【自译】星战小说《达斯·普雷格斯》 序(5)

A sense of supreme accomplishment puffed Sidious's chest, and his thoughts unreeled.
一种成就感浮现于他的胸口，他的思绪不再那样纠结。
Well, then, that wasn't nearly as bad as we thought it might be...
好吧，这并没有我们想象的那么糟糕……
Rarely did events play out as imagined, in any case. The order of future events was transient. In the same way that the past was reconfigured by selective memory, future events, too, were moving targets. One could only act on instinct, grab hold of an intuited perfect moment, and spring into action. One heartbeat late and the universe would have recomposed itself, no imposition of will sufficient to forestall the currents. One could only observe and react. Surprise was the element absent from any periodic table. A keystone element; a missing ingredient. The means by which the Force amused itself. A reminder to all sentient beings that some secrets could never be unlocked.
通常情况下，事情很少像想象中那样发展。未来将发生的事情的顺序是临时的。就像过去的记忆会被选择性地重新设定，未来的事情也是如此，都是可变指标。一个人只能靠自己的直觉行事，抓住那个凭直觉而定的完美时机，然后做出行动。哪怕是心跳慢了一拍，宇宙就会自我重组，没有任何意志足以占先一步，阻止洪流。一个人观察并做出反应。惊奇的是有一元素并未出现在任何周期性表格中。一样基础要素；一个失踪的成分。原力自娱自乐的手段。提醒所有的有知众生，有些秘密永远无法解开。
Confident that the will of the dark side had been done, he returned to the suite's window wall.