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| GRAD | The City |
| Grad je čekao dvadeset hiljada godina. | THE city waited twenty thousand years. |
| Planeta se kretala svemirom i cveće na poljima je raslo i odumiralo, a grad je i dalje čekao; i reke na planeti su bujale i sahnule i pretvarale se u prašinu. Grad je još čekao. Vetrovi, nekada mladi i besni, starili su i smirivali se, a nebeski oblaci, rastrgani i razderani, ostavljeni su da lutaju na miru kao dokono belo pramenje. Grad je čekao i čekao. | The planet moved through space and the flowers of the fields grew up and fell away, and still the city waited; and the rivers of the planet rose and waned and turned to dust. Still the city waited. The winds that had been young and wild grew old and serene, and the clouds of the sky that had been ripped and torn were left alone to drift in idle whitenesses. Still the city waited. |
| Čekao je grad sa svojim prozorima i crnim obsidijanskim zidovima, nebeskim tornjevima i kulicama bez zastava, ulicama po kojima niko nije koračao i kvakama koje niko nije doticao, bez ijednog komadića hartije ili otiska prsta na sebi. Grad je čekao dok je planeta kružila svemirom, sledeći svoju orbitu oko plavo belog sunca, a godišnja doba prolazila smenjujući led vatrom pa vatru opet ledom da bi se posle zazelenela polja i zažutele letnje livade. | The city waited with its windows and its black obsidian walls and its sky towers and its unpennanted turrets, with its untrod streets and its untouched doorknobs, with not a scrap of paper or a fingerprint upon it. The city waited while the planet arced in space, following its orbit about a blue-white sun, and the seasons passed from ice to fire and back to ice and then to green fields and yellow summer meadows. |
| Bilo je letnje popodne sredinom dvadesetohiljadite godine kada grad prestade da čeka. | It was on a summer afternoon in the middle of the twenty thousandth year that the city ceased waiting. |
| Na nebu se pojavi jedna raketa. | In the sky a rocket appeared. |
| Raketa je kružila u visini, onda se okrete, vrati, i spusti na gliničastu livadu na pedesetak jardi od obsidijanskog zida. | The rocket soared over, turned, came back, and landed in the shale meadow fifty yards from the obsidian wall. |
| U retkoj travi začuše se koraci u čizmama i glasovi ljudi u raketi koji su se obraćali onima napolju. | There were booted footsteps in the thin grass and calling voices from men within the rocket to men without. |
| "Spremni?" | “Ready?” |
| "U redu, ljudi. Pazite! U grad. Džensene, ti i Hačinson idete napred u patrolu. Otvorite dobro oči." | “All right, men. Careful! Into the city. Jensen, you and Hutchinson patrol ahead. Keep a sharp eye.” |
| Grad otvori skrivene tajne nozdrve u svojim crnim zidovima i jedan usisni ventil duboko u telu grada uvuče vazdušne oluje nazad kroz kanale, kroz bodljikave filtre i skupljače prašine, do finog i drhturavog niza navijutaka i mreža koji je sjajio srebrnom svetlošću. Ta ogromna usisavanja ponoviše se više puta; iznova i iznova, topli vetrovi donosili su u grad mirise sa livade. | The city opened secret nostrils in its black walls and a steady suction vent deep in the body of the city drew storms of air back through channels, through thistle filters and dust collectors, to a fine and tremblingly delicate series of coils and webs which glowed with silver light. Again and again the immense suctions occurred; again and again the odors from the meadow were borne upon warm winds into the city. |
| "Zadah vatre, miris palog meteora, vrelog metala. Došao je brod sa nekog drugog sveta. Miris mesinga, prašnjav miris izgorelog praha i raketnog sumpora." | “Fire odor, the scent of a fallen meteor, hot metal. A ship has come from another world. The brass smell, the dusty fire smell of burned powder, sulphur, and rocket brimstone.” |
| Ove informacije, utisnute na trake koje su bile uglavljene u proreze, skliznuše naniže kroz žute zupčanike u dalje mašine. | This information, stamped on tapes which sprocketed into slots, slid down through yellow cogs into further machines. |
| Klik-klak-klak-klak. | Click-chakk-chakk-chakk. |
| Računar je odbrojavao kao metronom. Pet, šest, sedam, osam, devet. Devet ljudi! Pisaća mašina sa trenutnim delovanjem ispisa ovu poruku mastilom na traci koja se izvijuga i iščeze. | A calculator made the sound of a metronome. Five, six, seven, eight nine. Nine men! An instantaneous typewriter inked this message on tape which slithered and vanished. |
| Klik-klak-klik-klak. | Clickety-click-chakk-chakk. |
| Grad je očekivao meki korak njihovih gumastih čizama. Velike nozdrve grada se opet raširiše. | The city awaited the soft tread of their rubberoid boots. The great city nostrils dilated again. |
| Miris putera. U vazduhu grada, slab miris koji se širio oko ljudi koji su se prikradali dopre do velikog Nosa i razloži se u sećanja na mleko, sir, sladoled, puter, zadah mlekare. | The smell of butter. In the city air, from the stalking men, faintly, the aura which wafted to the great Nose broke down into memories of milk, cheese, ice cream, butter, the effluvium of a dairy economy. |
| Klik-klak. | Click-click. |
| "Pazite, ljudi!" | “Careful, men!” |
| "Džounse, izvadi pušku. Ne budi budala! Grad je mrtav; što da se brinemo?" | “Jones, get your gun out. Don’t be a fool!” “The city’s dead; why worry?” |
| "Nikad se ne zna." | “You can’t tell.” |
| Sada se, na taj lajavi razgovor, probudiše Uši. Pošto su stolećima slušale slabe i mlake vetrove, osluškivale kako se lišće odvaja od drveća a trava meko raste dok se otapaju snegovi. Uši se sada podmazaše svojim sopstvenim mazivom, navukoše zategnute, velike opne o koje su bila osvajača mogla da bubnjaju i lupaju nežno kao treperenje komarčevog krila. Uši su slušale, dok je Nos uvlačio miris velikim udisajima. | Now, at the barking talk, the Ears awoke. After centuries of listening to winds that blew small and faint, of hearing leaves strip from trees and grass grow softly in the time of melting snows, now the Ears oiled themselves in a self-lubrication, drew taut, great drums upon which the heartbeat of the invaders might pummel and thud delicately as the tremor of a gnat’s wing. The Ears listened and the Nose siphoned up great chambers of odor. |
| Preplašenim ljudima se pojača znojenje. Znoj im probi ispod pazuha, i na šake kojima su držali puške. Nos izdvoji taj vazduh i zamisli se nad njim, kao poznavalac zanet nekim starim vinom. | The perspiration of frightened men arose. There were islands of sweat under their arms, and sweat in their hands as they held their guns. The Nose sifted and worried this air, like a connoisseur busy with an ancient vintage. |
| Klik-klik-klak-klik. | Chikk-chikk-chakk-click. |
| Informacija se spusti kružnim putem na trakama sa paralelnom proverom. Znojenje; hlorida toliko i toliko od sto; sulfata toliko i toliko; urea nitrata, amonium nitrata, znači: kreatinin, šećer, mlečna kiselina, eto! | Information rotated down on parallel check tapes. Perspiration; chlorides such and such per cent; sulphates so-and-so; urea nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen, thus: creatinine, sugar, lactic acid, there! |
| Zazvoniše zvona. Male cifre ukupnih rezultata iskočiše gore. | Bells rang. Small totals jumped up. |
| Nos je šaputao, izbacujući ispitani vazduh. Velike uši su slušale: | The Nose whispered, expelling the tested air. The great Ears listened: |
| "Mislim da treba da se vratimo na raketu, Kapetane." | “I think we should go back to the rocket, Captain.” |
| "Ja dajem naređenja, g. Smite!" | “I give the orders, Mr. Smith!” |
| "Da, gospodine." | “Yes, sir.” |
| "Vi, tamo! Patrola! Vidite li šta?" | “You, up there! Patrol! See anything?” |
| "Ništa, gospodine. Kao da je već dugo mrtav!" | “Nothing, sir. Looks like it’s been dead a long time!” |
| "Vidiš, Smite? Nemamo čega da se plašimo." | “You see, Smith? Nothing to fear.” |
| "Ovo mi se ne dopada. Ne znam zašto. Osetite li ikada da ste neko mesto već videli? E pa, ovaj grad je i suviše poznat." | “I don’t like it. I don’t know why. You ever feel you’ve seen a place before? Well, this city’s too familiar.” |
| "Besmislica. Ovaj planetni sistem je milijarde milja udaljen od Zemlje; nemoguće je da smo ikada bili ovde. Mi imamo jedinu postojeću raketu koja prelazi svetlosne godine." | “Nonsense. This planetary system’s billions of miles from Earth; we couldn’t possibly’ve been here ever before. Ours is the only light-year rocket in existence.” |
| "Ja se, u svakom slučaju, tako osećam, gospodine. Mislim da treba da izađemo odavde." Koraci postadoše nesigurni. U mirnom vazduhu čulo se samo disanje uljeza. | “That’s how I feel, anyway, sir. I think we should get out.” The footsteps faltered. There was only the sound of the intruder’s breath on the still air. |
| Uho ču, i ubrza svoj rad. Klizili su rotori, svetlucale tečnosti protičući kroz ispravljače i komunikacione cevi. Formula, pa sklopljena priča - jedna za drugom. Malo kasnije, u odgovor na pozive Uha i Nosa, kroz džinovske rupe u gradskim zidinama preko osvajača dunu svež dah. | The Ear heard and quickened. Rotors glided, liquids glittered in small creeks through valves and blowers. A formula and a concoction—one followed another. Moments later, responding to the summons of the Ear and Nose, through giant holes in the city walls a fresh vapor blew out over the invaders. |
| "Šta kažeš na ovaj miris, Smite? Oh. Zelena trava. Jesi li nekad udahnuo šta lepše? Boga mi, da mi je samo da stojim ovde i udišem ga." | “Smell that, Smith? Ahh. Green grass. Ever smell anything better? By God, I just like to stand here and smell it.” |
| Nevidljivi hlorofil kružio je među ljudima koji su stajali. | Invisible chlorophyll blew among the standing men. |
| "Ah-ah!" | “Ahh!” |
| Koraci se nastaviše. | The footsteps continued. |
| "Tu nema ničeg lošeg, a, Smite? Hajde!" | “Nothing wrong with that, eh, Smith? Come on!” |
| Uho i Nos se opustiše za milioniti delić trenutka. Kontrapotez je uspeo. Pioni su nastavljali napred. | The Ear and Nose relaxed a billionth of a fraction. The countermove had succeeded. The pawns were proceeding forward. |
| Sada se oblačne Oči grada pokrenuše iz magle i izmaglice. | Now the cloudy Eyes of the city moved out of fog and mist. |
| "Kapetane, prozori!" | “Captain, the windows!” |
| "Šta?" | “What?” |
| "Oni prozori na kućama. Video sam kako se pokreću!" | “Those house windows, there! I saw them move!” |
| "Ja to nisam video." | “I didn’t see it.” |
| "Izmenili su se. Promenili boju. Iz tamnog u svetlo." | “They shifted. They changed color. From dark to light.” |
| "Meni izgledaju kao obični četvrtasti prozori." | “Look like ordinary square windows to me.” |
| Nejasni predmeti se izoštriše. U mehaničkim klancima grada poskočiše podmazane poluge, regulacioni točkovi uroniše u bazene sa zelenim uljem. Prozorski okviri se saviše. Prozori zasjaše. | Blurred objects focused. In the mechanical ravines of the city oiled shafts plunged, balance wheels dipped over into green oil pools. The window frames flexed. The windows gleamed. |
| Dole, na ulici, koračala su dva čoveka, patrola, za njima su, na bezbednom rastojanju, išla još sedmorica. Uniforme su im bile bele, a lica rumena kao da su ih išamarali; oči su im bile plave. Išli su uspravno, na zadnjim nogama, i nosili metalno oružje. Na nogama su imali čizme. Bili su mužjaci, sa očima, ušima, ustima, nosevima. | Below, in the street, walked two men, a patrol, followed, at a safe interval, by seven more. Their uniforms were white, their faces as pink as if they had been slapped; their eyes were blue. They walked upright, upon hind legs, carrying metal weapons. Their feet were booted. They were males, with eyes, ears, mouths, noses. |
| Prozori uzdrhtaše. Stanjiše se. Neprimetno se raširiše, kao dužice bezbrojnih očiju. | The windows trembled. The windows thinned. They dilated imperceptibly, like the irises of numberless eyes. |
| "Kažem vam, Kapetane, s prozorima se nešto događa!" | “I tell you, Captain, it’s the windows!” |
| "Teraj dalje." | “Get along.” |
| "Ja se vraćam, gospodine." | “I’m going back, sir.” |
| "Šta?" | “What?” |
| "Vraćam se na raketu." | “I’m going back to the rocket.” |
| "Gospodine Smit!" | “Mr. Smith!” |
| "Ne padam ja ni u kakvu zamku!" | “I’m not falling into any trap!” |
| "Uplašio si se praznog grada?" | “Afraid of an empty city?” |
| Ostali se nasmejaše, nelagodno. | The others laughed, uneasily. |
| "Samo se vi smejte!" | “Go on, laugh!” |
| Ulica je bila kaldrmisana, jednakim kamenovima tri inča u širinu, šest inča u dužinu. Pokretom koji se nije mogao primetiti, ulica se sleže. Izmeri težinu osvajača. | The street was stone-cobbled, each stone three inches wide, six inches long. With a move unrecognizable as such, the street settled. It weighed the invaders. |
| U jednoj komori mehanizma crvena skazaljka dotače broj: 178 funti... 210, 154, 201, 198 - svaki čovek bi izmeren, zaveden, i podaci se na kalemovima spustiše u odgovarajuću tamnu komoru. | In a machine cellar a red wand touched a numeral: 178 pounds . . . 210, 154, 201, 198—each man weighed, registered and the record spooled down into a correlative darkness. |
| Sada je grad bio potpuno probuđen! | Now the city was fully awake! |
| Sada su ventili usisavali i izduvavali vazduh, vonj duvana iz usta osvajača, miris zelenog sapuna sa njihovih ruku. Čak su im i očne jabučice imale neki slab zadah. Grad ga otkri, i ta informacija načini zbirove koji se sjuriše dole da bi upotpunili ostale ukupne zbirove. Kristalni prozori su svetlucali, Uho se nape i zateže svoju slušnu opnu jako, još jače - sva čula grada se uzvrveše kao nevidljiva vejavica, brojeći udisaje i izdisaje i nejasne skrivene otkucaje srca ljudi, slušala su, gledala, kušala. | Now the vents sucked and blew air, the tobacco odor from the invaders’ mouths, the green soap scent from their hands. Even their eyeballs had a delicate odor. The city detected it, and this information formed totals which scurried down to total other totals. The crystal windows glittered, the Ear tautened and skinned the drum of its hearing tight, tighter—all of the senses of the city swarming like a fall of unseen snow, counting the respiration and the dim hidden heartbeats of the men, listening, watching, tasting. |
| Jer ulice su bile poput jezika, i tamo kuda su ljudi prolazili ukus njihovih potpetica se upi u dubinu kroz kamene pore da bi bio ispitan lakmusom. Ovi ukupni hemijski podaci, sakupljeni sa tako velikom preciznošću, bili su pripajani sada sve većim brojkama koje su čekale konačno izračunavanje među zahuktalim točkovima i šaptavim klipovima. | For the streets were like tongues, and where the men passed, the taste of their heels ebbed down through stone pores to be calculated on litmus. This chemical totality, so subtly collected, was appended to the now increasing sums waiting the final calculation among the whirling wheels and whispering spokes. |
| Koraci. U trku. | Footsteps. Running. |
| "Vrati se! Smite!" | “Come back! Smith!” |
| "Neću, nosite se!" | “No, blast you!” |
| Konačno ispitivanje. Pošto je slušao, osmatrao, probao ukus, opipao, izmerio, i izbalansirao, grad mora da obavi konačan zadatak. | A final test. The city, having listened, watched, tasted, felt, weighed, and balanced, must perform a final task. |
| Na ulici se odjednom širom otvori jedna zamka. U trku, kapetan iščeze a da ga ostali nisu ni videli. | A trap flung wide in the street. The captain, unseen to the others, running, vanished. |
| Obešen za stopala, sa sečivom prevučenim preko grla, drugim sečivom povučenim duž grudi, smesta ispražnjenom lešinom, postavljen na jedan sto ispod ulice, u skrivenoj ćeliji, kapetan umre. Veliki kristalni mikroskopi stadoše da gledaju u crvene spletove mišića; bestelesni prsti zabodoše se u srce koje je jošudaralo. Komadi njegove isečene kože bili su pričvršćeni za sto dok su ruke premeštale delove tela kao kakav brz i radoznao igrač šaha koji pomiče crvene figure. | Hung by his feet, a razor drawn across his throat, another down his chest, his carcass instantly emptied of its entrails, exposed upon a table under the street, in a hidden cell, the captain died. Great crystal microscopes stared at the red twines of muscle; bodiless fingers probed the still pulsing heart. The flaps of his sliced skin were pinned to the table while hands shifted parts of his body like a quick and curious player of chess, using the red pawns and the red pieces. |
| Gore na ulici, ljudi su trčali. Smit je trčao, ljudi vikali. Smit je vikao, a ispod njih u toj čudnoj sobi krv je tekla u kapsule, mućkala se, razmazivala na stakla i išla pod druge mikroskope, vršila se izbrojavanja, merile temperature, srce je bilo isečeno na sedamnaest delova, jetra i bubrezi stručno prepolovljeni. Mozak je bio izbušen i pokupljen iz koštane duplje, nervi izvučeni kao pregorele žice na kontrolnoj tabli, mišići čupani da bi im se isprobala elastičnost, dok u električnom podzemlju grada Um najzad ne zaključi svoj veličanstveni zbir i celokupni mehanizam se čudovišno i u trenutku zaustavi uz škripu. | Above on the street the men ran. Smith ran, men shouted. Smith shouted, and below in this curious room blood flowed into capsules, was shaken, spun, shoved on smear slides under further microscopes, counts made, temperatures taken, heart cut in seventeen sections, liver and kidneys expertly halved. Brain was drilled and scooped from bone socket, nerves pulled forth like the dead wires of a switchboard, muscles plucked for elasticity, while in the electric subterrene of the city the Mind at last totaled out its grandest total and all of the machinery ground to a monstrous and momentary halt. |
| Zbor. | The total. |
| Ovo jesu ljudi. To jesu ljudi iz jednog dalekog sveta, sa izvesne planete, i imaju izvesne oči, izvesne uši, i hodaju na nogama na određen način, i nose oružje, misle i tuku se, i imaju upravo ona srca i sve onakve organe kakvi su zabeleženi u davnoj prošlosti. | These are men. These are men from a far world, a certain planet, and they have certain eyes, certain ears, and they walk upon legs in a specified way and carry weapons and think and fight, and they have particular hearts and all such organs as are recorded from long ago. |
| Gore, ljudi su trčali ulicom prema raketi. | Above, men ran down the street toward the rocket. |
| Smit je trčao. | Smith ran. |
| Zbir. | The total. |
| To su naši neprijatelji. To su oni koje čekamo već dvadeset hiljada godina da ih opet vidimo. To su ljudi na koje smo čekali da im se osvetimo. Ceo zbir se slaže. To su ljudi sa jedne planete zvane Zemlja, koji su objavili rat Taolanu pre dvadeset hiljada godina, koji su nas držali u ropstvu, uništili nas i razorili groznom boleštinom. Onda su otišli da žive u drugoj galaksiji da bi izbegli onoj boleštini koju su nam ostavili pošto su opljačkali naš svet. Oni su zaboravili taj rat i to doba, i zaboravili su na nas. Ali mi nismo zaboravili njih. Ovo su naši neprijatelji. To je sigurno. Našem čekanju došao je kraj. | These are our enemies. These arc the ones we have waited for twenty thousand years to see again. These are the men upon whom we waited to visit revenge. Everything totals. These are the men of a planet called Earth, who declared war upon Taollan twenty thousand years ago, who kept us in slavery and ruined us and destroyed us with a great disease. Then they went off to live in another galaxy to escape that disease which they visited upon us after ransacking our world. They have forgotten that war and that time, and they have forgotten us. But we have not forgotten them. These are our enemies. This is certain. Our waiting is done. |
| "Smite, vrati se!" | “Smith, come back!” |
| Brzo. Na crvenom stolu, sa rasprostrtim praznim kapetanovim telom, nove ruke počeše da biju bitku pokreta. U vlažnu unutrašnjost stavljeni su organi od bakra, mesinga, srebra, aluminijuma, gume i svile; pauci ispletoše zlatnu mrežu koja bi pribodena u kožu; pripojiše srce u lobanjsku šupljinu uglaviše platinski mozak koji je zujao i ispuštao iskrice plave vatre, a naniže kroz telo do ruku i nogu bile su sprovedene žice. Telo je za tren bilo čvrsto ušiveno, razrezi zaliveni voskom, zalečeni oko vrata i grla i po lobanji - savršeno, sveže, novo. | Quickly. Upon the red table, with the spread-eagled captain’s body empty, new hands began a fight of motion. Into the wet interior were placed organs of copper, brass, silver, aluminum, rubber and silk; spiders spun gold web which was stung into the skin; a heart was attached, and into the skull case was fitted a platinum brain which hummed and fluttered small sparkles of blue fire, and the wires led down through the body to the arms and legs. In a moment the body was sewn tight, the incisions waxed, healed at neck and throat and about the skull—perfect, fresh, new. |
| Kapetan sede uspravno i protegli ruke. | The captain sat up and flexed his arms. |
| "Stoj!" | “Stop!” |
| Na ulici se ponovo pojavi kapetan, podiže pušku i opali. | On the street the captain reappeared, raised his gun and fired. Smith fell, a bullet in his heart. |
| Smit pade, sa metkom u srcu. | The other men turned. |
| Ostali se okrenuše. Kapetan im pritrča. | The captain ran to them. |
| "Ta budala! Uplašio se grada!" | “That fool! Afraid of a city!” |
| Pogledaše u Smitovo telo kraj svojih nogu. | They looked at the body of Smith at their feet. |
| Pogledaše svog kapetana, i oči im se raširiše pa skupiše. | They looked at their captain, and their eyes widened and narrowed. |
| "Slušajte me", reče kapetan. "Imam nešto važno da vam kažem." | “Listen to me,” said the captain. “I have something important to tell you.” |
| Sada se grad, koji ih je izmerio i osetio im ukus i miris, koji je iskoristio sve svoje sposobnosti osim jedne, pripremi da upotrebi svoju konačnu sposobnost, moć govora. Nije govorio besom i neprijateljstvom svojih nagomilanih zidova i kula, niti svojim kaldrmisanim ulicama i tvrđavama sa mehanizmom. Grad progovori mirnim glasom jednog čoveka. | Now the city, which had weighed and tasted and smelled them, which had used all its powers save one, prepared to use its final ability, the power of speech. It did not speak with the rage and hostility of its massed walls or towers, nor with the bulk of its cobbled avenues and fortresses of machinery. It spoke with the quiet voice of one man. |
| "Ja više nisam vaš kapetan", reče on. "Niti sam čovek." | “I am no longer your captain,” he said. “Nor am I a man.” |
| Ljudi ustuknuše. | The men moved back. |
| "Ja sam grad", reče on i osmehnu se. | “I am the city,” he said, and smiled. |
| "Čekam već dve stotine stoleća", reče on. "Čekam sinove sinovljevih sinova da se vrate." | “I’ve waited two hundred centuries,” he said. “I’ve waited for the sons of the Sons of the sons to return.” |
| "Kapetane, gospodine!" | “Captain, sir!” |
| "Da nastavim. Ko me je napravio? Grad. Izgradili su me ljudi koji su umrli. Stara rasa koja je nekada ovde živela. Ljudi koje su Zemljani ostavili da umru od jedne strašne bolesti, neizlečive forme lepre. I ljudi te stare rase, sanjajući o danu kada bi se Zemljani mogli vratiti, sagradiše ovaj grad, i ime tog grada bilo je i jeste Osveta, na Planeti Tame, u blizini obale Mora vekova, uz Planine Mrtvih; sve veoma poetično. Ovaj grad imao je da bude mašina za merenje, lakmus, antena za ispitivanje svih budućih putnika u svemiru. Za dvadeset hiljada godina ovde su se spustile još samo dve rakete. Jedna iz udaljene galaksije zvane Ent, i putnici te letelice bili su ispitani, izmereni, mera nije odgovarala, i pušteni su da odu slobodno iz grada, bez ozlede. Kao i posetioci na onom drugom brodu. Ali danas! Najzad, najzad, došli ste vi! Osveta će biti izvršena do poslednje pojedinosti. Oni ljudi su mrtvi već dve stotine stoleća, ali ovde su ostavili grad da vas dočeka." | “Let me continue. Who built me? The city. The men who died built me. The old race who once lived here. The people whom the Earthmen left to die of a terrible disease, a form of leprosy with no cure. And the men of that old race, dreaming of the day when Earthmen might return, built this city, and the name of this city was and is Revenge, upon the planet of Darkness, near the shore of the Sea of Centuries, by the Mountains of the Dead; all very poetic. This city was to be a balancing machine, a litmus, an antenna to test all future space travelers. In twenty thousand years only two other rockets landed here. One from a distant galaxy called Ennt, and the inhabitants of that craft were tested, weighed, found wanting, and let free, unscathed, from the city. As were the visitors in the second ship. But today! At long last, you’ve come! The revenge will be carried out to the last detail. Those men have been dead two hundred centuries, but they left a city here to welcome you. |
| "Kapetane, gospodine, vama nije dobro. Možda bolje da se vratite na brod, gospodine." | “Captain, sir, you’re not feeling well. Perhaps you’d better come back to the ship, sir.” |
| Grad se zatrese. | The city trembled. |
| Pločnici se otvoriše i ljudi popadaše, vrišteći. U padu videše svetla sečiva kako bleskaju da ih dočekaju! Vreme je prolazilo. Ubrzo se začu prozivka: | The pavements opened and the men fell, screaming. Falling, they saw bright razors flash to meet them! Time passed. Soon came the call: |
| "Smit?" | “Smith?” |
| "Ovde!" | “Here!” |
| "Jensen?" | “Jensen?” |
| "Ovde!" | “Here!” |
| "Džouns, Hačinson, Springer?" | “Jones, Hutchinson, Springer?” |
| "Ovde, ovde, ovde!" | “Here, here, here!” |
| Stajali su uz vrata rakete. "Smesta se vraćamo na Zemlju." | They stood by the door of the rocket. “We return to Earth immediately.” |
| "Da gospodine" | “Yes, sir!” |
| Urezi na njihovim vratovima bili su nevidljivi, kao i skrivena mesingana srca i srebrni organi i tanka zlatna žica nerava. Iz glave im je izlazilo slabo zujanje struje. | The incisions on their necks were invisible, as were their hidden brass hearts and silver organs and the fine golden wire of their nerves. There was a faint electric hum from their heads. |
| "Trk!" | “On the double!” |
| Devetorica ljudi žurno ubaciše u raketu bombe sa kulturom, zaraznih klica. | Nine men hurried the golden bombs of disease culture into the rocket. |
| "Ima da se bace na Zemlju!" | “These are to be dropped on Earth.” |
| "Razumemo, gospodine!" | “Right, sir!” |
| Kapak rakete se zalupi. Raketa se vinu u nebo. Dok je grmljavina zamirala, grad je ležao na letnjem polju. Njegove staklene oči su zgasnule. Uho se opusti, veliki nozdrvni ventili se zaustaviše, ulice više nisu merile i premeravale, a skriveni mehanizam prestade da radi u svom bazenu sa uljem. | The rocket valve slammed. The rocket jumped into the sky. As the thunder faded, the city lay upon the summer meadow. Its glass eyes were dulled over. The Ear relaxed, the great nostril vents stopped, the streets no longer weighed or balanced, and the hidden machinery paused in its bath of oil. |
| Raketa se izgubi na nebu. | In the sky the rocket dwindled. |
| Lagano, sa uživanjem, grad se prepusti raskoši umiranja. | Slowly, pleasurably, the city enjoyed the luxury of dying. |