The Time Machine

 

 

Vox: Welcome to Vault¹ System. How may I help you?

Alexander: I didn’t see you there.

Vox: I always seem to have that effect. How may I help you, sir?

Alexander: What is that thing?

Vox: That is my photonic memory core or “P.M.C”as we say in the trade.

Alexander: What are you?

Vox: I’m the Fifth Avenue Public Library Information Unit, box registration² NY-114. How may I help you?

Alexander: ¹⁾Stereopticon of some sort.

Vox: Stereopticon, oh no, sir. I am a 3rd generation fusion³ part photonic, with a verbal and visual link capabilities⁴ connected to every data base on the planet.

Alexander: Photonic?

Vox: A ²⁾compendium⁵ of all human knowledge. Area of inquiry⁶?

Alexander: Do you know anything about physics?

Vox: Ah, accessing physics.

Alexander: Mechanical engineering, ³⁾dimensional optics, ⁴⁾pornography, temperal ⁵⁾causality...

Vox: Time travel?

Alexander: Yes.

Vox: Accessing science fiction.

Alexander: No, practical application. My question is why can’t one change the past?

Vox: Because one can not travel into the past.

Alexander: What if one could?

Vox: One cannot.

Alexander: Excuse me, this is something you should trust me on.

Vox: Accessing the writings of Isaac Asmov, H.G Wells, Harlan Anderson, Alexander Hartdegen...

Alexander: Oh, tell me about him.

Vox: Alexander Hartdegen, 1869-1903, American scientist, giving to eccentric ⁷⁾postulation⁷. Found writings include Treaties on the Creation of a Time Machine.

Alexander: Tell me about the time machine.

Vox: Time Machine was written by H.G Wells in 1894, was later adapted to a motion picture by George Pall⁸ and a stage musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, which went on...

Alexander: No, no. That’s not what I mean.

Vox: Would you like to hear selections of the score?

Alexander: No. Vox: There’s a place called tomorrow, a place of joy, not of sorrow. Can’t you see it’s a place for you and...

Alexander: Thank you. That’s quite enough.

Mara: Keep these stones in many places, this is the rule that my parents taught me for the first time.

Alexander: Why do you learn this language if you don’t use it?

Mara: It’s a tradition we hand down. It meant something once. It must be here for a reason.

Alexander (reads the words on the stone): One generation passes away and another commith, but the earth abbidith forever.

Mara: Why have you come here? Why have you traveled through time?

Alexander: To have a question answered.

Mara: A question?

Alexander: Yes. Why can’t I change the past?

Mara: Why would you want to? You’e lost someone, someone you’ve loved very much.

Uber: Do I surprise you?

Alexander: A little, yes.

Uber: We weren’t always like this. After the moon fell from the sky, the earth could no longer sustain the species. Some managed to stay above, the rest of us escaped underground. Then centuries later we tried to re-emerge into the sun again, we couldn’t. So, we dread⁹ ourselves into ⁷⁾casts, some to be our eyes and ears, some to be our muscles and ⁸⁾sinew...

Alexander: You mean you’re hunters.

Uber: Yes, bred to be ⁹⁾predators, but bred also to be controlled. You see, my cast concentrated on expanding our ¹⁰⁾cerebral¹¹ abilities.

Alexander: This is, this is a ¹¹⁾perversion¹² of every natural law.

Uber: And what is time travel, but your ¹²⁾pathetic attempt to control the world around you. Your futile¹³ effort to have a question answered. You think I don’t know you, Alexander? I can look inside your memories, your nightmares, your dreams. You’re a man haunted by those two most terrible words, “What if ”.CE

13、时光机器

 

沃克斯∶欢迎来到“沃尔特系统”，我能为您做点什么吗？

亚历山大∶但我看不见你呀。

沃克斯∶我好像总是会有这种效果的。我能为您做点什么吗，先生？

亚历山大∶那东西是什么？

沃克斯∶那是我的“光影记忆存储器”或者就像是我们在贸易上叫的P.M.C。亚历山大∶你是什么？

沃克斯∶我是第五大街公共图书馆消息组，注册号NY-114。我能帮您做点什么吗？

亚历山大∶就是类似于“光影记忆存储器”，的东西。

沃克斯∶“光影记忆存储器”？噢，不是这样的，先生。我是光影合成部分的第三代产品，具有这颗行星上所有数据库的可视、可读的连接功能。

亚历山大∶光影器？

沃克斯∶一种人类全部知识的简编器。请问您要咨询哪个领域？

亚历山大∶你了解物理学方面的知识吗？

沃克斯∶哦，现在进入物理学领域。

亚历山大∶机械工程、空间光学、色情文学、短暂因果……

沃克斯∶时空旅行？

亚历山大∶对。

沃克斯∶现在进入科幻领域。

亚历山大∶不，我要的是实际应用领域。我的问题是，为什么人不能改变过去？

沃克斯：因为人不能回到过去的日子。

亚历山大：如果可以呢？

沃克斯∶不可能。

亚历山大：请原谅，在这一点上您应该相信我。

沃克斯：现在进入作者著述：艾萨克·阿斯马、H·G·韦尔斯、哈尔兰·安勒尔生、亚历山大·哈狄甘……

亚历山大：哦，告诉我有关他的情况。

沃克斯∶亚历山大·哈狄甘，1869-1903，美国科学家，提出了“偏心圆假设理论”。著作有《发明时光机器的协定》。

亚历山大：告诉我有关时光机器的情况。

沃克斯：《时光机器》在1894年由H·G·韦尔斯写成，后来乔治·波尔将它改编成一部动作片，舞台音乐由安德鲁·劳埃德·韦伯创作，上演于……

亚历山大：那不是我所想要的。

沃克斯：你愿意听一听其中几首配乐吗？亚历山大：不了。沃克斯∶有一个叫做明天的地方，只有快乐，绝无悲伤。这正是一个为你……

亚历山大：谢谢，足够了。

玛拉：把这些石块保存在许多不同的地方，这条法则是自我懂事以来父母教给我的第一件事情。亚历山大∶为什么你要学这种语言？而你根本就不会去用它。

玛拉∶它已经作为一种我们家世代相传的习俗。它曾经十分重要，它之所以存在的一定是有其原因的。亚历山大（读着石头上的文字）∶一代新人换旧人，但地球却不能永远存在。

玛拉∶为什么你会来到这儿？为什么你要穿越时空？

亚历山大∶因为我要得到一个问题的答案。

玛拉：一个问题？

亚历山大∶是的，为什么我不能改变过去呢？

玛拉：为什么你想那样做呢？你失去了一个人，一个你深深爱着的人。

尤巴∶我吓着你了吗？

亚历山大∶是的，有点。

尤巴∶我们不总是像这样的。当月亮从天空坠落后，地球就再也不能维系人类了，一部分人成功地在地面上活了下来，另一部分则由地下逃生。几个世纪以后，我们试图重新回到地面，但失败了。于是，恐惧使我们结合成一个整体。一些人充当耳目，而另一些则成为肌肉的角色。

亚历山大：你的意思是成为猎人？

尤巴：是的，食物能使人成为食肉动物，但是，食物同样能使人被控制。你瞧，我的角色就是集中于扩展我们大脑的能力。

亚历山大：这……这是对所有自然法则的滥用。

尤巴：什么时光旅行，仅仅是你那可悲的想控制你身边的世界的企图罢了。你那毫无益处的找寻一个问题答案的努力，你以为我不清楚你吗，亚历山大？我能看透你的记忆，你的梦魇和你的梦想。你是一个被两个最可怕的字眼束缚的人——“假如”。CE

 

1)stereopticon [stiEri5CptikEn ] n. 立体感幻灯机（一种魔术灯，尤指那种具有两个排列的投射机以制造出重叠画面效果的）

2) compendium [kEm5pendiEm] n. 概要；纲要

3) dimensional [di5menFEnEl] a. 空间的，尺寸的

4) pornography [pC:nCgrEfi] n. 色情作品，色情文学

5) causality [kC5zAliti] n. 因果关系

6) postulation [pCstju5leiFEn] n. 假定，先决‘必要’条件

7) cast [kB:st] n. 种类，形式

8) sinew [5sinju:] n. 腱

9) predator¹⁰ [5predEtE] n. 以掠夺为生的人

10) cerebral [5seribrEl] n. 运用理智而非凭知觉的

11) perversion [pE5vE:FEn] n. 误用；曲解，堕落

12) pathetic [pE5Wetik] a. 引起怜悯的；引起伤感的

 

1 vault   

n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室

参考例句：

• The vault of this cathedral is very high.这座天主教堂的拱顶非常高。
• The old patrician was buried in the family vault.这位老贵族埋在家族的墓地里。

2 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

3 fusion   

n.溶化；熔解；熔化状态，熔和；熔接

参考例句：

• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc. 黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
• This alloy is formed by the fusion of two types of metal.这种合金是用两种金属熔合而成的。

4 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

5 compendium   

n.简要，概略

参考例句：

• The Compendium of Materia Medica has been held in high esteem since it was first published.“本草纲目”问世之后，深受人们的推重。
• The book is a compendium of their poetry,religion and philosophy.这本书是他们诗歌、宗教和哲学的概略。

6 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

7 postulation   

n.假定；公设

参考例句：

8 pall   

v.覆盖，使平淡无味；n.柩衣，棺罩；棺材；帷幕

参考例句：

• Already the allure of meals in restaurants had begun to pall.饭店里的饭菜已经不像以前那样诱人。
• I find his books begin to pall on me after a while.我发觉他的书读过一阵子就开始对我失去吸引力。

9 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

10 predator   

n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者

参考例句：

• The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
• Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。

11 cerebral   

adj.脑的，大脑的；有智力的，理智型的

参考例句：

• Your left cerebral hemisphere controls the right-hand side of your body.你的左半脑控制身体的右半身。
• He is a precise,methodical,cerebral man who carefully chooses his words.他是一个一丝不苟、有条理和理智的人，措辞谨慎。

12 perversion   

n.曲解；堕落；反常

参考例句：

• In its most general sense,corruption means the perversion or abandonment.就其最一般的意义上说，舞弊就是堕落，就是背离准则。
• Her account was a perversion of the truth.她所讲的歪曲了事实。

13 futile   

adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的

参考例句：

• They were killed,to the last man,in a futile attack.因为进攻失败，他们全部被杀，无一幸免。
• Their efforts to revive him were futile.他们对他抢救无效。