment. Happiness is in the heart, not in those things."
"Don't you see, Lazarus? The kids want to entertain you with a fancy party. They like you—though I don't know why."
"So--"
"There will be no bills. I recall something in the list attached to your will. Minerva, whose Elysium is it?
"It's a subsidiary of New Rome Services Ltd, which in turn is part of the Sheffield One Libby Association. Simply put, Lazarus owns it.
"Damn it! Who put my money into that? Andy Libby, God bless his sweet, shy soul, even if I didn't put him in orbit off that planet— That's the last asteroid we found together, and that's where he died—let him spin, and he'll be tossed about in his grave, too." "Lazarus, this happened in There is no record in your memory bank."
"Ella, I've been telling you that there are so many things that aren't in my memory bank. The poor guy, he was so focused on a problem in his head that he wasn't vigilant. I Promised him that if he died, I'd bring him back to his birthplace, Ozark. So I put him in orbit, ready to come back a hundred years later. But I didn't find him. I guess Might be the transmitter ran out of power. Well, boys, we're having a party at my entertainment company, and you can try all kinds of services. Where were we talking? Yes, Ella, You have to define 'love'."
"No, you're about to tell us the story of a blind man you met when you ran that brothel on Mars."
"Ella, you're just as straightforward as Grandpa Johnson. The guy was called Nao--I don't remember his exact name, if he had one. Nao, like you, just wants to work, whatever it is. In At that time, blind people could live well by begging, and no one would despise him, because there was no way to help blind people recover their sight at that time.
"But Xiao Nao doesn't like to depend on others for his life; he does what he can. He plays an instrument called a compression box, and he sings. This instrument is made by the musician blowing air through a metal reed, and the musician You also need to press the keys on the instrument by hand. The sound is beautiful. This instrument was very popular before electronic music drove most mechanical instrument manufacturers out of this market.
"One night, Xiao Nao appeared. He took off his pressure suit in a dressing room and started playing an instrument and singing. That's when I noticed him.
"My policy is 'give it up or get out', with the occasional exception of buying a beer for a regular customer who is temporarily out of money. But Joe is not a customer; he's a bum who looks and smells like a bum. I'm Was about to throw him out like a bum, and suddenly saw the rags wrapped around his eyes, so I stopped.
"No one would chase a blind man, no one would give him trouble. I watched his behavior, but I didn't bother him. He didn't even sit down, he just played the Steinway piano that was falling apart, and sang The instrument was not playing well, and the song was not good, but I stopped the little harp I was playing, so as not to interrupt him. A girl in the shop began begging for money for him with a hat.
"When he came to my table I asked him to sit down and bought him a beer - which I later regretted; he had a foul mouth. He thanked me and told me about him. A lie , mostly."
"Same as you said, grandfather?"
"Thank you, Ira. He said he used to be the chief engineer on a big Harriman airliner and there was an accident. Maybe he was really an astronaut before; I didn't see a flaw in his terminology. Neither did I. Do it on purpose. If a blind man claimed he was the heir to the Holy Roman Empire, I'd go along with it. Anyone would. Maybe he's really a space mechanic or assembler or something. But he More like a space miner who accidentally has an accident at work.
"During the final inspection before closing, I found him asleep in the kitchen. You can't let him sleep there, the kitchen needs to be kept tidy. So I took him to an empty room and put him on the bed. I'm going to let him sleep. He ate breakfast and kindly asked him to leave—I don't run a small hotel.
"The story is far from over. I saw him at breakfast in good condition, but I almost didn't recognize him. The girls gave him a bath, trimmed his hair, shaved him, put him on He got clean clothes—my clothes, and threw away the dirty, torn cloth he had wrapped around his bad eye, and put on a clean white bandage.
"My relatives, I'm not against the general trend. Girls are free to keep pets; I know what attracts customers here, it's not my little harp anyway. Even if their pets have two legs and eat more than I do I don't have any objections. As long as the girls want to take him in, the Hormone Palace is Xiao Nao's home.
"But after a while, I realized that Xiao Nao is not a parasite who likes to enjoy free rooms and food, he has become our business tool, sucking money out of customers' pockets - no, it should be said that he is Asking for money for himself. At the end of the first month he was with us, my financial account showed that the total income of the brothel had increased, and the net profit had skyrocketed."
"How do you account for the situation, Lazarus? He's competing with you for the guest's money, you know."
"Ella, do I have to think about everything for you? Oh, yes, Minerva does it for you most of the time. Obviously, you probably never thought about the economics of various business synergies. My The income comes from three parts, the bar, the kitchen and the girls themselves. Without drugs, drugs destroy all three sources of income. If a customer is on drugs, is caught by us, or just shows some signs, I will immediately Ask him to leave, send him away.
"The kitchen is the place to prepare food for the girls, and their charges are calculated on the principle of no loss, no profit or a little loss. The kitchen also serves people who order at night. This business is profitable, because the management of the kitchen Fees and miscellaneous expenses have been spread in the cost of meals provided to the girls. After I fired a three-handed bar manager, the bar business is also profitable. The money earned by the girls belongs to them, but they have to pay for it. Each john pays a fixed room rate, and triples the room rate if a guest stays for one night. She can play tricks on the money, and I'll turn a blind eye. But if the amount is too much or too many times, or a client complains he's been robbed, I'll have a good talk with the girl. There's never been real trouble; they're respectable ladies. Besides, I have a way of quietly Check them out, I also have eyes in the back of my head.
"The robbed complaint was the toughest, but I can remember only one time when it was the girl's fault, not the client's. I did nothing but terminate her contract and let her go. Usually the client is not Victim: They put too much money into the greedy little hands of the girl, and after the girl provided the service that the client bought, they changed their minds and tried to force the money back from the girl. Such a guy I heard Come on, I'll bug you to monitor what's going on inside, and intervene as soon as there's trouble. I'll throw a bastard like that out and make him bounce twice on the ground."
"Grandfather, aren't some of these bastards too big for you to fight?" "No, Grahead. Size doesn't really matter in a fight. And, in real trouble, I'm always armed. If I had to beat a man, I wouldn't hesitate to beat him in a way that would offend my conscience. If you hit a man off guard Kick him in the crotch and he'll lie still for a long time, long enough for you to throw him out.
"Don't be frightened, Hama cutie; your father just said you wouldn't make a fuss about anything you hear. But I'm going to tell you a little bit about how he helped us make money while doing it for himself. money making stories.
"This is usually the case in bars on remote planets. After the customer comes, he buys a drink first, then he looks at the girls, buys a drink for the girl he chooses, goes to her room, and leaves after finishing. About thirty minutes time; little net profit for the brothel.
"Before Xiao Nao came, it was the same at my place. After Xiao Nao came, the situation changed: when a guest came, he bought a drink as before, and he might also buy another drink for the girl so as not to interrupt a blind man's singing." Serve the second drink, and then take the girl to her room. When he comes out, Xiao Nao is singing "Frank and Johnny" or "When the Writer Met My Cousin", and he will greet the guest Smile, the guests will sit down and listen to the song - and then he will ask Xiao Nao if he can sing "Black Eyes". Of course he can, but he doesn't admit that he can sing, but let the guests tell him the lyrics, hum the tune of the song, and then he would tell the guests that he would try it out.
"If the guest had more money on him, he'd be sitting there a few hours later. He'd had dinner with a girl, and he was generous with tips. Or the girl comes again. If he brings enough money, he'll stay here all night and spend his money on the girl, the bar, the bar, and the kitchen. If he spends it all, he's always a A good guest--behaving properly and spending generously--I'll give him a bed and breakfast on credit and ask him to come back next time. As long as he's alive when the next paycheck comes, he'll definitely be back. Even if he doesn't come , then the total loss of the brothel is just the cost of a breakfast, which is nothing compared to what he spent here. Besides, this is the cheapest kind of positive publicity.
"About a month or so, both the brothel and the girls made more money, and the girls didn't have to work so hard, and a lot of their time was spent drinking drinks bought by others-that is, colored ones. Half of the income from water and drinks goes to the brothel, and half goes to the girl herself - and at the same time, she will accompany the guests to listen to those homesick songs. Well, girls don't want to work endlessly like a bicycle, even if she usually likes this job .To be honest, many of them do like it. But they will never get bored just sitting there and listening to the little trouble songs.
"I don't play the little harp anymore, I only play a few songs when Xiao Nao eats. My playing skills are better than Xiao Nao's, but he has the ability to sell songs that cannot be described in words; He can make people sad or laugh. He sings a lot of songs. One is called "Born Losers". It's not a tune, it sounds like this:
blah blah blah
blah blah blah
blah blah blah blah
"—the lyrics are about a fool who never made it:
there is a tavern
next to the billiard room
is the place to have a good time
there is a brothel
just above the pool room is
where my sister earns money
she is a good playmate
I collect the bill for her
Five or even ten dollar bills
when there is no money
or a horse
When running very slowly—
"That's the song, boys, and a lot more," said Lazarus Ella. "You've been humming or singing this song every day since you got here. It's a complete song. A dozen lines, or It's more."
"Really, Ella. I do grunt a lot, I know that. But I can't hear it myself. It's like a cat purring; it means my organs are functioning well, and all the signal lights are on." It's green and in normal cruising mode. Which means I feel safe, relaxed and happy - and that's it.
"But the song 'Natural Born Losers' isn't just a dozen lines, it's hundreds of lines. I'm only singing a fraction of the lyrics that used to be a joke. He's always doctoring the song, changing the lyrics or adding some I don’t think the opening part of the song is the same as he sang; I vaguely remember hearing a similar song before, about a man who kept pawning his coats when I was young Back then, I was still on Earth, working hard to support my first home.
"But Xiao Nao rearranged the order of the lyrics and added a lot of paragraphs. Therefore, this song belongs to Xiao Nao. Twenty years later, maybe twenty-five years later, my song and dance in a hotel in Moon City Heard the song again during the performance. It was sung by a little brat, but he changed the song. Adjusted the rhythm, made the rhyme format better, and changed the tune to a better tune. But the tune is still 'hopeful' Instead of a depressing ditty, the lyrics are still about this third-rate crook whose coat is always in the pawn shop and who's always licking his sister.
"Xiao Nao himself has changed. Shiny new instrument, fitted space uniform, a little gray at the sideburns. He is a famous actor. I gave the waiter some money and asked him to tell Xiao Nao that 'Happy' Dez is down there- It wasn't my name at the time, but that's all Xiao Nao knew. After the first set, he came to me and asked me to buy him a drink, and we lied to each other about our time in the old hormone palace happy day.
"I didn't mention his leaving without saying goodbye. His leaving left the girls with their heads down and worried that he might have died in some gutter. But he didn't come forward and I didn't ask. I had to investigate him when he left us 's disappearance, because my people were depressed by it, and the workplace became spooky, like a mortuary. A entertainment place must not be like this. I found out that he boarded the Gyrfalcon bound for Moon City, Then I stayed in Moon City. I told the girls that Xiao Nao suddenly had a chance to go back to his hometown, and asked the captain stationed in the port to send a message to everyone—and then made up many farewell words for different people. They cheered up and lifted the gloom away. They still missed him, but they also knew he couldn't afford to miss his chance to get a ride home. Besides, since he 'remembered' to deliver a message to each of them, they felt very grateful.
“事实证明，他真的记得她们。他叫出了每一个人的名字。亲爱的密涅娃，这就是视力上的盲人和心灵上的盲人的区别。小闹可以在任何他想看的时候看到彩虹，是通过回忆。他从来没有停止去'看'，而且他'看'到的总是美丽的。我记得我们都在火星上的时候，他认为我和你一样英俊，格拉海德。别笑。他告诉我，他可以从我的声音里知道我长的样子，然后向我描述了我的长相。我表现得很得体，说他在吹捧我，但他说我太谦虚，我也就没拦着他，让他继续说下去。我现在不英俊，那时也不英俊，但我从来没有谦虚这个恶习。
“小闹还认为所有姑娘都很漂亮。其实只有一个姑娘基本够格，其他几个只能勉强算是可爱。
“他问我奥尔加后来怎么样了，又说：'天哪！她是个多么美丽的小可爱呀！'
“各位亲戚，奥尔加甚至算不上长相平常。她很丑。脸像泥饼子，身材像水桶。只有在像火星这样偏远的行星，她才混得下去。她有的只是热情，加上甜美的声音，温柔的个性——这就够了。客人可能会在没得可挑的时候才会选她，比如生意火爆的时候，可一旦这么做了，他以后会特意再选择她。也就是说，美貌可能会引诱一个男人上床，但不会让他们上第二次当'除非他非常年轻，或者非常愚蠢。”
“什么东西才能把男人第二次带上床呢，祖父？”哈玛德娅德问道，“技术？肌肉的控制力？”
“有人这么抱怨过你吗，亲爱的？”
"Um...no."
“那么你肯定知道答案，你是故意开我的玩笑。你说的两个都不是。我说的这种能力是让你自己乐在其中，从而让男人快乐。它是精神上的能力，而不是肉体上。奥尔加这方面的能力很强。
“我告诉小闹，他离开后不久，奥尔加就幸福地结婚了，生了三个孩子，这是我最后听到的有关她的消息。彻头彻尾的谎言。小闹走了之后，她在很偶然的情况下被杀了。姑娘们为此伤心不已，我自己也感觉不好，店子关了四天。但是我不能把这些告诉小闹；奥尔加是最先照顾他的姑娘之一，她帮他洗澡，在我睡着的时候偷了我的衣服给他。
“总之，姑娘们都照料过他，而且从来没有因为他争风吃醋。小闹的故事讲完了，有些凌乱，让我们再回到主题上来；我们现在仍然要定义'爱'。有谁想试试吗？”
格拉海德说：“小闹爱每个姑娘。你刚才说的就是这么回事。”
“不对，孩子，他不爱任何一个姑娘。喜欢她们，是的——但他离开她们的时候甚至没有回头看一看。”
“那么你说的是，她们爱他。”
“正确。一旦你搞明白他对于她们的感情和她们对于他的感情之间的区别，我们就快成功了。”
“那是母爱。”艾拉粗声补充道，“拉撒路，你是不是要告诉我们，'母爱'就是世间存在的唯一的爱？你真是疯了！”
“可能吧，但意思不对。我说了她们照料过他；但我没说'母爱'。”
“嗯……他和她们都睡过觉？”
“就算是这样，也不是什么让人吃惊的事，艾拉。反正我从来没想去调查这种事。和我们的话题无关。”
哈玛德娅德对她父亲说：“艾拉，'母爱'不可能是我们想定义的'爱'；通常情况下它是一种责任感。我的小孩中有两个我曾想淹死他们。要是你看到他们是什么样的小魔头，你也会理解我的心情。”
“女儿，你的孩子都很可爱。”
“哦，也就是可爱一会儿。不过无论孩子怎样，母亲都要照料他，不然的话，他长大以后会成为一个更可怕的妖怪。你怎么看我的儿子高顿，作为一个孩子来说？”
“是个令人愉快的孩子。”
“真的吗？我一定把这话告诉他——如果我真的有一个取名为'高顿'的男孩。对不起，老父亲，我不该给你设陷阱。拉撒路，艾拉是完美的祖父，从来不会忘记孩子们的生日。但我一直怀疑是密涅娃在为他记录这些事，现在我弄清楚了。你说呢，密涅娃？”
密涅娃没有回答。拉撒路说：“她不是为你工作的，哈玛德娅德。”
艾拉厉声道：“当然是密涅娃在为我记录这种事！密涅娃，我有多少个孙子孙女？”
“一百二十七个，艾拉，算上下个星期要出生的那个男孩。”
“有多少个曾孙？要出生的那个孩子是谁的？”
“四百零三个，先生。是你的儿子高顿现任妻子玛利亚的孩子。”
“有什么消息的话及时告诉我。这才是我刚才脑子里想的那个小男孩高顿，耍小聪明的女士；高顿的儿子，也叫高顿……嗯，我想是伊芙琳·海德里克生的。拉撒路，我欺骗了你。其实是因为我的子孙后代太多了，要把我挤出这个行星，我才不得不移民的。”
“父亲，你真的想移民吗？不是在开玩笑？”
“亲爱的，在十年一度的理事会议之前，这还是个最高机密。但我确实要移民。想不想和我一起走？格拉海德和伊师塔都已经决定走了；他们要为那里的人建立一个回春诊所。你有五到十年的时间来学一样真正有用的手艺。”
“祖父，你要走吗？”
“不可能的n次方，孩子。移民的事我经历过。”
“你可能会改变心意。”哈玛德娅德站了起来，面对拉撒路说道，“在三位证人——四位；密涅娃是可能存在的最好的证人——的见证下，我向你提出签署与您同居和生育后代的合同建议，具体条件由你决定。”伊师塔看上去吓了一跳，但迅速从脸上抹掉一切表情；其他人没有吭声。
拉撒路回答道：“孙女，如果我不是这么老、这么累，我会打你屁股的。”
“拉撒路，我只是出于礼貌才成为你的孙女；在我的血脉中，只有不到百分之八来自于你。显性基因还要少于这个比例，出现不利基因强化效果的可能性微乎其微；坏的隐性基因更是早已清除。我会把我的基因图谱拿给你检查。”
“这不是关键，亲爱的。”
“拉撒路，我确切地知道，你过去与你的后代结过婚；为什么要对我区别对待？有什么特别的原因吗？如果你能告诉我，或许我可以改正它。我必须补充说一下，这个求婚不以你移民为条件。”哈玛德娅德接着说，“或者只生育后代也行，但如果我能和你住在一起，我会感到骄傲、快乐。”
“为什么，哈玛德娅德？”
She hesitated. “我没法回答，先生。我原本以为可以说'我爱你'——但我显然不知道这个词意味着什么。所以，无论在哪种语言里，我都找不到词来形容我的需要……于是只好没头没脑地直接提了出来。”
拉撒路温和地说：“我爱你，亲爱的——”
哈玛德娅德的脸抬了起来。
他继续说道：“——但正因为这个原因，我要拒绝你。”拉撒路看了看周围的人，“我爱你们所有的人。伊师塔、格拉海德……甚至是那个丑八怪，就是坐在那辑、一脸忧心忡忡的你父亲。笑一笑吧，亲爱的，我敢肯定，会有艰多年轻人非常迫切地希望能和你结婚。伊师塔，你也笑一笑——但你别笑，艾拉；你那张古板的脸会裂开的。伊师塔，谁来接你和格拉海德的班？不，我不关心排班次序。今天剩下的时间里，我可以一个人待着吗？”
她犹豫了一下，说：“祖父，我可以在观察室里安排人值班吗？”
“无论如何你都会安排的。但你能让他们只用那些测量仪器吗？不要监视，不要监听，行吗？如果我表现不好的话，密涅娃会通知你的——我肯定。”
“不会有人监视或监听你，先生。”伊师塔站了起来，“来吧，格拉海德，哈玛德娅德。”
“等一等，伊师塔。拉撒路，我冒犯你了吗？”
“什么？一点也没有，亲爱的。”
“我想你对……我提出的建议生气了。”
“哦，胡说。可爱的哈玛，那样的建议永远不会冒犯任何人；这是一个人可以给予另一个人的最高奖赏。但它的确让我糊涂了。现在笑一笑，然后吻吻我说晚安吧，如果你愿意的话，明天来看我。你们大家都来吻吻我道晚安吧；我们应该亲密无间。艾拉，如果你愿意，你可以待会儿再走。”
他们像听话的小孩子一样照他说的做了，然后走进拉撒路的小屋，坐着升降机下去了。拉撒路说：“艾拉，要不要来杯饮料？”
“如果你也来一杯的话。”
“我们来简短地谈谈这件事。艾拉，是不是你让她这么干的？”“什么？”
“你知道我的意思。哈玛德娅德。先是伊师塔，现在又是哈玛德娅德。在你把我从那个廉价旅馆里抓出来以后，你操纵着这一切。我本来可以在那儿尊严地、安静地死去。你是不是又想在我的鼻子下面放上诱饵，然后让我陷在你脑子里计划的事情里？这没用，小子。”
代理族长平静地回答道：“我可以否认你的话——但你已经一百次地说我是骗子了。我建议你去问密涅娃。”
“我怀疑这样得到的答案是不是真实的。密涅娃！”
“我在，拉撒路？”
“艾拉有没有安排这两个姑娘中的任何一个做这些事？”
“据我所知没有，拉撒路。”
“这是对问题的逃避吗，亲爱的？”
“拉撒路，我不可能对你撒谎。”
“好吧……我想，如果艾拉想让你撒谎，你会照办的。但我追问这件事也没什么意义。亲爱的，让我们单独待一会儿——只转换一下模式就行了。”
“好的，拉撒路。”
拉撒路继续说道：“艾拉，我希望你刚才回答的是'是'。因为剩下的唯一一个解释是我不喜欢的。我并不英俊，我的举止行为也不是惹女人喜爱的类型。那么还有什么解释呢？那就是，我是活着的最老的人。女人有时会为了一些奇怪的原因出卖自己，不总是为了钱。艾拉，我不想为了年轻可爱的女人成为一匹种马，她们不会在我身上浪费时间的，除了为了获得和，引号，老祖，引号结束，生一个孩子的名声”他瞪着眼睛说，“对吗？”
“拉撒路，你对这两位女士都不公平。还有，这一次，你实在蠢透了。”
"how to say?"
“我一直在观察她们。我想她们两个都爱上你了——别和我空谈那个词的意思；我不是格拉海德。”
“可是——噢，胡扯！”
“要说胡扯，你是整个银河系中的最髙权威。我绝不会和你争论这个问题。女人不总是出卖她们自己，她们也会陷入爱情……原因时常很奇怪——如果在这里可以用'原因'这个词的话。我承认你又丑、又自私，以自我为中心——”
“这些我都知道！”
“——对我来说，的确是这样。但女人并不是很在意男人的长相……再说你对女人很温柔。这我注意到了。你说过，火星上那些小妓女都爱那个盲人。”
“她们中有一些并不小。大安娜比我高，也比我重。”
“别想转移话题。她们为什么爱他·你不用回答这个问题；为什么一个女人会爱上一个男人——或者是男人爱上女人？理性分析起来，原因只能是为了生存。这样的回答干巴巴的，不会令人满意。但是——对了拉撒路，等你完成回春过程、我们也打完那个山鲁佐德式的赌以后，无论结果谁赢，你会再次离开这里吗？”
拉撒路沉思了一阵，'然后回答道：“我想会的。艾拉，你借给我住的这座小屋，还有花园和小溪——非常好；每次进城，我都会尽快赶回来，回来后很高兴，觉得到家了。但这里只是个暂时休养的地方；我不会留在这里。当野鹅开始哀鸣的时候，我就要走了。”拉撒路看上去有些悲伤，“但我不知道去哪儿，也不想重复以前干过的事。在我离开之前，也许密涅娃能找到新奇的事情给我做。”艾拉站了起来，“拉撒路，你是这么怀疑别人、吝惜自己，真可恶！如果你不是这种人，你就会以善意推测她们的动机。没有把握的情况下，我们应该以善意推测他人。你完全可以给她们留下你的孩子来纪念你。这不会费你很多事。”
“不可能！我不会抛弃我的孩子，或者怀孕的女人。”
“借口。我会收养你离开我们以前留下的所有孩子。需要我让密涅娃把这个存在永久记忆库里，并使之法律化吗？”
“我会养活自己的孩子！也一直是这么做的。”
“密涅娃。把这个存在永久记忆库里，并使之法律化。”
“已完成，艾拉。”
“谢谢你，小讨厌鬼。明天同一时间，拉撒路？”
“我想是的。是的。你能叫上哈玛德娅德，让她也到这里来吗？告诉她，是我让你这么做的。我不想让那孩子的感情受到伤害。”
“当然可以，祖父。”
Notes:
Notes: