經典科幻文學:《銀河系漫遊指南》第25章3

"There is no problem," said Deep Thought with magnificent ringing tones. "I am simply the second greatest computer in the Universe of Space and Time."
"But the second?" insisted Lunkwill. "Why do you keep saying the second? You're surely not thinking of the Multicorticoid Perspicutron Titan Muller are you? Or the Pondermatic? Or the ..."
Contemptuous lights flashed across the computer's console.
"I spare not a single unit of thought on these cybernetic simpletons!" he boomed. "I Speak of none but the computer that is to come after me!" Fook was losing patience. He pushed his notebook aside and muttered, "I think this is getting needlessly messianic."
"You know nothing of future time," pronounced Deep Thought, "and yet in my teeming circuitry I can navigate the infinite delta streams of future probability and see that there must one day come a computer whose merest operational parameters I am not worthy to calculate, but which it will be my fate eventually to design."
Fook sighed heavily and glanced across to Lunkwill.
"Can we get on and ask the question?" he said.
Lunkwill motioned him to wait."What computer is this of which you speak?" he asked."I will speak of it no further in this present time," said Deep Thought. "Now. Ask what else of me you will that I may function. Speak."
They shrugged at each other. Fook composed himself.
"O Deep Thought Computer," he said, "the task we have designed you to perform is this. We want you to tell us ..." he paused, "... the Answer!"
"The answer?" said Deep Thought. "The answer to what?"
"Life!" urged Fook.

“沒有任何問題。”深思用歌唱似的洪亮音調說，“我就是整個宇宙一切空間和時間中第二強大的電腦。”
“可是，第二？”朗克維爾堅持問道，“爲什麼你總是說第二暱？你想的肯定不會是複合類皮質激素巨型研磨機吧？也不會是思考機吧？或者……”
電腦的控制檯上閃爍着代表藐視的光。
“我纔不會爲這控制系統蠢蛋們費哪怕是一丁點兒的心思呢！它強調道，”我說的不是別的，而是那臺將在我之後誕生的電腦！“福克快要失去耐心了。他把自己的筆記本推到一邊，咕噥道：”這他媽聽起來倒像是救世主的口氣。“
“你對未來一無所知，”深思說，“然而我體內數量巨大的電路卻能通過對關於未來可能性的無限的數據流的分析，預見到終究有一天會出現一臺電腦，連它最基本的操作參數都是我所計算不出來的，但是這臺電腦命中註定最終要由我來設計。”
福克重重地嘆了一口氣，朝朗克維爾望去。
“我們能夠繼續提問了嗎？”他說。
朗克維爾示意他再等一下。“你提到的這臺電腦究竟是什麼呢？”他問道。“眼下我不想接着談它了。”深思說，“現在，問你們想知道的其他事情吧，儘管問。”
兩個程序員相對聳了聳肩。福克使自己鎮定下來。
“深思電腦，”他說，“我們給你的任務是這樣的。我們希望你告訴我們……”他頓了一下，“答案！”
“答案？”深思說，“什麼的答案？”
“生命！”福克迫切地說。