A supersized hydrogen bomb would play the role of the exploding sun. The power of nuclear bombs was no longer measured in TNT-equivalents, but this bomb’s yield would be approximately three hundred megatons. In order to more realistically simulate the physical conditions of a solar explosion, the hydrogen bomb was wrapped in a thick shell to mimic the solar material that would be thrown off by the explosion. The eight planets were modeled with fragments of asteroids. Of these, the four asteroids modeling terrestrial planets were around ten meters in diameter; the ones modeling the gas giants were far bigger, each around one hundred meters in diameter. The eight fragments were positioned around the hydrogen bomb at distances that replicated the relative distances of the planets, so that the entire system resembled a miniature Solar System. “Mercury,” which was closest, was about four kilometers from the “Sun,” and “Neptune,” which was farthest, was about three hundred kilometers away. The test was conducted at the Lagrangian point to minimize the effects of the Sun’s and the planets’ gravities so that the system could remain stable for some time.
川一颗超级氢弹模拟爆发的太阳，现在核弹威力指标经不再使用TNT当量，这颗氢弹的威力折合成当量约为三亿吨级。为了更逼真地模拟太阳爆发的物理环境，氢弹外面还包裹了一层厚厚的外壳，以模拟太阳爆发时迸射的恒星物质。八颗行星均用来自小行星带的石块模拟，其中模拟类地行星的四个石块直径约为十米左右，模拟巨行星的石块则大许多，四个都为一百米左右。这八个石块按照八大行星轨道间距的比例悬浮在氢弹周围，构成了一个微缩的太阳系。最近的“水星”距“太阳”四千米，最远的“海王星”则与“太阳”相距三百千米。在拉格朗日点进行试验，是为了降低行星和太阳引力的影响，使这个系统在相当长的一段时间里保持稳定。
Fleet International and the UN conducted this simulation jointly. Its goal was to test the effectiveness of the giant planets as barriers in the event of a solar explosion.
掩体计划模拟试验由舰队国际和联合国共同发起，目的是在太空中试验太阳爆发时用外围巨行星作为掩体的有效性。
Cheng Xin once again returned to the point in space where the Sun’s and the Earth’s gravities balanced each other out. A year had passed since the meeting with Yun Tianming, and she was far more relaxed for this trip. She was here as a volunteer for the Bunker Project simulation test.
程心再次来到位于地球和太阳引力平衡点的太空，这时距她与云天明相会已过去七年，这是一次轻松许多的太空旅程，她是作为掩体计模拟试验的志愿者前来的。
Scientifically, this experiment wasn’t really necessary. Computer modeling based on existing data was more than adequate to produce results that could be trusted. Even if physical tests had to be done, they could have taken place in a laboratory. Though the scale would have to be smaller, careful design would have yielded considerable precision. As a science experiment, this large-scale simulation in space was clumsy to the point of being idiotic.
从科学角度看，这个试验其实完全没有必要，用已经得到的大量数据进行计算机模拟就可以得出相当可信的结果。即使必须进行实体试验，也完全可以在试验室中进行，虽然规模小，但经过精心设计，也可以达到很高的精度。从科研角度看，太空中的这个大规模试验笨拙到弱智的程度。
But the experimenters who had envisioned, designed, and implemented the simulation understood that the ultimate goal of this trial wasn’t science. It was actually an expensive propaganda effort to stabilize international faith in the Bunker Project. The trial had to be direct and visually impactful, so that it could be broadcast to the world.
但无论是试验的发起方还是设计和实施者都清楚，试验的最终目的不是科研，它实质上是一场耗资巨大的宣传，用以确立国际社会对掩体计划的信心。这就要求试验必须十分直观，有视觉冲击力，并且便于向全世界直播。
After the total rejection of any further research into lightspeed spaceflight, conditions on Earth resembled the beginning of the Crisis Era. Back then, global defense against the Trisolaran invasion expended effort in two areas: one was the mainstream plan of constructing the Solar System’s defenses, and the other was the Wallfacer Project. Now, humankind’s mainstream survival plan was the Bunker Project, and the Black Domain Plan, like the Wallfacer Project, was a gamble filled with unknowns. The plans were carried out in parallel, but since only theoretical research was possible on black domains, limited resources were committed. The Bunker Project, on the other hand, extensively impacted all of human society, and great effort had to be expended to secure the public’s support.
在光速飞船计划被彻底否决后，地球世界出现了与危机纪元之初十分相似的局面。当时，世界对防御三体入侵进行着两个方面的努力，一是建立太阳系防御系统的主流防御计划，二是面壁计划。现在，人类的主流生存计划是掩体计划，而黑域计划则与面壁计划类似，是充满着未知因素的冒险。两个计划平行进行，但对于黑域计划，目前能做的只是基础理论研究，牵涉面较小；对国际社会产生巨大影响的是掩体计划，必须做出巨大的努力来取得公众的支持。
It would have been sufficient to leave monitoring equipment behind the rocky fragments, in order to test the shielding effects of the “gas giants,” or perhaps animal subjects. But in order to ensure a sensational reaction, the organizers decided that live human subjects were necessary, and so a global effort was undertaken to recruit volunteers.
本来，为了检测试验中“巨行星”的掩体效果，只需在石块后面放置相应检测设备即可，最多也就是增加试验动物。但为了取得轰动效应，组织机构决定让真人躲在巨石后面，并在全世界征集志愿者。
艾 AA was the one who suggested Cheng Xin send in an application. AA believed that this was an excellent opportunity to do some free marketing to burnish the Halo Group’s public image in preparation for entry into the Bunker Project. She and Cheng Xin also both understood that the trial had been planned carefully. It might look unsettling, but there was basically no danger.
是艾AA建议程心报名参加试验的，她认为这是为星环公司参与掩体工程而树立公众形象的一次极佳的免费广告，同时，她和程心都清楚试验是经过严密策划的，只是看上去刺激，基本没什么危险。
Cheng Xin’s spacecraft stopped in the shadow of the fragment representing Jupiter. This irregular asteroid was shaped like a potato. It was about 110 meters long, with an average width of around seventy meters. Over a period of two months, the asteroid had been pushed from its home in the asteroid belt to here. During its voyage, some artistic engineer who had too much time on his hands had painted it with colorful bands similar to the ones on the real Jupiter, including the Great Red Spot. Overall, however, the painted asteroid did not resemble Jupiter, but some space monster with a Cyclopean red eye.
程心的太空艇停泊在模拟木星的石块背阳面，这个石块呈不规则的土豆形，长一百一十米，平均宽度七十米，相当于地球上一座大型建筑的大小。这是作为有人的掩体距氢弹最近的一个石块，距离为五十千米。这个石块是用了两个多月的时间从小行星带推送到这里的，在推送途中，一位闲来无事且有艺术天赋的工程师，用颜料在石块表面的一部分画上了木星表面的条纹和大红斑。但从整体效果看，石块被画得不像木星，倒像一头太空怪兽，大红斑就是它的眼睛。
Even without the barrier of the asteroid, it would have been impossible to see the hydrogen bomb simulating the Sun fifty kilometers away. But in the other direction, she could see the simulated “Saturn.” By scale, it was just about a hundred kilometers from the “Sun” and fifty kilometers from “Jupiter.” It was about the same size as this asteroid fragment, and, illuminated by the real Sun, stood out against the backdrop of space so that Cheng Xin could just tell its shape. She could also see “Uranus” about two hundred kilometers away, though that was just a shiny dot, hard to tell apart from the stars. The rest of the “planets” were invisible.
即使没有巨石遮拦，从这里也无法看到五十千米外模拟太阳的氢弹。但在另一个方向，可以看到模拟土星的石块，按行星轨道间距的比例，它距“太阳”正好一百千米，距“木星”五十千米，大小与后者差不多，它被日光照亮，在太空的背景上能看得很清楚，从这个距离上刚刚能够看出形状。程心也能看到两百千米外的“天王星”，但那只是一个亮点，很难从群星的背景中区分出来。其余的“行星”是看不到的。
Along with Cheng Xin’s dinghy, about nineteen other space vessels were parked behind “Jupiter.” Together, these simulated the twenty planned Jovian space cities. The spaceships were lined up in three rows behind the asteroid, and Cheng Xin was in the front-most row, about ten meters from the asteroid. More than a hundred volunteers were seated in the ships. Originally, AA had planned to come with Cheng Xin, but company business kept her away. Thus, Cheng Xin’s dinghy might be the only one sheltered behind “Jupiter” with a lone passenger.
与程心一起停泊在“木星”背阳面的还有十九艘太空艇，用它们模拟掩体工程计划在木星建设的二十座太空城。这些太空艇在石块后面排成了三排，程心在最前面，距石块十米左右。太空艇中共乘坐着一百多名志愿者，本来AA打算与程心一起来，但公司的事务使她走不开，程心这艘太空艇可能是“木星”背面唯一一艘只乘坐一人的。
As on her last voyage, Cheng Xin’s spacecraft flew against the brilliant sun, but once it entered the shadow of the asteroid, everything darkened immediately, because there was no air in space to scatter the sunlight. The Sun on the other side of the asteroid might as well not have existed. Cheng Xin felt she was at the foot of a cliff at midnight.
同上次一样，程心的太空艇是迎着耀眼的阳光飞来的，但进人石块阴影后，由于太空中不存在阳光的散射，一切都在瞬间黑了下来，石块另一边的太阳似乎根本不存在了，程心感觉自己仿佛身处午夜的悬崖下。
The countdown indicated that about ten minutes remained before the start of the detonation. The communications channels quieted. Abruptly, a man’s voice spoke up. “Hello. I’m next to you.”
倒计时显示，距试验开始还有十分钟。通信信道中的声音沉寂下来。这时，一个男声突然冒了出来：“你好，我在你身边。”
Cheng Xin shuddered as she recognized the voice. Her dinghy was at one end of the five vessels in the first row. Looking to her right, she saw a spherical dinghy very similar to the one she had ridden in a year ago parked right next to hers. Almost half the hull was transparent, and she could see five passengers inside. Thomas Wade was sitting on the side closest to her, and waved at her. Cheng Xin was able to recognize him right away because, unlike the other four passengers, he wasn’t wearing a lightweight space suit; instead, he wore only his black leather jacket, as if to show his contempt for space. His sleeve remained empty, indicating that he still had not gotten a prosthetic hand.
程心立刻听出这是谁，不由得打了个寒战。她的艇处于前排五艘艇的最边上。向右看去，是紧靠着她的一艘球形太空艇，与她上次乘坐的那艘很相似，透明罩几乎占了艇身的一半，可以看到艇中有五个人，托马斯·维德坐在靠她的一侧向她招手。程心能够一眼认出维德，是因为他没有像身边的另外四个人一样穿着轻便太空服，而是仍然穿着那身黑皮夹克、仿佛在显示对太空的鄙视。他仍没有装假手，一个袖管空着。
They could see the bright blue Earth about 1.5 million kilometers away. More than three billion people there were watching a live broadcast of the trial.
从这个方向看，在一百五十万千米的远方，蓝色的地球处于最亮的状态，那里，三十多亿人正在观看试验的直播。
“What are you doing here?” Cheng Xin asked, trying to keep her voice cool. But she always seemed to have trouble maintaining her composure in front of this man. After what she had gone through the last few years, everything in her heart had been polished until it was as smooth as the asteroid in front of her, but Wade remained a singular sharp corner.
“你怎么在这里？”程心问，尽量使自己的声音冷静一些，但在这个人面前她总是很难做到这一点。如果说这些年的经历，使世上万事在程心的心中都磨砺得如同眼前这块巨石一样圆润，维德就是这块石头上唯一仍然锐利的地方。
“Let’s dock so I can come over,” Wade said. Without waiting for Cheng Xin to agree, he initiated the docking sequence. The dinghy he was in started its maneuvering thrusters and slowly approached Cheng Xin’s dinghy. Reluctantly, Cheng Xin initiated the docking procedure as well. After a slight tremor, the two ships were connected, and both sets of cabin doors slid open noiselessly. As the pressure between the two ships equalized, Cheng Xin’s ears popped.
“我们对接一下，我到你那里去。”维德说，并没有征得程心的同意就启动了对接程序，他的太空艇开动了微调推进器，向程心这边缓缓靠过来，程心也只好启动了自己的对接程序。一次轻轻的震动后两艇靠在一起，舱门已经密封对接，门无声地滑开，两边气压平衡时程心的耳朵嗡地响了一下。
Wade floated over. He couldn’t have had much experience in space, but like Cheng Xin, he moved as though he was born to it. Though he had only one hand, his movements in weightlessness were steady and firm, as though gravity still worked on him. The interior of the cabin was dim. Sunlight, reflected from the Earth, was deflected again by the asteroid into the dinghy. In this obscure light, Cheng Xin looked Wade over and found him not much changed by the intervening eight years. He still looked pretty much the same as he had in Australia.
维德从对面飘行过来，他不可能有太多的太空经验，但与程心一样，似乎天生就属于这个环境。虽然只有一只手，他在失重中的动作却很稳健，仿佛仍然有重力作用在他身上一般。舱里很暗，地球的光照在对面的岩石上，再反射进来，就在这朦胧的光亮中，程心打量了维德一眼，发现时光仍未在他身上留下太多的印记，他与八年前在澳大利亚时变化不大。
“Follow the law in everything? Including lightspeed propulsion?”
“在所有事情上都遵从，比如光速飞船？”
“But, you don’t have the skill or the will to complete this task. We share the same ideal. I also want to see lightspeed ships built.”
“但是，你没有完成这种事情的能力和精神力量。我们的理想是相同的，我也想造光速飞船。”
Just like before, Wade got straight to the point without wasting any time.
维德还是以前那样，像利刃一般飞快切人正题，不浪费一点时间。
“But?” Cheng Xin prompted.
“但是？”程心替他说出这两个字。
Cheng Xin didn’t answer.
程心没有回答。
“We all have to follow the law. There’s nothing unfair about that.”
“我们都遵从法律，那没有什么不公平的。”
Cheng Xin looked at him, her eyes asking the unspoken question.
程心用询问的目光看着他。
“I finished my sentence a month ago.” Wade took half of a cigar from his jacket pocket — though he couldn’t light it here. “It was reduced. A murderer, out in eleven years — I know that’s not fair… to you.”
“我刑满了，一个月前。”维德从上衣口袋中掏出半截雪茄含在嘴里，在这里当然不能点燃，“减刑，一个杀人犯，仅十一年就出来了，我知道这不公平，对你。”
“Because that is the only choice that makes humankind grand,” Cheng Xin said. She met his gaze fearlessly.
“因为只有在这个选择中，人是大写的。”程心说，勇敢地迎接着他的目光。
“You know what is right, and you have the courage and sense of duty to do it. This makes you extraordinary.”
“你知道什么是对的，也有勇气和责任心去做，这很了不起。”
Wade nodded and took the cigar out of his mouth. “Very good. You’re grand.”
维德点点头，把雪茄从嘴里拿出来，“很好，你是大写的。”
“Why do you want lightspeed ships?” Wade asked. He turned and stared at Cheng Xin brazenly.
“你为什么选择光速飞船？”维德问，转头毫无顾忌地直视着程心。
The thrusters of the dinghy came on again. Although the asteroid generated little gravity, it was still enough to make the dinghy fall toward it slowly. The thrusters pushed the dinghy away from the rock until it returned to its assigned location. The plasma nozzle illuminated the surface of the asteroid fragment, and the red spot painted on it looked like a suddenly opened eye. Cheng Xin’s heart tensed, whether due to this eye or Wade’s words. Wade stared back at the giant eye, his gaze sharp and cold, with a hint of mockery.
这时，太空艇的微调推进器又启动了，前面岩石的引力很微小，但还是拉着太空艇缓慢地前移，向岩面靠近，推进器把太空艇轻轻推离岩石，恢复到原位。等离子喷口的蓝色火焰照亮了岩面，上面画着的大红斑像一只突然睁开的巨眼，不知是这只眼还是维德刚才的话。让程心的心紧缩起来。维德与那只巨眼对视着，目光冷酷锐利，还带着一丝嘲讽。
“What are you trying to say?”
“你到底想说什么？”
“Give what to you?”
“给你什么？”
“Give it to me.”
“给我。”
“Everything you own. Your company, your wealth, your authority, your position — and if possible, your reputation and glory. I will use them all to build lightspeed ships, for your ideals, and for the grandness of the human spirit.”
“你拥有的一切。你的公司、你的财富、你的权力、你的地位，如果可能的话，还有你的荣耀和声誉。我用这些去造光速飞船，为了你的理想，为了大写的人。”
“Don’t make the same mistake a second time,” Wade said. Each word struck Cheng Xin’s heart like a heavy hammer.
“不要犯第二次错误。”维德说，这话的每个字都像一记重锤砸在程心的心上。
It was time: The hydrogen bomb exploded. Without the obstruction of an atmosphere, nearly all of its energy was released in the form of radiation. In the live feed taken from about four hundred kilometers away, a fireball appeared next to the Sun. Soon, the brightness and size of the fireball exceeded the Sun itself, and the camera’s filters quickly dimmed the light. If someone were to gaze at it directly from this distance, he or she would be blinded permanently. By the time the fireball reached maximum brightness, there was nothing in the camera’s view but pure whiteness. The flame seemed ready to swallow the entire universe.
试验时间到了，氢弹引爆，由于太空中没有大气层的阻挡，其能量几乎全部以辐射形式放出。在从距爆心四百千米处拍摄的直播画面上看太阳旁边出现了一只火球，其亮度和大小很快超过了太阳本身，摄像机的遮光罩不断调低透明度，如果有人从这个跟离目视的话。会导致永久失明。当火球达到最亮时，画面中除了一片雪亮什么都没有了。那光焰似乎要吞没整个宇宙。
Cheng Xin said nothing. She couldn’t think of anything to say.
程心没有说话，她一时不可能说出什么。
Sheltered in the shadow of the giant rock, Cheng Xin and Wade did not witness this sight. The live broadcast feed was shut off within the cabin, but they could see “Saturn” behind them increase in brightness abruptly. Next, the molten lava generated on the side of “Jupiter” facing the “Sun” flew around them. The lava glowed red as it dripped away from the edge of the asteroid, but after it flew some distance away, the reflected light from the nuclear detonation exceeded its inherent red glow, and the thin dribbles of lava turned into brilliant fireworks. The view from the dinghy resembled the view from the top of a silvery waterfall tumbling down toward the Earth. By now, the four smaller asteroid fragments simulating the terrestrial planets had been incinerated, and the four larger asteroid fragments simulating the gas giants behaved as four scoops of ice cream being heated on one side by a blowtorch. The side facing the detonation melted and turned into a smooth hemisphere, and every “planet” dripped a silvery tail of lava. More than ten seconds after the radiation reached “Jupiter,” the simulated stellar material, consisting of pieces of the exploded shell of the hydrogen bomb, struck the massive asteroid fragment, causing it to quake and drift slowly away from the “Sun.” The dinghy’s thrusters activated and maintained distance from the fragment.
处于巨石阴影中的程心和维德看不到这些，太空艇内关闭了转播画而、但能够看到他们身后的“土星”亮度突然增加。像一颗超新星。紧接着，巨石朝向“太阳”一面被烧熔的岩浆从四周飞过，那些岩浆掠过巨石边缘时呈暗红色，但在向着背阳面飞出一段距离后，核爆炸照在上面的强光反射亮度超过了它们本身发出的红光，细碎的岩浆变成了光芒四射的焰火，从太空艇上看，仿佛是从顶端观看一道银光闪闪的瀑布浩浩荡荡地落向地球方向。这时，模拟类地行星的四个较小的石块已经破碎消失，而模拟巨行星的巨石像四团被喷灯的火焰吹着的冰激凌，面向辐射的一面迅速被烧熔，变成规则光滑的球形，每块巨石后面都拖着一条越来越长的银光闪闪的岩浆尾巴。辐射到达后十几秒钟，氢弹外壳产生的模拟恒星物质的迸射物才击中巨石，使石块剧烈震动起来，并向外缓缓移动。太空艇的推进器启动，保持着艇身与巨石的距离。
The fifty spaceships sheltered behind the four giant asteroid fragments were unharmed.
四块巨石后面的五十艘太空艇全部安然无恙。
The fireball persisted for about thirty seconds before going out. Space seemed like a hall where the light had suddenly been shut off. The real Sun, about one AU away, appeared dim. As the fireball disappeared, the light emitted by the red-glowing half of the asteroid fragment became visible. Initially, the light was very bright, as though the rock were on fire, but the frigidity of space quickly chilled it to a dim red glow. The solidified lava at the rim of the fragment formed a circle of long stalactites.
火球持续了约三十秒后熄灭了，太空仿佛是一座突然关灯的大厅，一个天文单位之外的太阳的光芒显得暗弱无力。随着光焰的消失，巨石处于红炽状态的一半发出的光显现出来，开始很亮，像燃烧一般，但很快在太空的严寒中变成暗红色，凝固的岩浆在巨石边缘形成一圈长长的毛刺。
The live feed arrived at the Earth five seconds later, and the world erupted into cheers. Hope for the future exploded everywhere like the hydrogen bomb. The goal of the Bunker Project simulation test had been achieved.
延时五秒的图像传回地球，整个世界一片欢腾，对未来的希望像氢弹一样爆发开来，掩体计划模拟试验的目的达到了。
“Don’t make the same mistake twice,” Wade repeated, as though all that had just happened was nothing more than noise that had briefly interrupted their conversation.
“不要犯第二次错误。”维德重复一遍，仿佛刚才发生的一切不过是打断他们谈话的短暂噪声。
Cheng Xin stared at the dinghy Wade had come from. The four men in space suits had been looking in this direction the entire time, oblivious to the magnificent sight that had just taken place. Cheng Xin knew that tens of thousands of people had volunteered for the test, and only famous or important people had been selected. Although Wade had just gotten out of prison, he already had powerful followers — those four men, at least — and the dinghy probably also belonged to him. Even eleven years ago, when he had competed for the Swordholder position, he had had many loyal followers, and even more supporters. It was rumored that he had founded a secret organization, which had perhaps survived. He was like a piece of nuclear fuel. Even when it was sealed up in a lead container, one could feel its power and threat.
程心看了看紧靠着这里的维德的那艘太空艇，艇内四个穿太空服的男人都一直关注着这边，并没有在意刚刚发生的壮观事件。程心知道，报名参加试验的人成千上万，只有知名或重要人物才能被选中，而维德刚刚出狱，那四个人显然是他的人，那艘太空艇也可能是属于他的。早在十一年前他竞选执剑人时，他就有许多忠实的追随者和无数的支持者，据说他还成立了一个组织，也许这一切都不是空穴来风。他就像一块核燃料，即使静静地封闭在铅容器中，都能让人感觉到力量和威胁。
On the way back, when the dinghy was within three hundred thousand kilometers of the Earth so that there was essentially no delay in communications, Cheng Xin called AA and told her about the meeting with Wade.
在返回的途中，当太空艇与地球的距离缩小到三十万千米以内、通信基本没有延时时，程心给艾从打电话，告诉了她与维德会面的事。
“Of course you need to think about it.” Wade nodded at Cheng Xin, then left noiselessly as he drifted back to his own ship. The cabin door closed, and the two ships separated.
程心说。“当然需要考虑。”维德对程心点点头，在失重中无声地离去，移回了自己的太空艇，然后舱门关上，两艇分开了。
In the direction of the Earth, the cooled lava bits drifted languidly against the starry background like a field of dust. Cheng Xin felt the tension in her heart give way, and she herself felt like a mote of dust drifting through the cosmos.
地球方向，已经冷却的熔岩碎屑在星空的背景前飘浮着，在阳光中像一片懒洋洋的灰尘，程心感觉心中的什么东西正松弛下来，自己也变得像一粒浮尘了。
“Let me think about it,” said Cheng Xin.
“让我考虑一下。”
“He’s right. You don’t have the capacity for this. The attempt will ruin you! But he can get it done. This bastard, devil, murderer, careerist, political hooligan, technophilic madman… he can get it done. He has the will and skill for this, so let him! It’s hell, so step aside for him to jump in.”
“他说得对，你没有能力做这件事，这会彻底毁了你的！但他行，这个混蛋、恶魔、杀人犯、野心家、政治流氓、技术狂人……他行，他有干这事的精神力量和本事，让他去干好了，这是地狱，让他跳进去吧。”
“Do as he said,” AA said without hesitation. “Give him everything he asked for.”
“照他说的做，把他要的都给他！”AA毫不犹豫地回答。
“You…” Cheng Xin stared at AA in the information window, astonished. She had imagined AA would be the biggest obstacle.
“你……”程心吃惊地看着信息窗口中的从，她本来以为一是这件事最大的障碍。
AA smiled. “I would never work under him, of course. Ever since they proscribed lightspeed ships, I’ve grown afraid, too. I will take what I deserve and go do something I enjoy. I hope you do, too.”
AA莞尔一笑，“我当然不会在那个家伙手下工作，我会拿走属于我那份的。光速飞船禁止法出来后，我也怕这事儿了，我会去干些轻松的我喜欢的事儿，我希望你也能找到这种事儿。”
Two days later, in the transparent conference hall at the top of the Halo Group headquarters, Cheng Xin met with Wade.
两天后，在星环公司总部的透明大厅里，程心会见了维德。
“What about you?”
“那你呢？”
“We’ll awaken you on the day we achieve success, which will be your success as well. On that day, if lightspeed ships are still against the law, we’ll accept all responsibility. If such ships are welcomed by the world, the honor will belong to you… It will be at least half a century, or even longer. We’ll be old, but you’ll still be young.”
“成功的那一天我们会唤解你，那也是你的成功。如果那时光速飞船仍然违法，我们承担一切责任；如果光速飞船被世界接受。荣誉归于你……那可能是是个世纪甚至更长时问以后了，我们郁老了，可你仍然年轻。”
“I can give you everything you want,” Cheng Xin said.
“我可以把你要的一切都给你。”
Cheng Xin nodded. “Yes. That is my plan.”
程心点点头，“可以，这也是我的打算。”
“Then you’ll go into hibernation,” Wade said. “Because your presence may affect our task.”
程心说。“然后你进入冬眠，”维德紧接着程心的话说，“因为你的存在可能影响我们的事业。”
“I have one condition.”
“我有个条件。”
“If this project ever has the potential to harm the human race, you must awaken me. The final decision is mine, and I have the right to take back all the authority I give you.”
“当这个事业可能危害人类的生命时，必须唤醒我，我将拥有最终的决定权。并可以收回赋予你的一切权力。”
“Speak.”
“说。”
“I can’t accept that.”
“我不接受这个条件。”
“Cheng Xin, you must know what path we’ll be taking. Sometimes, one must –“
“程心，你知道我们将从事的是什么样的事业，有时候，不得不……”
“Then we have nothing to discuss. I’ll give you nothing.”
“那就算了，我什么都不能给你。”
About two minutes later, Wade turned around. Still standing at the transparent wall, he looked at Cheng Xin from across the room. “All right. I accept.”
大约两分钟后，维德转过身来，他没有走过来，只是在透明墙壁前远远地看着程心。“好吧，我接受。”
“I don’t have many means to enforce our deal. I can only trust your promise.”
“我没有太多可以约束你的，我只能相信你的承诺。”
“Forget it. We’ll go our separate ways.”
“那就算了，我们各走各的路吧。”
Wade stared at Cheng Xin. In his eyes were feelings rarely seen in him: hesitation, even helplessness. It was as unexpected to see these things in him as it was to see water in fire. “Let me think about it.” He turned and walked over to one of the transparent walls and gazed at the metropolitan forest outside. On that night three centuries ago at the plaza in front of the UN, Cheng Xin had also seen the back of this black figure against the lights of New York City.
维德看着程心，他的目光里出现了一些罕见的东西：犹豫，甚至无助——这种东西以前在他的精神世界中是很难看到的，就像火中难以见到水。“让我考虑考虑。”他说，然后走到透明墙壁前，看着外面的都市森林。三个世纪前的那个夜晚，在联合国广场，在纽约灯海的背景上，程心也见过这个黑色的背影。
Cheng Xin remembered that three centuries ago, after turning around, he had said, “We’ll send only a brain.” Those words had changed the course of history.
程心记得三个世纪前他转身后说的是：“Sendcerebraonly。（只送大脑。）”这句话后来改变了历史。
After hearing about the meeting with Wade, AA said to Cheng Xin, “Then I’ll need to go into hibernation with you. We have to be prepared to take back the Halo Group at a moment’s notice.”
听完会面的情况后，AA对程心说：“那我和你一起冬眠好了，我们得随时做好重新接收星环公司的准备。”
“You believe he’ll keep his promise?” asked Cheng Xin.
“你相信他会遵守承诺？”程心问。
Wade walked back and straightened his leather jacket, which only caused more wrinkles to appear. He stood in front of Cheng Xin and solemnly said, “I promise that if, during the process of researching lightspeed spaceflight, we discover anything that may harm the human race, regardless of the form of the danger, we’ll awaken you. You’ll have the final say and can take back all of my authority.”
维德走过来，一手整了整身上的皮夹克，但只是使上面的皱褶更多了。他站在程心面前庄重地说：“我保证：如果在光速飞船的研制过程中有可能危害人类生命，不管是以什么形式，我们都会唤醒你，到时你将拥有最终决定权，并可以收回我的一切权力。”
That smile, like a crack in the ice, spread across Wade’s face. “You are perfectly aware that if I break my promise, it will actually be a blessing for you. But unfortunately, I will keep my promise.”
冰水似的微笑在维德脸上溢散开来，“其实你自己很清楚，如果我违背承诺，对你是一种幸运，但很遗憾，我不会的，我会遵守承诺。”
AA stared straight ahead, as though looking at a ghost Wade. “I do. I think the devil will do as he says. But just like he said, that’s not necessarily a good thing for you. You could have saved yourself, Cheng Xin, but in the end, you didn’t.”
AA双眼直勾勾看着前方，像遥视着不知在什么地方的维德，“我还真相信，这个魔鬼会的，但正像他说的，那对你未必是好事。程心，你本来能救自己的，可还是没救成啊。”
Ten days later, Thomas Wade became the president of the Halo Group and took over all operations.
十天后，托马斯·维德成为星环公司的总裁，全面接管了公司事务。
While they stepped briefly outside the river of time, the story of humanity went on.
就在她们暂时退出的时间长河中，人类的故事还在继续。
Cheng Xin and AA entered hibernation. Their consciousnesses gradually faded in the cold. It felt as though they had been drifting for a long time in a river. Exhausted, they climbed onto the shore, stopped, and watched the river continue to flow before their eyes, watched as the familiar water flowed into the distance.
与此同时，程心和艾从进人冬眠。她们的意识在寒冷中渐渐模糊，那感觉就像在一条大河中顺流漂了很久，终于精疲力竭地上了岸，静止下来，看着大河在眼前流淌，看着熟悉的水面漂向远方。
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