time enough for love-时间足够你爱(英文版)-第3部分

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　　By　now　the　cumulative　probability　is；　as　I　have　said；　87。3　percent　if　you　have　any　Howard　ancestor…but　if　you　have　a　Howard　ancestor　from　a　recent　generation；　your　probability　climbs　toward　an　effective　100　percent。
　　
　　But；　as　a　statistician；　I　have　reason　to　believe　（backed　by　puter　analyses　of　blood　types；　hair　types；　eye　color；　tooth　count；　enzyme　types；　and　other　characteristics　responsive　to　geic　analysis　）…strong　reason　to　believe　that　the　Senior
　　
　　has　many　descendants　not　recorded　in　genealogies；　both　inside　and　outside　the　Howard　Families。　…
　　
　　To　put　it　mildly；　he　is　a　shameless　old　goat　whose　seed　is　scattered　all　through　this　part　of　our　Galaxy。
　　
　　Take　the　years　of　the　Exodus；　after　he　stole　the　New　Frontiers。　He　was　not　married　even　once　during　those　years；　and　ship's　records　and　legends　based　on　memoirs　of　that　time　suggest　that　he　was；　in　an　early　idiom；　a　〃woman　hater；〃　a　misogynist。
　　
　　Perhaps。　Biostistical　records　（rather　than　genealogies）；　when　analyzed；　suggest　that　he　was　not　that　unapproachable。　The　puter　that　analyzed　it　offered　to　bet　me　even　money　on　more　than　one　hundred　offspring　fathered　by　him　during　those　years。　（I　refused　the　bet；　that　puter　beats　me　at　chess　even　though　I　insist　on　a　one…rook　advantage。）
　　
　　I　do　not　find　this　surprising；　in　view　of　the　almost　…　pathological　emphasis　placed　on　longevity　among　the　Families　at　that　time。　The　oldest　male；　if　still　virile…and　he　certainty　was…would　have　been　subjected　to　endless　temptation；　endless　opportunity；　by　females　anxious　to　have　offspring　of　his　demonstrated　superiority…〃superiority〃　by　the　only　criterion　the　Howard　Families　respected。　We　can　assume　that　marital　status　would　not　matter　much；　all　Howard　Families　marriages　were　marriages　of　convenience…Ira　Howard's　will　insured　that…and　they　were　rarely　for　life。　The　only　surprising　aspect　is　that　so　few　fertile　females　managed　to　triy　him　any　thousands　were　willing。　But　he　was　always　fast　on　his　feet。
　　
　　As　may　be…　If　today　I　see　a　man　with　sandy　red　hair；　a　big　nose；　an　easy　disarming　grin；　and　a　slightly　feral　look　in　his　gray…green　eyes；　I　always　wonder　how　recently　the　Senior　has　passed　through　that　part　of　the　Galaxy。　If　such　a　stranger　es　close　to　me；　I　put　my　hand　on　my　purse：　If　he　speaks。　to　me；　I　resolve　not　to　make　wagers　or　promises。
　　
　　But　how　did　the　Senior；　himself　only　a　third…generation　member　of…　Ira　Howard's　breeding　experiment；　manage　to　live　and　stay　young　hi？　first　three　hundred　years　without　artificial　rejuvenation？
　　
　　A　mutation；　of　course…which　simply　says　that　we　don't　know。　But　in　the　course　of　his　several　rejuvenations　we　have　learned　a　little　about　his　physical　makeup。　He　has　an　unusually　large　heart　that　beats　very　slowly。　He　has　only　twentyeight　teeth；　no　caries；　and　seems　to　be　immune　to　infection。　He　has　never　had　…　surgery　other　than　for　wounds　or　for
　　
　　rejuvenation　procedures。　His　reflexes　are　extremhly　fast…　but　appear　always　to　be　reasoned；　so　one　may　question　the　correctness　of　the　term　〃reflex。〃　His　eyes　have　never　needed　correction　either　for　distance　or　close　work；　his　hearing　range　is　abnormally　high；　abnormally　low；　and　is　unusually　acute　throughout　his　range。　His　color　vision　includes　indigo。　He　was　born　without　prepuce；　without　vermiform　appendix；
　　
　　…and　apparently　without　a　conscience。　I　am　pleased　that　he　is　my　ancestor。
　　
　　Justin　Foote　the　45th
　　
　　Chief　Archivist；　Howard　Foundation
　　
　　PREFACE　TO　REVISED　EDITION
　　
　　In　this　abridged　popular　edition　the　technical　appendix　has　been　published　separately　in　order　to　make　room　for　an　account　of　the　Senior's　actions　after　he　left　Secundus　until　his　disappearance。　An　apocryphal　and　obviously　impossible　tale　of　the　last　events　in　his　life　has　been　included　at　the　insistence　of　the　editor　of　the　original　memoir；　but　it　cannot　be　taken　seriously。
　　
　　Carolyn　Briggs
　　
　　Chief　Archivist
　　
　　Note：　My　lovely　and　learned　successor　in　office　does　not　know　what　she　is　talking　about。　With　the　Senior；　the　most　fan…　tastic　is　always　the　most　probable。
　　
　　Justin　Foote　the　45th
　　
　　Chief　Archivist　Emeritus
　　
　　…PRELUD~3
　　
　　I
　　
　　As　the　door　of　the　suite　dilated~　the　man　seated　staring　glumly　out　the　window　looked　around。　〃Who　the　hell　are　you？〃
　　
　　〃I　am　Ira　Weatheral　of　the　Johnson　Family；　Ancestor；　Chairman　Pro　Tern　of　the　Families。〃
　　
　　〃Took　you　long　enough。　Don't　call　me　'Ancestor。'　And　why　just　the　Chairman　Pro　Tern？〃　the　man　in　the　chair　growled。　〃Is　the　Chairman　too　damn　busy　to　see　me？　Don't　I　rate　even　that？〃　He　made　no　move　to　stand；　nor　did　he　invite　his　visitor　to　sit　down。
　　
　　〃Your　pardon；　Sire。　I　am　chief　executive　for　the　Families。　But　it　has　been　customary　for　some　time　now…several　centuries…for　the　chief　executive　to　hold　the　title。　'Chairman　Pro　Tern'　。　…　against　the　possibility　that　you　might　show　up　and　take　the　gavel。〃
　　
　　〃Eh？　Ridiculous。　I　haven't　presided　at　a　meeting　of　the　Trustees　for　a　thousand　years。　And　'Sire'　is　…　as　bad　as　'Ancestor'…call　me　by　name。　It's　been　two　days　since　I　sent　for　you。　Did　yOu　e　by　the　scenic　route？　Or　has　the　rule　that　entitles　me　to　the　ear　of　the　Chairman　been　revoked？〃
　　
　　〃I　am　not　aware　of　that　rule；　Senior；　it　was　probably　long　before　my　time…but　it　is　my　honor　and　duty…and　pleasure
　　
　　…to　wait　on　you　at　any　time。　I　will　be　pleased　and　honored　to　call　you　by　name　if　you　will　tell　me　what　your　name　is　now。　As　for　the　delay…thirty…seven　hours　since　I　received　your　summons…I　have　spent　it　studying　Ancient　English；　as　I　was　told　that　you　were　not　answering　to　any　other　language。〃　…
　　
　　The　Senior　looked　slightly　sheepish。　〃It's　true　I'm　not　handy　with　the　jabber　they　speak　here…my　memory　has　been　playing　tricks　on　me　lately。　I　guess　I've　been　sulky　about　answering　even　when　I　understood。　Names…　I　forget　what　name　I　checked　…　in　by　when　I　grounded　here。　Mmrn；　'Woodrow　Wilson　Smith'　was~rny　boyhood　name。　Never　used　it　much。
　　
　　I　suppose　'Lazarus　Lg'　is　the　name　I've　used　oftenest…
　　
　　第2节
　　
　　call　me　'Lazarus。'〃…
　　
　　〃Thank　you。；　Lazarus。〃
　　
　　〃For　what？　Don't　be　so　damned　formal。　You're　not　a　kid；　or　you　wouldn't　be　Chairman…how　old　are　you？　Did　you　really　take　the　trouble　to　learn　my　milk　language　just　to　call　on　me？　And　in　less　than　two　days？　Was　that　from　scratch？　It　takes　me　at　least　a　week　to　tack　on　a　new　language；　another　week　to　smooth　out　accent。〃
　　
　　〃I　am　three　hundred　and　seventy…two　standard　years　old；　Lazarus……just　under　four　hundred　Earth　years。　I　learned　Classic　English　when　I　took　this　job…but　as　a　dead　language；　to　enable　me　to　read　old　records　of　the　Families　in　the　original。　What　I　did　since　your　summons　was　to　learn　to　speak　and　understand　it　…　…。　in　North　American　twentieth…century　idiom…your　'milk　language'　as　you　said…as　that　is　what　the　linguistic　analyzer　puted　that　you　were　speaking。〃
　　
　　〃Pretty　smart　machine。　Maybe　1　am　speaking　it　the　way　I　did　as　a　youngster；　they　claim　that's　the　one　language…　a　brain　never　forgets。　Then　I　must　be　talking　in　a　Cornbelt　rasp　like　a　rusty　saw　…　…　whereas　you're　speaking　a　sort　of　Texas　drawl　with　…an　Oxford　British　overlay。　Odd。　I　suppose　the　machine　picks　the　version　out　of　its　permanents　closest　to　the　sample　fed　into　it。〃　…
　　
　　〃I　believe　so；　Lazarus；　although　the　te~hniques　involved　are
　　
　　not　my　field。　Do　you　have　trouble　understanding　my　accent？'　〃Oh；　none　at　all。　Your　accent　is　okay；　it's　closer　to　educated　General　American　of　that　time　than　is　the　accent　I　learned　as　a　kid。　But　I　can　follow　anything　from　Bluegum　to。
　　
　　Yorkshire；　accent　is　no　problem。　It　was　mighty　kind　of　you　to　bother。　Warming。〃
　　
　　…　〃My　pleasure。　I　have　a　talent　for　languages；　it　was　not　much　trouble。　I　try　to　be　able　to　speak　to　each　of　the　Trustees　in　his　native　language；　I'm　used　tO　swotting　up　a　new　one　quickly。〃　…　…
　　
　　〃So？　Noheless。a　courteous　thing　to　do…I've　felt　like　an
　　
　　…　animal　in　a　zoo　with　no　one　to　talk　to。　Those　dummies〃…　Lazarus　inclined　his　head　at　two　rejuvenation　technicians；　dressed　in　isolation　gear　and　one…way　helmets；　and　waiting　as　far　from　the　conversation　as　the　room　permitted…〃don't
　　
　　know　English；　I　can't　talk　with　them。　Oh；　the　taller　one　understands　a　little　but　not　enough　for　gossip。〃　Lazarus　whistled；　pointed　at　the　taller。　〃Hey；　you！　A　chair　for　the
　　
　　Chairman…chop　chop！〃　His　gestures　made　his　meaning　clear。　The　taller　technician　touched　the　controls　of　a　chair　nearby；　it　rolled　away；　wheeled　around；　and　stopped　at　a　fortable　t阾e…？t~te　distance　from　Lazarus。
　　
　　Ira　Weatheral　said　thank　you…to　Lazarus；　not　to　the　tech
　　
　　…sat　down；　then　sighed　as　the　chair　felt　him　out　and　cuddled　him。　Lazarus　said；　〃fortable？〃
　　
　　〃Quite。〃…　…
　　
　　…　〃Anything　to　eat　or　drink？　Or　smoke？　You　may　have　to　interpret　for　me。〃
　　
　　〃Nothing；　thank　you。　But　may　I　order　for　you？〃
　　
　　〃Not　now。　They　keep　me　stuffed　like　a　goose…once　they　force…fed　me；　damn　them。　Since　we're　fortable；　let's　get　on　with　the　powwow。〃　He　suddenly　roared