长宇宙系列文顺序 经典科幻文学:《生命 宇宙及一切》第10章2

经典科幻文学:《生命 宇宙及一切》第10章2  

The three pillars stood out clearly now
three pillars topped with o cross pieces in a way which looked stupefyingly familiar to Arthur’s addled brain.
The three pillars
thundered the man. The Steel Pillar which represented the Strength and Power of the Galaxy!
Searchlights seared out and danced crazy dances up and down the pillar on the left which was
clearly
made of steel or something very like it. The music thumped and bellowed.
The Perspex Pillar
announced the man
representing the forces of Science and Reason in the Galaxy!
Other searchlights played exotically up and down the righthand
transparent pillar creating dazzling patterns within it and a sudden inexplicable craving for ice-cream in the stomach of Arthur Dent.
And
the thunderous voice continued
the Wooden Pillar
representing… and here his voice became just very slightly hoarse with wonderful sentiments
the forces of Nature and Spirituality.
The lights picked out the central pillar. The music moved bravely up into the realms of plete unspeakability.
Beeen them supporting
the voice rolled on
approaching its climax
the Golden Bail of Prosperity and the Silver Bail of Peace!
The whole structure was now flooded with dazzling lights
and the music had now
fortunately
gone far beyond the limits of the discernible. At the top of the three pillars the o brilliantly gleaming bails sat and dazzled. There seemed to be girls sitting on top of them
or maybe they were meant to be angels. Angels are usually represented as wearing more than that
though.
Suddenly there was a dramatic hush in what was presumably meant to be the Cosmos
and a darkening of the lights.
There is not a world
thrilled the man’s expert voice
not a civilized world in the Galaxy where this symbol is not revered even today. Even in primitive worlds it persists in racial memories. This it was that the forces of Krikkit destroyed
and this it is that now locks their world away till the end of eternity!
And with a flourish
the man produced in his hands a model of the Wikkit gate. Scale was terribly hard to judge in this whole extraordinary spectacle
but the model looked as if it must have been about three feet high.
Not the original key
of course. That
as everyone knows
was destroyed
blasted into the ever-whirling eddies of the space-time continuum and lost for ever. This is a remarkable replica
hand-tooled by skilled craftsmen
lovingly assembled using ancient craft secrets into a memento you will be proud to own
in memory of those who fell
and in tribute to the Galaxy our Galaxy which they died to defend…
Slartibartfast floated past again at this moment.