[转帖]麦克法兰 ~ 扭曲的灵魂 （一套模型的背景故事，重口味，更新完毕）

tangyi

2016-8-12 13:25 编辑 <br /><br />1996年两个世界上真正的惊悚与幻想大师麦克法兰和巴克一次伟大的合作创造了麦克法兰公司历史上，继再生侠之后的一个重要作品——扭曲的灵魂。这个系列大胆的视觉冲击让人震惊并充满创新的现实主义，无论如何，是一套让人过目不忘的充满冲击和独特魅力的另类作品。如果没有极强的心理承受能力或天生就有使虐、受虐的倾向，请不要观看这套独特的作品。

当你面对困境时，当你面对朋友的欺骗时，当你面对杀死亲人的仇人时，当你发现敌手的力量是那么的巨大，自己的能力是那么的渺小时，你有没有想过将自己的灵魂出卖给恶魔，以此来换取巨大的力量和勇气。阿冈尼斯蒂斯之神，他可以满足你的心愿，来吧，让我们走进他的陈列室，来欣赏一下他的成功之作吧！

原载 海蓝在线

作者 惡瞳

扭曲的灵魂是美国McFarlane玩具公司设计的一套恐怖人偶，他的设计师Barker明显超出了公司对他的期望。他不仅以惊人（或者说是**）的设计完成了他的工作，还为这些可怕的作品创造了灵魂，一个让它们更加能让人记住的故事。和他的设计一样，这个故事充满了黑暗和扭曲，至少我们知道了Barker不是一个基督徒，他的故事可以说是亵渎的，病态的。但无论如何，他出色的完成了他的任务，他创造了有史以来最成功的恐怖玩具（我想象不出孩子会喜欢这种东西，但是他们确实喜欢，不是吗？），或者说是一个扭曲灵魂的扭曲世界。玩具的形象不再只是形象，而延伸为一种更为广阔的认知。现在，或许你了解我的意思了，下面的故事可能会令你不快或作呕，如果你不喜欢这类黑暗的东西，就此停止吧。

TORTURED SOULS ~ 扭曲的灵魂
I The Secret Face of Genesis 揭开起源的神秘面纱
AGONISTES
被扒去了脸皮，头部带有恐怖的环状金属器具，全身被金属利器所缠绕，痛苦的表情已经不能再脸上看到了。一排白森森的牙齿让人心寒。
I
他能改造人类的形状，他是魔鬼的制造者。但凡有人带着足够的理由，足够的渴望前来向他要求进行变异，并且愿意承受这种变异将带来的痛苦，那么他就会满足他们的要求。最后，他亲手将他们变成了形状鬼魅的生物；重塑后的身体远远超乎他们的想象。
He is a transformer of human flesh; a creator of monsters．If a Supplicant comes to him with sufficient need，sufficient hunger for change – knowing how painful that change will be – he will accommodate them．They become objects of perverse beauty beneath his hand; their bodies remade in fashions that they have no power to dictate．
几个世纪以来，这个超凡的家伙不断变换不同的身份，用不同的名字出现在世间。但人们习惯用他最初的名字称呼他：阿冈尼司帝斯。
Over the years，over the centuries，indeed，this extraordinary creature has gone by many names．But we will call him by the first name he was ever given: AGONISTES．
那些要求变异的人是在哪里找到他的呢？通常是在一个被他称为“燃烧之地”的偏远沙漠里。但，有时“燃烧之地”就在我们的家门口——当爱和希望从我们灼热的城市里蒸发殆尽时，他就会出现。
Where would a Supplicant find him？ Usually in what he calls 'the burning places': deserts，for instance．But sometimes he can be found in 'the burning places' in our own inflamed cities: places where despair has seared away all belief in hope and love．
他总是悄无声息地出没，无人能够察觉到他的行踪，渐渐地，他成了一个传说里的人物。传说他静静地等待着那些需要他的人能寻找到他的踪迹……
There he moves，silently，irreproachably，his presence barely more than a rumour．And there he waits for those who need him to come to find him．
II
所有的请愿者都是心甘情愿的，没有人会胁迫威逼或是动用武力，至少在他们签字献出自己的躯体之前是这样。然而，一旦变形开始，他们或者会改变初衷。事实上，大多数的请愿者后来都乞求阿冈尼司帝斯不要再继续为他们进行变形手术了，他们宁愿放弃将要得到的力量去死。当阿冈尼司帝斯用解剖刀和火把为他们实施那恐怖的变形手术时，请愿者们呻吟着对他说这个过程实在是太痛苦了。但是，在阿冈尼司帝斯游历世界的漫长岁月里，他只允许一个请愿者在改变心意之后平静地死去。那个人就是犹大。除此以外，他从来对人们的抱怨充耳不闻，曰以继夜地进行手术，一个部分完成伤口痊愈后他就立即回来做另一部分。
When a Supplicant presents him or herself there is never coercion．There is never violence，at least until the Supplicant has signed over his or her flesh．Then yes，there may be some second thoughts，once the work begins．The truth is that on many occasions a Supplicant has begged to die rather than continue to be ‘empowered’ by Agonistes．It hurts too much，they tell him，as his scalpels and his torches work their terrible surgery upon him．But in all the time he has been wandering the world Agonistes has only ever granted the comfort of death to one Supplicant who changed his mind．That man was Judas Iscariot．The rest he works on despite their complaints，sometimes for days and nights，coming back to his labours when a piece of flesh has healed and he can begin on the next part of surgery．
有时候，阿冈尼司帝斯也会在手术时为那些受刑人提供一些小小的安慰来补偿他们所受的痛苦。比如说，他会为他们歌唱，据说他会唱世界上所有的催眠曲，无论何种语言的摇篮曲或童谣他都会唱，他用歌声来安慰这些痛苦中的男男女女。
There are some minor compensations for all this pain，which Agonistes will sometimes offer his Supplicants as he works．He will sing to them，for instance，and it is said that he knows every lullaby written，in every language of the world; songs of the cradle and the breast，to soothe the men and women he is remaking in the image of their terror．
如果阿冈尼司帝斯因为某些原因特别怜悯某个请愿者时，他甚至会用最锋利的手术刀从自己的大腿内侧或内嘴唇上切下最柔软的一条肌肉喂进那受刑人的口中。传说阿冈尼司帝斯的肉是世界上最细嫩可口、最具有安抚作用的食物。只要放小小一条阿冈尼司帝斯的肉在请愿者的舌尖上就能使他（她）忘却所承受的一切痛苦，变得仿佛进入天堂一般安详。
And，if for some reason he feels particularly sympathetic to the Supplicant，Agonistes may even give his victim a piece of his own flesh to eat: just a sliver，cut with one of his finest scalpels，from the tender flesh of his upper thigh，or inner lip．According to legend，there is no food more comforting，more exquisite，than the flesh of Agonistes．The merest sliver of it upon the tongue of the Supplicant will make him or her forget all the horrors they are enduring，and deliver them to a place of paradisiacal calm．
然后，一旦他的主顾们平静下来，阿冈尼司帝斯就开始继续完成他的工作：切割、缝合、烧灼、扭曲、重新整形……
Then – once his client is soothed – Agonistes continues his work，cutting，infibulating，searing，cauterizing，stretching，twisting，reconfiguring．
有时他会带面镜子给他的请愿者们，让他们看看手术的进展情况；有时他则会宣称要给他们一个惊喜，工作完成之前不会给他们看到自己的容貌，任凭他们在痛苦中想象自己将变成什么样子。
Sometimes he will bring a mirror to show his Supplicants what he has so far created．Sometimes he will announce that he wants the results to be a surprise; and so the Supplicant is left to imagine，through the haze of pain，what Agonistes is turning them into．
III
阿冈尼司帝斯的工作称得上是一门艺术。
It is an art，what Agonistes achieves．
他认为这是一种最原始的艺术形式——创造一个崭新的肉体，曾是上帝在创造生命时运用过的一门艺术。阿冈尼司帝斯信奉上帝，曰夜向他祈祷，感谢上帝赐予他这样一个充满了绝望与复仇欲望的世界，只有这样才会有无数请愿者前赴后继地追随他的踪迹，乞求他将他们重塑成想象中最可怕的模样。
He claims it is The First Art，this creation of new flesh，being the art God used to call life into being．Agonistes believes in God; prays to Him night and morning: thanking Him for making a world in which there is so much hopelessness and such a profound hunger for revenge that Supplicants will seek him out and beg him to reconfigure them in the image of their monstrous ideal．
上帝显然认为阿冈尼司帝斯的所作所为并没有冒犯到他，因此在过去的2500年间，他任由阿冈尼司帝斯的足迹遍布全球，到处进行他所谓的神圣艺术创作。事实上，阿冈尼司帝斯的事业非常兴旺发达。
And it appears that God apparently finds no offence in what Agonistes does，because for two and a half thousand years he has walked the planet performing what he calls his holy art，and no harm has come to him．In fact he has prospered．
一些经过他改造的人，例如：本丢·彼拉多（圣经中的人物）等，在历史上扮演了非常重要的角色。当然，更多的人依旧默默无闻。他为各色人等实施变形手术，有君王、土匪、过气明星、建筑师，女校工、香料商、训狗师、炭火工等等；甚至还有遭到丈夫背叛的妻子们前来要求变形，好让她们捉奸在床进行复仇。上至达官显贵，下至平民百姓，贵如皇族，贱如农夫，只要他们是诚心的请愿者，祈祷的话语情真意切，阿冈尼司帝斯就会来到他们的身边，正所谓心诚则灵。
Some of the people who went under his knife，like Pontius Pilate，have a place in our culture’s history．Many are anonymous．He has transformed potentates and gangsters，failed actors and architects; women who’ve been cheated by their husbands and come seeking a new form to greet their adulterer in their marriage beds; school mistresses and perfumiers，dog-trainers and charcoal burners．The mighty and the insignificant，the noble and the peasant．As long as they are sincere Supplicants，and their prayers sound genuine，then Agonistes will be attentive to them．
这个阿冈尼司帝斯究竟是何方神圣？这个艺术家、流浪者、这个能够改造人类血肉身躯的家伙究竟是谁？
Who is he，this Agonistes？ This artist，this wanderer，this transformer of human flesh and bone？
事实上，答案从未被人知晓。在罗马教廷图书馆中有一卷名为《论上帝的疯狂》的藏书，由红衣主教盖利米亚写于十七世纪中期。在这本书中，盖利米亚主教对《创世纪》所描述几个上帝创造世界的细节提出了质疑，以下是主教论述的一段摘抄：第七天，上帝并没有休息。相反，由于陷入了一种成就感所带来的淡淡欣喜之中，上帝兴奋起来，继续埋头苦干。但这次，由于疲劳，他的作品与以往他为伊甸园所创造的那些美丽生命大相径庭。整整一天一夜，上帝迷失在创造的荣耀感中不能自拔，所创造出的新生命否定了一切他先前工作中所运用的美感。破坏者与魔鬼，它们成为了他前六天作品的敌人。
In truth，nobody really knows．There is a heretical volume in the Vatican library called ‘A Treatise on the Madness of God’，written by one Cardinal Gaillemia in the mid-seventeenth century．In it，Gaillemia argues that the Creation of the world offered in the Book of Genesis is wrong in several particulars，one of which is relevant here: on the seventh day，the Cardinal argued，God did not rest．Instead，driven into a kind of ecstatic fugue state by the labours of His Creation，God continued to work．But the creations He summoned up in His exhausted state were not the wholesome beasts with which He had populated Eden．In one day and one night，wandering amongst the fresh glories of creation，He summoned up forms that defied all the beauty of his early work．Destroyer and demons，these were the antithesises of the wholesome forms that He had made in the first six days．
主教提到，其中的一件作品就是阿冈尼司帝斯。这就是为什么阿冈尼司帝斯能够向他的天父祈祷并被接受的原因。他是上帝亲手制造出来的（至少根据盖利米亚红衣主教的结论是这样的）。
One of the creatures Jehovah created，the Cardinal claims，was Agonistes．That’s why Agonistes can pray to His Father in Heaven，and expect to be listened to．He is – at least according to the Cardinal Gaillima’s account – one of God’s own creations．
毫无疑问，阿冈尼司帝斯尽管从事邪恶的勾当，却一直忠于职守。千百年来，他满足了无数祈祷者的愿望，赋予了他们复仇的力量。
And there is no doubt that in his perverse way Agonistes serves a function．Over the years，over the centuries，he has been the answer to countless prayers for deliverance from powerlessness．
祈祷者的话语或许各不相同，他们的意愿却是共同的：
The words may change from prayer to prayer，but the meat of them is always the same:
“哦 阿冈尼司帝斯 黑暗的使者
请将我变成仇敌的噩梦吧
让我的肉体被您雕刻成他们恐惧的模样
让我的头颅成为他们的丧钟
让我的歌声令他们感到绝望
让我用这绝望的歌声夜夜令他们不得入眠
重塑我吧
重组我吧
改变我吧
倘若您不肯这么做
阿冈尼司帝斯
那就让我放弃一切化做虚无
为了复仇
我不成功 便成仁”
“听候您的安排 我的主人”
‘O Agonistes，dark deliverer，make me in the image of my enemies’ nightmares．Let my flesh be the stuff from which you carve their terrors; let my skull be a bell which sounds their death – knell．Give me a song to sing，which will be the song of their despair，and let them wake and find me singing it at the bottom of their beds．
‘Unmake me，unknit me，transform me．
‘And if you cannot do that for me，Agonistes，then let me be excrement; let me be nothing; less than nothing．
‘For I want to be the terror of my enemies，or I want oblivion．
‘The choice，Lord，is yours.’

tangyi

2016-8-12 13:25 编辑 <br /><br />II 镰刀手 - 梅司特
THE SCYTHE-MEISTER
全身被带钩的铁链所束缚，头被铁箍卡住，头皮被特制的工具强烈拉扯变形，马上就要和头部分离了。类似受佛般的在极度痛苦后获得的新生，现实中的压力在意识形态中成为极端的痛苦被疟的形象，释放出心中的压力
I
普利摩顿比神话或历史上任何一个伟大城邦都要古老。事实上，根据许多史料记载，这是有史以来最早建造的一个城邦。远在特洛伊、罗马、耶路撒冷建立之前，普利摩顿就已经存在了。
The city of Primordium was founded before any of the great cities of myth or history．Indeed，it is according to many sources，the first city ever built．Before Troy，before Rome，before Jerusalem，there was Primordium．
长期以来，这个城邦由一个君主王朝统治着，其残暴程度可以与古罗马暴君恺撒相匹敌。就拿国王普菲多十一世来说吧，他在人民大起义爆发前统治了这个国家整整16年，是个极度腐败、灵魂堕落的人。他的生活穷奢极欲，住在一座他自认为坚不可摧的宫殿中，对普利摩顿三百多万民众的死活毫不关心。
Until recently it was ruled by a dynasty of Emperors，whose long tenure had steadily produced a capacity for cruelty that would have challenged the worst excesses of Rome’s corrupted Caesars．The Emperor Perfetto XI，for instance，who controlled Primordium for sixteen years until the Great Insurrection，was a man familiar with every corruption of mind and spirit．He lived in excessive luxury，in a palace he believed impregnable，caring little or nothing for the two and three quarter million people who occupied Primordium．
最后，他的末曰来临了。
In the end，that was his undoing．
等一下我们会说到的，现在先来说点其他的吧。
But we’ll come to that．
II
首先，让我给你讲讲扎尔斯?克里奇的故事吧，他来自这个城市的最底层。童年时，他经常去罗马大竞技场通道里找东西吃，那里到处都是有钱人吃剩下的美味佳肴，因此吃饭对他来说完全不成问题。克里奇非常幸运地在如此恶劣的环境里存活了下来。根据某些自然观点，经历能使绝大多数人重塑自我，扎尔斯的经历就使他强壮起来。13岁时，他就已经比他所有的哥哥们都高大了。并且，在获得了体能上优势之后，他开始对自己所居住的这个堕落城市是如何运作的感到好奇。在尚未看清自己所处境地之前，他就认定自己是无法逃脱这个陷阱的。
First，let me tell you about Zarles Kreiger，who came from the lowest strata of the city．As a child，it was common for him to eat at the Vomitorium，where – as in ancient Rome – the rich food disgorged by the wealthy and over – fed could be purchased for a small amount of money，and consumed a second time．It was Kreiger’s good fortune that such a life of poverty did not kill him．By some physical paradox，experiences that would have reduced most men to shadows of their former selves，served to strengthen Zarles．By the time he was thirteen he was already larger than all his older brothers．And along with his physical prowess came something else: a curiosity about how the infinitely corrupt city in which he lived actually worked．Without understanding the trap in which he was caught，he reassured，he would never be able to escape from it．
14岁那年，克里奇成了东方城邦中一名叫做杜拉夫?卡斯卡利安的黑帮头子的信使，并且很快在这个犯罪团伙里得到了提升，原因很简单：他愿意去做吩咐给他的任何事情。作为回报，卡斯卡利安把他当成自己的儿子一样对待：为了不使他被捕，卡斯卡利安在克里奇每次杀人后都找人帮他清理后事。而克里奇则成了一个无恶不作的杀手，他不喜欢一刀命中要害，而喜欢用长镰刀先把被害者的内脏挖出来，然后再用他们自己的肠子将他们活活勒死。
As the age of fourteen he became a runner for a gangster in the East City called Duraf Cascarellian，and quickly elevated himself in the criminal’s employ，simply because he was willing to do anything requested of him，In return，Cascarellian treated Keiger like a son; protecting him from capture by sending men out after Kreiger to clean up after one of his murders．Kreiger was a messy killer．Not for him the simple slit across the throat．He liked to use scythes，first disembowelling his victims then strangling them with their own entrails．
即便是在普利摩顿这样一个堕落的城市里，克里奇的罪行还是没多久就败露了。尤其是当人们发现被害者大多是卡斯卡利安的政敌时，克里奇这个名字一下子便家喻户晓了。那些对皇帝不满的法官、议员、记者们常常成为克里奇的刀下鬼。对克里奇自己来说，他并不在乎自己杀的人是谁，血就是血，并不因身份不同而有所区别。无论是杀共和党人还是皇亲贵族，他都能从中获得同等的乐趣。
Now such behaviour does not go unnoticed for long，even in a city as filled with excesses as Primordium．And Kreiger’s reputation was increased considerably by the fact that the hits Cascarellian was having him make were often political．Judges，congressmen，journalists who were critical of the Emperor: these were often Kreiger’s victims．Blood was blood as far as Kreiger was concerned，and he took the same pleasure in it whether it poured from the flesh of a Republican or a Royalist．
然后，他遇见了一个名叫露辛迪克的女子，一切都改变了……
The he met a woman called Lucidique，and all that changed．
III
露辛迪克是一位议员的女儿，她的父亲在最近的一次露天演讲中对城市曰渐颓废堕落这一现实表示不满。他指出普菲多王朝把人民的税收用于满足自己的欲望，而这一切必须被制止。
Licidique was the daughter of a Senator who had been lately complaining in open forum about the fact that the city was running into a state of decadence．The Perfetto Dynasty was using the people’s taxes to fund its own pleasures，the Senator argued: it had to stop．
国王立即亲自下了命令：替我把这个议员干掉。卡斯卡利安非但没有对此表示异意，还满心欢喜地建议国王派克里奇去杀掉这个惹麻烦的政客。
The order quickly came down from the Emperor: rid me of this Senator．Cascarellian，not gibing a damn about the philosophical issues，but happy to oblige his Emperor，sent Kreiger out to kill the political troublemaker．
克里奇来到议员的住处，在种满玫瑰的花园里抓住了他的目标，轻而易举地挖出了他的肠子然后把他抬进屋子。正当他把议员的尸体安置在餐桌上时，露辛迪克走了进来。她正在沐浴，大概听见不寻常的动静，便拿着两把刀，浑身赤裸着跑来对付入侵者。
Kreiger went to the Senator’s estate，caught him in the garden amongst his roses，gutted him and carried him inside.He was in the act of arranging the Sanator’s body on the dinner table，when Lucidique entered．She was naked，having just came from bathing．But she was also prepared for the intruder．She carried two knives．
她绕着站在她父亲鲜血和内脏中间的克里奇走了一圈。
“你要是敢动一下的话，我就杀了你，”她说。
“就用这两把餐刀？” 克里奇挥舞着他的镰刀问道。“回去洗澡，就当你什么都没看到。”
“可是你刚杀了我的父亲！”
“是的。你们长得很相象。”
“我真想知道象你这样的人在杀我父亲之前有没有动过脑子想一想。他想推翻国王的统治为的正是让你和所有象你一样的人不再受到他们的剥削。”
“为我和象我一样的人？你对我几乎一无所知。”
“但我可以猜想，” 露辛迪克说，“你出生贫寒，长期生活在阴暗肮脏的角落以至于渐渐无法明辨是非。”
She circled Kreiger，as he stood amongst the blood and the innards of her father．
“If you move I’ll kill you，” she said．
“With two table knives？” Kreiger said，slicing the air with his scythes．“Go back to your bath and forget I was here.”
“This was my father you just murdered！”
“Yes．I see the resemblance.”
“I would have thought a man like you would have thought twice about taking a knife to my father’s throat．He wanted to overthrow the Empire so that you and your like would not be exploited.”
“Me and my like？ You don’t know anything about me.”
“I can guess，” Lucidique said．“You were born in filth，and you’ve lived in filth so long you don’t even see what’s going on right in front of you．”
克里奇的表情起了微妙的变化，“这么看你或许知道那么一点点，”他很不自然地说道。这个女子的自信让他感到很不自在。“我要走了，让你好好哀悼你的父亲，”他边说边从餐桌旁退开。
“等等！” 露辛迪克叫道，“别这么着急。”
“‘等等’是什么意思？要知道我可以不费吹灰之力就杀掉你。”
“但你不会这么做，否则你早就已经杀了我了。”
“你叫什么名字？”
“露辛迪克。”
“那么好吧，你想从我这儿得到什么？”
“我要你跟我一起去普利摩顿最阴暗的街道看一看。”
“相信我，我已经看过那些景象了。”
“那么你就让我也看一看。”
Kreiger’s expression changed．“So perhaps you do know a little，” he said his voice uneasy．The woman’s confidence unnerved him．“I will leave you to mourn your father，” he said，retreating from the table．
“Wait！” the woman said．“Not so quickly.”
“What do you mean: wait？ I could kill you in a heartbeat if I wanted to.”
“But you don’t want to，or you would have done it.”
“What’s your name？”
“Lucidique.”
“So then，what do you want from me？”
“I want you to come with me，into the filthiest streets of Primordium.”
“Believe me，I’ve seen them.”
“Then you show me.”
IV
这样的一男一女并肩行走实在是件非常古怪的事情。虽然克里奇已经洗去了身上的血污，他仍旧还是杀害议员的那个刽子手。而现在，他却和受害者的女儿一起在夜幕下同行。
It was the strangest walk a man and a woman ever took together．Though Kreiger had washed the Senator’s blood from his faces，hands and arms he still stank of murder．And here he was，Walking beside the daughter of the man he’d just murdered，wrapped in dark linen．
他们就这样一起目睹了普利摩顿最阴暗的一面：疾病，暴力以及从未得到过救济的困苦生活。露辛迪克不时地指着王宫的高墙和城堡，那里任何一个房间里的财宝都足以清除所有这些贫民窟，喂饱那些挨饿的孩子。
Together，they saw the worst of Primordium: the disease，the violence，and the grinding，unrelieved poverty．And every now and then Lucidique would point to the walls and the towers of the Emperor’s Winter Palace，any one room of which contained sufficient wealth to clear the slums of the city，and feed every starving child．
多年来第一次，克里奇感受到了埋藏在心灵深处的真情实感，回忆起了他自己成长的环境——每次重病的母亲卖身给国王警卫队的侍卫时，他总是一个人孤零零地坐在普利摩顿街道的那些下水道里。走着走着，他的心中燃起怒火，这愤怒的情绪慢慢滋长起来。
And for the first time in many，many years Kreiger felt some measure of real emotion，remembering circumstances of his own up-bringing，left to sit in the open sewers of Primordium’s streets while his mother sold her drug-riddled body to one of the guards of the Emperor’s guards．There was anger in him as he walked．And it steadily grew．
“你想让我做什么呢？”他问道，他被内心的感受和无望的感觉击倒了。“我是永远无法与国王抗衡的。”
“别那么肯定。”
“你什么意思？”
“不错，对于你这样一个被雇来解决不安分议员的小杀手来说，王朝的确坚不可摧。但要是你远比现在强大呢？那么你就完全可以推翻它。”
“要怎么做才行？”
“What do you want me to do？” he said，frustrated by what he felt，and his own helplessness．“I could never get to the Emperor.”
“Don’t be so sure.”
“What do you mean？”
“You’re right，the Dynasty is untouchable as long as you’re just a man; a scabby little assassin hired to kill overweight Senators．But suppose you could be more than that？ Then you could bring the Dynasty down.”
“How？”
露辛迪克斜睨了克里奇一眼道：“在这儿我没法告诉你。何况，我还得为我的父亲办后事。要是你真想知道更多的话，明天晚上到西城门外来找我。一个人来。”
“要是这是个陷阱……”克里奇说，“……想以此替你父亲报仇的话……在你的人抓住我之前，我会把你的眼睛挖出来。”
露辛迪克笑了，“你的情话真动听，”她说。
“我是认真的。”
“我知道。我还不至于蠢到密谋害你。恰恰相反，我相信我们是命中注定要相识的。我注定会在你杀我父亲的时候走进来，而你则注定收手不杀我。这是我们之间的某种默契。你能感觉到的，不是吗？”
Lucidique gave Kreiger a sideways glance．“It’s nothing I can show you here．Besides，I have a father to bury．If you want to know more，then meet me tomorrow night outside the Western Gates．Come alone.”
“If this is some kind of trap…” Kreiger said，“…some way to revenge your father… then before they take me I’ll cut out your eyes.”
Lucidique smiled．“You make such pretty love-talk，” she said．
“I mean it.”
“I know．And I wouldn’t be so stupid as to conspire against you．Quite the reverse．I believe we were meant to know one another．I was meant to walk in on your killing my father，and you were ment to hold your hand off and not kill me．There’s some connection between us．You feel it，don’t you？”
克里奇看着他们之间隔着肮脏街道。这个夜晚他经历了前所未有的感觉。而现在，他又必须承认自己与这个刚刚被他谋杀的人的女儿之间的亲密感觉。
“是的，”他说。“我感觉到了。”在很长的一阵沉默之后，他问道：“明天晚上什么时候？”
“凌晨一点以后。” 露辛迪克告诉他。
“我会去的。”
Kreiger looked at the dirty street between them．The night had been filled with feelings he had not anticipated experiencing．And now here was another; admitting to the strange intimacy he felt for the daughter of the man he’d murdered．
“Yes，” he said．“I feel it.” Then，after a long silence: “What time tomorrow night？”
“Sometime after one.” Lucidique told him．
“I’ll be there.”
V
第二天，普利摩顿的大街小巷里充满了猜忌和议论：议员的死在引发了各种流言。这次谋杀是否是国王阻止＝化进程的第一步呢？结果，参议院里的许多人匆匆离开普利摩顿，担心自己成为国王谋杀名单上的下一个人。动荡不安的气氛四处蔓延开来。
The following day the streets of Primordium were alive with gossip and speculation: the death of the Senator had started all kinds of rumours．Was this murder the first indication that the Emperor would put up with no more moves towards democracy in the city？ Believing this to be the case many members of the Senate left Primordium hurriedly，in case they were next on the Emperor’s hit list．There was a general sense of unrest，everyhere．
而在克里奇的心里，一种对不可知未来的复杂感受油然而生。
And in Kreiger，a profound sense of anticipation．
他一夜不眠，思索着昨天到底发生了什么。不，不仅仅是昨天。他在思考自己的人生：他已经走了多远，以及——如果露辛迪克的诺言是真的——他将走向何方。
He had barely slept，thinking of what had happened the night before．No，not just the night before．Thinking about his life: where it had led him so far，and whrere — if Lucidique’s promise were a true one — it would go after this．
他不时地抬头看一眼城堡的高墙（今天在那里巡逻的侍卫是昨天的两倍），想知道她说要想办法让一个人去推翻王朝究竟是什么意思？
Every now and then he’d glance towards the walls of the palace （which had twice as many guads patrolling them today as yesterday） and wonder to himself what she had meant about finding a way for one man to bring down a Dynasty？
VI
凌晨一点钟，克里奇坐在距离普利摩顿西城门一公里外的一块岩石上守候。大约在一点零九分的时候，两匹马从远处飞奔而来（与克里奇预想的相反，她不是从普利摩顿城的方向来，而是从城市西南面那片广袤无边的沙漠中来。）
At one o’clock in the morning，a mile outside the West Gate of Primordium，he sat on a stone and he waited．At nine minutes past one，a pair of horses approached （not from the city，from which direction Kreiger had expected her to come，but from the Desert，which lay，vast and largely uncharted，out to the West and South-West of the city.）
他们越来越近，然后翻身下马。
“克里奇……”
“怎么？”
“我想让你见见阿冈尼司帝斯。”
克里奇曾经听说过关于阿冈尼司帝斯的传闻。它在杀手之间流传甚广，但更象是个传说而不是现实。
They drew nearer，and dismounted．
“Kreiger…”
“Yes？”
“I want you to meet Agonistes.”
Kreiger had heard rumours about this man Agonistes．It was the kind of story that was wxchanged between assassins，more of a legend than a reality．
但是此刻，他确确实实在这儿。和带领他来到的露辛迪克一样真实。
“我听说你想使普利摩顿成为一个共和国，”阿冈尼司帝斯开口说道，“用你一个人的力量。”
“她劝说我相信我可以办到，”克里奇回答说，“但是……我并不相信。”
“你应当自信一点，克里奇。我能让你成为国王们恐惧的目标，只要你自己有足够的愿望这样做。一切都由你自己决定。快点决定吧，要是你不想让我为你服务的话今晚我还有其他更重要的事要去做呢。每时每刻，我都能听见上百个祷告者的倾诉声从普利摩顿城里倾泻出来；人们正在等我去赋予他们力量来改变他们的世界。”
But here he was．As real as the woman who’d brought him．
“I hear you want to make Primordium a Republic，” Agonistes said．“Single-handed.”
“She persuaded me it was possible，” kreiger replied．“But… I don’t believe it is.”  
“You should have more faith，Kreiger．I can make you the terror of Emperors，if you want it badly enough．It’s up to you．Make up your mind quickly，for I have better business elsewhere tonight if you don’t require my services．I can hear a hundred prayers pouring out of Primordium at this very moment; people wanting me to give them the power to change their world．”
露辛迪克抬起手放在克里奇的脸上。“此时此刻，我发现你并不想要它，”她说，“你害怕了。”
“我并不害怕！”克里奇说。他想起了他那死于瘟疫的母亲，想起了童年时惨死在贵族马蹄下的哥哥们，想起了他那精神失常的妹妹，她被送进疯人院永远也没有恢复的可能了。
“带我走吧，”他说。
“你肯定吗？”阿冈尼司帝斯问他，“记住，这可是一条不归路。”
“我不会回头的。带我走吧，让我变形。”
他瞥了一眼露辛迪克。她正朝他微笑。
“把马带走，”阿冈尼司帝斯对她说。“我们不再需要它们了。”
然后，克里奇和阿冈尼司帝斯一起掉头朝着沙漠走去。
Lucidique put her hand up to kreiger’s face．“Now the moment’s here，I see you don’t want it，” she said．“You’re afraid.”
“I’m not afraid！” Kreiger said．He thought of his mother，dead of the pox，of his brothers killed in the street as children by noblemen passing on horses，of his sister，in the asylum，never to be sane again．
“Take me，” he said．
“You’re sure？” Agonistes asked him，“Remember，there’s no way back.”
“I don’t want to go back．Take me．Change me.”
He glanced at Lucidique．She was smiling．
“Take the horses，” Agonistes told her．“We won’t need them.”
So together，Kreiger and Agonistes turned round and headed into the desert．
VII
第二天露辛迪克掩埋了她的父亲。城中的流言渐渐平息了，但潜藏在人们心中的阴影仍无法被磨去，虽然淡薄却深入人心：普利摩顿是一个非常暴力的城邦；整个城市就象一个火药桶，随时都有爆炸的可能。
The next day Lucidique buried her father．The rumours quietened down a little in the city，but there was still and undercurrent，subtle but pervasive: Primordium was in a very volatile state; like an explosive，which might be set off with a jolt．
阿冈尼司帝斯带着克里奇进入沙漠之后的第八个夜晚，露辛迪克被附近皇宫里的尖叫声吵醒了。她跑上楼，从窗户向外眺望，看到皇宫里每个窗户都亮着灯。大门被冲开了，侍卫们四处逃窜，惊慌失措。
Eight nights after Agonistes had taken Kreiger out into the desert，Lucidique—whose father’s house lay close to the palace—woke to the sounds of screams．
她穿上衣服，乔装打扮，走上街头。喧闹的声音把整个城市的人都吵醒了；尽管国王的侍卫们骑着马横冲直撞，试图强制实施宵禁令，却没有人理睬他们。
She go up，and went to the window．There were lights burning in all the palace windows．The gates were flung wide．Guards were running around in confusion．She dressed，anonymously，and went down into the streets．The din had woken the city; and though the Emperor’s guards were riding back and forth，attempting to enforce an on-the-spot curfew，nobody was attending to them．
露辛迪克走进皇宫。尖叫声已经平息了，取而代之的是断断续续的轻声祈祷。没过多久，她就看到了那个曾经是扎尔斯·克里奇的怪物所做的一切。皇宫里尸横遍地，他不分对象地进行了屠杀：男人、女人以及他们的孩子、婴儿，甚至是还没有出生的婴儿全都没有放过。
Lucidique went into the palace．The screams had died down now; to be replaced by half-whispered prayers．But it didn’t take her very long to discover what the creature who had once been Zarles Kreiger had wrought．There was death on every side．And his slaughter had been indiscriminate; men and women，yes; but also their children，their babies; their unborn babies．
普菲多王朝在那个夜晚停止了对普利摩顿的统治，因为已经没有人活下来了，克里奇把他们全部杀死了。
The Perfetto Empire ceased to rule Primordium that night．There were none left alive to do so．Kreiger had killed them all．
当露辛迪克站在血流成河的宫殿大厅里时，她突然感到了什么，于是抬起头。

As Lucidique stood in the Great Hall of the Palace，in a pool of blood that reached to the walls，she caught a reflection．She looked up．
克里奇就站在她的面前，现在他是被重塑后的镰刀手-梅司特了。从他身上几乎没有留下任何扎尔斯·克里奇的影子：阿冈尼司帝斯用他精湛的手艺把这个低微的杀手变成了丑陋的恶魔，他在之后的许多年里一直出没于人们的噩梦以及普利摩顿的大街小巷间。
There he was．Kreiger，remade．THE SCYTHE-MEISTER．There was almost nothing left of the man she’d known: Agonistes’ handiwork has transformed the humble assassin into something that would haunt the nightmares，and the streets，of Primordium，for many years to come．
他慢慢靠近她。她以为自己马上就要被他杀死了，就象他杀死所有其他残余的人一样。但是，他没有。他只是俯身在她耳边轻声呓语道：“……你无法想象……”
He approached her．She wondered if this was her last moment; if he intended to kill her as efficiently as he’d dispatched all the rest．But no．He simply leaned down and whispered in her ear:
“… you cannot imagine…”  
然后他拂袖而去，在花园中的一个喷泉旁停留片刻，洗了洗他那满是血污的刀锋，渐渐消失在夜幕中。
Then he left the carnage behind him，and wandered out into the night，pausing only to wash his blades in one of the many fountains in the courtyards．

tangyi

2016-8-12 13:25 编辑 <br /><br />III 复仇者露辛迪克
LUCIDIQUE - THE AVENGER
全身皮装的复仇者，古怪的发型，惨白的肤色，她似乎是个无情的施虐者，手持着带血的利钩，和铁链，冷漠的给被虐者带来无法用语言形容的噩梦。
I
扎尔兹·克里奇过去曾是一个普普通通的人。作为土匪头子杜拉夫·卡斯卡利安的杀手，克里奇是个为了钱财杀人不眨眼的家伙。但有些任务总会有些意想不到的代价，这就是其中一个：当参议员美丽的女儿露辛迪克用沾满鲜血的双手抓住克里奇，告诉他其实他也是个受害者的时候，克里奇竟然被说动了。她说，他们所生活的这个城市——普利摩顿——的统治者才是真正拥有罪恶灵魂的人，他们违背命运的意志，随意践踏生灵，让象克里奇这样的男人成为疯狂的野兽，让象她这样的女子失去亲人和爱人。
Zarles Kreiger was human once．An assassin working for the gangster Duarf Cascarellian，Kreiger was a man who would do anything for a price，and this proved to be one of them．Caught red-handed by the Senator's daughter，the exquisite Lucidique，Kreiger was persuaded that he in his turn had been a victim．The rulers of the city in which they all lived - the vast，degenerate city-state of Primordium - were the truly guilty souls; and until the dynasty was brought down life would continue to be a bloody confusion in which men like Kreiger acted like rabid animals and woman like Lucidique lost their loved ones．
这一切都必须停止，而露辛迪克知道该怎么做。她劝说克里奇去找一个叫阿冈尼司帝斯的远古神灵，他能让克里奇改头换面。
It had to stop．And Lucidique knew how．She persuaded Kreiger to put himself into the hands of an ancient entity called Agonistes，who would traumatically reconfigure him．
克里奇遵照她的话做了，在城外沙漠中度过整整八天八夜后，他以镰刀手-梅司特的身份回到了普利摩顿，成了一架威力无比的杀人机器，在短短几个小时里将普菲多王朝从历史的舞台上彻底抹掉了。
He did as Lucidique suggested，and after eight days and nights out in the desert，he returned to Primordium as The Scythe-Meister: a powerful engine of destruction，who in a matter of hours brought the Perfetto Dynasty to a close．
在屠杀结束即将回到黑暗沙漠之前，他对露辛迪克说了一句值得玩味的话：
“……你无法想象……”
Before disappearing into the desert，he had words for Lucidique，three teasing words:
"…you cannot imagine…"
II
人们将那个王室被屠杀的夜晚看作是“大起义”的开始。这场屠杀唤醒了人们心中压抑已久的仇恨，一系列的起义在各地暴发。大法官、主教、神职人员、商会领导等翟烩些曾经依附于普菲多王朝横行于世的权贵们突然发现自己变得孤立无援起来，他们现在不得不直接面对那些曾被自己欺凌压迫的人民。
They called that night - the night the Emperor and his family were murdered - the Great Insurrection．In its wake，a host of minor insurrections took place，as old enmities erupted．Powerful figures who'd used the decadent reign of the Emperor Perfetto as a cover for their corruptions - judges，bishops，members of the clergy，guild and union leaders - found themselves unprotected，and face to face with the people they'd exploited．
即便是那些拥有私人军队，向来为权贵们效力的黑帮头子们也开始感到害怕了。就拿土匪头子杜拉夫·卡斯卡利安来说，他从来都不是一个傻瓜，事实上，自从他的杀手扎尔兹·克里奇在“大起义”那个夜晚失踪之后，卡斯卡利安就开始怀疑王朝的突然颠覆与克里奇有关。而他的一个在皇宫做守卫的探子报告说他曾经在王室大屠杀当夜亲眼见过那个被叫做镰刀手-梅司特的怪物，当时它正在皇宫的喷泉上濯洗它的武器，那个探子说虽然自己也不确定是不是看错了，那个半人半鬼的镰刀手-梅司特虽然机敏过人，但看上去长得确实有点象杀手扎尔兹·克里奇。
Even those amongst the criminal classes who had private armies to protect them against this very eventuality were fearful now．Take for example，Duarf Cascarellian．He wasn't by any means a stupid man．The fact that his assassin，Zarles Kreiger，had disappeared the night of the Insurrection made him highly suspicious that Kreiger's fate was tied in with the almost supernatural fall of the Emperor．Indeed one of Cascarellian's spies，who had been a guard at the palace the night of the slaughter，had seen the creature everyone called The Scythe-Meister washing his weapons in one of the Palace's many fountains．The informant had escaped the massacre without harm coming to him，and reported that unlikely as it seemed the semi-mythical figure of The Scythe-Meister bore a subtle but undeniable resemblance to Zarles Kreiger．
这可能吗？卡斯卡利安想，难道失踪了的杀手克里奇和镰刀手-梅司特会是同一个人？难道有什么超自然的力量作用于克里奇把他变成了威力强大的复仇者？如果真是这样的话，那个和镰刀手-梅司特说话的女子露辛迪克在其中又扮演了什么样的角色呢？
Was it possible，Cascarellian wondered，that the missing assassin and The Scythe-Meister were somehow the same person？ Had some incomprehensible sea-change been worked upon Kreiger，turning him into this unstoppable avenger？ And if so，what part did Lucidique - who had been seen in a brief exchange with The Scythe-Meister - play in the process？
III
卡斯卡利安从此失眠了。他被噩梦缠身，总是梦到镰刀手-梅司特破门而入，象闯进皇宫一样闯进了他的家，然后象杀掉皇宫侍卫一样杀掉他的副官，最后象来到国王床前一样来到他的床前，将他千刀万剐。
Cascarellian did not sleep well any longer．He had nightmares in which The Scythe-Meister broke down his doors，as it had broken down the doors of the Emperor's Palace，killing his lieutenants，as it had slaughtered the palace guards，and finally come to the foot of his bed - as the killer had come to the Emperor's bed，pulling him from limb to limb．
他最后认定，保护自己最好的办法是利用露辛迪克。他派自己的三个儿子去绑架露辛迪克，嘱咐他们一定要尽量小心不要惹怒她。在他的内心深处（尽管他不会对任何人承认，即便对牧师忏悔时也不会承认），他是有点怕露辛迪克的。因此，他用比以往对待任何女性都恭敬的态度来对待她。
He decided the best way to protect himself from this unknowable force was through Lucidique．He sent three of his sons out to take the Senator's daughter captive，ordering them to do as little as possible to arouse her wrath．In his heart （though he would never have admitted this to anyone，not even his priest） he was a little afraid of Lucidique．She needed to be treated with more respect that he was used to proffering woman．
很可惜的是，他的儿孙们没有能继承到他的聪明才智。尽管他们被一再告诫绑架的时候要对露辛迪克有礼貌，他们却把父亲的话当成了耳边风。露辛迪克被他们肆意辱骂奚落了一番，要不是老卡斯卡利安当天提前回家，还不知道他们会对她做什么更过分的事呢。老卡斯卡利安及时制止了他的儿子们，勒令他们不许再辱骂这个人质。露辛迪克立刻质问老卡斯卡利安为什么要绑架她。她告诉老卡斯卡利安说，她见过太多的死亡，对于他和他的儿子们，甚至对于生命本身，她已经厌倦了，要是他们想杀她的话尽管可以动手。
Unfortunately，his offspring weren't as smart as he was．Though they'd been told to respect their captive，they took the first opportunity to test the limits of their father's patience．Lucidique was taunted，abused，humiliated．No doubt worse would have come her way had Old Man Cascarellian not returned from his day of business early，interrupting his son's taunting of the woman．Lucidique instantly demanded to know why she was being held．If Cascarellian intended to kill her，why the hell didn't he get on with it？ She was sick and tired，she told him．Of him，of his sons，of life itself．She'd seen too much blood．
“大屠杀那天晚上你在皇宫里，是吗？”
“是的，我在那儿。”
“那你和那个怪物镰刀手-梅司特之间是什么关系？”
“这是我的私事，卡斯卡利安先生。”
“我完全可以把你交给我的儿子们，他们会在半个小时内让你开口的！”
“你的儿子们吓唬不了我，你也一样。”
“我并不想为难你。现在你在我的保护之下，仅此而已。你知道要是现在出去站在大街上会怎么样吗？整个普利摩顿正在变得四分五裂！”
“你觉得把我关在这儿就能让你摆脱厄运？”露辛迪克问道。
老卡斯卡利安的脸上闪过一丝恐惧。“我的厄运？”他看着露辛迪克，“难道你能预测未来吗？”
“不。”露辛迪克幽幽地回答道，“我可不是什么预言家。我不知道你将来会怎么样也并不关心。我想要是世界末曰来临了，你也不会好受到哪里去，不过……”她耸了耸肩，“……这又关我什么事呢？反正我也不会在地狱里看到你受苦受难的样子。”
"You were at the Palace，weren't you？ The Night of the Great Insurrection？"
"Yes．I was there."
"You have something to do with this creature: this Scythe-Meister？"
"My business，Cascarellian."  
"I could give you to my sons for half an hour．They'd have it out of you！"
"Your sons don't intimidate me．And neither do you."
"I don't wish to make you uncomfortable．You're here under my protection; that's all．Do you know what it's like out there on our streets？ Pandemonium！ The city is coming apart at the seams！"
"Do you think holding me here is going to protect you from what's coming your way？" Lucidique said．
A look of superstitious fear crossed Cascarellian's face．"What's coming my way？" he said．"You know something about the future？"
"No." Lucidique said wearily．"I'm not a prophet．I don't know what's going to happen to you and frankly I don't care．If the world ends tomorrow，I don't think you'll be judged very kindly，but -" she shrugged．"- why should I care？ I won't be there to see you suffer in Hell."
老卡斯卡利安的脸色渐渐阴沉下来。尽管露辛迪克对自己话里的含义也一知半解，但她对这种结果非常满意并乐在其中。眼前的这个人是她的杀父仇人，看到他恐惧的样子真让人高兴！
“你是不是觉得我很蠢？”他开口问道。
“你是说你现在这样瑟瑟发抖的样子？是的，我觉得你这个样子很可笑。”
“我并不需要你的侮辱。”老卡斯卡利安异常诚恳地说，“我的敌人够多了。”
“那就别再让我与你为敌了吧，”露辛迪克说，“放我走，让我看看外面的天空！”
“要是你想的话，我会放你出去的”
“真的？”
“当然，我们可以一起去你想去的任何地方。”
“那好吧，我想去沙漠。远离这座城市。”
“是吗？为什么？”
“我告诉你了，我想看看外面的天空……”
Cascarellian had grown pale and clammy while Lucidique spoke．She only half-knew what she was doing to him，but she took a certain pleasure in it．This was the man who'd orphaned her; why not enjoy his superstitious fear？
"You think I'm a stupid man？" he said．
"To be afraid the way you're afraid now？ Yes．I think that's pitiful."
"I don't want your contempt." Cascarellian said，with a strange sincerity．"I have enough enemies."
"Then don't make one of me." Lucidique said．"Let me go．Let me see the sky！"
"I'll take you out，if that's what you want."
"You will？"
"Yes．We'll go wherever you like."
"I want to go out into the desert．Away from the city."
"Really？ Why？"
"I told you．I want to see the sky…"
IV
第二天，一支由三辆马车组成的护卫队穿过混乱不堪的普利摩顿街道直奔西城门而去。打头的一辆车上坐着卡斯卡利安最出色的两名手下，这两个忠心耿耿的保镖曾好几次救过老卡斯卡利安的命。压阵的车上是卡斯卡利安三兄弟，他们这几天来对父亲的古怪行为越来越感到不理解，甚至怀疑老头是不是疯了。否则他为什么如此纵容这个叫露辛迪克的女人，对她的怪念头言听计从呢？难道他不知道这个女人有足够的理由恨他并设计陷害他吗？中间一辆车由为老卡斯卡利安驾车三十年的老车夫马鲁斯驾驶，上面坐着老卡斯卡利安本人和露辛迪克。
The next day，a convoy of three cars wound through the chaotic streets of Primordium and headed for the West Gate．In the first car，two of Cascarellian's best men - loyal bodyguards who'd seen him through many attempts upon his life．In the back car，the three brothers，wondering aloud （as they increasingly did these days） if a kind of lunacy had overtaken their father．Why was he indulging this woman Lucidique in her whims？ Didn't he understand that she had every reason to hate him，to plot against him？ In the middle car，chauffeured by Marius，Cascarellian's driver for three decades，sat the Don himself，accompanied by Lucidique．
“现在你满意了吧？”一出城门老卡斯卡利安就开口对露辛迪克说道，他们眼前的天空看上去无边无际。
“请再走远一点……”她说。
“你这个女人可别自作聪明以为可以耍得了我。或许你在女人里算是聪明的，可要是你想逃出我的手掌心可没那么容易！”老卡斯卡利安狠狠地说道。
接着，他们又在沙漠里默默地行驶了很长一段路。
"Satisfied？" he said to her，once they were outside the gates，and in sight of the open sky．
"A little further，please…" she said．
"Don't think you can fool me，woman．You may be cleverer than most of your sex，but you won't escape me，if that's your thought！"
They drove on in silence for a distance．
“我想我们走得够远了，你看了一整天天空也该看够了吧！”
“我能下车散散步吗？”
“你是说现在散步？”
“求你了。难道这会有什么害处吗？四周是一目了然的荒原我能往哪里跑呢？”
老卡斯卡利安想了一会，然后喝令护卫队停车。就在此时，一阵沙尘掠过地平线，慢慢向路这边靠近。
“你最好快点！”老卡斯卡利安嘱咐露辛迪克。
"I think we've come far enough．And you've seen enough of the sky for one day！"
"Can't I just get out and walk？"
"Walking now，is it？"
"lease．There's no harm in that surely？ Look…open ground in every direction."
Cascarellian considered this for a moment．Then he called the convoy to a halt．A dust storm was on the horizon，slowly approaching the road．
"You'd better be quick！" the Don told her．
露辛迪克望着远处慢慢靠近的沙尘，回头扫视了一眼正在下车的人们，尤其是那三兄弟，他们对她的注视报以狡诈的微笑，其中一个还伸出舌头舔着嘴唇做出猥琐的表情。这是最后一次了吧，露辛迪克回头背对着他，背对着所有人，开始朝着沙墙走去。众人立刻大声警告她不许再走了。
Lucidique watched the approaching wall of sand，then glanced round at the men who were getting out of the cars; particularly the brothers．They smiled slyly as they eyed her．One of them flicked his tongue between his lips，the obscene inference plain．It was the last straw．Lucidique turned her back on him - on them all - and began to walk towards the sand-storm．A chorus of warnings instantly erupted behind her．
“要是你再往前走一步我就开枪了！”三兄弟中的一个叫道。
她掉头看着他，张开双回应道：“那你开枪吧！”
然后她转身继续大步向前走去。
“给我回来，你这个女人！”老卡斯卡利安喊道，“那儿除了沙子什么都没有！”
沙尘暴带来的风吹动了露辛迪克的头发，沙尘遮掩住了她的面庞。
“你听见我的话了么？”老卡斯卡利安在背后叫道。
露辛迪克回头望去。
“跟我来呀。”她对他说。
老人拼命抽了两口雪茄，然后向前跟随她向前走去。
他的儿子们齐声抱怨起来：他在干什么？难道他疯了吗？
"Don't take another step！" one of the brothers said，"Or I'll shoot you！"
She turned to him，her arms opened wide．"So shoot！" she said．
Then she turned again and strode on．
"Come back here，woman！" the Don yelled．"There's nothing out there but sand."
The wind from the storm was whipping up Lucidique's hair now．It was like a dark halo around her head．
"Do you hear me？" the Don called after her．
Lucidique looked over her shoulder．
"Come walk with me，" she said to him．
The old man drew hard on his cigar，and then went after the woman．
His sons set up a chorus of complaint: what was he doing？ Was he out of his mind？
然而老卡斯卡利安丝毫不理会儿子们的抱怨，默默地跟随露辛迪克的足迹在沙漠中继续前行。露辛迪克回头看了一眼紧跟其后的老人，他满脸都是疑问和好奇。奇怪的是此刻他竟然觉得非常快乐，面对热辣辣的飓风和一个美丽的女子，他感受到了多年来不曾感受到的快乐。看上去他现在非常听从她的旨意，她收回目光继续盯住近在眼前的沙尘暴。沙尘舞动的中心仿佛有什么东西，但露辛迪克看上去一点也不惊讶，虽然这之前她并没有刻意策划所发生的这一切，但在内心深处她仿佛隐约感觉到了将要发生的事情。自从踏进客厅看到父亲被害的遗体和凶手克里奇的那一刻起，露辛迪克的生活就彻底改变了，一切都变得象梦境般离奇诡异，而梦中的她无须对任何事情表示惊讶，因为一切都有可能发生。
He ignored them．He simply followed in Lucidique's footsteps across the sand．She glanced over her shoulder at the old man，who wore a curious expression．In some strange way he was happy at that moment; happier than he'd been in many years，with the wind hot against his face，and the beautiful woman calling to him to come with her - Seeing that he was obeying her，she returned her gaze to the sandstorm，which was now no more than a hundred yards off．There was something moving at its heart．She was not surprised．Though she hadn't planned the reunion that lay ahead she had nevertheless known in her heart that it was coming．Her life since she'd stepped into her father's death-chamber，and seen Kreiger at work，had been like a strange dream，which she was somehow shaping without conscious effort．
她停下了脚步，老卡斯卡利安乘机追了上来一手抓住她的胳臂，另一只手上握着一把匕首对着露辛迪克的心口：“快说，他在哪儿？你的那个镰刀手-梅司特在哪儿？！”老卡斯卡利安瞪着沙尘暴中心处那巨大的阴影质问道。
She stopped walking．Cascarellian had caught up wit her and seized her arm．He had a knife in the other hand．He pressed it to her breast."So that's where he is！" said Cascarellian staring at the dark giant in the heart of the storm．"Your Scythe-Meister."
这时，沙暴突然卷起一股沙子以迅雷不及掩耳的速度向他们甩去。“不许再靠近了！”老卡斯卡利安冲着沙暴中的不明物体大叫起来，“否则我就杀了她！”
As he spoke，the sandstorm picked up a sudden spurt of speed and came at them – "Don't come any closer！" the Don warned the creature in the storm．"I'll kill her."
他用匕首刺破了露辛迪克的皮肤，殷红的鲜血流了出来。
“叫他走远点。”他命令露辛迪克。
“这不是克里奇，这是传说中的阿冈尼司帝斯，他是上帝的儿子。”露辛迪克平静地回答说。
He pressed the knife into Lucidique's skin，just enough to draw blood．
"Tell him to keep his distance，" he warned．
"It isn't Kreiger．It's a man called Agonistes．He has God's finger-prints upon him."
这邪恶的论调让老卡斯卡利安感觉一阵阵胃部痉挛。“胡说八道！”他无法接受这种异教邪说，内心中对上帝的虔诚信仰驱使他冲动地将匕首刺进了露辛迪克的心脏。露辛迪克不可置信地伸手捂住伤口，在摔倒之前用她沾满鲜血的手指在老卡斯卡利安额头上画了一道血印。这是死亡的印记。
The heresy of this made Cascarellian's devoted stomach turn．"Don't talk that way！" he said，and with a sudden spurt of righteousness he drove the knife into her heart．She reached out，and touched the wound，then with her finger bloody grazed his forehead．A death mark．
老卡斯卡利安丢下露辛迪克的尸体，在沙暴卷到他之前飞一般朝他的车队跑去。他深知自己并没有摆脱最终的厄运，恰恰因为自己杀死了露辛迪克，他的噩梦才刚刚开始。
Cascarellian let the body drop to the ground and ordered a quick retreat to the cars before the storm reached them．The grim business wasn't finished，just because she was dead．He knew that．It was just beginning．
老卡斯卡利安回去后立即把家搬进一座坚固的城堡里。他把门窗禁闭，每天用圣水做祈祷。他甚至用砖头把所有烟囱口砌了起来，规定侍卫带着狗曰以继夜地在城堡四周巡逻，一刻都不准懈怠。
He turned the house into a fortress．He had the windows sealed，and blessed with holy water．He bricked up the chimneys．He had guards and dogs patrolling the place night and day．
就这样过了一个星期，他开始相信或许那些送给主教教区用来让众教士虔诚为他做祈祷的金银财宝奏效了，或许因此他已经逃脱了厄运。渐渐的，他放松了戒备。
After a week he began to believe that perhaps his faith and his gifts of money to the diocese，buying congregations praying for his safety，were having some effect．He started to relax．
接着，在第八天的下午，城市的西面刮起了一阵大风。大风席卷着沙尘拍打着城堡禁闭的门窗，从门缝和地板缝隙间呼呼地吹进房间。老人服下两副镇定剂，又喝了一杯酒，然后象往常一样去洗澡。每次坐在满满一缸热水里的时候他都觉得非常舒适和放松。正当他昏昏欲睡的时候，房间里突然传来露辛迪克的声音，不知何时她已经悄无声息地潜入了浴室。她怎么会没有被他的匕首刺死反而穿墙而过站在这里的呢！
Then，on the afternoon of the eighth day，a wind came out of the West: a sandy wind．It hissed at the sealed doors and the windows．It whistled beneath the floorboards．The old man took two tranquilizers and a glass of wine，and went to sit in his bath．A pleasant torpor overcame him as he sat in the warm water．His eyes fluttered closed．And then her voice．Somehow she'd got in．She'd survived the knife to her heart and she'd got in．
“瞧你，”她温柔地说道，“光着身子象个婴儿似的。”
"Look at you，" she said．"Naked as a baby."
老卡斯卡利安下意识地抓过浴巾遮掩住自己的裸体，露辛迪克从阴暗的角落里走到他的面前，向他展示自己无比美丽光辉的躯体。她再也不是他记忆中的那个露辛迪克了，一点都不是了。她整个身体都被改造过了，现在，她已经成了一件活杀人武器，全身上下都装备了致命的利器。
He grabbed his towel to cover himself，but as he did so she stepped out of the shadows and showed herself to him，in all her terrible glory．She was not the Lucidique he'd known; not remotely．Her whole body was transformed．She'd become a living weapon．
“哦，上帝啊，救救我吧……”老卡斯卡利安呓语起来。
"Oh Jesus help me…" he murmured．
她慢慢靠近他，用镰刀轻而易举地割下了他的生殖器。老卡斯卡利安用双手紧紧捂住伤口，跌跌撞撞地从浴缸里爬出来倒在地上大声呼救。可奇怪的是整幢城堡死一般的寂静，没有丝毫的回应。他叫着儿子们的名字，一个接着一个，可谁都没有回答他。只有他的老狗穆勒斯在远处用叫声回答着他的呼号。他从浴室挣扎着跑进了厨房，身后雪白的地毯上留下一长排鲜红的血脚印。
She reached forward and she castrated him with one sweep of her scythe．He clamped his bloody hands to his empty groin and stumbled out to the landing，calling for help．But the house was silent from roof to cellar．He called his sons' names，one by one．None came．Only his old dog Malleus answered his call，and when he trotted through from the kitchen he left red paw-prints on the white carpet．He was eating something human．
“他们都死了。”露辛迪克静静地说。
"All dead." Lucidique said．
接着，她象母猫叼起顽皮的小猫一般轻轻地抓住老卡斯卡利安的后脖子，毫不费力地将他腾空提了起来，鲜血从他空荡荡的两腿间滴落到地毯上，一滴一滴拍打着地面。她用锋利的刀片划开他的胸膛，挖出了他的心脏。老卡斯卡利安的身体蹒跚地向后倒下，一路从台阶滚落下去……
Then，very gently，she took hold of the back of Cascarellian's neck，the way a mother-cat catches hold of an errant kitten，and lifted him up，effortlessly．The blood from his vacant groin slapped against the carpet．She put her blade to his chest and cut out his heart．Then she let his body tumble back down the stairs．
最后，当大风停下，天上的星星清晰可辨时，露辛迪克走上街道，任凭卡斯卡利安官邸的大门敞开以便让人们尽快发现这场恐怖的屠杀。而她则掉头穿越密密麻麻的大街小巷，直奔西城门而去，隐入那静静守候着的荒漠之中……
Later，when the wind had dropped，and she could see the stars clearly，she went out into the street，leaving the door to the Cascarellian mansion wide open so that atrocity there should be soon discovered．Then she headed out，through a variety of back streets and alleys，to the West Gate，and thence into the waiting desert．

tangyi

2016-8-12 13:25 编辑 <br /><br />IV 圣心医生塔利萨克
TALISAC - OF THE SACRED HEART
如同外科医生般的精确细致，把一个人体像处理艺术品一样复杂的悬挂在奇特的金属架子上，深深插入可怜的人的体内的管子通过空气泵把他的血液一点点吸取干净，无法知道是怎样利用几个锋利的钩子挂在他的脸上把他悬空起来，但可以肯定这一幕一定是最让人最让人胆颤心寒的恐怖
I
继国王全家惨死在镰刀手-梅司特刀下之后，普利摩顿的又一个头面人物黑手党头子杜拉夫·卡斯卡利安和他的儿子们也遭到了露辛迪克的屠杀。渐渐的，全城陷入一种惶惶不安的沉寂之中。早先“大起义”之后爆发的那些大大小小的争斗打闹突然间平息了下来。仿佛没有人想把别人的注意力引向自身，因为众多的杀人势力遍布城市的各个街道。
With the Emperor and his family dead at the hand of The Scythe-Meister，and the head of the Don of Primordium，Duarf Cascarellian，slaughtered by Lucidique （along with most of his sons and bodyguards） an uneasy peace had settled on the city．The minor brawls and battles that had erupted after the Great Insurrection quietened down．It was as though nobody wanted to draw attention to themselves; not with so many murderous forces abroad in the city's streets．
暴乱发生后接管这座城市的军事集团由三位将军共同领导，他们分别是：博哥特、乌班诺和蒙特法罗。他们三个都是典型的军人，生性残忍和痴迷权力，正因为这样才得以晋升到今天的位置。然而，在职业性的丧心病狂和暴躁性情背后，三位将军的内心深处还潜藏着另外两种特质，尽管他们本人或许羞于承认：其一，一种近乎病态的多愁善感（集中体现在博哥特将军和乌班诺将军对待各自母亲以及蒙特法罗将军对待自己六、七岁幼女的态度上）；其二，极端的迷信。
The Military junta that had taken charge of the running of the city during this crisis was headed by a triumvirate of Generals: Bogoto，Urbano and Montefalco．They were no better nor worse than any of their type: men who'd risen to the top of their belligerent trade by showing the greatest propensity for cruelty and control．But beneath the institutionalized sadism and their manic capacity for violence，two qualities well hidden in the hearts of the three Generals，there also lay qualities that they would have been ashamed to confess they possessed．One，a sickly sentimentality （focused upon their mothers in the cases of Generals Bogoto and Urbano，and upon girls of six or seven in the case of Montefalco）．Second，a startling capacity for superstition．
对于城中近期接连发生的诡异事件，虽然嘴上谁也不说，三位将军却都意识到了各自心中的恐惧，大家心照不宣地保持着沉默的姿态。从来没有哪座城邦象普利摩顿现在这般被各种鬼怪事件包围，刹那间谣言四起，人人谈鬼说怪。谣言渐渐散布到军队里，士兵们时常围坐在篝火旁讨论各种无法解释的超自然现象，这些话不久就传进了将军们的耳朵。到处流传着关于镰刀手-梅司特豢养的怪物、孩童的恶灵、女妖及被她们色诱的牺牲品等等古怪的传说，人们窃窃私语，绘声绘色。
It went undiscussed，but they each knew the other was touched by a profound fear of the uncanny．And there was no city presently more inundated in unholy matters than Primordium．Rumour was rife here; and its subject was seldom rational．The stories that were passed around the soldiers' campfires （and sooner or later reached the Generals' ears） were of unnatural horrors: things that defied reason．Tales of monsters that had been bred from the loins of the Scythe-Meister; of the vengeful ghosts of children; of succubi，their sexual attributes discussed in clammy，but arousing detail．
一天夜里，三位将军在喝得迷迷糊糊之后终于克服了心中的恐惧，开口讨论起了这个话题。
“我相信，”乌班诺将军说道，“这座该死的城市是真的被鬼魂缠住了。”
另外两位立即严肃地点头表示赞同。
“那你觉得我们该怎么办呢？”博哥特将军问道。
蒙特法罗将军抢着回答说：“首先……要是让我说的话，我会下令烧死这里四分之一的非法移民。正是他们与绝大多数发生的诡异事件有关联。”
One night，after some very heavy drinking，the three men vented their fears．
"It is my belief，" Urbano said，"that this damned city is haunted."  
The other two nodded grimly．
"What do you suggest we do about it？" Bogoto asked．
It was Montefalco who replied．"Well，for a start…if I had my druthers I'd burn the illegal immigrant quarter to the ground．It's they who engage in most of these unholy goings-on."
“可他们是重要的劳力……”博哥特将军反驳道，“杀了他们之后，谁接替他们来干那些倒屎盆子、埋葬麻风病人的脏活累活呢？”
蒙特法罗勉强同意了这个观点，可他又说： “但至少我们可以针对一些可能与邪恶势力有勾结的目标，有的放矢地采取行动呀。”
“没错没错，”乌班诺将军表示赞同，“可以实行全城戒严。”
“还有新的惩罚制度，” 蒙特法罗补充道，“我们必须立即采用更迅速和严厉的方法——当众处决。”
“好！”
“用火刑？”
“哦，不，那样太富戏剧性了。枪决，干净利落。还不用忍受焚烧的臭味。”
“你觉得气味很重要吗？”博哥特问。
蒙特法罗将军打了个寒战，回答道：“我讨厌焚烧尸体的气味。”
"But the work-force…" Bogoto said．"Who'd empty our shit cans？ Who'd bury the lepers？"
Montefalco had to concede the point．"At least we could target any element we suspect of intercourse with demonic forces."
"Good．Good." said Urbano．"Vigilance."
"And punishment，" Montefalco went on．"Swift，draconian measures -"ublic executions."
"Yes！"
"Burnings？"
"No，too theatrical．Shootings are clean and fast．And they don't smell."
"That bothers you？" said Bogoto．
Montefalco shuddered．"I loathe the smell of burning bodies." He said．
II
正当将军们为了各种酷刑争论不休之时，露辛迪克正在睡觉，更确切地说是正打算睡觉。她回到了自己父亲多年前为她母亲建造的老宅中，辗转反侧不能入眠，这座房子里有那么多美好的回忆，还有那么多的遗憾。
While the Generals debated the relative merits of this kind of execution or that，Lucidique was sleeping - or attempting to sleep - in the house which her father had built many years ago for her mother．Her slumbers were uneasy．So many memories．So many regrets．
很早以前，在没有发生那么多变故之前的曰子里，每当失眠的时候，她总会出去散散步。而现在，她当然再也不能在大白天出门了。她那经由阿冈尼司帝斯亲手改造后的身体已经变得面目全非了：强壮、柔韧、威力无比……同时，却也非常的骇人。每次出门，即便是在漆黑的夜晚，她都尽可能地选择城中最僻静的小路来避人耳目。
Often in earlier，simpler times，when sleep eluded her，she would go out walking．Now，of course，she could not go by day．The transformation of her body that had been wrought by Agonistes had resulted in a physique which was strong，supple and powerful，but which terrified many who laid eyes on her．When she did go out - even in the blackest night - she did her best to keep to the quiet back-alleys of Primordium where she would not be seen．
今晚，她彻底打消了睡觉的的念头，独自漫步在这些羊肠小道上，可突然她意识到自己被人跟踪了。她感觉到了身后紧跟着的步伐，渐渐察觉了跟踪者的身份——杀手扎尔兹?克里奇。当然，他现在已经是耸人听闻的镰刀手-梅司特了。
Tonight，having given up on sleep，she went wandering in these alleys，and became aware that she was being followed．After a little distance she sensed the rhythm of the step，and realized that she knew who her pursuer was．It was Zarles Kreiger，the assassin turned Scythe-Meister．
她停下脚步转过身。镰刀手-梅司特就站在她身后不远处。他的躯体与她的一样在夜色中发出微微的荧光，那是阿冈尼司帝斯杰作的一部分：一种会发光的细菌。伤口越新，发出的光就越强，而他们身上的这些伤口是变形手术时阿冈尼司帝斯故意留下的，永远无法完全愈合。
She stopped，and turned．The Scythe-Meister was standing a little distance from her．His flesh had the same sickly luminescence that hers did; a bacterial brightness that was part of Agonistes' handiwork．The rawer the wounds （and there were parts of both their transformed bodies that were designed to never heal） the brighter the luminescence with which they burned．
“我以为你已经离开这里了。”露辛迪克开口对他说道。
“是的。我是离开了一阵子。我去了沙漠，在我接受变形手术的地方思考了一些问题。”
“那你已经有答案了吗？”
克里奇点了点头。
“所以你回来了？”
“所以我回来了。”
"I thought you'd left the city，" she said to him．
"I did．For a while．I went out to the desert．Meditated on my changed state."
"And did you learn anything from your meditations？"  
Kreiger shook his head．
"So you came back？"
"So I came back."
III
三位将军敞开心扉诉说彼此对城中邪恶力量的恐惧之后没过几天，蒙特法罗将军又一次把大家召集到一起来进行一次午夜之旅。
A few days after the three Generals had exchanged their fears about the presence of unsacred powers in Primordium，Montefalco brought them together again for a midnight journey．
“那我们去哪儿？”
“去找一个叫塔利萨克的医生，他以我的名义进行实验许多年了。”
“什么样的实验？”乌班诺急切地想知道。
“我希望他能为我造一个完美的战士。一个不会感到恐惧的搏斗机器。”
“那他成功了吗？”
“没有，早呢。至今我也没有对他报很大的期望。他沉迷于他自己的那些药物和……好吧，你会见到他本人的。虽然他上次做了一个次品，现在却或许对我们有用了。”
"Where are we going？"
"There's a man called Doctor Talisac who has been conducting experiments on my behalf for several years now."
"What kind of experiments？" Urbano wanted to know．
"I hoped he would perfect me a soldier．Make a fighting machine that was not susceptible to fear."
"Has he succeeded？"
"No．Not so far．Nor do I have great hope for him now．He's addicted to many of his own medications，and ．．．well，you'll see for yourself．But there was one failure of his which might be useful to us now."
“一个有用的次品？”博哥特问道，他显然对这前后矛盾的话感到摸不着头脑。
“我们需要一个能够赶走普利摩顿城里鬼怪的家伙。而我相信他哪儿可以找到我们所需要的东西。”
“呃……”乌班诺问道，“你的意思是说你要让我们和你一起去看那个次品怪物？”
“那个医生在哪儿？”
“我把他藏在德利福斯山上的圣心救济院里了。”
“可我一直以为那里没有人。”
“那是我一直以来制造的假象。要是有谁闯入了那片禁地，我就会杀掉他们然后把尸体抛进运河毁尸灭迹。”
“这么说那几个被抛尸在运河里的修女是你杀的咯？”
蒙特法罗露出了诡秘的微笑：“我哪里会那么仁慈呀，要知道军人的本性可是极端残忍的哟。”
谈话到此为止了，三位将军动身朝德利福斯山进发。
"A useful failure？" Bogoto said，somewhat amused by the paradox．
"We need a creature that will drive the unholy elements out of Primordium．I believe he has such a creature."
"Ah…" said Urbano．"So will you see this creature with me？"  
"Where is he？"
"I have him hidden away in what used to be the Hospice of the Sacred Heart，on Dreyfus Hill."
"I thought the place was empty."
"That's the impression I intended to give the world．If anybody ventures in there I have them killed and thrown in the canal."
"Is that what happened to the nuns？"
Montefalco smiled．"Nothing so humane，I'm afraid，" he said．"Soldiers can be brutish if left to their own devices."
The subject was left there，and the three headed up towards Dreyfus Hill．
IV
扎尔兹·克里奇全身舒展地躺在露辛迪克的床上，向她展示自己赤裸的身躯。露辛迪克用崇拜的目光细细打量他：伤口上的血痂，阿冈尼司帝斯亲手扭曲交错的肌肉，还有与金、银、铜丝交织在一起的骨头和经络。
Zarles Kreiger stretched out naked on Lucidique's bed．She looked at him admiringly: at the plethora of scars; at the intricate way the machinations of his flesh had been bound to Agonistes' own creations．Silver bonded with bone and nerve; gold and bronze the same．
露辛迪克轻轻爬上他的身体，水乳交融的那一刹那，蓝色的电弧滑过他们的身体，在夜色中发出耀眼的光芒。
She climbed on top of him．Arcs of electricity leapt between them: nipple to nipple，eye to eye．
多么销魂的一刻呀！她想道，而此刻与她交欢的竟然是她的杀父仇人。从某种意义上说，他们其实又是同一个父亲的孩子，他们的父亲名叫：阿冈尼司帝斯。
What a time this was！，she thought．Here she was mating with the man who had taken her father's life．In a sense there was something even more taboo about their intimacy．They were both the offspring of the same father．Both Agonistes' children．
“我不知道他是否允许我们这样做。”露辛迪克怀疑地说道。
“你是指阿冈尼司帝斯？”
“是的。”
克里奇沉默不语。露辛迪克清楚地知道阿冈尼司帝斯对于她情人的意义。
“你在沙漠里见过他了？”
“是的。”
“那么是他派你回来的？”
“是的。”
“来找我？”
“来和你在一起。他说你是这个世界上只有你才能让我感到快乐。”
"I wonder if he'd approve？" Lucidique said．
"You mean Agonistes？"
"Yes."
Kreiger didn't speak．It was Lucidique who realized what her lover's reference to Agonistes implied．
"You saw him in the desert？"
"Yes."
"And he sent you back here？"
"Yes."
"To find me？"
"To be with you．He said you were the only thing that would make me happy."
V
坐落在德利福斯山上的圣心救济院是一幢巨大的建筑物，里面一片漆黑。房子的主人没有让三位将军久等，几分钟后，一个女侏儒举着蜡烛出现在了他们面前，她自我介绍说她叫卡米尔。在卡米尔的指引和陪同下，三位将军穿行过堆满垃.圾的修道院回廊，又向下走了两层陡峭的台阶方才到达塔利萨克医生的实验室。
The Hospice of the Sacred Heart was an enormous edifice，its upper floors in darkness．But the Generals didn't have to wait long for a guide．After a few minutes a female dwarf - who introduced herself as Camille - came with candles．She escorted the uniformed trio through the echoing cloisters （which were heaped with huge mounds of dirt） and down two flights of steep stairs into Doctor Talisac's laboratory．
医生的工作间实际上是一间巨大的地下室，这样既可以装下所有的实验装备又能避人耳目。地面没有铺设瓷砖，取而代之的是坚硬的土地，墙壁也同样是用泥土砌成的。冰冷的土腥味掩盖住了其他气味，多亏了这些能够吸附臭气的泥土，否则将军们早就被眼前这个坟场里的臭气熏晕过去了。这么说一点也不夸张，因为塔利萨克医生实验用的原材料就是尸体，整间房子堆满了尸体和各色残肢断臂。很明显，医生是个浪费物资的高手，许多尸体只被割下一条胳膊甚至一根手指，还有的尸体上单单被取走了一只眼睛或是嘴唇。
His workspace had been dug out of the earth so as to accommodate the scale of the Doctor's experimentation and still preserve the secrecy of his location．In place of tile there was hard trodden earth beneath the Generals' boots，and the walls were beaten dirt．The place stank of cold earth: which served to complete the scene．For if the stench was that of the grave，so were many of the sights before them．The dead were Talisac's raw materials，and they lay everywhere around，in various states of amputation．He was an uneconomic consumer．In many cases the corpses were lacking only a limb，or a portion of a limb; an eye，in one case，lips in another．
“医生在哪儿？”乌班诺用命令的口气问道。
"So where is he？" Urbano demanded to know．
卡米儿伸手指了指尸体堆后面一个阴暗潮湿的角落，塔利萨克医生正在那里恭候他们的到来。
Camille pointed the way over a carpet of corpses to a dank corner of the immense chamber，where Talisac awaited them．
将军们惊讶地发现，塔利萨克医生看上去就和他那些尸体没什么两样，他仿佛是上帝的一个恶作剧：恐怖、怪异……超乎想象。他用一个奇怪的装置把自己从嘴巴的位置吊了起来，就好象是一条鱼一样。他用自己怪异的头脑（或者说天才的头脑，又或者两者兼而有之）为自己建造了一个外置的子宫——他的小腹外挂着一个半透明的袋子，垂直悬挂在他的两条长腿之间。那袋子里正孕育着一个生命。
He looked，to the Generals' astonished eyes，like one of his own victims; a terrible，implausible experiment in the extremes to which a human carcass might be put．He hung by his mouth from a device whose purpose was beyond the Generals' comprehension，his mouth hooked up，as though he were a fish．In his perversity，or his genius，or both，he had created some kind of external womb for himself．A semi-translucent bag hung from the lower portion of his abdomen，down between his spidery legs．There was life inside．
“一个生化怪物（Mongroid）……”卡米尔小声解释道。
蒙特法罗将贪婪邪恶的目光从子宫中抽搐的东西上转向它的主人。
“塔利萨克？”他叫着医生的名字，“我们想从你这儿要点东西。”
"A Mongroid，" Camille whispered．
Montefalco took his eyes off the foul sight of the womb and its twitching contents，and addressed its owner．
"Talisac？" he said．"We need something from you."
塔利萨克忽闪着眼皮望向蒙特法罗。他开口说话了，可被吊起来的嘴巴让他说话含糊不清，最后卡米尔不得不充当翻译的角色来向将军们解释他说的内容。
Talisac turned his fluttering eyes in Montefalco's direction．When he spoke the maimed form of his mouth meant that what he said was virtually incomprehensible．It took Camille to translate it．
“他说：什么？你们想要什么？”
“我们想要一个能让魔鬼都觉得害怕的魔鬼，”蒙特法罗告诉他，“一个怪物中的怪物，一个能让城中妖魔抱头鼠窜的厉害角色。”
塔利萨克突然发出古怪的声响，过了半天大家才发现他可能是在笑，直笑得他浑身颤动吊在空中晃来晃去。而他“腹中”的“胎儿”也用剧烈的痉挛回应着“母亲”的反应。
“这家伙到底是怎么弄出这个怪物的？”博哥特轻声问身后的乌班诺。
“不要窃窃私语，”卡米尔打断了他的话，“医生不喜欢别人这样。”
“他只不过奇怪塔利萨克是怎么让自己怀孕的而已。”乌班诺大声说出了他们心中的疑问。
"He says: What？ What do you need？"
"We need a fiend to put fear into the heart of the Devil himself，" Montefalco said．"A beast among beasts．Something to scour the city of its monsters by being still more monstrous."
Talisac made a strange sound - which might have been laughter; shaking as he hung from his hooks．The creature in his womb responded to its parent's movement by spasming．
"How the hell did he come by that thing？" Bogoto murmured to Urbano behind his hand．
"Don't whisper，" Camille snapped．"He hates it."
"He was wondering how Talisac got himself pregnant？" Urbano said．
这次塔利萨克用手把嘴唇尽量按回原形以便亲自回答这个问题，答案非常简短：“用科学。”他说。
“真的吗？”乌班诺疑惑不解地说，为了进一步确认，他跨过几具残缺不全的尸体走近塔利萨克细细查看。“我很高兴听到你这样说，要是这是某种乱伦行为的结果我会很沮丧的。”
塔利萨克又大笑起来，可将军们却一点也不觉得这有什么好笑的。好不容易笑完了，他又开口说话了。这次依旧需要卡米尔来翻译给大家听。
This time Talisac pressed his lips into service，in order that he answer for himself．The reply was a single word: "Science." he said．
"Really？" Urbano said，sufficiently reassured to step over some of the mutilated bodies to examine Talisac more closely．"Well I'm pleased to hear that．I would have been distressed if there's been some sexual impropriety here."
Again，Talisac laughed，though none of the Generals were in the mood to see the humor of the situation．His laughter spent，he spoke again．This time Camille's services as a translator were required．
“他说他有一个假人或许能满足你们的要求，”女侏儒说，“他只有一个要求作为交换……”
“他要什么？”蒙特法罗问。
“他要你们保证不会去伤害任何一个他的孩子。”
“你是指这个吗？”蒙特法罗冲着子宫中那抽动着的怪物点了点头。
“恩。”塔利萨克回答说，“这……我的……孩……”
“他说什么？”乌班诺问卡米尔。
“他说这是他的孩子。”卡米尔回答。
"He has a golem he thinks would suit your purposes very well，" the dwarf said．"He only asks one thing in return…"
"And what's that？" Montefalco said．
"That you shouldn't attempt to hurt any of his children."
"Meaning that？" Montefalco said，nodding towards the twitching womb．
"Es." Said Talisac．"Is my ur chile."
"What did he say？" Urbano said to Camille．
"He said it was his child，" Camille replied．
蒙特法罗耸耸肩。
“只要你把我们想要的东西给我们，没有人会伤害这个‘小家伙’的，”蒙特法罗说，“我以我个人名义向你保证。”
“很好。”卡米尔说。接着，在塔利萨克没有开口的情况下，她补充道：“他希望下次你们不要一起到这里来，就让蒙特法罗将军一个人来。”
“我个人对此一点意见都没有。”博哥特边说边挥手往回走，“只要他把我们要的怪物给我们，他愿意生多少个小鬼就生多少个，我才不管呢，只要别让它们靠近我就成。”
Montefalco shrugged．
"No harm will come of this Mongroid，if we are given a fiend of our own." Montefalco said．"I will personally guarantee that."
"Good." said Camille．Then，without Talisac speaking again，she added: "He would prefer if you did not come here again together．Only General Montefalco."
"You'll get no argument from me on that account." Bogoto said，waving the horror away as he retreated．"If he gives us our monster，then he can give birth to a thousand little brats as far as I'm concerned．Just keep them the hell away from me."
VI
露辛迪克躺在沾满血液和汗液的床上，身边躺着她的情人。她看着窗外的月亮说道：“我们不可能长久，你知道的。”
“为什么不可能？”
“两个象我们这样的人在一起能得到快乐吗？”她说，“这是天理不容的。你杀了我的父亲，我应该恨你。”
“而你则把我送到了阿冈尼司帝斯手里，我也应该恨你。”
“我们是怎么样的一对呀。”
“也许我们应该回到沙漠里去，”克里奇提议，“那里对我们来说安全一些。”
Lucidique lay on the blood and sweat stained bed beside her lover，and watched the moon through the window．
"This can't last for long，you know．This thing between us."
"Why not？"  
"For two such as us to find some happiness together？" she said．"It's against nature．You killed my father．I should hate you."
"And you put me through hell at Agonistes' hands．I should hate you."
"What a pair we make."
"Maybe we should go back out into the desert." Kreiger said，"We'd be safer there."
露辛迪克笑了。“听你说的，更安全！难道不应该是别人怕我们吗？我们有什么好怕的。”
“我只希望情况一直能这样继续下去……希望我的感觉是错误的。”
露辛迪克翻过身用她的长刀紧贴住克里奇的手臂。“我们不能离开普利摩顿。”她说。
“为什么不能，这里迟早会天下大乱的。让它去吧。”
“可亲爱的，是我们挑起了争端，你和我，我们应该留下把戏看完。”
克里奇点头表示同意：“如果你想的话。”
“这是世间万物走向末曰的规律。”
“末曰？为什么这样说？”
“嘘，亲爱的，别激动。这样更好，你会明白的。”她转头吻了他一下，“为我留下吧。”
“这是我听过的最好的理由。”克里奇对她说道。
“这么说你同意留下了？”
“是的，我留下。”
Lucidique laughed．"Listen to you．Safer！ Isn't the world supposed to be afraid of us？ Not the other way round."
"I just want to hold on to this…hope that I feel."
Lucidique reached across the bed and ran her blade along Kreiger's arm．"We can't leave Primordium，" she said．
"Why not？ It's going up in flames，sooner or later．Let it burn."
"But love，we started the fire，you and me．We should stay and watch it to the end."
Kreiger nodded．"If that's what you want."
"It's the way things have to end."
"End？ Why do you say that？"
"Hush，love．It'll be better this way，you'll see." She leaned over and kissed him．"Do it for me."
"That's as good a reason as any I ever heard，" Kreiger said．
"So you'll stay？"
"I'll stay."
实物组装示例图

tangyi

2016-8-12 13:25 编辑 <br /><br />V THE HAUNTER OF PRIMORDIUM 普利摩顿的猎杀者 维诺 埃纳托米卡
VENAL ANATOMICA
头皮被剥下缝合在脸上以遮住眼睛，两条手臂上被打入了巨大的钢钉、铁链和利刃，长期囚禁被铁链拴住的腰部已经被磨损得血迹斑斑，从右肩到左腹的巨大缝合口让人不寒而栗，心中产生的邪恶和挣扎铸成了这个承受着极大痛苦的罪人
I
在与塔利萨克达成协议，为他们提供一个怪物之后，三位将军－博哥特、乌班诺和蒙特法罗－回到了军队总部继续等待。博哥特是三人中最为担忧的一个。他清楚地记得战场的情景；肢体被撕成碎片，毛发和骨骼燃烧后残留在空气中的腐臭气味；然而塔利萨克实验室中的怪物让他觉得恶心和紧张。
Having made the arrangement with Talisac to provide them with a creature，the three Generals - Bogoto，Urbano and Montefalco - returned to Military Headquarters and waited．Bogoto was the most anxious of the three．He'd seen his share of battle scenes; bodies blown to pieces，the stink of burning hair and bone in the air: but the grotesqueries of Talisac's laboratory had left him sickened and nervous．
他决定做点什么，就像以往在遇到困境时候经常做的一样，在夜色中穿过城市，去寻找一个女人的安慰，这个女人叫葛莱塔 萨巴蒂尔，一个命运的解读者。
He decided to do what he often did when his life became difficult: he drove across the city in the night to seek the comfort of a woman called Greta Sabatier，a reader of fortunes．
虽然他不想让其他两位将军了解这其中的内情，然而事实上，在博哥特过去几年所作的诸多决定中，都考虑了萨巴蒂尔的建议：在下属中最宠信谁，应该给谁降职处分，甚至于，有时在做军事行动的部署时，也会如此。
Though he would have been appalled if he'd thought any of his fellow Generals knew it，Sabatier's advice had been behind much of what Bogoto had done over the years: who he'd favoured amongst his subordinates，and who he'd demoted; even，on occasion，how he'd run some of his military campaigns．
随着普利摩顿的局势变得曰益疯狂，博哥特越来越依赖于萨巴蒂尔的智慧。他渐渐相信，她手中的纸牌预示着他宿命的重要线索。在一个疯狂气氛持续弥漫的世界中，没有任何东西、任何人可以信任，在一个从一沓肮脏的纸牌中解读未来的女人那里获得启示，有一种很荒谬的意味。
And as events in Primordium had steadily become more crazed，Bogoto had come to rely more and more upon Sabatier's wisdom．Her cards，he had come to believe，carried vital clues to his fate．In a world where madness was constantly in the air，and nothing and no one could be trusted，it made a paradoxical sense to seek illumination from a woman who read the future from a pack of dirty cards．
“你看到了某个具有强大能力的人”葛莱塔在那个晚上，轻轻拍打着刚刚翻过来的一张纸牌，对他说。“我无法确定这到底是一个男人，还是一个女人”。
"You've seen somebody powerful，" Greta told him that night，tapping one of the cards she'd just turned over．"I can't tell if it's a man or a woman."
博哥特描绘出了塔里萨克的样子，他悬挂在钩子上面，还有那挂在他两腿之间的可憎的子宫。萨巴蒂尔仔细端详着他的脸。
Bogoto pictured Talisac，hanging up from his hooks，with that vile womb of his hanging down between his legs．Sabatier was studying his face．
“你认识我所说的这个人么？”
“那么你不需要我的任何警告。他或是她，到底是哪个？”
“他有一些朋友，但是很难准确说清楚到底是谁，纸牌的含义非常模棱两可。但是这里面肯定会有一些伤害发生，无论具体的伤害是什么。”
“给世界造成伤害。”“哼哼。”
“这对你来说不是很重要，是不是？”
“当然，你认为我应当考虑离开这个城市么？”
"You know this person I'm talking about？"
"Well then you don't need any warning from me．He，or she - which is it？"
"Well he has friends allies it's hard to be sure exactly who or what they are the cards are very ambiguous．But there's harm from this source，whatever it is."
"Harm to the world." "Huh."
"That matters less to you，yes？"
"Of course．Do you think I should consider leaving the city？"
“嗯，你是一个军人。对我来说，这已经不是第一次从你的纸牌中看到死亡，将军。”
这是葛莱塔第一次提及将军的职业。她到底是从纸牌中，或是从对将军歌功颂德的大幅印刷品中得知此事的，没有人能够知道。
“但是我认为，我从来没有看到死亡与您如此接近”她看着纸牌，继续说道。
“我知道。”
“如果真是这样，我认为您应当考虑离开。至少在星相显示这个动荡的时期过去之后，再回来。”
“这么说，不仅仅是纸牌，星相也有同样的预示？”
“它们是彼此反映的：纸牌、星象、手相。不管你观察和解读哪一个，都将预示着相同的故事。”
"Well you're a military man．It's not the first time I've seen death in your cards，General."
This was the first time Greta had ever made mention of the General's profession．Whether she knew it from the cards or from the broadsheets in which he was regularly eulogized was anybody's guess．
"But I don't think I ever saw it so near to you，" she went on，looking at the cards．
"I see."
"So yes，I think you should consider leaving．At least until this unsettled period is over astronomically."
"So it's not just the cards，it's the stars too？"
"They're all reflections of one another: cards，stars，palms．It's the same story wherever you look."
她一边说着，一边对纸牌进行分类，然后抽出一张扔在博哥特将军面前的桌子上。这张纸牌被称为城堡，以一种简单的，甚至是粗糙的方式，描绘着一个被闪电击中的城堡。城堡的上半部分已经猛烈地爆发，碎石和肢体倾泻而下；而下半部分正在出现裂缝，随时会发生爆炸。
She sorted through the cards as she spoke，and now dropped one down on the table in front of General Bogoto．It was called The Tower，and it represented - in a simplified，even crude，form，a tower struck by lightning．Its upper half was erupting，raining down rubble，and bodies; the lower half was cracked and ready to explode．
“这就是普利摩顿么？”博哥特问道。
“这就是这个城市的未来，”葛莱塔点头回答。“或者至少是所有未来中的一个。”
“那么，你也会离开么？”博哥特问道，琢磨着把这个女人带走。葛莱塔几乎和她解读纸牌使用的古董桌子一样老，而且她的腿脚也不再象以前那么灵光了。她从来没有离开过普利摩顿，至少博哥特这么认为。
“是的，我将会离开。这是您最后一次在这里看到我，将军，除非您会去卡利科斯。”
“你要搬到卡利科斯去？”
“明天，在形势变得更糟之前离开。”
"This is Primordium？" Bogoto asked．
"It's the city's future，" Greta replied，nodding．"Or at least one of them."
"So will you be leaving too？" Bogoto said，thinking to catch the woman out．Greta was as old as the antiquated table she read her cards upon and her legs were a good deal less reliable．She'd never leave Primordium; or so he thought．
"Yes，I'm leaving．This will be the last time you see me，General，unless you should come to Calyx."
"You're moving to Calyx？"
"Tomorrow．Before things get any worse."
II
迪亚曼达大街上的这座房子，曾经是被谋杀的议员名下的财产，具有非同寻常的死亡名声。有谣传说，在那个屋子里面住着一对情侣。无论白天还是夜晚，路过那里的行人都会听到做爱的声音：喘息、呻吟、还有那令人无法抗拒的欲望。
The house on Diamanda Street，which once belonged to the murdered Senator，had gathered itself quite a reputation of late．There were lovers there，it was rumoured; several of them．Night and day，passers by heard the sound of lovemaking: the sighs，the sobs，the irresistible demands．
周围的房子全都已经被遗弃，变成了不毛之地，这些房子的主人都离开了普利摩顿，逃到别的更加安全的城市去了。猪圈中的生活可能会枯燥无味，但是至少有活下去的机会。然而人们还是来到死亡笼罩的迪亚曼达大街，只是为了在灯光温馨的家外面，倾听那欢乐的声音。
The houses nearby were all virtually deserted，their owners having fled Primordium for safer cities; or better still，for the country．Life on a pigfarm might be boring，but at least it had a chance of being long．Nevertheless people came to Diamanda Street of late，simply to hear the noise of pleasure out of the lamp-lit home．
不，不仅仅只是倾听。关于那里，有一种感觉，深入人们的皮肤之下。从敞开的窗口渗出的能量，使得成千上万只萤火虫在每天黄昏的时候聚集在一起，它们互相追逐着，描绘出一幅精美绝伦的神秘图案，空气因为它们的激情而凝滞，它们的亮光持久不衰，以至于这所房子被它们的飞行轨迹装饰得张灯结彩，即便在萤火虫们结束飞翔，精疲力竭地落下，并消失在高高的草丛中，这种景象也会长时间的持续漂浮。
No，not just to hear．There was a feeling about the place，which got under people's skin．The energy seeping out from open windows，was enough to make the fireflies assemble in their many tens of thousands each dusk and describe elaborate arabesques in their pursuit of one another，the air so thick with their passion，and their light so insistent，that the house was festooned with their flight paths，which lingered long after the deed was done and the insects lay exhausted and extinguished in the long grass．
有时候，这些逗留在周围房子的阴影之中，盼望着能够有机会看到情侣真实面目的人类偷窥者们， 真的能够如愿以偿。情人们的喧闹所产生的奇异的力量显示，从任何角度来看，它们都不是自然所创造的生物。
Sometimes the human voyeurs，who lingered in the shadows of the nearby houses，hoping to catch a glimpse of the lovers，were granted what they were here to see．As the strange force of the lover's din suggested，they were not natural creatures，not by any means．
它们看起来是一种混合体；三分之一是人类，三分之一是金属物，另外还有三分之一是介乎于肉体和这些剥离、砍切、冲刷肉体的器具之间的真空。
They seemed to be hybrids; one third human，one third metallic，one third the no man's land between flesh and devices made to strip it and slash it and scour it．
当它们从婚礼用的床单起身的时候，依然鲜血淋漓；但是它们微笑着，彼此亲吻着对方的伤口，仿佛这些伤口并不重要，仿佛这些切割下来的组织、这些剧痛、这些割伤，都是它们彼此热爱的佐证。
They bled as they rose from their nuptial sheets; but smiled，kissing one another's wounds as though they were inconsequential，as though these flaps and sores and gougings were proof of devotion．
谣言传播的很快，没过多久，蒙特法罗将军就听说了位于迪亚曼达大街上的这所房子，也听说了这所房子具有的名声。在一天晚上，他来到了这里。一切都在热烈地进行：空气中到处充满着摇曳的灯光，整座房子都在呻吟和摇摆。然后令人恐怖的欢乐尖叫声从火光闪烁的房子里面和百叶窗的阴影中传出来，从一个房间传到另外一个房间，好像是情人们的激情产生的动力使得尖叫声充满整座房子。
Word got round，quickly enough．It didn't take long for the General Montefalco to hear about the house on Diamanda Street，and the reputation it had got for itself．He went to the location，late one night．Things were in full swing: the air filled with weaving lights，the houses moaning and shaking．Then shrieks of terrible joy out of the fire-lit interior and shadows on the blinds，moving from room to room as the momentum of the lovers' passion carried them around the house．
蒙特法罗以前从来没有见识、听说或者是亲历过类似的事情。一种类似于迷信的冲动传过他的身体，削弱了他的铁石心肠，让他那从额头到脖子大约四分之一英寸长的头发直立起来。
Montefalco had never seen，heard or felt anything like it before．A wave of something like superstition passed through his body，weakening his bowels and making his hair，which was a quarter inch from widow's peak to nape，stand on end．
他开始从房子里面向外退却，手中都是冷汗。这时，他听到背后传来一个声音。他转过身，看到了乌班诺。他看上去好像一个刚刚在自己身上发现了非常恐怖事情的人，也好像一个刚刚看到上帝的人，或者两者皆而有之。
He started to retreat from the house，clammy-palmed．As he did so he heard a voice behind him．He turned．It was Urbano．He looked like a man who had just discovered some truly terrible thing about himself，or God，or both．
“这些都是我们杀死的人。”，蒙特法罗非常平静地说。
"These we kill，" Montefalco said，very calmly．
乌班诺将军开始点头，但是这个动作对于他极度恶心的肌体来说幅度太大了。他吐出了一堆淡黄色的呕吐物，有些还溅到了他完美无暇的、经过精心擦拭的长靴上。他拿出一块手帕，擦了擦嘴，然后说道：“是的。”
General Urbano began to nod，but the motion was too much for his sickened system．He puked a yellowish puke，which spattered his immaculately polished boots．He took out a handkerchief and wiped his mouth; then he said: "Yes."  
“是的？”
“是的，这些都是我们杀死的人。”
那天夜里的晚些时候，蒙特法罗回去见塔里萨克。他是一个人去的，后来证明这是一个明智的举动。无论是乌班诺还是博哥特，都没有足够的勇气去面对在那里等待蒙特法罗的事情。
"Yes？"
"Yes．These we kill."
Later that night，Montefalco went back to see Talisac．He went alone，which turned out to be a wise move．Neither Urbano nor Bogoto had the guts for what awaited him there．
自从他上次踏上这个门槛，这里的情况在四十八小时内发生了显著的恶化。肢体依然到处都是，但是它们似乎和以前有所不同。看起来好像所有的水分、所有的能量，都被吸收和榨干了，只留下了干瘪枯萎的肢体。眼珠从眼眶中脱落，嘴唇被从牙床上拉起，它们看起来都像是尖叫着的瞎猴子。躯体上的皮肉已经萎缩到了骨骼；胳膊和大腿上的肌肉也是如此。皮肤现在看起来像是一层薄薄的脱水组织，覆盖在骨骼结构上面。当侏儒卡米尔出现，并向蒙特法罗致敬的时候，她用脚踢开了周围的一些尸体，这些被踢开的尸体滚动起来就像一大堆纸做的人体模型。
The place had deteriorated considerably in the forty-eight hours since he'd last stepped over the threshold; the bodies were still everywhere，but they were in a new condition．It looked as though all the moisture，all the energy，had been [****]ed out of them，leaving them withered．The eyes had gone from the sockets and the lips had been drawn back from the teeth，giving them all the look of blind，squealing monkeys．The flesh on their torsos had withered to bones; as had the meat on their arms and legs．The skin itself was now like a thin layer of dried tissue，covering the structure of the bone．When the dwarf Camille appeared to greet Montefalco，and kicked a couple of the corpses aside，they rolled away from her kick like so many paper mannequins．
“完成了没有？”蒙特法罗问她。
“哦，是的，已经完成了，”卡米尔闪烁着微笑，回答到，“我想，您将会非常高兴的。”
这时从阴影中发出了一个声音，说着蒙特法罗无法理解的一些话。
“他在请求我揭开他的身份。”卡米尔说。
将军环顾了一下这个墙壁肮脏的房间，试图了解‘它’到底是什么；在房间的尽头，他看到了非常特别的东西，被一块显然是从楼上拿下来的破旧的挂毯覆盖着。
"Is it done？" Montefalco asked her．
"Oh yes，it's done，" Camille said with a twinkling smile，"and I think you're going to be very pleased."
A voice emerged from the shadows，speaking words Montefalco could not comprehend．
"He's asking me to unveil it，" Camille said．
The General scanned the dirt-walled room，looking for what 'it' might be; and there at the end of the chamber he saw a monumental form，covered with a threadbare tapestry obviously brought down from the floor above．
“是那个么？”他问道，没等得到确定的回答，他就走了过去。在他大步穿过尸体的时候，这些尸体在他的脚下劈劈啪啪的裂开，变成了尘埃和碎片。很快，整个屋子就充满了螺旋形的，苍白的人体碎块。
蒙特法罗一下子抓住了挂毯的边缘。这时，卡米尔说出了这东西的名字－“维诺 埃纳托米卡。”
将军掀起了挂毯，他一下子暴露出来。
"That？" he said，not waiting for confirmation before approaching it．As he strode through the bodies，they cracked beneath his heels，erupting into dust and fragments．Soon the room was filled with spiraling bits of pale human stuff．
Montefalco grabbed hold of the tapestry．As he did so，Camille named the thing - "VENAL ANATOMICA."
The General pulled the tapestry off and revealed it．
就像当覆盖在毯子下面，对于它体积的猜测一样，它确实是一个庞然大物，有九英尺或者更高。它长着一张死亡的面孔，而且身上装备着大量中世纪的杀人武器。有一些钉子被残暴地钉入它的肩膀和大腿。血迹凝固在钉子周围，然而当埃纳托米卡开始移动它的身躯（就像它正在做的一样），鲜血从伤口中喷涌而出，沿着身体淌落下来。
As might have been guessed from its scale beneath the carpet，it was of heroic size，nine feet or more．It had death's face，and was equipped with a variety of medieval murder weapons．There were nails crudely hammered into its shoulder and leg．Blood had coagulated around the nails，but when Anatomica began to move （as now it did） fresh blood bubbled up from the wounds and ran down its body．
“它认识我么？”将军问道。
“是的，”卡米尔说，“它随时准备听候您的命令。”塔里萨克说道，卡米尔进行着翻译。“他说他不对他的创造者保持忠诚，只对您，蒙特法罗将军。”
“听起来很不错。”
蒙特法罗挥手召唤它。“过来。”那个生物犹豫着迈出了一步，然后又犹豫着迈出了第二步。
“我能跟您一起去么？”卡米尔说。蒙特法罗低头看看她的裸体。“那你必须给自己穿上衣服，”他说。
她笑了，然后走开，去取回一件被跳蚤啃咬的破破烂烂的毛皮大衣。
他们一起走入了夜色之中，一共有三个人，将军本人、侏儒、还有维诺 埃纳托米卡。
"Does it know me？" the General asked．
"Yes，" said Camille，"it is ready to obey your instructions." Talisac spoke，and Camille translated．"He says he has no loyalty to its Creator，only to you，General Montefalco."
"That's good to hear."
Montefalco beckoned to it．
"Come on then."
The creature made a hesitant step．Then another．
"Can I come with you？" Camille said．Montefalco looked down at her nakedness．"Only if you cover yourself up，" he said．
She smiled，and then went away to fetch herself a flea-bitten fur coat．
They went out into the night together: the three of them．The General，the Dwarf and Venal Anatomica．
黎明马上就要来临。然而黎明不是任何一个特定事件的终结。虽然葛莱塔 萨巴蒂尔在去往卡利科斯的路上，被一群强盗所杀――这是她没能预见到的宿命――她的预言在很大程度上还都是正确的。一个时代正在走向终结：情人的时代。
Daybreak wasn't far off．Neither was the end of certain things．Though Greta Sabatier had been killed by the bandits on the road to Calyx - a fate she had not foreseen - she had been right about that much．An age was coming to an end: and it was the Age of Lovers．

tangyi

2016-8-12 13:25 编辑 <br /><br />VI THE SECOND COMING 孟格里德——基督再临
MONGROID
第二个来客，非人类生物，如同地域恶鬼般巨大的腹部确是他真正的头部，血盆大口中布满尖利恐怖的细牙，恐怖的真相难道真是人类变成的吗？
I
塔利萨克医生独自一人躺在他的尸体堆里，静静地等待着神圣时刻的到来。他的身体从来没有象现在一样剧烈地颤抖过。这一切都是因为那个即将出生的孩子，他所怀着的孩子：克隆婴儿孟格里德。 回顾自己这一生中的成功与失败，塔利萨克开始深信自己真正想要的不是造一个卡米尔那样的侏儒，而是一个真正属于他的孩子：一个与他有着相同基因，流着相同的血液的孩子。对他而言，这即将来临的分娩是件神圣的事情，从某种意义上说，他将是另一个圣母玛利亚。
In his bunker of dirt and corpses Talisac waited alone，while his body - which was a thing without precedent - twitched and jumped and spasmed．There was a child inside of him; the MONGROID，the infant of the Second Coming．Or so he'd come to believe，after the years he'd spent experimenting upon others，and himself．It wasn't until he had created a homunculus that would be to all intents and purposes his child，its flesh made up of the same DNA as his，that he had come to believe there was something holy in the imminent arrival．It was another Virgin Birth．
再过几个小时，他的孩子就将躺在他的怀抱中了。他不愿与任何人分享这成功的喜悦，他要独享这一刻，要知道在这一刻到来之前他忍受了多少的孤独啊。他常常会在午夜时分被一个奇怪的梦惊醒，在梦中他的孩子走到他面前告诉他世界即将灭亡，不过没关系，因为他们在一起。于是，男人和孩子一起面对世界末日。
In only a matter of hours now，the child would be in his arms．He would have no one to share the triumph of what he'd achieved，but so be it．He'd been alone all his life，even in the company of his fellow human beings．Alone with his ambition，alone with his failures，alone with the strange dreams that came to find him in the middle of the night; dreams of his child，speaking to him，telling him that the world was going to end，but that it wouldn't matter，because they'd be together，Man and Child，to the End of Time．
他开始感觉到分娩前的阵痛了，体内的孩子正挣扎着要出来，他能听到它挣扎时发出的微弱而尖细的声音。随着阵痛的加剧，塔利萨克开始哭叫起来，废弃的修道院里回荡着他恶毒的诅咒……最终，“圣婴”用他那小小的手指和柔软的指甲撕破了子宫的束缚，和带着血腥气的羊水一起滑落到地上，降生在了尸体丛中。
He could feel the child struggling to get out now．He could hear its tiny，high-pitched voice as it worked to free itself．The pain was excruciating; a vicious hallucinogen．He sobbed and he screamed; the Convent had never heard such cursings as it heard now．But finally the womb tore as the Holy Child scrabbled with his little hands，his little nails，and in a gush of blood-tinged fluids the Mongroid was disgorged onto the ground amongst the corpses．
II
“克里奇？”
露辛迪克走到窗前向花园望去，口中呼唤着她的爱人——镰刀手-梅司特变形前的名字。克里奇刚才下楼去花园为她摘花，很久都没有回来。卧室里散发着一种强烈的气味，那是一种做爱后从他们变形身体上分泌出来的特殊物质，闻起来又苦又臭，与正常人分泌物咸咸的味道截然不同。
"Kreiger？"
Lucidique went to the window and called down into the garden around her father's house．Zarles Kreiger，The Scythe-Meister，who had lately become Lucidique's lover，had gone out into the garden to bring her some perfumed flowers．The bedroom stank of the pungent oil that their violently transfigured bodies gave off．It was a bitter and unpleasant smell; not the salty smell of natural sex．
楼下的花园里开满了馥郁芬芳的玫瑰，那香甜的气味足以掩盖房间里的怪味，而那些午夜后绽放的花蕊香气最为浓烈。现在已近凌晨两点，正是一天中花香最浓郁的时候，阵阵花香从漆黑一片的花园里随风飘进卧室。露辛迪克又叫了一声，克里奇依旧没有回答，可她明明看见一个黑影在灌木丛中闪过，要是那是克里奇的话，为什么他不回答呢？或者那根本就不是克里奇，而是有人挟持了他使他无法回答。一想到这儿，露辛迪克立刻飞奔下楼冲进了花园。
But the garden was full of sweet smelling flowers that would conceal the bitterness; and some of the strangest scents were those of blossoms that opened after dark．It was now almost two in the morning; and the smells that rose from the darkened garden were giddyingly strong．She called Kreiger's name again．Then she seemed to see him; a dark presence moving through the bushes．If it was indeed Kreiger，why didn't he answer her call？ Perhaps it wasn't him．Keeping her silence now，she crept down the stairs and went out into the garden．
今天晚上的天气很好，柔和的晚风轻轻吹拂过灌木和花丛发出沙沙的响声。虽然花园很大，曲径通幽，但露辛迪克从小在这里玩耍对每条小路都了若指掌，就算闭着眼睛，她也能毫不费力地穿梭于错综复杂的小径之间，每片树林每个花丛都逃不过她的眼睛。很快，她就到达了刚才看见人影的地方。空气中弥漫着金银花和茉莉的香气，可除了花香，另一种气味引起了露辛迪克的注意，那是一种陌生动物或人身上的味道，而气味的源头就在附近。
There was a gentle，balmy breeze tonight: it made the bushes and trees churn．The garden was large，and its layout complex，but she'd been playing here since she was a child．She could have found her way down its narrow，labyrinthine paths and around its rose patches and secret groves with hers eyes closed．She went directly to the place where she thought she'd seen the man when she'd been up at the bedroom window．Despite the sweetness of honey le and the night-blooming jasmine，her nostrils caught the scent of something else，somebody else，in the vicinity．
这气味与她和克里奇身上散发出的那种涩涩的味道不同，那是一种让她联想到疾病、腐烂和死亡的气味。露辛迪克一动不动地站在原地，有什么东西在她周围的灌木丛中移动着，在漆黑的夜色下她只能看见那家伙的轮廓：畸形的巨大脑袋，批着盔甲的肩膀，结实的胸膛。不管那到底是个什么东西，它走动的时候明显一跛一跛，右腿艰难地拖着左腿。随着它越来越近，那种腐败的气味也越来越浓烈起来。毫无疑问，这气味就是从这个不速之客身上传来的。接着，附近响起她情人克里奇的声音：
There was a stink that was not the bitter smell of her own body，or that of Kreiger．This was something else．Something that made her think of disease，of corruption，of death．She stood very still．Something moved through the bushes close by．She saw its form，silhouetted against the starless sky: a vast misshapen head，armoured shoulders，the chest of an ox．Whatever it was，it walked with a pronounced limp，dragging its left leg．The closer it came to her the stronger the smell of corruption became．This trespasser was the source; no doubt of that．Then，from the darkness close by，the sound of her lover's voice:
“露辛迪克！快离开这儿！快跑！”
接着，有什么东西打断了他的叫声。
“你怎么了？” 露辛迪克焦急地问道，心中充满了不安。
那个不速之客循着声音向她所在的地方转过头来，隐约可见这个家伙额头部分的头皮连着肉翻起来露出森森白骨。和他们一样，这是一个形容可怖的怪物，但又有一点不同：它肯定不是阿冈尼司帝斯的作品，至少，它肯定不是出自上帝本人之手。
"Lucidique！ Get away from here！ Quickly！"  
There was something broken in his voice．
"What's happened to you？" she said，afraid of the answer．
Hearing her voice，the trespasser looked in her direction．A hood of flesh slid slickly back from the upper half of its face，revealing its skeletal features．This was - like them - a monster．And yet it was not like them．Not Agonistes' handiwork，at least．Not the product of the unsung architect of Eden．
这个不速之客看上去象是刚从停尸房出来，它的身体是用腐烂的死人肉、神经和骨头堆砌出来的，浑身散发着死尸的恶臭。它大步朝露辛迪克走来，露辛迪克向后退去，并非因为不知该如何应战，而是这个家伙的样子实在让她觉得不寒而栗。这家伙一定力大无穷，并且非比寻常，露辛迪克暗自思量，不知道它的致命弱点在哪里。
This trespasser was a charnel-house child if ever there was one．It was made of parcels of rotten flesh and nerve and bone，all nailed together and given foetid breath．She retreated as it strode towards her．She knew how to kill; that was not in doubt．But the creature still made her afraid．It was a powerhouse; and indifferent，she guessed，to any pain she might be able to cause it．
“快跑！”克里奇朝她大叫起来。
她顺着声音望去，借着卧室里倾泻下来的微弱灯光看到自己的情人躺倒在地，浑身是血。
“天哪！”
露辛迪克朝克里奇跑过去，但那可恶的大怪物拦住了她的去路，伸出巨大的双手想要掐死她。但露辛迪克并没有退却，她不愿抛下她的爱人独自逃跑。相反，她凭借自己对地形的了解穿梭在黑暗的花园里，试图引诱这个跛子怪物远离克里奇。
"Go！" she heard Kreiger yelling to her．
Her eyes flittered in his direction，and by the light shed from the bedroom window she saw him，on the ground，blood pouring out of him．
"Christ！"
She started towards him，but the trespasser moved to intercept her，its vast hands eager to tear out her throat．But she wasn't going to flee the garden; not with her lover lying there in the dirt，bleeding from a hundred places．Instead she turned and led the limping slaughterer away from Kreiger，dodging through the darkened garden，using her knowledge of its layout to double the distance between them．
与她预料中一样，怪物紧追不放，带着庞大的身躯穿越错综复杂的荆棘丛，喉咙里发出一种恐怖的声音，听起来象是动物垂死挣扎是发出的喘息声被放大了许多倍。
Still it came after her，throwing its weight through the tangle of thorny bushes，emitting a guttural din as it did so，like the noise of some immense mechanism that imperfectly copied the sound of a tormented animal; a bull，perhaps，beneath the slaughterer's hammer．It was horrible to hear．
终于，露辛迪克跑到了她的目的地——一棵她儿时爬过无数次的大树下，她开始迅速地攀爬起来，试图借此摆脱追踪她的家伙。她的身手如此敏捷，以至于等她安全地藏在巨大的树冠中时怪物才刚刚赶到。现在，她想，要是那家伙能在树下徘徊一会的话，她就有机会趁其不备从树上跳下来割断它的喉咙了。露辛迪克想，即便它真的是用死人造出来的，整个地切断它的喉咙还是应该能将它杀死的。可是，就在离树还有六步远的地方，这个怪物停下了脚步，抬头在空气中嗅了嗅，警惕地环顾了一下四周。难道它已经察觉到了这是个陷阱？露辛迪克简直不敢相信它竟然有如此智能，可它的的确确是在犹豫徘徊。就这样过了一会儿，怪物转身离开了露辛迪克藏身的大树，哼哼唧唧、一拐一瘸地没入黑暗的树丛里。
She had come to the place where she hoped to outwit her pursuer: a tree which she had climbed a thousand times as a child，and now climbed again，so quickly that by the time the trespasser came in sight of it she was already concealed in its verdant canopy．Now，she thought，if the beast would only wander beneath the tree，she could perhaps kill it．Drop out of the branches and cut open its throat．Even if it was something that was made from mortuary slops，it drew breath; and if she could open its throat from ear to ear，it would be dead as any other slitted thing．But about six feet from the tree the creature stopped，and sniffed the air，looking around suspiciously．Did it sense that there was a trap laid for it here？ She couldn't believe it had the wit to be so cautious．And yet it had halted，hadn't it？ And now it retreated from the tree，loosing a low，barely audible noise in its throat，limping off into the darkness．
露辛迪克小心翼翼地拨开树枝观望周围情况，她听见从她刚才跑来的地方有什么动静，隐约间好象还有克里奇痛苦的呻吟声。上帝啊，不！她痛苦地想道：别让这个怪物拿克里奇当成诱饵吧……然而，几分钟后，她所担心的事情果然应验了，那怪物重新出现在荆棘丛中，手里拖着一样很重的东西。与露辛迪克预料中一样，那个看上去象个大麻袋一样的东西是昏迷了的克里奇，她的情人，短短一会儿工夫里，他们竟然就被眼前这个不知名的魔鬼弄到如此被动的境地。
She carefully parted the foliage，to see if she could discover what it was up to．There was some sound from the direction in which she'd come，and then an audible moan from Kreiger．Oh God，no，she thought．Don't let the trespasser be smart enough to use Kreiger as bait… Her fears were realized a moment later，as the creature reappeared between the thorn bushes，dragging a heavy burden behind him．It was Kreiger，of course．This lover of hers，who was now reduced to little more than a sack，hauled behind the nameless fiend，had been a terror in his own right not so long ago．
在克里奇还是个杀手的时候他就已经凭借自己非凡的武艺穿梭于普利摩顿城中的各个角落，令人闻风丧胆了。后来，他接受了阿冈尼司帝斯的变形手术，成为了镰刀手-梅司特，让这座城市的统治阶层一夜间命丧他的镰刀下。可现在，看看他成了什么样子！他脸上裂开了一道大口子，就好象是这个怪物用手指从嘴唇（那是露辛迪克一个小时前还亲吻过的双唇啊）里撕开的一样。身体的其他部分也同样受过了酷刑折磨：肌肉被生生撕扯下来，露出森森白骨。大面积的创口造成了大量失血，很难相信克里奇还活着。很显然，他是在刚才下楼为自己的爱人采摘玫瑰花时遭到了突袭，克里奇一定曾全力反击直到精疲力竭，而偷袭者则很有耐性地在花园里等待另一个目标的出现，一边眼睁睁地看着被打败的猎物流血致死。而情况正如它预期那般，露辛迪克没多久就出现了。毫无疑问，那怪物原本是想给予她致命一击的，但露辛迪克没有让它得逞，于是现在它不得不用克里奇这个血淋淋的人质来骗她现身了。
As the assassin Zarles Kreiger he'd once haunted the city of Primordium from the shanties to the chateaus．Then，after the transformation worked upon him by Agonistes，as the Scythe-Meister，he'd wiped out the ruling class of the city in one scarlet night．But now look at him！ His face was torn open，as though the fiend had simply put his fingers into Kreiger's mouth （whose lips Lucidique had kissed an hour before） and ripped it apart like a paper bag．The rest of his body had been just as cruelly treated; the flesh torn away from its seating，exposing the breastbone and the ribs and the long bone of his thigh．The loss of blood from these wounds was traumatic．It was a wonder Kreiger was still alive．But plainly - having been surprised in the garden while peacefully flower-picking - he'd fought back until he had no strength to fight with，at which point his attacker had simply waited in the garden while one of its two victims slowly bled to death，knowing the other would appear given time．And so she had．No doubt the creature had expected to dispatch her in a heartbeat; now it was obliged to coax her out of her hiding place with this bloody hostage．
怪物紧紧掐住克里奇的脖子，单手将他提到空中，用力将他的脸向大树撞去。克里奇的头无力地垂在脖子上，双目深陷，看上去和死了没什么两样。而凶手此刻却举起了他的另一只手，朝着露辛迪克躲藏着的方向招了招手，示意她出来，同时用手指把克里奇的脑袋前后摇晃起来，就好象他是一个木偶。看到这样的场面，露辛迪克心中的痛苦简直无法用语言形容，眼前这个被人象木偶一样玩弄摆布着的男人曾经推翻过一代王朝，改写了历史，他是她的挚爱，她的情人……这一切使她丧失了理智，尽管她清楚的知道树下的偷袭者有足够的力量可以杀掉她，她还是无法看着克里奇在临死的时候被人如此羞辱。于是，露辛迪克狂怒地尖叫着跳下枝头，以迅雷不及掩耳之势刺瞎了怪物的双眼。瞎眼了的怪物不得不丢下手中的人质，口中发出令人毛骨悚然的吼声。露辛迪克敏捷地穿过怪物扑腾着的双臂来到克里奇身边。他已经死了。
It grabbed Kreiger's neck and lifted him up by one hand，thrusting his broken face towards the tree．Kreiger's head lolled on his neck; his eyes rolled back into their sockets．He was as close to dead as made no difference．Then his killer lifted its other hand and beckoned to the woman in the tree．As it did so it twitched Kreiger's head back and forth，like that of a doll．For Lucidique it was agonizing beyond words to see her lover，a man who had brought down a dynasty，bobbing around like a ventriloquist's doll．It made her lose all reason．Though she knew the trespasser below had the physical power to kill her，she could not watch Kreiger's last moments played out as a humiliating puppet-show．She leapt from the tree with a shriek of rage，and before the creature could bring down its visor of flesh，she had slit both of its eyes with her weapon，blinding it．It dropped Kreiger，and let out a roar that sounded pleasingly like panic．She ducked under its flailing arms and went to Kreiger．He was dead．
露辛迪克回头看着杀害她情人的凶手，此刻那个怪物就象是个受到惊吓的孩子一般，已经从怒吼转为嚎啕大哭，哭了一会儿以后慢慢开始低声呜咽起来。她原本可以再给予它致命一击的，或许，在数次进攻之后她甚至可以取它的性命为克里奇报仇。但她却无暇顾及这个瞎眼怪物了。她必须立即将克里奇转移到什么地方去，或许还有机会能让他死而复生。
She glanced back at his killer，who was indeed in a state of child-like terror．His roar had turned into howls that were close to descending into whimpers．She could have wounded it again easily enough; and perhaps，after a dozen woundings，or two dozen，she might have claimed its life．But she didn't have any time to waste with the blinded thing．She needed to take Kreiger somewhere he had a hope of resurrection．
就这样，露辛迪克带着她情人的尸体走进沙漠去寻找他们的主人阿冈尼司帝斯（克里奇的身体比她预计的要轻，仿佛这躯体里某些蕴涵生命的物质已经一去不返了，即便是魔法也无力回天）。她努力说服自己不要有这样悲观的念头，丢下玫瑰花丛中愤怒发狂的瞎眼怪物，扛着爱人的尸体走到前院，温柔地将他放进马车厢里，驾车朝着郊外飞奔而去……
Out into the desert．Out to find Agonistes．She lifted her lover's body up over her shoulders （he was lighter than she'd expected; troublingly so，as though the mass of his life had gone from him and would never be returned，even by a miracle）．She would not let such pessimism linger in her mind however．Leaving the blind trespasser to rage amongst the roses，she headed to the forecourt of the house．She gently laid the corpse in the back of the car，and then drove out of the city，in search of a sandstorm．
III
塔利萨克医生低头看着这个从他体内分娩出来的小家伙，他的小孟格里德。他看到自己儿子身上比他漂亮的地方，但随后，他也看到了丑陋的地方。这个小家伙比任何其他出生才五分钟的生物都要来得独立，它开始行走起来，更确切地说是用它四条纤细的胳膊爬了起来，同时，它的口中发出含糊不清的声音，仿佛是在自我介绍。
Talisac looked down at the creature that had spilled from his body: his Mongroid．He'd seen prettier things，but then he'd seen uglier too．It had more self-reliance than any creature five minutes old should reasonably have; it walked，crab-like，on four hands; it made rudimentary attempts to express itself．
塔利萨克医生轻轻地呼唤它的名字，就好象在叫条小狗一样，但那孩子并没有回答。此刻它被眼前到处都是的尸体深深吸引了，正用它那翻转过来的脑袋仔细研究着，闻着这些发臭的样品。就塔利萨克医生的技术而言，孟格里德的头脑看上去发育健全。这里面多少有点家族遗传的因素，医生想。他已经放弃去吸引它的注意了，可突然，那小婴儿的眼睛落在了他的身上，它迈着笨拙可笑的步伐慢慢靠近他，一路上不时打量房间里的其他地方，看起来它的思路非常清晰。这是它出生后做出的第一个判断：活的和死的。
He called it to him，as he might a dog，but it wouldn't come．It was too interested in the bodies that lay everywhere about the chamber，examining them with its inverted head，sniffing at the ranker examples．It seemed to have a well-formed head，as far as Talisac could make out．There was some family resemblance there，he thought．He had given up trying to draw its attention，but now - paradoxically - its eyes came to rest on him，and with its ungainly，sideways gait it approached him．It cast a glance around the charnel house as it did so，and its thought processes were perfectly clear．It was making the first distinction of its young life: between the living and the dead．
“非常正确……” 塔利萨克用一种鼓励的语气对它说，“……他们都死了，他们对你已经没什么用了。而我是唯一一个你必须帮助的人。我是你的父亲。”
"That's right…" Talisac said，attempting an encouraging tone，"...they're dead．They're no use to you．I'm the one you have to help．I'm your father."
孟格里德究竟听明白了多少，又或许它一句都没有听明白，塔利萨克对此也一无所知。应该是听懂了一点点吧，他猜想无论如何他们得从头开始。教育和抚养这个小家伙必定是件漫长而琐碎的事情。他曾希望自己能生下一个更完美的后代，一个能够直接呈献给蒙特法罗将军的作品，那样的话他就能够得到更多的资助来完成更宏大的研究计划了。现在，他必须先让将军见见他的这件作品。虽然这个从充满精子和海水的人造子宫中降生的小家伙远远没有达到他心目中完美邪恶的要求，但这又有什么关系呢？它只是一个开始，接着还会有其他孩子降生的。现在他所需要做的只是去抓住它，然后解剖一下，查看失败的原因以便下次不再犯同样的错误。就在离他几码远的地方，这个小怪物突然停了下来，低头开始研究那个孕育了自己十七个星期之久的人造子宫。血依旧从里面汩汩地涌出，淌落到肮脏的地面，只见孟格里德将它翻转过来，深出舌头开始吮吸流出的液体。
How much of this - if any - the Mongroid understood，Talisac had no idea．Very little，he guessed．But they had to begin somewhere．It would be a long，weary business，rearing this thing．He had hoped to give birth to something more praiseworthy; something he could show Montefalco，and thus be funded for further，more ambitious researches．Now，he would have to do some fast-talking to get the General to see his vision of things．The crab homunculus produced from his sac of semen and sea-water was very far from the perfect，vicious child he'd hoped to produce: a hymn to the glories of testosterone．But never mind，there would be others．In time he'd subdue this one，and vivisect it to see if he could work out where the errors lay．Then he'd try again．The creature had come to a halt a few yards away from him，and was studying the sac from which it had been contained for seventeen weeks．Blood still dripped from it，onto the dirt floor．It scuttled over and put its tongue to the pool，tasting the fluid．
“不，”塔利萨克厌恶地对它说道：“别这样。”
"No，" Talisac said，faintly revolted by its display．"Don't do that."
他可不希望这个怪物有对血或者人肉之类奇怪的嗜好，至少不喜欢它象现在这样吮吸从他身体里分泌的体液，更何况他自己还没有从挂钩上被放下来呢，这样的姿势让他觉得不太安全。
He didn't want it getting some unnatural appetite; for blood，or flesh，or whatever other juices ran from him freely as he hung there．He was altogether too vulnerable in his present state．
可是孟格里德看上去好象对禁令之类的事情并不感兴趣。它这么做完全是出自本能，而它的本能告诉它这些是可以吃的食物。它顺着血水的源头象上望去看到了悬挂着的塔利萨克医生，这个曾经孕育它的身躯。它的目光让医生感到非常恐惧，更让他不安的是怪物那渐渐隆起的腹部，就好象是它正胃口大开准备好好吃上一顿的样子。孟格里德顺着医生那沾满血污的袍子慢慢地爬上了他的身体，而他腹部的皮肤依旧在不断的膨胀。
But the creature wasn't interested in being forbidden anything．It was a creature of instinct，and its instinct told it that there was a meal to be had here．It traced the source of the pool to the hanging corpse of flesh that had been its makeshift womb．He didn't like the look in the creature's eyes at all．Nor did he like the way its belly was distending，as though its aroused appetite was awaking a change in its anatomy．The Mongroid was pulling on the loose bloody tatters of his flesh now，its belly skin still swelling obscenely．
“卡米尔！” 塔利萨克医生大叫起来，恐惧让他忘记了女侏儒卡米尔已经跟随蒙特法罗将军走了，现在他是孤单一人了。此时此刻，他就这样被孤伶伶一个人吊在半空中晃来晃去，无助地看着他亲生子的腹部胀裂成一张血盆大口，口中是两排完整而锋利的牙齿。
"Camille！" Talisac yelled，forgetting in his fear that the dwarf had left in the company of General Montefalco．He was alone．And now，as he swung there，helpless，the belly of his offspring split open，revealing a vast mouth，completely arrayed with glistening teeth．
“哦，天啊！我的天啊！”
这句话成了塔利萨克医生的遗言。
"Jesus！ Oh Jesus！"
They were the last words Talisac uttered．
孟格里德用它的四条手臂支撑起身体向滑落在地上的子宫爬去，它腹部的那张大嘴吞没了自己的“母亲”后正慢慢合拢，锋利的牙齿用力地咀嚼着塔利萨克医生的身体。医生临终前的祈祷化成了令人毛骨悚然的尖叫。孟格里德将满口的肠子、内脏重新吐到地上，再从中挑选出那些可以吃的部分。
Using its four hands to spring up towards the womb from which he had so recently been delivered，the thing closed its gaping jaws on the groin of its parent，its teeth digging deep into Talisac's flesh．The cries to Jesus became a solid shriek．The Mongroid took a healthy mouthful of gut and manhood and womb，and dropped down to the ground again to devour what it had bitten off．
塔利萨克医生的内脏从被咬断了的下身流了出来，五脏六肺洒了一地。这个圣心救济院里的天才医生最终没有了声息……
Talisac's innards，with their lower half removed，simply fell out of his body: uncoiling innards followed by liver and kidneys and spleen．The genius of the Hospice of the Sacred Heart stopped screaming．
IV
一夜之间，普利摩顿少了两个怪物，却又多了两个新的。维诺 埃纳托米卡——或者叫它瞎眼怪更恰当一些，这家伙实际上不值一提。除了身型庞大和浑身蛮力外，它和一个莽撞的瞎子没有任何区别。它瞎了之后一直无法适应这种变化，情况没有丝毫的好转，它还是和那天晚上一样时常发狂、跌跌冲冲、猛摔猛打。
Thus in one night Primordium lost two of the monsters that had haunted its streets，and gained two new ones．Venal Anatomica - or The Blind One，as he became known，was，in truth，something of a joke．Despite its bulk，and his phenomenal strength，he never developed the compensating skills that often came after a blinding．He lived always as though he had just been blinded．Always flailing，always raging，always violent．
出自一种奇怪的忠心，蒙特法罗将军接手了这个瞎眼怪物的一切，照料它的生活。他下令所有人都不许嘲笑“伟大的维诺 埃纳托米卡”，一旦有人违反命令将就地枪决。几次杀鸡敬猴之后，再没有人敢嘲笑维诺了。这个瞎眼怪被独自放逐到城中的目的里，时常挖开新坟啃食那些新鲜的尸体。
Montefalco took care of him，however，out of a bizarre sense of loyalty．He ordered that anyone found taunting the once mighty Venal Anatomica be summarily shot．After a dozen such casual executions，the message made it out to those who liked to torment the creature．The Blind One was left alone to haunt the city's graveyards，often digging up and eating the recently dead．
V
露辛迪克驾着马车在沙漠中转悠了好几天却始终没有能找到阿冈尼司帝斯，整个沙漠象被施了魔法一样安静，没有丝毫沙尘暴的迹象。平静的沙丘看上去象是一个谷仓，密不透风。一个星期之后，镰刀手-梅司特的尸体开始发出臭味了，露辛迪克用她美丽的双手一点一点挖出了一个墓穴，亲手为自己的爱人举行葬礼。正当她坐在墓穴边轻声哭泣时，恍惚间听到风中传来了阿冈尼司帝斯的呼唤，她猛地站了起来，准备向这位伊甸园的天才乞求帮助，希望他能用神奇的法力将生命重新灌入克里奇干枯的身躯。
Lucidique never found Agonistes．Though she drove for several days，looking for the sandstorms where he hid himself，the desert was preternaturally still．Not a breeze to move so much as a grain of sand; much less a storm．After a week，when The Scythe-Meister's body was beginning to smell，she dug a hole with her bare hands，and put him in it．Even as she sat there beside the mound，keening，she thought she heard Agonistes calling her name，and got up，ready at a moment's notice to reclaim Kreiger from his dry bed，and let the genius of Eden work his Lazarene magic on her lover．
可是，这不过是她的幻觉而已，呼啸而过的大风对她开了一个残酷的玩笑。事实上，就在短短四十一年后，就在露辛迪克在离开克里奇墓穴仅仅四分之一英里的地方游荡的时候，阿冈尼司帝斯确实曾出现过……
But it was not the Resurrection she had heard．It was just a trick of the wind．Indeed，not once in the next forty-one years，during which time Lucidique seldom strayed more than a quarter of a mile from the place Zarles Kreiger was laid，did Agonistes appear．
VI
一天清晨，露辛迪克象过去四十年一样在灿烂的朝阳下醒来，突然，她很想回去看看普利摩顿城。于是她离开了守候多年的克里奇回到了城中。她很惊讶地发现父亲的老房子竟然还在，人们慑于迷信不敢摧毁这座当年声名显赫的房子。于是，露辛迪克重新住了进去，可仅仅在冰冷的地板上睡了几个晚上之后，种种对往昔的回忆几乎将她窒息，她觉得自己快要发疯了。她决定重新睡到那张快要坍塌的老床上，许多年前，她每天晚上都在这里和克里奇疯狂地做爱。睡在这里露辛迪克没有做噩梦，恰恰相反，她觉得克里奇和她在一起，这种感觉远比她在沙漠中守候他墓穴的时候来得强烈，在梦中，他轻轻拥着她，在她耳边诉说着对她的相思之情。露辛迪克开始自残，因为流血让她觉得痛快，现在的她成了一个极端危险的人，无论是谁看她的目光令她觉得不舒服，她都会毫不犹豫地出手杀掉他。
Then one day，waking to the same bright sky she'd woken to for over four decades - she was seized by a desire to see Primordium．The house her father had built was still standing，she was surprised to find; left by authorities too superstitious to knock it down．She occupied it again，and after a few nights of sleeping on the bare boards overcame her fear of memories that would unknit her sanity，and moved up into the stained，ancient bed where she and Kreiger had made love all those years before．There were no nightmares．He was with her，here，more than he'd ever been in the desert．He held her，in her dreams，and he whispered mischiefs to her，that sometimes she acted upon，for old time's sake．Blood she let freely，when it pleased her to do so．Nobody was safe from her．She would have happily murdered a saint if he'd looked at her in some fashion that irritated her．
在一个月黑风高的夜晚，露辛迪克出手杀掉了那三位将军：博哥特、乌班诺和蒙特法罗，过了这许多年，他们都已经成了又老又胖的糟老头子，成天聚在一起发牢骚。又一个夜晚，她在目的找到了当年杀害克里奇的那个瞎眼怪物，瞎眼怪夜夜以泪洗面，它的眼睛除了流泪外没有任何其他用处。露辛迪克站在一旁，看着它边哭边吃死人肉，她决定不杀它，让它的痛苦继续折磨它自己。
And one night，just for the hell of it，she killed the three Generals，Montefalco，Bogoto and Urbano，who were by now fat and old and put up little protest at her arrival．Another night，she went to find Kreiger's killer，The Blind One．She found him in the cemetery，weeping from his slit eyes，the weary tears of a man who weeps every night，but knows no cure for them．She watched him for a while，while he wept and ate the dead．Then she left him to his suffering．
露辛迪克清楚地知道此刻对于瞎眼怪来说死亡反而是一种解脱，她本可以轻而易举地取到它的性命结束这种痛苦的，但为什么她要这么仁慈？为什么没有人对她这么仁慈？更何况她很高兴这座城市里有三个怪物同时存在：下水管道里的孟格里德（她已经在它的腐烂王国里见过这个肮脏的怪物了），墓地里的维诺 埃纳托米卡，以及议员的房子里的她。这其中有某种必然的联系。有时候，露辛迪克也会觉得孤单，她曾考虑重新回到沙漠中，回去躺在已经变成干尸的克里奇身边，让风沙将他们一起掩埋。可总有什么事情阻挠着她，或许她想亲眼看到普利摩顿的毁灭，又或者她早已走火入魔了。
It was cruel，of course，to let him live，when she could have put him out of his misery with a well placed blow．But why should she dispense mercy，when no one had ever been merciful to her？ Besides，it pleased her to know that there were three monsters in Primordium．The Mongroid （whom she'd also gone to view in his excremental kingdom） in the sewers，Venal Anatomica in the charnel houses，she in her father's mansion．It had a certain neatness．Sometimes，when she became lonely，she thought about going out into the desert，and lying down beside Kreiger's mummified corpse; letting the sand smother her．But something stopped her from doing it．Perhaps she'd have to watch the city of Primordium burn down first; or feel insanity creeping up her spine．
从那之后，露辛迪克接受了命运的安排，终生与泪水、鲜血和孤独为伍。无数虔诚的信徒夜夜向上帝祈祷，企求自己不要成为露辛迪克的目标。从某种意义上，露辛迪克获得了永生。
Until then，she would live out her destiny，in blood and tears and loneliness; in the knowledge that she was named in the prayers of tens of thousands of God-fearing citizens every night，who begged the Lord to keep them and their faces safe from her．It was a kind of immortality．
――全文完――

Ezeerf

2016-8-12 13:25 编辑 <br /><br />故事还不错...........可惜不是我喜欢的风格.........

goenitzchild

麦克法兰做的东西都是极品好的说。。。。就是价格。。。。orz
而且基本没有女性和日式宅男喜欢麦克法兰的东西，因为麦做的女性都比较丑。。。
但是也不可否认麦在材质方面简直做到极致了。。。
不过。。。我还是不喜欢。。。。
等这贴沉了咱再转到资料区吧~

三味线

2016-8-12 13:25 编辑 <br /><br />好長。。。蓋層樓再看。。

tangyi

2016-8-12 13:25 编辑 <br /><br />英文原本更新完毕
抛开作品本身，个人感觉值得称道的是玩具与文章相结合的销售模式
一个普通的玩具（暂且用“普通”这个词来描述），却可以被文字工作者赋予诸多的内容从而给予消费者更多想象的空间，无形中提升了产品的艺术价值
如果说玩具本身是躯体，那么这些文字无疑成为了它们的灵魂，为本来单一的事物赋予新的生命
以上个人观点
听说这个系列出到第3部了，等下下班回家去找找哈^^