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第四回 玉壘浮雲變古今
Chapter 4: The clouds
over
文祥聽不下去了，又不好意思斷然離去，正在躊躇時，瞥見在月樓餐館中碰了釘子的女孩，正與她的兩個同伴，邊談邊笑的往這邊走來。文祥乘機向二人告辭，立刻迎了上去，向那女孩說：「還記得我吧？真巧，妳也要去火星？」
Wen
Xiang couldn't bear to listen any longer but felt it would be rude to just walk
away. As he was hesitating, he saw
the girl from the Moon Tower Restaurant, the one he had disappointed, walking
towards him in the company of her two companions, laughing and talking. Wen Xiang took the opportunity to say
good-bye to Carmine
and John and walked over to the girl, saying, “Remember me? What a coincidence. Are you going to Mars, too?”
衣紅睜大了眼睛，一臉詫異之色：「我認識你嗎？」
Yi Hong's eyes widened, surprise written on her face. “Do I know you?”
「應該！不過這並不重要，我認識你！」文祥套用她初見時的話，不料衣紅仍舊一臉漠然。文祥這才想起自己已經易容，難怪她不認識了：「剛才在酒樓上，我沒有關電腦，得罪了妳，記得吧？」
“You should! But that's not important. I know you!” Wen Xiang used the same words she had
said to him at their first meeting.
But Yi Hong's face remained blank.
Then Wen Xiang remembered he had changed his appearance. No wonder she didn't recognize him.
“When we were at the restaurant, I wouldn’t turn off the computer and you were
offended. Remember?”
衣紅仔細看了一看，笑容略現：「原來是你！剛剛整過容是不是？」
Yi
Hong took a close look and gave a slight smile. “So it’s you! Just had your face done, did you?”
「只是拉拉皮，省得惹麻煩。」
“Just a face lift to
avoid trouble.”
「我的條件沒變，電腦呢？」衣紅毫不讓步。
“My terms are still the same. The computer?” Yi Hong was not backing down.
文祥舉起左腕，把文娃的底面翻開，那裡有個微開關。當著衣紅的面，文祥果真把電腦關了。為了讓她驗證，又特意把手伸到衣紅眼前。
Wen Xiang lifted his left wrist and
turned Wen Wa bottom side up. There
was a micro switch. Right in front
of Yi Hong, Wen Xiang turned off the computer, and stretched his arm out to
show Yi Hong so she could see for herself.
衣紅這才嫣然一笑：「怎麼？想通了？還是有什麼打算？」
Yi
Hong was now smiling, “What? You've
come to your senses, have you, or are you up to something?”
文祥搖頭說：「沒想通，也沒什麼打算。」
Wen Xiang shook his
head. “I didn’t come to my senses
and I’m not up to anything.”
「那為什麼前倨後恭，現在又肯把電腦關了？」
“Then why you were so
arrogant at first and are now so polite, even to the point of being willing to
turn off the computer?”
「本來就沒有開著的必要，其實電腦無所不在，只要有空氣振動，就逃不過他們的偵測系統。」
“It wasn’t necessary to leave the computer on. Actually, the computer is
everywhere. As long as the air is
vibrating, it’s impossible to escape their detection system.”
「我知道，但這是我的原則。」
“I know. But this is the way I do things.”
「有那麼嚴重嗎？」
“Can it be that
serious?”
「是的，我只是希望與人相處時能實話實說，自由自在。」
“Yes. My only hope is that when people are
together, they’ll be able to speak truthfully and freely.”
文祥很佩服這個女孩的坦率，慨然說道：「好吧！先前沒關電腦，是我覺得沒有那個必要。後來當局告訴我，說妳們是什麼外星人會的霹靂小組，要我小心一點。剛才又被那兩個人糾纏不清，正好妳們過來，我便乘機脫身。」
Wen
Xiang admired the girl’s candor and considerately said, “O.K.! I didn’t turn off the computer because I
didn't think it was necessary.
Later the Bureau told me that all of you are a Special Forces unit for
some Extraterrestrial organization and warned me to be careful. Just now I couldn't get rid of those
two. Fortunately you people showed
up and gave me an excuse to get away.”
衣紅笑了：「交朋友先要交心，我相信你！不錯，我們號稱霹靂三人小組，但那是鬧著玩的。至於你要脫身，目的已經達到了，現在去留任便。」
Yi Hong laughed, “When making a friend, be
truthful from the start. I believe
you! That's correct. We're called the Three Special Forces. But that was for fun. As for your excuse to get away, you got
what you wanted. You are free to
go.”
文祥說：「姑娘妳未免太不給人留情面了，哪有這樣交朋友的？」
Wen Xiang said, “Young lady,
you certainly speak your mind. Is
this any way to make friends?”
「你還怪我？你並沒說要交朋友呀！既然這樣，來，我給你介紹兩位朋友。」衣紅指指褲白，對文祥說：「他叫褲白，永遠穿白色的褲子。」
“Are you’re blaming me? You didn’t say you wanted to be
friends! O.K. come on, let me
introduce you to my two friends.”
Yi Hong pointed at Ku Bai (Note 1) and said to Wen Xiang, “He’s Ku Bai. He always wears white pants.”
文祥不禁笑了：「在下文祥，最怕穿白褲子。」
Wen Xiang couldn’t help but
smiling. “I’m Wen Xiang. I hate
wearing white pants.”
褲白說：「其實，我們是苗族的一支『葛衣苗』，人家戲稱『穿衣苗』，我們都用衣飾取名字。」
Ku Bai said, “Actually, we are the
'Ge Yi Miao', one of the Miao tribes.
People made fun of that name and called us the ‘Clothes Miao’ because we
are all named after articles of clothing.”
文祥好奇地說：「嗄！那一定也有『不穿衣苗』了。」
Wen Xiang said curiously,
“Oh? Then there must be ‘Unclothed
Miao’ as well.”
衣紅說：「豈止，還有『變臉苗』哩！」
Yi Hong said, “Not only
that, there's a ‘Change-Face Miao’!”
褲白搖搖頭，說：「衣姐，我怎麼沒聽說過？」
Ku Bai shook his head and
said, “Yi, how come I’ve never heard of it?”
衣紅指著文祥笑道：「眼前不就是一個嗎？」
Yi Hong pointed at Wen Xiang
and laughed. “Isn’t there one right
in front of you?”
文祥說：「老實說，我也是中國的少數民族。」
Wen Xiang said, “To be
truthful, I’m from one of the minority tribes myself.”
「是嗎？」衣紅眼睛一亮：「那我們真是與有榮焉！」
“Is that so?” Yi Hong’s eyes flashed. “Then we’re really quite honored!”
「我的祖先是大宋的文天祥，宋亡以後逃到廣西，被同化成了壯族ゞ。」
“My ancestor was Wen
Tianxiang (Note 2) of the Song Dynasty.
After the Song Dynasty collapsed, the rest of the family escaped to
Guangxi, where they intermarried with the Zhuang Tribe.”
「哇！忠良之後！那你應該以你的姓氏為榮哪！」
“Wow! The descendant of a patriot! You must be proud of your family name!”
風不懼一直站在一旁，這時爽快地伸過手來：「好漢！我是風不懼。」
Feng Buju had been standing
to one side. Now he promptly
extended his hand. “Good man! I’m
Feng Buju.”
文祥與他握了手，發覺這位年輕人手勁很大。文祥把手抽回，問道：「風不懼？怎麼沒有用衣服做名字呢？」
Wen Xiang shook hands with
him. He noticed the young man had a
strong grip. Extracting his hand,
Wen Xiang asked, “Feng Buju? How
come you're not named after your clothes?”
褲白笑道：「啊哈！果真有人問到了！他的原名……」
Ku Bai laughed, “Ah ha! Someone finally asked! He was originally called…”
衣紅忙阻止他：「不可以這樣！文先生是外人！」
Yi Hong quickly cut him short.
“Don’t! Mr. Wen isn't one of us!”
風不懼對衣紅擺擺手，說：「沒關係，文兄是痛快人，我不怕。」說完，他又對文祥說：「你知道什麼叫遮羞布吧？」
Feng Buju waved his hand to Yi Hong and
said, “That’s O.K. Wen has been
frank with us. I’m not worried.” And turning to Wen Xiang he asked, “Do
you know what a loincloth is?”
文祥說：「我聽說過，但不知出自什麼典故？」
Wen Xiang said, “I’ve heard
the term. But I don’t know the
story behind it.”
風不懼說：「不是典故，真的是一塊布，掛在腰下，供遮生殖器之用。我們家鄉不叫遮羞布，叫『條』，我的原名就是『條細』。」
Feng Buju said, “There's no
story. It’s really a piece of cloth
that hangs from the waist to cover the penis. Where I come from, it isn't called a
loincloth, we call it a “Tiao” (stick).
Originally my name was ‘Tiao Xi’ (tiny stick).”
褲白早已笑得蹲了下去，衣紅也忍俊不禁，捂著嘴，轉過臉，跑到一邊去了。
Ku Bai doubled over with
laughter. Even Yi Hong couldn't
keep her poise. She covered her
mouth and averted her head and stepped to one side.
文祥雖然覺得有趣，卻不懂怎麼如此好笑。風不懼毫不在乎，冷臉望著二人，平靜地說：「文兄一定覺得我們文化水平太低。」
Though Wen Xiang thought it was
amusing, he didn't understand why the others thought it was so funny. Feng Buju was indifferent and regarded
the two of them coldly. “Wen will feel we are vulgar.”
文祥一本正經地說：「哪裡，哪裡，我們家鄉裡也有些怪名字，像是狗兒、糞團等。我有個朋友，姓紀，名叫几大，結果不論走到哪兒，都有人要和他比劃，看看究竟誰的大。他煩不勝煩，只好把名字給改了。」
With a straight face, Wen Xiang replied, “Nope, not at all. We have some strange names in my hometown. Names such as Dog or Turd. A friend of mine named Ji was named Jida (Big Cock). No matter where he went, there would always be someone who wanted to compare sizes with him and see who had the largest one. It got to be so annoying he had to change his name."
沒想到此話一出，連風不懼都撐不住，也笑出聲來了。最可憐的是褲白，笑得在地上打滾，那衣紅更跑到遠遠的一角，笑得喘不過氣來。
He never imagined that when
he finished, even Feng Buju collapsed with laughter. And poor Ku Bai was rolling on the
ground while Yi Hong ran off, choking with laughter.
文祥不記得這輩子是否說過更精采的笑話，他呆呆地楞在一旁。等到三人笑夠了，風不懼道：「這件事還是由我自己現身說法好些，因為條細的緣故，我一直沒能結婚。我們家鄉裡還是依照古訓，婚姻要由家長作主。女方一聽我的名字，就表示沒有興趣。」
Wen Xiang couldn't remember if
he'd ever told a more successful joke.
He stood there, bewildered.
When the three of them stopped laughing, Feng Buju said, “I’d better
tell this story myself. Because my
name was ‘small dick’, I was never able to find a wife. In our hometown, traditional customs are
still observed. Marriages are
arranged by the parents. As soon as
a girl's family would told my name they'd lose interest.”
文祥詫異地問：「為什麼？」
Wen Xiang asked in surprise,
“Why?”
風不懼說：「這都是電腦惹的禍，我們那裡很相信電腦姓名學，說姓名是真相的一部分。比如衣紅是穿紅衣，褲白也永遠不離白色的褲子。而條細是指性器官太小，所以女方都認為我沒有用。」
Feng Buju answered, “It’s all the computer’s fault. Where I come from, people really believe in the computerized study of names. They say that one's name is part what they really are. For instance, Yi Hong means a person wearing red clothes; Ku Bai will never wear any other pants but white. As for ‘small dick’, it means small penis. So the girls thought I was useless.”
文祥頗表同情，說：「原來如此。」
Wen Xiang said
sympathetically, “So that's it.”
風不懼面無表情，繼續說：「並不如此，我決定改個名字，根據電腦規定，取名字不能重複。可是受到衣服的限制，取名很不方便，最後我決定不再用衣服，要取一個威武、能代表真實的我的名字，所以取了個『風不懼』！」
Feng Buju’s face was expressionless as he continued: “No, that's not it. I decided to change my name. According to the computer, there can be no duplication of names. If a name must be restricted to clothing, it's really difficult to select one. At last, I decided to forget about clothes. I wanted a name that was powerful, and would represent my true self. That’s why I picked the name, ‘Feng Buju’(Unafraid of the Wind)!”
文祥說：「這名字好呀，有什麼好笑的呢？」
Wen Xiang said, “That's a
good name. What's so funny?”
風不懼說：「我也不懂，大概是他們喜歡笑吧！」
Feng Buju said, “I don’t get
it, either. They probably just like
to laugh!”
褲白接口道：「他當然不懂……因為條太細了，細得連風都不懼了。」
Ku Bai continued: “Of course he
didn’t get it… Because his dick is too small, so small that it's unafraid of
the wind.”
衣紅趕過來說：「夠了，夠了，笑話歸笑話，我們找個地方坐坐，慢慢談吧！」
Yi Hong hurried over and
said, “That’s enough. A joke's a
joke. Let's find a place to sit and
talk!”
文祥回頭一看，卡門和約翰已經走了，便領著三人，回到剛才的座位上。大家各自點了些茶點，座位旁隨即升起了四個几案，托著飲料、點心，移到各人面前。
Wen Xiang turned around and
saw that Carmine and John were already gone. He led the three of them back to the
seat where he had been sitting.
Everyone ordered their own tea and snack. Four small tables rose up beside their
seats and trays of drinks and snacks were placed before them.
文祥感喟道：「這是最起碼的享受，但在過去就做不到。」
Wen Xiang sighed and said,
“This is a very basic luxury, but it wasn't possible in the past.”
衣紅馬上反唇相譏：「原來文兄是見利忘義的忠良之後。」
Yi Hong sarcastically
replied, “So Wen is descended from those patriots who chose wealth over
loyalty.”
文祥說：「至少我知道感恩戴德。」
Wen Xiang said, “At least I
understand gratitude.”
衣紅放下手中的杯子，厲聲說：「你說，誰有什麼恩德？」
Yi Hong put her cup down and
said sternly, “Tell me, to whom do we owe gratitude?”
依文祥的個性，遇到這種情勢，他早就掉頭離去。但一方面是受了電腦之托，另一方面也很欣賞衣紅這種率直敢言的個性，他自己就算再生氣，也擺不出這種架勢來。且不管她的態度如何，多瞭解一點總是好的。既然要瞭解人，首先要知道對方的背景，否則雙方不過各說各話罷了。文祥想通了，便平靜地問：「衣姑娘，能告訴我妳的芳齡嗎？」
Given Wen Xiang’s
personality, if he had found himself in a situation like this in the past, he
would have turned on his heel and left.
But, for one, he had accepted the computer's request, and for another,
he admired Yi Hong’s straightforward personality. Even if he were angry, he would never do
such a thing. No matter what her
attitude was, it would be better to understand her a little more. If one wishes to understand someone,
they must first understand that person's background. Otherwise, each party would talk only
about their own interests. Wen
Xiang realized this and asked quietly, “Miss Yi, can you tell me how old you
are?”
「怎麼？王顧左右而言他？」
“What? Changing the subject?”
「不是，年齡與經驗是判斷事物的根據，我只是想知道妳的認知背景。」
“No. Age and experience are basic to making
an assessment. I just want to know
what's behind your thinking”
「不必拐彎抹角，我們都是電腦嬰兒，是和新時代同步成長的，你不要以為我們又是什麼前朝遺民之流的。」衣紅痛快地說。
“There’s no need to beat
around the bush. We’re all children
of the computer age. We grew up
with the modern age. Don’t mistake
us for some kind of left-overs from a former age.” Yi Hong didn't mince her
words.
所謂電腦嬰兒，是指二○二四宣言後，在電腦聯盟服務下出生的新人類。人類議會曾於二六年立法，長生不老的人口限額為一百億，在額滿以前，凡未接受長生手術的人，仍有生育權。據電腦統計，當年有二十幾億人決定要生育，直到四七年，一百億才額滿。自後，只有在有人死亡了，才能根據死者的細胞，複製一個所謂的「新生兒」。假若有人放棄人體複製，則由全世界數十億申請者中，依序遞補此一「電腦嬰兒」的空額。
The so-called children of the
computer age referred to the new generation born as part of the Computer League
provided service following the Declaration of 2024.
The Human Council passed
a law in 2026 limiting to 10 billion the number of humans who would never
age. Before the quota was reached,
anybody who hadn’t accepted the surgery necessary for immortality would still
have the right to give birth.
According to Computer League calculations, at that time more than 2
billion people decided to have children.
The 10 billion quota was full by 2047. Since then, only in the event of a
person's death would a so-called “new baby” would be cloned, using cells from
the deceased. If anyone renounced
their right to be cloned, this “computer baby” vacancy would be filled from
among those billions of applicants around the world on a basis first come,
first served.
看來衣紅大約只有十六七歲，褲白更小，風不懼應該已有二十來歲了。
Yi Hong looked like she was about
16 or 17. Ku Bai was even
younger. Feng Buju should have been
over 20.
「那妳受過什麼委屈呢？」
“In that case, have
you suffered any wrong?”
「什麼委屈？要什麼委屈？」
“Wrong? I need to have been wronged?”
文祥完全糊塗了：「那妳為什麼反對電腦？」
Wen Xiang was completely
lost. “Then why do you oppose the computer?”
「我說過我反對電腦嗎？」
“Did I say I was
opposed to the computer?”
「妳給我的印象是這樣的。」
“You gave me that
impression.”
「那是個人的主觀意見。」
“That was your own
subjective view.”
「妳要我把電腦關掉。」
“You wanted me to turn
off the computer.”
「那是為了保證跟我講話的確實是一個人，難道你喜歡跟傀儡說話？」
“That was to make sure
it was a real person I was talking to.
Do you enjoy talking to puppets?”
文祥被她一頓搶白，臉上很掛不住，只好說：「對不起，我太主觀了。」
Being so rudely cut short made Wen
Xiang feel he was losing face. He
could only say, “Sorry. I’m too
opinionated.”
衣紅平靜地說：「你沒說錯，我是反對電腦的。」
Yi Hong said quietly:
“You’re right. I’m opposed to the
computer.”
文祥簡直不知道要怎樣接下去，乾脆，他決定三緘其口。
Wen Xiang did not know how
to continue at this point. So he
decided to keep his mouth shut.
衣紅不以為意，說：「不必找理由，我們是為反對而反對。」
Yi Hong didn't mind at all and
said, “There’s no need for an excuse.
We're opposed just for the
sake of opposing.
「為反對而反對？」文祥還是忍不住，開了口。
“Oppose for the sake
of opposing?” Wen Xiang couldn’t
resist speaking up.
「你讀過一本電子書沒有？書名叫做《生存的意義》。」
“Have you read an
e-book called, The Meaning of Survival?”
「沒有，我很少看書。」
“No. I seldom read.”
「這本書中說，生存就是要奮鬥，只有奮鬥才是生存。」
“In this book it says
survival means to work hard.
Diligence equals survival.”
「但是奮鬥並不等於反對呀！」竟然有人會這麼想！文祥真是大開眼界。
“But diligence doesn’t mean
opposition!” There were people who
actually thought this way! Wen
Xiang’s horizons were broadening.
「我看你邏輯不通！我們要生存是不是？電腦幫我們解決了一切，是不是？」
“I can see you're not
being logical! Don’t we want to
survive? Doesn't the computer solve
everything for us?”
「所以妳反對？」
“Therefore you're
opposed?”
「沒錯，我們希望自己解決問題，反對依賴電腦！」
“That’s right. We hope to solve our own problems. We oppose reliance on computers!”
這話可讓文祥無言以辯了，衣紅說的有部分確實是對的，甚至他自己也有過類似的想法。但是，事實的存在與任何人的好惡無關，也不是可以贊成或反對的。這種事文祥懶得過問，這種觀念在以往被稱為「政治」。人為了一己之見，往往不擇手段，說盡了甜言蜜語，目的不過是影響他人，匯聚力量，以滿足個人的私慾。
Such talk left Wen Xiang at a loss
for words. There was indeed some
truth in what Yi Hong was saying.
Even Wen Xiang himself had similar thoughts. However, the existence of truth had
nothing to do with personal preference. It was not a matter of being “for” or
“against”. Wen Xiang was tired of
meddling with this kind of thing.
In the past, this concept was called “politics”. People would stoop to any means and
speak with honeyed words when trying to influence others, gather power and in
doing so, realize their own selfish desires.
「妳剛才找我談，就是想告訴我這個？」
“Just now you wanted
to talk to me merely to say this?”
「當然，我們從不放棄結合同志，尤其是個名人！」
“Of course. We never give up trying to recruit more
comrades, especially a famous one!”
「我很可能並不贊成妳的看法！」
“It's very possible I
might not approve of your views!”
「以你冒險犯難的精神，我願意結交你這位朋友。」
“With your adventurous
spirit, I’d like to be friends with you.”
風不懼插口道：「文兄，我們家鄉還在養蠶，你知道蠶是什麼吧？」
Feng Buju interrupted: “Wen,
we still raise silkworms at home.
You know what silkworms are?”
文祥點點頭說：「知道。」
Wen Xiang nodded: “Yes.”
「我們把蠶養在一處開敞的房子裡，比我們住的地方還要好。」風不懼說話時，穩重如山：「我們為牠種桑，為牠切葉，把牠們伺候得像皇帝一樣。」
“We place the silkworms in
an airy house, even better than our own.”
Feng Buju was as solid as a mountain when he spoke. “We plant mulberry-trees for them, cut
up the tree leaves for them. They
are treated as emperors.”
文祥接口道：「你們不過是要牠吐的絲。」
Wen Xiang continued, “You
just want the silk they spin.”
風不懼道：「只是要絲倒沒有什麼，反正蠶吐了絲以後，就沒有用了。」
Feng Buju said, “If it was
only for the silk, it would be nothing.
Anyway, after the silk is spun, the silkworms are of no use.”
「那又怎樣？」文祥搞不清對方的主題，聽得一頭霧水。
“So?” Wen Xiang didn’t see Feng’s point and
was bemused.
「文兄，你想想看。」風不懼慢條斯理，繞著圈子說：「這些蠶養得很好，幾千年來被尊若搖錢樹。不像其他毛毛蟲，幾乎被殺得精光。」
“Wen, think about
it.” Feng Buju spoke slowly,
getting to his point in a roundabout way.
“These silkworms are well-cared for, and for thousands of years
they have been treated and respected as money-makers; unlike other caterpillars, nearly all of whom are destroyed.”
「是呀！電腦照顧我們，也和我們照顧蠶一樣，更何況我們連絲都不必吐。」
“Right! The computer takes care of us, the same
as we take care of silkworms. Not
to mention we don’t even spin silk.”
「文兄應該知道，現在尼龍絲的直徑，已經抽到比蠶絲細上幾十倍了，我們還要養蠶嗎？」風不懼一步一步地逼近。
“You should know that
the diameter of Nylon silk is dozens of times finer than silk. Do we still want to keep
silkworms?” Step by step, Feng Buju
was getting to the point.
「那不正好放牠們回歸自然？」文祥說。
“Wouldn’t that be the
time to let them go back to nature?”
Wen Xiang asked.
「我們就是這樣做，文兄，你知道結果如何？」
“That’s what we did,
and Wen, you know what had happened to them?”
「都變成白白胖胖的大蝴蝶了？」文祥打趣道。
“They all turned into
big, fat butterflies?” Wen Xiang
was being facetious.
「沒那事！那些蠶一放回桑樹上，沒有一隻活得過三天！」風不懼把「活得過三天」五個字說得擲地有聲！
“Nothing like
that! As soon as those silkworms
were returned to the mulberry-trees, none of them survived longer than 3 days!” Feng Buju spoke the words “survived
longer than 3 days” with great emphasis.
「下一個就輪到我們了。」衣紅接著說：「我們這些生活在電腦下的人，萬一失去了當局的呵護，恐怕連一天都活不下去！」
“We're next.” Yi Hong continued, “Should we one day
lose the protection of the Bureau, those of us living by means of the computer
wouldn't even last a single day!”
文祥也想過這個問題，但是從歷史的角度來看，人類一直在作繭自縛。從對文明的追求就可以看出來，人就是要把自己緊緊的包裹起來，希望製造一個最完美的溫室。今天溫室竣工了，又有人說，我不要住在溫室裡。答案也很簡單，出去就是！
Wen Xiang had thought about
this problem before. However, from
an historic point of view, man was always spinning silk to bind himself. It could be seen in the pursuit of civilization. Man wanted to wrap himself up tightly in
the hope of creating a perfect greenhouse.
Today, the greenhouse has been completed. Others say they don't want to live in a
greenhouse. The answer to that is
very simple: Get out!
「以我所知，地球上還有幾千萬人，自由自在地生活在自然環境裡！」文祥無意跟他們爭辯，卻忍不住要提出自己的看法。
“According to my
understanding, there are tens of millions of people on Earth living as they
please in the natural environment!”
Wen Xiang didn't want to argue with them but he couldn't resist bringing
up his own views.
誰知衣紅一聽，竟然怒不可遏：「你關心過他們嗎？你拜訪過他們嗎？」
Unexpectedly Yi Hong
flared up when she heard this.
“Have you ever felt any concern for them? Have you ever visited them?”
「沒有，所以我才單身一人到月球工作，我不想關心別人，也不需要別人關心！」文祥不認為這有什麼值得討論的，早在二○年代，這個話題已被炒得發酵了。
“No. That was why I went to the Moon to work,
alone. I don’t want to care about
others, and I don’t need anyone to care about me!” Wen Xiang did not think there was
anything left to discuss. As early
as the 20s, this topic had already been
over-discussed.
「哼！原來也是個自私自利的字號！」
“Mm! So you’re just another guy interested
only in himself!”
「唉！莊子真了不起，連今天的事都看到了！」文祥不禁大有所感。
“Ai! Zhuang Zi is great. He even foresaw everything that would be
happening today!” Wen Xiang could
not help reminiscing.
「莊子？誰是莊子？」褲白忍不住問道。
“Zhuang Zi? Who was Zhuang Zi?” Ku Bai couldn't resist asking.
「哦！一個你衣紅姐姐不會喜歡、不會關心的人。」文祥冷冷地說，他已決定不再和這位姑娘扯下去了，意識型態不同，不可能有交集的。只是，他怎麼向文娃交待呢？
“Oh! Someone your beloved Yi Hong wouldn’t
like or care for,” Wen Xiang replied
coldly. He decided not to chat with
this young girl anymore. They had
different ideologies. It was
impossible that they would have anything in common. But what was he going to tell Wen
Wa?
「我喜歡孫子！」
“I like Sun Zi!”
「喜歡孫子的人，也一定喜歡老子！」
“Anyone who likes Sun
Zi would also like Lao Zi!”
「我很敬畏他，但並不喜歡。你呢？」
“I'm in awe of him but
I don’t like him. How about you?”
「我崇拜老子，欣賞莊子，不懂孫子。」
“I adore Lao Zi,
admire Zhuang Zi, don’t understand Sun Zi.”
「看得出來，你是個老古董！」
“I can see you’re old
fashioned!”
褲白越聽越糊塗，插口說：「衣姐，什麼老子孫子的，怎麼沒有兒子呢？」
Ku
Bai was getting more and more confused and he interrupted: “Yi, what is it
about Lao Zi (Note 3) and Sun Zi (Note 4)?
What happened to Er Zi (Note 5)?
衣紅笑說：「兒子？還沒有生呀！」
Yi Hong laughed. “The son? He hasn't been born yet!”
褲白問：「那孫子從哪兒來的？」
Ku Bai asked, “So where did
this grandson come from?”
衣紅說：「他娘生的呀！」
Yi Hong said, “From his
mother!”
褲白說：「哦！我懂了！」
Ku Bai said, “Oh! I see!”
衣紅說：「你懂了？這可奇了，你懂了什麼？」
Yi Hong said, “You
'see'? That’s unusual. What do you see?”
褲白說：「他是個私生子！」
Ku Bai said, “He is an
illegitimate son!”
衣紅忍俊不止，指指褲白，問文祥：「你說莊子看到他了是嗎？」
Yi Hong could not hold back
her laughter and pointed at Ku Bai.
She asked Wen Xiang, “Are you saying Zhuang Zi saw him?”
文祥也笑了，說：「莊子不是說過蜩與學鳩之笑嗎？」
Wen Xiang also laughed and
said, “Didn’t Zhuang Zi talk about the laugh of a cicada and a young dove?”
褲白急了：「你們在說什麼呀？我也想知道！」
Ku Bai was anxious. “What are you talking about? I want to know, too!”
文祥見褲白急切的樣子，心裡有些慚愧，便和顏悅色地說：「莊子是中國最 有名的思想家之一，他出生在戰國時期。眼見當時各國君主不顧民生疾苦，相互爭權奪利，非常不齒。同時，他崇尚自然，反對虛偽做作，常用一些寓言明諷暗刺。由於他的思想清晰，反應敏銳，留下了不少警世的文章，是中華文化中，一顆光亮眩目的明珠。」
When Wen Xiang saw how enthusiastic
Ku Bai was, he felt mildly embarrassed.
Calmly and patiently he told him, “Zhuang Zi was one of the famous
thinkers in China and was born during the Period of the Warring States. He saw that none of the Kings of that
era cared about the misery of the common people, were always fighting one
another for more power and wealth, and he despised them. At the same time, he admired nature and
objected to hypocrisy and pretense.
He often used fables to mock some current affairs. Because his thinking was clear and
logical and his responses were quick, he left behind many
essays intended to wake up the world.
He is a bright, dazzling pearl in Chinese culture.”
褲白聽得大為欣羨，問衣紅道：「衣姐，他說的是真的嗎？」
Ku Bai was very impressed
and asked Yi Hong, “Yi, is he telling the truth?”
衣紅說：「我講個故事給你聽吧！莊子在〈應帝王〉中說，南海之帝為儵，北海之帝為忽，中央之帝為渾沌。儵與忽常去見渾沌，渾沌待他們很好，兩個人便商量該如何報答渾沌。儵想到人都有七竅，偏偏渾沌沒有，便決定每天為渾沌開一個竅！」
Yi Hong said, “ Let me tell you a
story! In his, ‘Response to
Emperors and Kings (Ying Di Wang)’,
Zhuang Zi said that the Emperor of the Southern Sea was Shu; the Emperor for
the Northern Sea was Hu; and the Emperor for the Center was Hun Dun. Shu and Hu went to see Hun Dun often and
Hun Dun was always very nice to them.
So Shu and Hu discussed how to repay Hun Dun for his kindness. Shu thought everyone had seven apertures
(Note 6) but not Hun Dun, so he decided to open one aperture for Hun Dun
everyday!”
說到這裡，衣紅望著褲白，再不言語，褲白急了，問道：「衣姐，然後呢？」
When Yi Hong finished, she looked
at Ku Bai and stopped talking. Ku
Bai was eager to know more and asked, “And then what?”
衣紅說：「七天開了七個竅。」
Yi Hong said, “In seven days
seven apertures were opened”
褲白眼巴巴地問：「開了七個竅以後呢？」
Ku Bai, still interested,
continued, “After the seven apertures were opened, what happened next?”
衣紅說：「以後？以後渾沌就死了！所以我也不敢給你開竅。」
Yi Hong said, “What happened
next? And then Hun Dun died! So I’m afraid to enlighten you.”
褲白還是不懂，便問文祥：「你是說，莊子怕我開竅嗎？」
Ku Bai still didn’t get it, so he asked Wen Xiang, “You mean, Zhuang Zi would be afraid to make me smart?”
文祥怕他誤會，只好解釋道：「那是你衣姐開你玩笑的，我剛剛說的與你無關，莊子有句名言『聖人不死，大盜不止』。這話是說，人性對極端的觀念有自動平衡的作用，在一個團體中，好人多了，就會出現壞人；如果壞人多了，便一定有好人。所以只要有聖人，就會產生大強盜。」
Wen Xiang was afraid Ku Bai
had missed the point so he explained: “Yi was just joking. What I said has nothing to do with you. A famous saying by Zhuang Zi goes like
this: ‘As long as there are saints, there will always be great thieves.’ It means human nature will create a
balance between extremes. In any
group where there is a surplus of good people, then bad people will emerge, and
vise versa. When bad people
outnumber the others, good ones will come along. That’s why as long as there are saints,
there will always be great thieves.”
褲白想了一會，還是不明白。他眼巴巴地望著衣紅與風不懼，見兩人面無表情，只好再問：「你是說我們是壞人？」
Ku Bai thought it over for a
minute but he still didn’t understand.
He looked at Yi Hong and Feng Buju, and they were both expressionless. Ku Bai asked again, “You mean we're the
bad guys?”
「不！」風不懼說：「文先生是說，我們想做聖人。」
“No!” Feng Buju said, “Mr. Wen means that we
want to be saints.”
「我從來沒想過！」衣紅接口道：「我們根本就是。」
“I’ve never thought
about that!” Yi Hong continued,
“That's what we are.”
文祥懶得再談下去了，向三人微微示意，說：「好極了，請恕我先走一步，要去洗耳朵去了。」
Wen Xiang was tired of this
conversation and gave the three of them a mild hint. “Great. Excuse me, I’ll catch up with you
later. I’ll going to wash my ears.”
「洗耳朵？」褲白眼睛一亮，拉著文祥的手，問道：「這是什麼新花樣？」
“Wash your ears?” Ku Bai’s eyes lit up. Holding Wen Xiang’s hand he asked, “What
kind of new trick is this?”
「啊，這是老習俗，你知道唐堯這個人吧？」文祥說。
“Ah, this is an old
custom. You’ve heard of a man named
Tang Yao?” Wen Xiang asked.
褲白望望衣紅，衣紅不理他，他又望著風不懼。
Ku Bai looked at Yi Hong but
she ignored him. Then he looked at
Feng Buju.
「他是古時的聖君。」風不懼解釋道。
“He was a good king in
ancient times.” Feng Buju
explained.
「有一位隱士許由，唐堯召他去做官，許由聽了，便跑到潁川洗耳朵。」文祥說。
Wen Xiang said, “There
was a hermit name Xu Yo. Tang Yao
asked him to be an official. After
Xu Yo heard these words, he went to Ying River and washed his ears.” Wen Xiang said.
褲白越聽越迷糊，掉頭問衣紅道：「衣姐，他為什麼要洗耳朵呢？」
Ku Bai was getting very
confused and he turned to ask Yi Hong, “Yi, why would he want to wash his
ears?”
「連這都不懂？」衣紅說：「為了要洗耳恭聽呀！」
“You don’t even get
this one?” Yi Hong said, “In order
to clean his ears so he could listen with proper respect.”
褲白問文祥：「那你是不是洗了耳朵再回來？」
Ku Bai asked Wen Xiang, “So
will you be coming back after you wash your ears?”
文祥說：「你看我的臉時，就看不到我的後腦勺吧？」
Wen Xiang said, “When you
look at my face, you don’t see the back of my head?”
褲白簡直墜入了濃霧中，他楞楞地點點頭，似懂非懂地望著文祥。
Ku Bai felt as if he had
entered a thick fog. He nodded
stupidly and looked at Wen Xiang as if he wasn't sure.
文祥繼續說：「人世間都是這樣的，你看不全，就不能瞭解透澈。人只能看到一面，如果就用這一面來衡量事物，那是很危險的。比如說，許由當年為什麼要洗耳朵，今天又有誰知道呢？認為做官是正途的人，就說是要洗耳恭聽。認為做官是骯髒的人，則認為聽了這些髒話，污染了耳朵，所以要清洗一番。」
Wen Xiang continued, “The
world is always like this. If you
don’t see the whole picture, you won’t understand things thoroughly. If one looks at only one aspect of
things and bases their estimate on that one aspect, it can be very
dangerous. For example, who knows
why Xu Yo wanted to wash his ears at that moment? People who think that being an official
was the right thing to do would say that he washed his ears as a gesture of
respect before he continuing to listen.
People who think that being an official is dirty work will say that Xu's
ears had been polluted by hearing these filthy words and he wanted to clean
them.”
褲白始而恍然大悟，繼而又愁眉苦臉地說：「你是說，你不喜歡做官，所以要去洗耳朵。可是衣姐也不喜歡做官呀！」
Ku Bai finally got it. Then his expression once again became
gloomy. “You're saying, you don’t want to be an official, so you're going to
wash your ears. But Yi doesn’t want
to be an official, either!”
文祥說：「那是前面，她還有後腦勺呀！」
Wen Xiang said, “That was
just her face. There's still the back of her head!”
褲白走到衣紅背後，看了看她的後腦袋，慎重地說：「衣姐的前後腦勺我都看過了，沒有一點想做官的樣子。」
Ku
Bai moved over behind Yi Hong and looked closely at the back of her head. He said carefully, “I’ve seen Yi’s head,
both front and back. There’s no
sign of her ever being an official.”
衣紅笑道：「小傻子！你怎麼看得出做官的樣子？」
Yi Hong laughed, “Little
fool! How could you tell if a
person would someday be an official or not?”
褲白說：「妳不是常說，做官的人腦袋都是尖的嗎？」
Ku Bai said, “Don’t you
always say that anyone who wants to be an official must have a pointed head?”
文祥也忍不住笑了：「還好，我的腦勺是圓的。」
Wen Xiang couldn’t keep from
laughing. “Fortunately, the back of
my head is round.”
衣紅嘴一撇，嗔道：「哼！酸葡萄。」
Yi Hong looked disdainful
and she grunted: “Huh! Sour
grapes.”
突然，一陣風吹過，一個怪人出現在四人面前。文祥一看，這人面貌寢陋，疢頭怪腦地，簡直令人難以忍受。他的一顆頭是橢圓的，略向右邊突出，像是患了腦水腫。五官不僅不對稱，左邊的大得離譜，而右邊的又小得出奇，讓人有一股想要把它扳正的衝動。
Suddenly, there came a gust, and a strange
man appeared before them. Wen Xiang
looked at him and noted his ugly features.
He looked so feverish and strange, as to be intolerable. His head was oval shaped, with a lump
slightly protruding on the right, which seemed like he had a brain tumor. Not only were his features
unsymmetrical, the left side was impossibly big and the right side was
extremely small. It gave one an
urge to set them right.
這人一到，就衝著衣紅，齜牙裂嘴地笑道：「紅姑娘，妳想我啦？」
As soon as he arrived, he
bared his teeth and laughingly spoke to Yi Hong: “Miss Hong, have you missed
me?”
衣紅一見他，立刻橫眉豎目的退到風不懼身後，一面恨聲道：「你是什麼東西？憑什麼姑娘我會想你？」
As soon as Yi Hong saw him,
she scowled and stepped back behind Feng Buju, saying with hatred as she did
so, “Who do you think you are? Why
would a girl like me miss you?”
「妳不是叫我嗎？」
“Weren't you calling me?”
「你在做夢哩！我叫你！」衣紅怒目圓睜。
“You must be dreaming!
Me, calling YOU!” Yi Hong
stared at him in wide-eyed fury.
「分明你剛才喊『酸葡萄』，不然我怎麼敢過來？」那怪人嬉皮笑臉地說。
“Obviously you just now called out ‘sour
grapes’. Otherwise, how would I
dare appear?” The strange creature grinned,
「什麼話？酸葡萄也是你的名字了？」
“What? Your name is Sour Grapes now?”
「是呀，姑娘妳賞賜給我的呀！老實說，我還是喜歡我老爸取的『左非右』，可是酸葡萄是姑娘您恩賜的，我是『受驚若寵』也！」
“That’s right. You, young lady, granted me that
name! To tell you the truth, I
still prefer the name my father gave me, ‘Zuo Feiyo’. But Sour Grapes was the name kindly
given me by the young lady. I was
surprised but flattered to receive such a favor!”
褲白忿忿地說：「左非右，你這樣說不公平，上次我們是在討論哪種制度好，你說都不好，衣姐才說你是酸葡萄，連我褲白都懂這句話的意思。」
Ku Bai said angrily, “Zuo Feiyo, you’re
not being fair. The last time we
were talking about what system was the best and you said none of them were
good. That was why Yi accused you
of sour grapes. Even I understood
what that meant.”
左非右笑得右眼都不見了：「小兄弟，有你給我作證，好極了！我要銘心刻骨，紅姑娘說我是酸葡萄，我就是酸葡萄！哪一天，紅姑娘說我是甜葡萄，我就是甜葡萄！反正，我就是紅姑娘的奴隸！一切唯姑娘之命是從。」
Zuo
Feiyo laughed so hard that his right eye disappeared. “Little brother, you’re
my alibi. Wonderful! I’ll always remember this. Miss Hong said I was Sour Grapes, then
I’m Sour Grapes! Someday, if Miss
Hong says I'm Sweet Grapes, I’ll be Sweet Grapes! Anyway, I’m Miss Hong’s slave! I’ll do whatever she desires.”
衣紅氣得臉也向一邊歪了：「那我叫你滾呢？」
Yi Hong grimaced with
anger. “What if I tell you to get
lost?”
左非右立刻向衣紅一鞠躬，道聲：「我滾也。」果然，他一蹬腳，踩著動力滑輪，又如一陣風，去了。
Zuo
Feiyo immediately bowed to Yi Hong and said, “Then I shall get lost.” Whereupon, he stamped his feet, and was
gone like a gust of wind on his powered roller skates.
褲白對衣紅說：「衣姐，我看習慣了，其實他也不算很醜嘛！」
Ku
Bai said to Yi Hongm “Yi, I'm used to his appearance. Actually he isn’t that ugly!”
衣紅猶自有氣：「你不嫌他醜，你跟他要好去！」
Yi Hong was still annoyed. “If you don’t find him ugly, then you
can go and be pals with him!”
風不懼說：「這個人很有骨氣，你看，易容、整容都不過是幾個小時的事，他卻寧願以這副面貌，痴心地等待妳回心轉意。」
Feng Buju said, “That guy’s got
backbone. Look, changing looks or
plastic surgery would only take a few hours. But he’d rather stay the way he is now,
while he faithfully waits for you to change your mind.”
衣紅說：「我就是不懂，整容有什麼不好？人之所以能接納別人，是因為對方至少還有個人樣。」
Yi Hong said, “I don’t get
it. What’s wrong with plastic
surgery? The basic condition for
accepting other people is that they must at least look human.
風不懼說：「衣紅，這就是妳的不是了，莊子不是說過嗎？『子與我遊於形骸之內，而子索我於形骸之外，不亦過乎！』々左非右也曾說過，人唯一有價值的是內在美。視覺美太容易得到了，所以價值不高。他之所以喜歡妳，是妳有理想，也很能堅持。」
Feng Buju said, “Yi Hong, you’re wrong on
this one. Didn’t Zhuang Zi say:
‘You and I are wandering in the realm of the spiritual, and you are judging me
in the realm of the physical. Isn't
that a mistake?’ Zuo Feiyo also
said that the only value a man can possess is the quality of inner
nobility. Visual beauty is too easy
to accomplish so it doesn’t have much value. The reason why he likes you is because
you have ideals and you stick to them.”
文祥早忘了要走的事，他發覺風不懼頭腦冷靜、寬容待人，有大將之風。而這位左非右才真正是個至人，在今日人人整容做假的時代，他居然能不顧對方的嫌惡，堅持以德性相感。更奇怪的是，這個人所以看中衣紅，青春美貌居然不是重點，左非右說的不錯，她的確個性堅毅、堅持原則，至於有什麼理想，那就不是第一次見面便看得出來的了。
Wen
Xiang had forgotten his intention to leave. He noticed that Feng Buju had a cool
head and a big heart. He had
leadership qualities. However, this
Zuo Feiyo was a real sage. In this
era of make-believe when everyone was using plastic surgery, he was indifferent
to the distaste of others and continued the use virtue to influence them. Even more strange was that this man
wasn't attracted to Yi Hong because of her youth and beauty. Zuo Feiyo was right. She was indeed a persistent girl who
stood by her principles. As for her
ideals, those hadn't been apparent in their first meeting.
衣紅怏怏地說：「風哥，內在美只是三個字，你怎麼去定義呢？俗話說：『烈女怕纏郎』，這樣糾纏不休，難道就是內在美嗎？要知道，我們責任重大，他要是真有見識，應該幫我們喚醒那些醉生夢死的人才是。」
Yi
Hong said dispiritedly: “Feng, a ‘noble inner quality’ is merely 3 words. How do you define it? As the saying goes: ‘Virtuous women are
afraid of persistent and annoying suitors.’ Was this annoying and endless
persistence a noble inner quality?
You have to understand that we have great responsibilities. If he were a sensible man he should be
helping us awaken those who pass their lives in a dream-like fashion.”
文祥忍不住插口道：「衣姑娘，本來不該我開口，但是我認為妳沒有給他機會。」
Wen Xiang couldn't help
interrupting her. “Miss Yi, it's
none of my business, but I thought you didn’t give him a chance.”
衣紅冷笑了一聲：「沒有給他機會？哼！我就給他個機會看看！」
Yi
Hong laughed coldly. “Didn't give
him a chance? Huh! I’ll give him a chance and see how he
does!"
話剛出口，滑輪聲倏地由遠而近，左非右又出現在四人面前：「姑娘有何指教？」
Her words were no sooner out of
her mouth when the sound of roller skates drew near. Zuo Feiyo once again appeared in front
of them. “Miss, what can I do for
you?”
這次衣紅早有準備，冷冷地說：「問題不在於我嫌你醜，要知道面容只是與人溝通的管道。你如果真要和我們共事，就去換一副臉孔再來。」
This time Yi Hong was ready. She answered coolly, “Your ugliness
isn't a problem. After all, the
face is only a means for communication.
If you really want to work with us, go change your looks.”
左非右道聲：「遵姑娘法旨！」說罷，右手往臉上一抹，立刻換了一副面容，簡直是徐公衛玠再世。他問道：「這副如何？」
Zuo
Feiyo said, “As you wish!” and then rubbed his face with his right hand. Instantly, the features on his face
changed. It was as if Xu Gong and
Wei Jie, the two most handsome men in Chinese history, had been reborn. He asked, "How's this face?"
四人早驚得呆住了，一時弄不清是真是假。
The four of them were
stunned. They couldn't tell if it
was real or an illusion.
風不懼定了定神，詫道：「怎麼，真實幻境也能在臉上實現了？」
Feng Buju recovered his poise and
asked in a marveling tone, “What, ‘Reality
in Illusion’ can be applied to the face?”
左非右呵呵笑道：「這不是真實幻境，實際上是一種古老的技術。早先用在川戲裡，叫做『變臉術』，事先覆上層層面具，再依序變回『本臉』。此外桂劇也有，不過和川劇反向，由本臉逐次變臉，技術高的演員變一次臉只要半秒鐘。後來經過改良，這種變臉的薄膜不僅凹凸有緻，能勾勒出面形，而且材質取自臉皮，和真的完全一樣。你們瞧瞧！」他張開右手，掌上果然有一層肉色的薄膜，看上去軟軟的，想像不出怎麼能張滿臉頰。
Zuo
Feiyo laughed. “This is not Reality
in Illusion. Actually it’s an old
technique in China. In early times,
it was called the ‘Face Change Technique’ and was performed in Sichuan
Opera. Before a performer went on
stage, layers of masks were placed on the performer’s face. One by one, each mask would be revealed
and the last one would be his ‘real face’.
This technique was also used in Guangxi Opera, but the sequence of
changing the masks was reversed.
The ‘real face’ was first revealed and then the other masks. It would only take half a second for a
skillful performer to change each mask.
After modification, this face-changing membrane not only contains
concave and convex surfaces, which can sculpt facial features, the material is
made from facial tissue which gives it the texture of a real face. Look!” He opened his right hand, and there in
his palm was a layer of skin-colored membrane. It looked quite soft and was difficult
to picture how it could cover an entire face.
眾人瞪著左非右看了又看，真和一張正常的臉沒有分別，原來參差不正的五官，好像全套都換新了。再看看那張薄膜，怎麼都想不出是怎樣變出來的。
Everyone stared at Zuo Feiyo and studied
him very carefully. His face was as
normal as an ordinary face. His
distorted facial appearance seemed to have been replaced by a whole new set of
features. Looking at that membrane,
no one could imagine how he had done it.
褲白摸了摸薄膜，忍不住說：「你能不能再換一副？要慢慢的，讓我看清楚點。」
Ku
Bai touched the membrane and couldn’t resist saying, “Could you change another
face? Do it slowly so I can take a
good look.”
左非右說：「當然可以，要知道我們所看到的一切，都是物質分子外部的電子層所反射的光線。我的臉經過掃瞄處理，已經記錄下五官的座標位置。而這張面具膜上則有五官的新位置，往臉上抹時，這層膜會自動定位。你們看到的，其實還是我原來的臉孔，但是經過薄膜電子層的修正，形狀和位置就改變了。」
Zuo
Feiyo said, “Sure. But you have to
know that everything we see is the light reflected from electrons outside of
material molecules. After my face
is scanned, the location of my features will be recorded. This mask membrane contains new feature
locations. When I apply it to my
face, this membrane will automatically position itself. What you see is actually my original
face. But after restoration by
membrane electrons, the shape and location of my
features will have been changed.”
說罷，他慢慢地又把薄膜往臉上抹去。奇特的是，那薄膜一接近面皮，立刻像繚繞的煙霧般，自動罩在臉龐上，同時，光線折射的角度也不一樣了，面容又倏然一變。
When he finished, he once again slowly
applied the membrane to his face.
Strangely enough, as the membrane came close to the facial skin, it
immediately seemed his face was automatically wreathed with fog. At the same time, the refracting angles
of light changed as well. His face
was instantly altered.
「奇怪！我怎麼沒有見過這種化妝法？」衣紅問道。
“Strange! How come I’ve never heard of this sort
of make-up?” Yi Hong asked.
「妳聽了一定會反感，電腦當局規定，只有像我們這樣的殘障人士，而且沒有做過整容手術的，才允許使用。」
“This will make you unhappy, but The
Computer Authority Bureau has a rule stating that use is limited to handicapped
people like myself, who have never undergone any plastic surgery.”
「我為什麼要反感？這樣才公平，否則作鬼作怪的人更多了！」衣紅說。
“Why should I be
unhappy? It's only fair. Otherwise, there’ll be even more
weirdoes!” said Yi Hong.
「妳比較喜歡哪一種扮相呢？」左非右問道。
“Which face do you like?” Zuo Feiyo
asked.
衣紅連看都不看，便說：「都不喜歡。」
Yi Hong didn’t even look and
answered, “None of them.”
褲白說：「再換一副看看。」
Ku Bai said, “Change it
again.”
衣紅說：「算了吧，換來換去都是假的，有什麼分別？」
Yi Hong said, “Never mind. No matter how you change it, they're all
fake, so what difference does it make?”
這時甲板上已有二十多位旅客，三五成群的，都坐在雅座裡談天喝飲料。一位西裝畢挺的男士，很有風度地走到左非右面前，深深地一鞠躬，說：「我叫佐佐木，是『火星怪獸』的導演，很想結識各位。」
At
this time, more than 20 travelers were on deck. Sitting together in groups of 3 to 5
they were all chatting or have something to drink. A man in a tailor-made suit came over to
Zuo Feiyo and bowing respectfully, said: “My name is Sasaki. I’m the ‘Monsters from Mars’
director. I’d like to get to know
all of you.”
衣紅立刻起身，回禮道：「衣紅，請指教。」
Yi Hong stood up courteously
and replied, “Yi Hong. Nice to meet
you.”
大家相互介紹完畢，衣紅馬上說：「佐佐木先生，我們這裡有一個規定，在談話時，電腦必須關掉。」
When the introductions were over,
Yi Hong said, “Mr. Sasaki, we have a rule here. When we talk, the computer must be
turned off.”
「電腦關掉？妳這是開玩笑吧？真是好題材，好題材！」佐佐木笑說。
“Turn off the
computer? Are you kidding? What a great subject, great subject!”
said Sasaki, laughing.
「我是說真的。」衣紅毫不客氣。
“I mean it.” Yi Hong wasn't at all polite.
佐佐木一看，除了文祥以外，其他四個人果然都沒有帶腕式電腦。這些人顯然是認真的，佐佐木不敢相信，又問了一遍：「你們不用電腦？」
Sasaki looked around. Aside from Wen Xiang, none of the other
four had wrist computers.
Apparently they were serious.
Sasaki couldn’t believe this and he asked again, “You don’t use
computers?”
「從來不用！」
“Never!”
「這怎麼可能？再說，妳也不能強迫我呀！」
“How could that
be? What's more, you can’t force me
to do it!”
「那你也不能強迫我們留下來吧？」
“You can’t force us to stay, either.”
「小姐，妳要知道，我是火星怪獸的導演！我是來請教這位先生的化妝術……」佐佐木沒得到應有的尊重，聲量越提越高。
“Miss, you have to know that I’m the
director of Monsters from Mars! I
came to consult this gentleman about make-up skills…” Sasaki wasn't receiving the respect he
had expected and began to raise his voice.
衣紅又站起身來，對文祥說：「我們再聊吧！」
Yi Hong again stood up
and said to Wen Xiang, “Talk to you later!”
她一走，那三個人如影隨形，跟著便走。文祥也毫不客氣，回頭就走，只剩下佐佐木一人楞在那裡。
When she left, the other 3 followed, just like her shadows. Wen Xiang, without any pretense of courtesy, turned around and left. Sasaki was left alone, surprised.
文祥回到客艙，打開電腦，對文娃說：「情況妳都知道了吧？」
When Wen Xiang returned to his cabin, he
turned on the computer and said to Wen Wa, “Do you know what's been going on?”
文娃說：「知道了。」
Wen
Wa replied, “Yes.”
「看來她們好像與外星人不相干，有趣的是，這三個人是三種典型，衣紅很不簡單，而褲白又簡單得要命，風不懼諱莫如深，看起來很簡單，可是又不是單純的簡單，總之，摸不清底細。」
“Looks like they have
nothing to do with aliens. What's
more interesting is that these three people are three different personalities. Yi Hong is not simple but Ku Bai is too
simple. Feng Buju is deep and hard
to predict. He looks simple enough
but it’s not the kind of simplicity found in a naïve person. Anyway, it’s hard to tell.”
「別的你不要管，重點在那幾個字上面。」
“Don’t worry about
other things. What's important is
that written script.”
「假如她們真是反叛組織，妳們會怎樣？」
“What if they are
renegades, what would you do?”
「不怎樣，我們只是服務的系統，奉命行事而已。」
“Nothing. We are only a service unit. We just follow orders.”
「如果她們真要武力革命呢？」
“What if they really
start an armed revolution?”
「只要不違反二○二四規定，我們一概不管。」
“Just so they don't
violate the regulations of 2024, we don’t care.”
「妳們為什麼這麼關心那幾個字？」
“Why are you so
concerned about that script?”
「那是我們的責任，我們可以不採取行動，卻不能不知道。」
“That is our
responsibility. We can do nothing
about it, but we have to know.”
太空船要啟航了，甲板頂層上擠滿了人群。不像昔日遠行時，船岸兩地分隔，人們離情依依。現在是時間一到，送行者身上的電腦便「嗶嗶」直響，叫得人們心慌意亂。
The spaceship was about to take off. The top deck was crowded with people. It was not like the old days when people set off for a long voyage and everyone felt the sadness of parting as the ship pulled away from the shore. Today, at departure time, computers carried by those who had come to say goodbye to friends or relatives, started going, “beep, beep”, confusing and alarming everyone.
船上共有三百多位乘客，大概這裡是月球轉航站的緣故，送行的人不算多。文祥兩眼不自覺地在人群中搜索，他想再見到衣紅，又覺得見不到最好。
Altogether, there were over 300
travelers aboard ship. Probably
because they were at the Moon Transit Center, not many people came to see them
off. Unconsciously, Wen Xiang’s
eyes searched through the crowd. He
would have liked to see Yi Hong again but felt it was best that he didn't.
突然，他看到那位吟遊老者，正走下船弦。他上岸後，便站在送行區的柵門內，向船上的人搖手致意。文祥隨著他的目光看去，在中層甲板有幾個男女，其中一個好像是孔は咎，大家伏著欄杆，正和老者揮手。
Suddenly,
he saw the old troubadour. He was
disembarking. When he was ashore,
he stood inside the gate of the waiting area and waved at some one on the ship. When Wen Xiang looked in that direction,
he saw some men and women standing on the middle deck and one of them looked
like Kong Wujiu. They were leaning
on the rail and waving to the old man.
文祥這才瞭解，方才孔は咎來找自己，主要的目的也是在號召同志。難道人類在居安數十年之後，又靜極思動，連衣紅那種涉世不深的少女，都自許肩負著救亡圖存的使命？當然，很可能是地球人多半貪圖享受、不事進取。而思想敏銳、抱負不凡的人，差不多都到月球來探險，或者移民到火星去了。
Wen
Xiang now understood that Kong Wujiu's primary purpose in seeking him out had
been to find more comrades. Was it
possible that after living peacefully all these decades, human beings were
again becoming restless? Even an
unsophisticated young girl like Yi Hong took on herself the responsibility of
saving people from their ruin. Of
course, it was possible that the most of the people on Earth only cared about
comfort and were satisfied with the way things were. All intelligent thinkers with high
ideals were either seeking adventure on the Moon or emigrating to Mars.
這種現象與十七世紀時，歐洲人大舉移民北美洲很類似。任何一個時代的風潮，與天時、地利、人和三者都有密切的關係。那麼，今天的風潮又是什麼呢？難道就是這些散兵遊勇，憑這幾隻螞蟻，就想撼動電腦王朝？
This phenomenon was similar to the
17th century when great numbers of Europeans emigrated to North
America. The trend of any age is
closely connected with a proper time, place, and people. So, what would be the trend today? Could it be those scattered and
wandering soldiers, with their ant-like power, hoped to shake up the computer
dynasty?
電腦有什麼失去民心的暴政呢？他雖然自稱為人類的奴隸，也的確任勞任怨地在為人類服務。可是電腦的樂趣與目的，卻與人類截然不同。不論從哪個角度來看，電腦實在沒有與人發生利害衝突的地方。
Had the computer reign been so brutal they had lost the support of the people? Though it claims to be a slave to man, it does indeed serve man uncomplainingly. However, the pleasure and purpose of the computer is totally different from that of man. No matter how you look at this, there was no serious conflict between Man and the computer.
有人將心比心，認為電腦這樣伺候人類，一定心存怨懟。也有人認為電腦太聰敏，人類望塵莫及，遲早有一天，電腦食言而肥，把人類完全擺脫掉。
Some people have put themselves in the computer's position. They thought that because the computer served Man so uncomplainingly, it must have a grudge in its heart. Others thought that the computer was too intelligent and mankind would be unable to keep up with it. Someday, the computer would go back on its word and get rid of Man, once and for all.
這些說法當然都出自一些無知無識的愚民口中，偏偏愚民甚多，眾口鑠金。好在電腦從來不以為意，據說在設計之初，電腦的意識中心是以老子的《道德經》為判斷標準的。經中第八章有言：「上善若水。水善利萬物而不爭，處眾人之所惡，故幾於道。居善地，心善淵，與善仁，言善信，正善治，事善能，動善時。夫唯不爭，故無尤。」更是電腦奉為圭臬的基本準則。
Of
course, this kind of talk came from ignorant and foolish people. But unfortunately there were too many
fools. When rumors and lies abound,
truth is drowned in
their midst. Fortunately the
computer never gave it a thought.
It is said that when the computer was first designed, the conscious
center of the computer used Lao Zi’s Tao
te ching for its standard of judgement. In Chapter 8: “The highest good is like that of
water. The goodness of water is
that it benefits the ten thousand creatures; yet itself does not scramble, but
is content with the places that all men disdain. It is this that makes water so near to
the Way. And if men think the
ground the best place for building a house upon,
If among thoughts they
value those that are profound,
If in friendship they
value gentleness,
In words, truth; in
government, good order;
In deeds, effectiveness;
in actions, timeliness –
In each case it is
because they prefer what does not lead to strife,
And therefore does not
go amiss.”
These are the basic
rules and the computer regards them as exemplary models.
對生命體而言，水是最重要的物質，沒有水，就沒有生命。對資訊體而言，電腦則是最重要的工具，可以說沒有電腦，就沒有資訊。假如說生命體就是人的肉體，那資訊體便是人的精神了。肉體有物質的利害關係，有需求及獨佔的慾望，精神卻不佔空間，沒有利害，是開放的、共享的，能無盡地向外擴展。
For
the living body, water is the most important substance. Without water, there is no life. For the body of computer information,
the computer is the most important tool.
It can be said that without the computer, there would be no
information. If the living body is
the physical body of Man, then the body of information is the spirit of
Man. The physical body is closely
related to substance. It has needs
and the desire to possess. On the
other hand, the spirit does not take up space. It is not connected to anything. It is open and sharing, and can expand
limitlessly.
文祥很能體會人性中永遠不能滿足的一面，他自己也具有這種特質，所以才自我放逐到月球來。但是，他不推卸遷怒，從來沒有怪罪電腦，他知道，問題在他自己。
Wen
Xiang quite understood the insatiable aspect of human nature. Because he
himself also had this quality, he exiled himself of his own volition to the
Moon. However, he did not blame or
get angry with others, and he never once blamed it on the computer. He knew the problem lay within
himself.
文祥聽過一個故事，說有位修行人，在一所寺廟裡，聽了一位高僧講道後，發誓要克服一切面臨的障礙。而當他一出山門，就發現面前的高山阻擋了他的行向，他毫不猶豫，決定要把眼前這座高山剷平。
Wen
Xiang once heard a story. It was
said that an initiate, after hearing a sermon preached by a highly regarded
monk in a temple, had vowed to conquer every obstacle he encountered. As soon as he stepped out from the
temple gate, he found a high mountain was blocking his way. Without a moment's hesitation he decided
to level the mountain.
他很有毅力，經年累月地挖山，一點也不鬆懈。只是，他始終有一點困惑，這些山石和泥土，到底要怎樣才算不阻擋他呢？
He
was very persistent. After years of
digging, he never let up. There was
only one question that had bothered him from the beginning. At what point would these mountain
stones and earth no longer be considered an obstacle?
他發現，山石敲得太碎了，變成石粉，天晴時滿天飛塵，一下雨就泥濘不堪。比起山石來說，反而更添不便。他設法把山石移走，結果遍地裂隙，沒有土更是危險。後來，他學會了鋪路，才發現石塊要大小不一，泥土也要有不同的黏性。而且開路還要考慮路逕、方向、功能、條件等問題。
He
found that he had broken the stones so vigorously they had become
powdered. On a clear day, the dust
covered the sky, and when it rained, the road became very muddy. The dust was causing more trouble than
the mountain stones ever had. He
tried to remove those stones but found the ground was covered with cracks. It had become even more dangerous
without the cover of earth. Later,
when he learned how to pave a road, he found that the stones were of unequal
shape and the clay of varying degrees of adhesiveness. Besides, when
building a new road, he had to think about such problems as what locations it
would pass through, where it would lead to, what purpose it would serve, and
geographical conditions.
幾十年過去了，這位修行人把山挖平了一大片，也開闢了一條可以行走的便道。但是他並不認為走在現在的道路上，比以往又方便了多少。為此，他一直無法確定，怎樣才算克服了障礙？
Dozens
of years passed. This initiate
leveled a large area of the mountain, and built a path for people to walk
on. However, he didn't think his
road was an improvement over their former way of travel. For this reason, he could never be sure
at what point he could consider his obstacle to have been overcome.
有一天，高僧即將圓寂，把他叫到面前，問道：「你的障礙克服了沒有？」
One
day, a high ranking monk was on the point of death. Summoning this initiate he asked, “Have
you conquered your obstacles?”
「還沒有。」修行人慚愧地回答。
“Not yet,” the initiate replied with shame.
「山頂挖平了嗎？」高僧問。
“Did you level the
mountain peak?” the high ranking monk asked.
「弟子愚昧，不知道山頂應該算到哪裡？」
“Forgive my stupidity.
I don’t know how big an area the mountain peak includes?
「是你眼睛看到的山頂，還是心裡想到的山頂？」高僧又問。
“You mean the peak seen by
your eyes, or the peak in your mind?” the high
ranking monk asked
again.
修行人突然心中一亮，號啕大哭道：「師父，我錯了，我的障礙是心裡的山，可是卻挖了幾十年眼前的山。」
The initiate was suddenly
enlightened. He cried, “Master, I
was wrong. My obstacle is the
mountain in my mind. But for years
I have been digging the mountain in front of me."
「傻孩子，你再看看，你心裡有山嗎？」
“Foolish child. Take another look. Do you still have a mountain in your
mind?”
文祥一直在想自己心裡的山，他也挖了幾十年了，他的目的卻不在去除障礙。他只是把石塊由東邊挖出來，堆到西側去，等到西面堆滿了，再挖來放回東邊。
Wen
Xiang was thinking about the mountain in his own mind. He had been excavating it for decades
but his purpose was not to remove this obstacle. He just dug up stones from the eastern
side and piled them over on the west.
When the west side was full, he dug the stones up again and placed them
back in the east.
這次，他由廣寒宮裡走出來，想不到真開了眼界，居然還有這麼多人，忙忙碌碌的在移山填海。一時之間，他自己的問題倒是找不著了。
On
this occasion when he stepped out of Guang Han Palace he never imagined his
horizons would really be broadened. There were so
many people busy moving mountains to fill the seas. For time being, his own problems
disappeared.
「文兄，安頓好了？」
“Wen, are you all
set?”
一隻手拍在肩膀上，文祥回頭一看，是百怪，身後跟著高出兩個頭的千奇。
A hand patted his shoulder. Wen Xiang turned his head and saw
Weirdo. Behind him, standing two
heads taller, was Creepy.
「二位好，有人來送行嗎？」
“Hi, anybody here to
see you off?”
「送行？是送終吧？」千奇哈哈笑道。
“See us off? You mean seeing us off, as at a funeral?” Creepy laughed.
「不妥！不妥！不吉利！」百怪連忙止住千奇。
“No! Don’t say that! It’s bad luck!” Weirdo quickly
interrupted Creepy.
「老怪，什麼話吉利？」
“Tell me, Old Weirdo,
just what kind of words are auspicious?”
百怪得意地說：「要符合客觀真實。」
Weirdo said smugly, “It has
to match objective truth.”
千奇問：「現在要送我們出行，該怎麼說？」
Creepy asked, “If someone
were seeing us off at this moment, what should they say?”
百怪伸著頭想了想：「送行！」
Weirdo cocked his head and
thought for a moment: “Seeing us off!”
千奇存心嘔他：「如果出行到最終呢？」
Creepy was deliberately
trying to annoy him. “How about if
we were journeying all the way to our final destination?”
百怪毫不思索地說：「送終！」
Without pausing to think,
Weirdo answered, “Seeing us off to the final destination!”
千奇說：「這可是你說的。」
Creepy said, “Those are your
words.”
百怪滿意地說：「這是因果關係，所以吉利。」
In a pleased voice Weirdo
said, “This is a matter of cause and effect, so it’s auspicious.”
文祥見他們倆拌嘴成習，好奇地問：「像你們這麼好的交情，有沒有為了意見不合而爭吵過？」
Wen Xiang saw that arguing
had become a habit with them.
Curiously, he asked, “Being such good friends, have you ever argued over
a difference of opinion?”
千奇搖搖頭說：「沒有。」
Creepy shook his head and
said, “Nope.”
百怪卻大聲說：「有！」
Weirdo, for his part, loudly
said, “Yep!”
千奇詫異地問百怪：「我們什麼時候爭吵過？」
Surprised, Creepy asked
Weirdo, “When have we ever argued?”
百怪說：「別死不認帳，文兄又不是外人。」
Weirdo said, “Don't deny
it. Wen is no stranger.”
千奇想了又想：「這麼多年來，我一直容忍你，絕對沒有跟你吵過！」
Creepy mulled this over for
a while. “For so many years, I’ve
been putting up with you. I’ve
never once argued with you!”
百怪繃著一張怪臉，恨恨地說：「我才一直讓你，別臭美！」
Weirdo's peculiar face
stiffened and with clenched teeth he said, “I’ve always let you have your
way. Don’t flatter yourself!”
千奇拉著長長的馬臉，兩隻眉毛都皺成一堆了：「老怪！你摸摸良心再說！」
Creepy pulled a long face
and his two brows were almost knit together. “Old Weirdo! Ask your conscience before you say
anything!”
百怪兩眼一翻：「我的良心被狗吃掉了！」
Weirdo rolled his eyes, “I
don't have any conscience!”
千奇忍耐不住，也提高了聲調：「老怪！你這是無理取鬧嘛！」
Creepy couldn't stand it any
longer and raised his voice, saying, “Old Weirdo! You’re just trying to make trouble!”
百怪也忍耐不住，噗哧笑道：「老怪！這樣算不算爭吵？」
Unable to control himself
any longer, Weirdo burst out laughing, saying, "Old Creep, would you call
this an argument?
千奇這才知道上當了，一時間氣不打一處走：「你，你真要吵架？」
At this point Creepy
realized he'd been tricked. For
moment he choked with anger. “You,
you really want to quarrel?”
百怪說：「我讓你，我讓你。」
Weirdo said, “I give up, I
give up.”
千奇氣不能消：「不要你讓！」
Creepy was still
steaming. “I don’t want you to give
up.”
三個人找了個角落的位置坐下，這時，一聲汽笛鳴起，清越的嗚嗚聲，在太空艙內來回縈繞。同時響起一個甜美的女聲，她說的是世界語，但各人所聞，則是經電腦翻譯的母語：「各位旅客，本太空船麥哲倫ＣＴ二三號即將啟程前往火星。本船淨重十公噸，載重四萬公噸，船長一百公尺，高二十公尺，寬二十公尺。本船採用最新型的『反壓力』太陽能火箭，二十平方公里的磁帆。加速度四˙五公里／秒平方，最高時速三十六萬公里，全程五千六百萬公里，需時七天。
The
3 of them found a corner seat and sat down. At this moment a klaxon sounded, it's sharp woo-woo echoing throughout
the spaceship. Simultaneously, a
beautiful female voice was heard.
She was speaking in World Language, but everyone heard it in his or her
mother tongue, thanks to a translation by their computer. “Ladies and gentlemen. Our spacecraft, Magellan CT 23, is now
departing for Mars. The net weight
of this ship is 10 tons, with a load capacity of 40,000 tons. The ship is 100 meters long, 20 meters
high and 20 meters wide. It is
powered by the most advanced ‘anti-pressure’ solar energy rocket, and has a
magnetic sail of 20 square kilometers.
Its acceleration rate is 4.5 km/sec2 with a maximum speed of
360,000 kilometers per hour. The
length of the journey will be 56,000,000 kilometers and will take 7 days.
「現在是二○五○年七月四日，世界時十時，月球日光時十六時。本船將於七月十一日十二時三十分，抵達火星金色平原熔爐城的札倫布太空站。太空船出發時，各位旅客務請就近坐下。因為加速及重力調整等技術原因，站立時可能會發生頭暈不適的現象，但是絕無生命危險，敬請各位旅客注意。
“It’s now July 4th
2050. World Time is 10:00 a.m.;
Daylight Time on the Moon is 16:00.
Our spacecraft will arrive at Melting Pot City's Zhalhunbu Space
Station, located on the Golden Plain, at 12:30, July 11th. While the spacecraft is taking off, all
passengers are requested to sit down in the nearest seat. Due to technical problems, such as
acceleration adjustments and gravity, if you remain standing, you may possibly
experience dizziness or discomfort.
None of these are life-threatening, but all travelers are advised to pay
attention.
「本船有工作人員六位，機器人六十具。船長賈力˙勞倫斯先生，有五個博士學位，太空航行記錄三百萬公里。這是首次指揮本船前往火星，敬請各位指教。」
“There are six crewmembers
and 60 robots aboard our spacecraft.
Your captain is Mr. Jerry˙Lawrence. He has 5 Ph.D degrees and 3 million
kilometers experience flying in space.
This is his first command.
If you have any questions, we’ll be happy to answer them for you.”
廣播完畢，甲板上的燈光漸漸黯淡下來。
After completion of the
announcement, the deck lights gradually dimed.
千奇笑道：「這種記錄還好意思說出來？」
Creepy smiled and said,
“With that kind of experience, he should be ashamed to talk about it.”
百怪說：「你管他！反正是電腦全自動控制。」
Weirdo said, “Ignore
him! Anyway, the automatic pilot
system is fully computer controlled.”
文祥怕他們又爭起來，便說：「三百萬公里？可能說錯了吧？」
Wen Xiang was afraid that
they would start arguing again, so he said, “3 million kilometers? Perhaps it was a mistake?”
千奇道：「錯不了！據我所知，太空船長沒有人肯幹，當局曾經徵召過我，我倒無所謂，只是這個老怪不依，他堅持要當我的副船長！」
Creepy said, “I don’t think
so! As far as I know, nobody wants
to be Captain of a space ship. The Bureau once tried to recruit
me. I didn’t mind, but Old Weirdo
wouldn't agree. He insisted on
being my Assistant Captain!”
百怪啐道：「別臭美！是你不能離開我。」
Weirdo spat out, “Don’t
flatter yourself! It’s because you
can’t leave ME.”
千奇不理他，繼續說：「當局說，根據編制太空船上沒有副船長，但是還有艙務、程控等其他職務。老怪不同意，還吵著要電腦破例，設一個雙船長。」
Creepy
ignored him and continued speaking: “The Bureau said that according to their
personnel system, there was no such position as Assistant Captain. But there were other jobs, such as cabin
manager or director of navigation procedure. Weirdo
wouldn't agree. He insisted that
the computer make an exception and arrange a position for two captains on one
ship.”
百怪向文祥抱怨道：「老怪沒有良心，上次在海底鑽隧洞，明明是我一個人的差事，單人潛艇裝一個人就滿了，他還非去不可。兩個人擠成一團，可笑他腦袋差一點就被削掉一半，害得我們氧氣不足，白忙了半天。」
Weirdo complained to Wen Xiang, “Creepy
is unscrupulous. The last time when
we were drilling a tunnel beneath the sea it was clearly a job for me. Just one person will fill up a 1-man
submarine. But Creepy insisted on
coming with me, so the two of us squeezed in together. The funniest part was that he nearly had
half his head cut off and there
wasn't enough oxygen supply. All
that work for nothing.”
文祥聽得有趣，問道：「你們兩位一直在一起嗎？」
Wen Xiang thought they were
really amusing and asked: “Are you two always together?”
千奇說：「是啊！」
Creepy said, “Yep!”
百怪說：「不是！」
Weirdo said, “Nope!”
千奇說：「怎麼不是？」
Creepy said, “Why did you
say ‘no’?”
百怪說：「當然不是，進特遣隊以前，我根本不認識你。」
Weirdo said, “Of course I
did. Before I joined the SWAT team,
I didn't even know you.”
千奇說：「廢話！怎麼不說我出生時，還不知道你在哪裡呢！」
Creepy said, “Nonsense! Why not say that when I was born, you
were no where to be found!”
這時，汽笛又是一聲長鳴，艙中播出了送別的音樂。平躺在高台上的太空船，準備起飛了！只見一陣光華閃過，有如億萬金蛇流竄奔騰，三號艙門上的電離罩，緩緩地向四週退去，太空船則緊隨著冉冉升起。一進一退之間，承接得天衣無縫。
At this moment, the klaxon
sounded again. The music of
departure was heard in the cabin.
Lying on a high platform, the spaceship prepared to take off! A flash of light, like a hundred million
golden serpents leaping out, soaring
upwards. The ion shield for Gate 3
gradually receded and the spaceship slowly rose. The timing for withdrawing the
shield and the rising of the spaceship was perfectly coordinated.
待太空船浮出了罩沿，船頭立刻轉向。船中各人明顯感到一股壓力襲來，此刻的加速度高達二十多個重力常數，即使有反壓力設施，大家還是感覺得出來。
When the spaceship lifted up
over the brim of the shield, the ship immediately altered course. Everyone in the cabin felt a wave of
pressure come over them. At this
moment, the acceleration was more than 20 Gs. Even though there were anti-pressure
facilities, everyone still felt it.
文祥回頭一看，月球正迅速地退縮，不一會，已經縮成一個網球大小，在它旁邊的地球，則變成了一粒淺藍色的籃球。同時，陽光突然一暗，船身也略微震動。只見船尾冒出縷縷纖彩細絲，弩箭離弦般地向外射去，旋即散成一只空明的巨傘，簇湧在太空船後半部，那就是推動太空船的太陽風磁帆。
Wen
Xiang looked back and saw the Moon quickly receding. In just a short while, it had shrunk to
the size of a tennis ball. Next to
it, Earth had become a light blue basketball. At this time, the sunlight suddenly
dimmed, and the ship rocked slightly.
All that could be seen were thin and colorful silk threads spurting out
from the tail of the ship, like arrows from a bow, shooting into space. Soon, these threads spread out and
formed a gigantic translucent umbrella attached to the rear of the
spaceship. This was the magnetic
solar wind sail that powered the spaceship.
在這二十一世紀的太空中，彷彿十六世紀的大西洋，出現了一艘水母般的船隻，揚帆乘風，破浪驚濤，直駛向遙遠的他方。
Outer
space in the 21st century, was akin to crossing the Atlantic Ocean
in the 16th century.
Like some jellyfish, a ship appears, sails raised to catch the wind,
plunging through rough seas and alarming waves, plotting a straight course for
some distant destination.
Notes
1. Ku Bai: white pants
2. Wen Tianxiang:
1236-1283, a well-known patriot who chose to die to show his loyalty to Song
government he served rather than surrender to a new emperor.
3. Lao Zi: also means
“father”.
4. Sun Zi; also means
“grandson”.
5. Er Zi: means “son”.
6. Seven apertures: the seven apertures of human face: eyes, ears, nostrils and mouth. To open these apertures means to enlighten someone, increase their understanding.