77 THE MEETING

CHAPTER 77 THE MEETING Strong, nimble creatures carried Roz up the sea cliffs and across the island. They carefully propped her up inside the Nest. They built a fire. And then they left the robot with her son. Roz and Brightbill sat there, staring at the flames, until the goose finally said, "Do you need anything, Ma?" "I could really use some new arms and legs!" The robot chuckled at her own bad joke. "That isn't funny!" cried the goose. "My mother is broken and I don't know what to do about it!" "I am sorry for joking." Roz adjusted her voice to a more serious tone. "I know you want to fix me, but there is nothing anyone here can do." At these words, her son looked away. "Brightbill, I am afraid we have some difficult decisions to make. I think you should arrange a meeting of our closest friends. We could use their advice."

第七十七章相遇强壮敏捷的动物驮着罗兹爬上海边的悬崖，穿过小岛。 他们小心翼翼地把她扶在巢里。 他们生了一堆火。然后他们把机器人留给了她的儿子。 罗兹和布莱特比尔坐在那里，盯着火焰，直到母鹅终于说：“你需要什么吗，妈妈？”“我真的需要一些新的胳膊和腿！”机器人对自己的坏笑话咯咯地笑了起来。 “这不好玩！”母鹅叫道。 “我妈妈心碎了，我不知道该怎么办！”“我很抱歉开了个玩笑。” 罗兹把声音调得更严肃一些。 “我知道你想治好我，但这里的任何人都无能为力。” 听到这些话，儿子把目光移开了。 “布莱特比尔，恐怕我们要做一些艰难的决定。 我觉得你应该安排我们最亲密的朋友见面。 我们可以采纳他们的建议。”

The goose disappeared out the door, and soon Roz's oldest and wisest friends were on their way. Loudwing was the first to arrive. She limped into the lodge on her injured foot and sat close to her robot friend. Mr. Beaver appeared next, followed by Fink and Swooper. Then Tawny curled up on the floor. Mother Bear was too badly hurt to make the journey, so Nettle came in her place. She sat in the garden with her enormous head jutting in through the doorway. Brightbill returned with Chitchat, who was nursing her burned tail. The last one to crawl in was Crag, the old turtle. Once everyone was there, the meeting began. The group talked all through the night. They discussed the RECOs. They discussed what to do about Roz. They discussed how to keep the island safe. There were stark differences of opinion, and tempers flared, but by daybreak the group had agreed to a plan of action. That morning, the Dawn Truce didn't take place in the Great Meadow. Instead, it took place in a small meadow by the foot of the mountain, in front of the airship. Weary animals quietly hobbled into the clearing. The only sounds came from a gurgling

鹅消失在门外，不久，罗丝最年长、最聪明的朋友们也上路了。 响亮的翅膀是第一个到达的。 她拄着受伤的脚一瘸一拐地走进小屋，坐在她的机器人朋友身边。 接着是比弗先生，后面跟着芬克和斯伍普。 然后茶色蜷缩在地板上。 熊妈妈伤得太重了，不能上路了，所以荨麻代替了她。 她坐在花园里，巨大的脑袋从门口探了进来。 布莱特比尔带着叽叽喳喳回来了，叽叽喳喳正在抚弄自己烧焦的尾巴。 最后一个爬进去的是老乌龟克雷格。 大家都到齐了，会议就开始了。 这群人聊了一整夜。 他们讨论了RECOs。他们讨论了如何对待罗兹。 他们讨论了如何保证这个岛的安全。 大家的意见存在明显的分歧，脾气也很暴躁，但到天亮时，大家就一项行动计划达成了一致。 那天早上，黎明休战并没有发生在大草原上。 相反，它发生在山脚下的一块小草地上，在飞艇前面。 疲倦的动物悄悄地一瘸一拐地走进空地。 唯一的声音是咯咯的笑声

brook that wound through the gathering and right past our robot. Roz sat in the wet grass. She was leaning against a rock. She looked so sad and frail. However, she still had her thoughts and her words, and for the moment that was all she needed. "Good morning, animals of the island!" Roz's voice filled the meadow. "I must look strange to you, all beaten up like this, but I hope I still sound like your old friend." Hundreds of heads nodded. "You fought bravely yesterday. You risked your lives defending me, and I am eternally grateful. But many of our friends were wounded. Some may not recover. And there is worse news. Before the last RECO died, he told me that more of his kind will come to our island. They might already be on the move. And even if we defeat them, still more will come. My Makers will not rest until all of their property has been retrieved. They want the dead robots. They want the broken parts. They want me." The crowd was silent. "But I care about this island far too much to put any more lives in danger. And so, my friends, I must

小溪穿过集合区，正好经过我们的机器人。 罗兹坐在潮湿的草地上。她倚在一块石头上。 她看上去那么伤心，那么虚弱。 然而，她仍然有自己的思想和语言，这就是她目前所需要的。 “早上好，岛上的动物们！”罗兹的声音充满了草地。 “我被打成这样，你一定觉得很奇怪，但我希望我的声音听起来还像你的老朋友。” 成百上千的人点了点头。“你昨天战斗得很勇敢。 你们冒着生命危险保护我，我永远感激你们。 但我们的很多朋友都受伤了。 有些可能无法恢复。还有更糟糕的消息。 在最后一个侦察官死前，他告诉我他的同类会有更多来到我们岛上。 他们可能已经开始行动了。 即使我们打败了他们，还会有更多的人来。 我的创造者不会善罢甘休直到他们所有的财产都被取回。 他们想要死去的机器人。 他们想要坏掉的零件。 他们需要我。”人群沉默了。 “但我太在乎这个岛了，不能让更多的生命处于危险之中。 所以，我的朋友们，我必须这样做

leave." Voices cried out. "Don't go, Roz!" "Next time we'll be prepared!" "We risked our lives so you could stay!" "I hear you!" The robot's voice cut through the din. "But look at me! My body is ruined! And the RECO said the only ones who can help me are my Makers." "What if he lied?" howled a voice. "You can't trust those monsters!" "You are right!" said Roz. "He might have been lying. There may be no hope for me. But that is a chance I have to take. Animals, you taught me to be wild. I want to be wild again! And so I must try to get the repairs I need. It is for the good of me and the island that I return to my Makers." A calm settled over the crowd. They knew Roz was right.

离开。”声音在喊叫。“别走，罗兹！”“下次我们会做好准备的！”“我们冒着生命危险让你留下来！”“我听到了！”机器人的声音划破了喧闹声。 “但是看看我！”我的身体毁了！RECO说唯一能帮助我的是我的创造者。” “如果他说谎怎么办？”一个声音咆哮道。 “你不能相信那些怪物！”“你说得对！” “他可能一直在撒谎。 我可能没有希望了。 但我必须冒这个险。 动物们，你们教会了我野性。 我想再次狂野起来！所以我必须设法得到我需要的修理。 我回到造我的主那里，是为了我和这岛的益处。” 人群平静下来。 他们知道罗兹是对的。