2021年经济学人 史上最孤独的人:迈克尔·柯林斯(3)（在线收听）

His mission first commandment was simple: Thou shalt not screw up.

他的任务的第一要务简单明了：不能搞砸。

Gemini 10 had been a practice run for Apollo, a local thing, but now the world’s eyes were on the Moon and on them.

双子星10号飞行计划是阿波罗登月计划的演练，受到的关注很少，但如今的登月计划聚焦了全世界的目光。

The commemorative stamps were already printed, the medals struck; he had sketched the patch-image himself, an American bald eagle with olive branches in its claws.

人们早就印好纪念邮票、制作好奖章。科林斯自己绘制了徽章图像，上面画着美国国鸟白头海雕，爪子里抓着橄榄枝。

Columbia carried a plaque to be left on the Moon, “We came in peace for all mankind”. The weight of expectation could not have been heavier.

哥伦比亚号在月球上留了一块牌子，写着——“为全人类和平相处”——这份期望的重要性可见一斑。

Yet it came from a planet that seemed to weigh nothing at all.

然而这份期望来自一个看起来好像无足轻重的星球。

If he stretched out his arm to the window of Columbia, Earth was covered by his thumbnail.

如果科林斯将手臂伸向哥伦比亚号的窗户，就会发现地球被他的大拇指指甲盖遮住了。

It floated in a black void, blue with seas, white with clouds, a tiny gem sparkling and shining.

这颗星球漂浮在黑暗的太空中，蓝色的海洋与白色的云层交织在一起，仿佛一颗耀眼的小宝石。

The word that kept surprising him was “fragile”.

脆弱如它，连科林斯自己都颇感惊讶。

He had known Earth all his life as solid, heavy, terrifyingly hard as he fell towards it once when his f-86 was on fire.

一直以来，科林斯认为地球是厚实、笨重、坚如磐石，尤其是当他驾驶着f86战斗机着火摔向地球时，这种感觉尤为强烈。

Now he wanted to take care of it. He wished its bickering politicians could see it from that distance.

现在他只想要悉心呵护这个星球。他多么希望那些争得面红耳赤的政客能从远处看看地球。

What would their arguments matter then?

只有这样才会恍然大悟那些争论毫无意义。

Ever since some gruesome dental work in childhood, he had been able to detach his mind from his body when he needed to.

儿时可怕的看牙经历让科林斯学会了在需要的时候将思想从躯体中抽离出来。

At the dentist’s, he hovered near the ceiling. As a test pilot, he found secret spaces in cumulus clouds.

在牙科诊所，他盯着天花板发呆。当试飞员时，他在积云中发现了秘密空间。

In later life, if he needed solace, he would relive what he had seen from Columbia.

在日后的生活中，他会重温在哥伦比亚号中看到的场景。

That was his last space trip; being an astronaut took him away from family too much.

这是他最后一次太空旅行——借此来寻求慰藉。

He liked to recall how the Moon had looked close-to, shockingly spherical, and compared it with the shining dinner-plate he saw from his paddleboat when he was out night-fishing.

身为宇航员，他长时间不着家。夜晚外出垂钓时，他最爱的事情就是在划艇上望着那轮明月，回忆当年近距离观赏这个令人震惊的球体，并将两种月亮进行对比。

He did not look often, though; been there, done that.

不过，这种行为他并不常做，也不会身陷回忆无法自拔。

It was the beauty of Earth he most remembered, and now campaigned to save.

这是他毕生难忘的地球之美，此后他为保护地球的运动而奔走。

That first. Then on to Mars.

保护好地球是首要任务，然后是登陆火星。