Ray Bradbury A Sound of Thunder (9/25)

"I see," said Eckels. "Then it wouldn't pay for us even to touch the grass (тогда не пройдет даром для нас даже касание травы)?"

"Correct (правильно). Crushing certain plants could add up infinitesimally (раздавливание неких растений может очень мало изменить окружающее: to add up – подытоживать, infinitesimally – крайне мало). A little error here would multiply in sixty million years (маленькая ошибка здесь приумножится за шестьдесят миллионов лет), all out of proportion (совершенно из/вне пропорции – здесь игра слов: пропорционально / выходит за грань понимания). Of course maybe our theory is wrong (конечно, может быть, наша теория неверна). Maybe Time can't be changed by us (возможно, время не может быть изменено нами). Or maybe it can be changed only in little subtle ways (или, возможно, оно может быть изменено только очень незначительно: subtle – едва различимый). A dead mouse here makes an insect imbalance there, a population disproportion later (мертвая мышь здесь производит диспропорцию популяции позже), a bad harvest further on (плохой урожай дальше), a depression, mass starvation (депрессию, массовый голод), and finally, a change in social temperament in far-flung countries (и, наконец, изменения в социальном характере в обширных странах). Something much more subtle (/или/ что-то намного более тонкое), like that (/например,/ таким образом). Perhaps only a soft breath, a whisper, a hair, pollen on the air (возможно, только нежное дуновение, шепот, волосок, пыльца в воздухе), such a slight, slight change that unless you looked close you wouldn't see it (такое легкое, незначительное изменение, что пока не посмотрите близко, не увидите его). Who knows (кто знает)? Who really can say he knows (кто действительно может сказать, что он знает)? We don't know (мы не знаем). We're guessing (мы /только/ гадаем). But until we do know for certain (но пока мы не знаем наверняка) whether our messing around in Time can (может ли наше шатание во времени: to mess around – слоняться), make a big roar or a little rustle in history (произвести большой рев или маленький шелест в истории), we're being damned careful (мы должны быть чертовски осторожны). This Machine, this Path, your clothing and bodies (эта Машина, эта Тропа, ваша одежда и тела), were sterilized, as you know, before the journey (были стерилизованы, как вы знаете, перед путешествием). We wear these oxygen helmets (мы носим эти кислородные шлемы) so we can't introduce our bacteria into an ancient atmosphere (так что мы не можем внести наши бактерии в древнюю атмосферу)."

"I see," said Eckels. "Then it wouldn't pay for us even to touch the grass?"

"Correct. Crushing certain plants could add up infinitesimally. A little error here would multiply in sixty million years, all out of proportion. Of course maybe our theory is wrong. Maybe Time can't be changed by us. Or maybe it can be changed only in little subtle ways. A dead mouse here makes an insect imbalance there, a population disproportion later, a bad harvest further on, a depression, mass starvation, and finally, a change in social temperament in far-flung countries. Something much more subtle, like that. Perhaps only a soft breath, a whisper, a hair, pollen on the air, such a slight, slight change that unless you looked close you wouldn't see it. Who knows? Who really can say he knows? We don't know. We're guessing. But until we do know for certain whether our messing around in Time can make a big roar or a little rustle in history, we're being careful. This Machine, this Path, your clothing and bodies, were sterilized, as you know, before the journey. We wear these oxygen helmets so we can't introduce our bacteria into an ancient atmosphere."