Martian Masala 火星咖喱
By Aidan Doyle
Translated By Ninesnow
2014-10
彗星科幻
(译文见后)
Arjula still found it hard to believe that the same daughter she had once nursed on her knee had destroyed a planet.
Her daughter stepped out of the simulator pod. Sameena was tall and athletic with short cropped black hair. Arjula had enlisted the services of the finest genetic engineers to ensure her daughter's physical perfection.
"There is a lot of detail," was all Sameena said. Even as a child she had used words sparingly.
The simulation recreated the Battle of Mars, where the fleet under Sameena's control had unleashed enough firepower to render the planet uninhabitable. The rebels had already been defeated. The only justification for the destruction was intimidating other colonies that might be thinking of proclaiming independence.
Arjula led Sameena past the rows of pods that reproduced famous space battles. Ostensibly the museum was devoted to the history of spacecraft but against Arjula's wishes it had gradually become more theme park than museum. Although her funders stressed the value of learning by doing, the simulations were basically just an excuse for children to pretend to shoot things. And now even that source of funding had dried up.
They reached the model room. Scale models of hundreds of different spaceships hung from the ceiling. Arjula had planned the tour carefully, and as she expected, Sameena stopped to examine the model of a Martian dreadnought.
Arjula had known obtaining funding would be part of her job description when she founded the museum. She was part educator, curator, historian and beggar. But she had never expected to have to beg her own daughter for the funds to keep the museum alive.
Humanity had colonized other planets, but there always seemed to be a reason to go to war. The military had all of the money these days. No one cared about old spaceships, but a word from the navy's most decorated admiral could pry loose the funds needed to keep the museum open.
Sameena moved on from the dreadnought to study models of Earth fighters in battle formation. Spaceships were the most beautiful things humans had ever built, but also the most destructive.
"We're going to open a new exhibit room which focuses on deep space exploration vessels," Arjula said.
Sameena gave her a thin-lipped smile. "Dad would have liked that."
How could she casually mention her father like that? Arjula tried not to let her anger show on her face.
As much as Arjula liked to believe her own planning and foresight had played a part in terraforming Mars, it was Kapil's technical genius that was largely responsible for the project's success.
Arjula had other plans for the future, but Kapil had wanted to stay on Mars. "There's still so much work to do," he told her, but as far as she was concerned the interesting work was over. She was finished with planets. She had fallen in love with spaceships. It wasn't just their beauty, it was the opportunity for exploration they offered.
Arjula and Kapil separated and she enrolled Sameena in the Union's naval academy.
Sameena was watching her quietly. Her daughter was no fool. She had mentioned her father to gauge her mother's response.
"Your father knew the risks when he sided with the rebels," Arjula said. Kapil died along with the millions of other colonists when Sameena destroyed the world Arjula and Kapil had built.
After Kapil's death, Arjula gave up her plans of marrying her daughter to the son of the owner of Earth's largest spaceship building company. She refused to talk to Sameena, unable to comprehend how something she had designed had turned out so destructive. It was only the funding crisis that forced her to reach out to the most influential person she knew.
Arjula could always find other work, but the museum was supposed to be her legacy. The exhibits she had designed were shaping the future by influencing children. She needed to win Sameena over to her side. It was like seeding the atmosphere of a barren planet. Tiny steps that led to fertile soil. "I want to show you something."
She led Sameena through the model room, down the stairs and into the grand exhibition hall. Due to the space required, the museum couldn't afford to house many original spaceships and mostly had to rely on models and simulators. Lifegiver, the ship from which Arjula and Kapil had commanded the Mars terraforming project rested on a platform in the center of the hall. The mile long ship was built from organic systems, but wasn't sentient.
Sameena stared at the ship. She had been born on Lifegiver. "It's grown since I last saw it."
"If we don't preserve the past, so many memories will disappear," Arjula said.
Sameena didn't take her gaze away from the ship. "Dad was the least sentimental person I've ever known. He said there was no point in worrying about the past. You can't change it."
Arjula searched her daughter's face for any sign of regret, but Sameena's face remained unreadable. The Union leadership had applauded Sameena's overwhelming victory and resolute will, but Arjula believed that only a monster could so callously order the deaths of millions, Sameena's own father among them. "History is the only way we will learn from the mistakes of the past," Arjula insisted.
"Dad was wrong," Sameena said. "History matters, but by locking it away in a dusty old museum you give people permission to treat the past as something that can be ignored. History should surround us like the air we breathe."
The museum wasn't old and it certainly wasn't dusty. Arjula stopped herself from contradicting her daughter. She needed to win her over. Arjula's grandfather had spent hours in the kitchen experimenting with different combinations of spices, trying to create a perfect blend of masala to suit each occasion. Like terraforming or raising a child, cooking required the right mixture of ingredients and a good deal of patience. In the end her grandfather always got it right.
Arjula came from a family that knew how to get things done. She had hoped seeing Lifegiver again would sway Sameena, but her daughter seemed drained of emotion. Arjula needed to add a different kind of spice to the conversation. "This museum isn't just about preserving the past. It's designed to inspire the desire to build a better future. Children come here, see the exhibits and want to become the spaceship builders of tomorrow."
"In a time of war, I think our resources can be better used," Sameena said.
This time Arjula couldn't control her temper. "Thanks to people like you, we are always at war. We need to focus our energy on building different kinds of spaceships. Not more warships. We need long range exploration vehicles."
"So we can find more worlds to conquer?"
Arjula had finally had enough. She wasn't going to convince Sameena to support her cause. The emotionless creature in front of her bore no resemblance to the daughter she had so carefully prepared to enrich the galaxy. "Why?" It was the question she had feared to ask ever since she learned what Sameena had done to Mars.
"You designed me. You should know the answer."
But she didn't. She didn't know what had gone so wrong. "I did everything I could for you," Arjula said. "I gave you all the advantages I never had."
Sameena shook her head. "I was just an experiment. A terraforming project. A chance to transform a child into something you wanted."
"That's not true. I loved you."
"I didn't even give the order to bombard Mars," Sameena said.
Arjula stared at her daughter. "What do you mean?"
"Do you think the Union Council would let one officer make that kind of decision? They wanted to make an example of Mars and they ordered the bombardment."
"But why did they say you ordered the bombardment?"
"They wanted a hero for the public to adore."
"A hero?"
"A hero. A scapegoat. Take your pick."
"But why did you go along with it?"
"I guess I'm too used to people controlling me."
"No, that's not fair. You have to take responsibility for your actions at some point," Arjula insisted.
"Exactly. You never even reached out to me after the battle."
"How could I? You killed your father. You destroyed our work."
Sameena turned away to look at Lifegiver.
"Why did you even come here?" Arjula asked.
"Is there something you want to ask me, mother? I have influential friends."
And there it was. Her own daughter daring her to beg for help. Arjula had planned out different conversation branches, but none of them had ended this way. She had expected her conversational seeds to transform Sameena's atmosphere into one that sustained life.
Was Sameena toying with her? If she asked for money, would her daughter reject her plea? If Kapil were here he would have asked straight away for the money. He had been a practical man and didn't care if he humiliated himself if it got what he wanted. But Arjula had standards. Her name was on the museum. She was the one trying to broaden humanity's horizons. She had invested all that effort in her daughter, just to be mocked. She wasn't going to beg. "No," she said. "There is nothing I have to ask you."
"So be it." Sameena gave another of her thin-lipped smiles. "Your husband gave life to a world. Your daughter destroyed it. On the balance you've come out even." She turned her back and walked away.
Arjula was better off without someone that didn't have the strength to stand up for what they believed. She placed her hand on the Lifegiver's outer shielding and felt the faint beat of the ship's heart pulse.
Without Sameena's support she would be legally obliged to sell the museum's assets to pay creditors, but there were ways around that. Lifegiver wasn't designed for interstellar travel but it was an organic creature that could be shaped and controlled. Arjula's destiny lay among the stars. She would find new worlds to change.
直到今天,阿朱菈都不怎么相信自己的女儿。那个小女孩曾坐在她的膝上,如今一颗星球却毁在她手里。
她女儿萨米娜从窄长的模拟器里出来了。她个头高挑,体态敏健,黑色头发剪得很短。为了保证女儿全身上下每个细节都尽善尽美,阿朱菈选了最好的基因工程服务。
“一言难尽。”关于那件事萨米娜只说过这么一句。她小时候也是这么惜字如金。
模拟器重现了火星战役。萨米娜麾下的舰队在这场战役里向火星狂轰滥炸,把整个星球炸成了不毛之地。叛军在之前已经被他们击败了,这次全面摧毁的唯一目的就是要杀鸡儆猴,让那些有可能想要宣称独立的殖民地彻底打消这种念头。
阿朱菈带着萨米娜走过一排排的模拟器,这些装置可以重现那些著名的宇宙战役。虽然这家博物馆对外宣称致力于展现宇宙飞船的发展史,但它的实际用途渐渐与阿朱菈的意愿背道而驰。现在的博物馆更像是一座主题公园。确实她的资助者强调了动手参与的重要性,但这些模拟器对孩子们来说不过让他们有个借口来玩射击游戏。而现在这笔资金也撤走了。
她们来到了模型展厅。几百件各种飞船的等比微缩模型悬挂在天花板上。阿朱菈精心安排了这次游览,萨米娜如她所愿在一艘火星【无畏太空舰】前驻足观看。
自打阿朱菈办起这座博物馆,就明白其中一项工作就是要募集资金。她既是教师、馆长、历史学家,也同时是个乞丐。但她没预料到,为了能让博物馆维持下去,她竟要向自己的女儿乞求赞助。
人类都已经能在外星开拓殖民地,但要打仗似乎总有理由。现在这个世界,军队把持着所有的资金。破烂飞船没什么看头,但只要太空军里功勋卓著的上将说句话,一定能引来维持博物馆开放所需的资金。
萨米娜离开了无畏舰,转身研究地球太空歼击机模型摆出的战斗队形。宇宙飞船是人类最美丽的造物,同时也是最具有毁灭性的工具。
“我们会开设一个新的展厅,专门用来展示深空探索飞船。”阿朱菈说。
萨米娜朝她抿嘴一笑。“爸爸会喜欢的。”
她怎么能这么若无其事的提起他?阿朱菈尽力不让自己流露出愤怒的表情。
阿朱菈很愿意相信她的计划与远见在火星改造项目中起到了重要作用,但这个项目的成功很大程度上要归功于卡佩尔的技术天分。
阿朱菈对于未来还有其他的规划,但卡佩尔想留在火星上。“还有很多的工作要做。”他对她说。而在她看来令人感兴趣的工作已经结束了。她不再迷恋星球,转而爱上了宇宙飞船。吸引她的不仅仅是飞船的美,更重要的是飞船意味着探索宇宙的可能性。
阿朱菈和卡佩尔分居两地,她把萨米娜送进了联盟太空军学院读书。
萨米娜安静地看着她。她的女儿不是傻瓜,提起他就是为了看她的反应。
“你父亲在选择支持叛乱军的时候很清楚要承担的风险。”阿朱菈说。在火星遭受的那场毁灭性轰炸中,卡佩尔和几百万的殖民者一同丧命,萨米娜毁掉了这个阿朱菈和卡佩尔创建的世界。
阿朱菈本来计划和地球上最大的飞船制造商联姻,让自己女儿嫁给他的儿子。卡佩尔死了以后,她就放弃了这个计划。她拒绝和萨米娜对话,无法理解自己设计出的女儿为什么变成了一个毁灭者。可这次资金危机让她不得不求助,来找这个她所认识的最有影响力的人。
阿朱菈再找一份工作不是问题,但这家博物馆是她要留给这个世界的财富。她设计了这些展览,她想通过这些展品影响孩子们,进而塑造未来。她需要得到萨米娜的支持。这就像是在贫瘠的行星上生发培育空气层。通过每一个微小的进步最终生成富饶的土地。“我想让你看样东西。”
她领着萨米娜穿过模型展厅,走下楼梯,走进展览大厅。由于空间有限,博物馆无法收藏太多真实的飞船,绝大多数展品都是模型和模拟器。但在大厅中心的展台上,停着“赋生者”号飞船,就是在这艘飞船上阿朱菈和卡佩尔领导实施了火星改造项目。
这艘一英里长的飞船整体是一个有机系统,不过并没有感知能力。
萨米娜凝视着飞船。她生在“赋生者”号上。“它比我上次看到它的时候又长大了。”
“如果我们不保存历史,就会丢失无数的记忆。”阿朱菈说。
萨米娜没有从飞船上移开视线。“爸爸是我认识的最不感性的人。他说想着过去毫无意义,你没办法改变它。”
阿朱菈想在女儿的脸上搜寻到任何表示悔过的迹象,萨米娜依然是面无表情。联盟高层对萨米娜所取得的压倒性胜利和她的坚定意志大为赞赏。而阿朱菈则相信只有怪物才能那么冷酷无情的下令屠杀几百万的生命,尤其这些人里还有她的父亲。“我们只有通过历史才能从过去的错误中学到教训。”阿朱菈坚持自己的观点。
“爸爸说错了。历史确实有关现在。但你把历史锁在落满灰尘的旧博物馆里,就等于让人们把过去当作无关紧要的东西。历史应该像我们呼吸的空气一样,环绕在我们周围。”
这座博物馆并不旧,也没有落满灰尘。阿朱菈忍着不去反驳她的女儿。她要赢得支持。阿朱菈的祖父经常会在厨房里一待就是几个小时,试验各种香辛料的组合,想做出一种适合各种场合的完美咖喱。烹饪和改造行星、抚养孩子一样,都需要正确的原料配比和足够的耐心。她的祖父最终做到了。
阿朱菈出身的这个家知道如何做好事情。她寄望于萨米娜的内心会在再次看到“赋生者”号时动摇,可她的女儿看上去像是丧失了所有的情感。阿朱菈需要给这场谈话加入另一味佐料。“这间博物馆的作用不仅仅是保存历史。我希望靠它激发人们的渴望,创造更美好未来的渴望。孩子们来这里,观看展览,会想要成为未来的飞船建造者。”
“我认为在战争时期,应该更有效地利用资源。”萨米娜说。
这一次阿朱菈再也压制不住自己的怒火。“就是因为你们这种人,我们总是在打仗。我们需要转而制造其它的飞船,不要再造战舰了。我们需要远程探索飞船。”
“为了找到并征服更多的世界?”
阿朱菈终于受够了。她不打算再说服萨米娜支持她的观点。站在她面前的是冷酷的生物,不是那个她为了银河系更美好的明天而精心培育的女儿。“为什么?”这问题从她听到萨米娜对火星的所作所为后,就一直想问又不敢问出口。
“我的生命是你设计出来的。你应该知道答案。”
她不知道。她不知道哪里出了错。“我尽我所能为你筹划了一切,”阿朱菈说。“我给了你我都不曾拥有过的各种优势资源。”
萨米娜摇摇头。“我不过是个试验品。一个改造项目。一个让你能够按照你的意愿改造孩子的机会。”
“不是这样的。我是爱你的。”
“我根本没下命令轰炸火星。”萨米娜说。
阿朱菈瞪大了眼睛看着她的女儿。“你说什么?”
“你真的以为联盟委员会允许区区一个指挥官做那种决定么?他们想利用火星杀一儆百,是他们下达了轰炸的指令。”
“为什么他们说是你下的命令?”
“他们想树立一个让公众崇拜的英雄。”
“英雄?”
“英雄。替罪羊。随你怎么说。”
“你就任他们捏造事实?”
“也许因为我已经习惯让别人控制我了。”
“不对,这不公平。你总有一天要为自己的行为付出代价。”阿朱菈坚持说。
“说的太对了。自打那场战役之后你就再没和我联系过。”
“我怎么能?你杀死了自己的父亲。你毁掉了我们的工作。”
萨米娜转过身看着“赋生者”号。
“你为什么会来这里?”阿朱菈问。
“你有什么想要我帮忙的么,母亲?我认识几个有影响力的朋友。”
竟然会这样。她的女儿竟然让她开口求人。阿朱菈之前预计了几种不同的谈话走向,没有一种的结局是这样。她本来打算用这场谈话改变萨米娜内心的世界,能够像播种改造一样让它变得适于生命的生长。
萨米娜是在耍她么?如果她开口要钱,她的女儿会拒绝她的请求么?如果卡佩尔在这里,他会直接要钱。他一直是个实际的男人,只要能够达到目的从不在乎面子问题。但是阿朱菈有自己的原则。这博物馆以她命名,她是那个扩展人类眼界的人。她曾经在女儿身上倾注了那么多的心血,只换来了她的嘲笑。她不会乞求。“没有。”她说。“我没什么需要你帮忙的。”
“你说了算。”萨米娜又一次抿着嘴笑了。“你的丈夫给一个世界赋予了生机。你的女儿又把它摧毁了。对你来说正好两相抵消,没什么损失。”她转身离开。
阿朱菈不需要不能挺身维护自己信仰的人,没有他们她只会做的更好。她把手放在“赋生者”号的外层防护罩上,感受着飞船微弱的心跳。
没有萨米娜的帮助,依照法律她必须变卖博物馆的资产用以偿还债务。但是她依然有路可走。“赋生者”号并不适合做星际航行。但它是有机体,可以重新改造控制。茫茫群星是阿朱菈的归宿,在那里她总会找到可以改造的新世界。
「完」
——————————————————————————————--
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By Aidan Doyle
Translated By Ninesnow
2014-10
彗星科幻
(译文见后)
Arjula still found it hard to believe that the same daughter she had once nursed on her knee had destroyed a planet.
Her daughter stepped out of the simulator pod. Sameena was tall and athletic with short cropped black hair. Arjula had enlisted the services of the finest genetic engineers to ensure her daughter's physical perfection.
"There is a lot of detail," was all Sameena said. Even as a child she had used words sparingly.
The simulation recreated the Battle of Mars, where the fleet under Sameena's control had unleashed enough firepower to render the planet uninhabitable. The rebels had already been defeated. The only justification for the destruction was intimidating other colonies that might be thinking of proclaiming independence.
Arjula led Sameena past the rows of pods that reproduced famous space battles. Ostensibly the museum was devoted to the history of spacecraft but against Arjula's wishes it had gradually become more theme park than museum. Although her funders stressed the value of learning by doing, the simulations were basically just an excuse for children to pretend to shoot things. And now even that source of funding had dried up.
They reached the model room. Scale models of hundreds of different spaceships hung from the ceiling. Arjula had planned the tour carefully, and as she expected, Sameena stopped to examine the model of a Martian dreadnought.
Arjula had known obtaining funding would be part of her job description when she founded the museum. She was part educator, curator, historian and beggar. But she had never expected to have to beg her own daughter for the funds to keep the museum alive.
Humanity had colonized other planets, but there always seemed to be a reason to go to war. The military had all of the money these days. No one cared about old spaceships, but a word from the navy's most decorated admiral could pry loose the funds needed to keep the museum open.
Sameena moved on from the dreadnought to study models of Earth fighters in battle formation. Spaceships were the most beautiful things humans had ever built, but also the most destructive.
"We're going to open a new exhibit room which focuses on deep space exploration vessels," Arjula said.
Sameena gave her a thin-lipped smile. "Dad would have liked that."
How could she casually mention her father like that? Arjula tried not to let her anger show on her face.
As much as Arjula liked to believe her own planning and foresight had played a part in terraforming Mars, it was Kapil's technical genius that was largely responsible for the project's success.
Arjula had other plans for the future, but Kapil had wanted to stay on Mars. "There's still so much work to do," he told her, but as far as she was concerned the interesting work was over. She was finished with planets. She had fallen in love with spaceships. It wasn't just their beauty, it was the opportunity for exploration they offered.
Arjula and Kapil separated and she enrolled Sameena in the Union's naval academy.
Sameena was watching her quietly. Her daughter was no fool. She had mentioned her father to gauge her mother's response.
"Your father knew the risks when he sided with the rebels," Arjula said. Kapil died along with the millions of other colonists when Sameena destroyed the world Arjula and Kapil had built.
After Kapil's death, Arjula gave up her plans of marrying her daughter to the son of the owner of Earth's largest spaceship building company. She refused to talk to Sameena, unable to comprehend how something she had designed had turned out so destructive. It was only the funding crisis that forced her to reach out to the most influential person she knew.
Arjula could always find other work, but the museum was supposed to be her legacy. The exhibits she had designed were shaping the future by influencing children. She needed to win Sameena over to her side. It was like seeding the atmosphere of a barren planet. Tiny steps that led to fertile soil. "I want to show you something."
She led Sameena through the model room, down the stairs and into the grand exhibition hall. Due to the space required, the museum couldn't afford to house many original spaceships and mostly had to rely on models and simulators. Lifegiver, the ship from which Arjula and Kapil had commanded the Mars terraforming project rested on a platform in the center of the hall. The mile long ship was built from organic systems, but wasn't sentient.
Sameena stared at the ship. She had been born on Lifegiver. "It's grown since I last saw it."
"If we don't preserve the past, so many memories will disappear," Arjula said.
Sameena didn't take her gaze away from the ship. "Dad was the least sentimental person I've ever known. He said there was no point in worrying about the past. You can't change it."
Arjula searched her daughter's face for any sign of regret, but Sameena's face remained unreadable. The Union leadership had applauded Sameena's overwhelming victory and resolute will, but Arjula believed that only a monster could so callously order the deaths of millions, Sameena's own father among them. "History is the only way we will learn from the mistakes of the past," Arjula insisted.
"Dad was wrong," Sameena said. "History matters, but by locking it away in a dusty old museum you give people permission to treat the past as something that can be ignored. History should surround us like the air we breathe."
The museum wasn't old and it certainly wasn't dusty. Arjula stopped herself from contradicting her daughter. She needed to win her over. Arjula's grandfather had spent hours in the kitchen experimenting with different combinations of spices, trying to create a perfect blend of masala to suit each occasion. Like terraforming or raising a child, cooking required the right mixture of ingredients and a good deal of patience. In the end her grandfather always got it right.
Arjula came from a family that knew how to get things done. She had hoped seeing Lifegiver again would sway Sameena, but her daughter seemed drained of emotion. Arjula needed to add a different kind of spice to the conversation. "This museum isn't just about preserving the past. It's designed to inspire the desire to build a better future. Children come here, see the exhibits and want to become the spaceship builders of tomorrow."
"In a time of war, I think our resources can be better used," Sameena said.
This time Arjula couldn't control her temper. "Thanks to people like you, we are always at war. We need to focus our energy on building different kinds of spaceships. Not more warships. We need long range exploration vehicles."
"So we can find more worlds to conquer?"
Arjula had finally had enough. She wasn't going to convince Sameena to support her cause. The emotionless creature in front of her bore no resemblance to the daughter she had so carefully prepared to enrich the galaxy. "Why?" It was the question she had feared to ask ever since she learned what Sameena had done to Mars.
"You designed me. You should know the answer."
But she didn't. She didn't know what had gone so wrong. "I did everything I could for you," Arjula said. "I gave you all the advantages I never had."
Sameena shook her head. "I was just an experiment. A terraforming project. A chance to transform a child into something you wanted."
"That's not true. I loved you."
"I didn't even give the order to bombard Mars," Sameena said.
Arjula stared at her daughter. "What do you mean?"
"Do you think the Union Council would let one officer make that kind of decision? They wanted to make an example of Mars and they ordered the bombardment."
"But why did they say you ordered the bombardment?"
"They wanted a hero for the public to adore."
"A hero?"
"A hero. A scapegoat. Take your pick."
"But why did you go along with it?"
"I guess I'm too used to people controlling me."
"No, that's not fair. You have to take responsibility for your actions at some point," Arjula insisted.
"Exactly. You never even reached out to me after the battle."
"How could I? You killed your father. You destroyed our work."
Sameena turned away to look at Lifegiver.
"Why did you even come here?" Arjula asked.
"Is there something you want to ask me, mother? I have influential friends."
And there it was. Her own daughter daring her to beg for help. Arjula had planned out different conversation branches, but none of them had ended this way. She had expected her conversational seeds to transform Sameena's atmosphere into one that sustained life.
Was Sameena toying with her? If she asked for money, would her daughter reject her plea? If Kapil were here he would have asked straight away for the money. He had been a practical man and didn't care if he humiliated himself if it got what he wanted. But Arjula had standards. Her name was on the museum. She was the one trying to broaden humanity's horizons. She had invested all that effort in her daughter, just to be mocked. She wasn't going to beg. "No," she said. "There is nothing I have to ask you."
"So be it." Sameena gave another of her thin-lipped smiles. "Your husband gave life to a world. Your daughter destroyed it. On the balance you've come out even." She turned her back and walked away.
Arjula was better off without someone that didn't have the strength to stand up for what they believed. She placed her hand on the Lifegiver's outer shielding and felt the faint beat of the ship's heart pulse.
Without Sameena's support she would be legally obliged to sell the museum's assets to pay creditors, but there were ways around that. Lifegiver wasn't designed for interstellar travel but it was an organic creature that could be shaped and controlled. Arjula's destiny lay among the stars. She would find new worlds to change.
直到今天,阿朱菈都不怎么相信自己的女儿。那个小女孩曾坐在她的膝上,如今一颗星球却毁在她手里。
她女儿萨米娜从窄长的模拟器里出来了。她个头高挑,体态敏健,黑色头发剪得很短。为了保证女儿全身上下每个细节都尽善尽美,阿朱菈选了最好的基因工程服务。
“一言难尽。”关于那件事萨米娜只说过这么一句。她小时候也是这么惜字如金。
模拟器重现了火星战役。萨米娜麾下的舰队在这场战役里向火星狂轰滥炸,把整个星球炸成了不毛之地。叛军在之前已经被他们击败了,这次全面摧毁的唯一目的就是要杀鸡儆猴,让那些有可能想要宣称独立的殖民地彻底打消这种念头。
阿朱菈带着萨米娜走过一排排的模拟器,这些装置可以重现那些著名的宇宙战役。虽然这家博物馆对外宣称致力于展现宇宙飞船的发展史,但它的实际用途渐渐与阿朱菈的意愿背道而驰。现在的博物馆更像是一座主题公园。确实她的资助者强调了动手参与的重要性,但这些模拟器对孩子们来说不过让他们有个借口来玩射击游戏。而现在这笔资金也撤走了。
她们来到了模型展厅。几百件各种飞船的等比微缩模型悬挂在天花板上。阿朱菈精心安排了这次游览,萨米娜如她所愿在一艘火星【无畏太空舰】前驻足观看。
自打阿朱菈办起这座博物馆,就明白其中一项工作就是要募集资金。她既是教师、馆长、历史学家,也同时是个乞丐。但她没预料到,为了能让博物馆维持下去,她竟要向自己的女儿乞求赞助。
人类都已经能在外星开拓殖民地,但要打仗似乎总有理由。现在这个世界,军队把持着所有的资金。破烂飞船没什么看头,但只要太空军里功勋卓著的上将说句话,一定能引来维持博物馆开放所需的资金。
萨米娜离开了无畏舰,转身研究地球太空歼击机模型摆出的战斗队形。宇宙飞船是人类最美丽的造物,同时也是最具有毁灭性的工具。
“我们会开设一个新的展厅,专门用来展示深空探索飞船。”阿朱菈说。
萨米娜朝她抿嘴一笑。“爸爸会喜欢的。”
她怎么能这么若无其事的提起他?阿朱菈尽力不让自己流露出愤怒的表情。
阿朱菈很愿意相信她的计划与远见在火星改造项目中起到了重要作用,但这个项目的成功很大程度上要归功于卡佩尔的技术天分。
阿朱菈对于未来还有其他的规划,但卡佩尔想留在火星上。“还有很多的工作要做。”他对她说。而在她看来令人感兴趣的工作已经结束了。她不再迷恋星球,转而爱上了宇宙飞船。吸引她的不仅仅是飞船的美,更重要的是飞船意味着探索宇宙的可能性。
阿朱菈和卡佩尔分居两地,她把萨米娜送进了联盟太空军学院读书。
萨米娜安静地看着她。她的女儿不是傻瓜,提起他就是为了看她的反应。
“你父亲在选择支持叛乱军的时候很清楚要承担的风险。”阿朱菈说。在火星遭受的那场毁灭性轰炸中,卡佩尔和几百万的殖民者一同丧命,萨米娜毁掉了这个阿朱菈和卡佩尔创建的世界。
阿朱菈本来计划和地球上最大的飞船制造商联姻,让自己女儿嫁给他的儿子。卡佩尔死了以后,她就放弃了这个计划。她拒绝和萨米娜对话,无法理解自己设计出的女儿为什么变成了一个毁灭者。可这次资金危机让她不得不求助,来找这个她所认识的最有影响力的人。
阿朱菈再找一份工作不是问题,但这家博物馆是她要留给这个世界的财富。她设计了这些展览,她想通过这些展品影响孩子们,进而塑造未来。她需要得到萨米娜的支持。这就像是在贫瘠的行星上生发培育空气层。通过每一个微小的进步最终生成富饶的土地。“我想让你看样东西。”
她领着萨米娜穿过模型展厅,走下楼梯,走进展览大厅。由于空间有限,博物馆无法收藏太多真实的飞船,绝大多数展品都是模型和模拟器。但在大厅中心的展台上,停着“赋生者”号飞船,就是在这艘飞船上阿朱菈和卡佩尔领导实施了火星改造项目。
这艘一英里长的飞船整体是一个有机系统,不过并没有感知能力。
萨米娜凝视着飞船。她生在“赋生者”号上。“它比我上次看到它的时候又长大了。”
“如果我们不保存历史,就会丢失无数的记忆。”阿朱菈说。
萨米娜没有从飞船上移开视线。“爸爸是我认识的最不感性的人。他说想着过去毫无意义,你没办法改变它。”
阿朱菈想在女儿的脸上搜寻到任何表示悔过的迹象,萨米娜依然是面无表情。联盟高层对萨米娜所取得的压倒性胜利和她的坚定意志大为赞赏。而阿朱菈则相信只有怪物才能那么冷酷无情的下令屠杀几百万的生命,尤其这些人里还有她的父亲。“我们只有通过历史才能从过去的错误中学到教训。”阿朱菈坚持自己的观点。
“爸爸说错了。历史确实有关现在。但你把历史锁在落满灰尘的旧博物馆里,就等于让人们把过去当作无关紧要的东西。历史应该像我们呼吸的空气一样,环绕在我们周围。”
这座博物馆并不旧,也没有落满灰尘。阿朱菈忍着不去反驳她的女儿。她要赢得支持。阿朱菈的祖父经常会在厨房里一待就是几个小时,试验各种香辛料的组合,想做出一种适合各种场合的完美咖喱。烹饪和改造行星、抚养孩子一样,都需要正确的原料配比和足够的耐心。她的祖父最终做到了。
阿朱菈出身的这个家知道如何做好事情。她寄望于萨米娜的内心会在再次看到“赋生者”号时动摇,可她的女儿看上去像是丧失了所有的情感。阿朱菈需要给这场谈话加入另一味佐料。“这间博物馆的作用不仅仅是保存历史。我希望靠它激发人们的渴望,创造更美好未来的渴望。孩子们来这里,观看展览,会想要成为未来的飞船建造者。”
“我认为在战争时期,应该更有效地利用资源。”萨米娜说。
这一次阿朱菈再也压制不住自己的怒火。“就是因为你们这种人,我们总是在打仗。我们需要转而制造其它的飞船,不要再造战舰了。我们需要远程探索飞船。”
“为了找到并征服更多的世界?”
阿朱菈终于受够了。她不打算再说服萨米娜支持她的观点。站在她面前的是冷酷的生物,不是那个她为了银河系更美好的明天而精心培育的女儿。“为什么?”这问题从她听到萨米娜对火星的所作所为后,就一直想问又不敢问出口。
“我的生命是你设计出来的。你应该知道答案。”
她不知道。她不知道哪里出了错。“我尽我所能为你筹划了一切,”阿朱菈说。“我给了你我都不曾拥有过的各种优势资源。”
萨米娜摇摇头。“我不过是个试验品。一个改造项目。一个让你能够按照你的意愿改造孩子的机会。”
“不是这样的。我是爱你的。”
“我根本没下命令轰炸火星。”萨米娜说。
阿朱菈瞪大了眼睛看着她的女儿。“你说什么?”
“你真的以为联盟委员会允许区区一个指挥官做那种决定么?他们想利用火星杀一儆百,是他们下达了轰炸的指令。”
“为什么他们说是你下的命令?”
“他们想树立一个让公众崇拜的英雄。”
“英雄?”
“英雄。替罪羊。随你怎么说。”
“你就任他们捏造事实?”
“也许因为我已经习惯让别人控制我了。”
“不对,这不公平。你总有一天要为自己的行为付出代价。”阿朱菈坚持说。
“说的太对了。自打那场战役之后你就再没和我联系过。”
“我怎么能?你杀死了自己的父亲。你毁掉了我们的工作。”
萨米娜转过身看着“赋生者”号。
“你为什么会来这里?”阿朱菈问。
“你有什么想要我帮忙的么,母亲?我认识几个有影响力的朋友。”
竟然会这样。她的女儿竟然让她开口求人。阿朱菈之前预计了几种不同的谈话走向,没有一种的结局是这样。她本来打算用这场谈话改变萨米娜内心的世界,能够像播种改造一样让它变得适于生命的生长。
萨米娜是在耍她么?如果她开口要钱,她的女儿会拒绝她的请求么?如果卡佩尔在这里,他会直接要钱。他一直是个实际的男人,只要能够达到目的从不在乎面子问题。但是阿朱菈有自己的原则。这博物馆以她命名,她是那个扩展人类眼界的人。她曾经在女儿身上倾注了那么多的心血,只换来了她的嘲笑。她不会乞求。“没有。”她说。“我没什么需要你帮忙的。”
“你说了算。”萨米娜又一次抿着嘴笑了。“你的丈夫给一个世界赋予了生机。你的女儿又把它摧毁了。对你来说正好两相抵消,没什么损失。”她转身离开。
阿朱菈不需要不能挺身维护自己信仰的人,没有他们她只会做的更好。她把手放在“赋生者”号的外层防护罩上,感受着飞船微弱的心跳。
没有萨米娜的帮助,依照法律她必须变卖博物馆的资产用以偿还债务。但是她依然有路可走。“赋生者”号并不适合做星际航行。但它是有机体,可以重新改造控制。茫茫群星是阿朱菈的归宿,在那里她总会找到可以改造的新世界。
「完」
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