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| Chapter 1 | 1. |
| The house stood on a slight rise just on the edge of the village. It stood on its own and looked out over a broad spread of West Country farmland. Not a remarkable house by any means—it was about thirty years old, squattish, squarish, made of brick, and had four windows set in the front of a size and proportion which more or less exactly failed to please the eye. | Kuća se nalazila na malom uzvišenju, pokraj same ivice sela. Stajala je sasvim samotna, okrenuta prema prostranom predelu ratarske oblasti Vest Kantrija. Nije to ni u kom pogledu bila izuzetna kuća - bila je stara možda tridesetak godina, omanja, četvrtasta, zidana od cigle, a na prednjoj strani imala je četiri prozora koji su bili takvog oblika i veličine da su, manje ili više, delovali prilično nakaradno. |
| The only person for whom the house was in any way special was Arthur Dent, and that was only because it happened to be the one he lived in. He had lived in it for about three years, ever since he had moved out of London because it made him nervous and irritable. He was about thirty as well, tall, dark-haired and never quite at ease with himself. The thing that used to worry him most was the fact that people always used to ask him what he was looking so worried about. He worked in local radio which he always used to tell his friends was a lot more interesting than they probably thought. It was, too—most of his friends worked in advertising. | Jedina osoba kojoj je ta kuća išta značila bio je Artur Dent, a i to samo zbog toga što je slučajno živeo u njoj. Stanovao je na tom mestu skoro tri godine, još od kako se iselio iz Londona, zbog toga što se tamo neprestano osećao nervozno i razdražljivo. Imao je tridesetak godina, bio je visok, tamnokos i stalno zbog nečega napet. Najviše ga je brinulo to što su ga ljudi neprestano zapitkivali zbog čega deluje tako zabrinuto. Bio je zaposlen u jednoj radio-stanici i imao je običaj da govori svojim prijateljima kako je tamo mnogo zanimljivije nego što oni verovatno misle. I bilo je zanimljivije - većina njegovih prijatelja radila je, naime, po reklamnim odeljenjima. |
| On Wednesday night it had rained very heavily, the lane was wet and muddy, but the Thursday morning sun was bright and clear as it shone on Arthur Dent’s house for what was to be the last time. | U sredu uveče pljuštala je kiša, livada je bila sva mokra i blatnjava, ali u četvrtak izjutra sunce je bilo jarko i blistavo, obasjavajući, kako se ispostavilo, kuću Artura Denta poslednji put. |
| It hadn’t properly registered yet with Arthur that the council wanted to knock it down and build a bypass instead. | Artur još nije bio svestan činjenice da opštinari nameravaju da sruše njegovu kuću kako bi na njenom mestu bio sagrađen put. |
| At eight o’clock on Thursday morning Arthur didn’t feel very good. He woke up blearily, got up, wandered blearily round his room, opened a window, saw a bulldozer, found his slippers, and stomped off to the bathroom to wash. | U osam sati u četvrtak izjutra Artur se nije osećao baš kao da su mu sve koze na broju. Probudio se sav na tri ćoška, smušeno se vrteo po sobi, otvorio prozor, spazio buldožer, našao svoje papuče i oteturao se do kupatila da bi se umio. |
| Toothpaste on the brush—so. Scrub. | Malo paste na četkicu - taako. Trljaj. |
| Shaving mirror—pointing at the ceiling. He adjusted it. For a moment it reflected a second bulldozer through the bathroom window. Properly adjusted, it reflected Arthur Dent’s bristles. He shaved them off, washed, dried and stomped off to the kitchen to find something pleasant to put in his mouth. | Ogledalce za brijanje - okrenuto prema tavanici. Pomerio ga je. Na trenutak, odražavalo je sliku drugog buldožera kroz prozor kupatila. Namešteno kako valja, prikazivalo je dlačice na Arturovoj bradi. Izbrijao ih je, umio se, obrisao i oteturao do kuhinje da pronađe nešto što bi gricnuo. |
| Kettle, plug, fridge, milk, coffee. Yawn. | Čajnik, utikač, frižider, mleko, kafa. Zev. |
| The word bulldozer wandered through his mind for a moment in search of something to connect with. | Reč buldožer prošla mu je umom u potrazi za nečim s čime bi se povezala. |
| The bulldozer outside the kitchen window was quite a big one. | Buldožer koji se video kroz prozor kuhinje bio je poprilično veliki. |
| He stared at it. | Buljio je u njega. |
| “Yellow,” he thought, and stomped off back to his bedroom to get dressed. | 'Žuti', pomislio je i oteturao se nazad do spavaće sobe da bi se obukao. |
| Passing the bathroom he stopped to drink a large glass of water, and another. He began to suspect that he was hung over. Why was he hung over? Had he been drinking the night before? He supposed that he must have been. He caught a glint in the shaving mirror. “Yellow,” he thought, and stomped on to the bedroom. | U prolazu, zastao je kod kupatila da bi popio veliku čašu vode, pa zatim još jednu. Počeo je da sumnja da je, u stvari, mamuran. Ali zbog čega bi bio mamuran? Da se nije sinoć napio? Zaključio je da jeste. Zapazio je odraz u ogledalcu za brijanje. 'Žuti', pomislio je i produžio do spavaće sobe. |
| He stood and thought. The pub, he thought. Oh dear, the pub. He vaguely remembered being angry, angry about something that seemed important. He’d been telling people about it, telling people about it at great length, he rather suspected: his clearest visual recollection was of glazed looks on other people’s faces. Something about a new bypass he’d just found out about. It had been in the pipeline for months only no one seemed to have known about it. Ridiculous. He took a swig of water. It would sort itself out, he’d decided, no one wanted a bypass, the council didn’t have a leg to stand on. It would sort itself out. | Stajao je i mozgao. Krčma, pomisli on. O, Bože, krčma. Kao kroz maglu sećao se da je bio besan zbog nečega što je smatrao izuzetno bitnim. Pričao je ljudima o tome - u stvari, zaključio je, govorio im je prilično dugo: u sećanju mu je najjače ostao prizor staklastih pogleda na licima prisutnih. Bilo je to nešto o novoj obilaznici za koju je upravo saznao. Izgleda da je njena izgradnja planirana već mesecima, samo što, kako se činilo, niko pojma nije imao o tome. Smešno. Popio je gutljaj vode. Srediće se to samo od sebe, zaključio je on; niko nije želeo izgradnju obilaznice, opštinari nisu imali nikakvu podršku u narodu. Srediće se to samo od sebe. |
| God, what a terrible hangover it had earned him though. He looked at himself in the wardrobe mirror. He stuck out his tongue. “Yellow,” he thought. The word yellow wandered through his mind in search of something to connect with. | Ali, Bože, kakav je samo gadan mamurluk zaradio. Pogledao se u ogledalu na vratima ormana. Isplazio je jezik. 'Žuti', prođe mu kroz glavu. Reč 'žuti' vrzmala mu se po mislima u potrazi za nečim s čime bi se povezala. |
| Fifteen seconds later he was out of the house and lying in front of a big yellow bulldozer that was advancing up his garden path. | Petnaest sekundi kasnije nalazio se van kuće i ležao na putu velikom, žutom buldožeru koji se približavao preko staze u njegovom vrtu. |
| Mr. L. Prosser was, as they say, only human. In other words he was a carbon-based bipedal life form descended from an ape. More specifically he was forty, fat and shabby and worked for the local council. Curiously enough, though he didn’t know it, he was also a direct male-line descendant of Genghis Khan, though intervening generations and racial mixing had so juggled his genes that he had no discernible Mongoloid characteristics, and the only vestiges left in Mr. L. Prosser of his mighty ancestry were a pronounced stoutness about the tum and a predilection for little fur hats. | Gospodin L. Proser bio je, kako se to obično kaže, samo čovek. Drugim rečima, on je bio dvonožni, ugljenični organizam koji je nastao kao evolucioni potomak majmuna. Još tačnije, bio je star četrdeset godina, izgledao je gojazan, delovao je neugledno i radio je kao službenik opštine. Postojala je jedna zanimljiva pojedinost u vezi s njim, iako nije bila poznata ni njemu samome: on je bio direktni potomak Džingis Kana po muškoj liniji, premda su pokolenja što su minula u međuvremenu i mešanje rasa toliko ispremetali gene da nije imao nikakvih primetnih mongolskih crta; jedini preostali tragovi koje je slavni predak ostavio na njemu bili su oveći stomak i sklonost ka malim krznenim kapama. |
| He was by no means a great warrior; in fact he was a nervous, worried man. Today he was particularly nervous and worried because something had gone seriously wrong with his job, which was to see that Arthur Dent’s house got cleared out of the way before the day was out. | On ni u kom slučaju nije bio veliki ratnik: borio se samo sa sopstvenim brigama. Danas je bio posebno zabrinut jer je nešto u njegovom poslu ozbiljno pošlo kako ne treba - a posao mu je bio da do smiraja dana ukloni kuću Artura Denta. |
| “Come off it, Mr. Dent,” he said, “you can’t win, you know. You can’t lie in front of the bulldozer indefinitely.” He tried to make his eyes blaze fiercely but they just wouldn’t do it. | "Ma haj'te, gospodine Dente", rekao je, "ništa vam ne vredi, znate. Ne možete u beskraj ležati pred buldožerom." Pokušao je da natera svoje oči da gnevno blesnu, ali to mu nikako nije polazilo za rukom. |
| Arthur lay in the mud and squelched at him. | Artur je ležao i šljapkao po blatu. |
| “I’m game,” he said, “we’ll see who rusts first.” | "Prihvatam izazov", rekao je. "Videćemo ko će prvi da zarđa." |
| “I’m afraid you’re going to have to accept it,” said Mr. Prosser, gripping his fur hat and rolling it round the top of his head; “this bypass has got to be built and it’s going to be built!” | "Bojim se da ćete morati da se naviknete na tu pomisao", rekao je gospodin Proser, pomilovao svoju krznenu kapu i lepše je namestio na glavi. "Ova obilaznica mora da se gradi i biće sagrađena!" |
| “First I’ve heard of it,” said Arthur, “why’s it got to be built?” | "Prvo da čujem", reče Artur, "zašto mora da se gradi?" |
| Mr. Prosser shook his finger at him for a bit, then stopped and put it away again. | Gospodin Proser zamahnu da mu pripreti prstom, a onda zastade i spusti ruku. |
| “What do you mean, why’s it got to be built?” he said. “It’s a bypass. You’ve got to build bypasses.” | "A šta vi mislite, zbog čega mora da se gradi?" upitao je. "Pa to je obilaznica! Obilaznice moraju da se grade." |
| Bypasses are devices that allow some people to dash from point A to point B very fast while other people dash from point B to point A very fast. People living at point C, being a point directly in between, are often given to wonder what’s so great about point A that so many people from point B are so keen to get there, and what’s so great about point B that so many people from point A are so keen to get there. They often wish that people would just once and for all work out where the hell they wanted to be. | Obilaznice predstavljaju sredstva koja nekim ljudima omogućuju da jure iz tačke A u tačku B, dok drugi ljudi jure iz tačke B u tačku A. Ljudi u tački C, koja se nalazi između ove dve i koju oni obilaze, često se pitaju šta je to tako lepo u tački A kada toliko ljudi iz tačke B žudi da se nađe u njoj i šta je to tako lepo u tački B kada toliko ljudi iz tačke A žudi da se nađe u njoj. Oni često požele da se ljudi jednon za svagda odluče gde, kog đavola, žele da budu. |
| Mr. Prosser wanted to be at point D. Point D wasn’t anywhere in particular, it was just any convenient point a very long way from points A, B and C. He would have a nice little cottage at point D, with axes over the door, and spend a pleasant amount of time at point E, which would be the nearest pub to point D. His wife of course wanted climbing roses, but he wanted axes. He didn’t know why—he just liked axes. He flushed hotly under the derisive grins of the bulldozer drivers. | Gospodin Proser je želeo da bude u tački D. Tačka D nije se nalazila na nekom određenom mestu, bila je to naprosto zgodna tačka na velikoj udaljenosti od tačaka A, B i C. U tački D nabavio bi lepo, malo imanje s kućicom, na čija bi vrata postavio ukrštene sekire, a onda bi uživao u tački E, odnosno u krčmi, koja je najbliža tački D. Njegova žena više bi volela da kuću ukrašava puzavicama, ali njemu su se dopadale sekire. Nije znao zašto - sekire su mu se naprosto sviđale. Onda je video podsmešljive izraze na licima vozača buldožera i pocrveneo do ušiju. |
| He shifted his weight from foot to foot, but it was equally uncomfortable on each. Obviously somebody had been appallingly incompetent and he hoped to God it wasn’t him. | Premestio se s noge na nogu, ali i na jednoj i na drugoj bilo mu je podjednako neugodno. Bilo je vidljivo da je neko ovde očajno nesposoban, a gospodin Proser se molio da on ne ispadne taj. |
| Mr. Prosser said, “You were quite entitled to make any suggestions or protests at the appropriate time, you know.” | Zato reče: "Znate, bilo je dovoljno vremena da uložite žalbu ili zahtev za preispitivanje odluke u zakonskom roku." |
| “Appropriate time?” hooted Arthur. “Appropriate time? The first I knew about it was when a workman arrived at my home yesterday. I asked him if he’d come to clean the windows and he said no, he’d come to demolish the house. He didn’t tell me straight away of course. Oh no. First he wiped a couple of windows and charged me a fiver. Then he told me.” | "Zakonskom roku?" huknuo je Artur. "Zakonskom roku? Prvi put sam čuo za ovo kada je juče radnik došao do moje kuće. Pitao sam ga da li je došao da mi opere prozore, a on reče, ne, došao je da mi uništi kuću. Razume se, to mi nije odmah rekao. O, ne. Najpre je obrisao par prozora i naplatio mi petaka. Tek posle mi je rekao." |
| “But Mr. Dent, the plans have been available in the local planning office for the last nine months.” | "Ali, gospodine Dente, planovi su bili svima na raspolaganju u opštinskom odeljenju za planiranje, tokom poslednjih devet meseci." |
| “Oh yes, well, as soon as I heard I went straight round to see them, yesterday afternoon. You hadn’t exactly gone out of your way to call attention to them, had you? I mean, like actually telling anybody or anything.” | "A je li? E pa, kada sam čuo za to, odmah sam otišao da ih vidim, juče popodne. Niste se baš pretrgli da skrenete pažnju na njih, zar ne? Hoću da kažem, nikome niste rekli ni reč." |
| “But the plans were on display …” | "Ali planovi su bili na raspolaganju..." |
| “On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them.” | "Na raspolaganju? Na kraju sam morao da siđem u podrum da bih ih našao." |
| “That’s the display department.” | "Odeljenje za uvid u dokumentaciju nalazi se tamo." |
| “With a flashlight.” | "S baterijskom svetiljkom." |
| “Ah, well, the lights had probably gone.” | "Ah, pa verovatno je nestalo struje." |
| “So had the stairs.” | "Baš kao i stepenica." |
| “But look, you found the notice, didn’t you?” | "Ali, čujte, pa našli ste dokument, zar ne?" |
| “Yes,” said Arthur, “yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard.’” | "Da", reče Artur. "Da, našao sam ga. Bio je izložen na uvid na dnu zaključanog plakara gurnutog u neupotrebljavano kupatilo na čijim je vratima stojao natpis 'Čuvaj se leoparda'." |
| A cloud passed overhead. It cast a shadow over Arthur Dent as he lay propped up on his elbow in the cold mud. It cast a shadow over Arthur Dent’s house. Mr. Prosser frowned at it. | Iznad njih promače oblak. Bacio je senku na Artura Denta, opruženog u ledenom blatu. Bacio je senku na kuću Artura Denta. Gospodin Proser se naroguši. |
| “It’s not as if it’s a particularly nice house,” he said. | "Pa, baš i nije neka kuća", rekao je. |
| “I’m sorry, but I happen to like it.” | "Žalim, meni se dopada." |
| “You’ll like the bypass.” | "Dopala bi vam se i obilaznica." |
| “Oh, shut up,” said Arthur Dent. “Shut up and go away, and take your bloody bypass with you. You haven’t got a leg to stand on and you know it.” | "E, sad, dosta!" reče Artur Dent. "Prekini čoveče i nosi se odavde - a možeš da poneseš i svoju prokletu obilaznicu. Ovde nemaš šta da tražiš, je l' shvataš?" |
| Mr. Prosser’s mouth opened and closed a couple of times while his mind was for a moment filled with inexplicable but terribly attractive visions of Arthur Dent’s house being consumed with fire and Arthur himself running screaming from the blazing ruin with at least three hefty spears protruding from his back. Mr. Prosser was often bothered with visions like these and they made him feel very nervous. He stuttered for a moment and then pulled himself together. | Gospodin Proser par puta otvori i zatvori usta, a um mu na trenutak ispuni neobjašnjiva, ali izuzetno privlačna slika kuće Artura Denta obuhvaćene vatrom i samog Artura koji vrišteći istrčava iz usplamtele ruševine s najmanje tri teška koplja zarivena u leđa. Gospodina Prosera često su morile slične prikaze. On na trenutak uzdrhta, a potom se sabra. |
| “Mr. Dent,” he said. | "Gospodine Dente", reče najzad. |
| “Hello? Yes?” said Arthur. | "Molim? Da?" odvrati Artur. |
| “Some factual information for you. Have you any idea how much damage that bulldozer would suffer if I just let it roll straight over you?” | "Imam neke informacije za vas. Šta mislite, koliko bi vas oštetio ovaj buldožer kada bih dao da pređe preko vas?" |
| “How much?” said Arthur. | "Koliko?" reče Artur. |
| “None at all,” said Mr. Prosser, and stormed nervously off wondering why his brain was filled with a thousand hairy horsemen all shouting at him. | "Nimalo", rekao je gospodin Proser i nervozno se udaljio. Pitao se zbog čega mu je um ispunila slika hiljadu raščerupanih konjanika koji urlaju na njega. |
| By a curious coincidence, “None at all” is exactly how much suspicion the ape-descendant Arthur Dent had that one of his closest friends was not descended from an ape, but was in fact from a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse and not from Guildford as he usually claimed. | Čudnom igrom slučaja, ta reč 'nimalo' vrlo je precizno označavala koliko je evolucioni potomak majmuna, Artur Dent, slutio da jedan od njegovih najboljih drugova nije evolucioni potomak majmuna i da potiče sa male planete u blizini Betelgeza, a ne iz Gildforda, kako je obično pričao. |
| Arthur Dent had never, ever suspected this. | Artur Dent nije to ni u snu pomislio. |
| This friend of his had first arrived on the planet Earth some fifteen Earth years previously, and he had worked hard to blend himself into Earth society—with, it must be said, some success. For instance, he had spent those fifteen years pretending to be an out-of-work actor, which was plausible enough. | Taj njegov prijatelj prvi put je stigao na Zemlju pre petnaestak godina i svim silama se upinjao da se uklopi u zemaljsko društvo - uz, mora se priznati, dosta uspeha. Na primer, tih petnaest godina proveo je praveći se da je nezaposleni glumac, što je delovalo prilično uverljivo. |
| He had made one careless blunder though, because he had skimped a bit on his preparatory research. The information he had gathered had led him to choose the name “Ford Prefect” as being nicely inconspicuous. | Ali napravio je nepažljivo jednu omašku, jer nije posvetio dovoljno vremena pripremnom istraživanju. Informacije koje je sakupio navele su ga da izabere ime 'Ford Prefekt', ubeđen da je savim neupadljivo. |
| He was not conspicuously tall, his features were striking but not conspicuously handsome. His hair was wiry and gingerish and brushed backward from the temples. His skin seemed to be pulled backward from the nose. There was something very slightly odd about him, but it was difficult to say what it was. Perhaps it was that his eyes didn’t seem to blink often enough and when you talked to him for any length of time your eyes began involuntarily to water on his behalf. Perhaps it was that he smiled slightly too broadly and gave people the unnerving impression that he was about to go for their neck. | Inače nije bio upadljivo visok, lice mu je bilo neobično, ali ne i upadljivo zgodno. Kosa mu je bila glatka, svetloriđa i začešljana unazad na slepoočnicama. Koža nosa kao da mu je takođe bila povučena unazad. U njegovom izgledu postojalo je nešto jedva primetno čudno, ali bilo je teško reći šta. Možda se činilo da mu oči ne trepću dovoljno, pa kad biste malo duže razgovarali s njim, vaše oči bi nevoljno počele da suze umesto njegovih. Možda je posredi bilo to što se smešio za nijansu preširoko, odajući utisak da će posegnuti rukom i zgrabiti sagovornika za vrat. |
| He struck most of the friends he had made on Earth as an eccentric, but a harmless one—an unruly boozer with some oddish habits. For instance, he would often gate-crash university parties, get badly drunk and start making fun of any astrophysicists he could find till he got thrown out. | Većini drugova, koje je stekao na Zemlji, delovao je neobično, ali bezopasno - aljkavi mladić sklon kapljici i pomalo čudnih navika. Recimo, često je nepozvan upadao na univerzitetske zabave, napijao se do daske i zatim zavitlavao svakog astrofizičara na kojeg naiđe, sve dok ga ne izbace. |
| Sometimes he would get seized with oddly distracted moods and stare into the sky as if hypnotized until someone asked him what he was doing. Then he would start guiltily for a moment, relax and grin. | Ponekad bi ga obuzimalo neobično odsutno raspoloženje i tada bi kao hipnotisan zurio u nebo sve dok ga neko ne bi upitao šta to radi. Onda bi se trgao, pogleda punog krivice, a potom opustio i nasmejao. |
| “Oh, just looking for flying saucers,” he would joke, and everyone would laugh and ask him what sort of flying saucers he was looking for. | "Oh, ništa, tražim leteće tanjire", našalio bi se, a svi bi se nasmejali i pitali ga kakve to leteće tanjire traži. |
| “Green ones!” he would reply with a wicked grin, laugh wildly for a moment and then suddenly lunge for the nearest bar and buy an enormous round of drinks. | "Zelene!" odvratio bi uz lukav smešak; zatim bi se na trenutak divlje nasmejao, pa stuštio u najbliži bar i naručio ogromnu turu pića. |
| Evenings like this usually ended badly. Ford would get out of his skull on whisky, huddle in a corner with some girl and explain to her in slurred phrases that honestly the color of the flying saucers didn’t matter that much really. | Takve večeri obično su se rđavo završavale. Ford bi navalio na viski, pa bi odvukao neku curu u ćošak i tamo joj pijano objašnjavao kako, istini za volju, boja letećih tanjira i nije baš toliko bitna. |
| Thereafter, staggering semiparalytic down the night streets, he would often ask passing policemen if they knew the way to Betelgeuse. The policemen would usually say something like, “Don’t you think it’s about time you went off home, sir?” | Posle toga, dok bi se batrgao noćnim ulicama, često je pitao policajce na koje je nailazio, znaju li kako da stigne do Betelgeza. Policajci bi mu obično kazali nešto kao: "Zar vam se ne čini da je vreme da pođete kući, gospodine?" |
| “I’m trying to, baby, I’m trying to,” is what Ford invariably replied on these occasions. | "Pokušavam, mali, pokušavam", odgovarao bi Ford bez razlike u takvim prilikama. |
| In fact what he was really looking for when he stared distractedly into the sky was any kind of flying saucer at all. The reason he said green was that green was the traditional space livery of the Betelgeuse trading scouts. | U stvari, kad god je rasejano piljio u nebo, tragao je za bilo kakvim letećim tanjirima. Razlog zbog koga je pominjao zeleno bio je taj što je zeleno bilo tradicionalna boja svemirske uniforme trgovačkih izviđača sa Betelgeza. |
| Ford Prefect was desperate that any flying saucer at all would arrive soon because fifteen years was a long time to get stranded anywhere, particularly somewhere as mind-bogglingly dull as the Earth. | Ford Prefekt očajnički je želeo da što pre naiđe bilo kakav leteći tanjir, jer petnaest godina suviše je dugo za zaglavljivanje bilo gde, a naročito na tako očajno dosadnom mestu kao što je Zemlja. |
| Ford wished that a flying saucer would arrive soon because he knew how to flag flying saucers down and get lifts from them. He knew how to see the Marvels of the Universe for less than thirty Altairian dollars a day. | Ford je želeo da leteći tanjir prispe što pre, jer znao je kako da ga navede da sleti i da ga poveze. On je poznavao načine da vidi divote Vaseljene za manje od trideset altairskih dolara dnevno. |
| In fact, Ford Prefect was a roving researcher for that wholly remarkable book, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. | Jednom rečju, Ford Prefekt bio je zagriženi saradnik znamenite institucije zvane 'Autostoperski vodič kroz Galaksiju'. |
| Human beings are great adapters, and by lunchtime life in the environs of Arthur’s house had settled into a steady routine. It was Arthur’s accepted role to lie squelching in the mud making occasional demands to see his lawyer, his mother or a good book; it was Mr. Prosser’s accepted role to tackle Arthur with the occasional new ploy such as the For the Public Good talk, or the March of Progress talk, the They Knocked My House Down Once You Know, Never Looked Back talk and various other cajoleries and threats; and it was the bulldozer drivers’ accepted role to sit around drinking coffee and experimenting with union regulations to see how they could turn the situation to their financial advantage. | Poznato je da se ljudska bića izvrsno prilagođavaju, i do trenutka kada je došlo vreme ručku život u okolini Arturove kuće sasvim se ustalio. Arturova uloga bila je da leži i šljapka po blatu i da povremeno traži da vidi advokata, svoju majku ili Bibliju; uloga gospodina Prosera bila je da s vremena na vreme navaljuje na Artura svojim lukavstvima, kao što su govor Za Dobrobit Naroda, govor o Napretku, govor Znate Jednom Su I Meni Srušili Kuću A Ja Se Nisam Ni Osvrnuo i uopšte sva moguća ulagivanja i pretnje; uloga buldožerista bila je da sede, pijuckaju kafu i razmatraju kako da iskoriste sindikalne propise, ne bi li preokrenuli situaciju u svoju korist. |
| The Earth moved slowly in its diurnal course. | Zemlja se lagano kretala svojom dnevnom putanjom. |
| The sun was beginning to dry out the mud that Arthur lay in. | Sunce poče da suši blato u kome je ležao Artur. |
| A shadow moved across him again. | Na njega ponovo pade senka. |
| “Hello, Arthur,” said the shadow. | "Zdravo, Arture", rekla je senka. |
| Arthur looked up and squinting into the sun was startled to see Ford Prefect standing above him. | Artur podiže pogled, žmirkajući, i zaprepasti se kad vide da nad njim stoji Ford Prefekt. |
| “Ford! Hello, how are you?” | "Forde! Zdravo, kako si?" |
| “Fine,” said Ford, “look, are you busy?” | "Fino", reče Ford, "Čuj, jesi li zauzet?" |
| “Am I busy?” exclaimed Arthur. “Well, I’ve just got all these bulldozers and things to lie in front of because they’ll knock my house down if I don’t, but other than that … well, no, not especially, why?” | "Jesam li zauzet?" uzviknu Artur. "Pa, moram da ležim pred ovim buldožerima, jer će mi srušiti kuću ako to ne budem radio, ali inače ... Pa, ne, nisam posebno zauzet, zašto pitaš?" |
| They don’t have sarcasm on Betelgeuse, and Ford Prefect often failed to notice it unless he was concentrating. He said, “Good, is there anywhere we can talk?” | Na Betelgezu ne znaju za sarkazam i Ford Prefekt često nije uspevao da ga primeti ukoliko ne bi bio usredsređen. On reče: "Odlično, znaš li gde bismo onda mogli da porazgovaramo?" |
| “What?” said Arthur Dent. | "Šta?" uzviknu Artur Dent. |
| For a few seconds Ford seemed to ignore him, and stared fixedly into the sky like a rabbit trying to get run over by a car. Then suddenly he squatted down beside Arthur. | Činilo se da nekoliko sekundi Ford Prefekt ne obraća pažnju na njega, jer je netremice piljio u nebo, poput zeca koji čeka da ga zgaze kola. Onda je iznenada čučnuo pored Artura. |
| “We’ve got to talk,” he said urgently. | "Moramo da porazgovaramo", uzbuđeno je rekao. |
| “Fine,” said Arthur, “talk.” | "Odlično", reče Artur. "Govori." |
| “And drink,” said Ford. “It’s vitally important that we talk and drink. Now. We’ll go to the pub in the village.” | "I da nešto popijemo", reče Ford. "Neophodno je da porazgovaramo i da nešto popijemo. Smesta. Idemo do krčme u selu." |
| He looked into the sky again, nervous, expectant. | On ponovo pogleda u nebo, uznemireno, kao da nešto očekuje. |
| “Look, don’t you understand?” shouted Arthur. He pointed at Prosser. “That man wants to knock my house down!” | "Ali, čoveče, zar ne shvataš?" dreknu Artur. Pokazao je na Prosera. "Taj tip hoće da mi sruši kuću!" |
| Ford glanced at him, puzzled. | Ford zbunjeno pogleda. |
| “Well, he can do it while you’re away, can’t he?” he asked. | "Pa to može i dok nisi tu, zar ne?" upitao je. |
| “But I don’t want him to!” | "Ali ja ne želim da on to učini!" |
| “Ah.” | "Ah." |
| “Look, what’s the matter with you, Ford?” said Arthur. | "Slušaj, Forde, šta ti je?" upita Artur. |
| “Nothing. Nothing’s the matter. Listen to me—I’ve got to tell you the most important thing you’ve ever heard. I’ve got to tell you now, and I’ve got to tell you in the saloon bar of the Horse and Groom.” | "Ništa. Nije mi ništa. Čuj - moram da ti kažem najvažniju stvar koju si ikada čuo. Moram ti reći smesta, i to za barom krčme 'Kod konja i konjušara'." |
| “But why?” | "Ali zašto?" |
| “Because you’re going to need a very stiff drink.” | "Jer će ti žestoko piće biti neophodno." |
| Ford stared at Arthur, and Arthur was astonished to find his will beginning to weaken. He didn’t realize that this was because of an old drinking game that Ford learned to play in the hyper-space ports that served the madranite mining belts in the star system of Orion Beta. | Ford je netremice gledao Artura i Artur sa zaprepašćenjem shvati da volja počinje da mu slabi. On nije znao da je to zbog stare igre koju je Ford naučio po hipersvemirskim lukama koje su se nalazile pored rudnika mandranita u zvezdanom sistemu Orion Beta. |
| The game was not unlike the Earth game called Indian wrestling, and was played like this: | Igra pomalo liči na zemaljsku igru zvanu indijanski dvoboj, a igra se na sledeći način: |
| Two contestants would sit either side of a table, with a glass in front of each of them. | Dva suparnika sedaju za sto jedan naspram drugog, s čašom ispred svakog od njih. |
| Between them would be placed a bottle of Janx Spirit (as immortalized in that ancient Orion mining song, “Oh, don’t give me none more of that Old Janx Spirit/No, don’t you give me none more of that Old Janx Spirit/For my head will fly, my tongue will lie, my eyes will fry and I may die/Won’t you pour me one more of that sinful Old Janx Spirit”). | Između njih smešta se boca žestokog pića zvanog džanks (kao što je ovekovečeno u onoj staroj orionskoj rudarskoj pesmi: "O nemoj mi sipati više tog starog džanksa / ne, nemoj mi sipati tog starog džanksa / Jer glava će da mi puca, jezik da mi muca, oči će vatra da mi kljuca, a srce prestati da kuca / ma daj, sipaj mi još tog grešnog, starog džanksa"). |
| Each of the two contestants would then concentrate their will on the bottle and attempt to tip it and pour spirit into the glass of his opponent, who would then have to drink it. | Oba takmaca usredsređuju se na bocu i pokušavaju da je otvore i naspu piće u protivnikovu čašu - a ovaj tada mora da ga popije. |
| The bottle would then be refilled. The game would be played again. And again. | Boca se potom iznova puni. Igra se ponavlja. Pa još jednom. |
| Once you started to lose you would probably keep losing, because one of the effects of Janx Spirit is to depress telepsychic power. | Kad jednom počnete da gubite, verovatno će vam se to dešavati i dalje, jer jedna od posledica džanksa jeste da potiskuje telepsihičke moći. |
| As soon as a predetermined quantity had been consumed, the final loser would have to perform a forfeit, which was usually obscenely biological. | Čim se predviđena količina utroši, pobeđeni mora za kaznu da učini nešto što je najčešće nepristojno biološki. |
| Ford Prefect usually played to lose. | Ford Prefekt uglavnom je namerno gubio. |
| Ford stared at Arthur, who began to think that perhaps he did want to go to the Horse and Groom after all. | Ford je piljio u Artura, koji poče da misli kako bi možda, na kraju krajeva, i mogao da ode do 'Konja i konjušara'. |
| “But what about my house …?” he asked plaintively. | "Ali moja kuća...?" upitao je Artur tužnim glasom. |
| Ford looked across to Mr. Prosser, and suddenly a wicked thought struck him. | Ford pogleda gospodina Prosera i na um mu iznenada pade podla misao. |
| “He wants to knock your house down?” | "On bi da ti sruši kuću?" |
| “Yes, he wants to build …” | "Da, hoće da gradi..." |
| “And he can’t because you’re lying in front of his bulldozer?” | "A ne može, jer ti ležiš pred buldožerima?" |
| “Yes, and …” | "Da, i..." |
| “I’m sure we can come to some arrangement,” said Ford. “Excuse me!” he shouted. | "Ubeđen sam da možemo to nekako da sredimo", reče Ford. "Gospodine, molim vas!" uzviknu on. |
| Mr. Prosser (who was arguing with a spokesman for the bulldozer drivers about whether or not Arthur Dent constituted a mental health hazard, and how much they should get paid if he did) looked around. He was surprised and slightly alarmed to see that Arthur had company. | Gospodin Proser (koji se upravo raspravljao s predstavnikom vozača buldožera o tome da li Artur Dent predstavlja pretnju po njihovo mentalno zdravlje i koliko treba da im se doplati ukoliko je tako) hitro se okrenuo. On se lecnu kada vide da Artur više nije sam. |
| “Yes? Hello?” he called. “Has Mr. Dent come to his senses yet?” | "Da? Molim?" reče on. "Da li se gospodine Dent opametio?" |
| “Can we for the moment,” called Ford, “assume that he hasn’t?” | "Pretpostavimo na trenutak", reče Ford, "da nije." |
| “Well?” sighed Mr. Prosser. | "I?" uzdahnu gospodin Proser. |
| “And can we also assume,” said Ford, “that he’s going to be staying here all day?” | "I pretpostavimo", reče Ford, "da on namerava da ostane ovde čitav dan." |
| “So?” | "Pa?" |
| “So all your men are going to be standing around all day doing nothing?” | "Znači, vaši ljudi će čekati čitav dan i neće raditi ništa?" |
| “Could be, could be …” | "Može biti, može biti..." |
| “Well, if you’re resigned to doing that anyway, you don’t actually need him to lie here all the time do you?” | "Pa, ukoliko ste to ionako odlučili, on u stvari ne mora sve vreme da leži ovde, zar ne?" |
| “What?” | "Šta?" |
| “You don’t,” said Ford patiently, “actually need him here.” | "On vam zapravo", reče Ford strpljivo, "nije neophodan." |
| Mr. Prosser thought about this. | Gospodin Proser se zamisli. |
| “Well, no, not as such …” he said, “not exactly need …” Prosser was worried. He thought that one of them wasn’t making a lot of sense. | "Pa, ne, u stvari, ne..." rekao je on, "ne baš neophodan..." Proser se zabrinu. Pomislio je kako neko od njih dvojice nije sasvim čitav. |
| Ford said, “So if you would just like to take it as read that he’s actually here, then he and I could slip off down to the pub for half an hour. How does that sound?” | Ford reče: "Prema tome, ukoliko budete zamislili da je on, u stvari, ovde, gospodin Dent i ja možemo da šmugnemo u krčmu na jedno pola sata. Kako vam se to čini?" |
| Mr. Prosser thought it sounded perfectly potty. | Gospodinu Proseru se to činilo potpuno uvrnuto. |
| “That sounds perfectly reasonable …” he said in a reassuring tone of voice, wondering who he was trying to reassure. | "Čini mi se baš pametno..." reče on umirujućim glasom, pitajući se koga bi on to da umiri. |
| “And if you want to pop off for a quick one yourself later on,” said Ford, “we can always cover for you in return.” | "A ako i vi budete kasnije hteli da navratite na jednu s nogu", reče Ford, "možemo da vas odmenimo." |
| “Thank you very much,” said Mr. Prosser, who no longer knew how to play this at all, “thank you very much, yes, that’s very kind …” He frowned, then smiled, then tried to do both at once, failed, grasped hold of his fur hat and rolled it fitfully round the top of his head. He could only assume that he had just won. | "Hvala vam veliko", reče gospodine Proser, koji već više ni sam nije znao kako da se ponaša, "hvala vam veliko, da, to je baš lepo od vas..." Namrštio se, pa se nasmešio, onda je pokušao da učini oboje istovremeno, to mu nije pošlo za rukom, dohvatio je svoju krznenu kapu i namestio je na vrh glave. Jedino je mogao da se nada da je upravo izvojevao pobedu. |
| “So,” continued Ford Prefect, “if you would just like to come over here and lie down …” | "Prema tome", nastavio je Ford Prefekt, "ukoliko biste bili toliko ljubazni da dođete ovamo i da legnete..." |
| “What?” said Mr. Prosser. | "Šta?" upita gospodin Proser. |
| “Ah, I’m sorry,” said Ford, “perhaps I hadn’t made myself fully clear. Somebody’s got to lie in front of the bulldozers, haven’t they? Or there won’t be anything to stop them driving into Mr. Dent’s house, will there?” | "Ah, izvinite", reče Ford, "možda nisam bio dovoljno jasan. Neko mora da leži pred buldožerima, zar ne? Inače ih ne bi ništa sprečavalo da krenu na kuću gospodine Denta, je li tako?" |
| “What?” said Mr. Prosser again. | "Šta?" upita gospodin Proser ponovo. |
| “It’s very simple,” said Ford, “my client, Mr. Dent, says that he will stop lying here in the mud on the sole condition that you come and take over from him.” | "Sve je to baš jednostavno", reče Ford. "Moj klijent, gospodin Dent, kaže da će prestati da leži ovde u blatu jedino pod uslovom da vi dođete i zamenite ga." |
| “What are you talking about?” said Arthur, but Ford nudged him with his shoe to be quiet. | "Ma šta to pričaš?" upita Artur, ali Ford ga munu cipelom da ćuti. |
| “You want me,” said Prosser, spelling out this new thought to himself, “to come and lie there …” | "Vi hoćete", reče Proser, polako se privikavajući na tu novu zamisao, "da dođem i legnem tu..." |
| “Yes.” | "Da." |
| “In front of the bulldozer?” | "Ispred buldožera." |
| “Yes.” | "Da." |
| “Instead of Mr. Dent.” | "Umesto gospodine Denta." |
| “Yes.” | "Da." |
| “In the mud.” | "U blato." |
| “In, as you say, the mud.” | "U, kao što rekoste, blato." |
| As soon as Mr. Prosser realized that he was substantially the loser after all, it was as if a weight lifted itself off his shoulders: this was more like the world as he knew it. He sighed. | Čim je gospodin Proser shvatio da je ipak on taj koji gubi bilo mu je nekako lakše: to je mnogo više ličilo na svet kakav je poznavao. Uzdahnuo je. |
| “In return for which you will take Mr. Dent with you down to the pub?” | "Zauzvrat, vi ćete odvesti gospodine Denta u krčmu?" |
| “That’s it,” said Ford, “that’s it exactly.” | "Tako je", reče Ford. "Baš tako." |
| Mr. Prosser took a few nervous steps forward and stopped. | Gospodin Proser nervozno napravi nekoliko koraka i zastade. |
| “Promise?” he said. | "Obećavate?" reče on. |
| “Promise,” said Ford. He turned to Arthur. | "Obećavam", reče Ford. Zatim se okrete Arturu. |
| “Come on,” he said to him, “get up and let the man lie down.” | "Hajde", rekao mu je, "ustani i pusti čoveka da legne." |
| Arthur stood up, feeling as if he was in a dream. | Artur ustade, osećajući se kao da sanja. |
| Ford beckoned to Prosser, who sadly, awkwardly, sat down in the mud. He felt that his whole life was some kind of dream and he sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were enjoying it. The mud folded itself round his bottom and his arms and oozed into his shoes. | Ford pokaza mesto Proseru, a ovaj tužno, nespretno, sede u blato. Osećao se kao da čitav njegov život predstavlja neki san, a ponekad se pitao čiji je tu san posredi i da li taj što sanja stvarno uživa u svemu tome. Blato mu se razlivalo pod zadnjicom i slivalo u cipele. |
| Ford looked at him severely. | Ford ga namrgođeno pogleda. |
| “And no sneaky knocking Mr. Dent’s house down while he’s away, all right?” he said. | "I bez nevaljalog rušenja kuće gospodina Denta dok on nije tu, dogovoreno?" rekao je. |
| “The mere thought,” growled Mr. Prosser, “hadn’t even begun to speculate,” he continued, settling himself back, “about the merest possibility of crossing my mind.” | "Sama pomisao", zabrunda gospodin Proser, "nije čak ni počela da nagoveštava", produži on i leže na leđa, "makar i najobičniju mogućnost da mi prođe kroz um." |
| He saw the bulldozer drivers’ union representative approaching and let his head sink back and closed his eyes. He was trying to marshal his arguments for proving that he did not now constitute a mental health hazard himself. He was far from certain about this—his mind seemed to be full of noise, horses, smoke and the stench of blood. This always happened when he felt miserable or put upon, and he had never been able to explain it to himself. In a high dimension of which we know nothing, the mighty Khan bellowed with rage, but Mr. Prosser only trembled slightly and whimpered. He began to feel little pricks of water behind his eyelids. Bureaucratic cock-ups, angry men lying in mud, indecipherable strangers handing out inexplicable humiliation and an unidentified army of horsemen laughing at him in his head—what a day. | Video je kako mu prilazi sindikalni predstavnik buldožerista, zavalio je glavu u blato i sklopio oči. Pokušavao je da razradi svoje razloge u predstojećoj raspravi o tome da sada on ne predstavlja opasnost po njihovo mentalno zdravlje. U to nije bio nimalo siguran - um kao da mu je do vrha bio ispunjen vriskom, konjima, dimom i zadahom krvi. To mu se uvek dešavalo kada bi se osetio poniženo ili prevareno i nikada mu nije pošlo za rukom da to objasni sebi. U uzvišenoj dimenziji, o kojoj nam ništa nije poznato, moćni Kan urlao je od besa, ali gospodin Proser samo je blago drhtao i ječao. Osetio je kako mu se oči pune suzama. Birokratske tupadžije, gnevni ljudi prisiljeni da leže u blatu, neobični stranci koji sa sobom donose neobjašnjiva poniženja i neidentifikovana vojska konjanika koja mu se smeje unutar glave - kakav dan! |
| What a day. Ford Prefect knew that it didn’t matter a pair of dingo’s kidneys whether Arthur’s house got knocked down or not now. | Kakav dan. Ford Prefekt je znao da budućnost Arturove kuće, bilo da je sruše ili ne sruše, ne vredi ni po lule duvana. |
| Arthur remained very worried. | Artur je i dalje delovao vrlo zabrinuto. |
| “But can we trust him?” he said. | "Ali, možemo li mu verovati?" |
| “Myself I’d trust him to the end of the Earth,” said Ford. | "Ja, lično, verovao bih mu sve do kraja sveta", reče Ford. |
| “Oh yes,” said Arthur, “and how far’s that?” | "O, da", uzvrati Artur, "a kada će to biti?" |
| “About twelve minutes away,” said Ford, “come on, I need a drink.” | "Za jedno dvanaest minuta, počev od ovog trenutka", reče Ford. "Dođi, potrebno mi je piće." |