人物:逃离山达基(4)

 From the moment I decided¹ to publicly leave, my life unspooled as if I were in a suspense² novel. 从我决定公开离开的那一刻起，我的生活就变成了一本悬疑小说。

Strange cars idled at the curb³ by my home at all hours of the day. Men wearing dark glasses followed me to the grocery store, my kids' school. My computer and my phone were hacked⁴. 奇怪的汽车整天都在我家附近的路边闲荡。戴着墨镜的男人跟着我去了杂货店，我孩子们的学校。我的电脑和电话被黑了。

At what she believes was the church's instigation, the state of California charged her with running a Ponzi scheme, and she shut down her insurance business. 加利福尼亚州指控她经营庞氏骗局，在她看来这是教会的鼓动，并关闭了她的保险业务。

She agreed to return $1.3 million to more than 40 alleged⁵ victims. I had heard how vindictive⁶ the church could be, that they used the courts to bleed people dry with litigation. 她向40多名受害者返还130万美元。我曾经听说过教会的报复心有多强，他们利用法庭用诉讼把人榨干。

Still, I hadn't been prepared for the force of their retaliation⁷. Now the government had accused me of a felony? My thoughts ran wild. 不过，我还没有准备好接受他们的报复。现在政府指控我犯有重罪？我的思绪失控了。

She was also growing increasingly worried about her mother, who she says had spent much of the past 26 years working long, brutal⁸ hours with Sea Org, comprising the church's most dedicated⁹ members. 她也越来越担心她的母亲。她说，在过去26年的大部分时间里，她都在海洋组织(Sea Org)辛苦工作，那是由教会最有奉献精神的成员组成的。

I repeatedly begged her to leave the church, to see that all my misfortune began when I came out as gay, that the church was persecuting¹⁰ me for it. 我一再央求她离开教会，让她知道我的一切不幸都是在我的同性恋身份曝光时开始的，因为教会正为此迫害我。

Finally Terri called on the secret, forbidden cell phone Michelle had given her. Terri said she was fearing for her safety. "I have to make my escape this week," she whispered. 最后特丽打通了米歇尔给她的秘密禁用手机。特丽说她担心自己的安全。“这星期我得逃走，”她低声说。

Michelle leaped into action. "My mother is getting out of there today," I told the church ethics¹¹ officer in charge of her. 米歇尔立即行动起来。“我妈妈今天就要离开那里了，”我对负责她的教会伦理委员会说。

"If you don't have her in front of the Hollywood Guaranty Building, I will contact the police and tell them you are holding her against her will. “如果你不让她站在好莱坞保证大厦前，我就会联系警察，告诉他们你们拘禁了她。

And when I come there, I will bring the press with me." Three hours later, my mother was waiting for me in a Denny's parking lot. 我到那里去的时候，要带媒体一起。”三个小时后，我的母亲在丹尼的停车场等着我。

In exchange for being let go, Mom was pressured to sign a waiver stating she understood that if she ever spoke¹² out against the church she would be fined $25,000 for each ofense. 作为被释放的交换条件，母亲被迫签署了一份弃权书，声明她明白，如果她公开反对教会，她每次会被罚款25000美元。

It was a perfect October afternoon. The sun was golden and a slight breeze blew. 那是一个完美的十月下午。阳光耀眼，微风习习。

As the ethics officer watched from a nearby van, I opened my window, pumped my fist in the air and shouted at the top of my lungs as we drove away: "F--YOU SCIENTOLOGY!" Freeeeeeeeeeeeeedom. 当伦理委员会的人在附近的一辆面包车里看着我们驱车离开的时候，我打开窗户，拳头在空中挥舞着，用最大的嗓门大喊:“F——你这个山达基！”自由了！

LeClair's legal nightmare, which left her millions of dollars in debt, continued for six excruciating, emotionally draining years. 勒克莱尔的官司，给她留下了数百万美元的债务，持续了六年，折磨人，让人心力交瘁。

On March 30, 2017, my criminal charges were dropped—in the words of the court, "in the interest of justice." Truth prevailed. I was innocent. 2017年3月30日，我的刑事指控在法院的措辞中被删除了，“为了正义”。真相大白。我是无辜的。

My entire adult existence was founded on the guidelines of Scientology. I thought I was progressing toward a higher state of being. 我的整个成年生活都建立在山达基的指导原则之上。我以为我正在向更高的状态前进。

I believed the church was a righteous force in society. 我相信教会是社会上一股正义的力量。

We were going to save the world! And then it became perfectly¹³ clear: I would never be free to be me and be a member of the Church of Scientology. 我们要拯救世界！然后事情就变得很清楚了：我永远都不能自由地做我自己，只能成为山达基教会的一员。

Today, finally, I am free. Free for my children. Free to love the person I do. Free. 今天，终于，我自由了。自由地跟孩子在一起。自由地爱我所爱的人。自由。

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 suspense   

n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑

参考例句：

• The suspense was unbearable.这样提心吊胆的状况实在叫人受不了。
• The director used ingenious devices to keep the audience in suspense.导演用巧妙手法引起观众的悬念。

3 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

4 hacked   

生气

参考例句：

• I hacked the dead branches off. 我把枯树枝砍掉了。
• I'm really hacked off. 我真是很恼火。

5 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

6 vindictive   

adj.有报仇心的，怀恨的，惩罚的

参考例句：

• I have no vindictive feelings about it.我对此没有恶意。
• The vindictive little girl tore up her sister's papers.那个充满报复心的小女孩撕破了她姐姐的作业。

7 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

9 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

10 persecuting   

（尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的现在分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人

参考例句：

• This endurance made old Earnshaw furious, when he discovered his son persecuting the poor, fatherless child, as he called him. 当老恩萧发现他的儿子这样虐待他所谓的可怜的孤儿时，这种逆来顺受使老恩萧冒火了。
• He is possessed with the idea that someone is persecuting him. 他老是觉得有人要害他。

11 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

12 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

13 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。