逐字逐句带你学《黑暗森林》英文版 (第4章-11)

2023-08-06 10:50 作者:库特6 0人读过 | 我要投稿

My god!

天啊！

It took just an instant for Luo Ji to comprehend the true nature of his status as Wallfacer. Like Say had said, before the mission was handed down, the ones who would undertake it could not have been consulted. And once the Wallfacer mission and identity were granted, they could not be refused or abandoned. This impossibility was not due to any individual’s coercion, but because cold logic, as determined by the project’s very nature, meant that once someone became a Wallfacer, an invisible and impenetrable screen was immediately thrown up between them and ordinary people that made their every action significant. And that was what the smiles directed at Wallfacers meant:

仅一瞬间，罗辑就悟出了面壁者这个身份的实质。正如萨伊曾说过的，这种使命在被交付前，是不可能向要承担它的人征求意见的；而面壁者的使命和身份一旦被赋予，也不可能拒绝或放弃。这种不可能并非来自于谁的强制，而是由面壁计划的本质所决定的冷酷逻辑，因为当一个人成为面壁者后，一层无形的不可穿透的屏障就立刻在他与普通人之间建立起来，他的一切行为就具有了面壁计划的意义，正像那对面壁者的微笑所表达的含义：

How are we supposed to know whether or not you have already started work?

我们怎么知道您是不是已经在工作了？

He now understood that the Wallfacers had a mission far weirder than any in history, its logic cold and twisted, yet unyielding as the chains that bound Prometheus. It was an unliftable curse impossible for the Wallfacers to break under their own strength. No matter how he struggled, the totality of everything would be greeted with the Wallfacer smile and imbued with the significance of the Wallfacer Project:

罗辑终于明白，面壁者是历史上从未有过的最诡异的使命，它的逻辑冷酷而变态，但却像锁住普罗米修斯的铁环般坚固无比。这是一个不可撤销的魔咒，面壁者根本不可能凭自声的力量打破它。不管他如何挣扎，一切的一切都在对面壁者的微笑中被赋予了面壁计划的意义：

How are we supposed to know whether or not you are working?

我们怎么知道您是不是在工作？

His heart surged with a towering fury such as he had never before experienced. He wanted to shout hysterically, to inquire after Say’s mother and the UN’s mother, to inquire after the mothers of all of the delegates at the special session and on the PDC, to inquire after the mothers of the entire human race, and finally to inquire after the nonexistent mothers of the Trisolarans. He wanted to jump up and down and smash things, to sweep aside the documents, globe, and bamboo pencil holder on Say’s desk, and then tear the blue flag to shreds.… But in the end he understood where he was and who he was facing, controlled himself, and stood up, only to fall heavily back upon the sofa again.

一股从未有过的冲天怒火涌上罗辑的心头，他想声嘶力竭地大叫，想问候萨伊和联合国的母亲，再问候特别联大所有代表和行星防御理事会的母亲，问候全人类的母亲，最后问候三体人那并不存在的母亲。他想跳起来砸东西，先扔了萨伊办公室上的文件、地球仪和竹节笔筒，再把那面蓝旗撕个粉碎……但罗辑终于还是明白了这是什么地方，他面对的是谁，最终控制了自己，站起来后又重重地把自己摔回了沙发上。

“Why was I chosen?” Luo Ji began, hands covering his face. “Next to the three of them, I have no qualifications. I have no talent and no experience. I’ve never seen war, much less led a country. I’m not a successful scientist. I’m just a university professor who muddles through by throwing together crappy papers. I’m someone who lives for today. I don’t want kids of my own, and I could care less about the continuation of human civilization.… Why was I picked?” By the end of this speech, he had jumped up from the sofa.

“为什么选择我？比起他们三个。我没有任何资格。我没有才华，没有经验，没有见过战争，更没有领导过国家；我也不是有成就的科学家，只是一个凭着几篇东拼西凑的破论文混饭吃的大学教授；我是个今朝有酒今朝醉的人，自己都不想要孩子，哪他妈在乎过人类文明的延续……为什么选中我？”罗辑在说话开始用两只手捂着头，说到最后从沙发上跳起来。

Say’s smile vanished. “To tell you the truth, Dr. Luo, we’re baffled by this too. And that’s the reason you have access to the fewest resources out of all of the Wallfacers. Choosing you is the greatest gamble in history.”

萨伊脸上的笑容消失了。“罗辑博士，说句实话，我们对此也百思不得其解，正因为如此，在所有面壁者中，您能调动的资源是最少的。选择您确实是历史上最大的冒险。”

“But there’s got to be a reason why I was chosen!”

“但选择我总是有原因的！”

“Yes, but only indirectly. No one knows the real reason. Like I said, you have to find your own answer.”

“是的，只是间接的原因，真正的原因谁都不知道，我说过，您要自己去找出来。”

“Then what about the indirect reason?”

“那间接的原因是什么？！”

“I’m sorry. I’m not authorized to tell you. But I do believe that you’ll know when the time is right.”

“对不起，我没有授权告诉您。但我相信，适当的时候您会知道的。”

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04:55

instant：

n.（某一）时刻;当时;

【a very short period of time】瞬息，顷刻，刹那

adj.立即的，即刻的;速溶的

adv.〈诗〉立即，立刻