He said nothing for a moment, whilst his gaze darted from one of her eyes to the other. We… he said, we have to be alone… I think. He screwed up his face and then dropped his head forward, shaking it like someone trying to shake a coin out of a money box. He looked up again. We have this bomb now, you see, he said, it’s just a little one. I know, she said. He goggled at her as if she’d said something very strange about beetroots. Honestly, he said, it’s very, very little. I know, she said again. But they say, his voice trailed on, they say it can destroy everything that exists. And we have to do that, you see, I think. Will that make us alone? I don’t know. It seems to be our function, though, he said, and dropped his head again. Whatever that means, said a hollow voice from the crowd. Trillian slowly put her arms around the poor bewildered young Krikkiter and patted his trembling head on her shoulder. It’s all right, she said quietly but clearly enough for all the shadowy crowd to hear, you don’t have to do it. She rocked him. You don’t have to do it, she said again. She let him go and stood back. I want you to do something for me, she said, and unexpectedly laughed. I want, she said, and laughed again. She put her hand over her mouth and then said with a straight face, I want you to take me to your leader, and she pointed into the War Zones in the sky. She seemed somehow to know that their leader would be there. Her laughter seemed to discharge something in the atmosphere. From somewhere at the back of the crowd a single voice started to sing a tune which would have enabled Paul McCartney, had he written it, to buy the world. “他沉默片刻，眼神彷徨不定。 “我們……”他說，“我們只能孤獨……我想，”他很痛苦地低下頭，狠狠搖着腦袋，像是在搖存錢罐一樣。他又擡起頭，“我們有顆炸彈，你瞧……”他說，“很小的炸彈。” “我知道。”她說。 他睜大了眼睛，好象她突然開始提到甜菜之類的東西似的。 “真的，”他說，“很小很小。” “我知道。”她又說。 “可他們說，”他的聲音又小了，“他們說，那能摧毀一切。我們必須這樣做……我想。我們會變得孤獨嗎？我不知道。雖然這正是我們的目標……”他說着說着，又低下了頭。 “不論用什麼代價。”人羣中一個聲音傳了出來。 崔莉安輕輕擁抱了那可憐人，拍着他微微戰慄的頭。 “沒關係，”她的聲音很輕，但所有人都聽得見，“你們不需要這樣做。” 她搖搖他的肩頭。 “你們不需要這樣做。”她重複道。 她放開手，退回去了。 “我想請你幫我個忙。”她說着，突然笑了。 “我想請你……”她又笑了。她用手掩住嘴，然後恢復了嚴肅的表情，“我想請你帶我去見你們的長官。”她指指天上，似乎已經知道長官就在那兒。 她的笑使氣氛有所緩和。人羣中，有人開始唱歌了。那調子——要是保羅·麥卡特尼寫出來的話，那賺的錢夠買下全世界了。
