《Let There be Darkness》中的设定的收集（2）

【不知名的人形种族】

【不知名的人形种族的实力】

       The rasping sounds that issued from the creature's wide, lipless mouth seemed to Taggart ludicrously in contrast with the powerful thoughts that came to him through the Zarrian disc on his brow. Yet he did not smile, for he knew that this dwarfish being was the ambassador of a race whose mighty underground city on Titan, Saturn's greatest moon, was but the remote outpost of an empire that threaded its tendrils through many constellations.

       塔格特觉得，这只动物宽阔的嘴唇发出的刺耳的声音，与他额头上的扎里亚圆盘发出的强烈想法形成鲜明对比，显得滑稽可笑。然而，他没有笑，因为他知道这个侏儒是一个种族的大使，这个种族在土星最伟大的卫星泰坦上的强大地下城市只是一个帝国的偏远前哨，帝国的卷须穿过许多星座。

（不知名的人形种族统治了许多个行星系，不知名的人形种族在太阳系的土卫建立了前哨站。）

【不知名的人形种族的生理特征】

       A yellow, spiky-headed creature about three feet tall now stepped quickly forward and said, My race makes a simple and harmless request. We ask only the mineral rights to certain radioactive substances in the crust of the planet in question. Our mining operations would take place only in remote areas and would not disturb the world's present occupants. . . .

       一个大约三英尺高的黄色、长着尖刺的生物现在快步上前说：“我的种族提出了一个简单而无害的请求。”。我们只要求有关星球地壳中某些放射性物质的矿产权。我们的采矿作业将只在偏远地区进行，不会干扰世界上目前的居民。

【不知名的人形种族提出的关于地球的要求】

       A yellow, spiky-headed creature about three feet tall now stepped quickly forward and said, My race makes a simple and harmless request. We ask only the mineral rights to certain radioactive substances in the crust of the planet in question. Our mining operations would take place only in remote areas and would not disturb the world's present occupants. . . .

       一个大约三英尺高的黄色、长着尖刺的生物现在快步上前说：“我的种族提出了一个简单而无害的请求。”。我们只要求有关星球地壳中某些放射性物质的矿产权。我们的采矿作业将只在偏远地区进行，不会干扰世界上目前的居民。

【Galactic对不知名的人形种族的关于地球的要求的回复】

       NO, said the Galactic. THE NATIVE RACE HAS THE RIGHT TO ALL RESOURCES ON ITS OWN WORLD. I KNOW THAT YOUR RACE HAS ALREADY CARRIED ON EXTENSIVE MINING IN REMOTE LOCATIONS ON THAT GLOBE. HEREAFTER YOU MUST DESIST.

       不，Galactic说。土著民族有权拥有自己世界上的所有资源。我知道你的种族已经在地球上的偏远地区进行了大规模的采矿。此后你必须停止。

【米戈】

【米戈的实力】

1.     Taggart felt his tension subside somewhat as he listened. Things seemed more hopeful than he had dared to anticipate. He wondered briefly what sort of monstrous demand had been advanced by the lobster-fungoid creatures. Of all the races represented, they were the most alien of all, and perhaps the most powerful. Their link with the solar system was tenuous -- Taggart knew that they had established outposts on the dark, distant world men called Pluto and, like the spiky-headed Titanians, had undertaken secret mining operations in remote areas on the earth -- but their area of influence was far-reaching indeed, extending tenuously across countless light-millennia of space, embracing thousands of galaxies and perhaps even certain distant quasars. No race in the galaxy to which Earth belonged knew the origins of these creatures -- not even the mighty Zarr, who had conquered every world of the hundred billion suns comprising the galaxy which the astronomers of Taggart's world called the Andromeda Nebula. . . .

       塔格特听着，觉得自己的紧张情绪有所缓和。事情似乎比他想象的更有希望。他简短地想知道，龙虾类真菌生物提出了什么样的巨大需求。在所代表的所有种族中，他们是最异类的，也许也是最强大的。他们与太阳系的联系是脆弱的——塔加特知道他们在黑暗、遥远的世界上建立了前哨站，称为冥王星，并且像尖尖的泰坦人一样，在地球上的偏远地区进行了秘密采矿作业——但他们的影响范围确实是深远的，在无数光年的太空中微弱地延伸，包括数千个星系，甚至可能是某些遥远的类星体。在地球所属的银河系中，没有一个种族知道这些生物的起源，甚至连强大的Zarr都不知道，他征服了银河系中1000亿个太阳的每一个世界，塔加特世界的天文学家称之为仙女座星云。

（米戈可能是与Galactic谈判的几个种族当中最强大的一个种族，米戈在我们的宇宙中的影响极其深远，在我们的宇宙中，米戈可能已经占领了数千个星系，甚至可能占领了某些遥远的类星体。米戈在太阳系的冥王星建立了前哨站。）

2.     "Listen carefully, FitzRoy," said Pitts. "All your power is gone now, and when the Yuggoth-spawn are done with you there will be only your brain left, sealed alive in a metal canister. They have millions of such brains in their libraries on Yuggoth, just as we used to have books on earth; that is how they accumulate and store the knowledge of all the countless worlds they rule. They will carry your living mind out to Yuggoth, on the rim of the solar system, and put you on a shelf in their archives where you will sit and think and dream for a thousand years. Yes, a thousand years庸or the human brain can live a long, long time when it is not confined in an aging body. Do you want this to happen, FitzRoy?"

       “仔细听着，菲茨罗伊，”皮茨说。“你现在所有的力量都消失了，当 Yuggoth-spawn 消灭你时，只剩下你的大脑，活密封在一个金属罐里。他们在 Yuggoth 的图书馆里有数百万这样的大脑，就像我们过去一样在地球上有书；这就是他们积累和储存他们统治的所有无数世界的知识的方式。他们会把你活生生的思想带到太阳系边缘的 Yuggoth，然后把你放在他们档案馆的架子上你会坐下来思考和梦想一千年。是的，一千年或人类的大脑可以活很长很长的时间，而不是局限在衰老的身体里。你想要这发生吗，菲茨罗伊？”

【米戈的科技】

1.     Then he noticed groups of the Yuggoth-spawn emerging from the mangled steel gate, dragging the stiff bodies of men behind them. There were no signs of injury on any of the bodies. The lobster-like creatures were stacking them in low piles like cord-wood -- one pile of uniformed guards, another of white-smocked technicians, a third of black-coveralled Nazirites.

       "What are they doing?" said Taggart.

       "Collecting specimens. Those men aren't dead -- just paralyzed. Their brains will be sealed alive in canisters and sent to the archives on Yuggoth."

       More and more of the creatures were emerging from the huge, pyramidal building, each pair of them carrying a human burden to add to the piles. They seemed like great stalky crayfish carrying prey to their nests. Some of them gripped slender, silvery, pistol-like objects in their delicately-jointed claws.

       然后他注意到成群结队的犹格人后裔从破损的钢门中出现，拖着他们身后僵硬的人类尸体。任何尸体都没有受伤的迹象。那些长得像龙虾的生物像木头一样把它们堆成低矮的一堆——一堆穿制服的警卫，另一堆穿着白色工作服的技术人员，三分之一是穿着黑色工作服的纳粹分子。

       “他们在做什么？” 塔格特说。

       “收集标本。那些人并没有死——只是瘫痪了。他们的大脑将被活活密封在罐子里，然后送到 Yuggoth 的档案馆。”

       越来越多的生物从这座巨大的金字塔形建筑中出现，每一对都背负着人类的负担来增加堆积。它们看起来像巨大的带柄小龙虾，带着猎物回到它们的巢穴。他们中的一些人用关节精致的爪子抓住了细长的、银色的、手枪状的物体。

2.     Even as Pitts spoke a group of the Yuggoth-spawn emerged from the wide portal. They were pushing a nebulous sphere of transparent blue in front of them, and in the center of this sphere there hung, stiff and awkwardly posed, the body of a man. The creatures rolled the whole thing before them like a huge ball six feet in diameter.

       "They got him without the gas," said Pitts.

       Taggart started forward anxiously. "He's not dead -- ?"

       "No -- just paralyzed. The needle-ray got him. His force-screen couldn't block out radiant energy, just kinetic."

       就在 Pitts 说话的时候，一群 Yuggoth-spawn 从宽阔的门户中出现了。他们推着一个模糊的透明蓝色球体在他们面前，而在这个球体的中心，悬着一具僵硬而笨拙的男子尸体。这些生物把整个东西滚到他们面前，就像一个直径六英尺的大球。

       “他们在没有加油的情况下得到了他，”皮茨说。

       塔格特焦急地向前走去。“他没死——？”

       “不——只是瘫痪了。针状射线击中了他。他的力屏无法阻挡辐射能，只能阻挡动能。”

（由1、2可知，米戈有一种细长的、银色的、手枪状的武器，这种武器能够发射麻痹射线。）

3.     In its center, on a metal platform, rested a machine of curious intricacy whose main part consisted of a mirror-bright sphere about two feet in diameter inset with several glassy lenses and a short, antenna-like projection. Attached to this sphere was a small solar battery, and a complex, clicking device that seemed to be reeling in a fine filament of wire. The other end of the gleaming filament was coming from a second intricate machine, to which a squat cylinder of bright metal was attached.

在它的中心，在一个金属平台上，放着一台奇怪而复杂的机器，它的主要部分包括一个镜面般明亮的球体，直径约两英尺，镶嵌着几个玻璃透镜和一个短的天线状突起。附在这个球体上的是一个小型太阳能电池，以及一个复杂的、发出咔嗒声的装置，它似乎卷绕着一根细细的金属丝。闪闪发光的灯丝的另一端来自第二台复杂的机器，上面连接着一个由亮金属制成的矮圆筒。

4."I mean that I have taken away your humanity, and that I have made you immortal. There is no longer a single cell of your biological self left alive—but that does not matter, for your thoughts and perceptions live on and they will not pass the way of mortal flesh."

“我的意思是我夺走了你的人性，我让你永生。你的生物自我不再有一个细胞存活——但这没关系，因为你的思想和感知会继续存在，它们不会走凡人肉体之路。”

（由3、4可知，米戈拥有能将生物体的意识或灵魂（在洛夫克拉夫特的作品的设定中，灵魂是存在的。）转移到机器内的技术，虽然米戈早就拥有这种机械飞升的技术，但他们似乎并没有将自己转化为像Galactic那样的强大的机械种族。）

【米戈的生理特征】

       Taggart now regarded the fourth pair of creatures, wondering what demand or proposition they were about to make. Except for their nearly human size and their ciliated, spindle-shaped heads, they reminded him somewhat of reddish lobsters in configuration. They did not speak in any way that Taggart's thought-receptor could interpret, but their eyeless heads changed color in strange patterns, varying from bright orange to dull red. . . .

       塔加特现在看到了第四对生物，想知道它们会提出什么要求或主张。除了它们接近人类的体型和有纤毛的纺锤形头部外，它们让他想起了形态上的红色龙虾。他们并没有用塔格特的思想感受器所能解释的任何方式说话，但他们的无眼头部以奇怪的图案改变了颜色，从明亮的橙色到暗红色。

【Galactic对米戈的关于地球的要求的回复】

       NO, said the Galactic presently. YOUR REQUEST IS THE MOST IMPOSSIBLE TO GRANT OF ALL.

       “不，”Galactic马上说道。你的请求是最不可能答应的。

（这里作者省略了米戈提出的关于地球的要求，因为但凡读过《暗夜呢喃》的人都能猜到米戈的要求是什么——估计是想要抓走一些人类，然后将他们的大脑装进罐子里，从而研究人类这个种族。）

【米戈在本文中的行为】

1.     There was a metallic clash -- a shrill grating of rending steel -- and then the door crashed inward and hung crazily, shattered and half molten, on its hinges. Smoke billowed into the room.

       A man stood framed in the smoldering doorway, indistinct in the smoke and the dim blue aura that surrounded him. Behind him towered alien shapes that glared into the room with luminous eyes.

       FitzRoy snatched an automatic pistol from his black uniform. Twice it thundered deafeningly in that narrow room -- but the dark figures in the doorway did not waver. The man in the doorway deliberately raised his arm. . . .

       A blinding beam of blue-white light knifed the chamber -- a brief blast of heat and thunder filled the room. Then Judy heard FitzRoy shrieking, saw him writhing on the concrete floor clutching at the charred stump of his right arm. . . .

       "He's harmless," said the man in the doorway to someone behind him. "Take him if you want him."

       Judy froze in fear as two human-sized, lobster-like creatures with eyeless, spindle-shaped heads scuttled into the room. They fastened onto the shrieking FitzRoy with long, insectile appendages and began to drag his struggling, mutilated form across the floor. The man's charred arm-stump left a wide crimson streak as the unhuman things dragged him across the concrete and through the door into the corridor; Judy heard his screams fade away into the distance. . . .

       发出金属碰撞声——钢铁撕裂的刺耳格栅声——然后门向内坠落，疯狂地悬在铰链上，破碎了，半溶化了。浓烟滚滚进了房间。

       一个男人站在闷烧的门口，在浓烟和环绕他的暗蓝色光环中模糊不清。在他身后耸立着外星人的身影，它们用发光的眼睛瞪着房间。

       菲茨罗伊从他的黑色制服里掏出一把自动手枪。它在那间狭窄的房间里两次发出震耳欲聋的雷鸣声——但门口的黑影没有动摇。门口的男人故意抬起手臂。. . .

       一道耀眼的蓝白色光束划破了房间——一阵短暂的热浪和雷声充满了整个房间。然后朱蒂听到菲茨罗伊的尖叫声，看到他在水泥地上扭来扭去，抓着烧焦的右臂残端。. . .

       “他是无害的，”门口的男人对他身后的人说。“想要他就带上他。”

       当两个长着没有眼睛、长着纺锤形脑袋的人类大小、长得像龙虾的生物冲进房间时，朱蒂吓得呆住了。他们用长长的昆虫附肢固定在尖叫的 FitzRoy 身上，并开始将他挣扎、残缺不全的身体拖过地板。当非人的东西拖着他穿过水泥地，穿过门进入走廊时，那个人烧焦的手臂残肢留下了一道宽阔的深红色条纹；朱蒂听到他的尖叫声渐渐远去。. . .

2.     "Don't worry. The Yuggoth-spawn want everyone in this building alive -- it's evidently the nerve-center for a third of the world. Or was, rather. Come on -- we'll pump this place full of gas, then come back and pick up whoever's lying around. No sense in fighting fair and getting killed."

       “别担心。Yuggoth-spawn 希望这座建筑里的每个人都活着——它显然是世界三分之一的神经中枢。或者更确切地说，来吧——我们会把这个地方充满气，然后回来把躺在附近的人捡起来。公平战斗和被杀是没有意义的。”

3.     Then he noticed groups of the Yuggoth-spawn emerging from the mangled steel gate, dragging the stiff bodies of men behind them. There were no signs of injury on any of the bodies. The lobster-like creatures were stacking them in low piles like cord-wood -- one pile of uniformed guards, another of white-smocked technicians, a third of black-coveralled Nazirites.

       然后他注意到成群结队的犹格人后裔从破损的钢门中出现，拖着他们身后僵硬的人类尸体。任何尸体都没有受伤的迹象。那些长得像龙虾的生物像木头一样把它们堆成低矮的一堆——一堆穿制服的警卫，另一堆穿着白色工作服的技术人员，三分之一是穿着黑色工作服的纳粹分子。

（这些场面还挺喜感的。）

【人类】

【人类在宇宙中的地位】

       "The State!" Taggart tried to cover his fear with contempt, affecting a sneer. "I've seen races whose power would petrify your mind -- who could flick your State out of existence if they so chose, and at any moment. You -- me -- the human race -- what are we? Just a few insects crawling around on a ball of dirt! I tell you, there are powers outside that could char this entire planet to a black cinder -- powers that are just waiting for the word to destroy the entire human race --"

       “国家！” 塔格特试图用轻蔑来掩饰他的恐惧，假装冷笑。“我见过一些种族，他们的力量会让你的思想石化——如果他们愿意，他们可以在任何时候让你的国家不复存在。你——我——人类——我们是什么？只是少数几个昆虫在一团泥土上爬来爬去！我告诉你，外面有力量可以把整个星球烧成黑色的煤渣——这些力量正等着毁灭整个人类——”

       And everywhere there was power, unbelievable power, power beyond measure -- power that made the Earth seem a mere grain of microbe-inhabited dust, that revealed humanity as an ephemeral micro-phenomenon without true thought or will, that reduced the State to utter, absurd meaninglessness. . . .

       到处都有力量，令人难以置信的力量，无法衡量的力量——这种力量使地球看起来只是一粒微生物栖息的尘埃，它揭示了人类是一种没有真正思想或意志的短暂微现象，它使国家沦为，荒谬的无意义。. . .

【人类的国家的局势】

       "May I ask a question without getting stung?"

       "By all means," said FitzRoy. "I need to learn just how far your alienation -- or whatever it is -- extends. Ask whatever you like."

       "What is Pan-Occidentia? And with whom is it at war?"

       "Pan-Occidentia," replied FitzRoy like an adult humoring a child, "or more correctly the Pan-Occident Christian Empire, is the world's greatest political unit. It is benevolently directed by the Nationalist Evangelical Party and includes all the Western Hemisphere, Europe to the Urals, South Africa, Australia, and this island which used to be called England. We are at war with the Pan-Islamic Empire, called Pan-Islamica, which is under the oppressive control of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, led by the Imam Abu Akbar. They rule the Middle East, the Balkans, northern and central Africa, the northwest quadrant of the Indian subcontinent, and Indonesia."

       "Are there no other countries?"

       "There is our ally, the Nichiren-Chan Empire of China. They rule over the whole of eastern Asia, including Siberia, Japan, Indochina, and the rest of India."

       "Is that all?"

       "A few island nations in the Pacific, not worthy of our attention -- yet. For now there are only three huge oligarchies ruling the entire world -- and in a few years, after we conquer Pan-Islamica, there will be only two. Then we will turn our attention to the Nichirens, and once they have been destroyed only Pan-Occidentia will remain, ruled by the Nationalist Evangelical Party, supreme and omnipotent."

       "How long has Pan-Occidentia existed?"

       "Almost ninety years, but our roots go back to shortly after the end of the nuclear war in the early seventies, when the Nationalist Evangelical Party was formed by Brother Falwehl. They took power in the old United States during the late seventies; by the late nineties they had extended their dominion over all the old Christian nations. The Pan-Occident Christian Empire was formally created in 2000. Our mission is now to evangelize the rest of the world, and we are close to achieving part of our goal; Pan-Islamica is ready to fall any day now."

       "Then why do they continue their missile attacks?"

       "The last desperate act of a dying man often is defiance, but that doesn't matter. They are still using out-dated SCRAMs -- 'Self-navigating Continental RAnge Missiles' -- whereas we have developed several new weapons that are faster, stealthier, more accurate, and have deadlier payloads. We launch dozens of them every day, targeting their major cities. It is only a matter of time before they surrender."

       "Why not simply negotiate with them, come to an understanding, make peace?"

       "How could we?" FitzRoy replied matter-of-factly, as if he were discussing a sporting event. "The rulers of Pan-Islamica divide the world into the 'Realm of Islam' and the 'realm of war'; they have declared there can be no peace until they have forced their apostasy onto the rest of the world. Besides, they are infidels, and it is the duty of the Righteous to crush the ungodly."

       “我可以问一个问题而不被蜇吗？”

       “无论如何，”菲茨罗伊说。“我需要了解你的疏远——或者不管它是什么——延伸到什么程度。你想问什么就问什么。”

       “什么是泛西方？它与谁交战？”

       “泛西帝国，”菲茨罗伊回答，就像一个大人在哄孩子，“或者更准确地说是泛西基督教帝国，是世界上最大的政治单位。它由民族主义福音派仁慈地领导，包括整个西半球、欧洲乌拉尔、南非、澳大利亚和这个曾经被称为英格兰的岛屿伊玛目阿布阿克巴尔。他们统治着中东、巴尔干半岛、非洲北部和中部、印度次大陆的西北象限和印度尼西亚。”

       “没有其他国家吗？”

       “我们的盟友是中国的日莲帝国。他们统治着整个东亚，包括西伯利亚、日本、印度支那和印度其他地区。”

       “这就是全部？”

       “太平洋上的几个岛国，还不值得我们关注——目前只有三个巨大的寡头统治着整个世界——几年后，在我们征服泛伊斯兰之后，将只有两个. 然后我们将把注意力转向日莲，一旦他们被摧毁，就只剩下泛西方，由民族主义福音党统治，至高无上，无所不能。”

       “泛西方存在多久了？”

       “将近九十年，但我们的根源可以追溯到七十年代初期核战争结束后不久，当时民族主义福音派党由 Falwehl 弟兄成立。他们在七十年代后期在旧美国掌权；到九十年代后期，他们已经把自己的统治范围扩大到所有的旧基督教国家。泛西基督教帝国于2000年正式成立。我们现在的使命是向世界其他地区传福音，我们接近实现我们的部分目标；泛-Islamica 现在随时准备垮台。”

       “那他们为什么还要继续导弹袭击？”

       “一个垂死的人最后的绝望行为往往是反抗，但这并不重要。他们仍在使用过时的 SCRAM——‘自主导航大陆射程导弹’——而我们已经开发出几种速度更快的新武器，更隐蔽，更准确，并且具有更致命的有效载荷。我们每天发射数十个，目标是他们的主要城市。他们投降只是时间问题。”

       “为什么不简单地与他们谈判，达成谅解，实现和平呢？”

       “我们怎么可能？” 菲茨罗伊就事论事地回答，就好像他在讨论一项体育赛事一样。“泛伊斯兰的统治者将世界划分为‘伊斯兰王国’和‘战争王国’；他们宣称，除非他们将叛教强加于世界其他地区，否则就没有和平。此外，他们是异教徒，正义者的职责是粉碎不敬虔的人。”

【人类的折磨机器】

1.The white-coated man bent over Taggart and placed little white disks with wires attached to them on his temples, the base of his throat, and his wrists. He also attached something cold and metallic to the back of his neck, then turned away and walked out of the room.

穿白大衣的人弯下腰，在塔格特的太阳穴、喉咙根部和手腕上放上连着电线的白色小圆盘。他又在脖子后面系了一个冰冷的金属一样的东西，然后转身走出了房间。

2.FitzRoy's expression hardened slightly. He reached out and twisted a small dial on a nearby electrical machine. Taggart felt a tingling sensation at the base of his skull; then violent pain shot through his entire body. It was as though someone were holding lighted matches to all his nerve endings. He gasped and clenched his teeth reflexively, fighting to hold back the scream that wanted to burst forth. Then FitzRoy turned back the dial and the pain subsided abruptly. Taggart would never have believed that such pain was possible had he not just experienced it. He suspected FitzRoy was using electroshock on him, but it did not feel like it, and his body had not reacted like it. Though he had tensed, there was not the spasmodic contraction that accompanied electrical shock, nor any burning sensation where the electrode was attached to his skin.

菲茨罗伊的表情微微凝重。他伸出手，转动附近一台电机上的小表盘。塔格特感到头骨底部一阵刺痛。然后剧烈的疼痛传遍了他的全身。就好像有人用点燃的火柴点燃了他所有的神经末梢。他倒抽一口凉气，反射性地咬紧牙关，强忍着想要爆发的惨叫。然后 FitzRoy 转回表盘，疼痛突然消退。如果塔格特不是亲身经历过，他永远不会相信会发生这样的痛苦。他怀疑菲茨罗伊对他用的是电击，但感觉不像，他的身体也没有这样的反应。尽管他很紧张，但并没有电击带来的痉挛性收缩，也没有电极贴在皮肤上的烧灼感。

3.     "Above all, you must not lie," FitzRoy continued. "I can always tell when you are lying -- and you have had a small sample of what can happen should you displease me. I can stimulate the pain center of your brain. It is safer than using electroshock, and causes no short-term physical damage. Because of that, I may apply Pain as often and as long as I wish to. You would do well to keep that in mind."

       “最重要的是，你不能撒谎，”菲茨罗伊继续说道。“我总能知道你什么时候在撒谎——你已经掌握了一小部分如果你让我不高兴会发生什么。我可以刺激你大脑的疼痛中枢。这比使用电击更安全，而且不会造成短期伤害物理伤害。正因为如此，我可以尽可能频繁地施加痛苦，只要我愿意。你最好记住这一点。”

【人类的结局】

       Taggart sighed and sat down on a fallen telephone pole. His leg was throbbing painfully. "What about the rest of the world?" he asked.

       "Finished!" Pitts grinned tightly and rubbed his thin fingers together. "For the last few hours tornadoes have been raging over the entire surface of the planet. Every city is like this. Civilization has been destroyed."

A sudden chill swept through Taggart's entire body. When it had passed, he cried out:

       "But that's impossible! You couldn't have killed everyone -- you didn't. There must be a city left somewhere --"

       "Not a chance."

       "Was London destroyed?"

       "Yes," said Pitts. "That was one of the first cities we hit."

       "What about Paris?"

       "Churned to rubble -- like this place."

       "Chicago? New York?"

       "They're gone, too."

       "Washington D.C.?"

       "Gone."

       "San Francisco? Los Angeles? Phoenix?"

       "Gone -- all gone. On all the earth I doubt there's a city left with a population over ten thousand. And this is only the beginning. We'll destroy the survivors, too. And then --"

       "Yes -- what then?" cried Taggart, trying to rise. "What will we do then, you crazy fool? What will we do -- just you and me and maybe a half-dozen other favored, pet specimens of the Zarr? Yes, you've finally achieved what you always dreamed of -- the destruction of the human race -- but what do we have to live for now -- ?"

"I told you this was only the beginning." Pitts's face was hard and grim. "The Zarr are learning the secrets of time as well as of space, and will soon be extending their conquests along that dimension, also. Yes, the human race has just about reached its end -- but there are still many thousands of years of human history to attend to!"

Taggart felt the chill return, stronger than before. "You can't be serious --"

       "But I am. The human race is gone, but it should never have been in the first place -- and, if it is ever in my power, I shall correct that situation, also."

       "But why? . . ."

       Taggart stopped even as the question formed in his mind. A hundred times he had asked Pitts why he hated the human race so fanatically. Now, as he glanced up at the looming, bomb-proof ziggurat of the Department of Persuasion, he felt that he could understand. Once again he read the words set deep in the concrete above the steel door:

       THOU SHALT FEAR GOD

       THOU SHALT HATE THY NEIGHBOR

       THOU SHALT OBEY OUR FATHER IN ALL THINGS

       "But why must they all die?" he asked. "Why not just the State? Why not just the tyrants, the despots, the bullies who are in power and use that power to inflict pain and slavery on others -- ?"

       "Because they are all the same," said Pitts. "No matter who is in power, it is always the same. Six thousand years of recorded history have proven that."

Taggart looked at the ground in silence. He could think of no answer. He was wounded and tired and he had not slept for days. Yet, he had to think. Pitts was partly right -- history was full of men who had used power to crush and debase others in every way imaginable, and their influence down the centuries had finally culminated in the Pan-Occidentia state. But had it really been as inevitable as Pitts claimed? And if the Zarr were actually to master time as well as space, why could not the history of the human race be changed to avoid this fate rather than wiped out utterly? . . .

His weariness suddenly increased tenfold as he realized the magnitude of the task he faced -- the greatest task, perhaps, that had ever confronted any human being. If the human race was to be saved now, he would have to do it.

       "Pitts," he said, "there is a better way."

Pitts shook his head. "It's no good -- I've thought of it, too. We can rearrange history all we want, but the outcome is inevitable."

       "I can't accept that. History isn't predetermined; it's course is contingent, determined by choices and events which have multiple outcomes. It's just a matter of going back and making choices or influencing events so that they produce the right outcomes."

       "How?" Pitts asked quietly. "There are nearly an infinite number of possible outcomes, most of which would produce the same results. How could you possibly find the vanishing few rare outcomes that would make even a tiny difference?"

       "There's got to be a way we can do it," Taggart replied stubbornly, "no matter how fantastically hopeless it is. This world cannot be inevitable."

       "You don't understand," Pitts replied with grim patience. "The Pan-Occidental Christian Empire isn't inevitable, but some despotic government is. This world could just as easily have been a neo-Nazi state, or a Bolshevik state, or even one patterned after Orwell's Oceania in 1984."

       "But if the outcomes are nearly infinite, then a just and free society must be possible."

       Again, Pitts shook his head. "You still don't understand. The laws of the universe would never permit it, as long as even the possibility of certain things remains inherent within those laws. As long as the universe is the way it is, despotism will be the rule, not the exception. Because of that no time stream leading to an 'enlightened' world would be viable; because of that we would need to destroy every time stream that leads to the human race, not just this one. Perhaps, ultimately, even the universe and the laws that govern it shall have to be destroyed!"

       "You must be insane to even talk of such possibilities -- unless you know far more of the Zarr and their potentialities than I can even suspect. What you're saying is that you'll slay God if you can! Don't you see, Pitts, that if you succeed in destroying human history, you will destroy yourself as well?"

       "What of that?" For an instant Taggart sensed behind Pitts' tense features a weariness even greater than his own. "If the laws of the universe cannot be changed, then better to have never lived in it. Better that there be no universe at all! Yes, you are right -- I have told you little about the Zarr, for they themselves are only the pawns of tremendously more powerful beings whose ultimate goals they can but dimly understand. As the Zarr grow in power, their masters give them more and more knowledge. Next it will be time-travel, so that they can better fight the Galactics, who have already been given this knowledge by their masters. Already I have learned things about the ultimate source of all power, and that it is possible to move closer and closer to that source. . . ."

       "So you would be God, then," said Taggart, "and re-establish this world with laws of your own, with every being living or dying by those laws! What will your world be like, Pitts? Do you really think you can make it fundamentally better than this one? Can you have pleasure without pain, joy without sorrow, good without evil? . . ."

       "If ever I am God," said Pitts, his eyes suddenly flaming with a mad light, "my first words shall be: Let there be Darkness!"

       塔格特叹了口气，坐在倒塌的电线杆上。他的腿在抽痛。“那世界其他地方呢？” 他问。

       “完成的！” 皮茨咧嘴一笑，细细的手指揉在一起。“最近几个小时，龙卷风席卷了整个星球表面，每座城市都是如此，文明已被毁灭。”

       一股突如其来的寒意席卷了塔格特的全身。当它过去时，他喊道：

       “但那是不可能的！你不可能杀死所有人——你没有。一定有一座城市留在某处——”

       “没有机会。”

       “伦敦被摧毁了吗？”

       “是的，”皮茨说。“那是我们袭击的第一批城市之一。”

       “巴黎呢？”

       “被搅成瓦砾——就像这个地方。”

       “芝加哥？纽约？”

       “他们也走了。”

       “华盛顿特区？”

       “走了。”

       “旧金山？洛杉矶？凤凰城？”

       “没了——全没了。我怀疑整个地球上还有一座人口超过一万的城市。而这只是开始。我们也会消灭幸存者。然后——”

       “是的——然后呢？” 塔格特叫道，想站起来。“那我们该怎么办，你这个疯子？我们该怎么办——就你和我，也许还有六个其他受宠的Zarr宠物标本？是的，你终于实现了你一直梦想的——人类的毁灭——但我们现在为了什么而活——？”

       “我告诉过你这只是开始。” 皮茨的脸色严峻而严峻。“Zarr 正在学习时间和空间的秘密，并且很快也会沿着那个维度扩展他们的征服。是的，人类种族即将走到尽头——但仍有数千年的历史人类历史值得关注！”

       塔格特感到寒意又回来了，比以前更强烈。“你不可能是认真的——”

       “但我是。人类已经消失了，但它从一开始就不应该出现——而且，如果它在我的权力范围内，我也会纠正这种情况。”

       “可是为什么？ ……”

       塔格特在脑海中形成这个问题时就停了下来。他曾一百次问过皮茨，为什么他如此狂热地憎恨人类。现在，当他抬头瞥了一眼说服部隐约可见的防弹金字塔时，他觉得自己可以理解了。他又一次读到了钢门上方混凝土深处的文字：

       你要敬畏上帝

       你要恨你的邻舍

       你要凡事顺服我们的父

       “但为什么他们都得死？” 他问。“为什么不只是国家？为什么不只是那些掌权的暴君、暴君、恶霸，他们利用这种权力对他人造成痛苦和奴役——？”

       “因为它们都是一样的，”皮茨说。“无论谁当政，都是一样的，六千年的历史已经证明了这一点。”

塔格特静静地看着地面。他想不出答案。他又伤又累，好几天没睡了。然而，他不得不思考。皮茨只说对了一部分——历史上到处都是用权力以各种可以想象的方式压制和贬低他人的人，他们几个世纪以来的影响最终在泛西方国家中达到顶峰。但它真的像皮茨声称的那样不可避免吗？如果Zarr真的掌握了时间和空间，为什么人类的历史不能被改变以避免这种命运而不是被彻底消灭呢？. . .

当他意识到他所面临的任务的艰巨性时，他的疲倦突然增加了十倍——这也许是任何人曾经遇到过的最艰巨的任务。如果现在要拯救人类，他就必须这样做。

       “皮茨，”他说，“有更好的办法。”

皮茨摇摇头。“这可不行——我也想过。我们可以随心所欲地重新安排历史，但结果是不可避免的。”

       “我不能接受这一点。历史不是预先确定的；它的过程是偶然的，由具有多种结果的选择和事件决定。这只是回过头来做出选择或影响事件以产生正确结果的问题。 “

       “如何？” 皮茨小声问道。“几乎有无数种可能的结果，其中大部分会产生相同的结果。你怎么可能找到消失的少数罕见结果，即使是微小的差异？”

       “我们必须有办法做到这一点，”塔格特固执地回答，“不管它多么绝望。这个世界不可能是不可避免的。”

       “你不明白，”皮茨极其耐心地回答。“泛西方基督教帝国并非不可避免，但一些专制政府是。这个世界很可能是一个新纳粹国家，或者一个布尔什维克国家，甚至是一个效仿奥威尔1984 年大洋洲的国家。”

       “但如果结果几乎是无限的，那么公正和自由的社会一定是可能的。”

       皮茨再次摇头。“你还是不懂，宇宙法则永远不允许，只要某些事情的可能性还在法则之内。只要宇宙是这个样子，专制就是规则，不是例外。正因为如此，没有任何通往“开明”世界的时间流是可行的；因此，我们需要摧毁通往人类的每一条时间流，而不仅仅是这个。也许，最终，甚至宇宙和支配它的法则必须被摧毁！”

       “你一定是疯了，甚至谈论这种可能性——除非你对Zarr和他们的潜力的了解比我想象的要多得多。你的意思是，如果可以的话，你会杀死上帝！难道你皮茨，你看，如果你成功地摧毁了人类历史，你也会毁灭自己吗？”

       “那是什么？” 有那么一瞬间，塔格特感觉到皮茨紧张的表情背后有一种比他自己还要疲惫的表情。“如果宇宙的法则无法改变，那还不如从未在其中生活过。最好根本就没有宇宙！是的，你是对的——我没有告诉你关于Zarr的事，因为它们本身只是他们是非常强大的生物的棋子，他们的最终目标他们只能模模糊糊地理解。随着Zarr力量的增长，他们的主人给他们越来越多的知识。接下来将是时间旅行，这样他们就可以更好地与Galactic作战，他们他们的主人已经传授了这方面的知识。我已经了解了所有力量的最终来源，并且有可能越来越接近那个来源......”

       “那么，你就是上帝，”塔格特说，“用你自己的法则重建这个世界，每个生者或死者都遵守这些法则！你的世界会是什么样子，皮茨？你真的认为你能让它从根本上比这个更好吗？你能有快乐没有痛苦，快乐没有悲伤，善没有恶吗？……”

       “如果我是上帝，”皮茨说，他的眼睛突然燃烧着疯狂的光芒，“我的第一句话就是： 让黑暗来吧！”

（Zarrian的气象武器只用了几个小时就摧毁了人类文明，由上文可知，Zarrian为了防止地球的生态环境受到严重破坏，最大程度地保持地球的价值，所以才使用气象武器来摧毁人类文明。之后Zarrian将会通过时间旅行，摧毁该时间线上的人类的起源，让人类彻底从该时间线上消失，同时也会摧毁通向人类的每一条时间流。由于对时间线的干涉会产生无数种可能的结果，难以预测最终产生的那一个结果是什么，所以拥有时间旅行技术的Zarrian几乎无法拯救人类这个堕落的种族，只能将其灭绝。）

【《Let There be Darkness》的节选】

1.     I SEE A PICTURE IN YOUR MIND, said the Galactic, BUT IT IS COLORED WITH STRONG AND ADVERSE EMOTIONS.

       Pitts's fists clenched at his sides and he trembled visibly, yet his voice was even and dispassionate as he continued, "The human race has several thousand years of recorded history. I sense you are not familiar with that history, but I will not attempt to detail it. I will say only that the last century has seen three global wars, each more widespread and destructive than the last. The most recent was fought with nuclear weapons and destroyed nearly a billion people -- over a fifth of the earth's population."

       Taggart started. He wondered how Pitts could present such precise data. For his own part, the post-atomic days had been a wild, chaotic struggle for survival -- until he had been miraculously rescued from that chaos by the Zarr. Had Pitts been instrumental in that rescue? Taggart more than suspected so. He had known Pitts before, during those far-off years when universities and other centers of learning had existed on earth. While Taggart had engaged himself in the study of the human mind in an effort to unravel the strange curse that seemed to forever bar mankind from any genuine happiness or fulfillment, Pitts's estrangement had taken the form of an intense study of geology, evolution, and especially astronomy -- subjects seemingly chosen for the purpose of keeping humanity at a comfortable distance. Finally there had come the time when Pitts had vanished into the vast, forested Canadian wilderness for a purpose never openly stated -- and, when after many years he and Taggart met once again, it had been under very strange conditions. . . .

       "The next war will probably ruin the planet," Pitts was saying. "Now, I propose this: since the human race is bound to annihilate itself sooner or later, let us wipe them out ourselves, now -- with weapons that will leave the planet itself unspoiled. Thus the world will be saved for more deserving races to utilize."

       YOUR ASSUMPTIONS STAND UNSUPPORTED, said the Galactic. THIS LAST WAR MAY BE THE TURNING POINT AT WHICH YOUR RACE WILL MATURE. I CANNOT CONDONE INTERFERENCE -- IF THE FATE OF YOUR RACE IS SELF-ANNIHILATION, THEN IT MUST COME NATURALLY, OF ITS OWN ACCORD.

       "Even if we know their self-destruction is inevitable?" said Pitts.

       WE DO NOT KNOW THAT SUCH IS THE CASE. IF WE DID, WE COULD POSSIBLY GRANT YOUR REQUESTS.

       I submit that you have not studied the planet in question, said one of the Zarrians.

       TRUE. WE HAVE MILLIONS OF MORE IMPORTANT WORLDS TO OBSERVE WITHIN OUR GALAXY -- WORLDS WHOSE RACES HAVE REACHED A CERTAIN MATURITY OF CONSCIOUSNESS AND TECHNOLOGY THAT QUALIFY THEM TO RECEIVE OUR ATTENTION.

       Then I suggest you allow us to gather detailed data on this planet, said the Zarrian. We are willing to undertake the task ourselves. If we can prove that the native race will never reach maturity -- that it is inherently suicidal -- then perhaps you will not interfere in what we intend to undertake in any case.

       The Galactic stood silent, unperturbed. Presently it said, YOUR DATA MUST BE GATHERED IN SUCH A WAY THAT YOU DO NOT INTERFERE WITH THE PLANET'S INHABITANTS OR EVEN LET THEM KNOW OF YOUR EXISTENCE.

       "I'll gather the data," said Pitts. "I can pass unnoticed on the planet."

       YOUR EMOTIONS ARE BIASED, said the Galactic. YOUR RESEARCHES WOULD BE USELESS. MOREOVER, EVERY RACE REPRESENTED HERE HAS A STAKE IN THE ISSUE AND THEREFORE CANNOT BE IMPARTIAL.

       Taggart knew it was time for him to act. He clutched his briefcase nervously and stepped forward. "I'll do it," he said.

The Galactic's cold, burning eyes were on him now and he found it hard to face their emotionless, indifferent glow. The eyes of all the other beings were on him, too -- the huge black orbs of the brown tentacled spheroids, the dark almond slits of the yellow Titanians, the round expressionless eyes of the Zarrians and -- not least disturbing -- the glittering blue eyes of Pitts glaring distortedly through the thick lenses of his dark-rimmed spectacles. Even the fungoid-lobster creatures seemed to watch him in some visionless manner, the short cilia on their convoluted, spindle-shaped heads vibrating strangely.

       "I may be biased in my own way," Taggart continued uneasily. "I suppose every intelligent creature is biased somehow -- but I think I can separate fact from opinion reasonably well. I don't think humanity is inevitably doomed, as Pitts and these others claim. I'd like to undertake the proposed operation -- for my own interest primarily -- and if it seems to me that mankind is hopeless, I'll try not to suppress it or gloss it over in any way."

       YOU ARE A STUDENT OF THE MIND OF YOUR RACE, stated the Galactic.

       "Yes," said Taggart -- startled, as always, by the unnatural objectivity and percipience of these unhuman beings. "I was an experimental psychologist before the nuclear war. Perhaps that's one reason the Zarr chose me as one of their human representatives. I realize that most of the history of our race has been only a blind, senseless floundering in darkness, with cruelty the main diversion to our boredom -- yet, I feel that in our last century a light was dawning that would have set our race on the path of a rational and yet compassionate awareness. There were humans who were daring every path into the darkness of their own minds -- people like Jung, Horney, Perls, Fromm, Masolw, Wilson, Laing, Janov, Frankl, and a thousand more -- humans reaching out for a truth by which to live no matter how great the agony or how high the cost. And I think they were on the brink of a great discovery that would have transformed our race into a higher order of being -- but for the nuclear war which came to shatter their dreams. . . ."

       Taggart could not go on. His voice faltered, and he felt the unaccustomed sting of tears In his eyes. How many years had it been since he had allowed himself a single tear? . . .

       YOU HAVE STUDIED THE MENTALITY AND MOTIVATIONS OF YOUR RACE, said the Galactic, AND YOU ARE REASONABLY OBJECTIVE. THAT IS GOOD. YOURS IS THE ONLY MIND PRESENT THAT IS QUALIFIED TO CARRY OUT THE INVESTIGATION THAT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED. ANY SUCH PROJECT MUST BE UNDER YOUR DIRECTION, WITH NO INTERFERENCE. IF THE ZARR AGREE, I DESIGNATE YOU TO GO TO THE PLANET IN QUESTION AND OBSERVE AND EVALUATE THE SITUATION THERE. WRITTEN RECORDS WILL NOT BE NECESSARY: WHEN YOU RETURN, I WILL DRAW SUCH INFORMATION AS I NEED FROM YOUR MIND, EVEN SUCH DETAILS AS YOU MAY FORGET. The Galactic then turned to the rest of the group and said, YOU HAVE HEARD MY JUDGEMENT; ACCEPT OR REJECT IT NOW, AND GO YOUR WAY.

       To Taggart's surprise one of the Zarrians announced, We accept the .judgement.

       And, even more surprising, he heard Pitts's human voice saying, "Fair enough!"

       Then, without another thought, the Galactic turned and strode away into the luminous vastness, receding gradually into the horizon-vast distances of the Hall of the Galaxy, till at last it was lost from sight in the titanic, golden-lit expanse.

       “我在你的脑海中看到了一张照片，”Galactic说，“但它充满了强烈而负面的情绪。”。

       皮茨的拳头紧握在他的两侧，他明显地颤抖着，但他继续说下去时，他的声音是平和而冷静的，“人类有几千年的历史记录。我觉得你不熟悉这段历史，但我不会试图详细描述它。我只想说，上个世纪发生了三次全球战争，每一次都比上一次更广泛、更具破坏性。最近一次是用核武器进行的战争，摧毁了近10亿人——超过地球人口的五分之一。”

       塔加特开始了。他想知道皮茨怎么能提供如此精确的数据。就他自己而言，原子弹后的日子是一场疯狂的、混乱的生存斗争——直到他奇迹般地被Zarr从混乱中解救出来。皮茨在这次救援中发挥了作用吗？塔格特对此深信不疑。他以前认识皮茨，那是在地球上大学和其他学术中心存在的遥远年代。虽然塔格特致力于对人类心灵的研究，试图解开似乎永远阻碍人类获得真正幸福或成就的奇怪诅咒，但皮茨的疏远表现为对地质学、进化论，尤其是天文学的深入研究——这些学科似乎是为了让人类保持舒适距离而选择的。终于有一天，皮茨为了一个从未公开表示过的目的，消失在加拿大广阔的森林荒野中。多年后，他和塔加特再次相遇，当时的情况非常奇怪。

       “下一场战争可能会毁灭这个星球，”皮茨说。“现在，我提出这样的建议：既然人类迟早会毁灭自己，那么让我们自己消灭他们吧，现在就用能让地球不受破坏的武器。这样，世界将被拯救，让更多值得利用的种族来利用。”

       “你的假设站不住脚，”Galactic说。这场最后的战争可能是你的种族走向成熟的转折点。我不能容忍干涉——如果你们种族的命运是自我毁灭，那么它必然会自然而然地到来。

       “即使我们知道他们的自我毁灭是不可避免的？”皮茨说。

       我们不知道情况是这样的。如果我们做到了，我们可能会答应你的请求。

       “我认为你没有研究过这个星球，”一位扎里亚人说。

       符合事实的在我们的银河系中，我们有数百万个更重要的世界需要观察，这些世界的种族已经达到了某种意识和技术的成熟程度，使他们有资格受到我们的关注。

       “那么我建议你允许我们收集关于这个星球的详细数据，”扎里安说。我们愿意自己承担这项任务。如果我们能证明土著民族永远不会成熟——它天生就是自杀性的——那么也许你在任何情况下都不会干涉我们打算做的事情。

       Galactic静静地站着，不受干扰。目前它说，你的数据必须以这样一种方式收集，即你不会干扰行星的不稳定性，甚至不会让他们知道你的存在。

       “我会收集数据，”皮茨说。“我可以在这个星球上不被注意到。”

       “你的情绪是有偏见的，”Galactic说。你的研究将毫无用处。此外，这里代表的每一个种族都与这个问题有利害关系，因此不能不偏不倚。

       塔加特知道他该行动了。他紧张地抓住公文包，走上前去。“我会做的，”他说。

       Galactic冰冷、灼热的目光现在盯着他，他发现很难面对他们毫无感情、冷漠的光芒。所有其他人的眼睛也都盯着他——棕色触手球体的巨大黑色球体，黄色泰坦人的深杏仁状狭缝，扎里亚人的圆溜溜的眼睛，还有——最令人不安的——皮茨那双闪闪发光的蓝眼睛，透过他黑边眼镜的厚镜片扭曲地瞪着。即使是蕈状的龙虾生物也似乎以某种看不见的方式注视着他，它们卷曲的纺锤形头部上的短纤毛奇怪地振动着。

       “我可能有自己的偏见，”塔加特不安地继续说道。“我想，每一个聪明的生物都有某种偏见——但我认为我可以很好地将事实与观点区分开来。我不认为人类不可避免地会灭亡，正如皮茨和其他人所声称的那样。我想采取拟议的行动——主要是为了我自己的利益——如果我觉得人类是无望的，我会尽量不压制它或以任何方式掩盖它。”

       “你是你种族思想的学生，”Galactic说。

       “是的，”塔格特说——一如既往地，被这些非人的不自然的客观性和洞察力所震惊。“在核战争之前，我是一名实验心理学家。也许这就是Zarr选择我作为他们的人类代表之一的原因之一。我意识到，我们种族的大部分历史都只是在黑暗中盲目、无意义地挣扎，残酷是我们无聊的主要消遣。然而，我觉得，在我们的上个世纪，曙光初现，我们的种族将走上理性而富有同情心的意识。有人敢于走上每一条通向自己内心黑暗的道路——比如荣格、霍尼、佩尔、弗洛姆、马索尔、威尔逊、莱因、贾诺夫、弗兰克尔，还有一千多人——无论痛苦有多大，代价有多高，人类都在寻求一种生存的真理。我认为，如果不是核战争粉碎了他们的梦想，他们正处于一项伟大发现的边缘，这项发现将把我们的种族转变为更高的生存秩序。"

       塔加特说不下去了。他的声音支支吾吾，他感到眼泪在眼睛里刺痛着他。他有多少年没有允许自己流泪了。

       “你已经研究了你种族的心理和动机，”Galactic说，“你是合理的目标。”。这很好。你是在场的唯一有资格进行所建议调查的人。任何此类项目都必须在您的指导下进行，不受任何干扰。如果ZARR同意，我指定你前往该行星，观察并评估那里的情况。不需要书面记录：当你回来时，我会从你的脑海中提取我需要的信息，甚至是你可能忘记的细节。Galactic然后转向其他人说：“你听到了我的判断；现在就接受或拒绝它，走自己的路。

       令塔加特惊讶的是，一位扎里人宣布：我们接受判决。

       更令人惊讶的是，他听到皮茨的人声说：“够公平了！”

       然后，Galactic不假思索地转过身，大步走向明亮的浩瀚，逐渐退到Galactic大厅广阔的地平线上，直到最后它消失在巨大的、金光闪闪的广阔天地中。

2.     Strange visions coalescing into being in the black immensities of space . . . clouds of glowing stars pinwheeling against an infinitely vast sable backdrop . . . inhuman blue giants with high, domed heads striding powerfully down tremendous corridors of blue steel . . . and somewhere, far out beyond intergalactic spaces, an entire planet covered with black, living slime, endlessly circling a huge blue sun, sending imperious thought-commands of incredible power across the stupendous gulfs. . . .

       奇怪的景象在漆黑的浩瀚太空中汇聚成存在。. . 发光的星星云在无限广阔的黑褐色背景下旋转。. . 非人的蓝色巨人长着高高的圆顶脑袋，有力地大步走在巨大的蓝钢走廊上。. . 在遥远的星际空间之外的某个地方，整个星球上覆盖着黑色的、有生命的粘液，无休止地围绕着一个巨大的蓝色太阳旋转，向巨大的海湾发送具有不可思议力量的专横思想命令。. . .

（这段致敬了《索拉里斯星》）

3.     Footsteps sounded in the passage. Taggart bent quickly, unclasped the force-belt that circled the dead girl's waist, slid it from under her, and buckled it on. Then he turned to face the sound -- and saw a group of strange beings approaching him. Some of them were dwarfish, spiky-headed Titanians, the rest lobster-like creatures with multi-hued, fungoid, spindle-shaped heads. All wore force-belts like his own and clutched a variety of strange weapons.

       脚步声在通道中响起。塔格特迅速弯下腰，解开缠在死去女孩腰上的力带，将它从她身下滑下，扣上。然后他转身面对声音——看到一群奇怪的生物正在接近他。其中一些是矮小的、尖头的泰坦尼亚人，其余的像龙虾一样的生物有多种颜色、蘑菇状、纺锤形的头。所有人都像他自己一样系着力带，手里拿着各种奇怪的武器。

（这个场面多少有点生艹。）

【说明】

《Let There be Darkness》的作者为Richard L. Tierney和Kevin L. O'Brien。

原文网址

https://www.epberglund.com/RGttCM/nightscapes/NS16/ns16fic16a.htm