2024-04-15

【Aiden in English】

        “If you aren't gonna eat that Steven, I’ll take it.”

        “I’m good. Here, pick it up yourself.”

        Kris reached over the iron clasps into Steven’s craft, taking the only useful bits off his bench. Eying the arm, he tore off the fingers and removed the radius and ulna. He held the appendage over the side of his vessel and let the blood drain into the water.

        “You're disgusting.”

        “Shut up, I’m hungry.”

        “Okay hungry, I’m your 1980’s dad.”

        Kris opened his suit compartment and placed a piece of flesh inside the temperature moderator. A sigh of gas later, he retracted his arms from his suit sleeves and fiddled around the compression-heated meal. He took a bite, grimacing at the texture. Flavorwise, not bad. A bit icy.

        “So how's Christian taste?”

        “Better than starvation.”

        “Shut up.”

        Kris quickly finished his meal in silence.

        A tinny voice popped over the intercom. “You know, this is pretty funny right?”

        “In what goddamn way, Steven?”

        “You just committed cannibalism, and you ate Christian.”

        “Yeah, and?”

        “I don’t know. I just thought it was funny that you’d eat someone named after your religion.”

        “I’m Jewish.”

        “Same thing.”

        Steven chuckles. 

        “Steven, that’s not funny.”

        Steven giggles even more.

        “Steven! It’s your goddamn fault we’re in this position, so shut the hell up! Anyone with goddamn eyeballs would’ve seen the pressure gauge reach the critical level, and apparently, I’m working with a legally blind copilot!”

        Inhale. Exhale. “I swear to God, if somehow you make it out of here and not me, I’ll strangle you in hell.”

        Kris fastened his bulky suit on a chair and let his body slide down out of the upright movement position down to the torso compartment. He looked out his chest window into the bobbing horizon. Up… down… up… down… The blissful breathing of a sleeping giant.

        Static buzzed through the intercom. “Kris.”

        “Leave me alone.”

        “Two things. One: I think you left your mic on.”

        “Awesome. Now get out of my ear.”

        “Two: your radar is pinging.”

        Kris fumbled for the sensor screen. “Oh, so now your senses can detect things…”

        He brought up the mini radar display, watching the electromagnetic pulse flash out in a dramatic flair of green and red.

        Red?

        “Steven, Steven!”

        “What? Stop shouting into the mic-”

        “We’ve got a hit.”

        “What?!”

        “Yeah, it’s real. REAL!”

        “Holy hell, no way. How far?”

        “Lemme pull up the coordinates.”

        Kris deflated. 

        “Shit.”

        “What？”

        “It’s far. At least two hundred klicks.”

        “Holy hell. It must be on the edge of that radar.”

        “Yeah, it just showed up on the map. How long will that take us?”

        “Kris, if we had fully supplied transportation and fuel, it would still take us three days at a minimum.”

        “Damnit. That’s too long. Where do we stand on fuel right now?”

        “We’ll be out of liquid hydrogen in approximately… nope, never mind that, we just ran out. We can burn through the stored methane but the tank will need to recharge after a few hours.”

        “Let’s do that.”

        “Okay, and the winds actually are at our backs. The stress sails might be useful since we’re moving away from the poles.”

        “Let’s do that too.”

        “And we can use our suit packs. We’ve still got quite a bit of fuel in those. Here, gimme your anchor-”

        “Woah Woah Woah… slow down there. We can’t risk those.”

        “Well, we have to complete this distance sooner than later. We can switch out every few hours to manage the load.”

        “Okay, fine, but you sure as hell better tell me when I’m dipping below the recommended level. Assuming I don’t die before, what’s the verdict? Can we make it before the next storm?”

        A long pause. 

        “... It’ll be close by my estimates… ”

        “But?”

        “... But we can make it.”

        Kris clenched his fists. “That’s what I’m talking about. Set the sails and hold on to your testicles.”

        Nighttime falls. Kris stared into the darkened sky, wishfully hoping to see the familiar stars twinkling back. Instead, rolling white tufts blanketed the universe. Kris sighed. So this is loneliness. He turned on the intercom. 

        “Steven, you there?”

        “Always, my sweet honey.”

        “Can’t sleep?”

        “Nope.”

        “Wanna switch out with your battery pack?” 

         “Your levels are still barely diminished.”

        “Oh.”

        Kris shifted onto his side, rather facing the comforting darkness of his suit than the turbulent clouds. 

        “Hey Steven, why is my anchor plugged onto your boat?”

        “Cuz my motor is more efficient than yours.”

        “Oh.”

        More efficient huh? Yeah, Steven would take the more efficient emergency boat… 

        “Steven, are you sure my battery pack is still above the self-sustainment level?”

        “Huh? Oh, yeah it’s fine.”

        Kris pulled out his vitals' screen. Vitals; Battery; Level - Functioning.

        Kris nodded. Seems normal enough. He shivered. Man, I hate this place. Why’s it gotta be so cold all the time?

        He opened his systems to check on the temperature. 

        4°C. 

        4 degrees!

        “Steven! What are you doing?!”

        “Jesus Kris, stop yell-”

        “No, you shut the hell up. Why is my suit temperature system malfunctioning?”

        “I don’t know, check on your vitals’ page. Mayb-”

        “I did! It says systems are functioning, but they’re clearly not! What the - Achoo! - did you do?!”

        A pause. This followed by a clink of clasps unlocking.

        Kris’s boat wobbled. 

        “Steven, what’s going on?”

        No answer. 

        “STEVEN!” 

         Slotting his arms into the sleeve compartments, Kris leaped onto the open deck only to see Steven’s craft speeding away full-throttle over the waves.

        “Oh no, you don’t.”

        Kris retrieved the disconnected end of his anchor which Steven left dangling in the water and plugged it into his own motor core. He opened the valve and placed the boat into overdrive, only to be startled by a flashing alert. 

        Low power. 19%. 

        “That son of a gun.”

        Follow Steven or die Kris. Make up your mind. Kris overrode the warning and proceeded to give chase to his friend— former, of course. 

        “Steven! I know you’re still in comms range. Get your ass back here!”

        “No!”

        Steven’s craft was already a few hundred meters in front of Kris’s, skidding over the waves at a breakneck pace. 

        A shudder rippled through the steel underneath his feet. Kris snapped his head around, greeted by another low-power warning, this time from the ship’s monitor. He sighed. 

        “Welp… Can’t help it now.”

        Steven heard the sound of Kris’s engine fade into the crashing waves. His mouth’s corners twitched into a sly grin, then a smile, then a laugh. 

        The saltiness from his tears stung his chapped lips.

        A slight break in the waves froze the expression on Steven’s face. He checked the rearview monitor, his vision greeted by a speck of white and red bursting through the white ocean crests.

        He chuckled. “You’re kidding me.”

        Kris hammered down on the accelerator, bypassing every code of regulation and safety measure. Big red cautions of imminent death flashed across his helmet and keypad. Shut up, he screams at the computer. I know this is a bad idea.

        Wiping away droplets of condensation on his helmet, he realized that Steven’s boat has vanished beneath a growing wave surge.

        Okay, here I come you snake. He opened his anchor to full release and let his battery level drain to near empty. His screen dimmed and the audible buzz of heaters died to a whisper. Frost slowly built along the edges of his vision. His lips cracked and his skin blistered open.

        The boat’s bow slowly rose, sucking up towards the crest of the massive wave. Kris gripped the handles, the feeling in his fingers fading, overtaken by a numbing cold.

        The boat’s head pierced the wave, its center of gravity gliding over the crest. Kris’s stomach hung for a second, his body momentarily floating. In the distance, he saw the dim glow of salvation— a life support station. Below, a hundred meters deep in the wave’s trough, he distinguished another bright speck, from the eternal blackness, struggling to climb the rising walls of water.

        Gravity retook control. The bow plunged downwards in near-freefall. Diving at a vertical angle, Kris grabbed ahold of the steering knobs, nudging the direction of descent towards the growing shape of Steven’s boat. The distance began to close. Eighty meters. Fifty. Twenty.

        Like a tooth piercing through a chocolate bar, Kris’s boat rammed into Steven's stern, puncturing through the thin stainless steel frame. Steven’s craft spun out, and an audible crash of his suit signaled the presence of the spineless thief. 

        “Steven! Give me back my energy!”

        Static rung through the intercom. 

       “Steven!” Kris leaped over the crushed steel platings onto Steven’s craft. Losing sensation in his limbs, his legs clip the protruding steel edges, causing him to clatter to the ground.

        Frostbite claimed his fingers and toes, but gritting his teeth, Kris pushed himself onto his knees and crawled into the cockpit. “Steven!”

        Steven sprawled face down in a puddle of water, his visor smashed into dozens of shards. Using his shoulders and elbows, Kris flipped this crewmate’s body over. 

        Even with the chilling temperatures, a new source of cold seized Kris’s heart. He froze, staring into the iced-over eyes of his last fellow survivor— his face, paused mid-expression in surprise, fear, and sorrow, flash-frozen in time.

        Tears trickled from Kris’s eyes. He tried to reach for his friend’s battery—his arm creaked and stiffened, locking in place. He reached with his other arm. That too ceased to move. 

        Kris’s anguish crystalized on his cheeks. He gazed up at the night sky. The cloudy blankets parted, revealing the flaming sparks floating around in heaven above: so much warmth for a cold universe.

        And just as quickly as they appeared, the lights flickered out as the curtains of water closed in. Kris cried out, not ready for the cold.

        His voice is swallowed up by the waves of Uranus.

【红霞译文】

        “史蒂文，如果你不想吃它，那我就收拾了。”

        “好的，拿走吧。”

        克里斯跨过铁栓链来到史蒂文飞船上，仅从长凳上面拣点有用的东西。他看准胳膊，去掉指头，掰开桡骨和尺骨，将附肢托在器皿旁，让血流入水中。

        “你可够恶心的。”

        “打住，我饿得慌。”

        “喊饿，我倒成了你八十年代的老爸。”

        克里斯打开船舱，将鲜肉放入里面烘箱内，待冒汽后，他双臂缩进衣袖里裹住热饭周围，尝了一口，味道不错，有点硬。

        “能吃吗？”

        “强其饿着。”

        “少来。”

        克里斯默默把饭吃光。

        对讲机轻声响起：“你看，挺好玩吧？”

        “瞎说什么，史蒂文？”

        “你就是食肉的家伙，还吃禁物，”

        “是，怎么啦？”

        “我搞不懂，觉得你吃基督禁食挺滑稽的。”

        “我是犹太人。”

        “一码事。”

        史蒂文低声轻笑。

        “史蒂文，别开玩笑。”

        史蒂文笑得更起劲。

        “史蒂文！怪你让我们落到这个地步，闭嘴！谁都知道压力阀已达极限，我简直跟一个睁眼瞎共事！”

        呼气，吐气。“我对天发誓，是你在作而不是我，有你好瞧的。” 

        克里斯把厚衣服系在椅子上，腰板从强立姿势松弛开来，透过齐胸窗口向波澜起伏的地平线远望，上……下……上……下……沉睡巨人幸福呼吸着。

        对讲机发出静电声：“克里斯。”

        “别打扰我。” 

        “两件事，其一：你开着麦克风。” 

        “没错，我刚从耳朵摘下来。”

        “其二：电源没关。”

        克里斯乱摸触感屏。“哦，现在你凭感觉就可判断……”

        他拿起袖珍雷达显示器，看到电磁脉冲发射出戏剧性绿红色光。

        红？

        “史蒂文，史蒂文！”

        “干吗？别冲麦克喊——”

        “我们找到目标了。”

        “什么？！”

        “对，是的，千真万确！”

        “见鬼，不可能，多远呢？” 

        “让我打开坐标。”

        克里斯垂头丧气。

        “糟糕。” 

        “怎么了？” 

        “很远，至少两百点击以远。”

        “天哟，它肯定在雷达区尽端。” 

        “对嘛，地图上恰好有它，我们要花多长时间？” 

        “克里斯，假如交通齐备燃料充足，我们至少还需三天时间。”

        “该死的，要那么久，我们现有多少燃料？”

        “恐怕快用完液化氢……不，没那回事，刚用光。我们可以烧压缩甲烷，但几个小时后需要充气。”

        “动手吧。”

        “没问题，实际上我们背风，应力帆可能有用，毕竟我们远离两极。”

        “那就按上它。”

        “而且能用小包装，我们有不少这种燃料。来吧，把船锚递给我——”

        “喔喔喔……悠着点，千万别弄坏。”

        “好的，我们必须尽早抵达目的地，要每隔个把小时更新备料。”

        “行，就这么着，若达不到最佳状况，你务必告诉我。要是我安然无恙，你觉得如何？我们能赶在下场风暴之前到达吗？”

        沉默良久。

        “……依我看非常接近……”

        “但？”

        “...但我们能做到。”

        克里斯握紧拳头。“这正是我要说的，扬帆起航，保持镇定。”

        夜幕降临，克里斯凝视漆黑天空，希望能再度看见熟知的繁星发亮，然而，大片白色光带覆盖了整个宇宙。克里斯叹了口气，多么寂静的星空。他打开对讲机。

        “史蒂文，你在吗？”

        “一直在，哥们。”

        “睡不着觉？”

        “没错。”

       “想关掉蓄电池片吗？”

        “你的电池水平几乎没有降低。”

        克里斯掉转身子，朝向黑暗船舱这侧，而不是面对湍流云那边。

        “哦。”

        “嘿史蒂文，为什么我的船锚在你船上？”

        “因为我的马达比你的功率大。”

        功率高吗？是的，史蒂文乘坐功率更佳的救生船……

        “哦。”

        “史蒂文，你确定我的蓄电池片仍处在自动运作水平之上？”

        “咦？对，挺不错。”

        克里斯调出关键性数据屏面：性能、电池、状态——正常运行。

        克里斯点了点头，似乎很正常。他浑身发抖。伙计，我讨厌这个地方，为什么老这么冷？

        他打开系统检查温度。

        摄氏四度。

        四度！

        “史蒂文！你在做什么？”

        “上帝克里斯啊，别喊了——”

        “不，你给我把闭嘴。为什么我的船舱温度系统出现故障？”

        “我不知道，查一下你的重要信息页面，可——”

        “我查了！说是系统正常运行，但肯定不是！怎没——阿嚏！-——你动了什么手脚？”

        停顿片刻，接着一连串解扣声。

        克里斯的船摇晃起来。

        “史蒂文，怎么回事？”

        没有回音。

       “史蒂文！”

        克里斯将手臂缩进袖内，跳上敞篷甲板，只见史蒂文飞船在波浪中全速前进。

        “哦不，别这样。”

        克里斯找到史蒂文扔在水中漂浮的断锚那端，，将其插入自己马达芯中。他打开阀门超速行驶，结果被预警灯吓呆。

        电量不足，19%。

        “见鬼。”

        是步史蒂文后尘还是像克里斯等死，必须当机立断。克里斯关掉警报，掉头去追赶朋友——当然是过去的朋友。

        “史蒂文！我知道你还在通讯范围之内，快滚回来！”

        “没门！”

        史蒂文飞船距离克里斯好几百米远，正以惊人的速度破浪行驶。

        脚下甲板剧烈颤抖，克里斯抱头敲打脑袋，这时船上监视器再次警告电量不足。他叹了口气。

        “哎……现在毫无办法。”

        史蒂文听到克里斯的马达声渐渐消逝，嘴角布满狡黠，随即露出微笑，接着开心大笑。

        过咸的眼泪刺痛了他干裂的嘴唇。

        海浪中史蒂文表情出现片刻沉静。他查看后视屏，眼前白色波峰泛起点点红白水花。

        他咯咯大笑：“你在闹着玩。”

        克里斯踩下油门踏板，避开所有法规条款和安全措施，头盔和键盘上闪着通往死亡大红色警示。安静，他对电脑尖声嚎叫，我知道这是馊主意。

        他擦去头盔上凝结的水珠，意识到史蒂文的飞船已经消失在甚嚣尘上的激浪之中。

        好吧，等着瞧。他完全拉开船锚，把电池容量消耗殆尽，这时屏幕变暗，加热器轰鸣声逐渐减弱，寒霜慢慢挡住视线，嘴唇干裂，皮肤磨出水泡。

        船弓缓缓升起，猛然扎进巨浪波涛之中，克里斯握住手柄，手指逐渐麻木得失去了知觉。

        船头扎进海浪，船身滑过波峰，克里斯一度要吐，顿时浑身上下轻飘飘的，只见远方光影绰绰——那是生命的港湾。在海浪深处百米下方，他从永恒的黑暗中又辨认出一线光芒，努力攀越不断提升的水墙。

        重力重新得到控制，船弓近乎自由坠下，克里斯抓住方向盘垂直落入水中，顺势朝史蒂文的飞船方向奔去，距离逐渐拉近，八十米、五十米、二十米。

        好比牙齿咬穿巧克力糖，克里斯小船撞击史蒂文船尾，戳破不锈钢外表薄皮，一下子把史蒂文飞船撞翻，船舱应声破碎得稀巴烂。

        “史蒂文！扶我起来！”

        对讲机静电声不断。

        “史蒂文！”克里斯跨过钢板碎片来到史蒂文飞船。史蒂文四肢失去知觉，双腿被外凸钢板之间卡住动弹不得。

        尽管寒气逼人，但另一股凉意更令克里斯伤心。他僵楞在那里，注视最后一个双眼结冰的幸存者——脸上凝聚着被时间定格的惊讶、恐惧和悲伤。

        虽然手指和脚趾冻僵，但克里斯还是咬紧牙关，匍匐爬进驾驶舱。“史蒂文！”

        史蒂文脸朝地趴在水坑里，头上的面罩被砸成几十个碎片，克里斯好不容易用肩肘才把他翻过身来。

        眼泪从克里斯的眼睛流了下来，他试图去够朋友的蓄电池——手臂吱嘎作响，僵直动弹不得。他又试图伸出另一只胳膊，也是不听使唤。

        斯脸上痛苦不堪。他仰望夜空，乌云像是给大地铺上了片片绒毯，炽热的火花在天上闪烁：对于寒冷的宇宙来说该有多温暖。

        火花转瞬即逝，大雨遮住了亮光。克里斯失声痛哭，真不想受冻。

        上帝并没有听到他的声音。