At the Moon base, the canteen stays open late. Orson works there after school. He washes trays, wipes tables and stacks cups. Behind him, a wide window shows the grey, quiet land outside.
在月球基地，食堂总是开到很晚。奥森放学后在那里打工。他洗托盘，擦桌子，叠杯子。他身后有一扇宽大的窗户，窗外是灰色而寂静的大地。
Tonight, Orson looks at the clock every minute.
今晚，奥森每过一分钟就看一次钟。
It is twenty past eight. At twenty to nine, the cover of Dome Four slides shut. After that, nobody can see the stars until morning. And at lunch today, Teo said something strange.
现在是八点二十分。八点四十分，四号穹顶的顶盖就会合上。从那以后，直到早晨，谁也看不到星星了。而今天午饭时，特奥说了一句奇怪的话。
"Come to the dome tonight," she said. "Before it closes. I want to show you something."
“今晚来穹顶吧，”她说，“趁它还没关。我想给你看样东西。”
"What?"
“什么东西？”
"If I tell you, it is not a surprise." She smiled and walked off with her tray.
“要是我告诉你，就不算惊喜了。”她笑了笑，端着托盘走开了。
Orson thinks about that smile all afternoon. Teo is sixteen, like him. She helps the dome guide, and she knows every star by name. Orson arrived from Earth only two months ago. He still does not know which door is which.
整个下午，奥森都在想着那个笑容。特奥十六岁，和他一样。她在穹顶帮忙当向导，每颗星星的名字她都知道。奥森从地球来到这里才两个月，他到现在还分不清哪扇门是哪扇门。
Now he stands at the sink. A big pile of dirty trays waits. His manager is a tall woman with a loud laugh. She drops one more stack beside him.
此刻，他站在水槽前。面前等着一大堆脏托盘。他的经理是一位个子高高、笑声洪亮的女士。她又把一摞托盘放在他旁边。
"Finish these, then you can go," she says.
“把这些洗完，你就可以走了，”她说。
"How long?"
“要多久？”
"Ten minutes. Maybe fifteen."
“十分钟。也许十五分钟。”
Orson works fast. Water splashes his sleeves. At eight thirty, the last tray shines in the rack. He grabs his jacket and the old paper map from his pocket.
奥森干得飞快。水溅湿了他的袖子。八点半，最后一只托盘在架子上闪闪发亮。他抓起外套，又从口袋里掏出那张旧纸地图。
The map belonged to his father, who worked here years ago. It shows every tunnel in the base. His father drew small notes on it in green pen. Orson likes to carry it. It feels like having a friend in his pocket.
这张地图原本是他父亲的，多年前，他父亲曾在这里工作。上面画着基地里的每一条通道。他父亲还用绿笔在上面做了些小小的批注。奥森喜欢随身带着它。这感觉就像口袋里装着一位朋友。
He opens it on the table. He puts his finger on the canteen. Then he looks for Dome Four.
他把地图摊在桌上，手指按在食堂的位置上，然后去找四号穹顶。
There is a problem. Somebody left a coffee cup on this map once. A brown ring sits right over the dome, thick and dark. The name is under it. The little lines around it are under it too.
出了个问题。以前有人把一只咖啡杯放在了这张地图上。一圈棕色的印子正好压在穹顶上，又厚又深。名字在它下面，周围的细线也在它下面。
"Oh, no," Orson says.
“哎呀，糟了，”奥森说。
He tries to read the ring. He sees a tiny edge of a corridor on the left. He sees a corner of the Ring Road on the right. Nothing more.
他想辨认那个圈。他看到左边有一条走廊的一小段边缘，右边有环路的一个角。再没有别的了。
He knows the long way. It goes around the sleeping rooms and past the farm. Then it climbs the big ramp. Last week it took him twenty-five minutes. It is eight thirty-one now.
他知道那条远路。它要绕过宿舍区，经过农场，再爬上那条大坡道。上星期，这条路花了他二十五分钟。现在已经八点三十一分了。
"Too slow," he says. "The cover closes in nine minutes."
“太慢了，”他说，“顶盖九分钟后就要关了。”
He runs anyway. In the corridor, a cleaning robot rolls out of a door. It stops in front of him. It beeps. He jumps left. It jumps left, too. He jumps right.
他还是跑了起来。在走廊里，一台清洁机器人从一扇门里滚出来，停在他面前，嘀嘀地响。他往左跳，它也往左跳。他往右跳。
"Please," he says, "move."
“拜托，”他说，“让开。”
The robot turns and goes away as slowly as a sleepy snail. Orson does not wait. He runs to the first corner. A sign hangs there: CORRIDOR C CLOSED, REPAIRS. A yellow tape crosses the way.
机器人转过身，像一只昏昏欲睡的蜗牛一样慢吞吞地走开了。奥森没有等。他跑到第一个拐角。那里挂着一块牌子：C 号走廊封闭，维修中。一条黄色的胶带拦住了去路。
Corridor C is the short path. Everybody knows that. Now he must take the long way. But the long way is too long.
C 号走廊是近路，人人都知道。现在，他必须走远路。可远路实在太远了。
He stops. His heart beats hard. He looks at the map again. This time he holds it up to the bright lamp.
他停了下来，心怦怦直跳。他又看了看地图。这一次，他把它举到明亮的灯前。
The light shines through the thin paper. The brown ring glows like a small gold moon. And under it, Orson sees something new. A line of tiny dots runs through the stain. It starts at the bottom edge. It is not part of the corridors. His father drew it in green pen. The coffee ring hid it.
光线透过薄薄的纸张照了过来。那个棕色的圈亮起来，像一轮小小的金色月亮。在它下面，奥森看到了新的东西。一排细小的点穿过污渍，从底边开始。它不属于任何通道。那是他父亲用绿笔画的。咖啡圈把它藏起来了。
At the end of the dotted line, there is one short word. It is in his father's neat writing.
点线的尽头有一个短短的词，是他父亲工整的笔迹。
LIFT.
电梯。
Orson reads it twice. His eyes go to the left side of the map. The dotted line starts at a small square, behind the canteen. It is the storeroom. He passes it every day when he takes out the boxes.
奥森读了两遍。他的目光移到地图左侧。点线从食堂后面的一个小方块开始。那是储藏室。他每天搬箱子出去时都会经过。
"The cargo lift," he says. "There is a lift to the dome."
“货梯，”他说，“有一部通往穹顶的电梯。”
It is eight thirty-four. He turns and runs back the way he came. He pushes through the kitchen door and past the pots. He runs into the storeroom. Behind the boxes, a low grey door sits in the wall. An old sign says SUPPLIES ONLY.
八点三十四分。他转身顺着来路跑回去。他推开厨房的门，穿过锅碗瓢盆，跑进储藏室。箱子后面，墙上有一扇低矮的灰色小门。一块旧牌子写着：仅限货运。
He pulls the door open. A small metal cage stands inside. It smells of dust and cold metal. Orson steps in and pushes the big green button.
他拉开门。里面是一个小小的金属笼子，闻起来有灰尘和冷金属的味道。奥森走进去，按下了那个大大的绿色按钮。
The lift shakes. Then it climbs. It makes a loud noise like a tired old dog. Orson holds the map tight against his chest and counts the seconds. One, two, three. At forty, the lift stops with a bump.
电梯晃了一下，然后开始上升。它发出很响的噪音，像一条疲惫的老狗。奥森把地图紧紧按在胸口，数着秒数。一，二，三。数到四十，电梯砰地一颠，停住了。
The door opens. He walks out into a dark room full of boxes. A thin line of light shines under a second door. Orson crosses the room in three steps and pushes it open.
门开了。他走进一间黑暗的屋子，里面堆满了箱子。第二扇门下面透出一线微光。奥森三步穿过屋子，推开了门。
And he stops.
然后他愣住了。
The dome is huge and round and made of glass. Hundreds of small chairs stand in rows, all empty. Above them, the sky is black. The stars are too many to count. In the middle of the sky hangs a small, bright ball. It is blue and white.
穹顶又大又圆，由玻璃制成。数百把小椅子一排排摆放着，全都空着。椅子上方，天空漆黑。星星多得数不清。夜空中央悬着一颗明亮的小球，蓝白相间。
It is Earth.
那是地球。
Teo stands at the control panel by the wall. Her hand rests on a silver switch. She turns when she hears his steps, and her eyes grow wide.
特奥站在墙边的控制台旁。她的手搭在一个银色的开关上。听到他的脚步声，她转过身来，眼睛睁得大大的。
"You came through the supply door!" she says. "Nobody uses that lift."
“你从货运门过来的！”她说，“没人用那部电梯。”
"My father did." He holds up the map, a little out of breath. "A coffee ring saved me."
“我父亲用过。”他举起地图，微微有些喘。“是一个咖啡圈救了我。”
She looks at the clock on the wall. It is eight thirty-nine. "You have one minute. I will wait as long as I can."
她看了看墙上的钟。八点三十九分。“你只剩一分钟了。我会尽量多等一会儿。”
"What did you want to show me?"
“你想给我看什么？”
She points up. "Your home. I see that you never look at it. So I want you to have the best seat."
她指向上方。“你的家。我发现你从来不看它。所以我想让你坐最好的位置。”
Orson walks slowly between the chairs. He sits in the front row. The glass curves over his head. For a moment, the whole room is silent. The blue ball shines above him. He thinks of his old street and his old school. He misses a hundred small things.
奥森慢慢地走过一排排椅子之间。他在第一排坐下。玻璃在他头顶弯成弧形。有那么一会儿，整个屋子一片寂静。蓝色的圆球在他上方闪着光。他想起了他原来的街道和原来的学校。他想念着许许多多的小事。
Behind him, the switch clicks. The metal cover begins to move. It slides slowly from the edge of the dome. Teo comes to the front row and stands near him.
他身后，开关咔嗒一响。金属顶盖开始移动，从穹顶边缘缓缓滑过来。特奥走到前排，站在他身旁。
She looks at the empty chair at his side. Orson looks at her. In the last light, the stars seem very close.
她看着他身边那把空椅子。奥森看着她。在最后的光亮里，星星仿佛离得很近。
"Teo," he says quietly, "is this seat taken?"
“特奥，”他轻声说，“这个座位有人吗？”
