《玩具》節譯

何澍

學號：11404841114048411140484111404841

碩士論文

翻譯及雙語傳意碩士學位課程

香港浸會大學

二零一二年四月

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香 港 浸 會 大 學

我們一致通過學生何澍的畢業論文，《〈玩具〉節譯》作為結業要求的一部

份，並推薦上述學生接受翻譯及雙語傳意碩士學位課程委員會審核。

(簽名)指導老師 Prof Lie Jianxi

列鍵曦教授

(簽名)校內評審委員

二零一二年五月

研究進程：

論文得分：

總成績 ：

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致謝

謹向在本人完成該翻譯項目過程中給予熱心幫助的所有人士致以誠摯的敬意

與感謝！

衷心感謝導師列鍵曦教授（Prof. Lie Jianxi）的親切關懷和悉心指導。列教授

不辭辛苦，多次從澳門趕到香港對本人的翻譯項目進行當面指導與修改，其嚴

謹、耐心、細緻、精益求精的治學態度對本人產生了深刻影響。

另外，我謹向各位尊敬的教職員工致謝！感謝你們為助我完成學業所付出的

努力。同時，感謝與我同窗近一年的同學好友！本文的順利完成得益於你們的陪

伴、鼓勵與支持。

最後，感謝浸會大學在本人學習期間給予的支持，尤其是學校圖書館的豐富

資料和完善設施為本人完成翻譯項目提供了諸多方便。感謝學校為學生所提供的

良好學術環境。

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摘要

本項目包含一篇翻譯作品，節譯自 2011年由利特爾布朗出版社出版的美國

當代小說《玩具》（Toys），作者詹姆斯･派特森（James Patterson）被譽為美國

驚悚推理小說天王，曾在 2004年被《讀者文摘》評為最受歡迎的作家。本項目

節錄了此書的第一卷，即從序言至第二十章，旨在讓讀者閱讀科幻懸疑故事的同

時對當今世界科技高速發展可能帶來的潛在威脅給予一定反思。

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目錄

致謝 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2222

摘要 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3333

目錄 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4444

翻譯項目正文 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 5-435-435-435-43

附錄A：ReflectiveReflectiveReflectiveReflective JournalJournalJournalJournal forforforfor studentsstudentsstudentsstudents ------------------------------- 44-4944-4944-4944-49

附錄B：原文

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序幕 《七月四日》

我永遠無法忘記這個時刻，雖然，事實上“永遠”對我來說，恐怕也沒有多

遠了。我和家人有一間心愛的湖畔小屋，位於北部地區，那裏有一個房間，是我

父母躲避放射性塵埃用的。此刻，我置身於這個雜亂的地方，把那盤標著《七月

四日》、仿佛充滿不祥之兆的碟片匆匆放進影碟機，然後坐在身後佈滿灰塵的破

沙發上。

我想一個名為《七月四日》的影片只怕不會是個喜劇。

的確如此。

看哪！沒有鋪墊，沒有故事的漸進，只有遍佈的屍體。汽車座椅裏，人行道

上，麥當勞（曾經很火的速食店）的櫃檯前，都躺滿了死去的人們。

接著，畫面上出現一間教室，教室裏的書桌前伏著一個個高中學生和他們的

老師，他們的身子已然發白腫脹。

移動升降臺上，一個建築工人死去了，他的眼球似乎已經脫離了面部。

門廊下，一名郵遞員仰面朝天躺著，沒送出的信還緊握在手裏。

路邊排水渠的底部，有一個女孩也死了，她一頭淺黃色的頭髮，坐在自行車

上——我終於忍不住淚流滿面了。

仿佛有個控制生命運轉的開關，在人們各自為生活奔忙的瞬間被兀然拉下，

人們的心臟不再跳動，頭腦也停止了思考。

幸好不是所有人都死去了。

有一幕讓我十分難忘，我看見一扇電梯門被撬開，一個女白領出現在鏡頭

裏。她驚聲尖叫著，失魂落魄一般——她的身後，至少有七具屍體，那是她的同

事們。

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看來還有一線希望。

在某個大概位於新芝加哥的棒球賽場裏，幾百名倖存者聚集在中場地帶。這

時鏡頭轉向了全場。真是慘絕人寰！投球區的土墩上，一個投手死去了，他的臉

上堆滿塵土。每個壘、外場、隊員席，都躺著一個個屍體，身上還穿著賽服。看

臺上的五萬個球迷，也和他們一樣，再也無法為他們歡呼喝彩了。

我坐在沙發上，看著看著，只覺得頭暈目眩。我已經忘記了呼吸，渾身冷汗

涔涔，手腳冰涼。

下一幕，一根斷成兩截的旗杆映入眼簾。旗杆後面，整個城市就像一個燒過

的骷髏，一排排高樓滿目瘡痍、濃煙滾滾，就像骷髏裏一顆顆黢黑的牙齒。

我猜想，這些鏡頭一定只是為了拍戲製作出來的，可是，誰能拍出如此恐怖

而生動的電影呢？又如何能夠策劃這場看起來如此真實的惡作劇呢？而且，他為

什麼要這樣做？

現在出現的是手持攝影機沿著街邊拍下的鏡頭。畫面裏，成千上萬的人在大

橋和高速公路上狂奔，他們帶著吃的喝的、提著毛毯，抱著小孩，扶著虛弱的

人。其中有一個暗中拍攝的特寫，畫面上有巡邏的車輛，不時駛過路邊。各個檢

查站處，高大健壯的政府軍士兵頭戴反光頭盔，手持自動化武器，正努力維持秩

序，試圖應對這場不可思議的大混亂。

電影的最後一個場景，是挖土機器正在挖掘許多巨型壕溝，其寬度深度堪比

露天礦井。推土機在一旁填平這些壕溝，那鏟鬥裏裝的不是土，而是數不清的屍

體。

影片到此結束。我坐在黑暗中，驚懼不已，更是百思不得其解。

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這會不會只是個噁心的玩笑呢？一場大屠殺表演？還是我應該相信，歷史上

有過一場可怕的災禍，但不為人所知？是什麼時候發生的呢？為什麼我從來不知

道有過這事？為什麼似乎沒有一個人知道或聽說過呢？

我想不出答案。又怎麼會有答案呢？我剛才看到的一切不會是真實的，不會

的。

忽然，一雙手搭住了我的肩。我從沙發上一下彈起來，握緊拳頭，卻碰到了

茶几，把咖啡杯撞到地上。玻璃杯“啪啦”爆裂開來，我的腦袋也好像要爆炸

了。

「海斯！是我，你老爸。海斯，是我啊！孩子，坐下來。」

原來是父親，他扶住我的肩，想安慰我。但我不能就這麼算了，這個房間是

他的，那該死的電影是他的，剛剛也是他的一雙手嚇了我一跳。

「這……這到底是怎麼回事？」我必須得知道真相。「告訴我吧！拜託告訴

我真相。」「那個電影？」他說道，「海斯，那就是真相，那就是七月四日發生

的一切。他們差點把人類全部滅絕了。你從小學到大學上的課、讀的書，都不過

是個殘忍的騙局。」

第一卷

墜入深淵

第一章

四十八小時之前——就是我在父親家裏看《七月四日》的前兩天。

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2061 年的這個晚上，我去參加休斯･傑克林總統的就職典禮晚宴，心情大

好，從未感到如此志得意滿。當時的我，絕對想不到自己最終會失去一切我在乎

的東西——家、工作、兩個可愛的女兒蔻依和艾普瑞，還有美麗的妻子莉茲貝

絲，此刻她正在我身邊。

在接下來兩天裏，可怕的事情接二連三地發生，我的世界好像整個顛倒過

來。一切沒有牢牢紮根於我身上的東西都消失得無影無蹤，只剩下一個最基本的

海斯･貝克。要是當時的我和如今的我一起去參加派對，絕對不會有人說我們相

像。

當晚我和莉茲貝絲在八點半左右到了總統府，接我們抵達的是時尚的戴姆勒

SX-5500 型人工智能豪華轎車，這當然不是我們平時的座駕。

一個神采奕奕，吉夫斯式1的高級侍從為我們打開車門。甫踏上前院平整華美

的草坪，我們就呆呆地環顧四周，像兩個看新鮮的遊客——該死，是像兩個老土

的人類，難以置信地看著如此美好的一切。

直到現在，我還記得，那晚的夜風是暖暖的，空氣中彌漫著千百花朵的甜

香，那是總統花園裏的玫瑰、梔子花、以及經過基因改良的各種花兒，全都設置

好在今晚開放。雖然多少有些炫耀，但這的確是個植物學的奇跡。

「太難以置信了，海斯，真是眼花繚亂，激動人心。」莉茲貝絲雀躍地說，

她美麗的眼睛閃爍著興奮的光芒。「世界掌握在我們手裏！」

她說的「我們」，並不單指她和我，而是指我們二人更廣義的身份——「精

英」，也就是過去二十年來統治文明社會的上等階層。

精英大都很有魅力，但莉茲貝絲身穿銀色絲緞禮服，配上紫色長髮襯托下如

象牙般的肌膚，儼然一顆掉入木屑中的璀璨鑽石。

「你會把他們迷暈的，小邪門兒，」我朝她眨眨眼，「迷死人了！」

1 吉夫斯(Jeeves)，英國作家伍德霍斯小說中的人物，現用來指理想的男僕。

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「甜言蜜語，總是讓你處處受歡迎。」她也對我眨了眨眼。

我最喜歡用「小邪門兒」這個昵稱來打趣她，這麼叫她是因為她來到這個世

界是星期五，又是十三號，但是她沒有遇到過一件不幸的事——至少在我們一起

的時候是這樣。

我牽起她佩戴著優雅鑽飾的手，想到她成為了我的妻子心裏就無比激動。老

天，我太愛她了。可以陪伴在她身邊，可以成為她的丈夫，跟她生兩個女兒，我

真是三生有幸。

當我們款步走進開闊敞亮的舞廳時，所有人的目光都轉向我們，你會覺得我

們耀眼得像過去人類時代的歌星影星一樣。

但是，在這一眾上流精英中，也不是所有人都樂意見到我和莉茲貝絲。

不過也沒關係，你不可能讓所有人都滿意。這不就是看待世事最理性的態度

麼？一點不錯。

第二章

我和莉茲貝絲走進了金碧輝煌的大廳，看見維斯蒙特･德隆站在舞臺中央。

德隆是全球最受歡迎、最負盛名的喜劇演員，他在用滑稽的口吻給大家講一些嘲

笑人類的笑話。這時他發現聽眾暫時將目光轉向了我和莉茲貝絲，於是他提高音

量，想贏回他的聽眾。

「大夥呀，聽好了。先生們，看著我——女士們也別錯過！對了，這裏，你

和我……你們的明星正在臺上呢。」

「有天晚上呢，一個精英去外面尋歡作樂，他喝得有點多，溜達到人類地盤

的邊界上，進了一家小酒館。」德隆說著，露出他標誌性的狡猾笑容。

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「他要了一杯酒，然後對他周圍的人說：『我給你們說個人類的笑話，是我

這些年來聽過最棒的。』聽了這話，吧臺上的女侍者臉色很難看，她不客氣地

說：『聽著，老兄，我會武術，坐你旁邊的是我男朋友，他是專業摔跤手，還有

這個保鏢，他是前特種部隊的。我們三個都是人類。不怕告訴你，這裏頭還有五

十個人和我們一樣。你還要講那個笑話嗎？』『不，不說了，』那個精英回答，

『我可不想花一晚上時間把這個笑話解釋五十三次。』」

人群迸發出一陣大笑。顯然，他們都是維斯蒙特･德隆的粉絲——其實我也

是。現在大家都七嘴八舌地嘲笑起人類來：

「一個人類問另外一個人類，月亮和墨西哥哪個離他們更近，」一個精英大

聲說，「被問的那個人指著月亮，然後說:『呵，你站在這看得見墨西哥麼？』」

「科學家現在開始用人類代替老鼠做實驗了。人類繁殖得更快，而且也不會

讓你對他產生什麼感情。」

德隆哈哈一笑，說：「你知道人類沒付垃圾清潔費會怎樣嗎？垃圾公司就拒

絕把垃圾運走。」

「來，海斯，到你了。」在我身後，一個聲音響起。「快來露兩手，讓咱們

開開眼界。」

說話的男子不是別人，正是傑克斯･摩爾，革新局的局長，也是我和莉茲貝

絲的頂頭上司。他高大俊朗，身體壯實，正在享用一根雪茄——抽這種無煙無味

的雪茄已經成為他的標誌性動作了。

四周安靜了下來，眾人都期待地望著我。既然上司發了話，我也沒法躲了。

於是我整了整衣領，微微一笑，講了個我所記得最經典的人類笑話。

「恩，有個辦公室，裏面幹活的全是人類。其中有個女員工，注意到自己的

女老闆幾乎每天都提前下班，」我說道，「於是她覺得自己早點走也沒關係。一

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天下午，她等到老闆離開之後，又過了十分鐘，她也悄悄溜了出來。但是當她到

家時，她聽到臥室傳來一陣可怕的動靜。她偷偷看過去——是老闆！那躺在一邊

的人卻是自己的丈夫！」

我停了一下，就一小會兒——我確定時間控制得恰到好處。

「她匆匆又趕回辦公室了。『唉，以後都不敢早退了，』她跟同事們說，

『我差點被老闆發現了！』」

大家都開懷大笑，笑聲在大廳裏迴響。維斯蒙特･德隆臉紅了，但他的雙下

巴也止不住地顫動著。莉茲貝絲表現出得體的平靜，似乎早就聽過了一般，但她

朝我悄悄眨了眨眼，那眼光告訴我：「海斯，說的不賴。」

「不錯嘛海斯，」摩爾說，「好了，大明星，你能不能抽一兩分鐘時間，總

統先生想見你們兩位。」

總統先生！莉茲貝絲沒法平靜了。我們兩個都從未見過傑克林總統，這可是

個無上的光榮。

「沒有事先預約，我們一般不見客……但是這次我們可以破個例。」我說。

「那我相信總統先生會受寵若驚的。」傑克斯･摩爾一臉挖苦地說。「好

了，海斯，別開玩笑了，人類的玩笑也別開了。」

第三章

「天哪天哪，是總統先生要見我們呢。」莉茲貝絲在我耳邊輕聲說道，一邊

跟著傑克斯･摩爾往裏邊走。

「他當然想見我們咯。」我咧嘴一笑。

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事實上，我和莉茲貝絲在當時是被視為明星的。我們剛從新維加斯回來，挽

救了那裡的無數生命，逮捕了一夥稍有些小聰明的人類強盜，他們搶劫銀行，一

直橫行於西部地區。

言歸正傳。傑克斯･摩爾帶領我們快速穿過八英尺高的雕花橡木門廊，這條

路一直通向大宅的私人區域。我們一路走向總統的橢圓形辦公室，沿路有隱蔽的

掃描儀將我們的每個毛孔都細細檢查一番。這個橢圓辦公室是依照華盛頓那赫赫

有名的原型建造的，只是華盛頓如今已經被海水淹沒了。

這讓我立刻回想起，人類還是創造過一些值得稱道的東西，比如面前這新古

典主義風格的精緻建築。但是人類也讓這個星球滿目瘡痍，不是嗎？二三十年

前，第一代精英也只是勉強挽救了地球，使之不至於被徹底摧毀。華盛頓只是眾

多受害城市中的一個，另外還有大部分地勢較低的東部沿海城市，包括紐約，波

士頓，費城等等，都很早就被海水吞沒了。

我們走進橢圓辦公室，休斯･傑克林總統正站在穿衣鏡前，笨拙地擺弄他的

領結。他旁邊站著德弗林，是個健碩忠心的保鏢，傳聞也是總統的情人。

看到我們，總統放下領帶，過來迎接我們。他向我們大步走來，好像我們是

老朋友一樣。他氣質出眾，舉止優雅，面容嚴肅，肩膀寬闊，濃密的黑髮在兩鬢

處略微有些斑白。

「親愛的，雖然太陽已經落山，但你所到之處卻像白晝一樣明亮。」他親了

親莉茲貝絲的兩頰，對她說道。

「總統……總統先生，」莉茲貝絲囁嚅著說，「唔，我……我都說不出話

了。」

「你說不出話都這麼迷人。」總統回答道。

13

他轉向我，跟我用力握了握手。「海斯･貝克，非常高興見到你，你也美得

很啊。嗯，我還有個聚會，要遲到了，我們有機會慢慢瞭解。但是我希望你們知

道我一直密切關注你們在局裏的工作，我可是你們的忠實粉絲。你們在維加斯的

行動迅速高效，很棒，我非常滿意。」

「總統先生，我們很高興能夠幫得上忙。」莉茲貝絲說，她的臉微微紅了。

「那你看看這個忙可以幫得上嗎？」他拍了拍鬆開的領帶，故作煩心地說：

「我一直找不到打領帶的竅門，也不明白領帶的意義何在。真是麻煩事。」

「我可以幫您。」德弗林說，但是總統擺擺手，讓這位肌肉發達的保鏢到旁

邊去了。

「莉茲貝絲？」他說著，仰起了脖子：「來，讓我們看你是怎樣絞死這個世

界領袖的。」

第四章

「這是我的榮幸，先生！」

莉茲貝絲接過領帶，笑得像個總愛大驚小怪的女學生。她靈巧的手指穿過領

帶，十分專業地打著領結，總統先生則朝我們狡黠地點點頭。德弗林在一旁坐立

不安、面有憂色。我暗自希望我們沒有得罪這位強壯的保鏢。

「關於我未來的計畫，我先跟你們說一點。」總統說道。「我最得力的助手

們制定了一項計畫，目的在於——這麼說吧，針對人類的所作所為，我們希望能

夠徹底把這個世界變得安全、潔淨。這個計畫即將展開，應該說，再過幾天就要

啟動了。」

14

我和莉茲貝絲已經聽說，一場大規模遏制人類的行動就要展開了。這個消息

很讓人安心，這些莽撞危險的人類只能怪他們自己。他們本來能把這個世界變得

更加美好的，但他們自己放棄了這個機會。事實是，他們的所作所為與此截然相

反。

「我靠你們兩個協助展開這一行動。而且，在對付極端不良分子方面，你們

是我們隊伍裏數一數二的人物。希望你們再接再厲。你們未來大有作為，應該

說，我們精英種族都會大有作為。」他對著鏡子看了一番。「回頭想想，這勒住

脖子的領帶不就是人類發明的嗎！」

傑克林總統微微一笑，然後以無比熱情的口吻向我們告別——他顯然是這方

面的專家，據說他植入了西拉諾 3000 原型晶片，這也許有幫助。我只是讀過有關

這一裝置的介紹，但是我知道它是通過手術放置在人的內耳中，能夠對任何社交

活動進行指導。這一神奇的裝置可以無線接入資料庫，獲取經預先測試的社交提

示、你所談話對象的精准信息、以及其他可能適用於某一場合的事實、名稱、引

用語和妙語。諷刺的是，這也是人類發明的。

傑克斯･摩爾一手挎著我，一手挎著莉茲貝絲，帶我們走回橡木門廊。他又

點燃一根雪茄，滿足地吸起來。

「一個字也不能說，不能洩露任何機密。明天第一時間來找我。」他說。

「我已經把要討論的信息分類整理好了。總統先生特別指名你們倆參與解決這個

『人類的問題』。你們兩都……美得很。」摩爾用這一句作結，丟給我們一個能

凍死白菜的笑容。我估計他肯定沒試過西拉諾 3000，甚至聽都沒聽說過。

大門關上後，莉茲貝絲挎著我的胳膊說：「這算得上我們最美好的夜晚之一

了，對不對？」她跟總統對答時很鎮定，魅力盡顯，不過親見這個大人物後，她

也被完全傾倒了。老實說，我也一樣，不過我不會表現出來。

15

「這個夜晚可以排在前一百名左右吧。」我揶揄她。

「是嗎？」她狡黠地說，「那你要提醒我還有哪個夜晚這麼美好，比如？」

「比如我們相遇的那個晚上？新芝加哥的密歇根大道。」

她笑了。「嗯，好吧，這個也許能進前一百名。」

「希望如此。」我說著，給了她一吻。我相信這時總統的安保攝像控制室裏

會響起一兩聲口哨。

第五章

接下來吸引住我的是宴會上數不清的昂貴玩具。

有時，看起來二十一世紀後半期世界關心的就只有玩具了。人類和精英都難

以抵制玩具的誘惑，沉迷於玩具所帶來的無盡歡愉和刺激體驗。玩具的發展在向

前進，也在向後退，這取決於你怎麼看了。

總統官邸看似是個全年無休、處理國家大事的地方，其實，在今晚的慶祝宴

會上，玩具是個重頭戲。天真又不差錢的賓客聚集在玩具公司員工周圍，看他們

演示待發行產品目錄中的一些精選產品。

我和莉茲貝絲回到舞廳，發現周圍都是各種各樣經過基因馴養的克隆動物，

有極樂鳥、象陸龜、巨型蝴蝶、俾格米河馬，我們還差點被一個漂亮女人撞倒。

那個女人穿著金色禮服、腳踩高跟鞋，大笑著騎在一頭鬃毛濃密的獅子身上。

「哎喲，不好意思。」她飛馳過去的時候喘著氣說。然後她又回頭朝莉茲貝

絲喊道：「你一定要試試這個，莉茲。你沒感受過這麼強壯的肌肉。」

「誰說的，我的美人兒。」 莉茲貝絲低聲說，輕輕捏了捏我的大腿。

16

只見另一些女人把拔去尖牙的眼鏡蛇和花紋怪異的熱帶毒蛇掛在脖子上，像

是圍著貂皮圍巾。還有一個瘋狂的男人賣弄地將頭伸進一隻溫馴的小霸王龍嘴

裏。我真希望這玩具能咬上一口。

莉茲貝絲欣賞著那群動物，我則走到一臺臺亦真亦幻儀旁邊，這是一種極為

流行、讓人欲罷不能的模擬儀器，可以讓你體驗各種不同的場景。由於這種體驗

極度真實，亦真亦幻儀禁止向有心髒問題的人出售。你可以從裏面任選一種模擬

場景，比如同電影明星、政治明星做愛，或者當一名搖滾歌手、在舞臺上被一大

群尖叫的粉絲簇擁，抑或在搏擊場上來一次生死對決。

我匆匆戴上一個情緒控制頭盔，坐在模擬器前瀏覽螢幕上的菜單。可供選擇

的範圍之廣令人瞠目：有「摩爾後宮」、「颶風眼驚魂」、「異教之暴行」、

「職業網球對決」、「大胃王：零卡路里」、「生死一線：最後 60 秒」、「重

訪前世」。

我是個電影迷，所以我選了這個大標題：「電影裏的驚鴻一瞬」。

我剛來得及看清這行字「本節目進行了適當修改以增添您的樂趣」，就來到

了那個地方。我成了《卡薩布蘭卡》裏的鮑嘉。

英格麗· 褒曼坐在我對面。我凝視著她清澈的藍眼睛，然後端起我的威士忌

跟她碰杯。

「我的目光一直追隨著你，寶貝。」我說。她微笑以答，笑容讓我淪陷。

喧鬧的咖啡館裏，門應聲而開，一個癩蛤蟆似的矮小男人飛奔進來，驚慌失

措地四處張望。彼得· 洛這個偉大的人類演員到了。

「裡克，你必須幫幫我。」他喘著氣，口音很重。他塞給我一疊紙，「這個

藏起來！」

17

他從後門飛奔出去，我快步走向鋼琴，剛把那些紙塞進琴蓋底下就聽到外面

街道響起槍聲。突然，腳蹬軍靴的士兵闖了進來——

我心跳加速，本能地往吧臺後面縮。這時我看見一把魯格爾手槍就在吧台下

面。

真是太棒了，我在這部著名影片裏充當了鮑嘉的角色。接著，最驚奇的事情

發生了……

第六章

我發現自己正盯著螢幕菜單，上面出現的黑白字體機械地閃爍著：「玩具公

司出品，歡迎您再次體驗。」我不禁有些惱火。

「好吧，」我歎了口氣，「咳，標題上的確說只是電影裏的那麼一瞬。」

我摘下頭盔，看見莉茲貝絲正抱著胳膊望著我，眉毛微微揚起。

「感覺不錯？」她笑著問我，一臉淘氣。

「就是時間太短。」我說，心想不知道其他類型當中有沒有完整的——也許

下次可以去試試「海盜劫掠」，或者參觀一下那個「摩爾後宮」。

其實，我對人類歷史還是相當感興趣的。我永遠不會支持他們接管政權，但

是有一件事是肯定的，那就是人類在戲劇這一塊從來不會讓你失望。我是指那些

醜聞、三次世界大戰、文藝浪潮、比賽、文學、電影……還有音樂！我愛莫札

特，但也很欣賞鮑勃•迪倫和艾迪特•皮雅芙2。

我牽著莉茲貝絲的手，一起回到大廳中央。

「我們去看看那些娃娃。我想看看適不適合買給艾普瑞和蔻依，」她說，

「她們一直在求我買呢，海斯。」

2 鮑勃•迪倫，美國歌手。艾迪特•皮雅芙，法國著名女歌手。

18

「她們的玩具夠多了，」我說，不過很快就心軟了，「好吧，小邪門兒，怎

麼忍心不買給她們呢！」

莉茲貝絲指了指正在展示的本季最熱玩具：傑西卡和雅各。它們是美麗的微

型機器娃娃，相貌和動作都栩栩如生、近似真人。所有孩子，包括我們兩個女兒

在內，都吵著要玩，全國的父母只好到玩具公司的各個店面排起長隊。

這個展覽設計得很巧妙，有不同的舞臺畫面，場景各不一樣，有家、辦公

室、商店、飯店等。雖然這些娃娃只有 16 英寸高，但它們卻可以像真人一樣聊

天、工作、吃飯。

說真的，這些娃娃的確很吸引人，但我總覺得這些小東西挺恐怖的。

但是圍觀的眾人都聚精會神，尤其在一個「此類展品只接受特別訂購」的標

誌四周，聚集著越來越多的人。

我和莉茲貝絲逛到那裏的時候，立刻就明白了。

「哦天哪，」她說，「哎呀，海斯，這真是噁心。」

那標誌下方是一張小小的床，雅各和傑西卡正赤身裸體在上面翻滾著，享受

著原始的快樂。我的意思是，這兩個小東西還真的做愛了。

「我想我們可以把這個特別產品排除在外了。」莉茲貝絲說。

「他們還真的什麼都可以呢。真是夠精力充沛的！」

莉茲貝絲眼睛轉了轉，很不以為然：「可以讓它們做很多別的事情，而不只

是這樣出出進進的像個活塞。你說呢，海斯？我敢打賭這種娃娃一定是男人設計

的，年齡很可能在 16 至 35 歲之間。如果他們公司真想賣得好，應該讓女人去重

新編寫程式。」

19

「想來個助人為樂？」我說。生物電路學是莉茲貝絲的專長——她在革新局

裏是這方面的頂尖專家。「那你會做些什麼修改呢，親愛的？把雅各設計成我的

樣子？」

她嘴唇輕附我的耳朵：「這個主意倒不錯，海斯。我覺得我們在這個宴會上

該做的都做了，」她低聲說，「不如我們回家吧？回家玩我們自己的遊戲？」

「嗯，沒問題。」我說，拉著她的手穿過擁擠的人群。看來我們職業生涯中

最美好的一夜即將高潮迭起。

我和小邪門兒要回家了。

哈哈！

第七章

就從這裏開始，接下來的路不再平坦，變得危機四伏。

總統宅邸外，侍從們正陪同一眾富豪名流走向排隊等候著的豪華轎車。很快

我和莉茲貝絲也坐上了從局裏借來的無人駕駛汽車。我們靠在椅背上，在空中欣

賞新湖城精英區的如畫夜景。

眼前幾里，是一座座燈火通明的摩天大樓，小轎車、卡車、公共汽車在空中

疾馳穿梭。小邪門兒說的沒錯：這個世界掌握在我們手裏。這很正常啊，地球本

來就是我們精英拯救的。

在幢幢高樓的外圍，有一片片暗影，那是人類的貧民窟。我雖然鄙視人類，

但也覺得他們很可憐，也許總統的計畫可以把問題一次性解決。人類證明了自己

在任何情況下都是不值得信任的。

20

我和莉茲貝絲依偎在車裏，像兩個被愛情衝昏頭腦的少男少女，為稍後等待

著我們的節目積蓄著欲望。她一直在取笑我，說我有多麼「美」。

「海斯，我想你試試新出的極樂丸。高潮可以持續兩分鐘。」

「如果持續了一小時甚至更久你就該找醫生了。」我側過身，準備享受一個

纏綿的吻。

這時，不知從哪冒出個巨石般的東西砸向我們乘坐的戴姆勒。巨大的衝擊壓

彎了異常堅固的鈦制車頂，撞得我們東搖西晃。在安全氣囊的幫助下，車子在下

方的街道上狼狽著陸了。

「海斯？」莉茲貝絲驚慌地說，「我們被襲擊了？我們被襲擊了，是不是？

他們怎麼敢？」

一開始，透過粉碎的車窗，我沒看見外面有任何東西，但那叫喊聲與重重的

腳步聲我卻聽得真切。五、六、七，七個人正在向我們逼近，速度飛快。

即便我在命令車子解除對我們安全防護的時候，都能聞到他們那令人作嘔的

體味。是人類。該死的。他們一定是撞了我們上面的一輛車，迫使我們降落，現

在他們要動手了。肯定是為了搶劫，也有可能同時強姦——我們兩個都是他們的

目標。

和所有精英一樣，我對人類沒有半點信任。他們懶惰愚蠢，無可救藥，天天

吃著肥膩的食物，皮膚也散發著臭味。在精英中間流行把他們稱為臭鼬，但是，

就他們的生活方式而言，他們更像鬣狗或者野狗。他們一天到晚就是打打殺殺，

爾虞我詐，到處佔便宜，從古到今都是如此。該死的是，他們竟然還把這些優良

傳統寫在書裏，從古希臘羅馬時期的賀拉斯、荷馬到當代的托馬斯･弗裏德曼和

斯蒂格･拉森3都是這樣。

3 托馬斯·弗裏德曼，美國公認最有影響力的新聞工作者。斯蒂格·拉森，瑞典推理小說家。

21

作為革新局的特工，我和莉茲貝絲以維護公平正義為己任，要讓這些野蠻人

為他們的罪行付出代價。他們膽大包天，竟敢進入限制區襲擊精英，必須讓他們

受到最嚴酷的懲罰，那就是慢慢被折磨至死。

這班人真是面目可憎，即使以人類的標準來看也是如此。猙獰的臉，兇神惡

煞，拿著匕首、尖刀，還有舊式手槍。

我身上的威脅評估傳感器立即將他們的力量級別從最低提到最高。我立刻注

意到，有三個人經過了生物技術改造，他們的肌肉、關節和反應速度都得到提

升。這種情況雖然不常見，但並非不可能，通過生物工程技術可以將一個人類的

智慧和力量提升到與精英相近的水平。

「準備好了嗎？」我問莉茲貝絲。我美麗的妻子不僅是擁有天才智商的工程

學博士，還有一身厲害的格鬥功夫。同樣，我也不僅僅是歷史學博士那麼簡單。

「可惜鞋子不對場合。」莉茲貝絲看了看腳上的舞鞋，朝我做了個鬼臉。

第八章

我將邊上的車門整個拽下來，拿在手上做盾牌，縱身跳出車廂。莉茲貝絲緊

隨其後，晚禮服下美腿往前一踢，舞鞋的後跟直插進面前一個廢物的耳朵，痛得

他鬼哭狼嚎、蹣跚退開。

「放下武器！」我大喊著警告他們。

當然，他們沒有理睬。好傢夥。

我只好動手，先從身邊最弱的一個開始。他揮舞著一把鋒利的尖刀向我沖

來，我閃身躲過，趁勢折斷他的手腕將他扔出去。他飛到街對面，啪一聲撞在燈

柱上，像一個裹著粘土的空酒瓶被撞得裂開，最後滑落在人行道上。

22

我一瞬間在想，不知道他來不來得及聽見自己頭蓋骨碎裂的聲音。

第二個人渣沖了過來，嚎叫著像一頭發狂的野獸。我佯裝進攻，卻從他頭頂

上翻過去，在半空中卸下他的雙肩。

「有三個全面改造過的。」我提醒莉茲貝絲。

「知道了，海斯。親愛的多謝，讓我來好好對付他們。」

我的下一個對手聰明得多，明顯是經過了大幅改造。他沒撲上來，而是逃

跑——或者是假裝逃跑。我一步十尺，足足跨了三步才趕上他。

我手掌從他持刀手臂的一側劈出，欲拍碎他的手肘，可他快速閃過，猶如靈

蛇，轉眼間另一隻手上一把小刀刺來，疾如閃電，險些刺中我的喉嚨，我甚至聽

到了刀片劃過的呼呼風聲。

「差一點兒，夥計。身手不錯嘛。」我不由稱讚。

說著我左掌拍出，順勢打落他的小刀，右掌從後而至擊中他另一隻手臂。然

後，我將他的頭塞進旁邊鐵柵欄的兩根鐵條之間，扭彎鐵條攔在他脖子前，給他

戴了一個鬆緊適度的項圈。

「別擔心，」我說，「警察很快就會過來救你的。」

我必須要抓兩三個活口審問。得記住這一點。

我朝莉茲貝絲看了看，以確保她一切順利。我可愛的姑娘正在給她的第二個

任務收尾，腿如跳芭蕾般一伸，踢斷了對方的肋骨。她平時愛跳舞，專為我和孩

子們表演。

「加把勁兒，貝克博士！」我朝她喊道。

「你也是，貝克博士！」

我將注意力轉向這幫人的最後一個，他在我的傳感器上顯示的危險級別遠遠

高過其他人。這個罪犯還坐在他們車裏的駕駛座上——他們就是乘著這輛車襲擊

23

我們的。他只是看著他的同夥打鬥。是膽小鬼，還是大人物？我在想。人類中有

誰算得上大人物嗎？

不過，我突然意識到，那不是一個「他」。那個傢夥蓬亂的金髮剪短了，但

是從身體和面部輪廓來看明顯是女人。

她從敞開的車窗裏面盯著我，那無聲流露的情緒、那眼裏赤裸裸的憎恨，讓

我毛骨悚然。接著她令我大吃一驚——她知道我的名字。

「海斯·貝克，你自以為是英雄，但是你根本不知道自己在做什麼，」她靜靜

地說，「你才是這裏的罪犯。」

她抓緊方向盤，身子往後靠，汽車加速向上飛去。我肌肉一緊，就要躍出抓

住車子的後保險杠。我可以做到的，但是我站在原地一動不動。我不知道怎麼會

這樣。

莉茲貝絲正注視著我，這時她突然一臉擔憂。「海斯，你受傷了嗎？」她喊

道。「海斯？」

「沒有，我……我沒事。」

她看起來有些迷惑：「你怎麼不去追那個開車的人？」

「我……我覺得有點太冒險了。」我答道，雖然根本不是那樣。「如果車子

起飛了我們撞到……這裏是個居民區啊。沒關係，我們會抓住那女人的。」

「是個女人？」 莉茲貝絲很詫異。「我以為所有人類女子都是挺個大肚子在

家做菜呢。」

「這個笑話不錯，小邪門兒。」我說著抱了抱她。她可以說出最棒的人類笑

話了。

第九章

24

當地警方在一分鐘內便趕到了，他們在撞車案發現場拉起警戒線，動作專業

俐落。局裏也同我們聯繫了，確保我們完好無損後，另派一輛車送我和莉茲貝絲

回家。

我們的住所位於一棟全層公寓的第十層，裝潢考究，在整座城市的湖畔住宅

中算是數一數二的位置。

我們一踏進前門，就聽到家裏的機器人「鐵頭」那刺耳、不成調的機器人說

唱樂。他在客廳裏活蹦亂跳，一邊跟著音樂唱歌。

鐵頭匆忙關掉音樂，驚訝地瞪著我們：「你們倆這是怎麼了？」他問道。

「莉茲貝絲，你美麗的頭髮亂糟糟的！」

「沒關係，」她硬梆梆地答道。「這裏又是怎麼回事？衣櫃好像全都炸了一

樣。」

「好吧，請原諒我。我想我太懶了，沒法把買東西、燒飯、做保姆、打掃衛

生的事情同時做好。不過，我剛剛給小姑娘們洗完澡，正準備開始收拾，只是沒

想到你們回來的這麼早。」他柔軟的、泛著青銅色的矽酮皮膚微微發亮，這表明

他不高興了。

「我們的計畫有些變化。」我出來打圓場。他們每次鬧彆扭，都是我來當和

事佬。

對我來說，房子裏的情形倒不算太壞，只是莉茲貝絲愛整潔，要求有些過

分。雖然咖啡桌上還攤著棋牌和衣服，但是鐵頭說的沒錯：有家裏這兩個小龍捲

風加足馬力、來來回回，即使是他，一個專門負責打掃衛生的機器，也會不到一

天過完就筋疲力盡了。

25

他的皮膚顏色已經恢復正常，不過他還是想努力表達他的「感情」受到傷害

了。

「好吧，大家都不生氣了。」他說。「口幹了吧，我給你們拿點喝的。這是

你的衣服，主人。」

他匆匆給我們一個擁抱，親了親我們的臉，然後急急忙忙趕到廚房，又開始

低聲哼著歌，一邊搖著屁股，把我們倆都逗笑了。不過莉茲貝絲還是輕聲咕噥了

一句：「笨鐵一塊。」

鐵頭不僅十分有用，還非常有趣。他的大小身形同一般成年人無異，然而他

是工作型機器人，因此不像高端娛樂型機器人那樣外型優雅。不過他行動起來，

那速度那氣勢，能把最簡單的家務活變得像一場奧運比賽。他還是女兒們的好玩

伴和好老師，是部百科全書——類似於他這樣的機器人毫無疑問實現了同網路互

連，他們即刻發出指令就可得到我們整個文明範疇內的任何資訊。他是交談高

手、成人遊戲大師（比如下四維國際象棋）、美食大廚、還有數不清的其他用

處。另外，和我們一家一樣，他也對所有人類充滿懷疑和鄙視。

他端著我們喝慣的零碳飲料（莉茲貝絲的白蘇維濃，我的混合伏特加）回來

時，蔻依和艾普瑞沖進房間，撲到我們懷裏。哦，我的寶貝女兒。

「你給我們買傑西卡和雅各的娃娃了嗎？」她們問媽媽。蔻依剛滿四歲，把

「娃娃」念成了「玩玩」。她是個美麗的小精靈，有著和她母親一樣的紫色頭髮

和象牙色皮膚。艾普瑞六歲，像我一樣淺棕色皮膚、金色頭髮。

「寶貝們，我覺得這些娃娃不是很好。」 莉茲貝絲坦白說。

「我也覺得不好，」我過來幫腔，「小姐們，抱歉了。」

「不要……」兩個小姑娘傷心地哭起來。

26

「我們明天再談這個，好不好？現在該睡覺了，去床上躺好，爸爸會給你們

講個故事，對吧海斯？」

「那是當然，不然她們為什麼叫我爸爸呢？」

第十章

雖然女兒們有些失望，但這個年紀的女孩子通常都很聽話。她們蹦蹦跳跳地

往自己房間去了。「快點，爸爸！」她們朝我喊道。「快給我們講故事。要講兩

個，誰叫你不給我們買娃娃。」

我緊跟在後面，開始思考著選個小孩子最愛聽的睡前故事講給我的寶貝們。

我翻看著蔻依房間牆上的書庫菜單……要不說《別讓鴿子停車》？或者《波普先

生的企鵝》也可以。

在以前，我和女兒們有專屬於我們幾個的小秘密。週末，我們喜歡去市裡的

大型圖書館看書。我們在路上戴著耳機聽莫札特，然後坐在圖書館裏朗讀查爾斯·

狄更斯的作品。重點是——如果凡事都要有個重點的話——你可以厭惡人類，但

沒人會厭惡莫札特、查爾斯·狄更斯、以及 J.K.羅琳。

正當我回味著舊日時光時，我的耳環電話唧唧作響——三聲短的嗶嗶聲，代

表局裏有緊急情況。「該死！」我咕噥著，「怎麼會現在有事。」

「爸爸！」艾普瑞皺著眉頭。「你剛才說髒話了。」在女兒面前，父親是不

應該出言咒罵的。

是歐文·麥吉爾打來的。麥吉爾是我在革新局的搭檔和老友，應該算我最好的

朋友——確切說是除莉茲貝絲外最好的朋友。

27

「趕快穿上靴子，海斯，」麥吉爾說，「拜仁維爾的玩具商店發生了一起惡

性事件。」拜仁維爾是位於新湖城北部邊界一個上層精英聚集的郊區，離這裏有

二十英里。「他們要你現在過去。出人命了，還不止一個。」

「我？現在就過去？今晚已經有惡性事件發生在我頭上了。我跟莉茲貝絲受

到襲擊了，是那些臭鼬幹的。而且，我現在也該下班了。」

「真抱歉，老兄，是傑克斯·摩爾特別指名要你過去的。『我希望海斯·貝克

負責這個事！』這是他的原話。」

我歎了口氣。「好吧，好吧。我就來。」

什麼睡前故事、與妻子的浪漫節目、甚至是嘗一口加了檸檬汁的伏特加，這

回都沒望了。真是掃興，這一晚怎麼變得越來越倒楣了。

我甚至來不及脫下我的夾克式禮服，就得出發去現場。傑克斯·摩爾點名要我

解決什麼事，這麼重要。

出人命了，還不止一個。

第十一章

公寓裏的超高速直達電梯將我迅速送至樓頂停車場。我跳進我那輛淚珠狀的

艙式跑車——這車的大小剛夠我和一名乘客舒服地坐在裏面，不過，只要按動按

鈕，車子就可以向後伸展，能夠再容納四個人。

艙門滑板合上後，儀錶板上的燈閃爍出一行字：「原地待命，貝克博士。」

「去拜仁維爾的玩具商店，全速前進。」我說。

通常我都是自己開車，但是現在我需要休息一下，不過從目前的情況來看，

我只能短暫小憩一會兒。

28

「收到，貝克博士。」機控虛擬導向員的聲音乾脆俐落。

刹那間車子直沖上天，接著急速向前，慣性將我牢牢按在為我量身定做的座

椅上。這種超輕便型跑車是目前速度最快的一款，可在靜止情況下於兩秒之內將

時速提到六十，在空中如同蜂鳥一樣靈活，速度可輕易達到每小時三百英里，即

使在地面道路上行駛也可保持這種時速。

「已安排好飛行線路。預計飛行時間：4 分 23 秒。」一個如老朋友般熟悉的

女聲響起。「想喝點什麼嗎？來點消遣？感官刺激類的如何？」

這是艾麗，她是人工智能服務員。我沒給導向員取名——我與他只是工作往

來的關係，但是艾麗值得有個名字。

「來點巴赫吧，」我說，「謝謝，艾麗，聽巴赫很舒服，正合我意。」

「那我建議勃蘭登堡六號協奏曲，是一首快板，最適合這次飛行。」

「好極了。」

「那採用多感官音軌？」她問。

「嗯，舒緩一些的。」

艾麗不是人形機器人，她僅有一雙修長的機械臂，但動作精准、高效，令人

歎為觀止。她迅速而輕柔地為我戴好車裏的情緒控制頭盔，我可以舒服地享受一

番古典音樂了——這是人類帶給世界的另一好處。這多奇怪啊！

實話實說，人類對這個世界還是有貢獻的。我們精英的數量還不足以擔當起

每一類社會角色，只能重點管理最重要的領域，比如政府、醫藥、軍隊、執法、

通訊及媒體。因而，訓練有素且受嚴格監管的人類依舊按照我們的要求負責管弦

樂的演奏及電視電影的製作。人類還扮演著許多必要的從屬性角色，主要包括打

掃衛生和垃圾收集方面的工作。

29

但我相信，真正讓古典音樂更進一步的是精英研發的技術——當音樂響起

時，我不單單在聽，而且在用所有的感官去體驗……

泛舟清波之上，春日的紫丁香散發著醉人的清香。

兩岸樹木蔥蘢，粗壯的樹幹拔地而起，纖細的枝條盡情舒展，如指尖開著蔻

丹的纖纖玉指拂過天空。

沉甸甸的果實掛滿枝頭，觸手可及，倒映在水中如一個個充滿誘惑的小精

靈，在嬉鬧，在向我招手，邀我共樂……

隨著最後一個優美的和絃緩緩落下，這首美妙的協奏曲落下了帷幕。

「我們到了，貝克博士，」艾麗輕柔的低語傳來，「已抵達拜仁維爾的玩具

商店。」

該死，要是能再多聽一會兒巴赫就好了。

第十二章

歐文·麥吉爾說的一點也不誇張，事件真的性質惡劣。死了十一個！我第一眼

望見的是一具被殺害的男性屍體，他身穿一件看起來十分昂貴的深藍色條紋西

裝。這個可憐人身體恐怖地蜷曲著，躺在血泊之中。

殺戮我見得多了，但是這次的場面可能是最慘的。最令人不安的一幕，是死

者的鮮血染紅了從玩具主題套盒裏散落出的一些玩具馬。

這些同貓大小相仿的馬兒全身沾滿鮮血，正在四處找尋乾草和燕麥，在合成

大理石地板上留下一個個紅色的、星月形的小腳印。

毛骨悚然這個詞都不足以形容這種場面。

然而，這場大屠殺的全貌還更為恐怖。

30

第二具屍體是個女人，她穿著昂貴的金銀線針織套裝，躺在不遠處。她的身

邊還有兩名女死者，玩具商店粉藍相間的購物袋散落在周圍。

她們的死狀慘不忍睹，身體被野蠻撕開，器官被拿走，頭顱也掉了。確切地

說，是丟了。

我注視著這一汪血泊，趕走了一匹徘徊在那具男屍邊上的小馬。這時，麥吉

爾大步向我走來。一如既往，他的出現讓我很高興。我的這個朋友是個硬漢，在

遇到麻煩事時是個值得信賴的好夥伴。他體壯如牛，6.6 英尺高，體重將近三百

磅。

「殺手們現在在哪？」我問道，想來元兇應該已經抓到了。新湖城警方應該

早就出動了。

「目前還沒有他們的蹤跡。海斯，真想不到，他們逃掉了。」

「不可能。」

「我明白，不過還有更奇怪的事。你知道嗎，這裏的每一個安保攝像頭居然

在同一時間故障了。」

「什麼？」

「還有，當時在商店裏的顧客肯定有將近一百人，但所有人都對事情失去記

憶了，連保安都是。」

這完全不可能。精英們的記憶一向清晰，何況他們從來不會向當局撒謊，他

們壓根兒沒這種能力。

「要不你去問問他們吧。」麥吉爾挑釁似的對我說。他指著那些聚集在警戒

線外的民眾說：「也許你向他們展現一下你海斯·貝克式的魅力，他們的記憶力就

回來了。」

31

玩具公司的絕大部分門店、包括地處上層精英社區的那些店面在內，都是全

天不休、人頭攢動。這間大型賣場更是如此。

「誰能告訴我發生了什麼？」我走向人群大聲問道。他們表情木然，顯得十

分困惑。「一定有人看到行兇過程了，我們需要目擊證人。拜託，有人看到嗎？

大膽說出來吧。」

一位穿著緊身深 V 上衣和緊身牛仔褲的漂亮小姐無奈地聳聳肩：「我之前就

站在那裏看斯皮爾伯格電影機。」她指了指正在展示的一個設備，這個東西可以

讓你進入電影裏自己當主角。

她的手指微微顫抖，指向那些死者。

「這兩個……我覺得他們不像是夫妻……他們看起來更像是同事……總之他

們從我身邊走過去，一邊說著話。一切都再正常不過了，接著……他們就躺在地

上了，就這樣躺著，身體還被切開了！這真是太奇怪了，但是感覺中間沒有發生

過任何事。」

其他人都紛紛點頭。

「哎，你告訴我們這是怎麼回事啊？」站在前面的一個男人大聲質問我。

「警察不是應該保護我們的嗎？你們怎麼可以讓這麼過分的事情發生？為什麼不

在別的地方，偏偏在玩具商店？」

這個問題問得合情合理，可我不知道要怎麼回答。我怎麼答呢？這樁慘劇本

來就不應該發生啊。

第十三章

32

「跟我來，前面還有更多屍體。」 麥吉爾輕聲說著，似乎是出於對這個場合

的尊重，也可能是對這種駭人的場景心懷不解。精英成為受害者的情況很少見，

可現在這裏死了十一個精英，而我和莉茲貝絲剛剛才遭到武裝襲擊。這一切究竟

怎麼了？

我隨歐文穿過琳琅滿目的貨架，極力把注意力集中在眼前這件棘手的案子

上，不讓自己被玩具商店誘惑不前。

但這些玩具多麼讓人眼花繚亂啊。性模擬器、冒險模擬器、無所不能的家僕

（唯一所不能做的就是讀懂主人的思想）、經過基因馴養無須餵食的野生動物、

私人潛艇、私人小飛機、角色扮演大世界、反重力小屋、還有仿照名人「克隆」

的機器人，你可以帶回家讓它做任何事情……玩具啊玩具，乖孩子們的玩具——

這句歌詞來自大家耳熟能詳的玩具商店廣告歌，你沒法從腦子裏抹去這段旋律，

除非使用「思維洗滌劑」——這也是玩具商店的一個熱門產品。

「有一點是肯定的，一定是臭鼬們幹的。」麥吉爾咬著牙說，眼睛裏燃燒著

仇恨的怒火。

我點點頭，精英是不會做出這麼狠毒的事的。當然，這也是我們和那幫嗜血

動物的本質區別。從基因上來講，精英與人類的相似度超過 99%。這一點在精英

之間都不願意多說，但我們是理性的——事實就是事實。

很簡單，我們精英是由人類基因改造而來的，但我們是科學專門創造的結

果，而非來自於盲目的自然選擇。不過這在本質上跟直立猿人、南方古猿進化為

「現代」人類的過程是差不多的。

然而，基因不過是一組生物指令，比 DNA 圖譜更重要的改變是在最終成品

上。與人類及其他生物不同，我們不僅僅是血肉之軀。我們體內裝有電路和納米

機械裝置，雖然從外表看不出來，但我們其實是半個機器人。

33

我們與人類的不同之處還在於，我們不是從女性的子宮裏生出來的，而是在

人造子宮裏生長的。也就是說，女性精英無需經受過去女性懷孕的痛苦與不便，

健康也不會因懷孕受到威脅。

在人造子宮裏，孕育期可以更長一些，達兩年之久，而人類通常只有九個

月。這樣做的好處之一，在於可以方便醫生整合生物電路及其他改進措施，使我

們得以克服人類那些危險的缺點，比如貪婪、道德敗壞、墮落、易怒等等，這些

是數也數不完的。連最優秀的人類文學家都十分清楚人性的弱點，只要讀一讀莎

士比亞、陀思妥耶夫斯基、斯威夫特、蘭德和索爾仁尼琴就知道了。即使流行文

學作家，比如斯蒂芬·金與菲力浦·迪克，也都明白這一點。

面前一具具被殘忍肢解的屍體再一次提醒我，人類的這些缺點絕對不可小

覷，它們往往是造成悲劇的源頭。

我細細觀察一番，注意到耐人尋味的一點：死者身上被取走的器官都是經過

精英獨有的生物技術改造的部位，尤其是我們經過電路改進的腦部。這意味著更

加令人不安的一點：這次屠殺不是隨意進行的，也不是以搶劫為目標——與以往

時有發生的小規模反抗不同，這次並不是人類的不滿積蓄下的簡單爆發。

相反，這完全是一次複雜的、有預謀的刺殺計畫。

我搖了搖頭，在兩處血案現場之間來回踱步，梳理著這些冷血殺手遺留下的

線索。

他們是先從後面動手的，因為我首先見到的幾具屍體血液的凝結度最高，並

且他們下手迅速、動作敏捷。從血泊裏留下的腳印看（十碼半、十二碼、兩個十

一碼，都是流行品牌運動鞋），他們一共四人，一定是一夥身材高大、生性兇

殘、不問是非黑白的暴徒。

34

司法小組的人還沒到，但我已經知道我該做什麼了，那就是在這四個臭鼬再

次大開殺戒之前把他們抓捕歸案。

用不著說，玩具店今晚的主要展品就是傑西卡和雅各。靠馬路一側的巨大櫥

窗裏就放了幾十個，顯然是為了吸引來往的行人。雖然發生了慘案，商店裏大致

的格局卻依然清晰。

這些娃娃現在走下了展臺，站在玻璃屏障後面。

它們盯著殘缺的屍體，一邊指指點點，一邊互相議論，就像發生重大交通事

故時一群看熱鬧的傢夥。

對傑西卡和雅各們來說，眼前的慘案現場似乎是今晚的特別娛樂節目。這真

夠讓人心裏發毛的——現實世界的悲劇成了玩具們的消遣。

莉茲貝絲是對的，我們的蔻依和艾普瑞絕對不能在假期裏玩這些小怪物。只

要她們還叫我爸爸，我都不會讓她們玩的。

第十四章

「貝克博士，街道攝像監控拍到四個臭鼬騎著摩托車正往外逃。」一名警員

高聲喊道，匆匆走過來。「他們正沿著湖邊往北走，我們的緊急追擊人員——」

我已經朝自己的車奔去。我迫不及待要動手了。我還沒調查過這麼放肆大

膽、令人髮指的案子。

這次我親自開車。我加速駛向街道，對著儀錶板上的電腦大聲說：「四輛摩

托車，沿著湖邊往北，全速追蹤。」

這一指令可連接到全城的攝像監控網路。

一個座標網格立刻顯示在螢幕上，上面有一團影子，是四個人騎在車上。

35

讀數器顯示他們的時速為 187 英里，距離我 7.347 英里。螢幕上的其他影像

顯示，軍用飛行器已經在追趕他們，地面上警車也開始在前方設置路障。

從他們作案的放肆程度看，想讓他們和平繳械只怕是不可能了。

麥吉爾的頭像突然出現在螢幕上，我對著通話圖標眨了眨眼，示意電腦接通

電話。

「海斯，我們已經確認死者身份了，」他對我說，「他們都是玩具公司的高

層。」

「什麼？」

「沒錯，而且我不是指地區經理之類的，他們都是玩具公司董事會的成員。

摩爾已經快瘋了。所以，放手去吧，抓到那幫混蛋，把他們宰了。不要手軟。」

「我就快追上那幫傢夥了。」說完我眨眨眼結束了通話。

絕不手軟。

第十五章

我已經清楚看見，前方幾輛摩托車正全速前進。就在這時，他們忽然散開，

朝不同方向駛去，就像一堆篝火被狂風吹得火星四散。

他們竄進小巷甚至是狹窄的行人道，摩托車的機動靈活讓他們可以避開路

障、躲過警方直升機的搜索。這幫傢夥還挺聰明。

「先生，您的肌肉緊張程度過高，」艾麗說，「要不要我為您做超聲波按

摩？」

「現在不行，艾麗，我在抓臭鼬呢。」

36

「明白，先生。」她答道，她的狀態指示燈從明黃變為暗綠。「祝您好

運。」

現在已經越來越接近城郊混亂的人類居住區，這些混蛋就快有機會混入他們

骯髒卑鄙的同類中去了。這會對革新局產生極壞的影響，也會毀掉我一直保持的

記錄。

我向前推動操縱杆，車子進入飛行模式，隨後以三十度角沖向天空，在大約

一百英尺高度開始水平飛行。

幾秒鐘後我已經追上離我最近的一輛摩托車了。我現在的速度是他的兩倍

多。老天爺，我等不及了。

這個傢夥騎在一條還算寬的街上，但是他沒有機會逃走了。我不給他任何機

會，如老鷹捉小雞一般從高樓之間俯衝而下。

我的車腹擦到他的後背，剛好將他撞飛。

我飛馳過去的時候，看了眼儀錶板的螢幕，看到他滾落在人行道上，撞到街

邊的建築物又被高高彈起。總算搞定一個。

以時速兩百英里飛出去，那傢夥一定粉身碎骨了。

下一個最近的目標距離我 0.74 英里。螢幕顯示我可以從高樓後邊繞過去，然

後從前面攔截。

我讓車子降落在地面上，接著迅速駛上光滑的混凝土路面。

數秒後，在那輛摩托車前方的轉角處，我呼嘯而至，車身側停將他攔住。

但是他的車技不錯。我是實話實說，只見他猛地刹車，將車身傾斜，然後蜷

身蹲在摩托車上，像滑雪橇一般。

在最後一秒，他縱身跳下摩托車，在地上翻了個跟頭，身手矯健如體操運動

員。摩托車卻依舊向我沖來，搖搖晃晃、火星飛濺。

37

只聽一聲巨響，摩托車狠狠撞在我的車子上，副駕駛一側被全部撞毀，車身

也被撞歪。

儀錶板上紅色報警燈倏地亮起，同時響起了刺耳的警報聲。

「我們被襲擊了，先生！」機控導向員的聲音響起。

人工智能有時也不大可靠啊。

第十六章

「車上人員沒有直接危險。」機控導向員尖聲說道。這時，車子恢復了平

穩，並且成功避免了與前方的錫制貨倉相撞，否則後果不堪設想。「車輛受損情

況不影響操作。」

「那就好。」我咕噥道。

我將車身轉過來，形成一個拉緊的弧形，對準那個正在狂奔的人。我輕輕一

碰，一個熱輻射追蹤器從車子前部的射擊口射出。

爆炸聲響起，這個臭鼬灰飛煙滅了。Sayonara，死廢物。

不過從現在開始，我要收斂一點了。和從前一樣，我至少需要帶一個活口回

總部接受審訊。現在這是我唯一的任務了，那就是搞清楚為什麼他們要殺死這十

一名精英，並且奪去他們的內臟。

當我逼近下一個目標時，他突然向右急轉，摩托車幾乎貼到地面，接著他回

正車身，馳入一條昏暗的小巷。這傢夥身手很好，體格健壯，車技精湛。

巷子太窄我的車進不去，但我心生一計。反正在這種狹窄曲折的小巷裏他是

不可能騎得多快的。

嘎吱一聲我急刹住車。

38

「你來接管。」我匆匆命令導向員，一邊打開車艙跳了出去。

「小心啊，海斯。」艾麗在我身後喊道。

這是怎麼了，她從來不會像這樣直呼我的名字。我是不是應該加倍小心呢？

我是不是陷入了比我想像中更甚的危險之中？

第十七章

我落在地上開始奔跑，準確地說，是飛奔。我估計前面那個騎手大約距離我

37 碼，他的車速約為 41 英里每小時。徒步完全能夠追上他。

這條小巷就像一個熱烘烘充滿惡臭的黑洞，我被熏得難以呼吸，但是我擁有

夜視能力，能夠捕捉到所有細節，甚至能看到那傢夥的紅黑色頭盔下有汗珠掛在

脖子上。

三秒後我的奔跑速度已經達到極值，時速將近 50 英里。現在我一步十碼，

一隻腳剛剛落下另一隻腳又迅速邁出，幾乎像在飛了。

我大步躍過一堆爬滿蛆蟲的殘羹剩飯，以及一個吸毒用的注射器和帶血繃

帶，我知道，自己已經深入人類的貧民窟了。接著我邁步踏上一側的牆，身子幾

乎橫過來，奮力一跳，勉強越過了滿地橫流的垃圾。這些人類真是噁心到極點。

我追得起勁，幾乎要大喊出聲。我的肌肉如鐵皮帶般緊繃、跳動著，風在耳

邊呼嘯，吹亂我的頭髮，我咬緊牙齒，一步步接近目標。可能這個人就是他們的

頭領。

再過幾秒種他就是我的了，他將成為我的俘虜，是我帶回去審訊的罪犯。

39

我縱身向他撲去，可就在這時，這混球突然高高抬起前輪，騎上一堆破爛的

集裝箱。怎麼會這樣？他把這堆箱子當成跳板，越過齊腰高的圍牆，進入了一個

老式車庫。

我迅速翻過圍牆，往下一跳，雙腳牢牢站定，接著轉過身跟在他後面沖進車

庫。

車庫裏滿是立柱和車輛，天花板太低，影響了我的行動能力。我跳不起來，

只能半蹲著在車頂上奔跑。

砰！砰！砰！……

他騎車沿著環形斜坡向上狂奔，奮力擺脫我的追趕。當我趕到斜坡那裏時，

他已經到達第三層了。

等他騎到第十層樓頂時會被困住的。但要是那裏有輛接應的車怎麼辦？

這個傢夥真是不可小覷。

我跳過斜坡，來到車庫一角，用盡全身力氣跳起大約二十英尺，緊握住三層

的圍欄，接著雙腳用力向上蹬，又往上跳了兩層。我沿著垂直的混凝土牆向上跳

躍，就像叢林蜘蛛在追趕螞蟻。這是人類無法做到的，甚至精英中能做到的也不

多，但我太想抓到他了！

他還在向上爬坡，而且看不見我，也許他認為我已經放棄了。我們幾乎同時

到達了樓頂。意外吧，臭傢夥，現在這裏只有你我和漫天繁星！

這次沒有低矮的天花板拖慢我的速度了，只見摩托車忽然從斜坡上沖出，速

度飛快，車身離開了地面，在空中劃出一條長長的弧線。

我在半空將他截住，像一顆炮彈撞在他身上。我們隨著摩托車落在地上，扭

打在一起向前滑行。我的胳膊緊緊勒住他的喉嚨，他的頭盔護顎都被我擠碎了。

40

但該死的是，這個傢夥死死握住油門杆，摩托車載著我們徑直朝外側邊緣駛

去。

我緊貼住他後背，勒住他的脖子想把他摔倒，讓他和摩托車一起翻在地上。

我的重量讓摩托車傾斜了一些，車子開始斜向一側滑行，但突然車輪撞到了

停車樁，我們被筆直彈向天空，撞擊的衝力使我們飛過了樓頂邊緣。

接著我和他開始急速掉落——從十層樓一直往地面下墜。

只怕我們都要死了。

第十八章

接下來我經歷了一生中最漫長的數秒。我真的飛起來了，在失重的狀態下旋

轉著。我感到一種喜悅，一種雖然無助卻真正自由的感覺。

但是，一種刺耳的、充滿仇恨的聲音打斷了我的思路，將我拉回現實。

那個騎手正試圖翻身，把我壓在下面，這樣我就能幫他緩衝大部分衝擊力，

他就有機會活下來。

沒門！我想大喊，不過我已經來不及張口了。

我從後面用腿緊緊鉤住他的腿，盡力後仰，我們就這樣糾纏在一起，在空中

旋轉，風聲像帶著哨子越來越響、尖聲呼嘯。

在那幾秒中，我向下方的行人道望去。一瞬間我看到了所有東西——磚塊、

玻璃、樓房模糊的側影，就像火車飛馳進隧道時車窗外的景象。

風聲呼呼，如刀割一樣，撕扯著我的頭髮、衣服、嘴唇、眼皮……然後——

先落地的是那個傢夥。我砸在他身上，像一堆木頭掉在一袋爛水果上。

然後——一片空白。

41

短路了？

死了？

我不知道。

第十九章

不知過了多久，我似乎有了一點模糊的意識，我的眼睛還睜不開，但感覺到

自己在動，似乎是平躺著在移動。

接著一股清新刺鼻的味道襲來。是消毒劑。

我在醫院裏！

周圍嗡嗡的說話聲越來越清晰了。

其中有個女人，說話聲音很熟悉，充滿溫柔關切——是莉茲貝絲。

還有一個男人的聲音，低沉威嚴，應該是局長傑克斯·摩爾，我和莉茲貝絲的

老闆。

還有別的人，但是我暫時聽不出是誰。

我想我一定是在新湖城醫院，這是世界上最好的精英醫院。我睜開眼睛，發

現其他說話的人是醫護人員，他們正用輪床推著我匆匆穿過一條無比敞亮的走

廊。還有另外幾個人陪在旁邊，都是上層人士，有一些我之前在總統的就職晚宴

上見過。

看起來我正在享受某種優待，幸好我還穿著禮服，如果還看得出那是件禮服

的話。

「海斯！」看到我的眼睛在動，莉茲貝絲籲了一口氣，可愛的臉湊近我。

「你感覺怎麼樣，親愛的？」

42

「好得不得了。」我含混不清地說。

其實，我全身是痛得不得了，那種痛楚持續不斷、深入骨髓，越來越劇烈。

我以前也受過好幾次重傷，但從來沒有讓我感到這麼束手無策，這麼難以忍受。

當然，從十層樓掉下來還是第一次。兩三層是有過的，有一次甚至是四層

樓，但十層肯定是大大超過了醫生所建議的限度。

「那個騎車的怎麼樣了？」我咬緊牙關擠出這幾個字，「那個殺手，那個臭

鼬怎麼樣了？」

「已經摔成肉醬了。」摩爾在一旁憤憤不平。

「該死！我還想抓活口呢。」

「我明白，你已經盡力了。現在別說話了放鬆點，我們就要到手術室了，要

幫你換些零件，兄弟。」

第二十章

我放鬆身體，努力朝莉茲貝絲擠出一絲微笑。我知道醫治我的都是最好的醫

生，而且精英的醫學已經達到尖端水平，我很快就會變得完好無損，樂觀的話一

兩周就能恢復。

但是疼痛的感覺卻愈發強烈了，我從來沒感到像現在這麼虛弱，好像我的生

命力正逐漸從身體裏消失。

有沒有可能——我快要死了？只是沒有人告訴我？甚至莉茲貝絲也不說？我

不要死，我不要就這麼突然死掉。

我氣若遊絲地說：「愛你，小邪門兒，還有寶貝們。」

「愛你，海斯，愛你勝過世界上的一切。堅持住，親愛的。」

43

手術室的門打開了，四周都是燈。護工們推我進去，把我從輪床抬到手術臺

上。醫生已經在等了，他們戴著手術面罩、穿著手術服，旁邊放著電腦調控的超

精密手術器材。

「抓緊時間，」其中一個醫生語調凝重，「他快不行了。」

該死，為什麼要讓我聽到這些。

這些醫學專家迅速精准地調節頂燈，將成排的監視器和其他儀器連在我身

上，又嫺熟地將一根導管插進我的胳膊。鎮靜劑開始在靜脈裏流淌，安撫著我疼

痛欲裂的神經。

就在我快要失去意識的時候，我感到有什麼壓了下來，雖然不疼，但我知道

是激光手術刀切開了我的身體。

接下來我似乎又沉入另一個夢中。

迷迷糊糊的，我聽到以下驚人的對話：

「天哪，你們看！看到那條線了嗎？那是疤痕組織，他這個地方動過手術。

我想這裏是植過皮的，你們看到沒，這裏的淋巴結和那裏不一樣……

「看這裏，下面……看起來像是……天啊！你們看到了嗎？你們看到那個是

什麼了嗎？那是殘留的部分肚臍腔！這個傢夥以前是有肚臍的！海斯·貝克不是精

英。

「他是人類。他是個臭鼬。」

44

ReflectiveReflectiveReflectiveReflective JournalJournalJournalJournal forforforfor studentsstudentsstudentsstudents

ReflectiveReflectiveReflectiveReflective JournalJournalJournalJournal InstructionsInstructionsInstructionsInstructions

Each time after meeting your supervisor to discuss your draft, write a short entry byanswering the questions below. The entries will not be marked, but must be submittedto the Programme Assistant before the submission of final project.

NameNameNameName ofofofof student:student:student:student: HeHeHeHe ShuShuShuShu DinaDinaDinaDina

DateDateDateDate ofofofof meeting:meeting:meeting:meeting: 29/10/201129/10/201129/10/201129/10/2011

WhatWhatWhatWhat IIII foundfoundfoundfound difficultdifficultdifficultdifficult (write about any part of the draft you found hard to do)

1. As the sentence structure is different between Chinese and English, I found it difficult

to deal with the translation of long and complicated sentences.

2. Some words and phrases are very difficult to translate, especially some cultural-

specific terms. For example, "skyline""teeth in a jaw-bone that somebody has pulled

from a funeral pyre".

WhatWhatWhatWhat reallyreallyreallyreally workedworkedworkedworked (write about any part of the draft that you thought worked well)

1. A proper understanding of the source text.

2. A relatively fluent and smooth translation.

WhatWhatWhatWhat IIII learnedlearnedlearnedlearned (write about what you learned from meeting your supervisor)

1.1.1.1.We should be aware of the difference between Chinese and English, and not be

influenced by the source language's features.

2.2.2.2. Sometimes dramatical effects can be achieved by altering the structure of the

sentences.

NextNextNextNext timetimetimetime (write what you would do differently next time)

1. Try to create a more natural translation.

2. Pay attention to the rendering of culturally-loaded words.

(To(To(To(To bebebebe completedcompletedcompletedcompleted bybybyby studentsstudentsstudentsstudents afterafterafterafter eacheacheacheach meetingmeetingmeetingmeeting withwithwithwith supervisors)supervisors)supervisors)supervisors)

45

ReflectiveReflectiveReflectiveReflective JournalJournalJournalJournal forforforfor studentsstudentsstudentsstudentsReflectiveReflectiveReflectiveReflective JournalJournalJournalJournal InstructionsInstructionsInstructionsInstructions

Each time after meeting your supervisor to discuss your draft, write a short entry byanswering the questions below. The entries will not be marked, but must be submittedto the Programme Assistant before the submission of final project.

NameNameNameName ofofofof student:student:student:student: HeHeHeHe ShuShuShuShu DinaDinaDinaDina

DateDateDateDate ofofofof meeting:meeting:meeting:meeting: 07/12/201107/12/201107/12/201107/12/2011

WhatWhatWhatWhat IIII foundfoundfoundfound difficultdifficultdifficultdifficult (write about any part of the draft you found hard to do)

First, some phrases can have different meanings, and what they really mean in the texts

are unclear; and

Second, the way of expression in some sentences is uncommon to see, thus an

increasing difficulty to translation, e.g. "any part of my personality that wasn't securely

bolted in place had fallen into the void."

WhatWhatWhatWhat reallyreallyreallyreally workedworkedworkedworked (write about any part of the draft that you thought worked well)、

During the process of translation, I found repetition could be adopted to render

emphatic tone. For example, "what I have just witnessed simply isn't possible" is

translated into "我剛才看到的一切不會是真實的，不會的" to express the emotion

under the word "simply".

WhatWhatWhatWhat IIII learnedlearnedlearnedlearned (write about what you learned from meeting your supervisor)

When translating English texts, don't focus too much on specific words and phrases.

Instead, try to grasp the meaning underlying those words, and use short, simple

expressions to render it.

NextNextNextNext timetimetimetime (write what you would do differently next time)

Next time I will avoid using too long and meaningless sentences, and better understand

the English texts.

(To(To(To(To bebebebe completedcompletedcompletedcompleted bybybyby studentsstudentsstudentsstudents afterafterafterafter eacheacheacheach meetingmeetingmeetingmeeting withwithwithwith supervisors)supervisors)supervisors)supervisors)

46

ReflectiveReflectiveReflectiveReflective JournalJournalJournalJournal forforforfor studentsstudentsstudentsstudents

ReflectiveReflectiveReflectiveReflective JournalJournalJournalJournal InstructionsInstructionsInstructionsInstructions

Each time after meeting your supervisor to discuss your draft, write a short entry byanswering the questions below. The entries will not be marked, but must be submittedto the Programme Assistant before the submission of final project.

NameNameNameName ofofofof student:student:student:student: HeHeHeHe ShuShuShuShu DinaDinaDinaDina

DateDateDateDate ofofofof meeting:meeting:meeting:meeting: 11/02/201211/02/201211/02/201211/02/2012

WhatWhatWhatWhat IIII foundfoundfoundfound difficultdifficultdifficultdifficult (write about any part of the draft you found hard to do)

1. The meaning of some phrases and sentences in the source text is clear, but their

Chinese translation sometimes can be confusing.

2. Some expressions are difficult to understand, eg. "It was hard not to be relieved."

WhatWhatWhatWhat reallyreallyreallyreally workedworkedworkedworked (write about any part of the draft that you thought worked well)

1. Tried to render the rhetoric device used in the source text, like pun, etc.

2. Did some necessary change to render the name of the products, so as to make the

translation as attractive to Chinese readers as the source text to English readers.

WhatWhatWhatWhat IIII learnedlearnedlearnedlearned (write about what you learned from meeting your supervisor)

1. A successful English-to-Chinese translation requires the translator to be familiar with

western culture as much as possible.

2. Don't be too wordy. The translation should get rid of unnecessary and meaningless

words.

NextNextNextNext timetimetimetime (write what you would do differently next time)

1. Keep making efforts to polish the translation with a proper understanding of the

source text.

2. Learn to rewrite. Don't translate the text too literally.

(To(To(To(To bebebebe completedcompletedcompletedcompleted bybybyby studentsstudentsstudentsstudents afterafterafterafter eacheacheacheach meetingmeetingmeetingmeeting withwithwithwith supervisors)supervisors)supervisors)supervisors)

47

ReflectiveReflectiveReflectiveReflective JournalJournalJournalJournal forforforfor studentsstudentsstudentsstudents

ReflectiveReflectiveReflectiveReflective JournalJournalJournalJournal InstructionsInstructionsInstructionsInstructions

Each time after meeting your supervisor to discuss your draft, write a short entry byanswering the questions below. The entries will not be marked, but must be submittedto the Programme Assistant before the submission of final project.

NameNameNameName ofofofof student:student:student:student: HeHeHeHe ShuShuShuShu DinaDinaDinaDina

DateDateDateDate ofofofof meeting:meeting:meeting:meeting: 16/03/201216/03/201216/03/201216/03/2012

WhatWhatWhatWhat IIII foundfoundfoundfound difficultdifficultdifficultdifficult (write about any part of the draft you found hard to do)

The differences in using punctuation in Chinese and English require a different way of

translating. For example, dash is frequently used in English, but less used in Chinese, so

when translating English texts with dashes, we should change ways of expression to

convey the effect created by dashes.

WhatWhatWhatWhat reallyreallyreallyreally workedworkedworkedworked (write about any part of the draft that you thought worked well)

In the part having been discussed this time, there are lots of descriptions of actions. To

deal with this part, I chose to create short sentences with brief phrases and appropriate

verbs, so as to highlight the quick movement and tense plot in the source text.

WhatWhatWhatWhat IIII learnedlearnedlearnedlearned (write about what you learned from meeting your supervisor)

To translate exclamatory sentences, normally a literal translation will feelquite

unnatural. Instead, to use some similar expressions that are common used in target

language will be better. For example, "好傢夥" is better than "真是令人吃驚" as the

translation of "what a surprise".

NextNextNextNext timetimetimetime (write what you would do differently next time)

Carefully choose strategies to tackle the problem caused by punctuations.

(To(To(To(To bebebebe completedcompletedcompletedcompleted bybybyby studentsstudentsstudentsstudents afterafterafterafter eacheacheacheach meetingmeetingmeetingmeeting withwithwithwith supervisors)supervisors)supervisors)supervisors)

48

ReflectiveReflectiveReflectiveReflective JournalJournalJournalJournal forforforfor studentsstudentsstudentsstudents

ReflectiveReflectiveReflectiveReflective JournalJournalJournalJournal InstructionsInstructionsInstructionsInstructions

Each time after meeting your supervisor to discuss your draft, write a short entry byanswering the questions below. The entries will not be marked, but must be submittedto the Programme Assistant before the submission of final project.

NameNameNameName ofofofof student:student:student:student: HeHeHeHe ShuShuShuShu DinaDinaDinaDina

DateDateDateDate ofofofof meeting:meeting:meeting:meeting: 12/04/201112/04/201112/04/201112/04/2011

WhatWhatWhatWhat IIII foundfoundfoundfound difficultdifficultdifficultdifficult (write about any part of the draft you found hard to do)

In the process of translation, though I am able to try not following the original sentence

structure and create a smooth translation, I feel it hard to get rid of the restrictions of the

whole sentence pattern while focusing on the main idea to create a more natural

translation.

WhatWhatWhatWhat reallyreallyreallyreally workedworkedworkedworked (write about any part of the draft that you thought worked well)

I believe I am fully aware of the register that should be adopted in different context. For

example, to translate dialogues between couples or familiar friends, I chose intimate and

informal language. When translating the description of feelings brought about by a

melodious symphony, I used beautiful and elegant expressions.

WhatWhatWhatWhat IIII learnedlearnedlearnedlearned (write about what you learned from meeting your supervisor)

Careful attention should be paid in translating names. To translate a person's name, we

should notice the sex, age, appearance and personality of that person, because a proper

name can make readers understand the character better. For example, "鐵頭" is better

than "麥特裏克" as the name of a robot called "Metallico".

NextNextNextNext timetimetimetime (write what you would do differently next time)

Try to avoid translationese and attach more importance to details.

(To(To(To(To bebebebe completedcompletedcompletedcompleted bybybyby studentsstudentsstudentsstudents afterafterafterafter eacheacheacheach meetingmeetingmeetingmeeting withwithwithwith supervisors)supervisors)supervisors)supervisors)

49

ReflectiveReflectiveReflectiveReflective JournalJournalJournalJournal forforforfor studentsstudentsstudentsstudents

ReflectiveReflectiveReflectiveReflective JournalJournalJournalJournal InstructionsInstructionsInstructionsInstructions

Each time after meeting your supervisor to discuss your draft, write a short entry byanswering the questions below. The entries will not be marked, but must be submittedto the Programme Assistant before the submission of final project.

NameNameNameName ofofofof student:student:student:student: HeHeHeHe ShuShuShuShu DinaDinaDinaDina

DateDateDateDate ofofofof meeting:meeting:meeting:meeting: 27/04/201227/04/201227/04/201227/04/2012

WhatWhatWhatWhat IIII foundfoundfoundfound difficultdifficultdifficultdifficult (write about any part of the draft you found hard to do)

Some expressions in the source text are totally alien to the target text readers, thus

increasing the difficulty of translation. For example, the sentence "this was where the

slope began to get slippery, dangerously slippery indeed" is especially hard to translate.

WhatWhatWhatWhat reallyreallyreallyreally workedworkedworkedworked (write about any part of the draft that you thought worked well)

My translation is more natural and brief than before.

WhatWhatWhatWhat IIII learnedlearnedlearnedlearned (write about what you learned from meeting your supervisor)

I learned how to deal with the difference of giving emphasis between English and

Chinese texts. In English texts, the parts to be stressed are usually italicized, which is

not suitable to adopt in Chinese texts. Instead, a different font style, e.g. "楷體" can be

used to replace the italicized part.

NextNextNextNext timetimetimetime (write what you would do differently next time)

Do more background research for cultural terms, and think creatively to transform them

into target expressions.

(To(To(To(To bebebebe completedcompletedcompletedcompleted bybybyby studentsstudentsstudentsstudents afterafterafterafter eacheacheacheach meetingmeetingmeetingmeeting withwithwithwith supervisors)supervisors)supervisors)supervisors)

James Patterson

A construction worker is dead in a cherry-picker, and it is

possible that his eyes have actually popped from his face'

A postman is sprawled on a porch, the mail still held duti-

fully in his hands.

A towheaded girl is dead on her bicycle at the bottorn of a

roadside culvert-and this finally brings tears to my eyes'

It's as if some master switch has been thrown, turning off

their hearts and brains iust as they went about their daily

lives.

Not eve(yone's dead though.

In one indelible scene, elevator doors are pried open and a

screaming, traumatized businesswoman emerges-at least

seven corpses of business types are visible behind her'

There is some hope at least.

A few hundred survivors are gathered at midfield in a

baseball stadium, possibly in New Chicago. The camera pans

around. Horrible! The pitcher is dead on the mound, his face

buried in dust. There are uniformed bodies at the bases, in

rhe outfield, in the dugouts. The stands are fi.lled with fi.fty

thousand forever-silent fans.

I'm light-headed and ill as I sit on my parents' couch and

watch all this. I've been forgetting to breathe, actually, my

skin is clammy and cold.

Now I view a snapped-off flagpole displayed against an

urban skyline-a skyline of blackened, broken, and smok-

ing buildings. They're like teeth in a jawbone that somebody

has pulled from a funeral PYre.I'm beginning to suspect that this footage must have been

staged-but who could have made such a clever and horrify-

Toys

ing film? How had they been able to pull off this hoax with

such authenticity? And for what possible reason?

Now there's street-level, hand-sirot footage showing thou-

sands of people coursing over bridges and along highways'

They're carrying coolers, water bottles' biankets' small chil-

clren, the infirm. There are furtive close-ups of military patrol

vehicles at intervals along the way' Checkpoints' Tall' broad-

shoulderedgovernmentsoldierswithmirror-facedhelmets

and automatic weapons attempt to bring order to this incom-

prehensible chaos.

The film's final scenes are of earthmoving machines and

the enormous trenches they've made' These trenches are as

wide and deep as strip mines' Bulldozers are standing by to

help refill them, their scoops loaded with the uncountable

dead.

Thevideoendsandls i t in thedark, lost inshock 'horror '

and total confusion'

Is it some sick joke? A staged holocaust? Am I supposed

to believe that some hideous piague has been hidden from

history? When did it happen? Why have I never seen any-

thing like it before? Why has no one ever seen or heard about

this?

There are no answers to my questions' How could there

be? What I have just witnessed simply isn't possible'

Suddenly there are hands on my shoulder, and I leap up

from the couch, fists clenched, crashing into an end table and

knocking a coffee cup to the concrete floor' There is the

sound of breaking glass, and my heart nearly explodes'

"Haysl It's just me' Dad' Hays, it's me! Down' boy'"

James Pat terson

Of course, it was just my father putting his hands on my

shoulders, meaning to comfort me. Still, I cant quite give

him a pass for this. lt is his shelter, and his damned film, and

his hands.

"What what was that?" I demand to know. "Tell me.

Please? Explain it."

"That film?" he says. "That, Hays, is the truth. That's what

really happened on7-4 Day. They almost killed off the entire

human race. What you learned in grade school, everything

you read at university, is just a cruel hoax." Book One

FALL FROM GRACE

Itr.'rt!:,,

Chapter 1

FORTY-EIGHT HOURS EARL/ER-a mere two days before I

watched. the 7-4 Day fltn at my parents' house.

When I arrived at President HughesJacklins inauguration

party that night in the year 206I,1 was flying high, happier

and more self-satisfied than I had ever been. I couldn't have

dreamed I would end up losing everything I cared about-

my home, my job, my two darling daughters, Chloe and April,

and my beautiful wife, Lizbeth, who was there by my side.

In the catastrophic whirlwind of those next horrible days,

it would seem as if my world had been turned upside down

and any part of my personality that wasn't securely bolted in

place had fallen into the void. And what was left was what I

guess youd call the essential Hays Baker-well, if you broughtthe old rne and the new me to a p^rty,I guarantee nobodywould accuse us of a family resemblance.

Lizbeth and I arrived at the presidential estate ar aroundeight thirty, delivered in high style by our artificially intelli-gent Daimler sX-5500 limo. This wasn't our usual car. ofcourse.

A cheery, top-of-the-line iJeeves butler helped us out ontothe resplendent, putting-green-short grass of the front rawn.We promptly began to gawk at our surroundings_like acouple of tourists, I suppose. Hell, like lowly humans givenan unlikely glimpse of the good life.

Even now, I remember that the warm night air was sweetwith the fragrance of thousands of roses, gardenias, andother genetically enhanced flowering plants in the president,sgardens' all programmed to bloom tonight. what a botanicalmiracle it was, though a bit show_offy, I d say.

"This is absolutely incredible, Hays. Dazzling, inspiring,,,Lizbeth gushed, her gorgeous eyes shining with excitement."We really do run the world, don,t we?,'

By "we," Lizbeth wasn'l talking about just herself and me.She was speaking of our broader identity as ruling Elites, theupper echelon of civilized society for the past two decades.

Most Elites were attractive, of course, but Lizbeth, withher violet hair set off by ivory skin and an almost decadenrsilver silk gown, well, she sparkled like a diamond droppedinto a pile of wood chips.

"You're going to knock them dead, Jinxie," I said. wink_ing. 'As always."

"Flattery," she said, winking back, ,,will get you everywhere.,,Jinxie was my favorite nickname for her. It stemmed from

the fact that she'd come into this world on a Friday the thir-

Toys

teenth, but there wasnt a single thing unlucky about her-

or our life together, for that matter.

I took her tastefully bejeweled hand in mine, inwardly

thrilled that she was my wife. God, how I loved this woman.

How lucky I was to be with her, as husband, as father to our

two daughters.

Every head turned as we walked into the huge, high-

ceilinged ballroom, and you'd have thought we were music or

film stars from the bygone human era.

But not everybody in the high-society Elite crowd was

pleased to see Lizbeth and me.

Well, hey, you cant make everyone huppy. Isnt that the

sanest way to view the world? Of course it is.

l 110

.l$l

Chapter 2

AS LIZBETH AND I entered the glittering ballroom, Wesr-mont Delong, the world's most popular and most celebrated

comedian, was at center stage, entertaining with his drollpatter of antihuman jokes. When he noticed that the audi-ence was momentarily paying more at.tention to Lizbeth andme than to him, he raised his voice to win them back.

"Listen to this one, folks. Eyes on me, gents-ladies too!Right here, you and me. . . . The star is up on the stage.

"So an Elite's out for a night on the town. He has a few toomany, and he wanders into a tavern in a borderline humanzone," Delong announced with his trademark sly grin.

"He buys a drink-then says to the people around him,'l've got to tell you the best human joke I've heard in years.'

The tough-looking woman bartender gets in his face. Shesays, 'Listen, buddy, I'm a martial arts expert, my boyfriend

Toys

next to you is a professional no-gravity wrestler, and the

bouncer is ex-Special Forces. All three of us ate humans

and-guess what?-there are fJty others like us in here.

You really want to tell that joke?''No, forget it,' the Elite says.'It would take me all night to explain it fifty-three times."'

The crowd laughed loudly. Clearly, they were fans of West-

mont Delong-as was I-and abatrage of antihuman quips

sprang up:

"One human asks another which is closer, the moon or

Mexico." someone called out. "The second one points at the

moon and says, 'Duh-you can't see Mexico from here."'

"scientists have started using humans instead of rats for

laboratory experiments. They breed faster, and you don't get

so attached to them."

Delong chuckled and contributed, "Know what happens

when humans don't pay their garbage bill? The company

stops delivery.""Come on, Hays, your turn," said a voice behind me. "Let's

see that quick wit of yours in action. Dazzle us."

The tall, athletic, and handsome man who'd spoken was

none other thanJax Moore, the head of the Agency of Change,

where Lizbeth and I both worked. Moore was enjoying one of

his trademark cigars-smokeless, odorless.

Everyone around us went quiet and watched expectantly.

Since the challenge came from our boss, I couldn't duck it,

could I? So I smoothed the lapels of my tux, smiled, and told

the best human joke that I could remember."Well, there's an office full of human workers. One human

woman notices that her boss, who's also a woman, is leaving

12 13

James Patterson

early just about every day," I said. "So the worker decides shecan get away with it too. That afternoon, she waits until theboss leaves, waits another ten minutes, and then sneaks outherself. But when she gets home, she hears an awful commo-tion coming from her bedroom. She peeks in-and there'sher boss inbedwithher husband!"

I paused, just a beat-pretty good timing, I was sure."She hurries back to work. 'Well, I'm not going to try that

again,'she tells her coworkers. 'I almost got caught!"'The room echoed with genuine laughter, and Westmont

Delong's face reddened. His double chin sagged as well. Liz-beth managed to look appropriately blase, like shed heard itall before, but she shot me a surreptitious wink that said, Wayto go, Hays.

"Not bad, Hays," Moore said. "OK, if you can spare a min,ute or two away from the limelight, the president wants tosee you both."

The president! Lizbeth didn't look blase ar rhar news. Nei-ther of us had ever met President Jacklin before. This was ahuge honor, ofcourse.

"We don't usually give interviews without an appoint-ment. . . but we'll make an exception in this case,', I said.

"I'm sure the president will be flattered,', Jax Moore saidwryly. 'And Hays-no more jokes. Not even human ones.,'

*MY, MY. THE PRESIDENTwants to meet us"' Lizbeth whis-

pered in my ear as we followed Jax Moore farther into the

mansion."Of course he does," I said with a grin'

Actually, Lizbeth and I were considered stars at that par-

ticular moment in time. We'd just returned from New Vegas'

where we had saved countless lives while arresting a gang of

moderately clever human bank robbers who had been terror-

izing the West.

Anyway, Jax Moore whisked us through eight-foot-tall

carved oak doors that led to the mansion's private living area'

Well-concealed scanners examined every pore of our bodies

as we walked to the entrance of the president's oval office'

which was modeled after the famous original in the now-

sunken city of Washington, DC.

tl

Chapter 5

14 15

J o i l r t r ) r d t t g l ) u l l

I was immediately reminded that humans had created

some good things in the past, such as this fine neoclassic

style of architecture. But theyd also severely ravaged the

planet, hadn't they? A couple decades ago the first generation

of Elites had barely managed to save it from total destruc-

tion. Washington, DC, was one of many cities on the casu-

alty list, along with most of the low-iying eastern seaboard,

including New York City, Boston, and Philadelphia, all of

which had been swallowed up long ago by the rising oceans.

When we stepped into the Oval Office, President Hughes

Jacklin was standing in front of a full-length mirror, fum-

bling with his cravat. At his side was his faithful bodyguard

and supposed lover, a behemoth named Devlin.

Seeing us, the president let the tie go and strode across

the room to greet Lizbeth and me as if we were old friends.

He was a hugely impressive man, classically educated, firm-

jawed and broad-shouldered, and his thick dark hair was just

beginning Lo gray at the temples.

"My dear, the sun is down and it's still as bright as day

around you," he said to Lizbeth, kissing her perfect cheeks,

one, then the other.

"\r[1. -p[1. President," Lizbeth stammered ever so slightly,

"I'm speechless. . . almost, anyway."

"What you are is incredibly charming," countered the

president.

He turned to me and gave a firm handshake. "Hays Baker,

this is a great pleasure. You're beautiful too. Look, I'm late for

my own party-we'll have time to get better acquainted later.

But I want you to know I've followed your careers at the

I u y )

Agency closely. And I'm a big fan. That operation in Vegas

was pure genius. Efficient and effective. Just what I like'"*We're proud to help, Mr. President," Lizbeth said, actu-

ally blushing a little now.

"Then u,ould you help me out with this thing?" He flapped

the loose ends of his cravat with good-humored exaspera-

tion. ,,I never could get the hang of it. Or the significance of

ties, damn them'"

"I could do that," said Devlin, but the president waved the

bodybuilding bodYgu at d awaY.

"Lizbeth?" he said, exposing his throat to her. "Let's see

how you would garrote a world leader."

1716

Toys

make the world a better place' It was undeniable that they

had accompiished quite the opposite.

"I'm counting on you both for important help with the

launch of the human cleanup. Meantime, you're the best we

have at holding the gross and undesirable elements in check'

Please keep up the good work. Bigger, better things are coming

for you two. For all Elites, actually." He checked himself in the

mirror. "Come to think of it-humans are responsible for tiesl"

PresidentJacklin smiled, then he said good-bye with effu-

sive warmth-he was obviously an expert at it, perhaps

aided by the prototype Cyrano 3000 implant he was rumored

to have. I d only read about the device, but what I knew was

that it was surgically attached to a person's inner ear and

could offer guidance through any social interaction. The

amazing appliance had wireless access to a database of pre-

tested social cues, pertinent information about whatever

person you were talking to, and other useful facts, names,

quotes, and quips that might fit a given situation. The irony:

a human had also invented it.

Jax Moore took my elbow, then Lizbeth's, and walked us

back to the oak doors. He lit up another of his cigars and

puffed contentedly."Not a word about this. There can be no security leaks.

Check with me first thing tomorrow," he said. "I have classi-Red information we need to discuss. The president specifi-cally asked for you two on the 'human problem.' You'reboth. . .beautiful," Moore closed, giving us an icy grin thatcould have frozen vegetables. I doubted hed undergone aCyrano 3000 implanr, or even heard of it.

Chapter 4

"IT WOULD BE my pleasure, sir!"Lizbeth laughed like an impressionable schoolgirl and

took over. As her nimble fingers arranged the president's tieinto an expert knot, he gave us a conspiratorial nod. Off tothe side, Devlin was grimacing and fidgeting, and I hoped wehadn't made an enemy of the giant bodyguard.

"I will tell you this much about my future plans," thepresident said. "My best people have developed a programto-let's just say, complete the work of making our world asafer, cleaner place with respect to the human strain. We'Ilbe launching it soon. ln days, actually."

Lizbeth and I had heard rumors that a sweeping human-containment initiative had been taking shape. It was hardnot to be relieved. The foolhardy and dangerous humans hadonly themselves to blame. They had blown rheir chance to

I

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18 19

James Patterson

After the doors closed, Lizbeth took my arm and said,"One of the best nights of our lives, don't you think?" Shed

handled the president with perfect poise-and charm-but

she was also clearly starstruck after meeting the great man in

person. To be honest, so was I. I just didn t let on.

"Definitely in the top hundred or so," I teased her.

"Redlly," she said archly. "You'll have to remind me of the

others. Such as?"

"How about the night when we met? Michigan Avenue,

New Chicago."

She laughed. "Hmmm. Well, that might be in the top

hundred."

"I guess I asked for that," I said as we exchanged a

kiss that I'm sure caused a whistle or two in the president's

security-camera control room.

Chapter 5

WHAT CAUGHT MY attention nextwas the incredible num-ber of high-ticket toys at the party.

Sometimes it seemed like toys were all the world caredabout in the second half of the twenty-first century. Humansand Elites had both fallen under their spell and becomeaddicted to the endless pleasures and nonstop excitementthey could provide. And the toys were only getting better, orworse, depending on your point of view.

Even in the presidential mansion-where you might thinkthe serious business of the country would be getting done24-7 -toys were playing a big part in the celebration. Wide-eyed, deep-pocketed guests were crowded around a displaywhere employees from Toyz Corporation were giving demoso[ some of the choicer items in the forthcoming, but thus farunreleased, catalog.

2120

James Patterson

As Lizbeth and I reentered the ballroom, we were sur_rounded by a menagerie of cloned, generically tamedanimals-birds of paradise, Galiipagos tortoises, enormousbutterflies, pygmy hippos-and then we almosr gor knockedover by a beautiful woman in a gold gown and matching highheels, who was laughing while riding on a thick-maned lion.

"Oops, sorry," she said breathlessly as she raced by. Thenshe called over her shoulder to Lizbeth, ,,you've got to trythis, Liz. You've never felt such muscles."

"Now that's certainly not true," Lizbeth whispered as herhand delicately grazed my upper leg. "My beauty.',

Other women were draping defanged cobras and won-drously patterned tropical vipers around their necks likemink stoles, and one demented man showed off by thrustinghis head into the jaws of a docile baby Tyrannosaurus rex. Ialmost wished rhe toy would take a bite.

While Lizbeth admired the fauna - Elite and orherwise -I stepped up ro a bank of SimStims, rhe hugely popular andaddictive simularors that offered a variety of different experi-ences, all so intensely real that it was illegal to sell Simstimmachines to anyone with a heart condition. you could choosefrom any number of simulations-have passionate sex witha movie or government star, for example, rock out onstagesurrounded by a vast audience of screaming fans, or fight foryour life in the heat of combat.

I slipped on a mood helmet ar one of the simulators andscanned the on-screen menu. The range of choices was stag-gering: Moorish Harem, Eye of a Hurricane Experience,Pagan Barbarities, Tennis vs. the Pro, pig Out: No Calories,

Toys

Death Experience: A Final 60 Seconds, Visit Your Former

Lives.Movie buff that I am, I picked the general heading of Great

Moments in Cinema.

I barely glimpsed the words "This Program Has Been

Edited for Your Enhanced Pleasure," and then I was there.

Bogie in Casablanca.

I gazed into the liquid blue eyes of lngrid Bergman sitting

across from me-then I raised my whiskey glass to touchhers."Here's loohing at you, hid," I said, losing rnyself in her

answering smile.

Then the door of the noisy cafe burst open and a toadliheIittle man ran in, loohing around in panic. The great humancharacter actor Peter Lorre had arriyed.

"Rich, you have to help me," he gasped in a heavy accent,thrusting a sheaf of papers at me . "Hide these!"

I strode to the piano as he rushed out thebach door, and I hadjust managed to shoye the papers under the lid when gunshotssounded in the street outside. Suddenly, iachbooted soldiersstormed in-

My heart rdced, and I felt myself instinctively baching awaytoward the bar. There was a Luger right there under the counter.

This was amazing.I was living Bogie's part in the filmmasterpiece. And thsn-sulprise of surprises . . .

22 23

c w,i: Toys

one thing's true about the Homo sapiens, it's that they almost

neyer let you down in the drama department' I mean the

scandals, the three world wars, the artistic movements,

garfles,literature, films. ' . and the music! I adored Mozart'

but also Bob DYlan and Edith Piaf'

I took Lizbeths hand and we strolled back toward the

center of the great hall.

"Let's take a look at those dolls' I want to see if they're

suitable flor April and Chloe," she said. "They're absolutely

beggingfor them, HaYs."

"They have more than enough toys already," I said, but

quickly relented. "Oh all right, Jinx. I can t say no to them'"

Lizbeth pointed ar a demonstration of the seasons hottest

new items-Jessica and Jacob dolls, beautiful miniature

androids that looked and acted perfectly lifelike. Kids

everywhere-including our own two daughters-were

causing parents to line up around the block to purchase them

atToyz stores all over the country.

The clever display was set up in a series of tableaux-

separate scenes of home, office, store, and restaurant-with

dozens of the lifelike dolls chatting, working, and eating just

like real people, though only sixteen inches tall.

To be perfectly honest, while I couldnt quite take my eyes

off them, I found the dolls more than a little creepy.

But the crowd was riveted, especially a growing knot in

front ofa sign that read THESEMoDELSSPECIALoRDERoNLY.

When Lizbeth and I strolled over there, we immediately

saw why."Oh my," she said. "Oh dear, Hays. That's just gross."

Chapter 6

I FOUND MYSELF staring at the menu screen, a little miffedat the next message. "Presented by Toyz Corporation," itblinked in stark black and white. "We hope you'll come backsoon."

"Great," I sighed. "Well, it did say great moments in cin-ema, didn't it?"

Lizbeth was warching me with folded arms and raisedeyebrows as I removed the mood helmet.

"Have a good time?" she asked and started to grinmischievously.

'A little short-lived," I said, wondering if any of the otherprograms were full-length-maybe next time Id get inro some_thing like a Viking raid, or maybe visit that Moorish harem.

Actually, I was quite a student of human history. I neverwould have turned the government back over to them, but if

24

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Underneath the sign was a doll-sized bed where a JakeandJessie in the buff were thrashing around in primal delight.I mean, those two were really going at it.

"I guess we can scratch the special orders off our list,"

Lizbeth said.

"They really can do everything. Energetic little devil,

isn't he?"

Lizbeth rolled her eyes. "There's more to it than slamming

in and out like a piston. Don't you think, Hays? I'll bet you

anything these dolls were programmed by a man-and prob-

ably one between the ages of sixteen and thirty-five. They

should let a woman redo the code if they really want them ro

sell."

"Thinking about volunteering?" I said. Biocircuitry was

Lizbeth's specialty-she was one of the foremost experts at

the Agency of Change. 'And what would you do differently,

dear heart? Have all theJacobs look like me?"

Her lips brushed my ear. "That's not such a terrible idea,

Hays. Say, I'm thinking this party has served its official pur-

pose for us," she murmured. "What do you say we go home?

Maybe play some games of our own?""IJmm, coming through," I said, taking her hand and

leading her off the crowded floor. The best night of our pro-

fessional lives was about to get even better, and on a much

more int imate level

Jinxie and I were going home.

Yippee!

Chapter 7

THIS WAS WHERE the slope began to get slippery' danger-

ously slippery indeed.

Outside the presidential mansion, more iJeeves butlers

were escorting rich and famous guests to a long line of wait-

ing limos. Lizbeth and I were soon settled back in our Agency-

loaned driverless vehicle to enjoy the air ride through the

beautiful Elite zone of New Lake City.

Glittering hundred-story buildings stretched out before

us for miles, with impossibly fast-moving flying cars, trucks,

and buses streaking between them. AsJinxie had said earlier,

We really do run the world.In truth, we Elites had saved the

planet, so why not?

Off toward the outskirts of the high-rises, you could see

the dark gaps of the human slums. Sad stuff, even if you

despised the humans. But maybe the president's plan would

26 27

F W ,James patterson

fix that once and for all. The humans had proved thev couldn,tbe trusted under any circumstances.

Lizbeth and I snuggled together like giddy reenagers insidethe limo, whetting our appetites for later on. She kept mak_ing jokes about how ,,beautiful,'

I was."l want you to try the new Rapture pill, Hays. Two_minute

orgasms."

"Contact your physician if orgasm lasts an hour or lon_ger," I said as I leaned in for a kiss.

Then-out of nowhere-it felt rike a giant boulder hadcrashed into the roof of the Daimler. The impact buckled theincredibly strong titanium roof, rocking us from side to side,then bringing the car to a graceless, airbag_assisted landingon the street below.

"Hays?" Lizbeth said in ararm. 'Are we being attacked?We are, aren't we? How dare they?,,

At first I could see nothing outside the smashed_openwindows. But I definitely heard yelling and pounding feet.Five, six, seven people coming toward us_fast.

Even as I ordered the rimo to disengage our safety restrainrs,I could smell their foul body odor. Humans. Damn them.They must have crashed another vehicle on top of ours andforced us down, and they were now moving in for the kill.Robbery, of course, possibly rape _ for both of us.

Like all Elites, I thoroughly distrusted humans. They wereterminally lazy and srupid, and their flesh reeked of thegreasy food they gobbled. The popular Elite rerm for rhemwas shunh.s, although they were a bit more like hyenas, orwild dogs, in terms of the lives they led. Violence, deceir, and

Toys

opportunism ruled their petty days and nights, just as it had

through most of history. Hell, they had even written books

about it, from Horace and Homer to Thomas Friedman and

Stieg Larsson.

As Agents of Change, Lizbeth and I were dedicated to

bringing fairness and justice to their barbaric ways and

making them pay for their crimes. An act this outrageous-

entering a restricted-access area and actually attacking

Elites-made these vandals candidates for the harshest pen-

alty there was: slow death.

I could see now that they were an ugly bunch, even for

humans: grim-faced and menacing, armed with knives and

scalpel-sharp box cutters, plus a few old-fashioned handguns.

My threat-assessment sensors instantly ranked their

strength from lowest to highest. Three of them,I noted imme-

diately, had biotech upgrades: enhanced musculature, joints,

and reflexes. It wasn't commonplace, but it was possible-

through bioengineering-to augment a human to nearly Elite

levels of power and conditioning."Shall we?" I asked Lizbeth. Besides being a doctor of

engineering and possessing a genius-level IQ, my beautiful

wife was a deadly hand-to-hand fighter. Besides being a doc-

tor of history, I was also."I wish I d worn sensible shoes," Lizbeth said as she glanced

at her party pumps and grimaced.

28 29

l

I

,11

ill

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Chaptet B

I WRENCHED OPEN the limo door on my side, using it as a

shield to clear a path as I leaped out. Lizbeth followed close

behind, one of her shapely legs flashing from under her eve-

ning gown as she planted a spiked heel in a punk's ear. He

staggered away, howling in great pain."Drop your weapons!" I yelled in warning.

They didn't, of course. What a surprise.

So I began with the weakest-ranked assailant in my reach,

slipping aside as he charged at me swinging a nastyJooking

box cutter. I snapped the skunk's wrist and tossed him across

the street against a lamppost. He hit with a doughy crack-

as an empty beer bottle wrapped in clay would-and slid

down to the pavement.

I briefly wondered if he'd had a chance to hear the thud

when his skull shattered.

Toys

The next piece of human scum charged, screeching like a

savage beast. I feinted a lunge, then somersaulted over him,

dislocating both his shoulders in midflight.

"Three of them are fully augmented," I cautioned Lizbeth.

"Got it, Hays. Thanks, darling. I'll take it easy on them."

My next foe was a fast learner, and clearly had under-

gone impressive augmentations. Instead of fighting, he ran-

or pretended to. It took me all of three lO-foot strides to

catch him.

As my hand lashed out to crush the elbow of his knife

arm, he whipped around at me like a snake-a preternatu-

rally fast snake-holding a second knife in his other hand. It

sliced past my throat so fast I could hear the whir of the blade

through the air.

"Close, guy. I'm impressed." I gave him his due.

Then I followed the arc of his knife with my own slashing

left hand, slapping the weapon out of his grasp as rny right

hand crushed his other elbow from behind. Next, I jammed

his head between two verticai bars in one of the neighbor-

hood's iron fences and bent them around his neck to form a

snug, but not quite strangling, collar."Not to worry," I said. "The police will be here to rescue

you soon."

I absolutely needed to keep a couple of these skunks alivefor interrogation. Had to keep that in mind.

I glanced over at Lizbeth to make sure she was doing OK.

My lovely bride was just dispatching her next assignmentwith a graceful rib-cage-collapsing ballet kick. In her sparetime, she's a dancer, a private dancer for the kids and me.

30 31

James Patterson

"Way to go, Dr. Baker!" I called to her."You too, Dr. Baker!"

I turned my attention to the last of the group, the one who

had registered on my sensors as far and away the most dan-

gerous. The criminal was still in the driver's seat of the car

theyd rammed into ours-he only watched while the others

fought. Coward, or ma,stermind? I wondered. lf there is such a

thing as a human mastermind.

Only it wasn't a he, I suddenly realized. The creep's shaggy

blond hair was cut short, but the body and facial structure

was definitely female.

She was staring at me through the open car window, and

the emotion she projected, the undisguised hatred in her

eyes, made my scalp bristle. Then she completely shocked

me-she knew my name.

"You think you're a hero, Hays Baker, but you have no

idea what you're doing," she said softly. "Yorire the criminal

here."

Then she pulled back on the car's wheel and it accelerated

straight skyward. My muscles tensed to leap and catch hold

of the rear bumper. I could have done it. But I stayed rooted

to the ground. I had no idea why.

Lizbeth was watching me, suddenly looking concerned."Hays, are you hurt?" she called. "Hays?"

"No, I 'm. . . I 'm f ine."

She looked puzzled. "Why didn't you go after the driver?"

"I. ..I thought it was too risky," I said, though that wasn't

it at all. "If the car had taken off and we'd crashed. . . we're in

a residential neighborhood. Don't worry, we'll catch her."

Toys

"Hert h was a woman?" Lizbeth asked in amazement' "I

thought all human females were pregnant and working behind

a stove"'"Good one, Jinxie," I said and gave her a hug' She could

tell a human joke with the best of them'

32 33

Chapter 9

THE LOCAL POLICE arrived in the next sixry seconds andvery quickly and professionally cordoned off the automobilecrash and crime scene. The Agency had already been in touchto verify our vitals and to dispatch another car to take Liz-beth and me home.

We arrived at our apartment, a beautiful tenth-story floor-through in one of the most desirable lakefront locations inthe city.

When we stepped through our front door, the first thingwe heard was the jangly, atonal pulse of robo-rap music com-ing from our house android, Metallico, who was prancingaround the living room and singing along with the tunes.

Metallico hastily rurned off the sound and stared at us inshock. "Whar in the world happened to you two?" he asked."Lizbeth, your beauriful hair is a mess!,'

Toys

"Never mind about that," she snapped. "What happened

to this place? It looks like all the closets exploded."

"Well, excuse me. I suppose I'm too Iazy to shop, cook,

play nanny, and clean, all at the same time. lf you must know,

I just finished giving the girls their bath and was starting to

tidy up. I wasn't expecting you home so early." The robot's

supple, bronze-tinted silicone skin glowed a little brighter,

indicating his annoyance.

"We had a slight change of plans," I said calmingly. I

always tried to smooth over these little sniping matches

between the two of them.

The apartment didn't seem all that bad to me; Lizbeth had

a tendency toward tidiness that could go over the edge. There

were games and clothes strewn on the coffee table, but Metal-

lico was right: with our two little-girl cyclones racing around

at full speed, sygn hs-2 machine designed to clean-some-

times got maxed out before day's end.

His skin had returned to a normal hue, although he stillmanaged to convey that his "feelings" had been hurt.

'All right, let's kiss and make up," he said. "I'11 get youboth a drink-you look like you could use it. Yourcl6lhss-ferl."

He gave us quick hugs and pecks on the cheek, then bus-tled off to the kitchen, crooning again, shaking his booty,and making us both smile, though Lizbeth did mutter "hope-less heap of metal" under her breath.

Besides being incredibly helpful, Metallico could be a lotof fun. He was the size and shape of a normal adult butbuilt for work and, thus, without the refined exterior of the

34 35

James Patterson

high-end entertainment androids. But he could move with

such speed and grace that he made the simplest househoid

task look like an Olympic event. He was also a perfect play-

mate and teacher for the girls, a vast encyclopedia of

knowledge-robots like him were of course interfaced to the

Cybernet, with all the information of our entire civilization

at their instant command-a witty conversationalist, a mas-

ter of adult games (such as four-dimensional chess), a gour-

met chef, and a thousand other useful things. Also, like the

rest of our family, he despised and distrusted all humans.

As he came back with our regular no-carb drinks-a

glass of sauvignon blanc for Lizbeth, vodka with a twist for

Chloe and April came charging into the room and

threw themselves into our arms. Ah, rny sweetbaby girls.

"Did you bring us Jessica and Jacob dolls?" they asked

their mom. Chloe, who'd just turned four, pronounced dolls

dows. She was an elfin beauty with her mother's violet and

ivory coloring, while April, six, was tawny-skinned with

thick blond hair l ike mine."I'm not feeling very good about those dolls, sweeties,"

Lizbeth confessed."Neither am I," I added in support. "Sorry, ladies.""Noooo," the girls wailed in a chorus of grief."We'll talk about it tomorrow, OK? It's bedtime-go get

settled, and Daddy will come tell you a story. Won't you,

Hays?"

"Of course I will. That's whv thev call me Daddv. isn't it?"

Chapter 10

ALTHOUGH DISAPPOINTED, the girls were mostly obedi-

ent at this age, and they scampered away to their room'

"C'mon, Daddy!" they called to me' "You have to tell us a

story now. Two stories. Because you're denying us our dolls'"

I followed close behind and turned my thoughts to choos-

ing a favorite bedtime story for my babies' I scrolled through

the library menu on Chloe's wall . . . maybe Don'tLet thePigeon

Land the Car, or Mr. Popper's Penguins.

The thing about the girls and me back then, we had sort

of a secret life. On the weekends, we loved to go off to the

city's very large library to read together. We listened to

Mozart on earphones on the way there, then settled in to read

Charles Dickens aloud. The point-if there has to be a point

to everything-is that you can hate humans, but nobody

should hate Mozart or Charles Dickens orJ. K. Rowling.

36 37

James Patterson

As I was reminiscing about our little secret times together,my earring phone chirped-three quick beeps signaled anAgency emergency of some sort. "Damn!" I muttered. "This

cant be happening."

"Daddy!" April said with a frown. "You just said a forbid-

den word." I wasn't supposed to curse.

The caller turned out to be Owen McGill, my partner atthe Agency of Change and a longtime friend, probably mybest friend-other than Lizbeth, that is.

"Grab your boots, Hays," McGill said. "There's been anugly incident at the Toyz store in Baronvillg"-2 tony Elite

suburb at the northern edge of New Lake City, about twenrymiles away. "They want you here right now lt's homicides,

plural."

"Me? Now? | aheady had my ugly incidenr for the night.Lizbeth and I were attacked-by shunhs. Besides, I'm sup-

posed to be off.""Sorry, buddy. Jax Moore specifically requested you. 'l

want Hays Baker on this!'That's what he said."

i exhaled. 'All right, all right. I'm on my way."

So much for reading bedtime stories, a romantic interlude

with my wife, or even gett ing to taste my vodka with a twist

of lemon. What a letdown, and what a shit night this was

turning out to be.

I hadn't even had time to take off my tux jacket before I

was heading off to face, well, whatever was so important that

Jax Moore had requested me at the crime scene.

Homicides-plural.

11

OUR APARTMENT BUILDING'S superfast express elevator

whisked me up to the rooftop garage, and I jumped into my

own car-a teardrop-shaped sports-pod just big enough to

comfortably fit me and a passenger. Although the touch of a

button would extend it rearward, enabling it to carry as many

as four others.

As the hatch slid shut, the instrument panel lights blinked

a message: "Ready when you are, Dr. Baker."

"Toyz store, Baronville, max speed," I said.

Usually, I operated the vehicle myself, but right now I

needed a break, even-as it would have to be in this case-a very short one.

"Roger that, Dr. Baker," replied the interactive pilot's crispvoice.

Suddenly, the sports-pod shot straight upward, then

Cha pter

38 39

James Patterson

forward, pressing me firmly back into the custom seats.These superlight pods were among the fastest models avail-able, capable of doing zero to sixty in two seconds flat,maneuvering in the air like a hummingbird, and cruising

comfortably at three hundred miles per hour, even on a sur-face road.

'Airspace clearance is set. Estimated flight time: four min-

utes and twenty-three seconds," said a different voice, female

and as familiar as an old friend. "Would you care for a drink?

Entertainment of any kind? Sensory stimulation?"

This was Elle, the artificially intelligent attendant. I hadn't

named the pilot-our relationship was more businesslike-

but Elle deserved a name.

"How about some Bach?" I said. "Please, Elle. That would

be terrific. Just what I need."

"If I might make a suggestion, the Brandenburg Number

Six, Allegro, would just about fit our flight parameters.""Perfect,"

"Perhaps with a multisense track?" she said."Something light, yes."

Elle didn't have a full body, just a pair of slender robotic

arms, but they functioned with a precise efficiency that could

be spellbinding. She slipped the car's mood helmet onto my

head, and I relaxed with the classical music-another of the

very good things that humans had given the world. How

bizarre was that?

Actually, to be fair, humans were still making a few worth-

while contributions to the world. We Elites weren't numer-

ous enough to fill every role in our society, so we had to

ToYs

concentrate on managing the vital ones-government, med-

ical, military, law enforcement, telecommunications, media.

Consequently, well-trained and strictly supervised humans

were still manning the orchestras, bands, and studio sessions

that we required. Humans also had many necessary subser-

vient roles, especially those involving cleaning and waste

collection.But I believed it was Elite technology that really took clas-

sical music to the next level-when the Brandenburg began,

I wasnt just listening, I was experiencing with all my

senses. . .

. . . drifting along a pure, cle ar river, with the scent of lilacs in

spring w afting tfu ough the air.

Trees along the banles thrust their strong trunhs up from the

earth, while their branches reach lihe slender, red-tipped fngersto caress the shy.

Rich, ripe Jruit of all varieties hang within easy reach, and

alluringnymphlihe shapes frolic in the water around me, waving

at me to come joitr them in their play . . .

The exquisite concerto ended with its last, very memora-

ble drawn-out chord."We're here, Dr. Baker," Elle said in the quietest whisper.

"Toyz store, Baronville."Damn. I couldhaye used al i t t le more Bach.

w

40 4 1

Chapte r 12

OWEN McGILL CERTAINLY hadnt exaggerated-the crimescene was ugly all right. Eleven dead! The first thing I sawwas a butchered male body in what looked to be a veryexpensive navy blue pin-striped suit. The poor fellow's lorsowas twisted horribly and partly submerged in a veritable lakeof his own blood.

Id seen plenty of gore before, but this was possibly theworst yet. The most nightmarish aspect of the scene was thatthe victim's blood had splattered all over some miniature toyhorses that had been let out of a stable-themed play set.

The cat-sized horses were covered head to hoof in bloodand were walking around, leaving tiny, crescent-shaped redprints on the synthetic marble floor, apparently looking forsome miniature oats or hay.

Creepy didn't begin to describe it.

Toys

But the full measure of the massacre, the carnage, was

much worse than that initial impression.

A second corpse, this one female and partially dressed in

an expensive gold lam6 pantsuit, was lying nearby. Close to

that were two more female victims. Their trademark pink

and blue Toyz shopping bags were scattered everywhere

around the courtYard'

They had been cut in a way that sickensd rns-t615s5

savagely ripped open, organs removed, the heads completely

gone. Missing, in fact.

As I stared at the gore, and shooed away one of the little

horses from the male's body, McGill came striding over. As

always, I was glad to see him. My friend is rock solid,

dependable, and a good ally when things get rough. He's

built like a gorilla, six foot six, and close to three hundred

pounds.

"Where are the killers?" I said, assuming the humans

responsible had been arrested by now. The city police would

have been on the case immediately.

"So far, no sign of them, Hays. You believe it? They got

away with this.""That's not possible.""I hear you. Gets even stranger though. Listen to this.

Every single one of the security cameras in the place justhap-

pened to malfunction at the same time.""What?"

"It gets even better. There must have been close to a hun-dred customers in the store-nobody remembers a goddamnthing. Not even the security guards."

42 T 43

James Patterson

That was impossible. Elites have crystal clear memories

and would never lie to authorities. They aren t capable of it."Go ahead, ask'em," Owen McGill challenged me. He ges-

tured at the civilians gathered beyond the cordon. "Maybe it

will start coming back to them-once you turn on the old

Hays Baker charm."

As with most of the company's consumer outlets, espe-

cially ones in respectable Elite communities, this Toyz super-

store was open twenty-four hours, and it was crowded with

customers.

"Who can tell me what happened?" I stepped forward and

called to the blank-faced, clearly confused crowd. "Some-

body must have seen these terrible murders. I need witnesses.

Please. Anybody? Speak up now."

A pretty, young Elite woman, wearing skintight jeans and

a bodice that barely covered her nipples, shrugged helplessly.

"I was standing right there, looking at the iSpielberg imag-

ers," she said, pointing at a display of equipment that allowed

)'ou to star in your own rnovie.

Her shaking finger moved toward the homicide scene.

"Those two-I don't think they were a couple... they

acted more like they worked together. . . Anyhoq they were

walking past me, talking to each other. lt was all perfectly. . .

ordinary. Then-they were lying on the floor. Just like they

are now. Cut open! It's the weirdest thing, but it was like

there was nothing in between."

Others in the crowd nodded their heads in complete

agreement.

"Hey, why don't you tell us what's going on?" a man in

Toys

front called out to me. "The police are supposed to protect

us, aren't you? How could you let something like this hap-

pen? In aToYz store of all Places?"

It was a fair question, but I didn't have a clue what to say'

How could I? Basic ally, these murders just couldn't have

hapPened.

44

$45

Cha pter13

"COME ON, THERE are more bodies up front," McGill said

in a quiet voice, respectful of the occasion or, perhaps, the

deeply disturbing mystery of it. It was rare for Elites to be

crime victims-now here were eleven of them dead, and

Lizbeth and I were still recovering from an armed attack.

What the hell was going on?

I followed Owen through the distraction-crammed store,

trying to keep my focus on the grisly task at hand and my

head clear of the Toyz siren song.

But what a collection of playthings. Sex and adventure

simulators, domestic servants that could do everything but

think your thoughts, genetically tamed wild animals that

never needed feeding, personal submarines, personal air-

pods, role-playing worlds, antigravity chambers, celebrity

"clone" androids you could bring home and interact with as

Toys

you please d....Toys, toys, toys for all goodlittle girls andboys.

That line-from the Toyz store's famous jingle-you couldn't

get it out of your head without using a Thoughtcleanser,

another ToYz store favorite'

"One thing's for sure-it had to be skunks"' McGill said

grimly, hatred for the despicable human killers burning like

hot coals in his eYes.

I nodded. No Elite would commit a vicious crime like

this. Almost by definition, it's what separates us from those

murdering animals. Genetically speaking, of course, Elites

are more than 99 percent human' It's not something we tend

to dwell on, but we're rational-and it is what it is.

Quite simply, our kind was geneered from human stock'

In our case, it was deliberate science rather than biind natu-

ral selection-but it's essentially similar to how "modern"

humans themselves are said to have evolved fromHomo erec-

tus or Australopithecus or other primitive forms.

But even more significant than our DNA blueprint-genes,

after all, are simply sets of biological instructions-is the

final product. Unlike humans-or any organism that's ever

walked under the sun for that matter-we arent just flesh

and blood. We contain circuitry and nanomachinery. Although

it isn't visible from the outside, we are, in fact, part machine.

One other difference between us and them is that rather

than being born from a woman's uterus, we grow in artificial

wombs. This means Elite women don't have to endure the

old-world pain, inconvenience, and health risks of pregnancy.

Artificial wombs also permit us to gestate for longer-we

spend a full two years developing before birth, as opposed to

W'

46 47

James Patterson

the typical nine months of human pregnancy. Among other

things, this makes it possible for doctors to integrate the bio-

circuitry and other augmentations that enable us to rise above

humankind's dangerous shortcomings: greed, immorality, self-

destructiveness, rage. I couid go on and on, of course. Even

the best human artists understood humanity's frailties and

failings. Just read Shakespeare, Dostoyevsky, Swift, Rand,

Solzhenitsyn-even pop culture writers like Stephen King

and Philip K. Dick got it right.

Thebrutallydismemberedbodies at the Toyz store reminded

me once again these human flaws should never be underesti-

mated. Too often the outcome was tragic.

Looking around the scene, I noticed something interest-

ing. The organs taken from the bodies were all those linked

to uniquely Elite biotechnical augmentations- especially our

circuitry-enhanced brains. It suggested something even more

disturbing: the massacre at the store wasnt random, or moti-

vated by robbery-this wasnt an explosion of shortsighted

rebellion and rage that occasionally flares in the human ranks.

Instead, this had all the elements of a complex and pre-

meditated murder plot.

I shook my head and walked the route between the two

crime scenes, cataloging traces that the cold-blooded attack-

ers had left.

Theyd come in at the rear-the blood of the first corpses

I'd seen was more congealed than the others-and theyd

moved fast to execute their daring plan. Footprints in the

blood-sizes ten and a half, twelve, and two size elevens, all

popular-brand athletic sh6g5-1old me that there'd been four

Toys

of them. Large males. Animalistic. Acting without any regard

for right or wrong.

A forensic team was on its way, but I already knew my

assignment: I had to go bag myself four murdering skunks

before theY could kill again.

TheToyzpremier items on display tonight were, of course,

Jessica and Jacob dolls. Dozens of them had been placed in

the store's huge front window undoubtedly to lure in traffic-

Scary didn t start to cover that tableau.

The dolls had wandered away from their display stations

and were now standing behind the glass barrier.

They were staring at the mutilated Elite corpses, pointing

at them, talking among themselves like so many looky-loos

at a terrible, terrible traffic accident.

To the Jessicas and Jacobs, the crime scene seemed to be

the featured amusernent for tonight. Talk about disturbing-

dolls being entertainedby real-life tragedy.

Lizbeth was right-there was no way our Chloe and April

were going to get any o[ these little bastards for the holidays.

Not while I was Dad.

48 49

Chapte, 14

"DR. BAKER, sIR. our street surveillance cameras have pickedup four skunks on motorcycles fleeing the area,,, a city copcalled out, hurrying toward me. "They're heading north alongthe lakefront. We have emergency units_"

I was already running for my car. I wanted in on this cap_ture in the worst way. I had never investigated a crime as dar-ing and unspeakable as this one.

This time I took over rhe clriving controls. As I sped outonto the streets, I barked a command at the dashboard com-puter: "Four motorcycles, north lakefront. Rapid pursuit untilintersect."

That order activated a link to the city's network of surveil-lance cameras.

Instantly, a grid appeared on-screen, showing a cluster offlour shapes hunched over their bikes.

Toys

The readout gave their speed as 187 miles per hour and

their location as 7.347 rr.iles away. Other shapes on-screen

showed me that airborne police pods were already chasing

them and ground vehicles were forming roadblocks ahead.

The fact that they'd gotten as far as they had was astonish-

ing and made me feel anything but secure about a peaceful

arrest.McGill's avatar suddenly appeared on my display. t blinked

my eye at the communications icon, signaling the computer

to pick up his call.

"Hays, we've IDd the vics at the store," he reported to me

now. "They were all Toyz Corp execs."

"What?"

"Yeah, and we're not talking district managers either. They

were members of theToyz board. Moore's crazedabout it. So,you know, no pressure or anything. Just catch-and kill-the bastards. No mercy."

"I'm closing in on the vermin right now," I said, thenclicked off McGill's feed wirh a blink.

No mercy indeed.

5150

4 I -Chapter l)

I coulD DEFINITELy see the humans motoring at fulrspeed up ahead. As if on cue, rhe cluster of bikes suddenlysplit apart, peeling off in different directions like campfiresparks scarrered by high winds.

They dove down back alleys and even onro narrow walk-ways, where the maneuverable bikes could evade the road-blocks and stay sheltered from police aircraft. smartbast,,rds.

"Your muscle tension is extremely high, sir," observedElle. "Would you like me to engage ultrasonic massage?',

"Not now, Elle-I'm skunkhunting.""Of course, sir," she replied, and her status light turned

from bright yellow to dim green. ,,Good luck with rhar.,'I was getting close to the outskirts of the city and the cha-

otic human settlements where my targets would have adecent chance at disappearing arnong their kind of filth and

Toys

vermin. What a terrible outcome that would be for theAgency-and for my own record.

I rammed the joystick forward and the pod went airborne,streaking up ar a thirty-degree trajectory to an altitude ofapproximately one hundred feet. Then it leveled out.

within seconds I was closing in on the nearest rider. Iwas doing more than rwice his speed, actually. God, I wantedat him.

The punk killer was still on a fairly wide street, but henever had a chance to swerve away.I didn't give him one. Iswooped down between the buildings and came in over himlike an eagle snaring a gopher.

The car's belly grazed his back_just hard enough toflip him.

As I shot on by, the dashboard screen showed him skid_ding along the pavement, then bouncing wildly off severalbuilding fronts. Good ridd.ance to bad rubbish.

At close ro two hundred miles per hour, there probablywouldn't be much left of that one.

The next closest rider was .74 miles away. The on-screengrid showed a path where I could stay hidden berween build-ings until I intercepted him.

I dropped the sports-pod back down onto the street andpeeled out on a stretch of smooth concrete pavement.

- Seconds later, I whipped around a tight corner in front of

him-then skidded broadside ro cur him oU.

-_ But he was good with a bike. I,ll give him that much credit.

He braked and laid the motorcycle down on its side, crouch-ing on rop and riding it like a sled.

5253

James Patterson

At the last second, the rider leaped clear and tumbled

away with the skill of a gymnast. The bike was still hurtling

toward me, bouncing and throwing off sparks.

It slammed into my car hard enough to completely demol-

ish the passenger side and send me violently off course.

Bright red warning lights flashed on the dashboard, and

the shrill beep of an alarm sounded.

"We're under attach, sirl" the interactive pilot announced.

Sometimes artificial intelligence doesn't quite live up to

its name. Chapter 16

"NO IMMEDIATE DANGER to personnel on board," chirped

the pilot computer as the pod righted itself and avoided what

would have been a most unpleasant, and possibly deadly,

impact with the front of a tinny-looking warehotse. "Ddtnage

to vehicle will not impair operation.""No problem then," I muttered.

I swung the pod around in a tight arc and zeroed in onthe running human. With a touch, I sent off a heat-seekingtracer round from my front gun port.

The skunk vanished in an explosion of red vapor. Sayo-nara, you pitiful saclz of crap.

I was going to have to show some restraint from here onthough. Just like before, I needed to take at least one of thesekillers alive to be interrogated at headquarters. That was my

54 55

James Patterson

only mission now-to find out why eleven Elites had beenmurdered and eviscerated.

As I closed in behind the next targer, he banked suddenlyinto a sharp right turn. ln fact, he leaned the bike almosthorizontally, then brought it back out and whipped into adark alley. This one was very good, a superior athlete andrider.

The gap was too narrow for my car, but I had another idea.He wouldn't be breaking any motorbike speed limits on rhesenarrow, twisty side streets, after all.

So I screeched to a halt."Take over," I snapped to the pilot, popping open the

hatch and vaulting out."Be careful, Hays," Elle called after me.

How about that. Shed never used nry frst name before.Should that make me extra cautious? Was I in worse dangerthan I thought?

!!qpl.'Y

I HIT THE ground, running, and I mean rwtningvery fast' I

estimated the fleeing rider's distance at thirty-seven yards

and his bike's speed at forty-one miles per hour. I could more

than match that on foot.

The alley was an unlit black hole of warm, heavy stench

that fouled my nostrils, but my night vision picked out every

detail, right down to the sweat beading on the skunk's neck,

just below his crimson and black helmet.

Within three seconds I'd reached my top foot speed of

nearly fifty. By now I was using ten-yard strides. It was almost

like flying-my feet barely touching down before I was gone

again.

I realized now that I was fully in the human slum as I

stretched to dodge a pile of sludgy food scraps covered in

maggots, and a microsyringe and bloody bandages from a

*Sur-!:

--i

il,

56 57

E) rd t l e r son Toys

and used every ounce of my strength to spring up twenty feet

or so and grip a third-story ledge. Then I swung my feet up

under me and leaped another two levels, bounding along the

sheer concrete face like a jungle spider chasing an ant. No

human could do that-and not many Elites, either. But I

wanted this killer badlYl

He kept on climbing, and he couldn't see me-probably

thought Id given up. We got to the roof at nearly the same

instant. Big surprise, my smelly friend. Just me and you and the

twinkling stars uP here!

This time there was no low ceiling to slow me down. The

bike burst into sight up the ramp, moving so fast it actually

left the floor in a long arcing jump.

I caught the bastard at its midpoint, slamming into the

rider like a cannonball. We landed, twisting and skidding,

with my forearm locked around his throat so tight it crackedapart the chin guard of his helmet.

But damn if this bastard didn't manage to hang on to rhethrottle and keep going, racing straight for the outer ledge.

I clung to his back, choking him and wresrling to dumpthe bike and flip ir over, to flip him.

My weight tipped us some and started us slidingbroadside-but the wheels hit a parking curb and we flippedalmost straighr up into the air. We were still going so fast themomentum shot us right out over the ledge.

Then we were piunging downward-ten stories to thepavement below.

There, in all probability, we would both die.

hyper-meth junkie., Then I whirled up in a horizonral rwist,bounded off the side of a building, u.,d bur"ly cleared a rowof overflowing Dumpsters. These humans were absolutel.,J ; - ^ , - ^ . : -

- - - " " v r q ( L r /

I almost screamed with the sheer, glorious power of thechase' My muscles tensed and sprang like flexing steel bands,the wind rushed past my ears and through my hair, and myteerh clenched in anricipation as I closed the gap on the flee_ing killer, hopefully the gang,s leader.

A few more seconds and hed be mine_my captive, mineto interrogate.

Then,.just as I leaped ar him, the sonofabitch yanked hisfront wheel completery off the ground and bounced up onto astack of rorting conrainers . What in hell? He used the con_tainers like a springboard to hop over rhe waisrhigh wall ofan old-style parking gar^ge.

I sailed on pasr, landed with both heels digging in, spunaround, and dove back into the garage after him.

It was so low-ceilinged and full of pilasters and parkedvehicles that my own agility was impaired_I couldn,tiun p,only run in a crouch over the car tops.

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump...Hed started pulling away from me again, racing furiously

up the circling ramp. By the rime I gor ro the ramp myself,he'd already reached rhe rhird level.

He would find himself trapped on the roof, ten storiesup-but what if a genwaypod was waiting for him there?

This was some impressive skunk.I flew past the ramp, back outside to a corner of the garage,

II

II

58 59

Toys

of a building blurring like the view out a train window as it

plunges into a tunnel ' ' '

The stinging air was pulling, ripping at my hair, my clothes,

my lips, mY eYelids. .. and then-

The murderer skunk hit the ground first. I smashed into

his body like a pile of lumber landing on a sack of rotten

fruit.And then-nothing at all.

Short circuit?

Death?

I had no idea.

I

Il

Chapter 1B

THE NEXT FEW seconds were the longest of my life. I was

truly flying, twisting and turning in blissful weightlessness,

helpless yet absolutely free.

But a harsh, hate-filled noise interrupted the thought,

pushing it away and sucking me back to-

The motorcycle rider was trying to twist himself around

so that he could land on top of me-maybe I'd absorb enough

impact for him to survive the fall.

Not going to happen! I would have yelled, if there'd been

enough time to form the words.

But I did hook my leg tightly behind his. Then I threw rny

shoulders back and away from him, causing our tangled bod-

ies to shift in the ever-louder, whistling- now screaming-air.

For those few seconds, I had been watching the pavement

below. Now I saw everything at once-bricks, glass, the side

60 61

Chapte, 19

IN MY FIRST blurred instants of consciousness, before Icould even open my eyes, I was somewhat aware of movement -

and also that I was floating along flat on my back.Next came a sharp, clean smell. Antiseptic.I was in ahospital!

The murmur of voices chattering all around me began tocome clear.

One was a woman's, soft, concerned, and very familiar-Lizbeth.

Another-a man's, deep voiced and commanding. Thatwould be Jax Moore, the Agency chief, my boss. Lizbeth'sboss as well.

There were others, but I didn't recognize any of them at

this point.

I realized I must be in New Lake City Hospital, the finest

Toys

Elite medical facility in the world' I opened my eyes and saw

that the other voices belonged to the personnel who were

hurrying me on a gurney down a shockingly bright hallway.

And to several other people accompanying us-all high-level

Elites-some of whom I d seen earlier at the president's inau-

guration Party.It appeared that I was enjoying a taste of fame and celeb-

rity. Lucky thing I was still wearing my tux-or, at least,

what was left of it.

"Hays," Lizbeth gasped as my eyes fluttered, her lovely

face leaning close. "How do you feel, my darling?"

"Never better," I mumbled.

The truth was, I hurt horribly all over, and the constant,

astounding pain was getting worse fast. I'd been badly injured

before, a number of times, but never in a way I couldn't

handle-nothing like this present, unbearable agony.

Of course, I d never fallen ten stories before. Two or three,sure. Even four once... but ten was clearly more than thedoctor, or doctors, ordered.

"What happened to the motorcycle rider?" I said throughclenched teeth. "That killer scum? The skunk?"

"They're scooping him up with shovels," Moore growledat my side.

"Damn! I was trying to keep him alive.""We know-you gave it a hell of a shot. Now shut up and

take it easy, we're almost at the OR. You need some partsreplaced, buddy."

62 63

Chapte,20

I RELAXED AND managed to give Lizbeth maybe a quarter of

a smile. I knew I was in the best possible hands and that Elite

medicine had reached a point where I could be good as

new-hopefully within a week or two.

But the damn pain was getting worse, and I was weaken-

ing in away I'd never felt before-like the very life was ebb-

ing out of me.

Was that possible-could I be dying? And no one would

tell me? Not even Lizbeth? I didn't want to die, especially not

so suddenly.

I managed to whisper, "Love you, Jinx. Love the kids."

And she, "Love you, Hays. More than anything in this

world. Hang on, sweetheart."

Then the operating room doors swung open and I saw

lots of lights. Hospital attendants pushed me inside, then

Toys

lifted me from the gurney to the table. There, masked, gowned

surgeons were already waiting with ultraprecise, computer-

moderated surgical tools.

"No time to lose with him," one of them said grimly. "He's

on his way out."

Dammit, I didn't need to hear that.

With swift precision, the medical experts adjusted the

overhead lights, hooked me up to the banks of monitors and

machines, and deftly slid a catheter into my arm. The blessed

sedative relief started flowing through my veins, soothing

the fiery ache of shrieking nerves.

As I began to slip over the edge of oblivion, I felt the pres-

sure, although no pain, of a laser scalpel opening up my

torso.

Then I must have gone into another dream.

Faint and far away, I heard these incredible words:"My God, look at that! You see that line? That's scar tis-

sue. He's had some sort of surgery here. I think the skins

been grafted. You see how the follicles are different over herefrom over here? . . .

"Look here, underneath. . . It looks like. . . Holy shit! Yousee that? . . . You see what that is? That's the remains of a navelcavity! This guy used to have a belly buttonl Hays Baker is noElite.

"He'shuman. This man is a skunk."

64 6-5