雙語暢銷書《艾倫圖靈傳》第7章:運轉起來(17)
In three years, they had caught up with half a century of technological progress.
Dillwyn Knox died in February 1943, passing just before the Italian empire he had done a good deal to undermine, and with him the pre-industrial mind.
迪爾威·諾克斯逝世於1943年2月，他走在了畢生對抗的意大利帝國之前，隨他而去的還有他陳舊的工業思想。They had been forced into one scientific revolution by the Enigma, and already they were in the throes of a second.
布萊切利被謎機逼進了一次科技革命，現在他們要面對第二次。
The all-electronic machine proved to be much more reliable than the Robinsons, as well as faster.
新的電子機器比羅賓遜機更快更可靠，They called it the Colossus, and it demonstrated that the colossal number of 1500 electronic valves, if correctly used, could work together for long periods without error.
他們稱它爲巨人機，只要正確地使用1500個電子管，它就可以不出錯誤地工作很長時間。This was an astonishing fact for those trained in the conventional wisdom.
這使那些受傳統教育的聰明人們感到震驚，But in 1943 it was possible both to think and do the impossible before breakfast.
有很多不可能的事情都在1943年變成了可能。Alan knew about all these developments, but declined the invitation to play a direct part.
艾倫知道所有這些發展，但他拒絕直接參與。Newman built up an increasingly large and powerful group, drawing in the best talent from the other huts and from the mathematical world outside.
紐曼的隊伍越來越強大，他從其他營房和外面的數學界吸引了最優秀的人才，Alan moved in the opposite direction; he was not a Newman, skilled in overall direction, and still less was he a Blackett, moving in political circles.
但艾倫卻走向了不同的方向。他不是紐曼，在所有方面都那麼精通，他更不是布萊科特，懂得如何在政治圈裏活動。He had not fought to retain control of naval Enigma, but had retreated before Hugh Alexander's organising power.
他爲控制海軍謎機而勇猛奮戰，但在休·亞歷山大的領導力面前卻退縮了，If he had been a quite different person, he could now have made his position one of great influence, it being the time for sitting on coordinating committees, Anglo-American committees, future policy committees.
否則的話，他本來完全可以自己坐上那個有影響力的位置，坐上協調委員會、英美委員會、未來的政策委員會的位置。But he had no concern for finding a place in anything but scientific research itself.
但是艾倫從沒想過在任何這些地方找個位置，他只想做科學研究。
