31 THE DEEP

CHAPTER 31 THE DEEP The robot swam down along the cliffside and into the deep. As she descended, the ocean grew darker, and the weight of the water above grew heavier. Roz was an amazingly durable machine, but if she went too deep, she'd be crushed by the immense water pressure. Before she reached a dangerous depth, however, she arrived at the bottom of the cliff. Very little light was visible. Only a faint blue glow could be seen, high up at the surface. Roz switched on her headlights—click—and shafts of light beamed out from her eyes. Then she turned her head and took in the dim underwater world. Behind her, the cliffs rose up and out of sight. In front of her, the flat ocean floor spread away into darkness. All around her, specks of debris drifted through the water.

第三十一章深海机器人沿着悬崖边游到了深海里。 随着船下沉，海水越来越暗，水面的重量也越来越重。 罗兹号是一台非常耐用的机器，但如果她下潜得太深，就会被巨大的水压压垮。 然而，在她到达危险的深度之前，她到达了悬崖的底部。 光线很微弱。 在水面上只能看到微弱的蓝光。 罗兹打开车头灯——咔哒一声——一道光束从她的眼睛里射出。 然后，她转过头来，凝视着昏暗的海底世界。 在她身后，悬崖拔地而起，看不见了。 在她面前，平坦的海底逐渐消失在黑暗中。 在她周围，一粒粒的残骸在水中漂流。

Roz started marching, and plumes of silt billowed up from each footfall. In such still water, she was able to move easily, covering a lot of ground in a short time. On her way, she passed bizarre sea creatures, paddling, twirling, pulsing. Some creatures were transparent, some had spiky teeth jutting from their jaws, and some wriggled down into the muck. Eyes glinted in the shadows. Soft noises echoed from afar. This was an eerie, alien place. The robot became aware of a gurgling sound, and then a cluster of towering rocks emerged. From the top of each tower spewed scalding-hot water that had bubbled up from deep underground. The warmth attracted a wide array of living things. Gardens of corals and sponges and flowery sea anemones clung to the rocks and danced in the whirling currents. Crawling throughout the gardens were shrimps and crabs. A giant sea star crept over a crowd of clams. Hungry fish floated nearby and eyed the assortment of tasty creatures. Of particular interest to Roz was a sea slug. Sea slugs might seem disgusting to you, reader, but this one was beautiful. It was colored in shades of pink and orange and purple, like a sunset. On its back were feathery fins that shimmered in the light. The robot searched through her computer brain to identify the species. Her brain was filled with knowledge about every known animal in

罗兹开始前进，每走一步，淤泥就像波浪一样翻滚起来。 在这样平静的水中，她可以很容易地移动，在很短的时间内游了很多地方。 在路上，她遇到了一些奇怪的海洋生物，它们在水中划桨、旋转、搏动。 有些生物是透明的，有些从颌部伸出尖尖的牙齿，还有一些在淤泥中蠕动。 眼睛在阴影中闪闪发光。 远处传来柔和的声音。 这是一个怪异、陌生的地方。 机器人意识到一种咯咯的声音，然后出现了一群高耸的岩石。 从每座塔的顶部喷出滚烫的水，这些水是从地下深处冒出来的。 温暖吸引了各种各样的生物。 珊瑚、海绵和花海葵的花园依附在岩石上，在旋转的水流中跳舞。 在花园里爬来爬去的是虾和蟹。 一只巨大的海星爬过一群蛤蜊。 饥饿的鱼在附近漂来漂去，看着各种各样美味的生物。 罗兹特别感兴趣的是一种海参。 读者们，你可能觉得海蛞蝓很恶心，但这只海蛞蝓很漂亮。 它的颜色是粉红色、橙色和紫色，就像日落一样。 它的背上长着羽毛状的鳍，在阳光下闪闪发光。 机器人通过她的电脑大脑来识别物种。 她的脑子里装满了关于世界上所有已知动物的知识

the world, but her search came up empty. And then Roz realized that this type of sea slug was unknown. She had discovered a new species. "Hello, sea slug. My name is Roz." The slug fluttered its fins in a way that meant, "Please don't eat me." "I do not eat anything, including sea slugs," said the robot. "Oh, that's good to know," said the slug. "You're not from around here, are you?" "I am only passing through on my journey to stop the poison tide." The slug's body stiffened. "We've heard terrible stories about the poison tide. I can't bear to think what would happen if it ever came down here." "I will do everything in my power to make sure that never happens," said the robot. While marching away, Roz wondered how many other animal species had yet to be discovered in the deep. She wondered how many of them were at risk of being wiped out by the poison tide.

全世界，但她一无所获。 然后罗兹意识到这种类型的海蛞蝓是未知的。 她发现了一个新物种。 “你好，海参。我叫罗兹。” 蛞蝓拍打着鳍，意思是“请不要吃我。” “我不吃任何东西，包括海蛞蝓，”机器人说。 “哦，这太好了，”鼻涕虫说。 “你不是这附近的人吧？”“我只是在阻止毒潮的旅途中路过这里。” 蛞蝓的身体僵硬了。 “我们听说过关于毒潮的可怕故事。 我无法想象如果它落到这里会发生什么。” “我会尽我所能确保这种情况永远不会发生，”机器人说。 在离开的时候，罗兹想知道在深海中还有多少其他的动物物种尚未被发现。 她想知道他们中有多少人有被毒潮消灭的危险。