time enough for love-时间足够你爱(英文版)-第27部分

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growing　up　as　ornery　as　I　am　when　that　would　be　her　nature。　Nor　would　I　be　justified　either　way；　she　would　be　a　separate　human　being；　not　my　slave。　Besides　that；　I　would　be　her　sole　parent…no；　mother。　I've　had　one　crack　at　trying　to　raise　a　daughter　alone…it's　not　fair　to　the　girl。〃
　　
　　〃You're　inventing　objections；　Lazar~is。　I'll　give　long　odds　that　Ishtar　would　gladly　be　both　host　mother　and　foster　mother。　Especially　if　you　promised　Ishtar　a　son　Of　her　own。　Shall　I　ask　her？'
　　
　　〃You　keep　your　biscuit　trap　shut；　Son！　Minerva；　place　that　on　'pending'…I　won't　be　hurried　into　a　major　decision　about　another　person。　Especially　one　e　to　tell　you　about　the　twins　who　were　no　relation　to　each
　　
　　other。　But　twins。〃…
　　
　　〃Preposterous。　You're　changing　the　subject。〃
　　
　　第15节
　　
　　〃So　I　am。　Minerva；　what　else　do　you　have；　girl？〃　　　…
　　
　　〃Lazarus；　I　have　one　program　…　which　involves　low　hazard　and　a　probability　approaching　certainty　of　supplying　one…or　more…experiences　pletely　new　to　you。〃
　　
　　〃I'm　listening。〃
　　
　　〃Suspended　animation…〃
　　
　　〃What's　aew　about　that？　We　had　that　when　I　was　a　kid；　hardly　two　hundred　years　old。　Used　it　in　the　'New　Frontiers。'　Didn't　attract　me　then；　doesn't　now。〃
　　
　　〃…as　a　means　of　time　travel。　If　you　stipulate　that　in　X　number　of　years；　something　truly　new　will　develop…a　certainty　based　on　history…then　your　only　problem　is　to　select　whatever　span　of　years　will；　in　your　opinion；　produce　the　degree　of　novelty　you　seek。　One　hundred　years；　one　thousand；　ten　thousand；　whatever　you　say。　The　rest　involves　nothing　but　minor　de~i~n　details。〃
　　
　　〃Not　so　'minor'　if　Fm　going　to　be　asleep　and　unable　to　protect　myself。〃
　　
　　〃But　you　need　not　go　into　hibernation　until　you　are　satisfied　with　my　design；　Lazarus。　A　hundred　years　is　obviously　no　problem。　A　thousand　years　is　not　much　problem。　For　ten　thousand　years　I　would　design　an　artificial　plaoid　equipped　with　fail…safes　to　insure　that　you　would　be　revived　automatically　in　case　of　emergency。〃
　　
　　〃That　e　designing；　girl。〃
　　
　　〃I　feel　confident　of　my　capacity　to　do　it；　Lazarus；　but　you　are　free　to　criticize　and　reject　any　part　of　it。　However；　there　is　no　point　in　my　submitting　preliminary　designs　until　you　give　me　the　controlling　parameter；　namely　the　time　span；　which　in　your　opinion　will　produce　something　new　to　you。　Or　do　you　wish　my　advice　on　that？〃
　　
　　〃Uh　。　hold　your　horses；　dear。　Let's　assume　that　you've　got　me　in　liquid　helium　and　in　free　fall　and　thoroughly　pro。　tected　against　ionizing　radiation…〃
　　
　　〃No　problem；　Lazarus。〃
　　
　　〃So　I　stipulated；　…dear；　I'm　not　underrating　you。　But　sup。　pose　some　tiny　little　fail…safe　fails　null　instead　and　I　go　on　snoozing　through　the　centuries…and　millennia…without　end。　Not　dead。　But　not　revived；　either。〃
　　
　　〃I　can　and　will　design　to　avoid　that。　But　let　me　accept　your　stipulation。　In　such　case；　how　would　you　be　worse　off　than　you　would　be　if　you　used　your　termination…option　switch？　What　do　you　lose　by　trying　this？〃
　　
　　〃Why；　that's　obvious！　If　there　is　anything　to　this　immortality　talk…or　any　sort　of　afterlife…I'm　not　saying　there　is　or　isn't
　　
　　…but　if　there　is；　then　when　the　'Roll　Is　Called　Up　Yonder；'　I　won't　be　there。　I'll　be　asleep　but　not　dead；　somewhere　off　in　space。　I'll　miss　the　last　boat。〃
　　
　　〃Grandfather；〃　I　said　impatiently；　〃quit　trying　to　wiggle
　　
　　out。　If　you　don't　want　it；　just　say　No。　But　Minerva　has　certainly　offered　you　a　way　to　reach　something　new。　If　there　is　anything　to　your　argument…which　I　don't　admit…you　will　ha'~e　achieved　something　really　unique：　the　only　human　being　out　of　many　billions　to　fail　to　show　up　for　muster　on　this　hypothetical…and…highly…unlikely　Judgment　Day。　I　wouldn't　put　it　past　you；　you　old　scoundrel；　you're　slippery。〃
　　
　　He　ignored　my　slur。　〃Why　'highly　unlikely'？〃
　　
　　〃Because　it　is。　I　won't　argue　it。〃
　　
　　〃Because　you　can't　argue　it；〃　he　retorted。　〃There　isn't　any　evidence　for　or　against…so　how　can　you　assign　even　a　loose　probability　e'ither　way？　I　was　pointing　out　the　desirability；　if　there　happens　to　be　anything　to　it；　of　playing　it　kosher。　M　inerva；　hold　that　under　'pending；'　too。　The　idea　has　everything　you　claim　for　it；　and　I　don't　doubt　your　ability　as　a　designer。　But；　like　testing　a　parachute；　it's　a　one…way　trip　with　no　chance　to　change　my　mind　after　I　jump。　So　we'll　look　ovd　all　other　ideas　before　failing　back　on　that　one…even　if　it　takes　years。〃
　　
　　〃I　will　continue；　Lazarus。〃
　　
　　〃Thanks；　Minerva。〃　Lazarus　looked　thoughtful　as　he　picked　his　teeth　with　a　thumbnail…we　were　eating；　but　I　have　not　mentioned　breaks　for　refreshment；　nor　will　I　again。　You　may　assume　any　food　and　rest　breaks　that　make　you　feel　fortable。　Like　Scheherazade's　tales；　the　…Senior's　anecdotes　were　chopped　up　by　many　irrelevant　interruptions。
　　
　　〃Lazarus…〃
　　
　　〃Eh；　Son？　I　was　daydreaming　。　。　of　a　far　country　and　the　wench　is　dead。　Sorry。〃　…　…
　　
　　〃You　could　help　Minerva　in　this　search。〃
　　
　　〃So？　Seems　unlikely。　She's　better　equipped　to　conduct　a　needle…in…a…haystack　search　than　I　am…she　impresses　me。〃
　　
　　〃Yes。　But　she　needs　data。　There　are　these　great　gaps　in　what　we　…know　about　you。　If　we　knew…if　Minerva　knew…　those　fifty…odd　professions　you've　followed；　she　might　be　able　to　cancel　several　thousand　possibility　pockets。　For　example；　have　you　ever　been　a　farmer？〃
　　
　　〃Several　times。〃
　　
　　…　〃So？　Now　that　she　knows　that；　she　won't　suggest　anything　relating　to　agriculture。　While　there　may　be　sorts　of　farming　you　have　never　done；　none　would　be　novel　enough　to　meet　your　stringent　requirements。　Why　not　list　the　things　you　have　done？〃
　　
　　〃Doubt　if　I　can　remember　them　all。〃
　　
　　〃That　can't　be　helped。　But　listing　what　you　…do　remember　may　call　to　mind　others。〃
　　
　　？〃Uh。　。　let　me　think。　One　thing　I　always　did　every　time　I　reached　an　inhabited　pla　was　to　study　law。　Not　to　practice
　　
　　…not　usually；　although　for　a　number　of　years　I　was　a　very　criminal　lawyer…on　San　Andreas；　that　was。　But　to　understand　the　ground　rules。　Hard　to　show　a　profit…or　to　conceal
　　
　　…one…if　you　don't　know　how　the　game　is　played。　It's　much　safer　to　break　a　law　knowingly　than　to　do　so　through　ignorance。　…　…
　　
　　〃But　that　backfired　once　and　I　wound　up　as　High　Justice　of　a　plaary　Supreme　Court…just　in　time　to　save　my　bacon。　And　neck。
　　
　　〃Let　me　see。　Farmer；　and　lawyer；　and　judge；　and　I　told　you　I　had　practiced　medicine。　Skipper　of　many　sorts　of　craft；　mostly　for　exploration　but　sometimes　for　cargo　or　migrant　transport…and　once　an　armed　privateer　with　a　crew　of　rogues　you　wouldn't　take　home　to　mother。　Schoolteacher…lost　that　job　when　they　caught　me　teaching　the　kids　the　raw　truth；　a　capital　offense　anywhere　in　the　Galaxy。　In　the　slave　trade　once　but　from　underneath…I　was　a　slave。〃
　　
　　I　blinked　at　that。　〃I　can't　i？agine　it。〃
　　
　　~'Unfortunately　I　didn't　have　to　imagine　it。　Priest…〃
　　
　　I　had　to　interrupt　again。　〃Priest'？　Lazarus；　you　said；　or　implied；　that　you　had　no　religious　faith　of　any　sort。〃
　　
　　〃Did　I？　But　'faith'　is　for　the　congregation；　Ira；　it　handicaps　a　priest。　Professor　in　a　parlor　house…〃
　　
　　〃Excuse　me　again。　Idiomatic　usage？〃
　　
　　〃Eh？　Manager　of　a　bordello　。　。　although　I　did　play　the　piate　a　little；　and　sang。　Don't　laugh；　I　had　a　pretty　good　singing　voice　then。　This　was　on　Mars…you've　heard　of　Mars？〃
　　
　　〃Next　pla　out　from　Old　Home　Terra。　Sol　Four。〃
　　
　　〃Yes。　Not　a　pla　we'd　bother　with　today。　But　this　was　before　Andy　Libby　changed　things。　It　was　even　before　China　destroyed　Europe　but　after　America　dropped　out　of　the　spacing　business；　which　left　me　stranded。　I　left　Earth　after　that　meeting　of　2012　and　didn't　go　back　for　a　spell…which　saved　me　much　unpleasantness；　I　shouldn't　plain。　If　that　meeting　had　gone　the　other　way…　No；　I'm　wrong　when　a　fruit　is　ripe；　it　will　fall；　and　the　United　States　was　rotten　ripe。　Don't　ever　bee　a　pessimist；　Ira；　a　pessimist　is　correct　oftener　than　an　optimist；　but　an　optimist　has　more　fun…　and　neither　can　stop　the　march　of　events。
　　
　　〃But　we　were　speaking　of　Mars　and　the　job　I　had　there。　A　fill…in　job　for　coffee　and　cakes…but　pleasant；　as　I　was　also　the　bouncer。　The　girls　were　all　nice　girls；　and　it　was　a　pleasure　to　throw　out　some　slob　who　was　misbehaving　toward　them。　Thrdw　him　so　hard　he　bounced。　Then　blacklist　him　so　he　couldn't　e　back。　One　or　two　like　that　every　evening　and　the　word　got　around　that　'Happy'　Daze　demanded　gentlemanly　behavior　toward　the　ladies；　no　matter　how　big　a　spender　a　man　was。
　　
　　〃Whoring　is　like　military　service；　Ira…okay　in　the　upper　brackets；　not　so　good　lower　down。　These　girls　were　constantly　getting　offers　to　buy　up　their　contracts　and　get　married…　and　all　of　them　did　get　married；　I　think；　but　they　were　making　money　so　fast　that　they　weren't　anxious　to　grab　the　first　offer。　Mainly　because；　when　I　took　over；　I　put…　a　stop　to　the　fixed　price　the　governor　of　the　colony　had　set；　and　reinstated　the　Law　of　Supply　and　Demand。　There　was　no　reason　why　those　kids　shouldn't　charge　every　ruble　the　traffic　would　bear。
　　
　　〃Had　trouble　over　that　until　the　Governor's　Provost　for　Rest　and　Culture　got　it　through　his　thick　head　that　slave　wages　won't　work　in　a　scarcity　situation。　Mars　was　unpleasant　enough　without　trying　to　cheat　those　few　who　made　it　tolerable。　Or　even　delightful　when　they　were　happy　in　their　work。　Whores　perform　the　same　function　as　priests；　Ira；　but　far　more　thoroughly。　…
　　
　　〃Let　me　see…　I've　been　wealthy　many　times　and　always　lost　it；　usually　through　governments　inflating　the　money；　or　confiscating…'nationalizing'　or　'liberating'…something　I　owned。　'Put　not　your　faith　in　princes；'　Ira；　since　they　don't　produce；　they　always　steal。　I've　been　broke　even　oftener　than　I've　been　wealthy。　Of　the　two；　being　broke　is　more　interesting；　as　a　man　who　doesn't　know　where　his　next　meal　is　ing　from　is　never　bored。　He　may　be　angry　or　several　other　things…but　not　bored。　His　predicament　sharpens　his　thoughts；　spurs　him　into　action；　adds　zest　to　his　life；　whether　he　knows　it　or　not。　Can　trap　him；　of　course；　that's　why　food　is