#高塔藏書庫第四期#
- 個人翻譯，供學習討論
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- 會在文末附上原文
Syzygy
朔望(注1)
- 朔望——
- 由奧拉什刻成——
- 崇高復仇——
只有西羅的誘餌星(注2)才能讓我們逃脫。只有薩託娜的詭計才能讓我們到達海岸。但現在我們有了我的船，我必須帶路。我是領航員。
我們可能再也見不到自己的家了。西羅對陶克斯充滿了仇恨和憤怒。
但這才是我最深的恐懼——
我們的文明在源洋上漂流。在鎢巨巖上，我瞭解到成千上萬的其他物種與我們一起漂流，共同生活在廣闊的海洋上。而源洋的潮汐推動著我們所有人。
《怯懦真理》說，我們是世上最小、最脆弱的生物。宇宙的天然獵物。陶克斯想讓我們相信我們的祖先來到源洋是為了躲避飢餓的虛空。
我父親死的時候很害怕。不是可惡的陶克斯也不是氦飲者的人，而是他的星儀。
他向我尖叫——
“奧拉什，我的大女兒！”月亮不一樣了！定律被歪曲了！”
他做了一個朔望的手勢。
想象天空中五十二顆衛星。(當然，這並不需要全部五十二顆衛星：只需要幾個大質量的衛星。但這是我最深的恐懼。)想象一下，它們的引力拉著源洋，把它拉成一個膨脹的凸起……
想象一下，當朔望過去之時，隆起處開始崩塌。一頃足以吞噬文明的巨浪。神罰巨浪。
我得想辦法阻止它。在神罰巨浪毀滅我的種族之前。只要我能回到我父親的星儀，我就能知道確切的時間！
我們離家幾周的旅行跨越了許多大陸。
當我因恐懼而癱瘓時，西羅和我一起坐在機艙裡，用柔和、勇敢的話語安慰我。但我們越來越依賴薩託娜的智慧。她會獨自一人外出（她堅持認為她必須獨自一人），然後帶回一些瘋狂的想法：回到風暴中，撒下網，吃掉那隻奇怪的野獸，探索那具危險的殘骸。
不知何故，薩託娜似乎完全靠意志就能製造好運。
- 注1：Syzygy，在天文學中，表示星體排列成一條直線，此處譯為朔望。
- 注2：前文中提到的風暴之悅懸掛在的觸鬚上的“誘餌星”，用來吸引和捕捉獵物，勇敢的西羅得到了六個。
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原文：
Syzygy
- The Syzygy—
- Carved to endure by Aurash—
- The high vengeance—
Only Xi Ro's bait stars let us escape. Only Sathona's tricks let us reach the coast. But now that we have my ship, I must lead the way. I am the navigator.
We may never see our homes again. Xi Ro seethes with hate and fury for Taox.
But this is my deepest fear—
Our civilization drifts on the Fundament. At the Tungsten Monoliths I learned that thousands of other species drift with us, coexisting on a vast world sea. And the tides of the Fundament move us all.
The Timid Truth says that we are the smallest, most fragile things alive. The natural prey of the universe. Taox would have us believe that our ancestors came to the Fundament to hide from the hungry void.
My father died afraid. Not of vile Taox or the Helium Drinkers, but of his orrery. He screamed to me—
“Aurash, my first daughter! The moons are different! The laws are bent!"
And he made the sign of a syzygy.
Imagine the fifty-two moons of Fundament lining up in the sky. (It wouldn't take all fifty-two, of course: just a few massive moons. But this is my deepest fear.) Imagine their gravity pulling on the Fundament sea, lifting it into a swollen bulge...
Imagine that bulge collapsing as the syzygy passed. A wave big enough to swallow civilizations. A God-Wave.
I have to find a way to stop it. Before the God-Wave annihilates my species. If I could only get back into my father's orrery, I could learn exactly when!
We are weeks of travel and many continents away from home.
When I'm paralyzed by fear, Xi Ro sits in the cabin with me and comforts me with soft, brave words. But more and more we have come to rely on Sathona's wit. She will go off to be alone (she insists she must be alone) and return with some mad idea-steer into the storm, throw down a net, eat that strange beast, explore that menacing wreck.
Somehow Sathona seems to manufacture good luck by sheer will.