009 Flashcards
豪華遊艇謊言號的下層甲板，主管勞倫斯．諾頓剛預覽過客戶留下的影片，坐在他的密閉玻璃隔間裡，不敢置信地望著電腦螢幕。
Belowdecks on the luxury vessel The Mendacium, facilitator Laurence Knowlton sat in his sealed glass cubicle and stared in disbelief at his computer monitor, having just previewed the video their client had left behind.
我明天早上要上傳這個給媒體？
I’m supposed to upload this to the media tomorrow morning?
在聯合會任職十年來，諾頓執行過各種明知介於卑劣與違法之間的奇怪任務。在道德的灰色地帶工作對聯合會是家常便飯——這個組織的唯一道德標準，就是他們會不擇手段實現對客戶的承諾。
In his ten years with the Consortium, Knowlton had performed all kinds of strange tasks that he knew fell somewhere between dishonest and illegal. Working within a moral gray area was commonplace at the Consortium—an organization whose lone ethical high ground was that they would do whatever it took to keep a promise to a client.
我們負責到底。不多問。保證做到。
We follow through. No questions asked. No matter what.
但是，想到要上傳這段影片讓諾頓很不安。過去，無論他進行什麼古怪任務，總是能了解理論基礎……掌握動機……領悟想要的結果。
The prospect of uploading this video, however, had left Knowlton unsettled. In the past, no matter what bizarre tasks he had performed, he always understood the rationale … grasped the motives … comprehended the desired outcome.
但是這影片令人困惑。感覺有什麼不太一樣。很不一樣。
And yet this video was baffling. Something about it felt different. Much different.
諾頓坐回他的電腦前，重新啟動影片檔，希望看第二次能有什麼線索。他加大音量然後坐好迎接九分鐘的秀。
Sitting back down at his computer, Knowlton restarted the video file, hoping a second viewing might shed more light. He turned up the volume and settled in for the nine-minute show.
照舊，影片開頭是詭異的淹水洞穴中波浪柔和拍打聲，一切都籠罩在神祕的紅光裡。鏡頭再次潛入發亮的水面下，拍到淤泥覆蓋的洞穴地面。諾頓再次閱讀水底金屬牌上的文字：就在此地，就在此時，世界將永遠被改變。
As before, the video began with the soft lapping of water in the eerie water-filled cavern where everything was bathed in a numinous red light. Again the camera plunged down through the surface of the illuminated water to view the silt-covered floor of the cavern. And again, Knowlton read the text on the submerged plaque: IN THIS PLACE, ON THIS DATE, THE WORLD WAS CHANGED, FOREVER.
光亮的牌子上有聯合會客戶的署名令人不安。日期就是明天……讓諾頓越來越擔心。然而，接下來的東西更讓諾頓緊張。
That the polished plaque was signed by the Consortium’s client was disquieting. That the date was tomorrow … left Knowlton increasingly concerned. It was what followed, however, that had truly set Knowlton on edge.
鏡頭轉向左方，拍到牌子旁邊的水中漂浮著一個驚人物體。
The camera now panned to the left to reveal a startling object hovering underwater just beside the plaque.
上下起伏的薄塑膠製的球用一條短繩子拴在地上。像個巨大肥皂泡纖細地搖晃，透明的形體像水底氣球般漂浮……裡面裝的不是氦氣，而是某種凝膠狀黃褐色液體。
Here, tethered to the floor by a short filament, was an undulating sphere of thin plastic. Delicate and wobbling like an oversize soap bubble, the transparent shape floated like an underwater balloon … inflated not with helium, but with some kind of gelatinous, yellow-brown liquid.
彈性變形的袋子膨脹起來，直徑似乎一呎左右，在透明的外壁中，液體的混濁雲朵似乎在緩緩旋轉，就像默默醞釀中的颱風眼。
The amorphous bag was distended and appeared to be about a foot in diameter, and within its transparent walls, the murky cloud of liquid seemed to swirl slowly, like the eye of a silently growing storm.
天啊，諾頓心想，感覺冒冷汗。漂浮的袋子第二次看起來更加不祥了。
Jesus, Knowlton thought, feeling clammy. The suspended bag looked even more ominous the second time around.
慢慢地，影像消逝成一片漆黑。
Slowly, the image faded to black.
新影像出現——洞穴的潮濕牆壁，明亮潟湖的波浪反光在舞動。牆上出現一個影子……男人的身影……站在洞穴裡。
A new image appeared—the cavern’s damp wall, dancing with the rippling reflections of the illuminated lagoon. On the wall, a shadow appeared … the shadow of a man … standing in the cavern.
