Brian

       IF YOU TRAVEL IN SPACE for three years and come back, four hundred years will have passed on Earth. I amonly an armchair astronomer¹, but I have the odd sense that I have returned from a journey to a world wherenothing quite makes sense. I thought I had been listening to Jesse, but it turns out I haven’t been listening tohim at all. I have listened carefully to Anna, and yet it seems there is a piece missing. I try to work throughthe few things she has said, tracing them and trying to make sense of them the way the Greeks somehowfound five points in the sky and decided² it looked like a woman’s body.

Then it hits me—I am looking in the wrong place. The Aboriginal³ people of Australia, for example, lookbetween the constellations⁵ of the Greeks and the Romans into the black wash of sky, and find an emu hidingunder the Southern Cross where there are no stars. There are just as many stories to be told in the dark spotsas there are in the bright ones.

Or this is what I’m thinking, anyway, when my daughter’s lawyer falls to the floor in the throes of anepileptic seizure⁶.

Airway⁷, breathing, circulation. Airway, for someone having a grand mal seizure, is the biggie. I jump over thegate of the gallery and have to fight the dog out of the way; he’s come to stand over Campbell Alexander’stwitching body like a sentry⁸. The attorney enters the tonic⁹ phase with a cry, as air is forced out by thecontraction of his breathing muscles. He lays rigid¹⁰ on the ground. Then the clonic phase starts, and hismuscles fire randomly¹¹, repeatedly. I turn him on his side, in case he vomits¹², and start looking for somethingto stick between his jaws¹³ so that he won’t bite off his own tongue, when the most amazing thing happens—that dog knocks over Alexander’s briefcase¹⁴ and pulls out something that looks like a rubber bone but isactually a bite block, and drops it into my hand. Distantly I am aware of the judge sealing off the courtroom.

I yell to Vern to call for an ambulance.

Julia is at my side immediately. “Is he all right?”

“He’s gonna be fine. It’s a seizure.”

She looks like she’s on the verge¹⁵ of tears. “Can’t you do something?”

“Wait,” I say.

She reaches for Campbell, but I draw her hand away. “I don’t understand why it happened.”

I don’t know if Campbell does, himself. I do know that there are some things, though, that occur without adirect line of antecedents.

Two thousand years ago the night sky looked completely different, and so when you get right down to it, theGreek conceptions of star signs as related to birth dates are grossly inaccurate¹⁶ for today’s day and age. It’scalled the Line of Procession: back then the sun didn’t set in Taurus, but in Gemini. A September 24 birthdaydidn’t mean you were a Libra, but a Virgo. And there was a thirteenth zodiac constellation⁴, Ophiuchus theSerpent Bearer, which rose between Sagittarius and Scorpio for only four days.

The reason it’s all off kilter? The earth’s axis¹⁷ wobbles. Life isn’t nearly as stable as we want it to be.

Campbell Alexander vomits on the courtroom rug, then coughs his way to consciousness in the judge’schambers. “Take it easy,” I say, helping¹⁸ him sit. “You had a bad one.”

He holds his head. “What happened?”

Amnesia¹⁹, on both sides of the event, is pretty common. “Blacked out. Looked like a grand mal to me.”

He glances down at the IV line Caesar and I have placed. “I don’t need that.”

“Like hell you don’t,” I say. “If you don’t take antiseizure meds, you’ll be back on that floor in no time.”

Relenting, he leans back against the couch and stares at the ceiling. “How bad was it?”

“Pretty bad,” I admit.

He pats Judge on the head—the dog’s been inseparable. “Good boy. Sorry I didn’t listen.” Then he looksdown at his pants—wet and reeking²⁰, another common effect of a grand mal. “Shit.”

“Close enough.” I hand him a spare pair from one of my uniforms, something I had the department bringalong. “You need help?”

He shakes me off and tries, one-handedly, to take off his trousers. Without a word I reach over and undo²¹ thefly, help him change. I do this without thinking, the way I’d lift up the shirt of a woman who needed CPR;but all the same, I know it’s killing²² him.

“Thanks,” he says, taking great care to zip his own fly. We sit for a second. “Does the judge know?” When Idon’t answer, Campbell buries his face in his hands. “Christ. Right in front of everyone?”

“How long have you hidden it?”

“Since it started. I was eighteen. I got into a car crash, and they started up after that.”

“Head trauma²³?”

He nods. “That’s what they said.”

I clasp my hands together between my knees. “Anna was pretty freaked out.”

Campbell rubs his forehead. “She was…testifying.”

“Yeah,” I say. “Yeah.”

He looks up at me. “I have to get back in there.”

“Not yet.” At the sound of Julia’s voice, we both turn. She stands in the doorway²⁴, staring at Campbell as ifshe has never seen him before, and I suppose in all fairness she hasn’t, not like this.

“I’ll, uh, go see if the boys have filed their report yet,” I murmur²⁵, and I leave them.

Things don’t always look as they seem. Some stars, for example, look like bright pinholes, but when you getthem pegged²⁶ under a microscope you find you’re looking at a globular cluster—a million stars that, to us,presents as a single entity²⁷. On a less dramatic note there are triples, like Alpha Centauri, which up close turnsout to be a double star and a red dwarf²⁸ in close proximity²⁹.

There’s an indigenous³⁰ tribe in Africa that tells of life coming from the second star in Alpha Centauri, the oneno one can see without a high-powered observatory³¹ telescope. Come to think of it, the Greeks, theAboriginals, and the Plains Indians all lived continents apart and all, independently, looked at the sameseptuplet knot of the Pleiades and believed them to be seven young girls running away from something thatthreatened to hurt them.

Make of it what you will.

1 astronomer   

n.天文学家

参考例句：

• A new star attracted the notice of the astronomer.新发现的一颗星引起了那位天文学家的注意。
• He is reputed to have been a good astronomer.他以一个优秀的天文学者闻名于世。

2 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。

3 aboriginal   

adj.（指动植物）土生的，原产地的，土著的

参考例句：

• They managed to wipe out the entire aboriginal population.他们终于把那些土著人全部消灭了。
• The lndians are the aboriginal Americans.印第安人是美国的土著人。

4 constellation   

n.星座n.灿烂的一群

参考例句：

• A constellation is a pattern of stars as seen from the earth. 一个星座只是从地球上看到的某些恒星的一种样子。
• The Big Dipper is not by itself a constellation. 北斗七星本身不是一个星座。

5 constellations   

n.星座( constellation的名词复数 )；一群杰出人物；一系列（相关的想法、事物）；一群（相关的人）

参考例句：

• The map of the heavens showed all the northern constellations. 这份天体图标明了北半部所有的星座。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His time was coming, he would move in the constellations of power. 他时来运转，要进入权力中心了。 来自教父部分

6 seizure   

n.没收；占有；抵押

参考例句：

• The seizure of contraband is made by customs.那些走私品是被海关没收的。
• The courts ordered the seizure of all her property.法院下令查封她所有的财产。

7 airway   

n.空中航线，通风口

参考例句：

• Lay them on their side and ensure the airway is unobstructed.让他们侧躺着，并确保呼吸道畅通。
• There is a purple airway in London Airport.伦敦机场里有一条皇家专用飞机跑道。

8 sentry   

n.哨兵，警卫

参考例句：

• They often stood sentry on snowy nights.他们常常在雪夜放哨。
• The sentry challenged anyone approaching the tent.哨兵查问任一接近帐篷的人。

9 tonic   

n./adj.滋补品，补药，强身的，健体的

参考例句：

• It will be marketed as a tonic for the elderly.这将作为老年人滋补品在市场上销售。
• Sea air is Nature's best tonic for mind and body.海上的空气是大自然赋予的对人们身心的最佳补品。

10 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

11 randomly   

adv.随便地，未加计划地

参考例句：

• Within the hot gas chamber, molecules are moving randomly in all directions. 在灼热的气体燃烧室内，分子在各个方向上作无规运动。 来自辞典例句
• Transformed cells are loosely attached, rounded and randomly oriented. 转化细胞则不大贴壁、圆缩并呈杂乱分布。 来自辞典例句

12 vomits   

呕吐物( vomit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A baby vomits milk from repletion. 婴儿吃饱会吐奶。
• An active volcano vomits forth smoke and lava. 活火山喷出烟雾和熔岩。

13 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

14 briefcase   

n.手提箱，公事皮包

参考例句：

• He packed a briefcase with what might be required.他把所有可能需要的东西都装进公文包。
• He requested the old man to look after the briefcase.他请求那位老人照看这个公事包。

15 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

16 inaccurate   

adj.错误的，不正确的，不准确的

参考例句：

• The book is both inaccurate and exaggerated.这本书不但不准确，而且夸大其词。
• She never knows the right time because her watch is inaccurate.她从来不知道准确的时间因为她的表不准。

17 axis   

n.轴，轴线，中心线；坐标轴，基准线

参考例句：

• The earth's axis is the line between the North and South Poles.地轴是南北极之间的线。
• The axis of a circle is its diameter.圆的轴线是其直径。

18 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

19 amnesia   

n.健忘症，健忘

参考例句：

• People suffering from amnesia don't forget their general knowledge of objects.患健忘症的人不会忘记关于物体的一些基本知识。
• Chinese medicine experts developed a way to treat amnesia using marine materials.中国医学专家研制出用海洋物质治疗遗忘症的方法。

20 reeking   

v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的现在分词 )；散发臭气；发出难闻的气味 (of sth)；明显带有（令人不快或生疑的跡象）

参考例句：

• I won't have you reeking with sweat in my bed! 我就不许你混身臭汗，臭烘烘的上我的炕！ 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• This is a novel reeking with sentimentalism. 这是一本充满着感伤主义的小说。 来自辞典例句

21 undo   

vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销

参考例句：

• His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
• I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。

22 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

23 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

24 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

25 murmur   

n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言

参考例句：

• They paid the extra taxes without a murmur.他们毫无怨言地交了附加税。
• There was a low murmur of conversation in the hall.大厅里有窃窃私语声。

26 pegged   

v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的过去式和过去分词 )；使固定在某水平

参考例句：

• They pegged their tent down. 他们钉好了账篷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She pegged down the stairs. 她急忙下楼。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

27 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

28 dwarf   

n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小

参考例句：

• The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。
• The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀，摇摇头。

29 proximity   

n.接近，邻近

参考例句：

• Marriages in proximity of blood are forbidden by the law.法律规定禁止近亲结婚。
• Their house is in close proximity to ours.他们的房子很接近我们的。

30 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

31 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。