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| Chapter 30 | 30. |
| So there you have it,” said Slartibartfast, making a feeble and perfunctory attempt to clear away some of the appalling mess of his study. He picked up a piece of paper from the top of a pile, but then couldn’t think of anywhere else to put it, so he put it back on top of the original pile which promptly fell over. “Deep Thought designed the Earth, we built it and you lived on it.” | "I tako, sad znaš", reče Slartibartfast, traljavo i bezuspešno se upinjući da pospremi bar nešto od užasnog nereda koji je vladao u njegovoj sobi. Podigao je parče hartije sa vrha gomile, ali potom nije umeo da smisli gde bi ga stavio, zato ga je vratio na vrh prvobitne gomile, a ova se ubrzo srušila. "Duboka Misao projektovala je Zemlju, mi smo je sagradili, a vi ste živeli na njoj." |
| “And the Vogons came and destroyed it five minutes before the program was completed,” added Arthur, not unbitterly “Yes,” said the old man, pausing to gaze hopelessly round the room. “Ten million years of planning and work gone just like that. Ten million years, Earthman, can you conceive of that kind of time span? A galactic civilization could grow from a single worm five times over in that time. Gone.” He paused. “Well, that’s bureaucracy for you,” he added. | "A Vogoni su došli i uništili je pet minuta pre nego što je program završen", dodade Artur, ne bez tuge. "Da", reče starac i zastade da bi se bespomoćno ogledao po sobi. "Deset miliona godina planiranja i rada, tek tako, uništeno. Deset miliona godina, Zemljanine - možeš li sebi da predstaviš toliki vermenski raspon? Za toliko vreme galaktička civilizacija mogla bi pet puta izrasti iz najobičnije larve. Uništeno." Zastao je. "Eto, to ti je birokratija", dodao je. |
| “You know,” said Arthur thoughtfully, “all this explains a lot of things. All through my life I’ve had this strange unaccountable feeling that something was going on in the world, something big, even sinister, and no one would tell me what it was.” | "Znaš", reče Artur zamišljeno, "sve to objašnjava mnoge stvari. Tokom čitavog života imao sam taj čudni, neobjašnjivi osećaj da se nešto dešava u svetu, nešto veliko, čak zlokobno, a da niko neće da mi kaže šta." |
| “No,” said the old man, “that’s just perfectly normal paranoia. Everyone in the Universe has that.” | "A, ne", reče starac, "to je samo savršena normalna paranoja. To ima svako u Vaseljeni." |
| “Everyone?” said Arthur. “Well, if everyone has that perhaps it means something! Perhaps somewhere outside the Universe we know …” | "Svako?" reče Artur. "Pa, ako to svako ima, to možda nešto i znači! Možda znamo da negde, s druge strane Vaseljene..." |
| “Maybe. Who cares?” said Slartibartfast before Arthur got too excited. “Perhaps I’m old and tired,” he continued, “but I always think that the chances of finding out what really is going on are so absurdly remote that the only thing to do is to say hang the sense of it and just keep yourself occupied. Look at me: I design coastlines. I got an award for Norway.” | "Možda. Koga je briga?" uzvrati Slartibartfast pre nego što je Artur pao u vatru. "Možda sam star i umoran", nastavio je, "ali uvek mislim da su nade da ćemo otkriti šta se zaista dešava toliko besmisleno daleke, da nam jedino preostaje da kažemo: 'Zaboravi na svaki smisao svega toga i drži se nečega što će te zaokupiti'. Uzmi, recimio, mene: bavim se projektovanjem obala. Dobio sam nagradu za Norvešku." |
| He rummaged around in a pile of debris and pulled out a large Plexiglas block with his name on it and a model of Norway molded into it. | Kopao je neko vreme po hrpi otpadaka i izvukao odatle veliku ploču od pleksiglasa, u koju je bilo urezano njegovo ime i uliven model Norveške. |
| “Where’s the sense in that?” he said. “None that I’ve been able to make out. I’ve been doing fjords all my life. For a fleeting moment they become fashionable and I get a major award.” | "I kakav je smisao svega toga?" rekao je. "To nikada nisam uspeo da utvrdim. Pravio sam fjordove čitavog života, ali oni su nakratko postali moderni i zbog toga sam dobio nagradu." |
| He turned it over in his hands with a shrug and tossed it aside carelessly, but not so carelessly that it didn’t land on something soft. | Okrenuo ju je u rukama i slegao ramenima, a potom ju je nehajno bacio u stranu, ali ne toliko nehajno da ne padne na nešto meko. |
| “In this replacement Earth we’re building they’ve given me Africa to do and of course I’m doing it with all fjords again because I happen to like them, and I’m old-fashioned enough to think that they give a lovely baroque feel to a continent. And they tell me it’s not equatorial enough. Equatorial!” He gave a hollow laugh. “What does it matter? Science has achieved some wonderful things, of course, but I’d far rather be happy than right any day.” | "Na ovoj zameni za Zemlju koju su nam naručili meni je zapalo da se pozabavim Afrikom i ja je, razume se, pravim svu u fjordovima, jer slučajno ih volim, a dovoljno sam staromodan da mislim da će oni dati dražesni barokni izgled kontinentu. A oni mi kažu da ne izgleda dovoljno polutarno!" Šuplje se nasmejao. "Kakve to ima veze? Nauka je, razume se, došla do zadivljujućih saznanja, ali meni je, u svakom trenutku, mnogo draže da budem zadovoljan nego da budem u pravu." |
| “And are you?” | "A jesi li zadovoljan?" |
| “No. That’s where it all falls down, of course.” | "Ne. Tu, razume se, sve pada u vodu." |
| “Pity,” said Arthur with sympathy. “It sounded like quite a good life-style otherwise.” | "Šteta", reče Artur saosećajno. "Inače je zvučalo kao sasvim dobra životna filozofija." |
| Somewhere on the wall a small white light flashed. | Negde na zidu zablista mala, bela svetiljka. |
| “Come,” said Slartibartfast, “you are to meet the mice. Your arrival on the planet has caused considerable excitement. It has already been hailed, so I gather, as the third most improbable event in the history of the Universe.” | "Hodi", reče Slartibartfast, "treba da se sretneš s miševima. Tvoj dolazak na planetu izazvao je poprilično uzbuđenja. Već je opisan, koliko sam shvatio, kao treći najneverovatniji slučaj u istoriji Vaseljene." |
| “What were the first two?” | "A kakva su bila prva dva?" |
| “Oh, probably just coincidences,” said Slartibartfast carelessly. He opened the door and stood waiting for Arthur to follow. | "Oh, verovatno najobičnije podudarnosti", reče Slartibartfast nemarno. Otvorio je vrata i sačekao da Artur pođe za njim. |
| Arthur glanced around him once more, and then down at himself, at the sweaty disheveled clothes he had been lying in the mud in on Thursday morning. | Artur se još jednom osvrnuo, a potom je spustio pogled na sebe i svoju znojavu, neurednu odeću u kojoj je ležao u blatu u četvrtak izjutra. |
| “I seem to be having tremendous difficulty with my lifestyle,” he muttered to himself. | "Izgleda da imam gadnih problema s načinom na koji živim", progunđao je sebi u bradu. |
| “I beg your pardon?” asked the old man mildly. | "Molim?" upitao je starac. |
| “Oh, nothing,” said Arthur, “only joking.” | "Ah, ništa", reče Artur, "samo sam se šalio." |