? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 第二章

1130小時(shí)，2517年8月17日（軍事日歷）/波江座星系統(tǒng)，波江2,極樂(lè)城

1130 Hours, August 17, 2517 (Military Calendar) /Eridanus Star System, Eridanus 2, Elysium City

橙色的太陽(yáng)在極樂(lè)城119號(hào)小學(xué)的操場(chǎng)上撒下了熾熱的光芒。

The orange sun cast a?fiery?glow on the playground of Elysium City Primary Education Facility No. 119.

哈爾西博士和凱斯中尉站在帆布遮陽(yáng)篷的半陰影下，看著孩子們尖叫著互相追逐，爬上鋼格子，掠過(guò)那里的引力球。

Dr. Halsey and Lieutenant Keyes stood in the semishade of a canvas awning and watched children asthey screamed and chased one another and climbed on steel lattices and skimmed gravballs across therepulsor courts.

凱斯中尉穿著便服看起來(lái)非常不舒服。他穿著寬松的灰色西裝，白色襯衫，沒(méi)有打領(lǐng)帶。哈爾西博士發(fā)現(xiàn)他突然的尷尬很迷人。

Lieutenant Keyes looked extremely uncomfortable in civilian clothes. He wore a loose gray suit, a white shirt, and no tie. Dr. Halsey found his sudden awkwardness charming.

當(dāng)他抱怨衣服太寬松太邋遢時(shí)，她幾乎笑了。他本質(zhì)上是純粹的軍事。即使沒(méi)有穿制服，中尉也僵硬地站著，仿佛他永遠(yuǎn)在全神貫注。

When he had complained the clothes were too loose and sloppy, she had almost laughed. He was pure military to the core. Even out of uniform, the Lieutenant stood rigid, as if he were at perpetual attention.

“這里很好，”她說(shuō)?！斑@個(gè)殖民地不知道他們有多好,鄉(xiāng)村生活方式,無(wú)污染,沒(méi)有擁擠,還有可控的天氣。

“It’s nice here,” she said. “This colony doesn’t know how good they’ve got it. Rural lifestyle. No pollution. No crowding. Climate-controlled weather.”

中尉咕噥了一聲，試圖撫平絲綢夾克上的皺紋。

The Lieutenant grunted an acknowledgment as he tried to smooth the wrinkles out of his silk jacket.

“放松，”她說(shuō)?！拔覀儸F(xiàn)在應(yīng)該是父母，為我們的小姑娘尋找合適學(xué)校。她把胳膊滑過(guò)他的胳膊，雖然她會(huì)認(rèn)為這樣的壯舉是不可能的，但中尉站得更直了。

“Relax,” she said. “We’re supposed to be parents inspecting the school for our little girl.” She slipped her arm through his, and although she would have thought such a feat impossible, the Lieutenant stood even straighter.

她嘆了口氣，松開(kāi)拉住他的胳膊，打開(kāi)錢(qián)包，取出一個(gè)掌上電腦。她調(diào)整了寬草帽的帽檐，以遮擋正午的眩光。輕點(diǎn)手指，她訪(fǎng)問(wèn)并掃描了她收集的關(guān)于他們這次任務(wù)的文件。

She sighed and pulled away from him, opened her purse, and retrieved a palm-sized pad. She adjusted the brim of her wide straw hat to shade the pad from the noon glare. With a tap of her finger, she accessed and scanned the file she had assembled of their subject.

117號(hào)擁有她在最初研究中標(biāo)記的所有遺傳標(biāo)記 - 他接近科學(xué)可以確定的完美對(duì)象。但哈爾西博士知道，要使這個(gè)項(xiàng)目發(fā)揮作用，需要的不僅僅是理論上的完美。人不僅僅是他們基因的集合體。

Number 117 had all the genetic markers she had flagged in her original study—he was as close to a perfect subject for her purposes as science could determine. But Dr. Halsey knew it would take more than theoretical perfection to make this project work. People were more than the sum of their genes.

有環(huán)境因素、突變、從小習(xí)得的道德觀，以及其他一百多個(gè)因素，可能使這位候選人變得無(wú)法接受。

There were environmental factors, mutations, learned ethics, and a hundred other factors that could make this candidate unacceptable.

檔案中的圖片顯示了一個(gè)典型的六歲男孩。他有一頭亂蓬蓬的棕色頭發(fā)，調(diào)皮的笑容顯出他少了一顆門(mén)牙。他的臉上點(diǎn)綴著幾顆雀斑。很好——她可以以此來(lái)確認(rèn)他的身份。

The picture in the file showed a typical six-year-old male. He had tousled brown hair and a sly grin that revealed a gap between his front teeth. A few freckles were speckled across his checks. Good—she could match the patterns to confirm his identity.

“我們的目標(biāo)?！碑?dāng)她將掌上電腦移向中尉以便他可以看到那個(gè)男孩時(shí)，哈爾西博士注意到這張照片已經(jīng)是四個(gè)月以前的了。難道ONI沒(méi)有意識(shí)到這些孩子的變化有多快嗎？馬虎。她記下了定期要求更新圖片，直到第三階段研究開(kāi)始。

“Our subject.” As she angled the pad toward the Lieutenant so he could see the boy, Dr. Halsey noticed that the picture was four months old. Didn’t ONI realize how fast these children changed? Sloppy. She made a note to request updated pictures on a regular basis until phase three started.

“是他嗎？”中尉低聲說(shuō)。

“Is that him?” the Lieutenant whispered.

哈爾西博士抬起頭。

Dr. Halsey looked up.

中尉向操場(chǎng)盡頭的一座小山坡點(diǎn)了點(diǎn)頭。那座山的山頂是光禿禿的泥土，沒(méi)有一點(diǎn)植物。十幾個(gè)男孩互相推搡——抓住，扭打，滾下斜坡，然后站起來(lái)，跑回來(lái)，然后再重新一遍。

The Lieutenant nodded to a grassy hill at the end of the playground. The crest of that hill was bare dirt, scuffed clean of all vegetation. A dozen boys pushed and shoved one another—grabbed, tackled, rolled down the slope, and then got up, ran back, and started the process over.

“山丘之王，”哈爾西博士說(shuō)。

“King of the hill,” Dr. Halsey remarked.

一個(gè)男孩站在山頂上。他打倒, 推開(kāi)和踢下其他所有試圖爬上來(lái)的孩子。

One boy stood on the crest. He blocked, pushed, and strong-armed all the other children.

哈爾西博士用她的數(shù)據(jù)板對(duì)著他，并記錄了這一事件以供以后研究。她放大了這個(gè)目標(biāo)以獲得更好的觀察。這個(gè)男孩笑了笑，露出了同樣的缺牙。她瞬間定格這個(gè)畫(huà)面，她將他的雀斑與存檔的照片相匹配。

Dr. Halsey pointed her data pad at him and recorded this incident for later study. She zoomed in on the subject to get a better look. This boy smiled and showed the same small gap between his front teeth. A split-second freeze frame and she matched his freckles to the picture on file.

“那就是我們的孩子?！?/span>

“That’s our boy.”

他比其他孩子高出一顆頭，而且——就如他表現(xiàn)的那樣——也更強(qiáng)壯。另一個(gè)男孩從后面抓住了他。117號(hào)抱住那個(gè)男孩的頭，笑著把他像玩具一樣丟下山坡。

He was taller than the other children by a full head, and—if his performance in the game was any indicator—stronger as well. Another boy grabbed him from behind in a headlock. Number 117 peeled the boy off, and—with a laugh—tossed him down the hillside like a toy.

哈爾西博士期待一個(gè)具有完美身體和驚人智力的樣標(biāo)。沒(méi)錯(cuò)，這個(gè)目標(biāo)強(qiáng)壯而快速，但他也很骯臟和粗魯。

Dr. Halsey had expected a specimen of perfect physical proportions and stunning intellect. True, thesubject was strong and fast, but he was also dirty and rude.

再一次，在這些實(shí)地研究中必須面對(duì)不切實(shí)際的主觀看法。她真正期待的是什么？他是一個(gè)六歲的男孩——充滿(mǎn)生機(jī)和不受控制的情感，像風(fēng)一樣可預(yù)測(cè)。

Then again, unrealistic and subjective perceptions had to be confronted in these field studies. What did she really expect? He was a six-year-old boy—full of life and unchecked emotion and as predictable as the wind.

三個(gè)男孩聯(lián)合起來(lái)對(duì)付他。兩個(gè)人抓住他的腿，一個(gè)人摟著他的胸膛。他們四人都從山上滾了下來(lái)。117號(hào)拳打腳踢，咬他的攻擊者，直到他們松開(kāi)并逃到安全距離。他站起來(lái)，重回了山頂，撞開(kāi)了另一個(gè)男孩，大喊著他是這的真正之王。

Three boys ganged up on him. Two grabbed his legs and one threw his arms around his chest. They all tumbled down the hill. Number 117 kicked and punched and bit his attackers until they let go and ran away to a safe distance. He rose and tore back up the hill, bumping another boy and shouting that he was king.

“他看起來(lái)，”中尉開(kāi)始說(shuō)，“嗯，非常有活力。

“He seems,” the Lieutenant started, “um, very animated.”

“是的，”哈爾西博士說(shuō)?！拔覀円苍S可以用這個(gè)?！?/span>

“Yes,” Dr. Halsey said. “We may be able to use this one.”

她掃視了一眼操場(chǎng)。唯一的成年人正在撫一個(gè)摔傷的女孩站起來(lái);她帶著她走向醫(yī)務(wù)室。

She glanced up and down the playground. The only adult was helping a girl get to her feet after falling down and scraping her elbow; she marched her towards the nurse’s office.

“留在這里看著，中尉，”她說(shuō)，把數(shù)據(jù)板遞給他。“我要湊近仔細(xì)看看。”

“Stay here and watch me, Lieutenant,” she said, and passed him the data pad. “I’m going to have a closer look.”

中尉想說(shuō)些什么，但哈爾西博士走開(kāi)了，然后半慢跑著穿過(guò)操場(chǎng)上彩繪的跳房子廣場(chǎng)。一陣微風(fēng)吹拂著她的太陽(yáng)裙，她不得不用一只手抓住下擺，另一只手抓住草帽的帽檐。她放慢了速度，小跑著，在離山腳四米的地方停了下來(lái)。

The Lieutenant started to say something, but Dr. Halsey walked away, then half jogged across the painted lines of hopscotch squares on the playground. A breeze caught her sundress and she had to clutch the hem with one hand, grabbing the brim of her straw hat with the other. She slowed to a trot and halted four meters from the base of the hill.

孩子們停下腳步，轉(zhuǎn)過(guò)身來(lái)。

The children stopped and turned.

“你有麻煩了，”一個(gè)男孩說(shuō)，然后推了117號(hào)。

“You’re in trouble,” one boy said, and pushed Number 117.

他把那個(gè)男孩推開(kāi)，然后直視著哈爾西博士的眼睛。其他孩子移開(kāi)了視線(xiàn)。一些孩子帶著尷尬的笑容，另一些孩子慢慢移開(kāi)了腳步。

He shoved the boy back and then looked Dr. Halsey squarely in the eyes. The other children looked away; some wore embarrassed smirks, and a few slowly backed off.

然而，她的對(duì)象卻挑釁地站在那里。他要么確信她不會(huì)懲罰他，要么他根本就不害怕。她看到他的臉頰上有一塊淤青，褲子的膝蓋被撕裂了，嘴唇也裂開(kāi)了。

Her subject, however, stood there defiantly. He was either confident she wasn’t going to punish him—or he simply wasn’t afraid. She saw that he had a bruise on his cheek, the knees of his pants were torn, and his lip was cracked.

哈爾西博士走近了三步。幾個(gè)孩子不由自主地向后退了三步。

Dr. Halsey took three steps closer. Several of the children took three involuntary steps backward.

“我可以和你談?wù)剢?？”她?wèn)，并繼續(xù)盯著她的目標(biāo)。

“Can I speak with you, please?” she asked, and continued to stare at her subject.

他最終移開(kāi)了目光，聳了聳肩，然后慢慢下了山。其他孩子咯咯地笑著，發(fā)出嘰嘰喳喳的聲音;一個(gè)人向他扔了一塊鵝卵石。117號(hào)沒(méi)有理會(huì)他們。

He finally broke eye contact, shrugged, and then lumbered down the hill. The other children giggled and made tsking sounds; one tossed a pebble at him. Number 117 ignored them.

哈爾西醫(yī)生把他帶到附近的沙坑邊上，停了下來(lái)。

Dr. Halsey led him to the edge of the nearby sandpit and stopped.

“你叫什么名字？”她問(wèn)。

“What’s your name?” she asked.

“我叫約翰，”他說(shuō)。男孩伸出手。

“I’m John,” he said. The boy held out his hand.

哈爾西博士沒(méi)想到會(huì)有身體接觸。男孩的父親一定教過(guò)他禮儀，或者這個(gè)男孩非常擅于模仿。她握了握他的手，驚訝于他不大的手掌中強(qiáng)壯的力量。“很高興認(rèn)識(shí)你?！?/span>

Dr. Halsey didn’t expect physical contact. The subject’s father must have taught him the ritual, or theboy was highly imitative.She shook his hand and was surprised by the strength in his miniscule grip. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

她半跪下來(lái)?！拔蚁雴?wèn)你，你在做什么？”

She knelt so she was at his level. “I wanted to ask you what you were doing?”

“贏”他說(shuō)。

“Winning,” he said.

哈爾西博士笑了笑。他不怕她。她也懷疑他把她推下山會(huì)沒(méi)有什么困難?！澳阆矚g玩游戲，”她說(shuō)。“我也是。”

Dr. Halsey smiled. He was unafraid of her . . . and she doubted that he’d have any trouble pushing her off the hill, either.“You like games,” she said. “So do I.”

他嘆了口氣?！笆堑模麄兩现茏屛蚁缕?。這很無(wú)聊。贏簡(jiǎn)直太容易了。他急促地吸了一口氣?！盎蛘摺覀兛梢酝嬷亓η騿幔克麄儾蛔屛以俅蛑亓η蛄?，但也許如果你告訴他們沒(méi)關(guān)系？”

He sighed. “Yeah, but they made me play chess last week. That got boring. It’s too easy to win.” Hetook a quick breath. “Or—can we play gravball? They don’t let me play gravball anymore, but maybe ifyou tell them it’s okay?”

“我有一個(gè)不同的游戲，我想讓你試試，”她告訴他?！翱??！彼咽稚爝M(jìn)錢(qián)包，拿出一個(gè)金屬盤(pán)。她把它翻過(guò)來(lái)，它在陽(yáng)光下閃閃發(fā)光?！昂芫靡郧?，人們就使用這樣的硬幣作為貨幣，當(dāng)時(shí)地球是我們生活的唯一星球。

“I have a different game I want you to try,” she told him. “Look.” She reached into her purse and brought out a metal disk. She turned it over and it gleamed in the sun. “People used coins like this for currency a long time ago, when Earth was the only planet we lived on.”

他的眼睛盯著那個(gè)硬幣。他伸手要去拿。

His eyes fixed on the object. He reached for it.

哈爾西博士把它移開(kāi)，繼續(xù)在拇指和食指之間翻轉(zhuǎn)?！懊恳幻娑际遣煌?。你明白嗎？一邊有一個(gè)長(zhǎng)發(fā)男人的臉。另一邊有一只鳥(niǎo)，叫鷹，它抓著——”

Dr. Halsey moved it away, continuing to flip it between her thumb and index finger. “Each side is different. Do you see? One has the face of a man with long hair. The other side has a bird, called an eagle, and it’s holding—”

“箭，”約翰說(shuō)。

“Arrows,” John said.

“是的?！昂?。”他的視力一定非常出色，才能在這么遠(yuǎn)的地方看到這樣的細(xì)節(jié)?！拔覀儗⒃谟螒蛑惺褂眠@枚硬幣。如果你贏了，你可以獲得它。

“Yes. Good.” His eyesight must be exceptional to see such detail so far away. “We’ll use this coin in ourgame. If you win you can keep it.”

約翰把目光從硬幣上移開(kāi)，又看了看她，瞇了瞇眼，然后說(shuō)：“好吧。不過(guò)，我總是贏。這就是為什么他們不再讓我玩重力球了。

John tore his gaze from the coin and looked at her again, squinted, then said, “Okay. I always win, though. That’s why they won’t let me play gravball anymore.”

“我相信你會(huì)的?！?/span>

“I’m sure you do.”

“什么游戲？”

“What’s the game?”

“這很簡(jiǎn)單。我就這樣擲硬幣。她甩了甩手腕，拇指一彈，硬幣劃出一道弧線(xiàn)，在空中旋轉(zhuǎn)，落在沙子里?！安贿^(guò)，下次，在它落地之前，我希望你告訴我，它是臉還是握箭的鷹朝上。

“It’s very simple. I toss the coin like this.” She flicked her wrist, snapped her thumb, and the coin arced, spinning into the air, and landed in the sand. “Next time, though, before it lands, I want you to tell me if it will fall with the face of the man showing or with the eagle holding the arrows.”

“我知道了?！奔s翰緊張起來(lái)，彎曲膝蓋，但眼光似乎沒(méi)有在看著哈爾西博士和這個(gè)硬幣。

“I got it.” John tensed, bent his knees, and then his eyes seemed to lose their focus on her and the coin.

哈爾西博士拿起這個(gè)硬幣。“準(zhǔn)備好了嗎？”

Dr. Halsey picked up the quarter. “Ready?”

約翰微微點(diǎn)頭。

John gave a slight nod.

哈爾茜把硬幣迅速?gòu)椣蚩罩校员ＷC旋轉(zhuǎn)的速度足夠快。

She tossed it, making sure there was plenty of spin.

約翰用一種奇怪的目光注視著它。他跟隨它上升，然后向下到地面 - 他突然伸出手，從空中拿走了硬幣。

John’s eyes watched it with that strange distant gaze. He tracked it as it went up, and then down towardthe ground—his hand snapped out and snatched the quarter out of the air.

他舉起合攏的手?！苞棧　彼暗?。

He held up his closed hand. “Eagle!” he shouted.

她試探性地伸手握住他的手，捏開(kāi)了那只小拳頭。

She tentatively reached for his hand and peeled open the tiny fist.

硬幣在他的手掌中：鷹在橙色的陽(yáng)光下閃閃發(fā)光。

The quarter lay in his palm: the eagle shining in the orange sun.

有沒(méi)有可能，當(dāng)他抓住它時(shí)，他看到了是哪一邊......或者更不可能的是，他可以選擇自己希望的一邊？她希望中尉記錄下來(lái)。她希望中尉把能把這段記錄下來(lái)

Was it possible that he saw which side was up when he grabbed it . . . or more improbably, could havepicked which side he wanted? She hoped the Lieutenant had recorded that. She should have told him tokeep the data pad trained on her.

約翰收回了手?！拔铱梢粤糁?，對(duì)吧？你就是這么說(shuō)的。

John retracted his hand. “I get to keep it, right? That’s what you said.”

“是的，你可以保留它，約翰。她對(duì)他笑了笑，然后停了下來(lái)。

“Yes, you can keep it, John.” She smiled at him—then stopped.

她不應(yīng)該用他的名字。這是一個(gè)不好的跡象。她負(fù)擔(dān)不起喜歡她的測(cè)試對(duì)象的奢侈。她必須從心里摒棄自己的情感。她必須保持專(zhuān)業(yè)距離。她不得不。。。因?yàn)閹讉€(gè)月后117號(hào)可能就活不下去了。

She shouldn’t have used his name. That was a bad sign. She couldn’t afford the luxury ofliking her testsubjects. She mentally stepped away from her feelings. She had to maintain a professional distance. Shehad to . . . because in a few months Number 117 might not be alive.

“我們可以再玩一次嗎？”

“Can we play again?”

哈爾西博士站了起來(lái)，后退了一步?！翱峙逻@是我唯一的一個(gè)。我現(xiàn)在必得走了，”

Dr. Halsey stood and took a step back. “That was the only one I had, I’m afraid. I have to leave now,”

她告訴他?！盎厝ズ湍愕呐笥淹姘??！?/span>

she told him. “Go back and play with your friends.”

“謝謝?！彼芑厝?，對(duì)其他男孩喊道：“看！

“Thanks.” He ran back, shouting to the other boys, “Look!”

哈爾西博士大步走向中尉。瀝青上反射的陽(yáng)光感覺(jué)太熱了，她突然不想在外面。她想回到船上，那里很陰涼。她想離開(kāi)這個(gè)星球。

Dr. Halsey strode to the Lieutenant. The sun reflecting off the asphalt felt too hot, and she suddenly didn’t want to be outside. She wanted to be back in the ship, where it was cool and dark. She wanted to get off this planet.

她走到帆布遮陽(yáng)篷下，對(duì)中尉說(shuō)：“告訴我你記錄下來(lái)了。

She stepped under the canvas awning and said to the Lieutenant, “Tell me you recorded that.”

他把數(shù)據(jù)板遞給她，一臉疑惑。“是的。這到底是怎么回事？

He handed her the data pad and looked puzzled. “Yes. What was it all about?’

哈爾西博士檢查了記錄，然后將一份副本傳送給了漢號(hào)上的托蘭保管。

Dr. Halsey checked the recording and then sent a copy ahead to Toran on the Han for safekeeping.

“我們篩選這些受試者的某些遺傳標(biāo)記，”她說(shuō)?！傲α?，敏捷，甚至攻擊性和智力的傾向。但是我們無(wú)法對(duì)所有內(nèi)容進(jìn)行測(cè)試。比如說(shuō)運(yùn)氣。

“We screen these subjects for certain genetic markers,” she said. “Strength, agility, even predispositions for aggression and intellect. But we couldn’t remote test for everything. We don’t test for luck.”

“運(yùn)氣？”凱斯中尉問(wèn)道。“你相信運(yùn)氣，博士？”

“Luck?” Lieutenant Keyes asked. “You believe in luck, Doctor?”

“當(dāng)然不是，”她輕蔑地?fù)]揮手說(shuō)?！暗覀冇幸话傥迨畟€(gè)測(cè)試對(duì)象需要考慮，而設(shè)施和資金只占這個(gè)數(shù)字的一半。這是一個(gè)簡(jiǎn)單的數(shù)學(xué)消除，中尉。那個(gè)孩子是幸運(yùn)兒之一——要么是他比別人更棒。

“Of course not,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “But we have one hundred and fifty test subjects to consider, and facilities and funding for only half that number. It’s a simple mathematical elimination, Lieutenant. That child was one of the lucky ones—either that or he is extraordinarily fast.

無(wú)論如何，他成功了。

Either way, he’s in.”

“我不明白，”凱斯中尉說(shuō)，他開(kāi)始擺弄他口袋里的煙斗。

“I don’t understand,” Lieutenant Keyes said, and he started fiddling with the pipe he carried in his pocket.

“我希望這種情況繼續(xù)下去，中尉，”哈爾西博士平靜地回答。為了你，我希望你永遠(yuǎn)不明白我們?cè)谧鍪裁础?/span>

“I hope that continues, Lieutenant, ” Dr. Halsey replied quietly. “For your sake, I hope you never understand what we’re doing.”

她最后一次看117號(hào)——約翰。他玩得很開(kāi)心，跑著，笑著。

She looked one last time at Number 117—at John. He was having so much fun, running and laughing.

有那么一刻，她羨慕這個(gè)男孩的純真;她的純真早已逝去ii。生存與死亡，幸運(yùn)與否，她譴責(zé)她將給這個(gè)男孩帶來(lái)巨大的痛苦和磨難。

For a moment she envied the boy’s innocence; hers was long dead. Life or death, lucky or not, she was condemning this boy to a great deal of pain and suffering.

但必須這樣做。

But it had to be done.