42 THE GLACIER

CHAPTER 42 THE GLACIER Roz stood on a rocky outcrop and scanned the desolate landscape. There were cliffs and canyons and fields of boulders, and in the middle of it all was the glacier. It was like a gigantic frozen river twisting through the rugged terrain. Far off, at the other end of the glacier, a dark smudge stretched along the horizon. The northern ocean. Roz calculated that the fastest way there was to trek over the glacier. But the trek would be risky. The glacier was covered with slick ice and sweeping snowdrifts and deep crevasses. A single slip, and she might never be seen again. The sides of the glacier had crumbled into piles of icy chunks. Carefully placing her hands and feet, Roz climbed up the chunks, higher and higher, to the very top, and then she set out over the glacier.

第四十二章冰川罗兹站在一块露出地面的岩石上，扫视着荒凉的景色。 这里有悬崖、峡谷和大片的巨石，而在这一切的中间就是冰川。 它就像一条巨大的冰冻河流，蜿蜒穿过崎岖的地形。 在遥远的地方，冰川的另一端，一个黑色的污点沿着地平线延伸。 北大洋。罗兹计算出最快的方法就是徒步穿过冰川。 但长途跋涉是有风险的。 冰川上覆盖着光滑的冰、漫天的雪堆和深深的裂缝。 只要一失足，她就可能永远消失。 冰川的两侧已经碎成了一堆堆的冰块。 罗兹小心翼翼地用手和脚爬上一块块的石头，越爬越高，爬到山顶，然后她越过冰川出发了。

The robot started slowly through that wintry world, but as she found her footing, the sounds of her crunching steps grew quick and steady. There were other sounds, too. Wind whistled. Pieces of ice clattered down cliffsides. Streams of meltwater rushed through furrows in the surface. The loudest sounds came from the glacier itself. You see, that massive sheet of ice was gradually sliding into the ocean. And each time it shifted, it created powerful rumbling groans. As she hiked, the robot couldn't help staring at the bizarre frozen shapes around her. She was gazing at a great, glittering block of ice when she stumbled and fell, and suddenly her smooth body was sliding downhill. Faster and faster she went, scraping and gliding and spinning out of control. She was hurtling toward something wide and flat and blue, and a moment later, she splashed into water! A lake of meltwater had formed on top of the glacier, and there was Roz, sitting in the shallows. The water was clear and calm, so the robot kicked off and swam for the other side. The lake became deeper and bluer the farther she went. She was almost halfway across when another powerful groan rumbled through the glacier. Then, mysteriously, Roz began sinking. Actually, the whole lake began sinking. The glacier had shifted, just a little, but the movement had split the thick ice below. Now the lake was draining through a huge crack at the

机器人慢慢地穿过这个寒冷的世界，但当她站稳脚跟时，她嘎吱嘎吱的脚步声变得又快又稳。 还有其他的声音。 风吹着口哨。冰块哗啦哗啦地从悬崖边滑落。 融水的溪流从地表的沟壑中奔流而过。 最响亮的声音来自冰川本身。 你看，那片巨大的冰盖正逐渐滑入海洋。 每次它移动时，都会发出强烈的隆隆声。 当她徒步行走时，机器人忍不住盯着她周围奇怪的冰冻形状。 她正盯着一块闪闪发光的大冰块，突然绊了一下，摔倒了，突然，她光滑的身体滑下了山坡。 她越开越快，刮着、滑行着，失去控制地旋转着。 她冲向一个又宽又平又蓝的东西，不一会儿，她就溅到了水里！冰川顶部形成了一个融水湖，罗兹就在那里，坐在浅滩上。 水清澈而平静，所以机器人开始向另一边游去。 她走得越远，湖越深越蓝。 她快走到一半的时候，冰川里传来了另一声强烈的呻吟。 然后，神秘的是，罗兹开始下沉。 实际上，整个湖开始下沉。 冰川移动了，只是一点点，但移动已经把下面的厚冰劈开了。 现在湖水正从一个巨大的裂缝中流出

bottom. The robot sank lower and lower, and the crack came into view. Water roared and gushed through the opening, and the flow carried Roz over the edge. Down she fell, deep inside the glacier, and she splashed into a frosty pool. The floodwaters immediately whisked her away. She slid along frozen chutes and slammed against icy walls and sloshed through a network of hollows. Finally, the flow of floodwater slowed, and when the robot skidded to a stop, she was in an ice cavern. The walls glowed with a blue light. Water was drip-drip-dripping everywhere. Hanging from the ceiling was a dazzling array of icicles. The longest icicles had descended to the floor and formed a forest of pillars. One wall of the cavern was crystal clear, and Roz noticed a lump in the ice. It was a mouse, frozen solid and perfectly preserved. It looked like the mice from back on the island, but this mouse must have been thousands of years old. Just then, the glacier rumbled, and Roz leaped away as enormous icicles crashed to the ground. If she wasn't careful, she might become trapped in the ice as well.

底部。机器人越陷越深，裂缝就出现了。 水咆哮着从洞口涌出，把罗兹带到了边缘。 她掉进了冰川深处，溅到了一个结霜的池塘里。 洪水立刻把她卷走了。 她沿着结冰的滑道滑行，撞在结冰的墙壁上，在一大片洼地里翻滚。 最后，洪水流速减慢了，当机器人打滑停下来时，她已经在一个冰洞里了。 墙壁发出蓝光。 到处都是滴水。 天花板上挂着一排令人眼花缭乱的冰柱。 最长的冰柱垂到地面上，形成了一片石柱森林。 洞穴的一面墙是透明的，罗兹注意到冰面上有一个肿块。 那是一只老鼠，冻得很结实，保存得很完好。 它看起来像岛上的老鼠，但这只老鼠肯定有几千年的历史了。 就在这时，冰川隆隆作响，巨大的冰柱轰然坠地，罗兹跳开了。 如果她不小心，她可能也会被困在冰里。

The robot hollered, "Hello?" The cavern echoed, "Hello? Hello?" "Can anyone hear me?" "Can anyone hear me… hear me?" "How do I get out of this glacier?" "How do I get out of this glacier… this glacier?" Nobody was around to answer her questions. Roz would have to find her own way out. She hiked on, through tunnels and caves. At one point, she came upon an open shaft rising up through the ice, and high overhead was a small patch of sky. She chopped her hand into the wall like an axe—hack!—and pulled herself up. Hack! Hack! Hack! The robot climbed higher, and the shaft grew narrower. Too narrow. So she climbed down and continued through the glacier on

机器人喊道：“喂？”山洞里回响着：“喂？ 你好吗?”“有人能听到我说话吗？”“有人能听到我……听到我吗？”“我怎样才能离开这个冰川？”“我怎么才能离开这个冰川……这个冰川？”周围没有人回答她的问题。 罗兹就得自己找出路了。 她继续徒步旅行，穿过隧道和洞穴。 有一次，她遇到了一个从冰中伸出来的敞开的竖井，头顶上是一小块天空。 她的手像斧头一样砍进了墙里！然后把自己拉了起来。 黑客!黑客!黑客!机器人爬得更高，竖井越来越窄。 太窄。于是她爬了下来，继续穿过冰川

foot. Days passed. Roz wondered if she'd ever get out of that frozen maze. Eventually, though, she detected the faint sound of ocean waves, and she caught a whiff of salty air, and then she turned a corner and stepped into bright daylight. Laid out before the robot was a glorious northern seascape. Icebergs of every shape and size floated across a bay and toward the open ocean. Seabirds soared by on outstretched wings. Waterfalls poured from wide holes in the ice. The front edge of the glacier was made up of frozen cliffs that towered above the waves, and high up, on one of those cliffs, was Roz. A lone dark shape against an immense wall of white. The glacier rumbled, and little avalanches of snow tumbled down the cliffside. Another rumble, and a large hunk of ice plunged into the water. It occurred to our robot that she was still in serious danger. She quickly tried to calculate the safest way down, but she wasn't quick enough. The glacier rumbled again, and then the entire cliffside started breaking loose. The cliff tipped forward, slowly at first, but gaining speed, until it crashed into the surf with a tremendous explosion of sea spray. Birds scrambled through the air. Icebergs smashed together. Waves rolled across the water and pounded the stony beaches. In time, the waves settled down, and calm returned to

脚。日子一天天过去。罗兹想知道她是否能走出那个冰冷的迷宫。 最后，她听到了微弱的海浪声，闻到了一股咸咸的空气，然后她拐了个弯，走进了明亮的阳光。 展现在机器人面前的是壮丽的北方海景。 各种形状和大小的冰山漂过一个海湾，向开阔的海洋漂去。 海鸟展开翅膀飞翔。 瀑布从冰面上的大洞里倾泻而出。 冰川的前沿是由冰冻的悬崖组成的，这些悬崖高耸在海浪之上，而罗兹就在其中的一个悬崖上。 一个孤零零的黑影映衬着一堵巨大的白色墙。 冰川隆隆作响，小雪堆从悬崖边滚落下来。 又一声隆隆声，一大块冰跳进了水里。 我们的机器人意识到她仍然处于严重的危险之中。 她迅速计算出最安全的下山路线，但她不够快。 冰川再次隆隆作响，然后整个悬崖开始松动。 悬崖向前倾斜，起初很慢，但速度越来越快，直到它撞到海浪上，激起了巨大的浪花。 鸟儿在空中乱飞。 冰山撞在一起。 海浪卷过水面，拍打着多石的海滩。 随着时间的推移，海浪平静下来，又恢复了平静