第五回 北極朝廷終不改
Chapter 5: The Kingdom
is unchanging as the North Star
太空船航速雖快，人在船中卻是一無所覺，四下看去，一切都是靜止的，宇宙彷彿是一幅圖畫。唯一可以感覺到的是太陽變小了，像一盞熾熱的燈泡，燈泡周圍數畝則煥發著圈圈淡淡的極光。這個罩形極光便是太陽風撞擊到磁帆時，輻射線離子化的現象。
Though the spaceship was moving at great
speed, it was imperceptible to those on board. All around everything was still. The universe resembled a painting. The only noticeable difference was a
sense that the sun had become smaller.
It looked like a fiery light bulb.
Surrounding this bulb, faint aureoles of polar light twinkled over an
area of several square acres. This
shield-shaped aureole was a phenomena created by ionized radiation when the
solar wind collided with a magnetic sail.
太空船空間並不大，除了客艙以外，只有一個酒吧舞廳，以及敞露在太空下的甲板。甲板之被稱為甲板，仍是沿襲海輪的習慣，事實上是一個標準的露天茶座。這裡最大的特色，是空間的自由性，雅座是暗嵌在甲板下的，隨時可以升起；服務機器為管狀延伸式，可以自動將食物飲料等送到客人面前。如果有旅客要舉辦活動，這裡是最佳地點。最妙的還是走道，在電腦的流動空間安排下，只要有人走動，不論人數多寡，就會出現一條條專用人行道，而且不會妨礙其他活動的進行。
There was not much room on the spaceship. Aside from passenger cabins, there was
only a dance hall with a bar, and an open deck with only outer space for
cover. The use of the term “deck”
was a carry over from days of ocean ships.
Actually, it was a characteristic sidewalk café. The most unique feature here was
availability of free space. The
chairs were installed below the deck surface and could be brought forth as
needed. The machines providing
service were equipped with extended arms and could place food and drinks before
the guests. If any passengers
wished to hold a party, this would be the ideal spot. Best above all was the passageway. Thanks to the computer-controlled
arrangement of accessible space, whenever people began to move about, no matter
how many were present, paths for their own use would open up before them
without interfering other activities already in progress.
由於衣紅等人也不喜歡躲在客艙做夢，甲板區便成了她們與文祥交誼的場所。唯一令文祥煩惱的，是那位卡門先生，他只要看到文祥單身一人，找機會就要湊過來。還有那位傳教士約翰，也是不受歡迎的人物，一旦被他纏上了，便是萬劫不復。
Because Yi Hong and her companions
didn't like to hide in their cabins and dream, the deck became the place where
they could socialize with Wen Xiang. Wen Xiang's
only annoyance was Mr. Carmen.
Every time when he spied Wen Xiang alone, Carmen would find an excuse to
approach him. John the missionary
was another unwelcome presence.
Anyone he latched on to was doomed.
因此，當文祥與衣紅等人在甲板聊天時，大家會讓他背對著走道坐，以減少一些不必要的麻煩。雖然也有人上前搭訕，只因衣紅的那個堅持，人人知難而退。文祥這才知道，沒有電腦也有好處。
For
this reason, when Wen Xiang was talking to Yi Hong
and her friends on deck, they would let Wen Xiang sit
with his back turned to the passageway to avoid any unnecessary trouble. Though there would be people coming over
trying to chat with them, since Yi Hong had insisted that all computers be
turned off, they would see they weren't welcome and move on. This was when Wen Xiang
realized the advantage of not using the computer.
太空船啟航後的第三天，正當他們在甲板上閒聊時，只見左非右飛也似地滑到眾人面前，對文祥說：「文祥！主控室有人找你！」
As
they were talking casually on deck during the 3rd day of their
flight, Zuo Feiyo glided right
up to them on his skates and said to Wen Xiang: “Wen Xiang! You’re
wanted in the Control Room!”
文祥詫道：「主控室找我，怎麼可能？」
Wen Xiang
was surprised. “The Control
Room? How could that be?
左非右聳聳肩，說：「我怎麼知道？電腦通知我來叫你的。」
Zuo Feiyo shrugged and said, “How do I know? The computer told me to notify you.”
文祥想起，因為每次到衣紅這裡，都會把文娃關掉。有事要找他，就必須透過第三者了。只是怎麼會是主控室呢？
Suddenly Wen Xiang
remembered. This was because every
time he was with Yi Hong, he would turn off Wen Wa. If he was needed, it would be necessary
to go through a third party. But
why the Control Room?
他馬上向眾人告退，打開了電腦。立時就聽到文娃說：「是千奇建議找你的，主控臺發生故障，程控師在處理時突然發狂，自殺未遂。特遣隊到了以後，千奇說你是編碼師，堅持要你過去幫他們調查。」
Right away, he excused himself and turned on his computer. Immediately he heard Wen Wa say, “Creepy suggested we send for you. There has been a malfunction at the control panel. When the programmer was working, he suddenly went berserk and tried to kill himself. When the SWAT team arrived, Creepy told them you were a data coding engineer and insisted that you come over there to help them investigate.”
文祥問：「這與編碼有什麼關係？」
Wen Xiang
said, “What does this have to do with data coding?”
文娃說：「他和我們磋商過，這件事極為機密，不僅與你的專業有關，還可能涉及將來的發展，我們也希望你參加。」
Wen
Wa said, “He’s discussed it with us and this is a top
secret matter. It not only concerns
your profession, it could possibly play a role in future development. We hope you’ll give a hand.”
主控室在船首中央，可以由甲板直接下去。文祥一邊走，一邊聽文娃說明經過。事件的發生似乎是個意外，大概在半個鐘頭前，太空船左弦的一片傳感器，突然被「一粒」隕石擊中。這幾乎是不可能的事，因為傳感器的表面積不到一平方公分，外圍還有個保護凹槽，在隕石密度小於億萬分之一的太空中，怎麼可能被擊中？
The
Control Room was in the middle of the forward part of the ship and could be
reached directly from the deck. As
Wen Xiang made his way there, he listened to Wen Wa explain what had happened. The whole incident seemed to be an
accident. About half an hour ago, a
piece of sensor on the port side was suddenly struck by a "solitary”
meteorite. Something like this was
almost impossible. The surface of a
sensor was less than one cubic centimeter and was recessed for protection. With the density of a meteorite taking
up a mere 1/100 millionth of space, how could it possibly have been hit?
事後經電腦推算，在沒有預警的情況下，太空隕石擊中傳感器的機率，是旅行一百萬次，才可能發生一次。由於最初沒有考慮到這種可能性，當傳感器被擊中時，便將之視為一種超強的感應訊號，根據數據分析，遂誤解為一種「太空磁暴」。
Afterward, the computer calculated that
in a case of no prior warning, the chances of the sensor of being hit by a
meteorite in the space was 1 out of 1 million trips. Initially, this possibility had been
ruled out. So when the sensor was
actually hit, it was regarded as an outstandingly powerful sensory signal. Based on data analysis, it was
mistakenly thought to be some kind of “solar magnetic storm”.
太空磁暴是一種非常嚴重的災害，通常是鄰近有新星誕生，或是白矮星塌陷時，由中心輻射出大量的阿爾發射線，其輻射量往往大於每秒數十萬「雷姆」，超過人體安全劑量約千萬倍。在這種情況下，連太空船都將熔為灰燼，更不用說血肉之軀了。
A
solar magnetic storm is a natural
disaster of serious proportions.
Generally when a new star is created nearby, or a white dwarf collapses,
a large quantity of alpha will radiate forth from its core. This radiation energy always the
equivalent of thousands “rem” per second, which is
about 10 millions times beyond what the human body can tolerate. In these circumstances, even a spaceship
would be melted, not to mention flesh and blood.
事不宜遲，電腦立刻下達緊急命令，要在這次經驗中，瞭解事變的原因。遂調集全部電力，把所有可能接收到的有效訊息，傳回地球基地。
This permitted no delay. The computer immediately issued an
urgent order demanding to know the reason behind this event. All power was mobilized to receive every
possible signal that might possibly contain useful information and transmit it
back to the base on Earth.
此時電腦的執行速度是每秒三萬億個週期，已經是短微波的上限，其執行步驟也高達每秒三億個。而程式的執行，除了複雜的常識組合外，最多不會超過一千個步驟。也就是說，在不到萬分之一秒的時間，電腦已經前前後後考慮了近十次。
At
this time, the processing speed of the computer was 3,000 billion cycles per
second; the top limit for a short microwave. The processing steps could also operate
at up to 300 million units per second.
Generally speaking, aside from the complicated combinations of
"common sense", the processing of a program should not need to exceed
1,000 sequences. In other words, in
less than 1/10000 of a second, the computer could thoroughly consider every
possibility nearly 10 times.
然而，那個訊號非常蹊蹺，在第一次突然傳入後，就再沒有後繼的訊息。這與電腦所知的不相符合，太空磁暴是一種持續而猛烈的能量變化，而且整艘太空船必然都籠罩在它的威力下，怎麼會就此消聲匿跡了？
However, this signal was very
peculiar. After its sudden initial
transmission, nothing followed.
This did not match the computer information. Solar magnetic storms are an ongoing and
violent energy change. For certain
the entire spaceship had been
immersed by its mighty power. How
could it have vanished without a trace?
顯然，這是一次故障，電腦仔細地一再檢查，證明了確實不是磁暴。那又是什麼呢？線路故障？不是，訊號錯誤？不是，一時之間電腦也糊塗了，流程無法執行，臨時產生了「當機」現象。這位程控師生平沒有見過電腦當機，以為自己身在夢中，又不能十分確定，以致神思恍惚、手舞腳蹈，一下子重心不穩，一頭撞向電腦。
Apparently there had been a
malfunction. The computer checked
again and again and verified that it had not been a magnetic storm. But what was it? Circuit malfunction? No.
Signal failure? No. For a moment, the computer was also
confused. Procedures could no
longer be executed; the computer was temporarily down. In his whole life, the programmer had
never seen a computer crash and he wondered if he might be dreaming. However, he was not sure about this,
either, and that was why he fell into a trance and began dancing about. He quickly lost his balance and his head
crashed into the computer.
船長見狀，大驚失色，一邊啟動維生系統，給程式師療傷；一邊急召特遣隊，研究對策。還好這只是幾秒鐘的事，太空船上的電腦又是分工的，很快就有救援系統，電腦又恢復正常了。可是在人的方面，大家討論了一陣子，還是眾說紛紜，莫衷一是。有人認為是隕石，有人認為是電腦誤動，只有千奇認定是一個特殊訊號，便建議找文祥來看看。
The
captain was stunned when he saw what had happened. While he activated the life support
system to look after the programmer; he put in an urgent call for the SWAT team
to discuss how to handle this. Fortunately, this only lasted a few seconds and
with the spaceship computer simultaneously performing several tasks, the backup
system was quickly activated. The
computer was again back to normal.
However, after a short discussion, there was a multitude of opinions
from those present and no consensus was reached. Some thought it was a meteorite; others
thought it was a computer error.
Only Creepy thought it was a unique signal and it was he who suggested
asking Wen Xiang to come and have a look.
文祥走到主控室前，滑門自動開啟，這是一個約有百坪的大艙，正前方是一望無際的太空，左壁上有十來個分割螢幕，將太空中特定的目標，分別放大為倍數不等的影像，顯示在螢幕上。各影像的右下方，還標示著各種數字，使整個面板上的訊息，一目瞭然。
As soon as Wen Xiang
arrived at the Control Room, the sliding door automatically opened. It was a large cabin of about 100 ping. The limitless space unrolled directly
ahead of them. On the left wall,
more than 10 separate screens displayed images of specific targets in space,
enlarged to different sizes. In the
lower right of each image many numbers were displayed, making it possible to
take in all information on the screen at a glance.
在中央的觀察區，有一排五個座位，座位前面則是電腦操控設備，有各種儀表及屏幕，嚴密監控著每一客艙。在操控臺之後，則是電腦室，幾個人圍在門口，地下躺著一個滿身是血的年輕人，正在接受治療。
In
the center of the monitoring area, there was a row of 5 seats. Installed right in front of the seats
was the computer control apparatus.
This contained various control panels and screens enabling every cabin
to be closely monitored. Several people were crowded at the door of the computer
room, situated behind the control station.
Lying on the ground, a young man covered with blood was being
treated.
千奇見文祥進來了，便向大家一一介紹。黑金剛仍然手持權杖，先與文祥握手道：「難得千奇開口推薦，我倒要瞧瞧是何方神聖！」
Creepy saw Wen Xiang
come in and introduced him to everybody.
Black King Kong was still holding his scepter. He was the first to shake Wen Xiang’s hand and said, “It’s so rare for Creepy to recommend
any one. I’d like to know who you
are!”
文祥連忙說：「是他過獎了，我能力有限，還請多多指教。」
Wen Xiang
said hurriedly: “He's exaggerating.
I’m just a guy with limited ability. Nice to meet all of you.”
格瑞達早已溜到文祥身後，從頭到腳，又由後至前，仔仔細細地看了個透。她挨著文祥的右肩，一邊死命的聞，一邊興奮地喊：「我願意用十個夜晚打賭，這個人至少一個月之中沒有碰過女人！」
Greda had already slipped back behind Wen Xiang and was thoroughly eyeing him from head to toe, front
and back. She stood right next to
Wen Xiang’s right shoulder, and sniffed very
hard. As she was sniffing, she
cried excitedly: “I’d be willing to bet 10 of my nights that this guy hasn’t
touched a woman for at least a month.”
文祥正要解釋，卻感到頸邊發癢，鼻內已鑽進一股難以抗拒的香氣。他心慌意亂，來不及察看，手便下意識地往頸子後面一揮，沒想到這一來，一縷金黃雲絲卻將手指纏住。耳聞一聲嬌呼：「哎喲！現在太早了吧！」
As
Wen Xiang was trying to explain, he felt a prickling
sensation on the back of his neck and an irresistible fragrance found its way
into his nose. Startled, he
unconsciously brushed the back of his neck without looking. Unexpectedly a strand of golden hair
became entwined in his fingers. He
heard a soft cry. “My
goodness! It’s a bit early for
that!”
黑金剛正色道：「格瑞達！正事辦完了再鬧。」
Black King Kong said
sternly, “Greda!
Knock it off. Wait till our
business is finished.”
格瑞達扭動嬌軀，用力向文祥擦擠了一下，說：「待會見！」
Greda
twisted her lovely body and rubbed briefly against Wen Xiang
and said, “Later.”
古嚕嚕倒很爽快，過來握握手，沒說話就走開了。
For his part, Gululu
was very straightforward. He came
over, shook Wen Xiang’s hand, and left without saying
a word.
莎莉個子不高，古銅色的皮膚，一臉機靈狀，握著文祥的手，用力捏了兩下：
「我是莎莉，咱們慢慢聊。」
Sally was not very
tall. Her skin was tanned and she
looked very alert. She took Wen Xiang’s hand and squeezed twice, hard. “I’m Sally. Talk to you later.”
魏德曼身材壯碩，足足高出文祥一個頭，他握握手，說聲：「幸會。」便面無表情地走到一旁。
Whitman was a muscular man and a
head taller than Wen Xiang. He shook Wen Xiang’s
hand and said, “Nice to meet you.”
And stood to one side, without any expression on his face.
最後是船長勞倫斯，他非常激動，緊緊握住文祥雙手，熱情地說：「太榮幸了！太榮幸了！我船上有這麼多重要的賓客，實在是榮幸之至！」
The
last was Captain Lawrence. He was
very excited and he grasped both of Wen Xiang’s
hands, saying fervently: “It’s a great honor! Great honor! I have so many important guests on my
ship. I’m truly honored!”
文祥被這個場面弄糊塗了，自己怎麼成了重要的人物？他只得禮貌地回答：「我叫文祥，請不要客氣。」
Wen Xiang was
confused by all of this. How had he
become so important? He could only politely
reply, “My name is Wen Xiang. Please, let's drop the
formalities.”
千奇說：「文祥先生目前的身份不便透露，還有，這件事解決之後，務請大家保密，否則對未來的任務會有妨害。」
Creepy
said, “For the moment, it's not convenient to reveal Mr. Wen Xiang’s identity.
Even after the problem is solved, all of you must keep this a
secret. Otherwise future missions
could be endangered.”
黑金剛也接口說：「我向當局請示過，今天的事件已列入特密專案。所有參加的人員已經到齊，一直要到問題查清了，我們才能歇手。」
When
Creepy was finished, Black King Kong spoke up, saying, “I’ve checked with the
Bureau. Today’s incident has been
classified as top secret. Now that
all the participants are here, we can't relax until this problem is taken care
of."
格瑞達嬌聲說：「要是查不出來呢？」
Greda
asked sweetly, “And what if we can’t?”
黑金剛說：「也要查出來！」
Black King Kong said, “It
has to be done, no matter what!”
千奇說：「據我的判斷，問題出在那個超強的訊號上。」他環顧眾人，繼續說：「我認為這是個訊號，基於兩點理由，一是它沒有能量，二是它留下一個波形記錄。」
Creepy
said, “In my judgement, I think the problem is caused by that super
signal.” He looked around at
everyone and continued, “There are two reasons that make me think it’s a
signal. One, it has no energy. Two, it left a wave form record.”
百怪說：「別忘了，訊號不可能做定點傳送，怎麼只有一個傳感器接收到？」
Weirdo said, “Don’t forget that signals
can’t be transmitted to a specific receiver. How come it was only a single sensor
picked it up?”
千奇說：「我向當局查問過，太空船上的傳感器一共有四千多個，每一個都有不同的共振頻率，只有一個與這個訊號的頻率完全符合。只是傳感器接收到的是類比式訊息，但是電腦在接收後，做了處理，把它轉換成數位式。」
Creepy said, “I’ve checked with the
Bureau. There are more than 4,000
sensors on the spaceship and each has a different resonance frequency. But there’s only one sensor that matches
the signal frequency. It's just
that the received signal was an analog.
After the computer received the data, it then processed it into digital
data.”
格瑞達不耐煩地說：「我們是危機處理專家，誰懂你那套電腦理論？」
Greda spoke impatiently. “We’re specialists at handling
emergencies. Who understands all
that stuff about computer theory?”
千奇說：「這就是要借重文祥先生之處了，他是這裡唯一能處理類比式訊號的專家，他可以幫我們解決這個疑團。」
Creepy
said, “This is why we sent for Mr. Wen Xiang. He is the only expert here who knows how
to handle analog signals. He’ll be
able to help solve this puzzle.”
格瑞達馬上湊近文祥，一手挽進了文祥的胳肢窩：「唷！好恩人，趕快來救救我吧！我的疑團太多了！」
Greda immediately
went over to Wen Xiang and slipped her arm into
his. “Oh, my savior! Please help me! There are so many things that puzzle
me!”
眾人見慣了，對格瑞達的動作視若無睹，只苦了文祥。那一團軟玉溫香，既令他心癢難搔，又讓他厭煩噁心，推也推不掉，真不知如何是好。
The
others were used to Greda’s behavior and didn't pay
any attention to her. Only Wen Xiang was troubled.
The touch of her warm, scented flesh filled him with a strange desire
while at the same time it annoyed and disgusted him. There was no getting rid of her. He didn't know what to do.
百怪搖頭說：「老怪沒有說清楚，數位式有什麼不對？」
Weirdo shook his head. “Old Creepy didn’t
make it clear. What’s wrong with
having it digitized?”
千奇說：「類比式可稱為無限訊號，在任何頻率範圍內，都有無盡的變化。數位式則僅取開及關兩種訊號，將它固定在某些頻率內。」
Creepy
said, “An analog signal is an infinite signal. It can have unlimited permutations
within any frequency domain. On the
other hand, a digital signal only contains “on” and “off” modes and is fixed
within certain frequencies.”
莎莉插口道：「我懂了，千奇的意思是說，電腦把那個原始信息簡化了，所以不知道是什麼。」
Sally interrupted, “I get it. You're saying that because the computer
simplified the original data, we can’t tell what it is.”
黑金剛說：「可是，就算是個電波吧，怎麼知道那確實是一個信號呢？」
Black King Kong said, “But even if it was
an electrical wave, how can we know for sure it's a signal?”
千奇清了清嗓子，神情凝重地說：「當然，這只是我的假設。老大，你應該還記得，去年我們在太平洋海溝的遭遇吧？不是和今天很相似嗎？唯一不同的是，當時我們沒有人能分析類比式訊號，無法解開那個謎團。」
Creepy
cleared his voice and spoke gravely. “Of course. This is only my hypothesis. You remember what happened to us at the
Pacific Ocean trench, Boss? Wasn’t
that a lot like today’s situation?
The only difference is that we didn’t have anybody to analyze analog
signals so we never solved that puzzle.”
黑金剛聽千奇提起痛事，臉色由黑轉白，呆楞了半晌。連格瑞達也收歛起輕狂，緊緊依著文祥，一動也不動。
When
Black King Kong heard Creepy bring up this painful memory, his dark complexion
paled and he was silent for some time.
Even Greda restrained her usual rashness and
held on closely to Wen Xiang, without moving.
船長一見黑金剛的神色，再看看那幾個方才還趾高氣揚、大言不慚的小組成員，個個面有懼色。想必在那海溝之中，曾發生過慘烈無比的事件。
The
Captain saw the expression on Black King Kong's face and then looked at the
other Force members, just a moment ago so full of themselves and boasting. Now
each face was filled with fear.
Something tragic and horrible must have happened at that ocean trench.
一時艙內鴉雀無聲，文祥一是不知究裡，兼以格瑞達的體熱直透靈魂深處，心情不免騷動起來了。他的確是很久沒有接近女性了，平日專心工作，倒還能心平性寧。這兩天與衣紅相處，心中已不時泛起陣陣漣漪，他還不願承認是荷爾蒙作祟。現在美人在懷，就算最初很討厭她妖冶的態度，可是這一剎，見她像一隻受傷的小鳥，依偎戰慄，文祥心中也隨著起伏，早就忘卻身在何地了。
For
a moment, the cabin was very quiet.
Wen Xiang had no idea what they were talking
about. It seemed the warmth of Greda’s body heat penetrated to the depths of his soul and
he was becoming aroused. Indeed, it
had been a long time since he'd been near a woman. In normal times, he could concentrate on
his work and therein find peace of mind.
After being with Yi Hong these last couple of days, his heart had often
been stirred but he refused to admit it was the doing of hormones. Now he had a beautiful woman in his
arms. Though he had initially been
annoyed by Greda’s seductive manner, in this instant,
Wen Xiang saw her as an injured bird, totally
shattered and leaning on him for protection. Wen Xiang’s
feelings were aroused; he forgot where he was.
船長忍不住打破了岑寂：「各位，那次發生了什麼事？」
Unable to contain himself, the Captain
broke the silence. “Gentlemen, what
happened that time?”
黑金剛倒吸了一口氣，他看了看眾人，眼裡噙著淚水，緩緩地說：「那是去年的事，我們這個小組本來有十二位成員，那次我們帶了一百多個深水機器人，到太平洋的東加海溝，準備將熱電樁打入深海溝隙的岩漿中，目的是將熱能轉化為電能，以便降低地殼的溫度，阻止板塊的移動。
Black King Kong took a deep breath. He looked around with tears in his eyes
and said slowly: “That was last year.
There were 12 members on our team.
We brought over 100 deep-sea diving robots to the Tonga Trench in the
Pacific Ocean. We intended to drive
thermoelectric stakes into the lava in the cracks of the Trench. Our purpose was to transform the heat into
electricity so the temperature of the earth's crust would be reduced, thereby
preventing the plates from shifting.
「我們乘坐的是地熱深水潛艇，多年來，這個工作進行得一直很順利。」黑金剛停頓了一下，凝重地望了格瑞達一眼，然後說：「當然，我說順利，是指當時工作的進行而言。根據電腦的計算，每一根熱電樁的距離、深度，都不能有絲毫的誤差……」
“We were using the geothermal deep-sea submarine. For years, this work had proceeded
without a hitch.” Black King Kong
stopped, and looked gravely at Greda before
continuing. “Of course, by ‘without a hitch’ I meant the progress of the
work. According to computer
calculations, the distance between each thermoelectric stake, as well as its
depth, had to be precise."
格瑞達先是渾身顫抖，又低泣起來，這時已忍不住了。她伏在文祥肩頭，一邊放聲大哭，一邊叫道：「不要說了！是我不對！黑老大，你就饒了我吧！」
Greda’s body first
began to tremble and then she lowered her head and wept, now unable to control
herself. She leaned on Wen Xiang’s shoulder sobbing and crying, “Stop it! It was all my fault, Boss. Please forgive me!”
黑金剛冷靜地說：「格瑞達，妳搞錯了，那件事與妳無關，是我的錯！」
Black
King Kong calmly replied, “Greda, you’re wrong. It had nothing to do with you. I'm the one who made a mistake.”
格瑞達說：「不要安慰我，他明明死在我身邊！」
Greda
said, “Don’t try to make me feel better.
He died right next to me!”
黑金剛長歎一口氣，淚珠汩汩而下：「今天這件事一定要說個清楚，我也忍得太久了。當時真正瞭解內情的，只有千奇和我兩個人。」黑金剛扳過格瑞達的面龐，誠懇地說：「不錯，格瑞達，那時妳正和弗朗克做愛，但是熱電樁是機器人裝設的，所以根本上那些錯誤都與妳無關。我之所以沒有告訴妳，是因為妳實在太隨便了，這個教訓多少還能約束妳一點。這些年來，妳除了這上頭的毛病，別的表現都很令人激賞，事情已經過去了，妳就忘了吧！」
Black
King Kong sighed and the tears rolled down his cheeks. “We’d better get this matter cleared up
today. I’ve kept it inside of me
for too long. Only Creepy and I
know what really happened.” Black
King Kong tilted Greada’s face upwards and said
earnestly, “That's right, Greda, you were making love
with Frank at that moment. But the
thermoelectric stakes were installed by the robots so basically those mistakes
had nothing to do with you. I
didn’t tell you this was because you have such a casual attitude towards
sex. Maybe this will be a lesson to
you and in the future you'll practice a little restraint. After all these years, except for this
one weakness, you’ve impressed me with your work performance. Let bygones be bygones. Forget about it!”
格瑞達聽了，更是傷心，哭得從文祥身上滑到地上，更在地上翻轉不停。
When Greda
heard this she was even more heartbroken.
She continued to cry and her body slid from Wen Xiang’s
grasp to the floor, where she began to roll back and forth.
平日幾個生死置之度外的好漢，這時也都忍不住淌下了英雄淚。
All
these brave men, normally so indifferent to death, began to shed tears.
停了一會，黑金剛繼續說：「那時，也是潛艇外突然傳來一個強烈的訊號，由於艇中有最先進的設備，電腦又做了最徹底的檢查，認為只是電路故障。不料，在那以後的幾個小時，所有的機器人都失控了，熱電樁放置錯誤，然後海溝發生爆炸。其他的事，大家都是親身經歷的，就不必多談了。」
Pausing for a moment, Black King Kong continued:
“At the time, a strong signal came from outside the submarine. The submarine had the most advanced
equipment and after making a thorough inspection the computer determined that
it was only circuit malfunction. We never
expected that within a few hours, we would lose control of all the robots. They misplaced the thermoelectric stakes
and there were explosions in the Trench.
As for the rest, well, you experienced it personally. There's no need to say more.”
千奇接口道：「我之所以提起這件事，是發現當時的狀況和目前有幾點雷同， 一是這個超強的訊號，一是這位程控師，他的行為模式和那些失控機器人很相近。此外，還有一點，不知道你們想不想得起來？」千奇停頓了一下，看了眾人一眼，接著說：「我記得那一天是七月七日！」
Creepy
spoke next. “I brought this up because the two cases have a few points in
common. One is the super-strong
signal, the other is the programmer.
His behavior was very similar to those out of control robots. And one more thing. I don't know if you guys thought about
it?” Creepy stopped for a minute
and looked at the crowd, before continuing. “I remember it was July seventh!”
船長眼睛睜得老大，脫口而出：「就是今天！」
The Captain’s eyes widened
as he blurted out, “That's today's date!”
千奇點點頭，說：「至於這三點巧合有什麼意義，我就不得而知了。以前我是個電訊工程師，我知道有一種技術，可以將無限的信息壓縮在一個類比的音包中。自從數位革命後，類比訊號就落伍了，直到今天，我才想起。如果這真是個類比訊號，又有這麼強大的脈衝，很可能其中有什麼重要的訊息。」
Creepy nodded and said, “I don’t know if these 3 coincidences mean anything. I used to be a telecommunication engineer. I know there is a technology that can compact unlimited data into an analog voice pack. Ever since the digital revolution, analog signals are out of date. It didn’t occur to me until today. If it’s really an analog signal with an impulse of such magnitude, it might contain information of importance."
文祥總算瞭解了來龍去脈，可是自己對信息絲毫不懂，又能怎樣呢？不得已，他只好坦白地說：「可是我不懂什麼類比訊號呀！」
Wen
Xiang finally understood the whole story. But he wasn't at all familiar with the
data. Besides, what could he
do? He could only frankly say, “But
I don’t know a thing about analog signals!”
千奇道：「你不是編碼專家嗎？」
Creepy said, “Aren’t you a
data coding expert?”
文祥點點頭。
Wen Xiang
nodded.
「你編碼靠什麼訊息？」
“What information do
you use for data coding?”
「特性觀察。」
“Observing special
features.”
「也就是指自然狀況下的特徵，是吧？」
“That means special
features under natural conditions, doesn’t it?”
「是的。」
“Yes.”
「那就是類比訊號！」
“That's just what an
analog signal is!”
「可是那些是實物，你現在說的是波訊呀！」
“But those are real
objects. You’re talking about a
wave signal!”
「你既然能編碼，反過來做就是解碼了！」
“Since you know how to
code data, couldn't you decode data by reversing the process.”
文祥這才明白：「你是說，要我解這個波訊的秘碼？」
At
this point Wen Xiang understood. “You mean, you want me to decode this
wave signal?”
「沒錯！」
“That’s right!”
文祥面有難色，說：「我從來沒有做過。」
Wen Xiang
looked uncertain, as he said, “I’ve never done that before.”
「一回生，二回熟，你就勉為其難吧！」
“The first time is
always the hardest. It becomes
easier the second time. Why don’t
you give it a shot!”
這時文娃在文祥耳邊說：「我們已經把訊號還原了，果然是類比式的。我們會以各種頻率展開測試，你只要找出編碼特徵就可以了。」
At this time, Wen Wa spoke in Wen Xiang’s ear:
“We’ve restored the signal back to its original form. It IS an analog. We’ll test it with all frequencies. You’ll only have to determine its special coding
features.”
文祥便說：「我是根據視訊做分類的，要看得到才行。」
Wen Xiang
said, “I classify data by visual contact.
I’ll have to see it.”
黑金剛說：「沒問題，我們可以到電腦室去看。」
Black King Kong said, “No
problem. We can see it in the
computer room.”
這時，那位程控師的情況已經穩定，只是神智仍舊不清。船長先派人把他送回客艙休養，然後將眾人引進電腦室，在千奇分配下，大家開始作業。
At this moment, the condition of the programmer had been stabilized but he was still not fully conscious. The captain first had someone take him back to his cabin so he could recuperate. Then he led everyone into the computer room. Under Creepy's direction, every one went to work.
電腦室的正中央是一個大型螢光幕，千奇先從電腦記憶體中，調出原始記錄，將它投射在螢幕上。從外觀上看，那只是在三分之一秒內產生的一個振幅極大的正弦波，電腦不斷將頻寬放大，漸漸地，波沿開始有了些微的變化。等放大到三萬億周時，已經是電腦時鐘脈衝的頻寬了，這時波形已經有了重複的特徵。
There
was a large screen in the middle of the computer room. Creepy first called up the original
record from the main memory and had it projected on the screen. Judging from its appearance, it was a
sine wave, generated in 1/3 of a second in huge amplitude. The computer continued to enlarge the
bandwidth. Slowly, the edge of the
wave started to reveal some small changes.
When it was enlarged to 3,000 billion cycles, it reached the bandwidth
of the clock cycles. At this time,
the waveform began to display repetition.
文祥根據波形的重複關係，找出其中的規律，再根據規律，歸納出組碼的方法。他一再地分析波峰到波谷的資料，從頭到尾，找了又找，比了再比。由於資料量太大，儘管有電腦協助，他估計起碼要五六個小時，才能比對完畢。
Based on the repetitions of the waveform,
Wen Xiang tried to find a recurring pattern. With that pattern, he would be able to
select a coding method. He
repeatedly analyzed the information from the peak of the wave to the
bottom. From start to finish, he
checked and examined the information again and again. Because of the vast
quantity of information, even with the assistance of the computer, Wen Xiang estimated that at the very least it would take him 5
to 6 hours to finish cross-checking the data.
黑金剛問：「如果要找到答案，要多久時間？」
Black King Kong asked: “How
long will it take to find the answer?”
文祥想了想，說：「如果知道什麼是答案，或許我可以估算。問題在目前的周期是三萬億，大約有一萬億筆資料，如果再放大，資料量會更大。就以一萬億筆資料來說，每比對一個項目，從頭到尾，大約需要十分鐘……」
Wen
Xiang considered the question for a moment and said,
“If I knew the answer, maybe I could estimate the time. The problem is that the present 3,000
billion cycles consists of 1,000 billion bits of data. If we enlarge it more, the quantity of
the data will be even greater. For
example, using 1,000 billion bits of data and cross-checking each bit of data
from start to finish, would probably take about 10 minutes…”
黑金剛打岔道：「我只問，根據你的經驗，大概要多久？」
Black King Kong interrupted,
“Based on your experience, I just want to know approximately how long it will
take?”
文祥硬著頭皮說：「據我看，如果順利，大概要兩天。」
Wen Xiang
unflinchingly said, “In my opinion, if everything goes well, it’ll take two
days.”
船長一聽，心急如焚：「兩天？那怎麼辦？」
When he heard this, the
Captain became very agitated. “Two days?
What are we going to do?”
千奇說：「現在一切都正常了，我想暫時不會有事。」
Creepy said, “Now everything
is back to normal. I think we’ll be
fine for a while.”
船長眼淚都要掉下來了：「你們剛剛還說，一年前連探險船都炸了！我們船上有三百多條生命，如果……豈不……」
The Captain was on the verge
of tears. “Just now you said your
expedition ship exploded one year ago.
There are over 300 lives on this ship. What if…wouldn’t that mean…”
千奇哈哈笑道：「抱歉，我們沒有說明白，那次是熱電樁放錯了，地熱不平衡，結果海溝崩裂，才發生爆炸。原因在於這個信號破壞了電腦的指令，所以機器人亂了方寸。就像剛才那位程式師，在操作時接收到電腦錯亂的指令，以致神智不清。至於太空船，那是一點危險都沒有的，這點我可以保證。」
Creepy laughed. “I’m sorry. We didn’t make it clear. That time the subterranean heat was thrown out of balance because the thermoelectric stakes were misplaced. As a result, the Trench collapsed and caused the explosions. The reason was the signal had interfered with the computer’s command, thereby confusing the robots. It was like the programmer just now. While operating the computer, he received an erroneous command and as a result became confused. As for the spaceship, there’s no danger at all. I can assure you.”
百怪半天沒有作聲，這時卻插上一句：「好說，你憑什麼保證？」
Weirdo had not said anything
for quite a while, but now he interrupted: “Oh, really? How can you be sure?”
黑金剛知道百怪專唱反調，立即正色道：「百怪，這不是開玩笑的時候！」
Black King Kong knew Weirdo
always made comments to the contrary.
Looking stern, he said, “Weirdo, this is no time for joking!”
百怪說：「誰在開玩笑！不管這個信號是什麼，我們研究了半天，有沒有人想過，如果這個傳感器真是因共振才接收到訊號，萬一波相雷同，能量會無限放大。那麼，傳感器有沒有被損害？如果有，誰敢說沒有危險？」
Weirdo said, “Who's
joking! Whatever this signal is,
we’ve been studying it for quite a while.
Did it occur to anyone that the reason this sensor received the signal
was because of resonance frequency?
If the waves were the same, the energy would be limitlessly
amplified. So, has the sensor been
damaged? If so, who can say for
certain that there’s no danger?”
船長忙說：「這個不必擔心，剛才電腦已經檢查過，說是沒有問題。」
The Captain hurriedly said,
“We don’t have to worry about that.
The computer checked it just now and it was o.k.”
百怪說：「你這防護罩是採用掃瞄檢查的吧？」
Weirdo said, “Is your
protection shield checked by scanning?”
船長說：「當然，不然哪能那樣快？」
The captain answered, “Of
course. Otherwise it wouldn’t be so
fast.”
船長話剛說完，就聽船上的主機開口說：「百怪說對了，電離罩已嚴重受損。最初我檢查時，因為程式有『蠱錯』，一時未能查明，請原諒。現在的情況是，必須派機器人到艙外修補，本船人員素質不足，尚請特遣隊支援。」
As soon as the captain
finished, the ship's main frame spoke up. “Weirdo was right. The ion shield was severely
damaged. Forgive me. When I performed the initial check, I
didn’t realize there was a “bug" in the program. The present status calls for sending
robots out to repair the damage.
Our ship personnel are not qualified. We’ll have to ask the SWAT team for
assistance.”
黑金剛一聽，知道事態嚴重，忙說：「放心，這事交給我們！」說著，回頭向格瑞達與古嚕嚕說：「你們兩個人就位，一人操縱一台機器人就夠了。」
When Black King Kong heard
this he knew the situation was serious, and quickly said, “Don’t worry about
it. We’ll take over!” As he was speaking, he turned around and
told Greda and Gululu: “You
two go to your stations. If each of
you operate a single robot that ought to be enough.”
兩人領命，即時走到控制台上，面前出現了一個立體螢幕。不一會，太空艙的模型影像也浮在螢幕上。就在此時，兩個蜘蛛式的機器人，也已漫步在太空船外殼上。
The
two proceeded to the control panel, as ordered. A 3-D screen appeared before them. Within moments a spaceship image
appeared on the screen. At that
moment, two spider-like robots were walking slowly outside of the spaceship.
黑金剛又對莎莉說：「你操縱鏡頭，要穩一點。」莎莉早已就位，把搖捍一拉，太空船的影像放大，船身不斷轉動，片刻之後，眼前蜚晶漾銀。再向前移，船體竟有一個精光耀目的小洞，正如爆炸了的彈藥，高速噴發著五彩光芒。
Black King Kong said to
Sally, “You control the cameras.
Keep steady.” Sally had
already taken her position. She
pulled the control handle, enlarging the spaceship's image. The body of the ship continued to
turn. In a minute, glowing sparks
and sliver light appeared. As the
camera moved forward, unexpectedly, a bright and eye-catching small hole on the
ship's body came into view. It
looked just like an exploding bomb, spouting variegated lights at high
speed.
電腦主機說：「我檢查過，大約損失了五萬千瓦的能量，及時修補應該不會有問題。情況比較嚴重的是，傳感器後方正對著舞廳，目前廳內有近百位賓客，必須即時疏散。我已經廣播，說在各人客艙中播映特別節目，希望大家即時散去，但效果不彰。」
The computer main frame
spoke. “I’ve checked. We’ve lost about 50,000 kilowatts of
energy. It shouldn’t be a problem
if we can get it fixed in time. A
more serious problem lies behind the sensor, somewhere in the dance hall. There are about 100 passengers in the
hall right now. They must be
evacuated immediately. I’ve already
announced that special programs are being broadcast in each individual cabin
and requested everyone to leave right away. But it didn’t work.”
船長一聽，兩腳一軟，竟然癱在地上。 黑金剛連忙將他扶起，說：「這不是摔跤的時候，來，我陪你去處理。」同時又向千奇說：「這邊交給你了。」
Hearing this, the Captain
went weak in the knees and he collapsed on the floor. Black King Kong pulled him up and said,
“This is no time to collapse. Come
on, we’ll go take care of this together.”
At the same time, he turned to Creepy and said: “You take over here.”
黑金剛不管船長願不願意，粗壯的胳膊往船長身上一架，船長一腳懸空，跌跌撞撞地跟著黑金剛走出來。黑金剛一面走，一面說：「振作點，沒有什麼好怕的。」
Black King Kong did not care
whether or not the Captain was willing.
His muscular arms hoisted the captain up so that his feet were dangling
in the air. Staggering, he exited
with Black King Kong. Black King
Kong spoke to him as they walked, saying, “Pull yourself together. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
船長早已全身顫抖，連話都說不清楚了：「我有個……美滿的家庭，我……我……不能死！」
The Captain was trembling so
badly he couldn't speak clearly. “I have a…wonderful family. I…I mustn't die!”
黑金剛不耐煩地說：「你不會死的！只要你好好走，否則我把你丟了不管！」
Black King Kong impatiently
told him, “You’re not going to die!
Walk, or I’ll dump you right here.”
船長努力掙扎著說：「我好好走，請你不要丟……下我！」
Struggling to do his best,
the Captain said, “I’ll walk.
Please don’t…leave me!”
兩個人大步走過迴廊，船長一路哀吟：「我怎麼能死呢？我太太是選美冠軍……我兒子是……我……我不能死，請你救救我！」
The two of them walked down
the corridor with large strides.
The Captain whined all the
way, “How can I die? My wife was a
beauty queen…my son is… I…I can’t die.
Please save me!”
黑金剛氣得用力捉住船長的雙手，搖晃著說：「混蛋！你怎麼配做太空船長？」
Black King Kong was furious
and fiercely seized the Captain’s hands, and shaking him exclaimed,
“Idiot! You don’t deserve to be a
spaceship captain!”
船長吞吞吐吐地說：「我根本不想來……是我爸爸……他……他說這裡很安全……他要競選議長……」
The Captain was stumbling
over his words: “I didn’t want to come in the first place…it’s my father… he…he
said it’d be safe… he wanted to campaign for the House Speaker…”
黑金剛咬著牙，罵道：「窩囊廢！你聽著，待會由我來開口。你必須給我站直，否則客人一慌，不僅是你，大家都是死路一條！」
Black King Kong gritted his teeth and
barked. “Listen to me, you coward!
When we get there I’ll do the talking. You must stand up straight. Otherwise, if the passengers panic, not
just you, everyone of us will die!”
船長聽了，只是拼命點頭。當下黑金剛挾持著船長，轉個彎，走到舞廳門口。正好有個立式機器人舉著酒盤走過，黑金剛一把拉了過來，把酒盤丟到地上，將機器人的手臂塞到船長脅下，這才讓他站得又穩又直。
When he heard this, the Captain
nodded enthusiastically. At that instant,
Black King Kong was holding up the Captain as they turned a corner and
approached the dance hall door. It
just so happened that an upright robot was passing by with a tray of liquor. Black King Kong pulled him over, tossed
the tray to the floor, and rammed the robot's arms under the Captain's
armpits. Only then did the Captain
stand up, firm and straight.
大廳中一片昏黑，水燈閃爍，樂聲震耳。幾百年來，不論什麼事物，都起了巨大的變化，只有這種最古老的娛樂，始終一以貫之。
The
dance hall was dark. The water
lamps were glistening and the music assaulted the ears. In recent centuries everything in the
world had undergone a dramatic change.
Only this most ancient form of entertainment had remained
unchanged.
黑金剛拉著船長和機器人，走到控制台上，關了音樂，打開大燈。一片錯愕聲隨之而起，但見男男女女個個衣衫不整，有的互相依偎，也有在地上互擁翻滾。人人眼光呆滯，動作遲緩，神智不清。
Dragging
the Captain and the robot, Black King Kong stepped onto the control
platform. He turned off the music
and switched on the overhead light.
The sound of disbelief and confusion followed. All the men and women present were
sloppily dressed. Some were
cuddling together, some were hugging and rolling on the floor. Everyone had a vacant look in their eyes,
and their movements were slow, their minds unclear.
黑金剛一看，場中大約有六七十人。這類喜好池中運動的人，常常使用一些助興劑，稍一不慎，驚動之下，就會失神喪魄，什麼情況都可能發生。他心裡早有準備，高聲對大家說：「各位貴賓，快樂丸夠不夠？」
Black
King Kong took one look and estimated that there were about 60 to 70 people in
the hall. Those who liked dance
floor exercise often used "uppers". If not careful, when shocked, they would
lose their minds and anything could happen. Black King Kong was already prepared for
this, and he said aloud: “My dear guests, do you have enough ecstasy pills?”
「不夠！」有人喊著。
“No!” Someone shouted.
「好！劑量再加一倍。」他話才出口，效果立見，躺在地上的一個一個站了起來，努力地集中精神聽著。
“O.k! I’ll double the dose.” As soon as he finished, the effect was
immediately visible. One by one,
those lying on the floor got up and tried their best to pay attention.
「各位！逍遙丸用過沒有？」
“Ladies and
gentlemen! Have you tried the
carefree pills?”
「什麼逍遙丸？」
“What are carefree
pills?”
「最新發明，不過，僅限於在客艙裡使用。有興趣的人，請趕快回房，總共只有十盒，發完為止。」
“The latest invention. But it is restricted and passengers may only use them in their quarters. Those of you who are interested, please return to your rooms right away. There’re only ten boxes. Once they're gone there won't be anymore.”
眾人一聽，精神立振，紛紛轉向門口，一個個迫不及待要趕回房去。
Hearing this, gave a lift to the crowd’s
spirit. They all turned to the
door, eager to hurry back to their rooms.
卡門帶著一位女友，特意走到船長面前，準備炫耀一番。一見船長失魂落魄的德性，不禁大吃一驚，那位女士更是驚訝得尖叫了一聲。
Carmen took a girl and deliberately
walked over to the Captain. He
wanted to show her off. But when he
saw the terrified look on the Captain’s face he was stunned. The lady with him was so surprised she
gave a sharp cry.
卡門問船長說：「你怎麼啦？那個黑人是誰？」
Carmen asked the Captain: “What’s
wrong with you? And who is this
Black fellow?”
船長還在發抖，一句話也說不出來。黑金剛本來就一肚子火，這時忍不住對卡門大聲吼道：「少囉嗦！快給我回房去！」
The
Captain was still shaking and couldn't utter a word. Black King Kong was angry to begin with and at this couldn't
keep from shouting at Carmen: “Shut up! Get back to your room!”
卡門一見船長被一個機器人架著，便猜他是受到了挾持，立刻高聲喊道：「綁架！綁架！船長被綁架了！」
When
Carmen saw the Captain was being supported by a robot he thought the captain
was being kidnapped. He immediately
began to yell, “Kidnap! Kidnap! The captain is being kidnapped.”
他這一喊，那位女士更是尖叫不止。原本四散的舞客，不問青紅皂白，也跟著嘶喊，有的飛步跑開，有人則站在一邊狂呼：「救命！救命！」
His shout set his woman friend to screaming. Without understanding what was happening, guests throughout the dance hall joined in the uproar. Some fled as quickly as they could; some stood to the side shouting with panic: “Help!