Ringier groaned and nodded, then shook his head with a sigh. “But what do you want Hubble II to see? You’ve got to be aware that it won’t be able to see the Trisolaran planet.”

林格哼著點點頭，然后又嘆息著搖搖頭，“可是你們希望用哈勃二號看到什么呢？你肯定知道它根本不可能觀察到三體行星。”

Fitzroy said with a sigh, “It’s worse than that. The public thinks that it will be able to see the Trisolaran Fleet.”

斐茲羅嘆口氣說：“現(xiàn)在更糟的是，公眾甚至認為哈勃二號能看到三體艦隊?！?/p>

“Great,” Ringier said. Though his face was indistinct in the darkness, Fitzroy could sense the schadenfreude in Ringier’s expression, which made Fitzroy as uncomfortable as the acrid odor that now wafted over from the launch platform and filled the air.

“哦？很好。”林格說，他的臉在夜色中模糊不清，但斐茲羅能感覺到他幸災(zāi)樂禍的表情，這像空氣中正在充滿的某種刺鼻的味道一樣使他難受，這味道是風(fēng)從發(fā)射架那邊吹過來的。

“Doctor, you ought to know the consequences.”

“博士，你應(yīng)該知道這事的后果?！?/p>

“If the public has placed its hope in Hubble II, then they probably won’t believe the enemy really exists until they have seen the Trisolaran Fleet with their own eyes.”

“如果公眾對哈勃二號抱有這樣的期望，那他們很可能要等到親眼看見三體艦隊的照片后才真正相信敵人的存在！”

“And you find this acceptable?”

“你認為這很好？”

“You’ve explained it to the public, right?”

“你們沒有向公眾解釋過嗎？”

“Of course we’ve explained it! We’ve held four press conferences, and I’ve repeatedly explained that although Hubble II is orders of magnitude more powerful than the largest telescopes currently available, there’s no way it can detect the Trisolaran Fleet. It’s too small! Detecting a planet in another star system from our Solar System is like detecting a mosquito on a lamp on the East Coast from the West Coast, but the Trisolaran Fleet is only as big as the bacteria on one of that mosquito’s legs. How much clearer can I be?”

“當然解釋過！為此開了四次記者招待會，我反復(fù)說明：雖然哈勃二號空間望遠鏡的觀察能力是現(xiàn)有的最大望遠鏡的幾十倍，但它絕對不可能看到三體艦隊。它們太小了！從太陽系觀測宇宙中另一顆恒星的衛(wèi)星，就像從美國西海岸觀察東海岸一盞臺燈旁的一只蚊子，而三體艦隊只有蚊子腿上的細菌那么大。我把事情說得夠清楚了吧？”

“That’s pretty clear.”

“夠清楚了?！?/p>

“But what else can we do? The public will believe whatever it wants. I’ve been in this job for a while now, and I haven’t seen any major space project that they haven’t misinterpreted.”

“但公眾就愿意那么想，我們有什么辦法？我在這個位置已經(jīng)時間不短了，還沒看到有哪一項重大的太空計劃沒被他們想歪的?！?/p>

“I said long ago that the military has lost all credibility as far as space projects are concerned.”

“我早說過，在太空計劃方面，軍方已經(jīng)失去了基本的信譽?！?/p>

“But they’re willing to believe you. Don’t they call you a second Carl Sagan? You’ve made a mint off those popular cosmology books of yours. Give us a hand. That’s what the military wants, and now I’m formally passing on their request.”

“但他們愿意相信你，他們不是稱你為第二個卡爾·薩根嗎？你那幾本宇宙學(xué)科普書可賺了不少錢，請出來幫幫忙吧，這是軍方的意思，我正式轉(zhuǎn)達了。”

“Is this a private negotiation of terms?”

“我們是不是私下里談?wù)剹l件？”

“There aren’t any terms! It’s your duty as an American. As a citizen of Earth.”

“沒什么條件！你是在盡一個美國公民，不，地球公民的責(zé)任。”

“Assign me a bit more observational time. I don’t need much. Bump me up to twenty percent, okay?”

“把分配給我的觀測時間再多一些，要求不高，比例提到五分之一怎么樣？”

“You’re doing quite well at twelve point five percent right now, and no one can say if those allotments can be guaranteed in the future.”

“現(xiàn)在的八分之一比例已經(jīng)不錯了，誰也不知道以后能不能保證這個比例?！?/p>

Fitzroy waved a hand in the direction of the launch pad, where the dissipating smoke left by the rocket smeared a dirty patch across the night sky. Illuminated by the launch pad lights, it looked like a milk stain on a pair of jeans. The odor had grown more unpleasant. The rocket’s first stage was fueled by liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen and shouldn’t have had that odor, so something nearby had probably been burnt by the stream of flames diverted by the launch pad. Fitzroy said, “I’m telling you, all of this is definitely going to get worse.”

斐茲羅揮手指指發(fā)射架方向的遠方，火箭留下的煙霧正在散開，在夜空中涂出臟兮兮的一片，被地面發(fā)射架上的燈光一照，像牛仔褲上的奶漬，那股子難聞的味道更重了。火箭首級使用液氫和液氧燃料，應(yīng)該不會有味道，可能是焰流把發(fā)射架下導(dǎo)流槽附近的什么東西燒了，斐茲羅接著說，“我告訴你，這一切肯定會越來越糟的?！?/p>

————————————————————————————————————————

groan：

v.呻吟;嘆息;哼哼;發(fā)出似呻吟的聲音

n.呻吟聲;嘆息聲;哼哼聲;嘎吱聲

indistinct： adj.模糊的;模糊不清的;不清楚的

schadenfreude： n.幸災(zāi)樂禍

<來自德語>

schaden = harm freude = pleasure

pleasure derived by someone from another person’s misfortune

{參考知乎鏈接https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/149300733}

acrid： adj.(氣、味)辛辣的;難聞的;刺激的

odor： n.氣味;臭味;名聲

waft：

v.飄蕩;吹拂;使飄蕩

n.一陣，一股(在空氣中飄蕩的味或煙)

misinterpret： vt.曲解;誤解;誤釋

credibility： n.可靠性;可信性

mint：

n.造幣廠;薄荷;薄荷糖;鑄幣廠;大量的錢

vt.鑄(幣);鑄造(硬幣)

adj.完美的;新造的

make a mint off sth. = make a lot of money form ...

negotiation： n.談判;磋商;協(xié)商

bump：

v.碰撞;(無意地)碰，撞;(尤指身體部位)碰上，撞上;顛簸行進

n.凸塊;碰撞(聲);撞擊(聲);腫塊(常因擊打所致);隆起;輕微撞車事故

adv.突然地;撲通一聲

allotment： n.配給;分配量;份額;分配

dissipate： v.消散;驅(qū)散;(使)消失;揮霍;浪費;消磨(時間、金錢等)

smear：

v.弄臟;誹謗，詆毀;（用油性或稀軟物質(zhì)）胡亂涂抹;弄上油污;把（字跡、圖畫等）蹭得模糊不清;<美俚>打垮，擊敗;<美俚>賄賂;把…制成涂片;被擦模糊

n.污跡;污漬;污點;黏稠物，涂抹物;（顯微鏡的）涂片

adj.誹謗的，詆毀的

patch：

n.色斑;斑點;(與周圍不同的)小塊，小片;補丁

vt.打補丁;縫補;修補

stain：

n.(名聲上的)污點;污漬;染色劑;著色劑

v.(被)玷污;留下污漬;給…染色(或著色);玷污，敗壞(名聲)

divert： vt.使轉(zhuǎn)向;使繞道;轉(zhuǎn)移