Chapter 4

 The president of the planet greeted their ship in Dome¹ City. There were more parades, banners, bands, banquets, reporters, cameras, confetti, women, speeches, presentations.

And at last, they stood before the President's desk, two bodyguards² standing³ on either side of him. He was a thin man, slightly balding, with rimless⁴ glasses.

"Gentlemen," he said, "I don't have to tell you how pleased I am."

Cal took a deep breath. "We've been trying to tell Mayor Panley," he said, "that we are not Galus and Dale."

The President smiled. "I know. He told me of your little joke."

"It's not a joke."

The President cocked an eyebrow⁵. "No?" He looked at his bodyguards. "Has space affec ... did you feel any ill effects in space?" he asked.

Cal grimaced⁶. "Oh great! Now he thinks we're psycho. Look, can't you get this through your heads? We are from Earth. We never heard of Galus and Dale. My name is Calvin Manners, and this is David Langley."

"Very interesting," the President said. He tapped his finger on the back of his other hand and stared at the two Earthmen.

He reached over toward the intercom on his desk then and pressed a button.

"Yes?" a woman's voice asked.

"Miss Daniels, will you bring in the photos of Capt. Galus and Lt. Dale, please?"

"Yes, sir."

The President turned to the two men again. "Those are your ranks, are they not?"

"Yes, but we're in the United States Army."

"The what?"

"The United States Army. The United States is a country on Earth."

"Really? Now we're getting somewhere. What else does Earth have? What is it like? Are the inhabitants intelligent?"

"Yes, we are. We're Earthmen, can't you understand that?"

"I think you're carrying this joke a little too far, gentlemen. A joke is a joke, but we've spent millions of dollars on your trip. Really, this is no time for banter⁷."

Cal opened his mouth, ready to protest, just as the outside door swung wide. An attractive blonde in a smart suit stepped into the room and walked to the President's desk. She kept her eyes glued to the two Earthmen, dropped two large photographs on the desk, and turned. She stared over her shoulder at Cal and Dave until she was gone.

The President smiled knowingly. "The women are falling all over you two, I imagine."

"We're both married," Cal said drily. "We don't care for all this...."

"Married?" The President was shocked. "I thought we'd distinctly chosen unmarried men for the job. Strange."

"We've got wives on Earth," Dave said.

"Ah-ha," the President said. "Then they are intelligent beings. Pity, pity."

A twinge of anticipation⁸ curled up Cal's spine⁹. "Pity? Why a pity? Why do you say that?"

"Well, you know. Surely you realized this was the only flight we could afford."

"What?"

"For the meantime, anyway. We may attempt another flight in fifty years, sixty perhaps, maybe more. But you've already proved space travel, Capt. Galus. The achievement is ours. All we need now is money to...."

"Damn it, I'm not Capt. Galus," Cal shouted. "And we've got to get back to Earth. I've got a kid, Mr. President. He's six years old and...." Cal stopped abruptly¹⁰. "Oh, this is all nonsense. Why am I arguing with you? Can't you understand that we are Earthmen? What do we have to do to prove it?"

The President sighed and turned over the photographs on the desk. They were glossy¹¹ prints of two men in uniform. They were young men, in khaki, smiles on their faces.

One man looked exactly like Calvin Manners.

The other strongly resembled David Langley.

"Here are your photographs," the President said. "This is you, captain, and you, lieutenant¹². They were taken before the trip. You're younger, of course."

Cal stared at the photograph. It could have been he. The nose was a little sharper, perhaps, and the face thinner. But it could have been he. It could have been he!

"It's a freak accident," he shouted. "A coincidence in two parallel cultures, a...."

He saw the look on the President's face then. It was a cold look, and a suspicious one. Cal stopped speaking, sweat staining the armpits of his uniform shirt.

The President grinned again. "That's better. I understand the strain of space, gentlemen, but we must be practical, mustn't we?"

He paused. "Shall we talk about Earth now?"

1 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

2 bodyguards   

n.保镖，卫士，警卫员( bodyguard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks came to Jim's office accompanied—like always—by his two bodyguards. 和往常一样，在两名保镖的陪同下，布鲁克斯去吉姆的办公室。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Three of his bodyguards were injured in the attack. 在这次袭击事件中，他有3名保镖受了伤。 来自辞典例句

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 rimless   

adj.无边的

参考例句：

• Among the guests was a quiet, agreeable man with rimless glasses locking like a college professor. 宾客中有一个沉静和蔼的人戴着无边眼镜，看起来象大学教授。 来自辞典例句
• Heyward's aquiline, austere face showed concentration; behind rimless glasses his grey eyes were cool. 海沃德那长着鹰钩鼻子的严峻的脸上露出十分专注的神情，无框眼镜的后面，一双褐色的眼睛闪着寒光。 来自辞典例句

5 eyebrow   

n.眉毛，眉

参考例句：

• Her eyebrow is well penciled.她的眉毛画得很好。
• With an eyebrow raised,he seemed divided between surprise and amusement.他一只眉毛扬了扬，似乎既感到吃惊，又觉有趣。

6 grimaced   

v.扮鬼相，做鬼脸( grimace的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He grimaced at the bitter taste. 他一尝那苦味，做了个怪相。
• She grimaced at the sight of all the work. 她一看到这么多的工作就皱起了眉头。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 banter   

n.嘲弄，戏谑；v.取笑，逗弄，开玩笑

参考例句：

• The actress exchanged banter with reporters.女演员与记者相互开玩笑。
• She engages in friendly banter with her customers.她常和顾客逗乐。

8 anticipation   

n.预期，预料，期望

参考例句：

• We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着，期待她的到来。
• The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即将发生。

9 spine   

n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊

参考例句：

• He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
• His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。

10 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

11 glossy   

adj.平滑的；有光泽的

参考例句：

• I like these glossy spots.我喜欢这些闪闪发光的花点。
• She had glossy black hair.她长着乌黑发亮的头发。

12 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。