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| Chapter 17 | 17. |
| After a fairly shaky start to the day, Arthur’s mind was beginning to reassemble itself from the shell-shocked fragments the previous day had left him with. He had found a Nutri-Matic machine which had provided him with a plastic cup filled with a liquid that was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea. The way it functioned was very interesting. When the Drink button was pressed it made an instant but highly detailed examination of the subject’s taste buds, a spectroscopic analysis of the subject’s metabolism and then sent tiny experimental signals down the neural pathways to the taste centers of the subject’s brain to see what was likely to go down well. However, no one knew quite why it did this because it invariably delivered a cupful of liquid that was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea. The Nutri-Matic was designed and manufactured by the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation whose complaints department now covers all the major landmasses of the first three planets in the Sirius Tau Star system. | Posle početka, koji ga je pošteno uzdrmao, Arturov um počeo je da se pribira iz komadića u kojima ga je ostavio prethodni dan. Pronašao je nutri-matičku mašinu koja mu je uručila plastičnu čašu punu tečnosti gotovo u potpunosti, mada ne sasvim, različite od čaja. Način na koji je dejstvovala bio je izuzetno zanimljiv. Posle pritiskanja dugmeta sa natpisom 'piće' vršila je trenutnu, ali vrlo iscrpnu analizu subjektivnog čula ukusa, spektroskopsku analizu njegovog metabolizma i potom odašiljala slabašne ogledne signale niz nervne puteve subjekta sve do centara za ukus da bi proverila šta će biti najbolje primljeno. Međutim, nikome nije bilo jasno zbog čega to radi, jer je uvek isporučivala čašu tečnosti koja se gotovo u potpunosti, mada ne sasvim, razlikovala od čaja. Nutri-matik je konstruisala i izradila Sirijuska kibernetska korporacija čije odeljenje za žalbe sada prekriva sve glavne kopnene mase prve tri planete zvezde Tau iz sistema Sirijusa. |
| Arthur drank the liquid and found it reviving. He glanced up at the screens again and watched a few more hundred miles of barren grayness slide past. It suddenly occurred to him to ask a question that had been bothering him. | Artur ispi tečnost i otkri da ga je okrepila. Bacio je ponovo pogled na ekrane i posmatrao kako preko njih prolazi novih nekoliko stotina milja ogoljenog sivila. Iznenada mu pade na um da postavi pitanje koje ga je tištalo. |
| “Is it safe?” he said. | "Da li je ovde bezbedno?" rekao je. |
| “Magrathea’s been dead for five million years,” said Zaphod; “of course it’s safe. Even the ghosts will have settled down and raised families by now.” | "Magratea je mrtva pet miliona godina", rekao je Zaphod. "Razume se da je bezbedno. Do sada, čak bi se i duhovi upokojili i podigli porodice." |
| At which point a strange and inexplicable sound thrilled suddenly through the bridge—a noise as of a distant fanfare; a hollow, reedy, insubstantial sound. It preceded a voice that was equally hollow, reedy and insubstantial. The voice said, “Greetings to you …” | U tom trenutku mostom se zaori čudnovat i neobjašnjiv zvuk - buka koju kao da su stvarale udaljene fanfare; šuplji, tanki, nematerijalni zvuk. Prethodio je glasu koji je bio isto toliko šupalj, tanak i nematerijalan. Glas je rekao: Pozdravljamo vas..." |
| Someone from the dead planet was talking to them. | Obraćao im se neko s mrtve planete. |
| “Computer!” shouted Zaphod. | "Kompjuteru!" prodra se Zaphod. |
| “Hi there!” | "Ej, ćao!" |
| “What the photon is it?” | "Šta je to, fotona mu?" |
| “Oh, just some five-million-year-old tape that’s being broadcast at us.” | "Oh, ništa drugo nego traka stara pet miliona godina koja nam se upravo emituje." |
| “A what? A recording?” | "Šta? Snimak?" |
| “Shush!” said Ford. “It’s carrying on.” | "Pst! reče Ford. "Nastavlja se." |
| The voice was old, courteous, almost charming, but was underscored with quite unmistakable menace. | Glas je bio star, dostojanstven, gotovo prijatan, ali iz njega se nepogrešivo osećala pretnja. |
| “This is a recorded announcement,” it said, “as I’m afraid we’re all out at the moment. The commercial council of Magrathea thanks you for your esteemed visit …” | "Ovo je snimljena poruka", rekao je, "jer bojim se da trenutno nismo kod kuće. Komercijalni savet Magratee zahvaljuje se na vašoj cenjenoj poseti..." |
| (“A voice from ancient Magrathea!” shouted Zaphod. “Okay, okay,” said Ford.) | ("Glas stare Magratee!" prodra se Zaphod. "U redu, u redu", reče Ford.) |
| “… but regrets,” continued the voice, “that the entire planet is temporarily closed for business. Thank you. If you would care to leave your name and the address of a planet where you can be contacted, kindly speak when you hear the tone.” | "...Ali žali", nastavio je glas, "zbog toga što je čitava planeta trenutno zatvorena za posao. Hvala vam. Ukoliko želite da ostavite svoje ime i adresu planete na kojoj vas možemo naći, budite ljubazni i počnite da govorite kad budete začuli zvučni signal." |
| A short buzz followed, then silence. | Usledilo je tiho zujanje, a potom tišina. |
| “They want to get rid of us,” said Trillian nervously. “What do we do?” | "Žele da nas se otarase", reče Trilijan nervozno. "Šta da radimo?" |
| “It’s just a recording,” said Zaphod. “We keep going. Got that, computer?” | "To je samo snimak", odvrati Zaphod. "Produžićemo. Jesi li shvatio, kompjuteru?" |
| “I got it,” said the computer and gave the ship an extra kick of speed. | "Jesam", reče kompjuter i još malo ubrza brod. |
| They waited. | Čekali su. |
| After a second or so came the fanfare once again, and then the voice. | Posle otprilike jedne sekunde ponovo se začuše fanfare, a potom i glas. |
| “We would like to assure you that as soon as our business is resumed announcements will be made in all fashionable magazines and color supplements, when our clients will once again be able to select from all that’s best in contemporary geography.” The menace in the voice took on a sharper edge. “Meanwhile, we thank our clients for their kind interest and would ask them to leave. Now.” | "Uveravam vas da ćemo, čim budemo ponovo počeli s poslom, to objaviti po svim poznatijim nedeljnicima i kolor-dodacima ilustrovanih časopisa i tada će naše mušterije ponovo moći da odaberu ono najbolje u savremenoj geografiji." Preteći prizvuk u glasu postade oštriji. "U međuvremenu, zahvaljujemo svojim mušterijama na ljubaznom zanimanju i molimo ih da odu odavde. Smesta." |
| Arthur looked round the nervous faces of his companions. | Artur se obazre po nervoznim licima svojih saputnika. |
| “Well, I suppose we’d better be going then, hadn’t we?” he suggested. | "Pa, onda najbolje da krenemo, zar ne?" predložio je. |
| “Shhh!” said Zaphod. “There’s absolutely nothing to be worried about.” | "Psst!" reče Zaphod. "Nema razloga za zabrinutost." |
| “Then why’s everyone so tense?” | "Zbog čega su onda svi tako napeti?" |
| “They’re just interested!” shouted Zaphod. “Computer, start a descent into the atmosphere and prepare for landing.” | "Samo su zainteresovani!" dreknu Zaphod. "Kompjuteru, počni sa silaskom kroz atmosferu i pripremi sve za sletanje." |
| This time the fanfare was quite perfunctory, the voice now distinctly cold. | Ovog puta fanfare su bile sasvim formalne, a glas primetno hladan. |
| “It is most gratifying,” it said, “that your enthusiasm for our planet continues unabated, and so we would like to assure you that the guided missiles currently converging with your ship are part of a special service we extend to all of our most enthusiastic clients, and the fully armed nuclear warheads are of course merely a courtesy detail. We look forward to your custom in future lives…. Thank you.” | "Baš je pohvalno", rekao je, "što je vaše oduševljenje za našu planetu ostalo nepomućeno i zbog toga želimo da vas uverimo da su projektili s daljinskim upravljanjem koji su trenutno usmereni prema vašem brodu samo deo specijalnih usluga za naše najzagrejanije mušterije, a njihove nuklearne bojeve glave, razume se, predstavljaju samo znak ljubaznosti. S nestrpljenjem očekujemo da vidimo kako ćete se ponašati u budućnosti... Hvala vam." |
| The voice snapped off. | Glas se prekide. |
| “Oh,” said Trillian. | "Oh", reče Trilijan. |
| “Er …” said Arthur. | "Ovaj ..." reče Artur. |
| “Well?” said Ford. | "Dakle?" reče Ford. |
| “Look,” said Zaphod, “will you get it into your heads? That’s just a recorded message. It’s millions of years old. It doesn’t apply to us, get it?” | "Slušajte", reče Zaphod, "hoćete li da utuvite jedno? To je samo snimljena poruka. Stara je milionima godina. Ne odnosi se na nas, shvatate?" |
| “What,” said Trillian quietly, “about the missiles?” | "A šta ćemo", reče tiho Trilijan, "s projektilima?" |
| “Missiles? Don’t make me laugh.” | "Projektilima? Nemoj da me zasmejavaš." |
| Ford tapped Zaphod on the shoulder and pointed at the rear screen. Clear in the distance behind them two silver darts were climbing through the atmosphere toward the ship. A quick change of magnification brought them into close focus—two massively real rockets thundering through the sky. The suddenness of it was shocking. | Ford kucnu Zaphoda po ramenu i pokaza mu zadnji ekran. U daljini, jasno su se videle dve srebrne mrlje koje su se pele kroz atmosferu prema brodu. Brza promena uvećanja prenela ih je u krupni plan - dve glomazno stvarne rakete koje su grmele nebom. Iznenadnost svega toga delovala je kao pravi šok. |
| “I think they’re going to have a very good try at applying to us,” said Ford. | "Mislim da će se baš potruditi da ih upotrebe na nama." |
| Zaphod stared at them in astonishment. | Zaphod se zaprepašćeno upiljio. |
| “Hey, this is terrific!” he said. “Someone down there is trying to kill us!” | "Hej, pa to je sjajno!" rekao je. "Tamo dole neko pokušava da nas ubije!" |
| “Terrific,” said Arthur. | "Sjajno", reče Artur. |
| “But don’t you see what this means?” | "Ali, zar ne shvatate šta to znači?" |
| “Yes. We’re going to die.” | "Da. Umrećemo." |
| “Yes, but apart from that.” | "Jeste, ali sem toga." |
| “Apart from that?” | "Sem toga?" |
| “It means we must be on to something!” | "Znači da mora da smo nabasali na nešto bitno!" |
| “How soon can we get off it?” | "A kako sad da se otarasimo toga?" |
| Second by second the image of the missiles on the screen grew larger. They had swung round now on to a direct homing course so that all that could be seen of them now was the warheads, head-on. | Iz sekunde u sekundu, slika projektila na ekranu postajala je sve veća. Sada su prešli na direktni kurs prema njima, tako da su se jedino videle bojeve glave uperene na njih. |
| “As a matter of interest,” said Trillian, “what are we going to do?” | "Baš me zanima", reče Trilijan, "šta ćemo sad." |
| “Just keep cool,” said Zaphod. | "Samo se nemojmo uzrujati", reče Zaphod. |
| “Is that all?” shouted Arthur. | "I to je sve?" reče Artur. |
| “No, we’re also going to … er … take evasive action!” said Zaphod with a sudden access of panic. “Computer, what evasive action can we take?” | "Ne, takođe ćemo... ovaj... preduzeti manevre izbegavanja!" reče Zaphod i iznenada ga uhvati talas panike. "Kompjuteru, kakve manevre izbegavanja možemo preduzeti?" |
| “Er, none, I’m afraid, guys,” said the computer. | "Ovaj, nikakve, bojim se, momci", reče kompjuter. |
| “Or something,” said Zaphod, “… er …” he said. | "...Ili bilo šta drugo", reče Zaphod, "... ovaj...", dodao je. |
| “There seems to be something jamming my guidance systems,” explained the computer brightly, “impact minus forty-five seconds. Please call me Eddie if it will help you to relax.” | "Izgleda da nešto ometa moj sistem za navođenje", veselo je objasnio kompjuter, "tako da do sudara preostaje još četrdeset pet sekundi. Molim vas, zovite me Edi, ukoliko će vam to pomoći da se opustite." |
| Zaphod tried to run in several equally decisive directions simultaneously. “Right!” he said. “Er … we’ve got to get manual control of this ship.” | Zaphod pokuša istovremeno da potrči u nekoliko različitih pravaca. "U redu!" Rekao je. "Ovaj... Moramo da uspostavimo ručnu kontrolu nad ovim brodom." |
| “Can you fly her?” asked Ford pleasantly. | "Umeš li da upravljaš?" ljubazno ga upita Ford. |
| “No, can you?” | "Ne, a ti?" |
| “No.” | "Ne." |
| “Trillian, can you?” | "Trilijan, umeš li ti?" |
| “No.” | "Ne." |
| “Fine,” said Zaphod, relaxing. “We’ll do it together.” | "Odlično", reče Zaphod i opusti se, "onda ćemo zajedno." |
| “I can’t either,” said Arthur, who felt it was time he began to assert himself. | "Ni ja ne umem", reče Artur, koji je osetio da je došlo vreme da i on uzme nekog udela u svemu tome. |
| “I’d guessed that,” said Zaphod. “Okay, computer, I want full manual control now.” | "To sam i slutio", reče Zaphod. "U redu, kompjuteru, hoću sada potpune ručne komande." |
| “You got it,” said the computer. | "Imaš ih." |
| Several large desk panels slid open and banks of control consoles sprang up out of them, showering the crew with bits of expanded polystyrene packaging and balls of rolled-up cellophane: these controls had never been used before. | Nekoliko velikih panela otvorilo se i iz njih se pojaviše ploče sa komandama, zasuvši posadu komadićima plastičnih kesa za pakovanje i lopticama zgužvanog celofana: te komande do tada niko nije upotrebljavao. |
| Zaphod stared at them wildly. | Zaphod je divlje zverao po njima. |
| “Okay, Ford,” he said, “full retro thrust and ten degrees starboard. Or something …” | "U redu, Forde", reče on, "pun pogon unazad i deset stepeni udesno od pravca. Ili kako već ono ide..." |
| “Good luck, guys,” chirped the computer, “impact minus thirty seconds….” | "Srećno, momci", procvrkuta kompjuter. "Do sudara još trideset sekundi." |
| Ford leaped to the controls—only a few of them made any immediate sense to him so he pulled those. The ship shook and screamed as its guidance rocket jets tried to push it every which way simultaneously. He released half of them and the ship spun round in a tight arc and headed back the way it had come, straight toward the oncoming missiles. | Ford se baci prema komandama - prepoznao je jedan mali deo i zato je povukao baš njega. Brod zadrhta i zaurla kad su motori pokušali da ga pokrenu istovremeno u nekoliko pravaca. On otpusti jednu polovinu komandi i brod se u uskom luku okrete i pođe odakle je došao, pravo u susret projektilima koji su pristizali. |
| Air cushions ballooned out of the walls in an instant as everyone was thrown against them. For a few seconds the inertial forces held them flattened and squirming for breath, unable to move. Zaphod struggled and pushed in manic desperation and finally managed a savage kick at a small lever that formed part of the guidance system. | Iz zidova izbiše vazdušni jastuci u istom trenutku kada svi poleteše prema njima. Nekoliko sekundi sila inercije prikovala ih je uza zid i naterala da se bore za dah, nesposobni da se pomaknu. Zaphod se upirao i upinjao manijačkom, očajničkom upornošću i najzad uspeo da divljački šutne malenu polugu koja je predstavljala deo sistema za upravljanje. |
| The lever snapped off. The ship twisted sharply and rocketed upward. The crew were hurled violently back across the cabin. Ford’s copy of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy smashed into another section of the control console with the combined result that the Guide started to explain to anyone who cared to listen about the best ways of smuggling Antarean parakeet glands out of Antares (an Antarean parakeet gland stuck on a small stick is a revolting but much-sought-after cocktail delicacy and very large sums of money are often paid for them by very rich idiots who want to impress other very rich idiots), and the ship suddenly dropped out of the sky like a stone. | Poluga se pomeri. Brod se oštro izvi i polete napred. Posada divljački suknu u drugi kraj kabine. Fordov primerak Autostoperskog vodiča kroz Galaksiju zabi se u drugi deo komandne table, a ishod toga bio je da je vodič počeo da objašnjava onima koji su marili da slušaju o najboljim načinima krijumčarenja žlezda antareskih papagaja sa Antaresa (žlezda antareskog papagaja nabodena na štapić odvratnog je ukusa, ali predstavlja delikates i izuzetno bogati idioti često za njih plaćaju ogromne svote novca da bi ostavili utisak na druge izuzetno bogate idiote), a brod istovremeno poče da pada poput kamena. |
| It was of course more or less at this moment that one of the crew sustained a nasty bruise to the upper arm. This should be emphasized because, as has already been revealed, they escape otherwise completely unharmed and the deadly nuclear missiles do not eventually hit the ship. The safety of the crew is absolutely assured. | Razume se, ovo je, manje ili više, trenutak kada je jedan od članova posade zadobio gadnu ogrebotinu na nadlaktici. To mora da bude posebno naglašeno, jer su oni, inače, kao što je unapred otkriveno, napad izbegli sasvim neozleđeni, odnosno smrtonosni nuklearni projektili nisu na kraju pogodili brod. Posada je ostala u potpunosti bezbedna. |
| “Impact minus twenty seconds, guys …” said the computer. | "Do udara još dvadeset sekundi, momci", rekao je kompjuter. |
| “Then turn the bloody engines back on!” bawled Zaphod. | "Onda uključi ponovo svoje proklete motore!" zaurla Zaphod. |
| “Oh, sure thing, guys,” said the computer. With a subtle roar the engines cut back in, the ship smoothly flattened out of its dive and headed back toward the missiles again. | "Oh, naravno, momci", reče kompjuter. Uz blag zvuk motori se ponovo uključiše, brod se glatko izvuče iz poniranja i ponovo jurnu prema projektilima. |
| The computer started to sing. | Kompjuter poče da peva. |
| “‘When you walk through the storm …’” it whined nasally, “‘hold your head up high …’” | "Dok koračaš kroz buru..." zavijao je nazalnim glasom, "visoko podigni glavu..." |
| Zaphod screamed at it to shut up, but his voice was lost in the din of what they quite naturally assumed was approaching destruction. | Zaphod urliknu da umukne, ali glas mu se izgubio u tutnjavi onoga što su, sasvim prirodno, shvatili kao uništenje koje im se približavalo. |
| “‘And don’t … be afraid … of the dark!’” Eddie wailed. | "I nemoj... se plašiti tame!" kukao je Edi. |
| The ship, in flattening out, had in fact flattened out upside down and lying on the ceiling as they were it was now totally impossible for any of the crew to reach the guidance systems. | Dok se ispravljao, brod se okrenuo na leđa i sada su svi ležali na tavanici, bez ikakve mogućnosti da dosegnu sisteme za upravljanje. |
| “‘At the end of the storm …’” crooned Eddie. | "A na kraju bure..." pevušio je Edi. |
| The two missiles loomed massively on the screens as they thundered toward the ship. | Dva projektila grubo su se povećavala na ekranu dok su grmeli prema brodu. |
| “‘is a golden sky …’” | "...zlatno je nebo..." |
| But by an extraordinarily lucky chance they had not yet fully corrected their flight paths to that of the erratically weaving ship, and they passed right under it. | Neverovatno srećnom slučajnošću nisu uspeli u potpunosti da isprave svoju putanju prema brodu, koji je nasumično poskakivao, te su tako prošli tik ispod njega. |
| “And the sweet silver song of the lark.’… Revised impact time fifteen seconds, fellas…. ‘Walk on through the wind …’” | "I slatka, srebrna pesma ševa... Ponovna procena trenutka sudara petnaest sekundi, drugari... I zato kroči kroz vetar..." |
| The missiles banked round in a screeching arc and plunged back in pursuit. | Projektili zaokrenuše u uskom luku i ponovo se nadadoše u poteru. |
| “This is it,” said Arthur, watching them. “We are now quite definitely going to die, aren’t we?” | "To je, znači, to", reče Artur dok ih je posmatrao. "Sada ćemo sasvim sigurno da stradamo, zar ne?" |
| “I wish you’d stop saying that,” shouted Ford. | "Voleo bih kada bi prestao da govoriš takve stvari", dreknu Ford. |
| “Well, we are, aren’t we?” | "Pa hoćemo, zar ne?" |
| “Yes.” | "Da." |
| “‘Walk on through the rain …’” sang Eddie. | "Kroči kroz kišu..." pevao je Edi. |
| A thought struck Arthur. He struggled to his feet. | Jedna misao pade Arturu na pamet. On se žustro podiže na noge. |
| “Why doesn’t anyone turn on this Improbability Drive thing?” he said. “We could probably reach that.” | "Zašto niko ne uključi tu stvarčicu zvanu Pogon Neverovatnoće?" upitao je. "Verovatno bismo mogli da ga dohvatimo." |
| “What are you, crazy?” said Zaphod. “Without proper programming anything could happen.” | "Šta ti je, jesi li lud?" reče Zaphod. "Bez odgovarajućeg programiranja moglo bi se dogoditi bilo šta." |
| “Does that matter at this stage?” shouted Arthur. | "Zar je to bitno u ovom trnutku?" dreknu Artur. |
| “‘Though your dreams be tossed and blown …’” sang Eddie. | "Iako su ti snovi slomljeni i uništeni..." pevao je Edi. |
| Arthur scrambled up on to one of the excitingly chunky pieces of molded contouring where the curve of the wall met the ceiling. | Artur se pope na jedan od zabavno uvrnutih oblika na mestu gde su se sticale krive površine zida i tavanice. |
| “‘Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart …’” | "Koračaj, koračaj, srca punog nade..." |
| “Does anyone know why Arthur can’t turn on the Improbability Drive?” shouted Trillian. | "Zna li iko zbog čega Artur ne sme da uključi Pogon Neverovatnoće?" viknula je Trilijan. |
| “‘And you’ll never walk alone.’ … Impact minus five seconds, it’s been great knowing you guys, God bless…. ‘You’ll ne … ver … walk … alone!’” | "I nikada nećeš hodati sam... Do udara još pet sekundi, bilo mi je drago što sam vas poznavao, momci, Bog vas blago... I nikada nećeš hodati sam!" |
| “I said,” yelled Trillian, “does anyone know …” | "Rekoh", vrisnula je Trilijan, "zna li iko..." |
| The next thing that happened was a mind-mangling explosion of noise and light. | Sledeća stvar koja se desila bila je sumanuta eksplozija svetlosti i zvuka. |