kindred - Stammesbrüder, Stammesgeschwister, Artgenossen, verwandt
Dick - Schwanz, erigierter Penis (vulg.)
IT WAS quite by accident I discovered this incredible invasion of Earth by lifeforms from another planet. as yet, I haven't done anything about it; I can't think of anything to do. I wrote to the government, and they sent back a pamphlet on the repair and maintenance of frame houses. Anyhow, the whole thing is known; I'm not the first to discover it. Maybe it's even under control.
by accident - zufällig, zufälligerweise, durch Zufall
discovered - entdeckt; entdecken, erleben, erfahren, dabei sein
invasion - Invasion, Überfall, Einfall, Einmarsch
earth - Erde, Land, Grund
lifeforms - Lebensformen
planet - Planet, Wandelstern
as yet - bislang, bis jetzt
government - staatlich;Regierung , Regierung , Landesregierung
sent back - zurückgeschickt
pamphlet - Flugschrift
repair - reparieren, instandsetzen, ausbessern
maintenance - Instandhaltung, Wartung, Unterhalt
frame - ausarbeiten, entwerfen, einfassen, einrahmen, festlegen
anyhow - irgendwie
control - steuern, kontrollieren, regeln, Kontrolle, Kontrollen, Regelung
I was sitting in my easy-chair, idly turning the pages of a paperbacked book someone had left on the bus, when I came across the reference that first put me on the trail. For a moment I didn't respond. It took some time for the full import to sink in. After I'd comprehended, it seemed odd I hadn't noticed it right away.
idly - untätig, träge
paperbacked - als Taschenbuch herausgegeben; Broschur, broschiert
reference - Referenz; Quelle; referenzieren; sich beziehen
trail - Pfad; folgen, verfolgen, nachstellen, nacheilen
respond - antworten; reagieren
import - importieren; Einfuhr
sink - Waschbecken; sinken; senken, versenken, Spüle, Spülbecken
comprehended - begriffen; umfassen, verstehen, begreifen, erfassen, einsehen
seemed - schien; scheinen, dünken
odd - einzeln; seltsam, merkwürdig, komisch, ungerade
noticed - bemerkt; Bekanntmachung, Benachrichtigung, Mitteilung
The reference was clearly to a nonhuman species of incredible properties, not indigenous to Earth. A species, I hasten to point out, customarily masquerading as ordinary human beings. Their disguise, however, became transparent in the face of the following observations by the author.
Clearly - Eindeutig; klar, deutlich
nonhuman - nicht menschlich
species - Arten; Hartgeld
properties - Eigenschaften; Eigentum
indigenous - Einheimische
hasten to - zueilen
customarily - üblicherweise
masquerading - Maskenspiel
ordinary - Heroldsbild; gewöhnlich, normal
beings - Wesen
disguise - Verkleidung; Tarnung; verstellen
observations - Beobachtungen; Beobachtung, Bemerkung
author - Autor, Autorin, Verfasser, Verfasserin
It was at once obvious the author knew everything. Knew everything‰"‰and was taking it in his stride. The line (and I tremble remembering it even now) read:
obvious - offensichtlich; selbstverständlich; deutlich; überdeutlich; offenbar; q
stride - schreiten
tremble - zittern; Zittern
... his eyes slowly roved about the room.
slowly - langsam
roved about - herumgetrieben
Vague chills assailed me. I tried to picture the eyes. Did they roll like dimes? The passage indicated not; they seemed to move through the air, not over the surface. Rather rapidly, apparently. No one in the story was surprised. That's what tipped me off. No sign of amazement at such an outrageous thing. Later the matter was amplified.
vague - vage; nebelhaft, schwach, unklar, undeutlich
chills - Schüttelfrost; Mutlosigkeit, Frostgefühl
assailed - angegriffen; angreifen
roll - Rolle, Roulade, Walze, Semmel; drehen, wälzen, wickeln, rollen
dimes - Groschen; 10 Cent-Stück
passage - Durchfahrt, Ăśbergang, Gang
indicated - angezeigt; anzeigen, anweisen, andeuten, anzeigen, andeuten
surface - Oberfläche; auftauchen; publik werden, ans Licht kommen
rapidly - schnell
apparently - offensichtlich, offenbar, scheinbar, anscheinend
surprised - überrascht; Überraschung, Überraschung
tipped - gekippt; Tip
sign - Wert, Zeichen, Hinweistafel, Indiz; unterschreiben, signieren
amazement - Erstaunen; Staunen, Verwunderung
such - solch, derartig, so ein
matter - Materie; Masse, Substanz, Stoff, Angelegenheit, Anlass
amplified - verstärkt; erman: verstärken glossore intense; vergrößern gloss
... his eyes moved from person to person.
There it was in a nutshell. The eyes had clearly come apart from the rest of him and were on their own. My heart pounded and my breath choked in my windpipe. I had stumbled on an accidental mention of a totally unfamiliar race. Obviously non-Terrestrial. Yet, to the characters in the book, it was perfectly natural‰"‰which suggested they belonged to the same species.
nutshell - Nussschale
come apart - entzwei gehen
heart - Herz, Herzstück
breath - Atmen, Atmung, Atemzug, Atem, Atempause
choked - gewürgt; erwürgen, erdrosseln, ersticken, überwältigen
windpipe - Trachea, Luftröhre
stumbled - gestolpert; Stolpern
accidental - versehentlich, zufällig, Zufall, Versehen
mention - Erwähnung; erwähnen
totally - total; vollständig, komplett, völlig, absolut
unfamiliar - ungewohnt
race - um die Wette rennen; Rasse, Menschenschlag, Rennen
Obviously - Offensichtlich; augenscheinlich
non - nicht..
terrestrial - irdisch, terrestrisch, Erde
characters - Figur, Person, Charakter, Charakter, Original
perfectly - perfekt, einwandfrei, vollkommen, durchaus
suggested - vorgeschlagen; vorschlagen, vorschlagen
belonged - gehörte; zugehören; gehören (zu)
And the author? A slow suspicion burned in my mind. The author was taking it rather too easily in his stride. Evidently, he felt this was quite a usual thing. He made absolutely no attempt to conceal this knowledge. The story continued:
suspicion - Verdacht, Argwohn, Verdächtigung
burned - verbrannt; brennen, feuern, leuchten
mind - Verstand, Geist, Sinn, Bewusstsein, Gedächtnis, Gedanken
easily - leicht
evidently - offensichtlich
usual - gewöhnlich, üblich
absolutely - absolut, durchaus, total, unbedingt
attempt - versuchen; Versuch, Bestreben, Bestrebung, Anschlag, Attentat
conceal - verbergen, verheimlichen, verschleiern, verschweigen
knowledge - Wissen, Kenntnis
continued - fortgesetzt; fortsetzen, weiterhin
... presently his eyes fastened on Julia.
Presently - Gegenwärtig; sogleich
fastened - befestigen, festmachen
Julia, being a lady, had at least the breeding to feel indignant. She is described as blushing and knitting her brows angrily. At this, I sighed with relief. They weren't all non-Terrestrials. The narrative continues:
lady - Herrin des Hauses, Hausherrin, Ehefrau des Hausherrn
breeding - Aufzucht, Vermehrung (biol.), züchtend; (breed); aufziehen
indignant - entrüstet
blushing - errötend; (blush) errötend
knitting - Stricken; (knit); stricken
brows - Augenbrauen; Brauen; (brow) Augenbrauen; Brauen
angrily - verärgert, wütend
sighed - geseufzt; Seufzen, Seufzer, Säuseln (Wind); säuseln (Wind)
relief - Erleichterung, Befreiung, Linderung, Unterstützung
weren - wer
Terrestrials - Außerirdische; irdisch, terrestrisch, Erde
narrative - erzählend, erzählerisch, in erzählender Form darlegend
continues - fortsetzen, weiterhin
... slowly, calmly, his eyes examined every inch of her.
calmly - ruhig
examined - untersucht; untersuchen, untersuchen, untersuchen, prüfen
inch - Zoll (2, 54 cm), Zoll (Längenmaß)
Great Scott! But here the girl turned and stomped off and the matter ended. I lay back in my chair gasping with horror. My wife and family regarded me in wonder.
stomped - gestampft; stampfen, zerstampfen, trampeln, Stampfer
lay - legen; richten (Tisch)
gasping - keuchend; (gasp); keuchen; japsen, prusten, Atemzug, Luftholen
horror - Angst, Furcht, Horror, Grauen
regarded - betrachtet; schätzen, betrachten, berücksichtigen
wonder - Wunder, Mirakel, wundern
śWhat's wrong, dear?ť my wife asked.
I couldn't tell her. Knowledge like this was too much for the ordinary run-of-the-mill person. I had to keep it to myself. śNothing,ť I gasped. I leaped up, snatched the book, and hurried out of the room.
Mill - Promille, 1/10 Prozent; Mühle, Fabrik; fräsen, anfräsen
myself - mich selbst; mich
gasped - keuchte; keuchen, japsen, prusten, keuchen, Atemzug, Luftholen
leaped - gesprungen; hervorspringen, hüpfen, überspringen
snatched - geschnappt; klauen, stehlen, Reißen
hurried - eilig; Eile, beeilen
IN THE garage, I continued reading. There was more. Trembling, I read the next revealing passage:
garage - Garage
trembling - Zittern, Beben; (tremble); zittern; Zittern
revealing - aufschlussreich; gewagt
... he put his arm around Julia. Presently she asked him if he would remove his arm. He immediately did so, with a smile.
remove - entfernen; beseitigen; verdrängen; umziehen
immediately - sofort, alsbald, unverzüglich, auf der Stelle
smile - Lächeln
It's not said what was done with the arm after the fellow had removed it. Maybe it was left standing upright in the corner. Maybe it was thrown away. I don't care. In any case, the full meaning was there, staring me right in the face.
fellow - Stipendiat, Typ, Kerl, Bursche; Gefährte, Kerl
removed - entfernt; entfernen, beseitigen, verdrängen, umziehen
left standing - gelassen
upright - aufrecht; hochkant
corner - Ecke, Winkel, in die Enge treiben
thrown away - verscherztem
care - kümmern; Sorgfalt, Aufbewahrung, Behandlung
case - Fall; Gehäuse, Prozess, Kiste, Fach
Here was a race of creatures capable of removing portions of their anatomy at will. Eyes, arms‰"‰and maybe more. Without batting an eyelash. my knowledge of biology came in handy, at this point. Obviously they were simple beings, uni-cellular, some sort of primitive single-celled things. Beings no more developed than starfish. Starfish can do the same thing, you know.
creatures - Kreaturen; Wesen
capable - fähig
removing - entfernen, beseitigen, verdrängen, umziehen
portions - Portionen; Teil
anatomy - Anatomie
at will - nach Belieben, nach Wunsch, beliebig, absichtlich
batting - Schlägerei; schlagend; (bat) Schlägerei; schlagend
eyelash - Wimper, Augenwimper
my knowledge - meines Wissens, soviel ich weiß
biology - Biologie
came in handy - (come in handy) gelegen kommen
simple - einfach, simpel
uni - Uni
cellular - zellulär
sort - Sortierung, Gattung, Art, Sorte; sortieren, ordnen
primitive - primitiv; Wortstamm & Stamm, Stammwort, Urwort
single - einzeln, einzig, allein, einheitlich
celled - zelluliert; Zelle, Speicherzelle
developed - entwickelt; entwickeln, entwickeln, entwickeln, entwickeln
starfish - Seesterne; Seestern
I read on. And came to this incredible revelation, tossed off coolly by the author without the faintest tremor:
read on - weitergelesen
revelation - Enthüllung, Offenbarung, Erkenntnis
tossed - geworfen; Wurf, Münzwurf, werfen, werfen, verwerfen, wegwerfen
coolly - kühl; gelassen
faintest - am schwächsten; leise, schwach, undeutlich, ohnmächtig werden
tremor - Zittern; Tremor; Beben
... outside the movie theater we split up. Part of us went inside, part over to the cafe for dinner.
movie theater - Kino
split - gespalten; Riss, Spalt, Spaltung, Spagat
inside - Innenseite, Inneres, Innen-, Inner-, drinnen, hinein, innerhalb
Binary fission, obviously. Splitting in half and forming two entities. Probably each lower half went to the cafe, it being farther, and the upper halves to the movies. I read on, hands shaking. I had really stumbled onto something here. My mind reeled as I made out this passage:
binary - binär; Binärsystem; Binärdatei
fission - Spaltung; Zellteilung; spalten
splitting - (split) geteilt, Spalt, Spaltung
entities - Einheiten; Wesen
lower - niedriger, niedrigerer, ausfahren (Fahrgestell); abdämpfen
shaking - schüttelnd, erschütternd; (shake); schütteln, erschüttern
onto - auf
reeled - aufgespult; Spule, Haspel, Demoband
... I'm afraid there's no doubt about it. Poor Bibney has lost his head again.
I'm afraid - leider, ich bedaure, ich fürchte
there's no doubt about it - darüber besteht kein Zweifel
Which was followed by:
... and Bob says he has utterly no guts.
Bob - Troddel; tanzen (Boot); Bob (Frisur)
utterly - völlig
guts - Eingeweide; Mumm; (gut); Darm, Eingeweide, Bauch, Ranzen, Darm
Yet Bibney got around as well as the next person. The next person, however, was just as strange. He was soon described as:
got around - (get around) herumkommen (herumfahren), Umweglösung finden
strange - seltsam, sonderbar, komisch, verwunderlich, fremd, ausländisch
... totally lacking in brains.
lacking - Mangelhaft; ermangeln, fehlen
brains - Gehirne; Gehirn
THERE was no doubt of the thing in the next passage. Julia, whom I had thought to be the one normal person, reveals herself as also being an alien life form, similar to the rest:
doubt - bezweifeln, Zweifel
whom - wen; wem; dem, der, den, die
normal - normal; Normale
reveals - enthüllt; enthüllen, offenbaren
alien - Außerirdische; Fremdling, Fremder, Fremde, Ausländer
rest - Ruhe, Stütze, Lehne, ein Ăśbriges; bleiben, ruhen, ausruhen
... quite deliberately, Julia had given her heart to the young man.
deliberately - absichtlich
It didn't relate what the final disposition of the organ was, but I didn't really care. It was evident Julia had gone right on living in her usual manner, like all the others in the book. Without heart, arms, eyes, brains, viscera, dividing up in two when the occasion demanded. Without a qualm.
relate - verbinden; sich beziehen, erzählen, berichten
disposition - Neigung, Gesinnung, Hang, Veranlagung, Einteilung
organ - Organ; Orgel
evident - offensichtlich; offenkundig
manner - Art und Weise; Weise, Manier
dividing - Aufteilen; abteilend, teilend; (divide); aufteilen, einteilen
Occasion - Gelegenheit; Anlass
demanded - gefordert; Nachfrage, Bedarf, Nachfrage, Anspruch, verlangen
qualm - Gewissensbisse; Skrupel, checkUnbehagen, checkBedenken
... thereupon she gave him her hand.
thereupon - daraufhin; darauf
I sickened. The rascal now had her hand, as well as her heart. I shudder to think what he's done with them, by this time.
sickened - erkrankt; erkranken
rascal - Schlingel; Gauner, Strolch, Bösewicht, Schurke, Bengel
shudder - erschaudern; Schauder; (wohliger) Schauder; schaudern; zittern
... he took her arm.
Not content to wait, he had to start dismantling her on his own. Flushing crimson, I slammed the book shut and leaped to my feet. But not in time to escape one last reference to those carefree bits of anatomy whose travels had originally thrown me on the track:
content - Inhalt; (to be content with) sich mit etwas begnügen
dismantling - Demontage; entmanteln, abwracken, ausschlachten, demontieren
flushing - Wasserspülung (Vorgang); Spülung, durchflutend
crimson - Karmesinrot; Purpur, Purpurrot, Karmesin, purpurn
slammed - zugeknallt; zuschlagen, hart anpacken, zuknallen; harte Kritik
shut - geschlossen; (to shut) schließen, zumachen
escape - entgehen, ausweichen, davonkommen, Flucht
Last - letzte, zuletzt, letzter, vorig; dauern, andauern
those - die; jene
carefree - sorglos
bits - Häppchen, Gebiss, Bit, Bissen
whose - wessen; dessen, deren, wem gehört/gehören?
originally - ursprünglich
thrown - geworfen; Wurf; werfen (du wirfst, er wirft), ich/er/sie würfe
track - Spur; Fußspur; Fußsohle; Trampelpfad; Bahn, Strecke, Kurs
... her eyes followed him all the way down the road and across the meadow.
meadow - Wiese, Weide, Aue
I rushed from the garage and back inside the warm house, as if the accursed things were following me. My wife and children were playing Monopoly in the kitchen. I joined them and played with frantic fervor, brow feverish, teeth chattering.
rushed - überstürzt; stürzen, drängen, hetzen, rasen; Eile, Andrang
monopoly - Monopol
frantic - verzweifelt; außer sich, rasend
fervor - Inbrunst, Eifer, Begeisterung, Leidenschaft
brow - Stirn; Braue, Augenbraue
feverish - fiebrig, febril, fieberhaft
chattering - Geplapper; plappernd
I had had enough of the thing. I want to hear no more about it. Let them come on. Let them invade Earth. I don't want to get mixed up in it.
invade - eindringen, verletzen, überfallen, einmarschieren, einfallen
get mixed up - durcheinandergeraten [alt], durcheinander geraten
I have absolutely no stomach for it.
stomach - Magen; Bauch
