结为一体 Ensemble

作者： Rayla Heide

我面前是尖啸升降机硕大圆润的肚皮，里面装满了无数个齿轮和精密铁艺结构。有人说它名字里的“尖啸”是因为海克斯压力机的顶端有一座铁铸的孤狼塑像正在嚎叫；另外有人信誓旦旦地说有一位黑色面纱的侍者在客舱里阴魂不散，每当他随着升降机远离祖安和他的爱人，他的哀恸嚎哭就会就会撼动机器的金属内核。但大多数皮尔特沃夫人则不以为然，他们根据声音断定这个名字指的不过是城市下方大裂谷中吹过的冷风。

The plump belly of the Rising Howl looms before me, churning with its endless gears and elaborate ironwork. Some say the Howl is named for the wrought iron wolf that cries atop the apex of the hexdraulic descender; others swear the ghost of a black-veiled gentle-servant haunts the cabin, and when the Howl lifts him away from his lost love in Zaun, the sounds of his moans reverberate and shake its metal core. Many Piltovans, convinced as they are in their own sound judgment, are sure the name refers to nothing more than the cold wind whistling between the crevasses below their city.

但对我来说，尖啸机并不是一个单独的声音。它是一场噪音的和谐交响，用数千种不同的声音混合而成的旋律。所以我总是会被这台机器吸引。

But to me the Howl is not a single lone cry. It is an orchestra of noise, a melodic blend of a thousand unique sounds. It is why I am drawn to the machine.

升降机的客舱有很多层，主支撑结构是三根纵轨，与地面垂直，与地表等高，现在它降落到了舞步走廊站，速度渐渐放缓，最后完全停下。

The multi-tiered elevator, supported by three vertical structural beams which span the height of the city, descends to the Promenade level and slows to a lurching halt.

“当前到站，舞步走廊！”管理员大声说道，铃铛形的娑呐叭将她的声音放大。她调整了一下厚厚的护目镜，然后说，“前方到站，边境市场，奇术魔法学院，植物培育中心。”

“Disembark for the Promenade!” the conductor announces, her voice magnified by a bell-shaped sonophone. She adjusts her thick goggles as she speaks. “Boundary Markets, College of Techmaturgy, Horticultural Center.”

乘客们开始从升降机里涌出。然后又有数十人走进升降机，分散在客舱各处：前往祖安夜市摆摊的商人，下班回家睡觉的工人，前去玻璃穹顶培养塔欣赏夜之花的祖安富人。还有几个偷渡客也在搭乘尖啸升降机回家。我看到它们急匆匆地跑进升降机：瘟疫鼠，暗影兔，碧甲虫。

Passengers pour from the descender. Dozens of others board and spread throughout its floors: merchants traveling to Zaun to trade in the night bazaars, workers returning home to sleep, wealthy Zaunites visiting night blooms in glass-domed cultivairs. Then there are the unseen riders who have made the Howl their home. I spy them scurrying in the shadows: plague rats, shadowhares, and viridian beetles.

有时我会从隧道前往地沟区，但今晚我非常想听升降机演奏出的和谐噪音。

Sometimes I climb down the crevasses to descend to the Sump, but tonight I long for the harmony of noise I know the descender will create.

我并没有走门进入客舱，而是挂在了客舱外面，双手牢牢抓住最下面的铁杆，铁杆下面就是棱纹钢构成的玻璃窗框。我稳稳趴在尖啸机上，金属的身体发出叮当响声，引来许多乘客的目光，管理员脸上写满厌恶。我对面部表情的识别每天都在长进。

Instead of entering through the doorway, I swing around the outside and lock my grip on the bottommost bar where ridged steel brackets frame the glass windows. My metal plates clank as I clamber onto the Howl, drawing stares from the passengers and what looks like a grimace from the conductor. My knowledge of facial expressions grows each day.

大多数乘客都在舱内乘机，远离外面的阴冷，但在外面的宽敞空间中，我能更清楚地听到升降机运行时机械零件互相咬合的声音，还有蒸汽释放的轻柔声音，这些声音伴我们深入祖安内部。而且话说回来，大多数的门我都钻不进去。

Most passengers ride within the compartment, away from the cold and soot, but outside, in the open air, I can hear the satisfying click-clack of mechanical parts snapping into place and the soft hiss of steam releasing as we sink into Zaun. And besides, I don’t easily fit through most doors.

一名地沟拳手牵着他的儿子，小男孩吃惊地看着窗外的我。我向他眨了眨眼，然后他应该是惊讶地张大了嘴，躲到了父亲身后。

A small boy clings to his sump-scrapper father’s hand and gapes at me through the window. I wink at him and his mouth opens in what I estimate is surprise. He ducks behind his father.

“升降机下行！”管理员说道。然后敲响了一个巨大的铃铛，开始在一个亮红色的台子上操作轮盘。我几乎可以感觉到操作指令通过导线传递到了升降机引擎。

“Going down!” says the conductor. She rings a large bell and adjusts the dials on a bright red box. I can almost feel the commands buzz as they surge through wires into the descender’s engine.

在我们下方，祖安高塔的铁尖和培养塔的绿色玻璃穹顶在微光中灿若火烛。尖啸机发出嗡嗡的声音，然后承载着钢铁和玻璃的重量，吱嘎吱嘎地沿着三根粗壮的纵轨缓缓下降， 顶端的排气孔冒凤鸣着冒出一团蒸汽。

Below us, the iron pinnacles of Zaun’s towers and green glass cultivairs glitter like candles in the dimming light. The Howl whirs and creaks as its cranks spiral down against the three towering beams, weighted down with iron, steel, and glass. A blast of steam whistles from the topmost pipe.

客舱内部，地沟拳手和他的儿子看向旁边，一位乐手正在给自己的四弦奇他调音，然后弹出了一段优美的旋律。他的音乐与尖啸机的齿轮咬合与传动装置融为一体。那位父亲随着节奏轻点脚尖。一只甲虫咬紧口钳躲过一个男人的靴底。一帮炼金朋克混混只正倚着墙小憩，这种举止与他们平日在城中喧哗叫嚣的气势大相径庭。

Inside the cabin, the sump-scrapper and his child look on as a musician tunes his four-stringed chittarone and begins a sonorous melody. His tune synchronizes with the clacking gears and whirring machinery of the Howl. The father taps his foot to the rhythm. A beetle snaps her pincers as she scrambles away from the man’s heavy boot. A gang of chem-punks lean against the wall in soft repose, a pause so unlike their usual frenzied jaunts through the city.

尖啸机一边下降，一边指挥着完美的声音合奏。身边的这场交响让我惊奇赞叹，不由自主地和着低沉的节奏哼了起来。这节奏贯穿了我全身，我很想知道周围的人们是否也能感受到。

The Howl whirs in its perfect fusion of sounds during our descent. I marvel at the symphony around me and find myself humming along to the deep buzzing tones. The rhythm thrums through me and I wonder if those around me feel it.

“缓台广场！”管理员报站的同时升降机慢了下来。一对信使带着捆绑牢固的包裹走出客舱，后面跟着一群炼金科技研究员。然后一群兴高采烈的祖安佬进了客舱，显然是刚从戏院区出来。

“Entresol!” the conductor calls out as the descender slows. A pair of couriers carrying parcels wrapped in twine disembark, along with a crew of chemtech researchers and a crowd of chem-merchants. A merry crowd of Zaunites from the theater district steps aboard.

“下行！”她一边说一边敲响铃铛，尖啸机嗡嗡作响。升降机遁入地下，上面的排气管涌出蒸汽，玻璃窗上结出了雾气。我的金属胸板表面也开始结出水珠，机械装置的叮当合奏再次响起，蒸汽也不断涌出。

“Down we go!” she says, ringing her bell, and the Howl responds with a whir. The descender sinks and the windows mist as vapor pours from pipes above. Beads of water spread across my metallic chest as the harmony of clanking machinery and whooshing steam begins anew.

一声不和谐的呢喃打断了声音的节律。震动非常细微，但我敢断定有什么东西错位了。升降机像是什么都没发生一样继续运转，但马上就有一声刺耳的巨响打破了完美的节奏。

A discordant murmur interrupts the pattern of sounds. The vibration is subtle, but I can tell something is off. The descender continues as if all was normal, until a jarring clunk breaks its perfect rhythm.

虽然我从来没做过梦，但我知道这种突然被打破的节律是一台机器最可怕的噩梦。

Though I have never dreamed, I know a break in the pattern this abrupt is a machine’s most frightening nightmare.

螺纹齿槽被卡住了，客舱的铁框发出尖锐恐怖的摩擦音。许多性命都到了危急关头，我能感到这台机器的痛苦，它绝望地紧紧卡住三根支撑纵轨。尖啸机的全部重量都落在了已经变弯了的立柱上，客舱严重倾斜。金属结构承受不住自重，结合处的铆钉正在一颗颗崩飞。

The spiralling gearway is jammed, and the cabin’s iron brackets grate against it with a horrible screech. Many lives are at stake and I feel the machine’s pain as it braces desperately against the support beams. The entire weight of the Howl heaves against its bending columns and the cabin tilts at a lurching angle. Rivets burst from their seams as metal is pulled away from itself.

我们摇摆了几下，然后掉了下去。

We wobble for a moment, then drop.

客舱里，乘客们摔落的同时尖叫着抓牢了最近的扶手。这是一种完全不同的尖啸。

Inside the cabin, passengers scream and grasp at the nearest railing as they plunge. This is a different kind of howl.

我一只手握牢了客舱最下面的平台。另一只手伸长，向三根纵轨结构发射出去。铁柱表面的雾水非常滑，我的手偏离了几寸。我收回手腕。我的后背放出一股蒸汽，再次尝试机械飞爪，向第二根纵轨发射。又失败了。

I tighten my hold on the cabin’s bottommost platform. I extend my other arm, launching it toward one of the three vertical structural beams. The iron column is slippery in the mist and my grip misses it by inches. I retract my arm and steam blasts from my back as I try again, whizzing it toward a second beam. Another miss.

时间变慢了。客舱内部，蒸汽朋克混混们牢牢抓住横杆，碧甲虫顺着敞开的窗户飞了出去。地沟拳手和他的孩子紧紧抱在一起，贴在窗户玻璃上，玻璃在他们的重压之下出现了裂缝。小男孩突然翻滚了出去，他用手指勉强抓住边缘的铁框，最后无助地向下滑落。

Time slows. Inside the cabin, the chem-punks cling to a ledge while the viridian beetle flies out an open window. The sump-scrapper and his child brace themselves against the glass, which fractures under their weight. The boy tumbles out, scrabbling at the frame with his fingers before he slips and falls.

我伸手在半空中抓住了那个孩子，然后收回了手臂。

I reach up and catch the boy in mid-flight, then retract my arm.

“抓紧，”我对他说。

“Hold on,” I say.

小男孩死死抓住了我后背的金属板。

The child clings to the plates on my back.

我再次向上方的支撑纵轨发射了手臂，这一次我的手摸到了坚实的金属，发出了铿锵的碰撞声，然后我收紧了手指。沉重的客舱依然在下坠，把我另一只手也强行拉伸开来，我甚至感觉自己的关节已经到了破裂的极限。我依然悬在半空中，极力想要抓得更稳。

I fire my arm up toward the support beam once more, and this time my hand meets solid metal with a resounding clang as I secure my hold. My other arm is forced to extend as it’s wrenched down by the plunging cabin, so much that I feel my joints might fracture. Suspended in midair, I try to steady my grip.

剧烈的颠簸之中，我的手臂颤抖失控，而升降机也终于停止了自由落体。突然停下的升降机依然在摇晃，现在支撑它的只有我的手臂。小男孩在我背后瑟瑟发抖，抓得更紧了一些。

With a great jolt, my arm jerks as the descender halts its freefall. It shakes from the sudden stop, now supported only by my arm. The boy shudders as he tightens his grip on my back.

尖啸机距离底端还有五十英尺，正在地沟区楼房的上方摇摇欲坠。我躯体表面层叠交错的金属板在重量的牵拉之下发出低弱的呻吟，我用尽全力收紧全身的各个部件。如果我倒下，尖啸机就将和我共同坠落，满载着乘客。

The Howl is still fifty feet above the ground, hovering over the Sump-level buildings. My overlapping metal plates groan as they strain against the weight and I concentrate all my efforts on holding myself together. If I fall, the Howl falls with me, along with all its passengers.

我的手锁死在支撑纵轨上，稍稍松手向下滑动。我们下落了十英尺，客舱颤颤巍巍摇摇欲坠，然后慢慢恢复稳定。

While locking my arm onto the support beam, I slide my arm down the pillar. We drop ten feet and the cabin sways precariously before stabilizing again.

“抱歉，各位！”我大声喊道。礼貌用语在危机时刻对人类可以起到安心镇静的作用。

“Sorry about that!” I shout. Statements of empathy can be reassuring to humans in moments of crisis.

我必须再试一次。我必须强大。

I must try again. I must be strong.

我尽量以最细微的差别稍稍松开了抓着支撑纵轨的手，随着一声刺耳的金属摩擦声，我们轻柔缓慢地滑过了余下的四十英尺。落地的同时，我的阀门长叹了一口气。

I release my grip on the support column ever so slightly, and with a piercing screech we gently slide down the remaining forty feet to the ground. My valves sigh as they contract.

乘客们伴着我的叹气声，纷纷爬出舱门和破碎的窗户，来到了地沟站，相互搀扶依靠着彼此。

Passengers echo my sighs as they stumble through the doors and broken windows into the Sump level, leaning on each other for support.

我后背的小男孩急促地呼吸，依然牢牢抓着我的脖子。我收回了双手，走下客舱，俯身蹲了下来，让小男孩下到地上。他慌忙跑进了父亲的怀抱。

The boy on my back breathes rapidly as he holds my neck. My arms whir as I retract them and lower myself to the floor, crouching down so the child can touch the ground. He scrambles back to his father, who embraces him.

管理员从升降机里爬了出来，看到了我。“你救了我们所有人。”她的声音颤抖着，我觉得是因为震惊。“谢谢你。”

The conductor emerges from the descender and looks at me.

“我只是在完成自己的目标，”我说。“很高兴你们没有受伤。祝你们愉快。”

“You saved us. All of us,” she says, her voice shaking from what I think is shock. “Thank you.”

她冲我微笑了一下，然后转回身子指挥周围凑上来的祖安佬进行救援，协助其他乘客撤离并开始维修。一个炼金朋克小妞接过那位音乐家的的奇他，帮他爬出升降机。其他几名从戏院出来的乘客正在安抚一位老人。

“I am simply fulfilling my purpose,” I say. “I am glad you are not hurt. Have a good day.”

两个海克斯机械师瘸着腿向我走来，我将他们引向了一位医务官，他正在搭建帐篷组织临时修复站。乘客们的呢喃和伤者的呻吟混合进了地沟区的熙攘和嘈杂。我胸中的蒸汽引擎也伴着这个声音呢喃着，这感觉让我情不自禁地吹了声口哨。

She smiles, then turns to direct the crowd of Zaunites who have gathered to offer their assistance to the passengers and begin repairs. One of the chem-punk girls carries the musician’s chittarone for him as he crawls from the descender. Several of the theater-folk comfort an elderly man.

小男孩转过身，害羞地冲我摆了摆手。

Two Hex-mechanics stumble toward me and I direct them to a medical officer who is setting up a tented repair station. The murmurs of the passengers and the hissing groans of the wounded descender blend with the whirrs and churning of the Sump. The steam-engine within my chest murmurs along, and I am moved to whistle a tune.

我也向他摆手。

The boy turns and waves shyly at me.

他跑回自己父亲身边，他厚重的靴子在石子地上有节奏地敲打。尖啸升降机内部的变速箱和齿轮组幽幽地打拍歌唱。碧甲虫跟着节奏咬合口钳，消失在地沟深处。

I wave back.

He runs to catch up with his father, his heavy boots tapping a rhythm on the cobblestones. Shifting wheels sing and gears click-clack within the belly of the Rising Howl. The viridian beetle snaps her pincers in time with the beat as she zooms away into the Sump.