Učite engleski jezik kroz zabavu
The Invincible
A novel by
Adapted by
(scroll across the text – many terms are linked to the explanatory web sites)
Neporaženi
Roman Stanislawa Lem-a “Niezwycezony”
Prevod i adaptacija: Sead Spužić
(kliznite kursorom preko teksta – mnogi pojmovi su vezani sa objašnjenjima na web stranicama širom interneta)
Chapter 1: The Black Rain
The Invincible, a cruiser of the second class – the largest unit available at the Lyra Constellation Base – followed the line of photonic ray across the outermost quadrant of the Constellation.
Eighty-three men were asleep inside the hibernation tunnel at the central platfom. Because the flight distance was relatively short, it had not been necessary to apply the full hibernation; the men were simply kept in deep sleep, body temperature regulated so as never to fall below 10 oC.
Poglavlje 1: Crna kiša
“Neporaženi”, vasionski brod druge klase – najveća jedinica kojom je raspolagala baza u sazveždju Lira – klizao je duž fotonske linije kroz krajnji kvadrant konstelacije.
Osamdeset tri člana posade spavalo je u tunelskom hybernatoru centralnog nivoa. Pošto je put bio relativno kratak, umjesto potpune hibernacije posada je jednostavno održavana u dubokom snu, temperatura tijela je regulisana tako da ne pada ispod 10 oC.
Within the navigation centre only the automats carried on their work. Dead centre in the navigation display was locked on a shining disk that was steadily growing on several screens. Radiation sensors were confirming that this sun was not much hotter than an ordinary red dwarf star.
The moment the sun filled half the screen the space-drive swiftly cut off. For a while indecisive silence reigned throughout the ship.
U navigatorskom centru radili su samo automati. Nišanski centar je pokazivao sjajni disk koji se postojano povećavao na nekoliko ekrana. Detektori radijacije su potvrdjivali da je ovo sunce jedva nešto užarenije od običnog crvenog patuljka.
Kada je sunčani disk ispunio polovinu ekrana pogon ladje je momentalno isključen. Nekoliko trenutaka u cijelom brodu je vladala neizvjesna tišina.
The air conditioning system and the computerised processors functioned noiselessly. The slight vibrations ceased when the photon stream no longer emerged from the spacecraft’s stern. This stream had been like an infinitely long sword, sheathed in darkness, thrusting the cruiser ahead through the vastness of space. The Invisible still coasted along just under the speed of light; silent and seemingly lifeless.
Acrylic surfaces on the instrument panel reflected the reddish glow of the distant sun that loomed on the videoscreen. Now the magnetic crystals started to rotate. Within their hybrid heterostructure the spintronic devices released programmed waves and quadrillions of electrons changed their spin. Their ancient predecessors, nano-automates thousand times larger and older executed commands to million times larger and older series of mechatronic instruments. The current of the less organised electrons flooded into the supply network, accompanied by a faint hum that was not heard by any living thing. Electromotors started humming to overcame the resistance of drowsy lubricants before the magnetic bearings embraced the rotation of titanium shafts. Their low roar soon changed into a high-speed moaning sound. Cadmium rods were pushed outwards by the auxiliary reactors while the magnetic pumps squeezed sodium condensate into the cooling coils. A mild tremor ran through the shop’s stern. Faint rattling noises came from inside the hull as if swarms of tiny animals were busily scurrying about, scratching the walls with their sharp little claws. This was the sign that the nano-robots had started out on their mission, testing the vital nodes of the ship’s framework and making sure that the hull had not been damaged anywhere. The repair automatons squatted in their slots waited attentively for their commands. The entire ship was awake, filled with myriad noises and activities, only the crew was still asleep.
Finally the “awake” command arrived on the electromagnetic waves to the hibernation centre.
Aklimatizatori i kompjuterizovani processori su funkcionisali bešumno. Delikatne vibracije su nestale kad je fotonski mlaz prestao izvirati iz krme. Taj zrak, sličan na beskrajno dugom maču zarivenom u tamu, potiskivao je brod kroz beskonačni prostor. “Neporaženi” je i dalje uvijek klizio istom brzinom, bliskom brzini svijetlosti; bezšuman i naizgled bezživotan.
Pleksiglas na komandnim panelima odražavao je crvenkaste zrake udaljenog sunca koje je zračilo sa ekrana. Magnetni kristali su počeli da se obrću. Unutar njihovih hibridnih heterostruktura, spintronski sistemi su otposlali programske talase i kvadrilioni electrona su promjenili njihov spin. Njihovi daleki pretci, nano-automati, hiljadostruko puta veći i stariji proslijedili su komande upućene cijelom nizu mehatronskih instrumenata, na milione puta većih i starijih od njih. Struja manje organizovanih elektrona poplavila je mrežu instalacija proizvodeći šum koji nije dopirao do čula nijednog živog bića. Elektromotori su zazujali da bi nadvladali otpor okorjelih maziva prije nego što su obrtaje titanijumskih osovina prihvatili magnetni ležajevi. Njihovi duboki basovi su ubrzo prešli u visokofrekventne tonove. Kadmijumske poluge su se pomaljale iz pomoćnih reaktora dok su magnetne pumpe ubrizgavale natrijumski kondenzat u spirale rashladnih cijevi. Kroz kormilarsku platformu probilo se blago podrhtavanje. Skoro nečujno pucketanje dopiralo je iz unutrašnjosti konstrukcije, kao da su tamo vrvjele skupine sićušnih životinjica užurbano grebući zidove sa njihovim oštrim kandžicama. To je bio znak da su nano-roboti krenuli u njihovu misiju kontrolišući vitalne čvorove brodskog sistema i provjeravajući opštu neprobojnost trupa. Remontni automati su čučali u njihovim soškama, čekujući spremno na svoje komande. Cijeli brod je bio budan, ispunjen bezbrojnim šumovima i aktivnostima, samo je posada spavala.
Konačno, komanda “budjenje” je dospjela nošena elektromagnetnim talasima u centralu hibernatora.
Antihibernation gas was injected into the cold air. Warm air streamed through the gratings in the floor, up towards the long rows of the sleeping cots. The sleeping men, however, appeared reluctant to wake up. Slowly they began to move their arms with feeble jerks, trying to ward off the nightmares and feverish fantasies that invaded the void of their icy slumber.
Gas za razbudjivanje je ubrizgan u hladni zrak. Topli vazduh je strujao kroz rešetke na podu izmedju redova ležaja. Spavači ipak kao da dugo nisu željeli da se probude. Polagano ljudi su počeli pomjerati ruke slabašnim trzajima, pokušavajući da odagnaju noćne more i grozničave fantazije koje su ispunile njihov ledeni san.
When the first man opened his eyes, the ship had been fully prepared for this moment. For the past few minutes artificial daylight had chased the dark shadows that filled the long corridors, the elevator shafts, the cabins, the control centre, the workrooms, and the airlocks.
Kad je prvi čovjek otvorio oči, brod je bio potpuno spreman za taj momenat. Nekoliko prethodnih minuta, vještačko dnevno svijetlo je raspršivalo mračne sjenke koje su ispunjavale dugačke hodnike, otvore za liftove, kabine, kontrolni centar, radionice i barokomore.
You win a while, and then it’s done –
Your little winning streak.
And summoned now to deal
With your invincible defeat,
You live your life as if it’s real,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.
I saw there were no oceans left
For scavengers like me.
I made it to the forward deck.
I blessed our remnant fleet –
And then consented to be wrecked,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.
Lyrics by Leonard Cohen
Stihovi Leonard-a Cohen-a
And while the hibernation chamber resounded with the sighing and moaning of the drowsy men, the spaceship began its first breaking maneuvr, as if it were impatient too await the complete awakening of the crew. Sheaves of fire emanated from the jets at the craft’s nose. A violent shock disrupted the velocity of the cruiser. The tremendous counter-forces produced by the forward jets tried to crush the Invincible whose stationary mass of eighteen thousand tons had been multiplied by its gigantic initial velocity. Everything that had not been nailed down tight began to move; lifeless objects seemed to come alive. In the galleys dishes rattled, the backs of the empty foan-rubber chairs began to shake, safety belts swung like pendulums. Light cacophony permeated throughout the heavy cruiser. The hibernation centre was filled with a din of voices. Following a brief transitory slumber the men now returned to the world of reality after having spent the past seven months in a state of limbo.
Vasionski brod je nastavio gubiti brzinu. Crveni oblaci zamaglili su planetu koja je zaklonila nebo i zvijezde. Pojavio se okean odbijajući zrake sunca kao nekakvo konveksno ogledalo. Brod je sada klizio iznad smedjkastog kontinenta izrešetanog mnogobrojnim kraterima. Naravno, većina posade nije vidjela ništa od svega toga; bili su na njihovim radnim položajima. Oblak je proletio kroz putanju kočenja. Bjeličasti bljesak pojavio se kao u eksploziji žive. Oblak se raspao i iščezao. Rika pogonskog motora je za trenutak porasla. Daleko dole, crvenkasti disk se spljoštio: planeta se preobrazila u prostrane ravnice. Srpaste pješčane dine su se uspravile razvejavane snažnim vjetrom. Pramenovi lave koji su se razilazili iz obližnjeg kratera kao žbice na točku, odražavali su moćni sjaj iz raketnih mlaznica skoro zasjenivši sunčano svjetlo.
"Centralna osa─sva snaga! Statični pogon!"
Manevar je izveden besprijekorno. Brod je visio kao izvrnuti vulkan koji riga vatru. Nepun kilometar niže ležala je izbrazdana površina planete, pokrivena stjenovitim lancima utonulim u pijesak.
"Centralna osa─sva snaga! Statično kočenje!"
Sada se već jasno vidjelo mjesto gdje je mlaz potiska udarao u tlo.
I dok je hibernaciona komora bila ispunjena uzdasima i stenjanjem bunovnih ljudi, ladja je otpočela prvi manevar kočenja, kao da je bila nestrpljiva da sačeka da se posada potpuno razbudi. Vatreni jezici suknuše iz mlaznica na kljunu broda. Moćni šok je poremetio brzinu krstarice. Gigantski potisak proizveden od pramčanih mlaznica nastojao je da prignječi osamnaest hiljada tona stacionarne mase “Neporaženog” multiplicirano sada njegovom početnom brzinom. Sve što nije bilo čvrsto zakovano počelo je da se pomjera; neživi predmeti su naizgled oživjeli. Posudje je zveketalo u držačima, pjenasti nasloni su podrhtavali na sjedalima, siguronosni pojasevi su se njihali kao klatna. Lepršava kakofonija je prožimala tešku krstaricu. Hibernacioni centar je bio ispunjen žagorom. Tokom kratkotrajnog prelaznog drijemeža posada se vratila u javu nakon sedam mjeseci provedenih u besvjesti.
The spaceship kept losing speed. Red clouds shrouded the planet, obliterating the stars in the sky. An ocean became visible, reflecting the sun's rays as though it were a covex mirror. Now the craft glided over a brownish continent dotted with craters. Most of the crew, however, saw none of this; they were at their posts. A cloud passed through the path of the braking ray. A sudden white glimmer appeared as if quicksilver had exploded. The cloud disintegrated and vanished. For a moment the howling of the propulsion drive grew intense. The reddish disk down below became flat: the planet had turned into an expanse of land. Sickle-shaped dunes stood out, whipped by a strong wind. Strands of lava radiated from a nearby crater like the spokes of a wheel, reflectin the fiery glow of the rocket jets, and almost blotting the sunlight.
"Central axis─full power! Static drive!"
The maneuver proceeded perfectly. The spaceship hovered like a fire-spewing volcano turned on its head. Less than a thousand meters below lay the scarred sutface of the planet, covered by sandy ridges of rock.
"Central axis─full power! Brake static drive!"
Now the spot was already clearly to be seen where the braking ray hit the ground.
A cloud of red sand rose from the flat surface. Violet bolts of lightning flashed, apparently without any sound, for the thunder was drowned out by the roaring gases. Gradually the potential difference evened out and the lightning disappeared. The spaceship descended steadily without any vibrations; like a mountain of steel held taut by invisible ropes.
Oblak crvenkastog pijeska podigao se sa ravnice. Ljubičaste munje sjevale su naizgled bez ikakvog zvuka jer je grmljavina bila zagušena rikom gasova. Razlika potencijala se postepeno izjednačila i sjevanje je prestalo. Brod se spuštao postepeno, bez vibracija, kao čelična planina čvrsto uvezana nevidljivim konopcima.
"Centralna osa─pola snage! Smanji statični pogon!"
(To receive the remaining part of this novel, contact Sead.Spuzic@unisa.edu.au)
(Kontaktirajte Sead.Spuzic@unisa.edu.au da biste dobili preostali dio ovog romana)