21 THE SHALLOW SEA

CHAPTER 21 THE SHALLOW SEA Above the surface, the sea appeared normal. It was vast and blue and it rippled with waves. But below the surface, the sea was very unusual. It was hardly deeper than the deep end of a swimming pool. And gently shimmering dust was flowing along the currents. And walking on the bottom of that shallow sea was a robot. Clouds of poison tide swirled around Roz while she moved. With such poor visibility, the robot had to feel with her feet, one cautious step at a time. Occasionally,

第二十一章浅海海面上的海水看起来很正常。 它是巨大的，蓝色的，波浪荡漾。 但在海面之下，海洋非常不寻常。 它几乎不比游泳池的最深处深。 微微闪烁的灰尘顺着水流流动。 在浅海的底部行走的是一个机器人。 当她移动时，毒潮的云在罗兹周围旋转。 在如此低的能见度下，机器人只能用脚摸索，一步一步小心翼翼。 偶尔,

the clouds receded, and she could briefly see the surface just overhead. Then the poison tide came rushing back, and she was surrounded by dust once again. Brightbill had described the poison tide as winding through the ocean, like a river. And as the hours passed, Roz came to a bend in the poison tide's path. The dust clouds faded, and half a day after setting out from the island, she finally entered clear water. The water may have been clear, but it wasn't healthy. At some point, the poison tide had come that way, and the seabed was still coated with dust. There were no schools of fish or colonies of crabs or fronds of seaweed. There was no life at all. Roz kept expecting the seabed to slope downward, into the deep, but the shallow sea stretched on and on. She had always wondered how such a variety of animals came to live on her remote island, and now she wondered if that seabed had once been above water, connecting the island to other lands, like a bridge. She recalled Crag the turtle telling stories of how their island had once been a mountain, until the ocean flooded the nearby flatlands. Crag's story sounded like a folktale at the time, but now it seemed entirely possible. The robot was so busy pondering these ideas that she was slow to notice the changes happening around her. As she marched, the ground became sandier. Clumps of

乌云散开了，她能短暂地看到头顶上的水面。 然后毒潮又涌了回来，她又被尘土包围了。 布莱特比尔曾将毒潮描述为像河流一样蜿蜒穿过海洋。 几个小时过去了，罗兹来到了毒潮路径的一个拐弯处。 尘土消散了，离开小岛半天后，她终于进入了清澈的水域。 水可能是清澈的，但不健康。 在某种程度上，毒潮已经涌向了那个方向，海床上仍然覆盖着灰尘。 没有鱼群，没有成群的螃蟹，也没有一片片的海藻。 那里根本没有生命。罗兹一直以为海底会向下倾斜，进入深海，但浅海却一直延伸下去。 她一直想知道这么多种动物是如何来到这个遥远的岛上生活的，现在她想知道这个海底是否曾经露出水面，像桥梁一样把这个岛和其他陆地连接起来。 她回忆起乌龟克雷格讲述的故事，说他们的岛屿曾经是一座山，直到海洋淹没了附近的平原。 克雷格的故事在当时听起来像是一个民间故事，但现在看来完全有可能。 机器人忙于思考这些想法，以至于她没有注意到周围发生的变化。 她走着走着，地上的沙子越来越多。 团

seagrass began to appear. More grass appeared, and the clumps blended together to form a meadow that whirled with the motion of the water. And there were sea sponges! And corals! Crabs and snails crawled out from under stones! And the fish! So many fish! There were small skinny fish and wide round fish. There were dull gray fish and fish that glittered with rainbow colors. Schools of fish swept over the sea meadow like birds over a field. And then there were the sounds. Whup! Whup! Whup! Blooooooop! Tap tap tap tap tap! The sea was abuzz with the soft sounds of animals. This place was filled with life. After witnessing so much devastation, it was a relief to see a healthy, bustling patch of water.

海草开始出现。更多的草出现了，一簇簇的草混合在一起，形成了一片随着水流旋转的草地。 还有海绵！和珊瑚!螃蟹和蜗牛从石头下面爬出来！还有鱼！这么多鱼！有瘦小的鱼和又宽又圆的鱼。 有暗灰色的鱼，也有闪烁着彩虹色彩的鱼。 成群的鱼掠过海面，就像鸟儿掠过田野。 然后是声音。 大胜!大胜!大胜!Blooooooop !敲，敲，敲！大海里充满了动物轻柔的叫声。 这个地方充满了生机。 在目睹了如此多的破坏之后，看到一片健康、繁华的水域让人松了一口气。