[转帖]英文版几篇郑的经典童话~

来自http://sally.myrice.com/ 译者：玉薇 在此表示致敬

Train 7801

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8

Chapter 1 The dispatcher's office of the underground was in a great panic, for the train 7801, running normally with a full load of passengers, disappeared suddenly from the screen of the detecting system. "7801, 7801, where are you? Please answer me!" the dispatcher asked in an intense voice. There was no reply from train 7801. "Where did the signal of 7801 disappear?" the chief dispatcher asked, on hearing the news. "Between Pine station and Beta station." the dispatcher pointed out the site to the chief. "Stop the traffic immediately! Send a repair team between Pine station and Beta station to search for 7801. Prepare the firemen and rescue teams." the chief dispatcher ordered after asking the manager. It was often ominous if an underground train lost its signal and communication while running. Generally speaking, it must be a fire or a great malfunction. The line stopped completely. Stations were packed with people that nobody knew what had happened. Complaints were heard continuously. People could waste time at home or work without a limit, but as soon as they got on a vehicle, they would try their best to save time, even a second. The workmen of the underground were deploying the passengers, in an atmosphere of denouncement. The repair team divided into two groups, one entered from Pine station and the other entered from Beta station, trying to find train 7801. To their surprise, when the two groups met each other online, none of them claimed to have seen the train. "Didn't you find 7801?" the group setting off from Pine St. asked the other. "No! Didn't you find it?" the group from Beta St. asked them. "No! That's impossible!" "Report to the dispatcher's office!" A team leader reported with a headphone. "What? There is no train 7801 between Pine St. and Beta St.? Nonsense! Could it fly away? This is underground, the line unable to escape! Search it carefully!" said the chief dispatcher. "There is really not! A large train, not a needle, how couldn't we see it with so many eyes? If you don't believe, you can search it yourself!" the team leader said. The chief dispatcher walked from Pine St. to Beta St. himself, fixed still. Train 7801 was missing! The chief ordered to fling all the staff to look for 7801 on the railways among all the stations. The staff nearly stood in a circle on the railway, hand in hand, 7801 not found. 7801 had really got lost, with its driver and a full load of passengers. It was estimated that there were at least 1,000 passengers on board. The railway was completely enclosed underground. The train running on it could not fly even with wings. How did 7801 get lost? The Underground Corp. organized an urgent conference with the managers of all departments. "This is the most troublesome problem we had met since the foundation of our firm. Wherever did 7801 go?" the directing manager asked them. An underground train got lost with a full load of passengers while running normally, leaving no trails on the railway, it was really unbelievable. "I felt that we should accept this reality first," said one department manager, "Every of us has walked on the whole lap of railway. It really got lost." The directing manager looked at him. "We'd better resume the traffic first, and then report to the city." the manager said. "If 7801 became hidden, would it cause a crash if we resumed the traffic?" another department manager said. "Invisible?" the directing manager felt even more curious, as if in a fairy tale. "Since every odd thing could happen, we had to reconsider it." the manager said. The directing manager nodded. "Arrange an empty train to run around the whole lap of railway at the lowest speed, so as to see if there was invisible 7801 on the railway. If not, resume the traffic." another department manager suggested. The directing manager accepted his suggestion. Thus, a completely empty train, with only a driver, ran around the whole lap of railway at the speed of 0.5 kph, without any barriers. It proved that train 7801 did not become hidden. "Resume the traffic!" the directing manager ordered. Passengers with great anger rushed into the station.

Chapter 2 The directing manager of the Underground Corp. was sitting outside the mayor's office, waiting to be invited. According to the mayor's secretary said, the mayor was dealing with an affair which was more important than the missing of train. The directing manager kept looking his watch. He seldom came into the mayor's office. A bald man came out of the mayor's office, with a disappointed looking. "You may come in now." the secretary said to the directing manager. The directing manager entered the office. It was a large, bright room covered with hardwood floor. The risen flag beside the desk indicated the solemnity of the owner of this room. "Sit down!" said the mayor. The directing manager could hardly wait to sit down that he began to report the missing of train 7801. The mayor listened to him, like listening to a myth. "If I were you, I wouldn't believe it. But it does be true." the directing manager ended his report with this sentence. "Are you exhausted these days? It seems as if you haven't slept for days. The public transportation of our city mainly depends on you, right? I've heard that the line stopped this morning. The pressure on buses was quite large so they complained. However, we don't have a intention to punish you." the mayor thought the directing manager of the Underground Corp. was coming to look for an excuse. The directing manager was puzzled. "Listen to me, sir. I swear with my humanity! One of our trains got lost while running normally. All the 1,000 passengers and the driver on board have not been found so far. Please believe me." the directing manager said in a certain voice. "If someone told me that a bus got lost, I would believe, even if someone told me that a train got lost, I would believe. But I really can't believe that an underground train got lost, even with a full load of passengers! You cannot convince me!" the mayor looked at his watch. The directing manager knew that the mayor wanted to get rid of him. Just at the moment, the telephone on the desk rang. "Sir, your wife calls, please pick up line 2." said the secretary in the phone. The mayor picked up another receiver. "What? What do you say?" the mayor glanced at the directing manager. "I see." The mayor put down the receiver. "I beg your pardon?" the mayor said to the directing manager. The directing manager thought that the mayor now believed in him. The mayor's wife worked for the Teaching Bureau. In her office there were 3 workers who went to work by underground, but by then none of them had arrived. She called their homes but was told that they had already left. That was to say, they had got lost. The directing manager repeated what he had just said. The mayor frowned. An underground train got lost while running! Together with the 1,000 passengers on board! The secretary came in and whispered to the mayor. "Let him in!" said the mayor. The city police officer entered. "Sir, there seems to be something wrong. From the midday on, people have been keeping reporting cases to the police stations. The contents are exactly the same: relatives/colleagues got lost. Most of them got beepers but however they are called, they fail to reply." said the officer. "By now, how many people have got lost." asked the mayor. "It has been 378 cases so far, and it is still increasing." said the officer. "Do the cases have anything in common?" asked the mayor. "All the people got lost took an underground train." the officer took a look at the directing manager. The mayor was now fully convinced. "An underground train has got lost. Your caseload will keep increasing, for it is estimated that there were 1,000 passengers on board." the mayor told the officer. "Was it hijacked by the bandits?" asked the officer. "It would be better if it were hijacked." the mayor sighed. "Then it was..." the officer looked at the directing manager. "Unreasonable disappearance." the directing manager told the officer. The officer had a very strange expression on his face. The mayor pressed the bell on the desk. The secretary came in. "Tell the heads of Public Bureau, News Bureau and Finance Bureau, together with the directing manager of the Insurance Company to come into my office and hold an emergent meeting, immediately." the mayor asked the secretary. Those people were summoned in 20 minutes. "That 7801 got lost must be reported to the citizens in tonight's TV news." the mayor said to the head of News Bureau. "How to report it? Just say an underground train got lost unreasonably?" the head of News Bureau felt a bit embarrassed. "What do the journalist do? In common times, they could describe such a little thing as a skyscraper, now we need their help and they've all became mute?" said the mayor, staring at the head of News Bureau. "I will manage it myself." said the head of News Bureau, wiping his sweat. "You are in charge of calculating the actual number of the missing. It must be on that train in case someone swindle national assets by change." the mayor said to the officer. The officer nodded. "You deal with the following things, do remember to comfort the relatives of the missing." said the mayor to the head of Public Bureau. "Affirmative." said the head of Public Bureau. "The government will give every family of the missing 20,000 yuan as a pension. You arrange it." the mayor told the head of Finance Bureau. The head of Finance Bureau recorded. "You compensate for who is insured." the mayor said to the directing manager of the Insurance Company. The directing manager of the Insurance Co. asked the mayor: "Are you sure that they are all dead?" The mayor looked at the directing manager of the Underground Corp. "We don't expect they can survive." he said. "What caused it?" the directing manager of the Insurance Co. asked. "I think it was hijacked by ETs." the head of Public Bureau was a UFO-fan. "Report it in this angle." the mayor instructed the head of News Bureau. The head of News Bureau put it down. "Do what you should do now." the mayor declared the meeting over.

Chapter 3 The TV news on that evening reported the disappearance of train 7801. Everyone was surprised. News agencies all over the world diverted it as soon as possible. The relatives of the missing did not agree, and they came to the government to ask the mayor for an explanation. They didn't believe at all that an underground train had got lost, they even didn't believe that it was hijacked by ETs. They believed that a terrible accident had claimed their kinfolk's lives, and they hated the dishonesty of the local government. The directing manager of the Underground Corp., consigned by the mayor, explained what had happened to train 7801 in details to the relatives. However, they thought he was telling a lie and they asked him for their kinfolk's lives. The mayor's assistant, accompanying the directing manager, said to those relatives that the time limit of the payment of pension was a week. The government would not take the responsibility, as it was really unexpected. Those relatives were intelligent enough to ask for the pension. 1,000 families held a lamenting ceremony for their lost relatives, and the government put the flag down to semi-height. There were a lot of analyses of the disappearance of train 7801, of which the ET's action was the most acceptable one. Time passed, everything returned to normal. People gradually forgot train 7801.

Chapter 4 One morning after a year, the dispatchers were watching the running of the underground trains in the dispatcher's office as usual. "Look! There is an extra train." said one dispatcher. The staff clearly saw a signal of a train between Pine St. and Beta St. Another train was running normally between these two stations too. The distance between the two trains was so short that there would be probably a collision at anytime. "Where does it come from?" the chief dispatcher asked them. Everyone shook his head. "7805, 7805, please pay attention! There is a train 1,000m ahead of you, slow down at once!" the chief dispatcher ordered the driver of the train running normally. "7805 acknowledge!" "Tell all the trains behind to slow down." said the chief dispatcher. The staff became very busy with the trains. "Call that extra train." ordered the chief dispatcher. "What are you? Please answer me!" it was the first time that the dispatcher used such words. "I am 7801!" the driver of that train answered. 7801? The dispatcher's office became a mess. "7801? Are you sure?" the dispatcher asked the driver. "What do you mean by 'Are you sure'? What's up?" the driver said. "So you've come back?" the dispatcher was puzzled. "What do you mean by 'come back'? Where did I go?" the driver was surprised. "......" The dispatcher had nothing to reply. "7801, is it really you?" the chief dispatcher picked up the headphone. "What's wrong with you all today? We have just connected 5 minutes before!" "We connected 5 minutes ago?" the chief dispatcher fixed his eyes upon the screen. "You are the chief dispatcher, aren't you? We together had breakfast in the dining-hall this morning." said the driver of 7801. The chief dispatcher had his breakfast at home this morning. "Does he talk about the day that 7801 got lost?" a careful dispatcher reminded. Right! The chief dispatcher recalled. Exactly on the day that 7801 had got lost, he had breakfast with the driver of it in the dining-hall of the corporation. It impressed him a lot because of the disappearance of 7801. Train 7801 did not know that it had been missing for a year. "7801, what is the date today?" the chief dispatcher asked when he saw the calendar showing 14/7/2014. "Are you treating me like a child in kindergarten? Of course today is 14/7/2013!" the driver said. 7801 really failed to know that it had been missing for a year. "Telephone the directing manager at once!" said the chief dispatcher to the staff. The directing manager immediately announced the mayor. "Don't let those passengers on board get off!" the mayor instructed the directing manager. "Why? They are entering the station." said the directing manager. "Their disappearance is too incredible. Where did they go? Did they have special illnesses on their bodies? Are they the commandos trained by the ETs to attack us?" the mayor did considered thoughtfully. "But they are entering the station! What shall we do then?" the directing manager asked the mayor. "Send the police to the platform of Beta St., and get two drivers to go on board and drive train 7801 to a consigned station, which has been cleared in advance, and don't make 7801 to open its door until I fling armed policemen and armies there." said the mayor. The directing manager instantly executed the command. The driver found with a start that the platform was filled with policemen when he drove train 7801 into Beta St. Two drivers jumped into the driving room even before the train stopped steadily. "Don't open the door." said the two drivers to their long lost colleague. "Why do you wear respirators?" the driver of 7801 asked them when he saw they were both wearing respirators. In fact they wore respirators in case the epidemic infected. "Why can't we open the door." asked the driver of 7801. "Superior's instruction. Maybe there are criminals on board." said a colleague. "Why are you so fat only after one day?" the driver of 7801 asked another colleague beside him. "Not one day, but one year!" the colleague said. "One year?" the driver of 7801 felt unbelievable. "Everything is ready for restarting." the drivers wearing respirators reported to the directing manager by the headphone aboard.

Chapter 5 Eric was a judge of a middle court. In the morning he went to work by underground. He took along a magazine as usual, to read it while the train was running. He felt curiously that he had a very good efficiency while reading in vehicles. When the train departed Pine St., Eric took away his magazine, for he knew the next station would be Beta St., where he should get off. Eric came near the door and the train began to slow down. Suddenly the darkness outside the windows turned to brightness. It reached Beta St. Eric was surprised when he saw the platform was nearly full of policemen. He judged that there was an accident to this station. When the train stopped steadily, the door kept shut. "Open the door!" those passengers who wanted to get off shouted. Every door was guarded by some policemen. "Open the door!" the passengers knocked at the windows. The policemen asked the passengers not to knock at the windows by gestures. Eric felt something wrong, for he noticed with a shock that a marble ad nearby had such words as this: Visa Advertisement Inc Design 2014. 2014? Eric knew that this year was 2013. Misprint? Eric had hardly time to think over when the train started again. "I want to get off!" "Open the door!" Scores of passengers scolded. The train took the curse nothing at all and accelerated. It even didn't stop at the next station. Eric was famous for acuteness in the court, for he could deal with a difficult case correctly and freely. However, he was not acute enough to judge what had happened. The train had already passed 7 stations, without any stop. All the passengers sitting stood up and looked outside the windows. It blinks from bright to dark, passing the stations frequently. "Wherever is the train pulling us to?" one passenger screamed. The train was hijacked? Eric had such an idea suddenly. The kidnappers had ever hijacked planes, ships and buses, but Eric was never told that they would hijack an underground train. Eric began to seek for those passengers who wore police uniforms, intending to organize a self-rescue. The train began to slow down. "May I have your attention please?" Eric said to the passengers in the same compartment, "There seems to be some trouble with our train, but we can't hurry. Are there any policemen or soldiers? I am a judge. Please listen to me if you trust me." "I am a policeman." "I am a soldier." "I am a safeguard." 3 people registered to Eric. All the passengers in the compartment agreed to listen to Eric. "Whatever has happened?" the passengers asked Eric. "It might be some kidnappers have hijacked the train we are taking." Eric said. Some female passengers were frightened to tears. The train entered a station, and stopped. The platform was filled with armed soldiers and policemen, whose guns all pointed at the train. All the staff were wearing gas masks. Eric found it not been hijacked, but even worse. "Passengers on train 7801 pay attention! Passengers on 7801 pay attention!" a sheriff, looking like a pig with a gas mask, shouted at the passengers on board with a microphone. Eric then realized the serial number of the train he took was 7801. All the passengers held their breaths to listen to the sheriff. "You, all of you, must obey our directions and never act thoughtlessly. Any consequences caused by your thoughtless action will be in the charge of you. Every soldier of us is authorized to fire at you." the sheriff said, "I repeat! You, all of you, must obey our directions and never act thoughtlessly. Any consequences caused by your thoughtless action will be in the charge of you! Every soldier of us is authorized to fire at you!" All the passengers stood still. "Now, you leave the compartment, one after one, put your hands on your head, and accept the body search. The door of the compartment where Eric stayed opened first. Eric was just leaving the compartment when a soldier outside asked him to put his hands on his head. As a judge, Eric felt it an insult. He refused to do so. The soldier put up his gun, pointing at Eric's head. Eric had to put his hands on his head. Two soldiers came to search Eric's body. "It is illegal for you to do so! Why?" Eric shouted at the sheriff. "Why? Because the train you are taking has been missing for one year, but it comes back so suddenly that the government can't take it easy! Please excuse me for doing this for the city security." the sheriff said to the passengers. Being missing for one year? All the passengers confirmed that there'd be something wrong with the sheriff's brain. Everyone had just left home one hour before, what did he mean by "one year"? Eric remembered the ad at Beta St. Was it real that train 7801 spent one year running from Pine St. to Beta St.? But why were the passengers unaware of it? After Eric was searched, he walked outside the station in the direction pointed by the soldiers, followed by the passengers who were searched. "Bump!" a gun fired. A passenger attempted to resist and was hit by a bullet. Nobody dared to resist again. Eric felt discomfited.

Chapter 6 Outside the station parked 20 large prisoner's vans, each of which with iron bars standing for ruthless laws. Passengers of train 7801 walked on the prisoner's van one by one, supervised by thousands of armed soldiers. Eric noticed that there was an extra building beside the underground station. When he was here yesterday, he didn't see it. A man sitting beside Eric whispered to him: "I have a mobile phone." Eric nodded, making gestures to express his need. The man passed the mobile phone to Eric. Eric allocated the number of the court he worked for. "Sorry, the number you are dialing was changed 6 months ago, please dial 114 for details." a dainty girl's voice was heard in the receiver. Eric really felt it complicated. Did it really pass one year? But why none of the passengers felt that? Was it real that there were two different times existing on the earth? Did we enter the other time domain underground? The vehicle group drove outside the urban area, guarded by police cars. "Where are we going?" the man asked Eric quietly. Eric shook his head. Landscape outside gave a great astonishment to the passengers of 7801, for several overpasses appeared where there was nothing yesterday, and strange architectures could be seen everywhere. The vehicle group entered a hotel situated in the outskirts, surrounded by tanks and with ceasing helicopters upwards. All the passengers were concentrated on the ground in front of the hotel, surrounded by armed soldiers. An official with a gas mask appeared in front of them. "I am the mayor assistant." he said. "I've got something to say!" Eric interrupted him, "I am the judge of the city court, and this is my ID card. Eric showed his ID card to the mayor assistant. The mayor assistant checked his card, with his hands covered by gloves. Eric wanted to prove his remarks with his identification. "You say." said the mayor assistant. "I swear with my humanity, none of us had an experience that we spent one year in this train. We really did leave home this morning!" Eric said. "This is absolutely impossible!" the mayor assistant did not believe at all, "Train 7801, the one you took, got lost last year, that was the news noticed by all over the world! It was one of the ten pieces of greatest news in 2013. You must have gone to some place. Before the fact was uncovered, you must live in this hotel. We must be responsible for all the citizens and all the people in the world. We also need to have your bodies examined thoroughly in case you bring a new kind of virus to the earth." "We didn't leave the train at all! Where could we go? I am the national labor model that you must trust me." a middle-aged woman said to the mayor assistant. "I am a senator! You have no authority to restrain me!" "I am a professor! I protest!" ...... Everyone with decent jobs protested. "You should consider more about the security of our city. I believe all of you have a judgement, and you must have felt something changed on the way here, which can only be realized by the time. Besides, would we seize you with armies unreasonably? Or the mayor has got a puma's bravery? I hope you will calm down. You will receive the best treatment here. In every room we have a telephone, and you can communicate with your relatives. Whether this year is 2014 or not, you can make sure after calling your homes. However I remind you, please don't speak so hurriedly while calling your homes, as they have already held a lamenting ceremony for you a year before. After the fact is given, you can go back to your home. At that time, even if you don't want to go, the taxpayers will not agree." said the mayor assistant. Passengers of train 7801 had nothing else to say. "I say it again, everyone who tries to escape from this hotel may lead to death, including national labor model, senator and judge." the mayor assistant announced, "You may keep in touch with outside through telephone, and you may watch television and read newspapers, but you may not write letters." Passengers were distributed to separate rooms. Eric called his home as soon as entering his room. "Who is that asking for?" a strange man answered the telephone. "Who is that?" Eric asked. "This is the host here." the man was obviously dissatisfied by Eric's question. "The host? And your wife?" Eric thought that he had dialed the wrong number. "My wife is Dora." the man said. Dora was just Eric's wife! His wife remarried? Eric was fixed, holding the receiver. "Hey, speaking! Who are you asking for?" Dora's new husband shouted. Eric dropped the receiver. Doctors and nurses, wearing rubber uniforms and gas masks, broke into Eric's room to give him a physical examination. The nurse inserted the injector into Eric's arm, pulled out a large test-tube of blood. This made Eric think of the veterinarians.

Chapter 7 The mayor listened to the assistant's report on dealing with train 7801 sternly. "What? They didn't admit to have been to some place?" the mayor was surprised. "There is a judge and a senator among the passengers, and they both confirmed that they left home just this morning. It seemed true." said the mayor assistant. "It is impossible! It is known all over the world that train 7801 has been missing for one year. Where were they staying during the year?" the mayor said. "Were their brains emptied by the ETs, or they had been changed into bio-robots by the ETs?" a vice-mayor said. "However, they can never be set free until the fact is given. I must be in charge of the human beings." the mayor said. "Is the medium reporting on the return of train 7801?" the head of News Bureau asked the mayor. "Of course. Tell them why are we seizing their relatives, they will understand." All the journals reported on the miraculous return of train 7801, which got lost last year, and the passengers' refusing on spending one year aboard. Anybody in the world wouldn't have believed, if they hadn't seen it on TV by themselves. Dora saw her ex-husband Eric on TV, unknowing how to face this reality. Her new husband was very kind to her, even better than her former one. However, Eric left an unforgettable impression deep in her heart. Quantities of remarried families fell into trouble. It was a great surprise that none of the relatives asked to set them free, for everyone were afraid of ETs' employees, of living together with robots, of diseases. Nevertheless, those who passed one year but refused to admit must be abnormal. Journalists all over the world rushed towards the hotel restraining the passengers, and so did the scientists. The physical examination indicated that there was nothing wrong with the passengers' consciousness or health. No passenger so far admitted that he had missed one year, or left the underground to another place. But train 7801 really had been missing for one year. Wherever did they go? All the scientists thought of it hard. Every steel panel of train 7801 was examined carefully. Every passenger had talked for over 10 hours with an illustrious scientist. It was still a mystery. Was it real that there were two times existing on the earth? Had train 7801 entered another time domain by mistake? No one believed the suggestion put forward by Eric. Then wherever did train 7801 go during this year? 7801 became the most familiar number to the human beings.

Chapter 8 Time passed by, and the passengers restrained in the hotel protested. They elected Eric telephoning the UN Secretary, asking him to free the passengers of train 7801. "We are not wrong! We want freedom!" Eric used these two sentences to end his talk with the UN Secretary. From the angle of humanity, the UN Secretary claimed to free the passengers. Many countries detested as they worried that it would bring disasters to the earth. The International Humanity Organization supported to free the passengers. The mayor collected ideas from different aspects, of which half agreed and half objected. Those who objected thought that these people would do harm to society if they were freed, and those who agreed thought that it would be immoral to keep on seizing them after having confirmed no virus existing through the physical examination. The mayor thought again and again, finally decided to free the passengers. When Eric told this news to his companions, everyone broke into cheers, for they had been kept in this hotel for totally 5 months. However, after Eric returned to the city, he found nowhere to go. He was unwilling to disturb the new life of his wife, Dora. His colleagues dared not to shake hands with him again when he arrived at the court for work. He took charge of a case but was refused when the prosecutor and the defendant found him to be responsible for it. A middle-schoolboy returned school and his classmates looked him over, as if looking at a monkey. Afterwards, 4/5 of them were transferred to other school, as their parents worried about their safety. A head of a department wanted to continue to be the head after returning to his original office. The new head told him that he should have retired and he plead to have a year left. The new one told him that year had been consumed himself in the underground, it was 2014! A university schoolgirl went for a job after returning, but as soon as she was known to be the passenger on train 7801, she was rejected firmly, for the employers were afraid of economic spy. Nobody was willing to contact those who missed one year. Finally they discovered that society did not accept them any more. They had to gather together and build their homestead at the foot of a mountain, marrying each other and reproducing their offspring. At the end of the 22nd century, they were the most microscopic minority in the world. About the derivation of this nationality, few people knew.

Translated on 15/12/99

[此贴子已经被作者于2004-6-14 18:38:04编辑过]

展开全文

做好事

不过，那种味没了

还有，也是更重要的，就是外国人没有我们这种应试教育

他们的经历不同

不一定就能有我们这种共鸣了~

伟大的人~

不过外国名著也是这么翻过来的

只能看懂篇名，但总觉得中国的东西，翻译出去没那种感觉。

老郑说文章里每一个字都应该是恰如其分不可替代的，这下子连语言都换了，能保证原汁原味？

看不懂

说清楚是哪部作品嘛

7801次列车 鸽王 月球监狱 黄金梦

呵呵

没仔细看，不知翻译功底怎样

不要折磨我了

The Dream of Gold

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6

Chapter 1 At exactly 24 o'clock of Greenwich time on a moonless night, two mysterious spaceships were launched simultaneously in two different places of the earth. Going through the atmosphere at the speed of 7.9 kps like darts, they accelerated to 11.2 kps and got rid of the attraction of the earth and the solar system. Then they headed for Cancer 5 times as fast as the velocity of light... Their mission, direction and destination were still known by very few people in the world.

Chapter 2 A week ago, the scientists of country S found that in Cancer, which is 175 light-years away from the earth, there was a star called Whiteblue. The amount of gold in this star was so large that it took 1/100,000 of its weight and it was 100 times as much as the amount of this metal in the solar system. Of course, the discovery thrilled country S greatly. As we all know, the amount of gold in the earth takes only 1/200,000,000 of its weight and it concentrates in limited areas. On contrast, the gold in Whiteblue scattered inside it equally. The total amount was 100 billion tons. Country S confirmed this discovery as top secret immediately, and organized the "Gold Discoverer" led by a glorious astronaut, Saharov. The mission of it was to land on Whiteblue, make sure of its reality, and fetch back a certain amount of gold in order to solve the internal economic problem. "Gold Discoverers" had altogether 23 people, which were not only experienced astronauts, but also specialists in different aspects, such as astronomers, geologists, metallurgists and so on. Its leader, Saharov, who was 28 years old, was very tall and powerful, for his face looked cunning and he seldom smiled. Country S did not occur that at the moment they launched their spaceship, Abundance, country M also launched their spaceship, Promishes. For, country M nearly discovered this shining gold star together with country S in the same second. And president of country M was definitely made dazzled by this discovery. It seemed that in spite of the language, the word "Gold" had extreme fascination. Whenever you spelt these four letters together, you would feel comfortable. So that country M organized the "Gold Explorers" led by Nick, with the same aim as country S's "Gold Discoverers", and left the earth in Promishes in the same time. In fact, the amount of gold in Whiteblue was 100 billion tons that it was absolutely sufficient for country S to share with country M. However, monopoly seemed as if instinctive. Therefore a breathtaking war unveiled.

Chapter 3 Abundance was flying steadily in space. Saharov received the command from the earth informing him to arrive in Cancer before Promishes, and find a chance to destroy it. As it was, Saharov found Promishes flying not far away from them. He frowned. The captain of Promishes, Nick, was only 26 years old. He was handsome and had a very good sense of humour. But his tactics were as many as his jokes, no less than experienced Saharov. Nick received the command from the earth as well, whose contents were exactly the same except the country names. "Hello, Promishes! This is Abundance greeting." Saharov's amiable voice was heard in the controlling compartment of Promishes. "Hello, Abundance! Have a nice trip!" Nick replied politely. The two captains met each other on the screen, smiling like friends. "Please approach us," Saharov invited friendly, "we can connect to each other and cooperate to cover the mission." "Affirmative," Nick winked, "we are acquaintances now. See, we have already passed Uranus. In this vast universe, we are in the same family, aren't we?" Thus, the two spaceships decided to connect together, like kinfolk. Hanging up the visual telephone, Saharov prepared laser cannon, for if Promishes approached, it would be destroyed immediately. Nick ordered his spaceship to approach Abundance, keeping joking with Saharov. When Promishes had just approached Abundance (in fact the distance was 3 km, but it was tiny in the universe), Saharov made a gesture expressing firing. Abundance shot a slim beam of laser. Meanwhile, Promishes fired a beam of laser too. The two beams came across each other, and no one knew what physical phenomenon occurred (for the physicists to research). As a result, neither of them was destroyed.

Chapter 4 The connection succeeded, as nothing happened. Saharov embraced Nick lovingly and kissed him. It was really a moving spectacle. They signed a protocol that they would develop Whiteblue together, cooperating and sharing. As the population on both Abundance and Promishes was the same, neither of them dared to fight against the other. On Abundance, Saharov held a banquet inviting the guests from country M. On the spaceship at 5 times of the velocity of light, there was no problem of zero gravity, so that toothpaste-like compressed food was unnecessary. They enjoyed the banquet, as if on the earth. Saharov adulterated anesthetics into the wine for the crew of Promishes. Seeing for himself that all the guests from country M drank the wine, Saharov smiled, like all the hosts do when seeing the guests drinking. When the crew of Promishes returned to their own spaceship, they all felt overturned. Nick realized all what happened, but he still fell down. But Saharov didn't come in to prosecute them, for Nick shot some anesthetics into the bodies of the crew of Abundance with a mini injector. Therefore both of them were fast asleep. They slept soundly, but it caused great trouble to the earth. The surface station of country S called 1,000 times with no reply. They protested to the embassy of country M and declared all the 23 astronauts as martyrs, announcing their relatives to hold a funeral. Country M didn't lag behind, for they called 1,001 times with no reply, they set the national flag to the semi-height first, and interviewed the ambassador from country S, using extremely intensive expressions that rarely appeared in its diplomatic history. The astronauts from two countries were still sleeping, unaware of the earth logging out their identities. Now who woke up earlier, who would be the winner. Eventually, Saharov opened his eyes. He quickly awoke his companions, prepared a gun, and walked towards Promishes quietly. If they had not been quite different in appearance, Saharov would have thought of a big mirror forward, for he saw Nick walking towards him, armed with also a gun and followed by his companions. The two crews hid their guns simultaneously, shaking hands and greeting each other warmly. Even the people in love could not reach this extent.

Chapter 5 After two contests, neither of them dared to appeal to arms. They lived together. After 25 years' flight, the two spaceships were about to approach Whiteblue. For security, they decided to break apart and land. The scene of breaking was also moving. Before the break, Saharov signed another protocol with Nick, dividing their areas on Whiteblue: the east hemisphere for country S and the west hemisphere for country M. The two spaceships approached Whiteblue. Golden Whiteblue was shining attractively like a large gold ball. Presidents of both countries saw the golden star through the television. Although during the 25 years, presidents changed many times, the desire for gold remained. On contrast, with the increasing of the price of gold, this kind of desire increased day after day. "You must monopolize Whiteblue!" President of country S commanded Saharov. "You have to get all the 100 billion tons!" President of country M ordered Nick. Nick was too excited that his eyes were filled with blood. He commanded his spaceship to make for Whiteblue at full speed. But Saharov didn't hurry, for he watched Promishes sympathetically, as he put a special kind of germs that could duplicate themselves quickly and erode the metal into the landing system of Promishes 15 years ago. According to his accurate calculation, the germs would erode the landing system of Promishes today and make it unable to land safely. As soon as Abundance touched down safely on Whiteblue, a loud noise was heard far away -- Promishes crashed. The astronauts of country S burst into cheers that their national flag rose uniquely on the gold land of Whiteblue.

Chapter 6 For the gold scattered everywhere, exploiting was unnecessary. Saharov would like to haul the whole star back to the earth, but of course, this was only a daydream. He was a realist that he and his companions gathered 2 tons of gold (they couldn't calculate it in ounces), filled the cabin of Abundance fully, and went on the returning trip victoriously. The happiness of country S and the sadness of country M made a sharp contrast, the same in degree, but just opposite. Another 25 years passed. Passing by Mars, Abundance approached the earth. All people of country S, old and young, celebrated as if it was a festival. The landing field was packed with people and there were even concerts being held. Although president changed many times again, the desire of gold still remained anxious. For today, all the MPs arrived at the scene to share the happiness. The most exciting moment came. The spaceship, Abundance, appeared above the landing field. In everyone's eyes, it was not a spaceship, but gold and money! It's everything! The music band was playing the national song loudly. A large number of people were wiping their tears from the eyes with handkerchiefs. Abundance descended lower and lower, 300 m, 200 m, 150 m, 100 m...... landed! At the moment it touched down, a horrible sound shook the land and the mighty wave destroyed anything 100 km away. Abundance exploded. As a reason, Nick installed a mini timely-bomb into the controlling compartment of Abundance before breaking apart from it. The timer was set to be today, after 25 years. This bomb was so powerful that it was made of anti-substance, much stronger than nuclear power. Of course, all the gold loaded on board came to naught. Naturally, everyone on location died, together with Abundance and the gold. However, new government of country S was reconstructed 6 hours later. Its first policy was to fling a spaceship to Cancer. So did country M, whose new spaceship was ready to launch.

Translated on 18/10/99