經典科幻文學:《 再見 多謝你們的魚》第20章7

Which is what everybody else says, he said hesitantly, is hAllucinations?
Yes, but Arthur that’s ridiculous. People think that if you just say “hallucinations” it explains anything you want it to explain and eventually whatever it is you can’t understand will just go away. It’s just a word, it doesn’t explain anything. It doesn’t explain why the dolphins disappeared.
No, said Arthur. No, he added thoughtfully. No, he added again, even more thoughtfully. What? he said at last.
Doesn’t explain the dolphins disappearing.
No, said Arthur, I see that. Which dolphins do you mean?
What do you mean which dolphins? I’m talking about when all the dolphins disappeared.
She put her hand on his knee, which made him realize that the tingling going up and down his spine was not her gently stroking his back, and must instead be one of the nasty creepy feelings he so often got when people were trying to explain things to him.
The dolphins?
Yes.
All the dolphins, said Arthur, disappeared?
Yes.
The dolphins? You’re saying the dolphins all disappeared? Is this, said Arthur, trying to be absolutely clear on this point, what you’re saying?
Arthur where have you been for heaven’s sake? The dolphins all disappeared on the same day I… She stared him intently in his startled eyes.
What?…
No dolphins. All gone. Vanished.
She searched his face.
Did you really not know that?
It was clear from his startled expression that he did not.
Where did they go? he asked.
No one knows. That’s what vanished means. She paused. Well, there is one man who says he knows about it, but everyone says he lives in California, she said, and is mad. I was thinking of going to see him because it seems the only lead I’ve got on what happened to me.
She shrugged, and then looked at him long and quietly. She lay her hand on the side of his face.
I really would like to know where you’ve been, she said. I think something terrible happened to you then as well. And that’s why we recognized each other.
She glanced around the park, which was now being gathered into the clutches of dusk.
Well, she said, now you’ve got someone you can tell.
Arthur slowly let out a long year of a sigh.

“而那就是其他所有人所說的，”他躊躇了一下，“幻覺？”
“是的，但阿瑟這太荒唐了。人們認爲你只要說一句‘幻覺’就可以解釋任何你想解釋的事情甚至你不能理解的一切都可以就那麼飄走了。這只是個詞而已，它解釋不了任何東西。它解釋不了爲什麼海豚都失蹤了。”
“不，”阿瑟說。“不，”他深沉地補充道。“不，”他又補充道，甚至更加地深沉。“啥？”他最後說。
“解釋不了海豚都失蹤了。”
“不是，”阿瑟說，“我知道這個。你指的哪些海豚？”
“你問哪些海豚是什麼意思？我說的是所有的海豚都失蹤了。”
她把手放在他的膝頭，這讓他恍然明白脊樑上來回反覆的酥麻感原來不是她在輕撫他的背，而一定是當人們試圖向他解釋什麼的時候他經常會有的一種噁心恐怖的感覺。
“海豚？”
“是的。”
“所有的海豚，”阿瑟說，“都失蹤了？”
“是的。”
“海豚嗎？你是說所有的海豚都失蹤了？這就是，”阿瑟說着，試圖把意思表達的清清楚楚明明白白，“你所說的？”
“老天爺啊阿瑟你當時上哪兒去了？海豚全都失蹤了的時候就是在那同一天我……”她目不轉睛地盯着他震驚的雙眼。
“怎麼……”
“沒海豚了。全走了。消失了。”
她探尋地望着他的臉。
“你真的不知道這個？”
從他震驚的表情上可以很明顯地看出他不知道。
“它們去哪兒了？”他問。
“沒人知道。消失就是指這個意思。”她停頓了一下。“好吧，有個人說他知道這個，但所有人都說他住在加利福尼亞，”她說，“而且瘋了。我正考慮去見他因爲這看起來是瞭解我身上發生了什麼的唯一線索。”
她聳聳肩，接着長久而平靜地望着他。她將手貼在了他臉的一側。
“我真的想知道你去哪兒了，”她說，“我覺得你當時也經歷了一些糟糕的事情。這就是我們爲何會認出彼此。”
她瞅了一眼現在已經陷入黃昏的魔爪的公園。
“好吧，”她說，“現在你有一個可以說這些事兒的人了。”
阿瑟慢慢地舒了一長年的氣。