Chapter 7

 The four of them sat up half the night poring over the books in their room. They gleaned¹ nothing except from the "history" Phil had been reading the night before. Unfortunately, it was not a general history, but the flowery story of a high military family. The sort of references they found were, "after the Jovian invaders² had been driven from Earth" and "Second Sarge Vesix participated in the bombardment that destroyed the Jovian tyrants³." No details.

What did emerge from their study was a picture of the rise of a military aristocracy on the ashes of an earlier civilization which had been ground to pieces under the heels of alien rulers.

There was good news from the starship at dawn.

"We're orbiting," said Commander Wallace with quiet pride. "Shortly after I talked with you last night, they called on us to surrender or be blasted. I asked time for a conference of officers and promised to fire a rocket from the nose if we decided⁴ to surrender.

"I fired the rocket all right, but it was an instantaneous smoke screen rocket. I still don't know whether their guns are manned or robot-controlled, but I gambled that their firing was keyed to the sight of the ship blasting off instead of to vibration⁵. We were half a mile up before they could swing into action, and we didn't get a scratch."

A rescue mission with one of the scout⁶ rockets was too risky⁷ against the strong forces of the Earthmen. Tom mentioned that fast planes had followed them into the stratosphere. But one thing was done for the imprisoned⁸ four.

Soon after breakfast, they were taken under guard to a Spartan⁹ courtroom, presided over by Third Sarge Elfor.

"We have received a warning from your colleagues," Elfor said grimly. "They broadcast to us a short time ago that if harm came to you, this city and others will be destroyed before they leave the solar system. In case you knew of this and it has in any way raised your hopes, I wish to remind you that Earth's cities have been destroyed before. This threat will not affect our decision to mete¹⁰ strict justice to you.

"You are charged with being enemies of the people of Earth, and with having landed on Earth under false colors with the intent of sabotage¹¹ and espionage¹². Your prosecutor¹³ will be Fifth Tech Jatoo, representing the nations of Earth. You will be permitted to speak in your own defense¹⁴."

Jatoo was a slender, thin-faced man with the air of an experienced attorney.

"The governments of Earth make these charges against the joint¹⁵ defendants¹⁶," he began matter-of-factly: "That they are members of a rebellious¹⁷ and traitorous¹⁸ group who are allied¹⁹ with the Jovians and maintain an illegal, secret base on some planet or moon of the solar system; that they came here under the guise²⁰ of strangers, with the specific intent of espionage and sabotage of Earth's defense against the Jovian enemy; and that they actually began such operations.

"We shall present the following major evidence in support of these charges:

"First, that the defendants did travel from the Numex spaceport to the military town of Pebbro in a vehicle, the motive²¹ power of which is still unknown but which obviously must utilize²² fuel, in violation²³ of the conservation laws;

"Second, that the defendants' colleagues did not approach the peoples of Earth in peace, but remained enfortressed in an armed space vessel²⁴;

"Third, that the defendants Phil Alcorn and Fran Golden did throw the switches activating²⁵ the electrical system and powered water system of the military town of Pebbro, that the above-named two defendants did utilize a military power vehicle for pleasure purposes and that all the defendants did unnecessarily destroy glass drinking vessels²⁶, all in violation of the conservation laws;

"And, fourth, that the starship Discovery, listed in ancient records as having departed on a colonizing²⁷ mission to the third planet of the star Deneb, was not scheduled to return to Earth for another seventy-five years and therefore could not be the ship in which the defendants arrived, as claimed."

Elfor inclined his head toward the quartet from the starship, who sat behind a long table on the side of the room opposite Jatoo.

"You may state what your defense will be," he said.

"Our defense to the first three items of evidence," answered John, who had been taking notes, "is that we have been absent from Earth for more than 250 Earth-years and that we were, and are, ignorant of your laws and customs. Thus, we are innocent of intent to violate them. Our defense to the fourth item of evidence is that certain improvements were made in the engines of the starship Discovery while colonization²⁸ of Deneb III was in progress, making it possible for us to return to Earth ahead of schedule. Our defense to all three charges made against us is that they are false."

It was a monotonous²⁹ trial, with a parade of witnesses brought to the stand by Jatoo, all of whom testified to seeing the defendants perform one or more acts of "unconservation."

"In the courts of Earth, a case can be decided only on the evidence presented," said Third Sarge Elfor when John had offered his brief defense for the quartet. "The defendants have presented no evidence, only argument. The fact that the defendants' clothing corresponds to that in use two and a half centuries ago cannot be considered competent, as it could be copied easily.

"For the safety of Earth, the defendants are found guilty and remanded for immediate³⁰ execution. In view of the existence of doubt as to their treasonable intent and their previous status as deevs, they are accorded the honor of death by power weapons. Conserve³¹!"

1 gleaned   

v.一点点地收集（资料、事实）( glean的过去式和过去分词 )；（收割后）拾穗

参考例句：

• These figures have been gleaned from a number of studies. 这些数据是通过多次研究收集得来的。
• A valuable lesson may be gleaned from it by those who have eyes to see. 明眼人可从中记取宝贵的教训。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 invaders   

入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They prepared to repel the invaders. 他们准备赶走侵略军。
• The family has traced its ancestry to the Norman invaders. 这个家族将自己的世系追溯到诺曼征服者。

3 tyrants   

专制统治者( tyrant的名词复数 )； 暴君似的人； （古希腊的）僭主； 严酷的事物

参考例句：

• The country was ruled by a succession of tyrants. 这个国家接连遭受暴君的统治。
• The people suffered under foreign tyrants. 人民在异族暴君的统治下受苦受难。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 vibration   

n.颤动，振动；摆动

参考例句：

• There is so much vibration on a ship that one cannot write.船上的震动大得使人无法书写。
• The vibration of the window woke me up.窗子的震动把我惊醒了。

6 scout   

n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索

参考例句：

• He was mistaken for an enemy scout and badly wounded.他被误认为是敌人的侦察兵，受了重伤。
• The scout made a stealthy approach to the enemy position.侦察兵偷偷地靠近敌军阵地。

7 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

8 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

9 spartan   

adj.简朴的，刻苦的；n.斯巴达；斯巴达式的人

参考例句：

• Their spartan lifestyle prohibits a fridge or a phone.他们不使用冰箱和电话，过着简朴的生活。
• The rooms were spartan and undecorated.房间没有装饰，极为简陋。

10 mete   

v.分配；给予

参考例句：

• Schools should not mete out physical punishment to children.学校不应该体罚学生。
• Duly mete out rewards and punishments.有赏有罚。

11 sabotage   

n.怠工，破坏活动，破坏；v.从事破坏活动，妨害，破坏

参考例句：

• They tried to sabotage my birthday party.他们企图破坏我的生日晚会。
• The fire at the factory was caused by sabotage.那家工厂的火灾是有人蓄意破坏引起的。

12 espionage   

n.间谍行为，谍报活动

参考例句：

• The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。
• Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。

13 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

14 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

15 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

16 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

17 rebellious   

adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的

参考例句：

• They will be in danger if they are rebellious.如果他们造反，他们就要发生危险。
• Her reply was mild enough,but her thoughts were rebellious.她的回答虽然很温和，但她的心里十分反感。

18 traitorous   

adj. 叛国的, 不忠的, 背信弃义的

参考例句：

• All traitorous persons and cliques came to no good end. 所有的叛徒及叛徒集团都没好下场。
• Most of the time I keep such traitorous thoughts to myself. 这种叛逆思想我不大向别人暴露。

19 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

20 guise   

n.外表，伪装的姿态

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors.他们假装成视察员进了学校。
• The thief came into the house under the guise of a repairman.那小偷扮成个修理匠进了屋子。

21 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

22 utilize   

vt.使用，利用

参考例句：

• The cook will utilize the leftover ham bone to make soup.厨师要用吃剩的猪腿骨做汤。
• You must utilize all available resources.你必须利用一切可以得到的资源。

23 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

24 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

25 activating   

活动的，活性的

参考例句：

• "I didn't say we'd got to stop activating the masses! “我并没说就此不发动！ 来自子夜部分
• Presumably both the very small size and activating influence of fluorine atoms contribute to this exception. 这大概是由于氟原子半径小和活性高这两个原因的影响，氟原子对这种例外做出了贡献。

26 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

27 colonizing   

v.开拓殖民地，移民于殖民地( colonize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The art of colonizing is no exception to the rule. 殖民的芸术是� 有特例的。 来自互联网
• A Lesson for Other Colonizing Nations. 其它殖民国家学习的教训。 来自互联网

28 colonization   

殖民地的开拓，殖民，殖民地化； 移殖

参考例句：

• Colonization took place during the Habsburg dynasty. 开拓殖民地在哈布斯堡王朝就进行过。
• These countries took part in the colonization of Africa. 这些国家参与非洲殖民地的开发。

29 monotonous   

adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的

参考例句：

• She thought life in the small town was monotonous.她觉得小镇上的生活单调而乏味。
• His articles are fixed in form and monotonous in content.他的文章千篇一律，一个调调儿。

30 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

31 conserve   

vt.保存，保护，节约，节省，守恒，不灭

参考例句：

• He writes on both sides of the sheet to conserve paper.他在纸张的两面都写字以节省用纸。
• Conserve your energy,you'll need it!保存你的精力，你会用得着的！