第四章
"It's absolutely true. Mom really did have a took, a different grimace for every occasion. But I'll tell you something I've never told anyone before: The strangest of all Mom's looks was the one she reserved for any mention of Scott Bernard. Seriously. For the longest time I was convinced that they'd had an affair or something. But then one day Mom told me about the time he stopped by looking for Marlene. There was that look again, the whole time she told the story. And I suddenly realized that I wasn't seeing one of those what-might-have-been looks but one that was saying what-never-should-have-been.
Maria Bartley-Rand, quoted in Xandu Reem's A Stranger at Home: A Biography of Scott Bernard
“完 全正确。母亲在不同的场合确实需要扮演不同的角色。但是我要告诉你们我从来没有说过的是：所有的母亲最奇怪的神色出现在斯科特•伯纳德说话的时候。我是很 严肃的说的。我花了很长的时间确信他们在恋爱。直到有一天母亲告诉我她遇到了玛琳。她在讲述的整个过程中都带着那种奇怪的神情。我突然认识到我从来没有见 过这样的神情。”
玛丽亚•巴特利•兰德，引自先杜勒蒙《家里的陌生人：斯科特•伯纳德传》
Scott breathed a sigh of relief as he felt the craft settle down, rubber tires chirping against the tarmac on a smooth but long disused stretch of Southlands highway. Mission priorities and the usual red tape had made it impossible for him to procure an old VTOL, much less an Alpha, so Scott was stuck with a forty-year-old air breather, a civilian five-passenger jet some group in G4 must have liberated from a pre-Wars museum. They'd blown the dust off the thing and fitted it with new rubber, but the cockpit had seen far better days, and the instruments were ancient. Scott's biggest problem was refraining from trying to think the aircraft through mechamorph maneuvers. A lot of good that would have done, anyway; the thing wasn't even equipped with a neural interface thinking cap!
当飞机开始降落，轮胎接触到南大陆的一条长长的平滑的柏油高速公路后，斯科特长舒了一口气。任务的优先级别不高使得斯 科特不能够使用垂直起降飞机，更不用说阿尔法了，因此斯科特只能乘坐这一架看上去仿佛从战前博物馆中拖出来，服役了40多年的民用五座喷气飞机。机身上的 灰尘被清洗干净了，也换上了新的轮胎，但是驾驶舱和里面的仪表就是老古董了。斯科特最大的困难在于如何去克服不去用变形机甲的思维来驾驶这架飞机。许多应 该装备的都没有，甚至没有思维帽！
Priorities aside, though, there were good reasons for flying civilian and denying any military affiliation just then. Earth's surface, the Southlands especially, had become a sorry place for soldiers. With the so-called fall of Reflex Point and the Invid abandonment of their hives, Flower of Life orchards, and POW camps, humankind was once more on the move. People were quite literally crawling out of the holes they had buried themselves in when the Invid had landed. Tens of thousands, many of whom had spent the past year or more in internment centers in what had once been called Canada, were migrating south from the ruined Northlands, lured to Brazilas by rumors of massive reconstruction efforts and the promise of a United Earth Government rising from the ashes of the Southern Cross apparat. At the same time thousands more had taken to the cracked and rutted roadways of the thrice-invaded world in search of lost friends and loved ones, while others busied themselves by exacting vengeance on spies, sympathizers, and any who had profited during the occupation.
如果不考虑优先 级别的话，驾驶民用飞机还有有些好处的。地球的表面，特别是南大陆，对于飞行员来说就是一块伤心地。随着所谓反射点的坍塌，因维人放弃了他们的蜂房、生命 之花种植园以及战俘营，人类又重新开始活动了。人们从因维人到来后藏身的洞穴中爬出来，成千上万的人在过去的一年多时间内从荒废的北方大陆（曾经的加拿 大）移民到了南大陆，进行大量的重建工作，并希冀从南十字军的废墟中能重新建立起新的联合地球政府。与此同时，更多的人在经历的三次战争的遗存中寻找着失 去联系的朋友和亲人，也有一些人忙于向间谍，外星人同情者以及任何从因维人的占领中获得好处的人宣泄着仇恨。
Soldiers of any army, private or otherwise, were often at the receiving end of the general wrath and blood lust, espe璫ially those unfortunates who had fancied themselves insurgents or freedom fighters. It was an accepted fact that insurgency had done more damage than good-Invid reprisals having far outweighed the dubious worth of destroying a handful of Shock Troopers or Pincer ships-and that the Regis had not really been defeated but had willingly abandoned the planet in search of richer hunting grounds. The returning REF consequently was not looked upon as some beneficent force of liberators but as yet another conquering army, a gang of thugs looking to resume control after a fifteen-year absence.
任 何部队的士兵，无论是列兵或者其他任何军衔，都会成为愤怒和仇恨的对象，尤其是那些曾经自认为是反抗者或者是自由战士的倒霉蛋们。一个大家都接受的事实 是：反抗行动造成的损失远大于应该有的好处，不仅仅是打掉一些因维人的震爆机或者蟹形飞船，而且雷吉斯并没有被真正击败，她只是主动地放弃了地球去寻找更 适合因维人的地方。返回的远征军并没有被当作解放地球的力量，而是另一支进行征服的军队，一群希望重新掌控失去了15年的地球的暴徒。
Under the circumstances, Scott's small jet was less a product of choice than of sheer necessity. And the same held true for his civilian attire.
在这种情形下面，斯科特的小飞机不仅仅是一种选择而且是一种必要了。而他那平民化的装束也扮演着同样的角色。
Mention of the Invid sister simulagents had dropped him right back into the lap of the REF's intel people for two more weeks of memory probes and debriefings. Ultimately, however, Scott's inquisitors had come to accept that Marlene's present whereabouts were unknown and that Scott himself stood the best chance of finding her. That he had agreed to do, under the condition that he be given an opportunity to undertake the search alone and in his own fashion.
一想到因维模拟人，斯科特就想起了过去两个多星期以来远征军调查人员的研究和报告。虽然，审问官最后相信玛琳现在的位置不能确定，同时只有斯科特能够找到她。他同意了，这样他就有机会有自己的方式来独自找出问题的答案。
G2 had acquiesced, figuring that it would prove a simple matter to assign a team of agents to the colonel, but Vince Grant had received word of the operation and vetoed it before a single operative had been assigned. Back on the surface, meanwhile, Scott had been quizzing migrants, bribing local officials, and bartering with foragers for a line on any one of his six former teammates-counting one for Lancer, and Marlene among them. He had concentrated on Rand, who months ago at Yellow Dancer's final concert had said something about heading for the outskirts of Norristown, where he planned to write his memoirs.
G2默许了 他的做法，同时暗地里打算指派一些特工进行跟踪，但是他们的想法很快就被文斯•格兰特知道并在实际操作之前否决了。同时当斯科特返回到了地面之后不断的通 过询问外来的移民，贿赂当地的官员，以及与一些打劫者作交易，以便找出他以前那6个队友的消息，包括兰瑟和玛琳。他的注意力集中在兰德，因为几个月前的黄 衣舞者音乐会后他就去了诺瑞斯镇的近郊，开始创作回忆录。
A downside week had gone by before Scott locked onto what seemed a worthy lead, and that lead had now brought him and the toy jet to Xochil, a pueblo not far off the route the team had taken through Trenchtown, in the heart of the Southlands.
一周后斯科特终于找到了一条有用的线索，顺着这条线索，他驾驶着这家玩具飞机飞去了索契尔，一个临近南大陆中心区域传奇镇的印第安人村庄。
A tatterdemalion crowd of vacant-eyed townspeople and rough-trade foragers was gathered around the craft by the time Scott raised the canopy and climbed out. He answered a few questions about the state of things on the north coast in exchange for information on Rand and, for five hundred New Scrip (with a promise of that much again when he returned from town), enlisted the services of a couple of locals sporting turn-of-the-century military-issue projectile rifles to keep an eye on the jet.
斯科特打开舱盖爬出驾驶室时，发现飞机周围围满了衣衫褴褛，目光空洞的小镇居民，以及一些初级的打劫者。他 回答了他们有关北海岸目前事态的一些问题，以交换关于兰德的信息。他付给了装备着世纪初的步枪的一队当地武装人员500当地货币来看守他的飞机，并答应返 回时再付给同样多的数目。
Twenty minutes later he was negotiating a narrow alley off Xochil's earthen main street, zeroing in on the throaty revvings of what he took to be a fossil-fueled motorcycle engine.
20分钟以后，他来到了索契尔主要大街的一条窄巷子里，激动地停在了一个他认为是使用原始燃料的摩托引擎的地方。
Rook Bartley was standing alongside the chopped machine, twisting the handlebar throttle with her right hand while her left ponytailed her long strawberry-blond hair. Seeing her, Scott smiled genuinely for the first time in weeks.
露可•巴特利站在这个损坏的机器旁边，右手扭着把手上的油门，左手正在把她紫红色的头发编成马尾辫。斯科特一见到她就会心的笑了（这是几周以来他第一次露出发自内心的笑容）。
She was dressed in mechanic's coveralls, back and rolled up sleeves emblazoned with motorcycle brand-name patches. She was also quite a few pounds heavier than when they had exchanged good-byes, her hands and one cheek smeared with grease and grime. Scott waited for the bike's growling sounds to die down before he called her name.
她穿着修理工的工作服，背后以及卷起来的袖子上面贴满了各种摩托的名牌。相对分别的时候，她长胖了一些，她的手和一边的脸颊沾满了油污和尘土。斯科特在一旁等着摩托车的啸叫声停止下来，叫出了她的名字。
Someone's metal-rock rendition of "好起来" was blasting from stereo speakers. The song had become something of an anthem in the Southlands, much as Lynn-Minmei's "We Will Win" had captured the spirit of the First Robotech War.
立体声喇叭大声的播放着某位歌手演绎的金属摇滚乐“Look Up”。在南大陆，这首歌已经成为了某种圣歌，就如同林明美演唱的那首代表着第一次洛波特战争精神的“我们会赢”。
Rook turned, startled, and regarded him quizzically for a good ten seconds before a smile split her freckled face. "Well, now maybe all this exhaust is getting to me, but I'd swear that's Scott Bernard standing in the doorway."
露可回过头来，惊奇而又迷惑的看了他一会儿，有雀斑的脸上裂出了一丝微笑。“咳，现在我大概能弄好这个排气装置了，但是，我发誓站在门口的一定是斯科特•伯纳德。”
"Hello, Rook," he told her over the music and the rumbling sound of the idling machine.
“你好啊，露可”透过吵闹的音乐和机器空转的隆隆声，他说到。
She shook her head in disbelief, wiped her hands on a scrap of towel, and sauntered over to embrace him, kissing him lightly on the mouth and then jabbing a fist into his upper arm.
她怀疑的摇了摇头，用一块碎布擦了擦手，慢慢走过来拥抱了斯科特，轻轻吻了他一下，然后用拳头打了一下他的小臂。
"I thought you were off looking for your friends, soldier boy. Figured you'd be halfway to Tirol by now." Rook's blue eyes gave him a quick once-over. "And look at you-what'd the REF boot you back into real life or something?"
“我以为你正在寻找你的朋友的路上呢，大兵。我想你已经在前往泰洛的中途了。”露可蓝色的眼睛又瞥了他一眼，“看看你的样儿。回到远征军的生活节奏中了吗？”
"You look great," he said, beaming.
“你看上去不错。”斯科特愉快地说。
Rook took a step back and pinched out the coveralls' pants legs as though she were wearing a skirt. "You think so, huh?"
露可退后了一步，卷起工作服的裤腿，做出穿裙子的样子，“你真这么想吗，哼？”
Scott nodded. "Guess you're eating better now."
斯科特点点头：“我猜你现在吃得不错。”
Rook laughed. "Figures you'd notice, Scott. Fact is, I'm pregnant. "
露可笑着说：“你注意到我的身材了，斯科特。事实是我怀孕了。”
"Pregnant? Jeez, I thought there was something different, but-"
“怀孕了？天啦，我以为不是这样的，但……”
"Six months," she said. "She's going to be a Virgo if I've computed it right. But then I figure it's about time they changed the signs of the zodiac, don't you?"
“已经6个月了，”她说到，“如果我没有算错的话，她应该是处女座的。但是我接着发现现在人们已经改变了星座的符号，你觉得呢？”
"She?" Scott said.
“她？”斯科特说。
Rook smiled broadly. "Call it woman's intuition. Rand's skeptical, but I've even got her name picked out-Maria. Maria Bartley. What d' you think?"
露可开心的笑着“是女人的直觉。兰德在怀疑，但是我已经替她起好名字了，叫玛丽亚，玛丽亚•巴特利。你觉得好吗？”
Scott ran it through and nodded. "I like the sound of it. So this place is yours?" he asked after a pause. In the naked glare of generator fed incandescents sat a score of partly restored bikes. There were perhaps a dozen engines resting on blocks, spoked wheels hanging from the rafters, rusted frames and spare parts piled in corners or littering the top of thick wooden worktables. The air reeked of solvents and exhaust fumes.
斯科特想了想，然后点点头。“听起来不错。这儿是你的地盘吗？”稍等了一会儿，他问道。裸露的发电机发出的白色光中是一些快修好的摩托车。另外还有十几个引擎，轮子，框架以及零部件杂乱的堆放在木头工作台上或者角落里。空气中充满了溶剂和废气的味道。
"Will be someday," Rook said, looking around. "Right now I'm only helping out." She caressed her stomach. "Gotta keep the family fed."
“有朝一日会的。”露可回过头说道：“现在我只是来帮忙的。”她摸着自己的胃部，“以此来养家糊口。”
"Why here, of all places?"
“为什么会选这里呢？”
Rook tugged at her lower lip. "Trenchtown, mostly." Scott recalled something about rival motorcycle gangs in Rook's past, the Blue Angels and the Red Snakes. "You've got family there, don't you?"
露可咬着她的下嘴唇。“我是指传奇镇。”斯科特想起了以前露可经历过的摩托车帮派，蓝天使和红蛇帮。“你在这里有家人吗？”
"Mom and a sister. Guess I'm thinking about mending fences one of these days."
“有我的妈妈和一个妹妹。知道吗，我这两天正打算给她们修缮围墙呢。”
Scott grinned. "What about Rand?"
斯科特笑着问：“兰德近况如何？”
Rook screwed up her face. "The Great Commentator, you mean?" She jerked a thumb over her shoulder. "We found a place a couple clicks west of town. All he does is write morning, noon, and night. Like there's going to be an audience for his book or something."
露可拧着眉头说：“你指的是那位伟大的评述家吗？”她的大拇指指向肩膀后面说：“我们在镇子西边不远处找到了一个地方。在那里，不管是白天还是黑夜，他所作的只有一件事情，写作。他的书好像真的会有读者群一样的。”
"Have you read any of it?"
“你看过一部分吗？”
"Yeah, I have," she said, moving back to the cycle she had been working on. "And it's actually not bad. 'Course I have to straighten him out on a lot of the facts. To hear him tell it, you'd think he won the war single-handed." Rook was quiet for a moment. "So what brings you around, Scott? I don't figure you just happened to be in the neighborhood."
“是的，看过一些。”她一边走回一直在倒腾的摩托车，一边继续说：“写的不是很差。但是我必须得让他大量的叙述事实。否则仅仅从他写的内容来看，你会觉得是他一个人赢得了整个战争。”露可停了一会儿，又说：“那么你来这儿干什么呢，斯科特？我想你不是偶尔路过吧。”
"I'm not," Scott confessed. "I'm looking for Marlene, Rook."
“不是偶尔，”斯科特承认：“我在寻找玛琳，露可。”
Rook appraised him silently. "Talk about mending fences ... That oughta be some reunion, partner. You plan on selling tickets, or what?"
露可静静的打量着他。“就象修缮围墙……应该是一种重聚，伙计。你到底想干什么？”
Scott worked his jaw. "Have you heard from her, Rook?" Rook goosed the throttle, and the bike sent up a cloud of white smoke. "Think you better talk to Rand, soldier boy. I don't want to get in the middle of this one."
斯科特摸着自己的下巴。“你有她的消息吗，露可？”露可加大了油门，摩托车喷出一阵白烟。“我想你最好问问兰德，大兵。我不想陷到这件事里面去。”
Scott recognized examples of Rand's handiwork in the dilapidated wooden cabin he and Rook called home. It was not much to look at on the outside, but the two main rooms were comfortable if Spartan and reflected Rand's utilitarian nature. Scott also recognized the small notebooks stacked atop the writing desk, the ones Rand had guarded with his life during the journey to Reflex Point.
在被兰德和露可称为家的那个废弃小木屋里面，斯科特 辨认出了兰德自制的一些物品。从外面来看相当简陋，但是这样的两个房间对于兰德（这样实用主义的人）来说已经很舒服了。斯科特同时又注意到了写字台上面摆 放的那些小型笔记本，那些在前往反射点的旅途中兰德曾经用生命保护的笔记本。
"Here you go," Rand said, handing over a tall mug of home-brewed beer and pulling a stool opposite Scott's chair. "I bottled it when we first moved in."
“拿着，”兰德递给斯科特一大杯自己酿造的啤酒，来过来一张凳子，坐在了斯科特对面。“这些是我刚搬到这儿来就开始酿造的。”
Rand had already explained how Rook had enticed an REF Alpha pilot to fly them down to Norristown after Scott had taken off for the skies.
兰德向斯科特解释了当斯科特离开后露可是怎样引诱了一位远征军阿尔法战机的飞行员，令他把他们两个带到了诺瑞斯镇。
"What's weird is that I was just thinking about you," Rand resumed. "I was reading in my notes about the day you and I met. The time I saved your ass from three blues."
“真不可思议啊，我刚才还想到你了。”兰德继续说道：“我刚刚还在看管与我们第一次见面的日记。当时可是我把你这个傻子从悲伤中解救出来的。”
Scott almost spewed his beer across the room. "You saved my-" He wiped his mouth on his sleeve, deciding it didn't merit an argument. "Right, I remember now."
斯科特忍不住要把最里面的啤酒吐得满屋子都是。“你救了我……”他用袖子擦了擦嘴，考虑是否要在这件事情上与兰德争论：“对，我现在想起来了。”
"Yeah, those were the days," Rand mused, shaking his shaggy mop of red hair. "Foraging; surviving on the road . . ." He looked up at Scott. "I'm going to call the book Notes on the Run."
“是啊，那些日子就是这样的。”兰德摇动着他那蓬松的头发，若有所思地说：“一路的搜寻与逃生……”他抬起头看着斯科特：“我打算把书名叫做《奔跑路上的日记》”
"Your baby, is that it?"
“你快当爸爸了，对吗？”
Rand's thick eyebrows bobbed. "So Rook told you. She also give you that intuition crap about her being sure it's a girl?"
兰德的那双粗眉上下摆动着。“看来露可已经告诉你了。她是不是也告诉你她的直觉取信是个女孩儿？”
"Maria, I think she said."
“玛丽亚，我想她是这么叫她的。”
"Yeah, well, don't put scrip on it." Rand sipped his grog. "Either way it goes, though, I'm going to make sure the kid is raised to appreciate books and movies and learning in general." He gestured to the writing desk. "Maybe she'll even end up a writer like her old man."
“好了，不用去猜了。”兰德啜了口自制的烈酒。“不管是男是女，我相信这个孩子都会喜欢读书，看电影，学习知识。”他指着写字台：“也许她以后会象她父亲那样成为一位作家。”
"You said `she,' Rand," Scott pointed out.
“你说‘她’了，兰德”斯科特指明。
They both laughed, but it was not long before an uncomfortable pause crept into their conversation. When Scott mentioned Marlene, Rand's smile collapsed entirely.
两个人都笑起来，但是很快一种令人难受的停顿中止了笑声。当斯科特谈及玛琳的时候，兰德的笑容一下子全部消失了。
"What do want from her, Scott?" Rand asked.
“你想得到她什么，斯科特？”兰德问道。
"I just need to talk to her. That's all I can tell you right now. "
“我只想跟她说会儿话。我现在能告诉你的就是这些。”
"And I don't suppose you can tell me anything about why most of the Cyclones have stopped working either. Lot of unemployed 'Culture hounds wandering around out there all of a sudden, amigo."
“我并不打算你能告诉我为什么大多数的旋风车都不能发动了。现在突然出现了很多失业的史前文化追踪者，朋友。”
"Sorry, Rand," Scott told him. "We're all in the same dark."
“对不起，兰德，”斯科特告诉他：“我们面临同样的困境。”
Rand smirked. "Same ol' soldier. What is it-your REF people want to debrief her?"
兰德不自然的笑道：“同样的困境，大兵。你们远征军到底想从她身上知道什么？”
Scott shot to his feet. "Hey, you think this is easy for me? You think I want it? I look at her and I see the Marlene I loved. I look at her and I think about what the Invid did to us."
斯科特盯着自己的脚尖，“喂，你觉得这件事对我来说那么简单吗？你觉得我想那样吗？我看到她的时候就仿佛看到了我曾经爱过的玛琳。我一看到她，就会想起因维人带给我们的那些伤害。”
Rand rolled his eyes. "Oh, for chrissakes."
兰德转了转自己的眼睛。“噢，看在上帝的份上。”
"The Regis planned to exterminate us, Rand," Scott snarled. "You don't remember that? The Flowers had hit their goddamned trigger point. If the fleet hadn't returned, we'd all be dead."
“雷吉斯曾经计划毁灭我们，兰德。”斯科特吼道：“你不记得了吗？生命之花几乎帮助她完成了这样的计划。如果远征军舰队没有赶回来，我们所有的人都会死的。”
Rand stood up. "Yeah, and if the Regis hadn't decided to leave when she did, your precious fleet-" He pointed toward the ceiling. "-your precious fleet would have irradiated the lot of us!"
兰德站起来。“很对，但是如果雷吉斯并没有如果她所做的那样离开，你以前的舰队……”他指着天花板，“……你以前的舰队就会毁灭我们绝大多数的人。”
"You'd rather let the Invid have this planet?"
“你愿意让因维人占有这个星球？”
"I'd rather none of this happened, Scott. But I don't see how dragging Marlene back into it's going to serve any purpose now. She's living a normal life, Scott. Let her be."
“我不愿意被任何人强力统治，斯科特。但是我想不出什么理由再次让玛琳去成为别人的工具。她现在过着一个正常人的生活，斯科特。不要去打扰她了。”
"Where is she; Rand?" Scott pressed. "It's possible she knows where my friends are."
“她现在在哪儿，兰德？”斯科特催促道：“她可能知道我的朋友在哪儿。”
Rand regarded him. "The SDF-3? How do you figure?"
兰德盯着他：“你指SDF-3吗？你怎么认为？”
Scott forced out his breath. "The ship didn't emerge from hyperspace. Relatively speaking, it vanished at the same moment the Invid left Earth."
斯科特呼了一口气道：“飞船没有从超空间中出现。相对而言，它在因维人离开地球的同时消失了。”
"So you figure what?"
“所以，你认为？”
"That they may have ended up in the same place." Scott held Rand's gaze. "It's possible Marlene is still in rapport with the Regis. That's why I need to talk to her, Rand."
“我认为他们很有可能去了同样的地方。”斯科特凝视着兰德。“玛琳可能还与雷吉斯保持着某种关联。这就是为什么我要问问她，兰德。”
The smaller man shook his head. "You're putting me between the proverbial rock and the hard place, mano."
兰德摇着头：“朋友，你真让我为难啊。”
"Just tell me where she is, Rand."
“只需要告诉我她在哪儿，兰德。”
Rand took a long pull from his mug. "She's with Lunk and Annie. They're in Roca Negra."
兰德拖着他那个大杯子在桌面上滑了很长一段，然后说：“她跟伦克以及安妮在一起，在罗卡尼格拉。”
Scott tried to place it.
斯科特在头脑中搜寻着这个地方。
"Remember the book Lunk tried to deliver to Alfred Nader?"
“还记得伦克努力要把一本书教歌阿尔弗莱德•纳德尔吗？”
"Of course," Scott said in sudden realization.
“当然啦，”斯科特突然意识到了。
"That's where you'll find them."
“你在那里能找到他们。”
"Thanks, Rand. "
“谢谢，兰德。”
Reluctantly, Rand accepted the proffered hand. "One thing, Scott," he said when they were seated again. "Lunk's not going to be as easy on you as I was."
兰德不情愿的握着斯科特的手。“记住一件事，斯科特，”当他们重新坐下的时候，他说：“伦克可不象我这样对你那么好。”
《沙丘》六部曲合集
《波西杰克逊》系列合集
《猎魔人》合集
Maria Bartley-Rand, quoted in Xandu Reem's A Stranger at Home: A Biography of Scott Bernard
“完 全正确。母亲在不同的场合确实需要扮演不同的角色。但是我要告诉你们我从来没有说过的是：所有的母亲最奇怪的神色出现在斯科特•伯纳德说话的时候。我是很 严肃的说的。我花了很长的时间确信他们在恋爱。直到有一天母亲告诉我她遇到了玛琳。她在讲述的整个过程中都带着那种奇怪的神情。我突然认识到我从来没有见 过这样的神情。”
玛丽亚•巴特利•兰德，引自先杜勒蒙《家里的陌生人：斯科特•伯纳德传》
Scott breathed a sigh of relief as he felt the craft settle down, rubber tires chirping against the tarmac on a smooth but long disused stretch of Southlands highway. Mission priorities and the usual red tape had made it impossible for him to procure an old VTOL, much less an Alpha, so Scott was stuck with a forty-year-old air breather, a civilian five-passenger jet some group in G4 must have liberated from a pre-Wars museum. They'd blown the dust off the thing and fitted it with new rubber, but the cockpit had seen far better days, and the instruments were ancient. Scott's biggest problem was refraining from trying to think the aircraft through mechamorph maneuvers. A lot of good that would have done, anyway; the thing wasn't even equipped with a neural interface thinking cap!
当飞机开始降落，轮胎接触到南大陆的一条长长的平滑的柏油高速公路后，斯科特长舒了一口气。任务的优先级别不高使得斯 科特不能够使用垂直起降飞机，更不用说阿尔法了，因此斯科特只能乘坐这一架看上去仿佛从战前博物馆中拖出来，服役了40多年的民用五座喷气飞机。机身上的 灰尘被清洗干净了，也换上了新的轮胎，但是驾驶舱和里面的仪表就是老古董了。斯科特最大的困难在于如何去克服不去用变形机甲的思维来驾驶这架飞机。许多应 该装备的都没有，甚至没有思维帽！
Priorities aside, though, there were good reasons for flying civilian and denying any military affiliation just then. Earth's surface, the Southlands especially, had become a sorry place for soldiers. With the so-called fall of Reflex Point and the Invid abandonment of their hives, Flower of Life orchards, and POW camps, humankind was once more on the move. People were quite literally crawling out of the holes they had buried themselves in when the Invid had landed. Tens of thousands, many of whom had spent the past year or more in internment centers in what had once been called Canada, were migrating south from the ruined Northlands, lured to Brazilas by rumors of massive reconstruction efforts and the promise of a United Earth Government rising from the ashes of the Southern Cross apparat. At the same time thousands more had taken to the cracked and rutted roadways of the thrice-invaded world in search of lost friends and loved ones, while others busied themselves by exacting vengeance on spies, sympathizers, and any who had profited during the occupation.
如果不考虑优先 级别的话，驾驶民用飞机还有有些好处的。地球的表面，特别是南大陆，对于飞行员来说就是一块伤心地。随着所谓反射点的坍塌，因维人放弃了他们的蜂房、生命 之花种植园以及战俘营，人类又重新开始活动了。人们从因维人到来后藏身的洞穴中爬出来，成千上万的人在过去的一年多时间内从荒废的北方大陆（曾经的加拿 大）移民到了南大陆，进行大量的重建工作，并希冀从南十字军的废墟中能重新建立起新的联合地球政府。与此同时，更多的人在经历的三次战争的遗存中寻找着失 去联系的朋友和亲人，也有一些人忙于向间谍，外星人同情者以及任何从因维人的占领中获得好处的人宣泄着仇恨。
Soldiers of any army, private or otherwise, were often at the receiving end of the general wrath and blood lust, espe璫ially those unfortunates who had fancied themselves insurgents or freedom fighters. It was an accepted fact that insurgency had done more damage than good-Invid reprisals having far outweighed the dubious worth of destroying a handful of Shock Troopers or Pincer ships-and that the Regis had not really been defeated but had willingly abandoned the planet in search of richer hunting grounds. The returning REF consequently was not looked upon as some beneficent force of liberators but as yet another conquering army, a gang of thugs looking to resume control after a fifteen-year absence.
任 何部队的士兵，无论是列兵或者其他任何军衔，都会成为愤怒和仇恨的对象，尤其是那些曾经自认为是反抗者或者是自由战士的倒霉蛋们。一个大家都接受的事实 是：反抗行动造成的损失远大于应该有的好处，不仅仅是打掉一些因维人的震爆机或者蟹形飞船，而且雷吉斯并没有被真正击败，她只是主动地放弃了地球去寻找更 适合因维人的地方。返回的远征军并没有被当作解放地球的力量，而是另一支进行征服的军队，一群希望重新掌控失去了15年的地球的暴徒。
Under the circumstances, Scott's small jet was less a product of choice than of sheer necessity. And the same held true for his civilian attire.
在这种情形下面，斯科特的小飞机不仅仅是一种选择而且是一种必要了。而他那平民化的装束也扮演着同样的角色。
Mention of the Invid sister simulagents had dropped him right back into the lap of the REF's intel people for two more weeks of memory probes and debriefings. Ultimately, however, Scott's inquisitors had come to accept that Marlene's present whereabouts were unknown and that Scott himself stood the best chance of finding her. That he had agreed to do, under the condition that he be given an opportunity to undertake the search alone and in his own fashion.
一想到因维模拟人，斯科特就想起了过去两个多星期以来远征军调查人员的研究和报告。虽然，审问官最后相信玛琳现在的位置不能确定，同时只有斯科特能够找到她。他同意了，这样他就有机会有自己的方式来独自找出问题的答案。
G2 had acquiesced, figuring that it would prove a simple matter to assign a team of agents to the colonel, but Vince Grant had received word of the operation and vetoed it before a single operative had been assigned. Back on the surface, meanwhile, Scott had been quizzing migrants, bribing local officials, and bartering with foragers for a line on any one of his six former teammates-counting one for Lancer, and Marlene among them. He had concentrated on Rand, who months ago at Yellow Dancer's final concert had said something about heading for the outskirts of Norristown, where he planned to write his memoirs.
G2默许了 他的做法，同时暗地里打算指派一些特工进行跟踪，但是他们的想法很快就被文斯•格兰特知道并在实际操作之前否决了。同时当斯科特返回到了地面之后不断的通 过询问外来的移民，贿赂当地的官员，以及与一些打劫者作交易，以便找出他以前那6个队友的消息，包括兰瑟和玛琳。他的注意力集中在兰德，因为几个月前的黄 衣舞者音乐会后他就去了诺瑞斯镇的近郊，开始创作回忆录。
A downside week had gone by before Scott locked onto what seemed a worthy lead, and that lead had now brought him and the toy jet to Xochil, a pueblo not far off the route the team had taken through Trenchtown, in the heart of the Southlands.
一周后斯科特终于找到了一条有用的线索，顺着这条线索，他驾驶着这家玩具飞机飞去了索契尔，一个临近南大陆中心区域传奇镇的印第安人村庄。
A tatterdemalion crowd of vacant-eyed townspeople and rough-trade foragers was gathered around the craft by the time Scott raised the canopy and climbed out. He answered a few questions about the state of things on the north coast in exchange for information on Rand and, for five hundred New Scrip (with a promise of that much again when he returned from town), enlisted the services of a couple of locals sporting turn-of-the-century military-issue projectile rifles to keep an eye on the jet.
斯科特打开舱盖爬出驾驶室时，发现飞机周围围满了衣衫褴褛，目光空洞的小镇居民，以及一些初级的打劫者。他 回答了他们有关北海岸目前事态的一些问题，以交换关于兰德的信息。他付给了装备着世纪初的步枪的一队当地武装人员500当地货币来看守他的飞机，并答应返 回时再付给同样多的数目。
Twenty minutes later he was negotiating a narrow alley off Xochil's earthen main street, zeroing in on the throaty revvings of what he took to be a fossil-fueled motorcycle engine.
20分钟以后，他来到了索契尔主要大街的一条窄巷子里，激动地停在了一个他认为是使用原始燃料的摩托引擎的地方。
Rook Bartley was standing alongside the chopped machine, twisting the handlebar throttle with her right hand while her left ponytailed her long strawberry-blond hair. Seeing her, Scott smiled genuinely for the first time in weeks.
露可•巴特利站在这个损坏的机器旁边，右手扭着把手上的油门，左手正在把她紫红色的头发编成马尾辫。斯科特一见到她就会心的笑了（这是几周以来他第一次露出发自内心的笑容）。
She was dressed in mechanic's coveralls, back and rolled up sleeves emblazoned with motorcycle brand-name patches. She was also quite a few pounds heavier than when they had exchanged good-byes, her hands and one cheek smeared with grease and grime. Scott waited for the bike's growling sounds to die down before he called her name.
她穿着修理工的工作服，背后以及卷起来的袖子上面贴满了各种摩托的名牌。相对分别的时候，她长胖了一些，她的手和一边的脸颊沾满了油污和尘土。斯科特在一旁等着摩托车的啸叫声停止下来，叫出了她的名字。
Someone's metal-rock rendition of "好起来" was blasting from stereo speakers. The song had become something of an anthem in the Southlands, much as Lynn-Minmei's "We Will Win" had captured the spirit of the First Robotech War.
立体声喇叭大声的播放着某位歌手演绎的金属摇滚乐“Look Up”。在南大陆，这首歌已经成为了某种圣歌，就如同林明美演唱的那首代表着第一次洛波特战争精神的“我们会赢”。
Rook turned, startled, and regarded him quizzically for a good ten seconds before a smile split her freckled face. "Well, now maybe all this exhaust is getting to me, but I'd swear that's Scott Bernard standing in the doorway."
露可回过头来，惊奇而又迷惑的看了他一会儿，有雀斑的脸上裂出了一丝微笑。“咳，现在我大概能弄好这个排气装置了，但是，我发誓站在门口的一定是斯科特•伯纳德。”
"Hello, Rook," he told her over the music and the rumbling sound of the idling machine.
“你好啊，露可”透过吵闹的音乐和机器空转的隆隆声，他说到。
She shook her head in disbelief, wiped her hands on a scrap of towel, and sauntered over to embrace him, kissing him lightly on the mouth and then jabbing a fist into his upper arm.
她怀疑的摇了摇头，用一块碎布擦了擦手，慢慢走过来拥抱了斯科特，轻轻吻了他一下，然后用拳头打了一下他的小臂。
"I thought you were off looking for your friends, soldier boy. Figured you'd be halfway to Tirol by now." Rook's blue eyes gave him a quick once-over. "And look at you-what'd the REF boot you back into real life or something?"
“我以为你正在寻找你的朋友的路上呢，大兵。我想你已经在前往泰洛的中途了。”露可蓝色的眼睛又瞥了他一眼，“看看你的样儿。回到远征军的生活节奏中了吗？”
"You look great," he said, beaming.
“你看上去不错。”斯科特愉快地说。
Rook took a step back and pinched out the coveralls' pants legs as though she were wearing a skirt. "You think so, huh?"
露可退后了一步，卷起工作服的裤腿，做出穿裙子的样子，“你真这么想吗，哼？”
Scott nodded. "Guess you're eating better now."
斯科特点点头：“我猜你现在吃得不错。”
Rook laughed. "Figures you'd notice, Scott. Fact is, I'm pregnant. "
露可笑着说：“你注意到我的身材了，斯科特。事实是我怀孕了。”
"Pregnant? Jeez, I thought there was something different, but-"
“怀孕了？天啦，我以为不是这样的，但……”
"Six months," she said. "She's going to be a Virgo if I've computed it right. But then I figure it's about time they changed the signs of the zodiac, don't you?"
“已经6个月了，”她说到，“如果我没有算错的话，她应该是处女座的。但是我接着发现现在人们已经改变了星座的符号，你觉得呢？”
"She?" Scott said.
“她？”斯科特说。
Rook smiled broadly. "Call it woman's intuition. Rand's skeptical, but I've even got her name picked out-Maria. Maria Bartley. What d' you think?"
露可开心的笑着“是女人的直觉。兰德在怀疑，但是我已经替她起好名字了，叫玛丽亚，玛丽亚•巴特利。你觉得好吗？”
Scott ran it through and nodded. "I like the sound of it. So this place is yours?" he asked after a pause. In the naked glare of generator fed incandescents sat a score of partly restored bikes. There were perhaps a dozen engines resting on blocks, spoked wheels hanging from the rafters, rusted frames and spare parts piled in corners or littering the top of thick wooden worktables. The air reeked of solvents and exhaust fumes.
斯科特想了想，然后点点头。“听起来不错。这儿是你的地盘吗？”稍等了一会儿，他问道。裸露的发电机发出的白色光中是一些快修好的摩托车。另外还有十几个引擎，轮子，框架以及零部件杂乱的堆放在木头工作台上或者角落里。空气中充满了溶剂和废气的味道。
"Will be someday," Rook said, looking around. "Right now I'm only helping out." She caressed her stomach. "Gotta keep the family fed."
“有朝一日会的。”露可回过头说道：“现在我只是来帮忙的。”她摸着自己的胃部，“以此来养家糊口。”
"Why here, of all places?"
“为什么会选这里呢？”
Rook tugged at her lower lip. "Trenchtown, mostly." Scott recalled something about rival motorcycle gangs in Rook's past, the Blue Angels and the Red Snakes. "You've got family there, don't you?"
露可咬着她的下嘴唇。“我是指传奇镇。”斯科特想起了以前露可经历过的摩托车帮派，蓝天使和红蛇帮。“你在这里有家人吗？”
"Mom and a sister. Guess I'm thinking about mending fences one of these days."
“有我的妈妈和一个妹妹。知道吗，我这两天正打算给她们修缮围墙呢。”
Scott grinned. "What about Rand?"
斯科特笑着问：“兰德近况如何？”
Rook screwed up her face. "The Great Commentator, you mean?" She jerked a thumb over her shoulder. "We found a place a couple clicks west of town. All he does is write morning, noon, and night. Like there's going to be an audience for his book or something."
露可拧着眉头说：“你指的是那位伟大的评述家吗？”她的大拇指指向肩膀后面说：“我们在镇子西边不远处找到了一个地方。在那里，不管是白天还是黑夜，他所作的只有一件事情，写作。他的书好像真的会有读者群一样的。”
"Have you read any of it?"
“你看过一部分吗？”
"Yeah, I have," she said, moving back to the cycle she had been working on. "And it's actually not bad. 'Course I have to straighten him out on a lot of the facts. To hear him tell it, you'd think he won the war single-handed." Rook was quiet for a moment. "So what brings you around, Scott? I don't figure you just happened to be in the neighborhood."
“是的，看过一些。”她一边走回一直在倒腾的摩托车，一边继续说：“写的不是很差。但是我必须得让他大量的叙述事实。否则仅仅从他写的内容来看，你会觉得是他一个人赢得了整个战争。”露可停了一会儿，又说：“那么你来这儿干什么呢，斯科特？我想你不是偶尔路过吧。”
"I'm not," Scott confessed. "I'm looking for Marlene, Rook."
“不是偶尔，”斯科特承认：“我在寻找玛琳，露可。”
Rook appraised him silently. "Talk about mending fences ... That oughta be some reunion, partner. You plan on selling tickets, or what?"
露可静静的打量着他。“就象修缮围墙……应该是一种重聚，伙计。你到底想干什么？”
Scott worked his jaw. "Have you heard from her, Rook?" Rook goosed the throttle, and the bike sent up a cloud of white smoke. "Think you better talk to Rand, soldier boy. I don't want to get in the middle of this one."
斯科特摸着自己的下巴。“你有她的消息吗，露可？”露可加大了油门，摩托车喷出一阵白烟。“我想你最好问问兰德，大兵。我不想陷到这件事里面去。”
Scott recognized examples of Rand's handiwork in the dilapidated wooden cabin he and Rook called home. It was not much to look at on the outside, but the two main rooms were comfortable if Spartan and reflected Rand's utilitarian nature. Scott also recognized the small notebooks stacked atop the writing desk, the ones Rand had guarded with his life during the journey to Reflex Point.
在被兰德和露可称为家的那个废弃小木屋里面，斯科特 辨认出了兰德自制的一些物品。从外面来看相当简陋，但是这样的两个房间对于兰德（这样实用主义的人）来说已经很舒服了。斯科特同时又注意到了写字台上面摆 放的那些小型笔记本，那些在前往反射点的旅途中兰德曾经用生命保护的笔记本。
"Here you go," Rand said, handing over a tall mug of home-brewed beer and pulling a stool opposite Scott's chair. "I bottled it when we first moved in."
“拿着，”兰德递给斯科特一大杯自己酿造的啤酒，来过来一张凳子，坐在了斯科特对面。“这些是我刚搬到这儿来就开始酿造的。”
Rand had already explained how Rook had enticed an REF Alpha pilot to fly them down to Norristown after Scott had taken off for the skies.
兰德向斯科特解释了当斯科特离开后露可是怎样引诱了一位远征军阿尔法战机的飞行员，令他把他们两个带到了诺瑞斯镇。
"What's weird is that I was just thinking about you," Rand resumed. "I was reading in my notes about the day you and I met. The time I saved your ass from three blues."
“真不可思议啊，我刚才还想到你了。”兰德继续说道：“我刚刚还在看管与我们第一次见面的日记。当时可是我把你这个傻子从悲伤中解救出来的。”
Scott almost spewed his beer across the room. "You saved my-" He wiped his mouth on his sleeve, deciding it didn't merit an argument. "Right, I remember now."
斯科特忍不住要把最里面的啤酒吐得满屋子都是。“你救了我……”他用袖子擦了擦嘴，考虑是否要在这件事情上与兰德争论：“对，我现在想起来了。”
"Yeah, those were the days," Rand mused, shaking his shaggy mop of red hair. "Foraging; surviving on the road . . ." He looked up at Scott. "I'm going to call the book Notes on the Run."
“是啊，那些日子就是这样的。”兰德摇动着他那蓬松的头发，若有所思地说：“一路的搜寻与逃生……”他抬起头看着斯科特：“我打算把书名叫做《奔跑路上的日记》”
"Your baby, is that it?"
“你快当爸爸了，对吗？”
Rand's thick eyebrows bobbed. "So Rook told you. She also give you that intuition crap about her being sure it's a girl?"
兰德的那双粗眉上下摆动着。“看来露可已经告诉你了。她是不是也告诉你她的直觉取信是个女孩儿？”
"Maria, I think she said."
“玛丽亚，我想她是这么叫她的。”
"Yeah, well, don't put scrip on it." Rand sipped his grog. "Either way it goes, though, I'm going to make sure the kid is raised to appreciate books and movies and learning in general." He gestured to the writing desk. "Maybe she'll even end up a writer like her old man."
“好了，不用去猜了。”兰德啜了口自制的烈酒。“不管是男是女，我相信这个孩子都会喜欢读书，看电影，学习知识。”他指着写字台：“也许她以后会象她父亲那样成为一位作家。”
"You said `she,' Rand," Scott pointed out.
“你说‘她’了，兰德”斯科特指明。
They both laughed, but it was not long before an uncomfortable pause crept into their conversation. When Scott mentioned Marlene, Rand's smile collapsed entirely.
两个人都笑起来，但是很快一种令人难受的停顿中止了笑声。当斯科特谈及玛琳的时候，兰德的笑容一下子全部消失了。
"What do want from her, Scott?" Rand asked.
“你想得到她什么，斯科特？”兰德问道。
"I just need to talk to her. That's all I can tell you right now. "
“我只想跟她说会儿话。我现在能告诉你的就是这些。”
"And I don't suppose you can tell me anything about why most of the Cyclones have stopped working either. Lot of unemployed 'Culture hounds wandering around out there all of a sudden, amigo."
“我并不打算你能告诉我为什么大多数的旋风车都不能发动了。现在突然出现了很多失业的史前文化追踪者，朋友。”
"Sorry, Rand," Scott told him. "We're all in the same dark."
“对不起，兰德，”斯科特告诉他：“我们面临同样的困境。”
Rand smirked. "Same ol' soldier. What is it-your REF people want to debrief her?"
兰德不自然的笑道：“同样的困境，大兵。你们远征军到底想从她身上知道什么？”
Scott shot to his feet. "Hey, you think this is easy for me? You think I want it? I look at her and I see the Marlene I loved. I look at her and I think about what the Invid did to us."
斯科特盯着自己的脚尖，“喂，你觉得这件事对我来说那么简单吗？你觉得我想那样吗？我看到她的时候就仿佛看到了我曾经爱过的玛琳。我一看到她，就会想起因维人带给我们的那些伤害。”
Rand rolled his eyes. "Oh, for chrissakes."
兰德转了转自己的眼睛。“噢，看在上帝的份上。”
"The Regis planned to exterminate us, Rand," Scott snarled. "You don't remember that? The Flowers had hit their goddamned trigger point. If the fleet hadn't returned, we'd all be dead."
“雷吉斯曾经计划毁灭我们，兰德。”斯科特吼道：“你不记得了吗？生命之花几乎帮助她完成了这样的计划。如果远征军舰队没有赶回来，我们所有的人都会死的。”
Rand stood up. "Yeah, and if the Regis hadn't decided to leave when she did, your precious fleet-" He pointed toward the ceiling. "-your precious fleet would have irradiated the lot of us!"
兰德站起来。“很对，但是如果雷吉斯并没有如果她所做的那样离开，你以前的舰队……”他指着天花板，“……你以前的舰队就会毁灭我们绝大多数的人。”
"You'd rather let the Invid have this planet?"
“你愿意让因维人占有这个星球？”
"I'd rather none of this happened, Scott. But I don't see how dragging Marlene back into it's going to serve any purpose now. She's living a normal life, Scott. Let her be."
“我不愿意被任何人强力统治，斯科特。但是我想不出什么理由再次让玛琳去成为别人的工具。她现在过着一个正常人的生活，斯科特。不要去打扰她了。”
"Where is she; Rand?" Scott pressed. "It's possible she knows where my friends are."
“她现在在哪儿，兰德？”斯科特催促道：“她可能知道我的朋友在哪儿。”
Rand regarded him. "The SDF-3? How do you figure?"
兰德盯着他：“你指SDF-3吗？你怎么认为？”
Scott forced out his breath. "The ship didn't emerge from hyperspace. Relatively speaking, it vanished at the same moment the Invid left Earth."
斯科特呼了一口气道：“飞船没有从超空间中出现。相对而言，它在因维人离开地球的同时消失了。”
"So you figure what?"
“所以，你认为？”
"That they may have ended up in the same place." Scott held Rand's gaze. "It's possible Marlene is still in rapport with the Regis. That's why I need to talk to her, Rand."
“我认为他们很有可能去了同样的地方。”斯科特凝视着兰德。“玛琳可能还与雷吉斯保持着某种关联。这就是为什么我要问问她，兰德。”
The smaller man shook his head. "You're putting me between the proverbial rock and the hard place, mano."
兰德摇着头：“朋友，你真让我为难啊。”
"Just tell me where she is, Rand."
“只需要告诉我她在哪儿，兰德。”
Rand took a long pull from his mug. "She's with Lunk and Annie. They're in Roca Negra."
兰德拖着他那个大杯子在桌面上滑了很长一段，然后说：“她跟伦克以及安妮在一起，在罗卡尼格拉。”
Scott tried to place it.
斯科特在头脑中搜寻着这个地方。
"Remember the book Lunk tried to deliver to Alfred Nader?"
“还记得伦克努力要把一本书教歌阿尔弗莱德•纳德尔吗？”
"Of course," Scott said in sudden realization.
“当然啦，”斯科特突然意识到了。
"That's where you'll find them."
“你在那里能找到他们。”
"Thanks, Rand. "
“谢谢，兰德。”
Reluctantly, Rand accepted the proffered hand. "One thing, Scott," he said when they were seated again. "Lunk's not going to be as easy on you as I was."
兰德不情愿的握着斯科特的手。“记住一件事，斯科特，”当他们重新坐下的时候，他说：“伦克可不象我这样对你那么好。”