經典科幻文學:《生命 宇宙及一切》第18章6

You may go, said Agrajag, after I have killed you.
No, that won’t be any use, explained Arthur, beginning to climb up the hard stone incline of his carved slipper, because I have to save the Universe, you see. I have to find a Silver Bail, that’s the point. Tricky thing to do dead.
Save the Universe! spat Agrajag with contempt. You should have thought of that before you started your vendetta against me! What about the time you were on Stavromula Beta and someone…
I’ve never been there, said Arthur.
–…tried to assassinate you and you ducked. Who do you think the bullet hit? What did you say?
Never been there, repeated Arthur. What are you talking about? I have to go.
Agrajag stopped in his tracks.
You must have been there. You were responsible for my death there, as everywhere else. An innocent bystander! He quivered.
I’ve never heard of the place, insisted Arthur. I’ve certainly never had anyone try to assassinate me. Other than you. Perhaps I go there later, do you think?
Agrajag blinked slowly in a kind of frozen logical horror.
You haven’t been to Stavromula Beta… yet? he whispered.
No, said Arthur, I don’t know anything about the place. Certainly never been to it, and don’t have any plans to go.
Oh, you go there all right, muttered Agrajag in a broken voice, you go there all right. Oh zark! he tottered, and stared wildly about him at his huge Cathedral of Hate. I’ve brought you here too soon!
Suddenly he rallied, and turned a baleful, hating eye on Arthur.
I’m going to kill you anyway! he roared. Even if it’s a logical impossibility I’m going to zarking well try! I’m going to blow this whole mountain up! He screamed, Let’s see you get out of this one, Dent!
He rushed in a painful waddling hobble to what appeared to be a small black sacrificial altar. He was shouting so wildly now that he was really carving his face up badly. Arthur leaped down from his vantage place on the carving of his own foot and ran to try to restrain the three-quarters-crazed creature.
He leaped upon him, and brought the strange monstrosity crashing down on top of the altar.
Agrajag screamed again, thrashed wildly for a brief moment, and turned a wild eye on Arthur.
You know what you’ve done? he gurgled painfully. You’ve only gone and killed me again. I mean, what do you want from me, blood?
He thrashed again in a brief apoplectic fit, quivered, and collapsed, smacking a large red button on the altar as he did so.
Arthur started with horror and fear, first at what he appeared to have done, and then at the loud sirens and bells that suddenly shattered the air to announce some clamouring emergency. He stared wildly around him.
The only exit appeared to be the way he came in. He pelted towards it, throwing away the nasty fake leopard-skin bag as he did so.
He dashed randomly, haphazardly through the labyrinthine maze, he seemed to be pursued more and more fiercely by claxons, sirens, flashing lights.
Suddenly, he turned a corner and there was a light in front of him.
It wasn’t flashing. It was daylight.

“你可以走，”阿格拉賈格説，“在我殺了你之後！”
“不，那樣不好……”阿瑟一邊解釋着，一邊開始往那雙石刻拖鞋上爬，“我得去拯救宇宙，明白嗎。我得去找銀橫木，那是很重要的。雖然很可笑。”
“拯救宇宙！”阿格拉賈格輕蔑地啐了一口，“你跟我積下宿怨之前怎麼沒想過！還有一次，你在斯塔洛繆拉β星上，有人……”
“我沒去過那兒。”阿瑟説。
“……要暗殺你，你閃開了。你認為那顆子彈打中了誰呢！？你怎麼解釋？”
“真沒去過。”阿瑟重複道，“你在説什麼啊，我得走了。”
阿格拉賈格停住腳步。
“你肯定去過。你要為我在那兒的死亡負責。和其他地方的死亡一樣。我，一個無辜的路人！”他渾身顫抖。
“我從沒聽過那個地方，”阿瑟堅持道，“我也肯定沒人想要暗殺我。除了你。也許以後我會去。你説呢？”
阿格拉賈格呆呆地眨眨眼。
“你還沒有……去過斯塔洛繆拉β星？”他輕輕地説。
“沒有，”阿瑟説，“我對那兒一無所知。肯定沒去過。也沒準備去。”
“噢，那你就去吧。”阿格拉賈格絕望地喃喃着，“那你就去吧！噢讚的！”他跌跌撞撞，像瘋子似的看着這座巨型仇恨教堂，“我讓你過來得太早了！”
突然，他又停了下來，惡狠狠地盯着阿瑟。
“反正我要殺了你！”他憤怒地説，“就算從邏輯上説不可能，我還是他讚的要試試看！我要把整座山都炸掉！“他尖叫道，“我看你怎麼逃出去！鄧特！”
他踉蹌着跑開了，奔向一個像是黑祭祀聖壇的地方。他瘋狂地號叫着，把臉上劃出好多口子。阿瑟從他的據點——他自己的腳的雕像上——跳下來，想去阻止那個瘋了四分之三的傢伙。
阿瑟朝他撲過去，碰掉了祭壇上一塊怪里怪氣的東西，那東西砸了下來。
阿格拉賈格又尖叫了一聲，全身不住地發抖，他憤怒地轉向阿瑟。
“你知道你都幹了什麼嗎？”他因痛苦而發出咯咯的聲音，“你又殺了我一次。我真想知道，你要從我這兒得到什麼？血嗎？”
他又劇烈地抽搐了一下，顫抖着，終於癱倒在地。死之前，用盡最後的力氣、拍向祭壇上紅色的大按鈕。
阿瑟驚恐萬分，先是為他自己的所作所為，後是因為聽見突然迴盪在大廳裏的警報聲，這意味着有緊急情況。他連忙環顧四周。
他進來的路似乎是唯一的出口。他衝了出去，同時一把扔掉那難看的假豹皮袋子。
他如沒頭蒼蠅一般，在這複雜的迷宮中亂衝亂撞。他覺得自己身後，有無數多的警笛、鬼叫、探照燈在追趕。
突然，前方的轉角處出現了光明。
那不是燈光，那是陽光。