Invitation to a Dance舞会之邀

The alien delegation was about to enter.

外星人代表团就要进来了。

The aircraft hangar1 had been hastily2 dolled up to look official， with rented chairs and carpets and lights. Lines snaked towards the amplifiers3 and a makeshift4 stand with microphones. It was like being at an outdoor wedding. Except that exit routes had been taped onto the floor amid the rows of chairs， and every third ‘guest’ was Secret Service. Nuria， Senator Mukherjee’s most junior aide5， was still surprised she’d been included. Especially as she’d accepted a position at the CIA but hadn’t had an opportunity to tell the senator yet.

飞机机库已匆匆忙忙被装饰一新，摆着租来的椅子、地毯和灯盏，看起来很正式。线缆蜿蜒着通向扩音器和临时站台，台上布置了话筒。这很像户外婚礼的场面，只不过在一排排椅子当中的地板上，用胶带粘贴出离场的路线，并且每三个“宾客”中就有一个是特勤局的。努丽娅是慕克吉参议员身边职级最低的助理，竟然也跻身其中，直到此刻她仍感诧异，何况她已得到中情局的新职位，但还没找到机会告诉参议员。

The senator sported running shoes with her formal outfit. Nuria’s were in her bag， and she wished she’d dared to put them on. If she needed to run， exchanging her heels for sneakers would take valuable time. Still， it was good to know that the senator was as afraid as she was. Not that the aliens had threatened humanity， as far as anyone could tell. They were just so alien.

参议员一身正装，却脚穿跑鞋。努丽娅的跑鞋在袋子里呢，她多希望自己事先也敢把跑鞋穿上。要是需要逃跑，把高跟鞋换成运动鞋会浪费宝贵的时间。不过，好在知道了参议员跟自己一样感到害怕。就目前所知，外星人并没有威胁到人类。它们只不过太外星了。

Too late now.

现在为时已晚。

The aliens floated in through the big hangar door， carried by some kind of raft-like6 ship. They looked almost human in proportion， just dark grey in colour. As they came closer， Nuria saw tentacles7， and bulges8 that might be heads or not. The aliens huddled in the middle of the saucer， not moving.

一艘木筏形状的飞船载着外星人从机库大门漂浮进来。它们个头和人类差不多大，只是肤色深灰。当它们靠近一些，努丽娅看到了触手，还有不确定是不是头的凸起部分。外星人挤在飞碟中央，一动不动。

Nuria’s cheeks clenched9. If she could see them， they could see her， too. Or shoot her. She’d always been a big fan of SF movies， but the actors had never looked as afraid as she was feeling right now. Her stomach churned， her face felt frozen， her hands were both sweaty and icy cold. She stole a look around. Same everywhere.

努丽娅两颊紧绷。如果她能看到这些外星人，它们也同样能看到她，或是射杀她。她向来都是科幻电影的铁粉，可是没有哪个演员让她像现在这样感到害怕。她的胃翻腾着，脸变得僵硬，双手冒汗，同时变得冰冷。她偷偷朝周围瞧了一眼。人人如此。

Did the aliens feel fear， too？

外星人也感到害怕吗？

Nuria clutched at10 her cardigan. She’d put it over her shoulders， Italian style， top button done up. It had made her feel very sophisticated this morning. Now she wished she was wearing a Kevlar11 blazer.

努丽娅紧抓着身上的开襟羊毛衫。毛衫是意大利款式，她披在肩头，扣起最顶端的纽扣。这让她今早颇有精明老练之感。她现在多想穿一件凯夫拉夹克啊！

The aliens moved.

外星人动了。

OK， she didn’t care any more， she was putting those sneakers on， now.

好吧，她什么也顾不得了，现在就把运动鞋穿上。

One alien separated from the rest. Their charcoal12 colour and continuously moving tentacles made Nuria nauseous when she glanced up from her feet.

一个外星人从同行者中站出来。努丽娅的目光从脚部抬起，一看到这些外星人炭灰的颜色和不停晃荡的触手，不由得感到一阵恶心。

A sigh went through the crowd. The alien held a more or less human set of clothing. It squeezed clumps of tentacles into the sleeves and legs. It put on a hat and sunglasses. It was putting on human clothes. Whatever for？ The tentacles writhed inside the trouser legs， causing the alien figure to contort as if doing modern dance. Still more dignified than the cockroach alien in Men in Black.

人群里传出一声叹息。那外星人抱着一套多多少少像是人穿的衣服，把一丛丛触手挤进衣袖和裤管里。它戴上帽子和太阳镜。它在穿人类的衣服呢，不过究竟是想做什么？触手蠕动着进入裤管里，这使得外星人身形扭曲，像是在跳现代舞似的。但与电影《黑衣人》中的蟑螂外星人相比，还是要优雅一些。

But it got almost-human-looking locomotion13 down pretty fast. It reached into a large sack that two of the other aliens held out and pulled out objects. One was a clump of ordinary-looking grass.

这外星人很快就掌握了颇似人类的运动能力。它把触手伸进另两个外星人递过来的一个大袋子里，掏出好些东西。首先是一丛模样平平无奇的草。

Then a vacuum cleaner.

随后是一台真空吸尘器。

Next a book.

接着是一本书。

Nuria waited for the camera people to zoom in. Whatever language the book was written in， that nation would feel they’d been honoured. Or doomed. But the cover was blank， and the alien riffled the pages to show those were blank， too.

努丽娅等着摄像师把镜头拉近。不管那本书是用什么语言写的，使用此种语言的民族一定会觉得自己与有荣焉。或者是死定了。可书的封面上空无一字。外星人快速翻动书页，展示出内页也全是白纸。

Oh， now she got what they were trying to say. They distinguished between living things， objects and information. And a somewhat-human-looking being. The aliens were trying to represent the world as humans saw it. But the tableau didn’t feel complete yet. It lacked connections.

哦，她现在终于弄清这些外星人在表达什么了。它们区分出活物、死物和信息，还有略似人形的生物。它们试图用人类看世界的方式去描绘世界。但整体上让人感觉不完整，前后缺乏关联。

“What the hell are they doing？” the senator hissed.

“它们究竟是在搞啥？”参议员低声怒道。

Nuria had wondered why the news people stayed silent. It seemed so obvious to her. “It’s trying to communicate，” she started to explain.

努丽娅不明白记者们为何沉默不语。对她来说，这再明显不过了。“它是想和大家沟通交流啊。”她解释道。

“Hush，” the senator said.

“嘘。”参议员说。

Nuria shut up. She was only a junior aide. What did she know？

努丽娅闭上嘴巴。她只是一个低级助理。她能知道什么？