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"That" — Mr. Travis pointed — "is the jungle of sixty million two thousand and fifty-five years before President Keith."

He indicated a metal path that struck off into green wilderness, over steaming swamp, among giant ferns and palms.

"And that," he said, "is the Path, laid by Time Safari for your use,

It floats six inches above the earth. Doesn't touch so much as one grass blade, flower, or tree. It's an anti-gravity metal. Its purpose is to keep you from touching this world of the past in any way. Stay on the Path. Don't go off it. I repeat. Don't go off. For any reason! If you fall off, there's a penalty. And don't shoot any animal we don't okay."

"Why?" asked Eckels.

They sat in the ancient wilderness. Far birds' cries blew on a wind, and the smell of tar and an old salt sea, moist grasses, and flowers the color of blood.

"We don't want to change the Future (мы не хотим менять Будущее). We don't belong here in the Past (мы не свои здесь в Прошлом: to belong — принадлежать). The government doesn't like us here (правительство не любит нас здесь = не одобряет, что мы здесь). We have to pay big graft to keep our franchise (мы вынуждены платить большую взятку, чтобы сохранить нашу привилегию). A Time Machine is finicky business (Машина Времени — щекотливое дело: finicky — разборчивый, жеманный). Not knowing it, we might kill (не зная этого, мы могли бы убить) an important animal, a small bird, a roach, a flower even (важное животное, маленькую птичку, плотву, даже цветок), thus destroying an important link in a growing species (таким образом разрушая важное звено в развитии вида)."

"That's not clear (непонятно: clear — ясный)," said Eckels.

"All right (хорошо)," Travis continued (продолжил), "say we accidentally kill one mouse here (скажем, мы случайно убиваем одну мышь здесь). That means all the future families of this one particular mouse are destroyed, right (это означает, /что/ все будущие семейства = потомки этой конкретной мыши уничтожены, правильно)?"

"Right"

"And all the families of the families of the families of that one mouse! With a stamp of your foot (нажатием ступни: stamp — печать, отпечаток, топот), you annihilate first one, then a dozen, then a thousand, a million, a billion possible mice (вы истребляете сперва одну, потом дюжину, потом тысячу, миллион, миллиард возможных мышей: billion — биллион, миллиард /амер./)!"

"So they're dead (итак, они мертвы)," said Eckels. "So what (так что же)?"

"We don't want to change the Future. We don't belong here in the Past. The government doesn't like us here. We have to pay big graft to keep our franchise. A Time Machine is finicky business. Not knowing it, we might kill an important animal, a small bird, a roach, a flower even, thus destroying an important link in a growing species."