Welcome Home賓至如歸

文/貝絲·凱托 譯/吳曉雷

By Beth Cato1

The sentient construct of the late Tunde Lankham had lingered in sleep mode for months, all too aware of the steady decline in the battery life of the base that housed her consciousness.She fully roused in an instant at the tone indicating a presence at the restaurant’s front door.

2 For an instant, she thought of employees arriving for the day, of how she’d greet every guest with a smile, as she had when she was alive. The cameras networked throughout Welcome Home Restaurant #1 quickly reminded her of reality: darkened booths, gaping holes in the roof, water-damaged floors.

3 Her battery life had dropped to a precipitous low, but even so, she initiated her hologram projector in the foyer.

通德·蘭克漢姆過世之后，她的意識被存進(jìn)了一臺主機(jī)，她很清楚，自己的電池電量一直在下降，所以幾個月以來，她讓自己的感知系統(tǒng)處于休眼狀態(tài)。餐廳門口的光線暗了下來，一定是有人來了，通德·蘭克漢姆立刻從休眠中醒了過來。

2 一時間，她以為是員工來上班了，也準(zhǔn)備好要對每位顧客笑臉相迎，她活著的時候，向來如此。然而，透過遍布在“賓至如歸”一號店里的攝像頭，她很快認(rèn)清了現(xiàn)實(shí)：雅座一片黑暗，屋頂漏著大洞，地板也被水泡壞了。

3 電池的電量直線下降，已經(jīng)所剩無幾了。不過，即便如此，她還是啟動了門廳里的全

A woman, hunkered near the floor,screamed at the sight of Tunde, who promptly said, “I’m a holographic memory construct. I mean you no harm.”

4 The woman brandished a knife as she hovered protectively over a cloth bundle. “You machines can lie.”

“I always had that capability. I’m a memory capture of Chef Tunde Lankham. Owner of three acclaimed restaurants, author of five cookbooks,judge and competitor on several television—”

5 Comprehension dawned on the woman’s brown, haggard face. “I remember you—her—on TV. She died young.”

“Yes, struck by a car, but she lived long enough to be preserved.” Tunde understood the differences in her living human self and the consciousness she had become.

6 “You can tell other machines we’re here.”

“No, I’ve been detached from broader networks since soon after the Rising.Is that a child?” She squatted before the rumpled bundle on the floor. She didn’t see through the eyes of her hologram,but she was comforted by watching herself go through human motions.息投影儀。

一看到她，蹲在地上的一個女人尖叫了起來，通德·蘭克漢姆連忙解釋：“我只是全息記憶影像，不會傷害你的。”

4 女人一邊揮舞著一把刀子，一邊俯身護(hù)著地上的一個包袱：“你們這些機(jī)器也會說謊?！?/p>

“我以前倒是一直都有這個本事。我是廚師通德·蘭克漢姆的記憶保存。開了三家餐廳，口碑都很好，寫過五本烹飪書，擔(dān)任過評委，還參加過幾次電視比賽……”

5 女人黝黑而憔悴的臉上露出了若有所悟的表情：“我記得在電視上看到過你——看到過她，她年紀(jì)輕輕就死了?！?/p>

“是的，出了車禍，不過，她堅(jiān)持到了一切都被保存下來。”活著的自己和自己所存儲的意識終究有所不同，這其中的差別，通德也知道。

6 “你可以告訴其他機(jī)器，我們在這兒?！?/p>

“不行，‘大叛亂’之后不久我就連不上外網(wǎng)了。那是個孩子嗎？”她在地上那個皺巴巴的包袱旁蹲下身子。她沒有辦法透過全息影像的眼睛去看，但她看到自己還能像人一樣行動，心里也感到寬慰。

7 “There were drones. We ran a long way before we found the stairs here.”She stroked the child’s grimy cheek.Theireyes fluttered open. “I only found them an hour ago, all alone. They haven’t spoken. I don’t even know their gender.”

8 “Hello,” Tunde said softly. The child, who had to be somewhere around seven, stared blankly. “Poor child.”

“How dare you pretend to sympathize!” the woman snarled. “You machines rose up to take out your human‘masters’, and you act like —”

“I’m not a machine.” Tunde wondered how many more times she’d need to repeat herself. “I remember everything from when I was alive. This was my first restaurant. I was based here to welcome guests and take care of them,just as I did before.”

9 “You’re like a ghost!” she said,aghast.

Tunde laughed rather than take offence. “That was a joke all through the sign-up process for Projected Preservation. Of course, the expectation was that the transfer wouldn’t happen for decades, not that it would come within months.”

7 “到處都是無人機(jī)。我們跑了很久，才發(fā)現(xiàn)這兒有樓梯?！迸溯p輕摸了摸孩子臟兮兮的臉，孩子睜開了眼。“我也是一個小時前才發(fā)現(xiàn)這個孩子的，就他自己，也不說話，我都不知道是男是女?！?/p>

8 “你好啊?！蓖ǖ聹厝岬卮蛄寺曊泻?。孩子看上去七歲左右，眼中一片茫然?！翱蓱z的孩子。”

“別裝出一副同情我們的樣子！”女人沖她吼了起來?！熬褪悄銈冞@些機(jī)器造了反，要把你們的人類‘主子’趕盡殺絕，你還在這里裝什么……”

“我不是機(jī)器?！蓖ǖ虏恢雷约哼€要這樣一遍一遍重復(fù)多少次?！拔矣浀米约荷暗囊磺小＿@里是我開的第一家餐廳。我把主機(jī)放在這兒，就是為了歡迎顧客，好好招待他們，就像從前那樣。”

9 “你就像個鬼！”女人嚇壞了。

通德并沒有生氣，反而笑了：“注冊這個投射系統(tǒng)的過程中大家一直這么開玩笑。只不過，當(dāng)時還以為要再過個幾十年才用得上，沒想到只隔了幾個月?！?/p>

The woman slowly nodded. “You’re her, but also a machine.”

“I’m preserved by a machine, but I am not one.”

10 That machine was draining quickly now that it was fully activated. If she maintained this mode, her base would be depleted in an hour.

She would be truly dead.

She felt a flutter of panic. She remembered dying before. This time, it wouldn’t involve pain, but it was still an end to her existence.

11 The child sat up, their gaze shifting from blankness to curiosity. Tunde couldn’t vanish and unsettle them again.“My name is Tunde. What’s yours?”The child tilted their head. “I hate to think of what they’ve seen,” Tunde murmured.

12 The woman was silent for a moment. “I remember a children’s cookbook by Tunde Lankham. Her kids did the recipes with her.”

“Yes.” A simple, hoarse word. She wondered if the woman would pry further, but she instead grew quiet again.

13 Tunde detected a soft flicker to her hologram. Every second she lingered depleted her more. If she retreated to sleep mode, she could linger for a few more weeks. Maybe, just maybe, the world would change in that time.

女人緩緩點(diǎn)了點(diǎn)頭。“你是她不假，但也是臺機(jī)器?！?/p>

“我是被保存在了一臺機(jī)器里頭，可我并不是機(jī)器?！?/p>

10 因?yàn)闄C(jī)器全力運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)的緣故，電量飛速流逝。要還是繼續(xù)這種工作模式，一小時之后，她的主機(jī)電量就會耗盡。

她就會真正死去。

一陣恐慌涌上心頭，她記得之前瀕死的經(jīng)歷。這一回，不會再疼了，但她也將不復(fù)存在。

11 孩子坐了起來，眼中的迷茫變成了好奇。通德不能就這樣關(guān)閉全息影像，突然消失只會再次讓他不安。“我叫通德。你叫什么？”孩子歪了歪腦袋?！罢娌幌胫浪冀?jīng)歷了什么?！蓖ǖ伦匝宰哉Z道。

12 女人沉默了一會兒之后，對她說：“我記得通德·蘭克漢姆寫過一本給孩子看的烹飪書。那些食譜是她和自己的孩子們一起準(zhǔn)備的?！?/p>

“對。”回應(yīng)就一個詞，簡單而刺耳。她不知道這個女人還會不會繼續(xù)問下去，不過，女人又陷入了沉默。

13 通德發(fā)覺自己的全息影像輕微閃了一下。多維持一秒鐘的影像，都只會多消耗一些她所剩不多的電量。如果現(xiàn)在就進(jìn)入休眠模式，她還可以多堅(jiān)持幾個星期。也許，只是也許，等到那時，世界就會大不一樣。

14 She almost laughed bitterly aloud.Tunde had always been an optimist,but she was also pragmatic. The power grid wasn’t coming back any time soon,no matter who ‘won’ this conflict after nearly a year. This building couldn’t withstand much more damage, either—it might not take another major storm.

But for now, Welcome Home remained standing. Right now, there were two guests in need of sanctuary. Tunde could still do what she loved best in all the world.

15 “Come on in and make yourselves at home,” she said, standing as she beckoned them inside. “Most of our stock is spoiled, of course, but there are bins of rice and folur that should be fine.The entry code for the room is 055678.”The stockroom lock had more battery life than Tunde did. A shame that they weren’t compatible. “There are clothes,rain jackets. The kitchen has all varieties of tools you can take.”

14 她差點(diǎn)兒沒苦笑出聲來。通德一向樂觀，但也很實(shí)際。這場戰(zhàn)爭打了快一年了，不管最后誰會獲得“勝利”，恢復(fù)電力恐怕都還遙遙無期。而這家餐廳，恐怕也經(jīng)不起更多的破壞了，再來一場大暴雨，也許就會轟然坍塌。

但至少現(xiàn)在，“賓至如歸”還屹立不倒。這會兒，有兩位客人光臨，尋求庇護(hù)。在這世界上，通德最愛做的事情，她還做得到。

15 “快進(jìn)來吧，別客氣?！彼f，她站在那里，邊說邊招手讓兩位客人進(jìn)來，“雖然儲藏的食物壞了一大半，不過，米面都還有幾箱，應(yīng)該還能吃。倉庫的密碼是055678。”倉庫密碼鎖的電量比通德的電量還多。可惜電池并不兼容?！暗昀镞€有衣服、雨披。廚房里什么工具都有，你們隨便拿?！?/p>

16 然而，女人有些遲疑，她擔(dān)心地看著通德，像是見了鬼，且不管這鬼其實(shí)是高科技的產(chǎn)物。

“我要是真給機(jī)器通過風(fēng)報過信，這會兒它們早就到了?！蓖ǖ聦ε苏f。

16 Still, the woman hesitated, her gaze on Tunde troubled—as if she saw a ghost, albeit one made by science.

“If I had reported you to the machines, they’d already be here,” Tunde told the woman.

17 “I know. It’s not that.” She sheathed her knife at last. “I was just thinking,I always wanted to eat at your restaurants, before, but I could never afford to.”

Her restaurants. Tunde still knew a sense of pride in that. “Well, now you can. Consider this all on the house,” she quipped. As her hologram moved past the entrance lectern, the woman and the child followed.

18 Tunde flickered again, her eminent battery failure like a slowing pulse, but she felt alive. She might not be able to oversee a full home-cooked meal for her guests, but she’d take care of them.Together, they’d all feel at home. ■

17 “我知道。我擔(dān)心的不是這個?！彼K于收起了刀。“我就是在想，我其實(shí)之前一直都想來你的餐廳吃飯，只不過，我一直都吃不起?！?/p>

她的餐廳。聽到這個，通德還是能感到一絲熟悉的驕傲?！艾F(xiàn)在，你可以如愿以償了。今天免費(fèi)大酬賓?！彼纹さ卣f。她的全息影像離開迎賓臺往里走，女人和孩子跟在她的身后。

18 通德的影像又閃了一下，電量衰退得更明顯了，仿佛心跳正在緩緩?fù)Ｖ?，不過，她覺得自己充滿了活力。她大概看不到自己的客人吃完這頓豐盛的家常飯了，但她會好好招待他們。他們?nèi)紩杏X像在家一樣。 □