40 THE UNDERWATER FOREST

CHAPTER 40 THE UNDERWATER FOREST The waters along that coast were home to a lush forest of kelp. Tall stalks of seaweed swayed as huge waves went rolling over. Sunlight filtered through the shifting foliage and dappled the seafloor. And just like forests on land, this underwater forest was teeming with wildlife. Barnacles clung to the rocks.

第四十章海底森林沿着海岸的海水是一片茂密的海藻林的家园。 巨大的海浪翻滚着，高大的海草摇曳着。 阳光透过摇曳的树叶，照在海底斑驳。 就像陆地上的森林一样，这片水下森林也充满了野生动物。 藤壶附着在岩石上。

Schools of fish swirled out from the greenery. Otters dove down and tore clams from the reef. Roz was working her way through the kelp forest when she noticed she was being followed. A creature was darting from shadow to shadow as it trailed after her. The robot tried to go faster, but the water currents and the moving kelp slowed her down. Rather than fleeing from the mysterious creature, Roz decided to hide. She quickly wrapped a kelp frond around her torso, smeared sand over her limbs, placed seashells on her head, and nestled into the ground. For a brief moment, she blended into the reef. But camouflage works a little differently underwater, and soon the kelp was unraveling, the sand was drifting away, the shells were sliding off, and there was our robot, in the open, as an octopus crawled out from the shadows. The octopus had red skin, a bulging head, and eight wriggling arms. But something about her movements signaled that she wasn't dangerous—she was curious. "Who are you?" said the octopus. "My name is Roz. I am a robot." "My name is Limber. I'm an octopus." "I was afraid you might be dangerous," said Roz, "so I tried to camouflage myself." Limber laughed. "That isn't camouflage. This is camouflage." The octopus crawled onto a rocky ledge and squeezed her big squishy body into a small crevice.

成群的鱼从绿色植物中盘旋而出。 水獭俯冲下来，从礁石上撕下蛤蜊。 罗兹在穿过海带森林时发现自己被跟踪了。 一个生物在她身后从一个阴影跳到另一个阴影。 机器人试图走得更快，但水流和移动的海藻减慢了她的速度。 罗兹决定躲起来，而不是逃离这个神秘的生物。 她迅速地用海带叶裹住自己的躯干，在四肢上涂上沙子，在头上放上贝壳，然后依偎在地上。 有那么一瞬间，她融入了暗礁。 但水下伪装的作用有点不同，很快海藻就散开了，沙子飘走了，贝壳滑落了，我们的机器人出现了，在开阔的地方，一只章鱼从阴影中爬了出来。 章鱼有红色的皮肤，凸起的头和八条扭动的手臂。 但从她的动作中可以看出，她并不危险——她很好奇。 “你是谁？”章鱼问。 “我叫罗兹。我是一个机器人。” “我叫林伯。我是一只章鱼。” “我怕你会有危险，”罗兹说，“所以我试图伪装自己。” 柔软的笑了。“这不是伪装。 这是伪装。”章鱼爬上一块岩石，把又大又软的身体挤进一个小裂缝里。

Her skin suddenly turned rough and gray until she perfectly matched her surroundings. In an instant, the octopus had become part of the reef. Roz couldn't believe her eyes. "I have never seen a better display of camouflage," she said, "not in the ocean or on land." A chunk of rock seemed to melt, and the octopus reappeared. "You've been on land?" "I have spent most of my life on land," said Roz. "I love land!" said Limber. "I climb onto the shore every once in a while. It's so refreshingly bright and airy. I wish I could spend more time up there." "I am headed to shore now," said Roz, pointing. "Oh, you don't want to go that way," said Limber. "The waves will smash you against the rocks. Let me show you a better way!"

她的皮肤突然变得粗糙和灰白，直到她与周围的环境完全相配。 刹那间，章鱼变成了珊瑚礁的一部分。 罗兹简直不敢相信自己的眼睛。 “我从未见过如此出色的伪装表演，”她说，“无论是在海洋还是在陆地上。” 一块岩石似乎融化了，章鱼又出现了。 “你上过陆地吗？”“我一生中大部分时间都在陆地上度过，”罗兹说。 “我爱陆地！”林伯说。 “我每隔一段时间就爬上海岸。 它是如此清新明亮和通风。 我希望我能在那里多呆些时间。” “我现在要上岸了，”罗兹指着说。 “哦，你不会想走那条路的。”林伯说。 "海浪要把你撞在岩石上。 让我告诉你一个更好的方法！”

Limber wrapped a strong arm around Roz's wrist, and then the octopus jetted off through the water, dragging the robot behind her. They glided between kelp fronds and over seagrass and into a cave in the side of the reef. The cave was long and dark, with only a few shafts of light streaming down from cracks in the ceiling. At the end of the cave was an opening in the rock, and they climbed up through it, onto the bright, sunny shore. Limber crawled into a tide pool, and she and Roz chatted over the sounds of crashing waves. When the robot explained her mission, the cheerful octopus turned gray and serious.

林伯用一只强壮的手臂搂住罗兹的手腕，然后章鱼在水中喷射，拖着机器人在她身后。 他们在海带叶子和海草之间滑行，进入礁石一侧的一个洞穴。 山洞又长又黑，只有几缕光线从天花板的裂缝里射下来。 在洞穴的尽头，岩石上有一个开口，他们爬了上去，来到了阳光明媚的海岸。 林伯爬进一个潮池，她和罗兹在海浪撞击的声音中聊天。 当机器人解释她的任务时，欢快的章鱼脸色变得严肃起来。

"So it's real," said Limber. "I hoped the poison tide was merely a rumor. What do you know about it? Will it ever come here?" "What I know is that the poison tide is made of toxic dust that is flowing along ocean currents," said Roz. "What I do not know is whether it will ever come here." "You have to stop it!" Limber shouted. "You have to do whatever it takes!" The octopus turned away and quietly said, "Please forgive my outburst. I have a lot on my mind. A few days from now, I'll crawl inside my den and lay eggs. I'll spend the last few months of my life watching over them. By the time my eggs hatch, I'll be dead. We octopus mothers sacrifice everything for our young. Sometimes, I dream about my tiny hatchlings. In my dream, I hold them close and say that I'll always protect them. It's only a dream, though. I won't be alive to protect them. That's why you must stop the poison tide. Then maybe my hatchlings will have a chance to grow up." "I will do everything in my power to stop the poison tide," said Roz. Limber squinted at the hot sun and said, "I should be going." The octopus started crawling across the rocks, but before dropping into the water she looked back and added, "Good luck, Roz. I'm counting on you. We're all counting on you."

“所以这是真的。”林伯说。 “我希望毒潮只是一个谣言。 你知道些什么？ 它会到这儿来吗？”罗兹说：“我所知道的是，毒潮是由沿着洋流流动的有毒尘埃构成的。” “我不知道的是，它是否会来到这里。” “你必须阻止它！”柔软的喊道。 “你必须不惜一切代价！”章鱼转过身，平静地说：“请原谅我的爆发。 我脑子里有很多事。几天后，我会爬进我的窝里产卵。 我会用我生命的最后几个月来照顾他们。 等我的蛋孵出来，我就死了。 我们章鱼妈妈为了孩子牺牲了一切。 有时，我梦见我的小海龟。 在梦里，我紧紧地抱着他们，说我会永远保护他们。 不过，这只是一个梦。 我不会活着保护他们。 所以你必须阻止毒潮。 这样也许我的幼崽就有机会长大了。” 罗兹说：“我将尽我所能阻止毒潮。 林伯眯着眼睛看着灼热的太阳说：“我该走了。” 章鱼开始在岩石上爬行，但在跳入水中之前，她回头看了看，补充说：“祝你好运，罗兹。 我就指望你了。我们都指望你了。”