马格努斯053 - 档案号#9970509 - 沃尔特·海勒

讲述其于1941年11月在亚历山大附近发现的事物。

马格努斯档案馆本次讲述一位退伍军士的故事，二战中参与了“十字军行动”的他，在一座埃及城市的地下发现了奇怪的事物…

（原画师不详）
格特鲁德·罗宾逊 - 苏·西姆斯；沃尔特·海勒 - 哈维·凯塞尔曼；档案员 - 乔纳森·西姆斯；马丁·布莱克伍德 - 亚历山大·J·纽瓦尔
作者：乔纳森·西姆斯
导演：亚历山大·J·纽瓦尔
编辑：亚历山大·J·纽瓦尔，迈克·勒博
翻译/字幕：赞福德Zaphod（贝克的小号）


2楼附文字版

This post has been edited by 贝克的小号: 2022-11-26, 00:51

马格努斯053 - 档案号#9970509 - 沃尔特·海勒

讲述其于1941年11月在亚历山大附近发现的事物。

马格努斯档案馆本次讲述一位退伍军士的故事，二战中参与了“十字军行动”的他，在一座埃及城市的地下发现了奇怪的事物…

格特鲁德·罗宾逊 - 苏·西姆斯；沃尔特·海勒 - 哈维·凯塞尔曼；档案员 - 乔纳森·西姆斯；马丁·布莱克伍德 - 亚历山大·J·纽瓦尔
作者：乔纳森·西姆斯
导演：亚历山大·J·纽瓦尔
编辑：亚历山大·J·纽瓦尔，迈克·勒博
翻译/字幕：赞福德Zaphod

[CLICK]
[按钮声]

GERTRUDE
格特鲁德
Are you quite recovered?
你已经恢复妥当了吗？

WALTER
沃尔特
Yes, I, I think so. Well enough to tell my story, at least.
是的，我、我觉得没问题。至少，已经足够讲述我的故事了。

GERTRUDE
Oh, good.
哦，好的。

Sergeant Walter Heller recording,
录音人：沃尔特·海勒军士，
regarding a discovery made near Alexandria during
Operation Crusader in November of 1941.
讲述其于1941年11月进行的十字军行动中，在亚历山大附近发现的事物。
Recording date 5th of September, 1997.
录音日期：1997年9月5日。

Anytime you’re ready.
你准备好的话，随时可以开始。

WALTER
Right. Where do you want me to start?
好的。你想让我从哪里开始说？

GERTRUDE
Well, you say you were serving in North Africa when it happened?
嗯，你说过，当时你在北非服役？

WALTER
Yes, I was with the Second Royal Gloucestershire Hussars.
是的，当时我在第二皇家格洛斯特郡轻骑兵团。
（皇家格洛斯特郡轻骑兵团是一个志愿自耕农团，在 20 世纪成为英国陆军预备役的一部分）
We weren’t even meant to be down in Libya, originally,
最初，我们根本不应该南下利比亚，
but when the pushback against Rommel started,
the whole brigade was reassigned.
但在针对隆美尔的反攻开始后，上面对整支部队做出了重新部署。
We were going to help with Operation Crusader.
我们的任务是辅助进行十字军行动。
Well, that was fine by me, my brother Frances had died at Arras
when the Germans had pushed through the year before.
我对此没有意见，一年前，我弟弟弗朗西丝抵抗德国人进攻的过程中，在阿拉斯牺牲。
Rommel has been in command there, as well, and I hated him for it.
当时的敌军指挥官正是隆美尔，因此我恨他入骨。
I knew I’d never get to do anything about it,
我知道我对此无能为力，
but I always used to carry an old picture of
him I’d clipped from the newspaper,
但当时我总是随身携带着，从旧报纸上剪下来的他的照片，
and I made sure to keep it in my pack so I’d know
him if ever I saw him again, or just in case.
那张照片永远妥帖地放在包里以备不时之需，这样如果我再见到他的话，能认出他来。

Well, there were four of us on the tank crew:
嗯，我们的坦克小队有四个人：
Frank Malloy was in command, Ralph McCulloch did the driving,
弗兰克·马洛伊是我们的队长，拉尔夫·麦卡洛克是坦克驾驶员，
and we had a loader by the name of Dicky.
还有个名叫迪基的装弹手。
I, well, I’m afraid I don’t remember his second name;
he wasn’t with us very long.
我，嗯，恐怕我不记得他姓什么了，他和我们在一起的时间不久。
I was the gunner.
我是炮手。
I’ve always had good eyes, you see, and you really need that for the gun.
你知道吗，我的眼神特别好，对炮手来说这是必须的。
It’s all very well for Frank to point at a speck
on horizon and give us the order to fire,
作为队长，弗兰克往往会指向地平线尽头的某个黑点，下令让我们开火，
but I’m the one that needs to line up the shot close to a mile away,
但真正负责隔着近一英里的距离锁定并击中敌人的人是我，
and turn a Nazi tank into a smouldering
brick before they can do the same to us.
我得把纳粹的坦克变成一块焦炭，否则他们就会用同样的手段对付我们。

I was good at it.
我非常擅长开炮。
Though I managed to get three M13/40s when the fighting started.
I would have liked to have a crack at the Panzer,
战斗开始时，我已经击毁了三辆M13/40型坦克，但我还是希望能打掉一架德式坦克，
（M13/40型坦克：意大利陆军在二战时期的主要坦克装备。
曾在北非、南斯拉夫、希腊作战中广泛使用）
（Panzer: 德语装甲之意，在英语语境中常用来泛指德式坦克）
but it was the Italians who caught up with us
at Bir el Gubi, so I never had a chance.
但我们在比尔古比遭遇的是意大利人，所以我一直没得到这个机会。
Maybe it was just as well, by all accounts, the Germans had
a lot more training, so maybe it would have gone even worse for us.
也许这样最好，真要是遇上训练有素的德国人，我们的下场可能会更惨。
But I still hated having to waste time on the Italians,
但我觉得和意大利人交火纯属浪费时间，这让我大为光火，
when I knew Rommel and his Panzers were out there in the desert somewhere.
因为我知道，隆美尔和他的坦克部队就在这片沙漠的某个地方。

It was all a bit of a mess, to be honest, that battle.
说实话，那场战斗实在是有点混乱。
Our air support were meant to have bombed their airfields
to rubble, but weather had kept them grounded,
我们的空中支援部队本该把敌人的机场炸平，但飞机囿于天气原因无法起飞，
so we were hounded by German planes the whole time.
所以德国飞机全程对我们穷追猛打。
The Italians had unsurprisingly taken a page out of Rommel’s handbook,
and they backed up their tanks with heavier infantry support,
不出意料，意大利人从隆美尔那里取了经，为坦克提供了更加雄厚的步兵支持，
while we were left almost entirely on our own.
我们这边却几乎只能靠自己。

Frank took to the machine-gun when he could keep it pinned down,
弗兰克一有机会就操纵机枪射击，
but it was hard enough to keep our eyes on the enemy tanks without constantly having to worry about a Panzerfaust coming out of you from nowhere.
可光是掌握敌方坦克的动向就已经很难了，更别提还要随时提防步兵的反坦克榴弹炮。
We were still in the Crusader Mark 1s back then,
so we had the speed to keep ahead of them,
当时我们开的还是第一代十字军坦克，所以速度上有优势，
but I was basically useless when we were driving.
但当坦克快速移动时，我基本就是个废物。
Any time we stopped long enough for me to get an eye on
an Italian tank, we ended up a sitting duck for their infantry.
每当我们多做停留，让意大利坦克进入视野，自己便也会成为敌方步兵的活靶子。
All told, I think taking down three of them was a pretty good effort.
话说了这么多，我觉得击毁三辆敌方坦克已经是不错的成绩了。

You know, it was hot that day.
你知道吗，那天特别热。
I hadn’t been in the desert more than a couple of weeks by then,
and the sheer heat of the place was still something of a shock.
当时我在沙漠里只待了几周，还没能习惯沙漠那种严苛的热。
I’m from Cheltenham, you see, so not exactly
used to the blazing sun of a Libyan desert.
是这样，我是切尔滕纳姆人，所以我真的受不了利比亚烈日炎炎的沙漠。
And a Crusader – well, for all its advantages,
it didn’t have very much in the way of ventilation,
十字军坦克，尽管有着种种有点，在通风方面却实在是拿不出手，
so we were spending a lot of time trapped in
what was more or less a mobile oven.
大部分时间里，我们都如同困在移动火炉中。
Even then, I could just about stand it, but once the
fighting got going and the guns started firing, well.
即便如此我都能忍，可一旦打起仗、开起火来，呵呵。
It was only a 2-pounder, but still, the heat was almost unbearable.
虽然我们的坦克只有2磅火力，那温度还是几乎让人无法忍受。

It was about two hours into the battle that it happened.
事情是开战大概两小时后发生的。
The gun was now so hot I couldn’t touch it, and I was having
to wipe a steady stream of sweat from my eyes every few seconds.
炮管已经烫得让人不敢摸了，每隔几秒我都必须把眼睛里的汗擦干。
The whole desert seemed to swell and sway in the heat haze, but I
clearly heard Frank call an order to fire on a tank from the east.
整座沙漠在热浪中天旋地转，但我还是清楚地听见弗兰克下令让我炮击东面的坦克。

Ralph brought the Crusader to a stop, and I heard
poor Dicky call from inside that we were clear to fire,
拉尔夫把坦克停下，我听到手指烫伤的迪基大喊已做好射击准备，
swearing all the time over his burnt fingers.
这可怜的家伙因为疼痛而不断地咒骂着。
I could see the dark shape of an Italian gun in the distance,
and was trying to get the angle right,
我已经能看到远方意大利坦克那黑黢黢的炮口，赶快尽全力调整角度，
but my vision was so hazy from the intense heat
that it was hard to focus my binoculars properly.
但我热得头昏脑涨，视线模糊，几乎没法精确调控瞄准镜。

Then I saw it: a flash of light, a twinkling glint of sun from the enemy tank.
然后我看到了：一道闪光，那是敌方坦克反射的阳光。
In the back of my mind, I knew what it meant:
内心深处，我知道这意味着什么：
the sun reflecting off their own binoculars, which were trained on us,
能看到他们的瞄准镜反射的阳光，说明我们已经被锁定了，
but my head was so foggy that for all the world
it seemed as though they were winking at me.
可当时我的头脑一片混沌，甚至认为这是他们在朝我们眨眼。
I tried to say something to the rest of the crew, but my
mouth was too dry, and all that came out was a dull croak.
我想对其他人说些什么，但我口干舌燥，只发出一阵嘶哑的咕哝。
It was strange, but even with the intense sunlight
reflecting off that endless expanse of bright desert,
说来奇怪，无垠的沙丘像镜子一样反射着炫目的阳光，
I still remember seeing the flash of their gun.
我却清晰地记得敌人开火时炮口闪烁的火光。
I didn’t hear it, though.
但我没听到炮声。
They always say that don’t they? That you never hear the shot that gets you.
他们不都这么说嘛，真正打中你的那一炮，你是听不到的。
Well, I certainly didn’t.
嗯，我反正是没听到。

Then I was on the ground with Frank and Ralph standing over me.
接下来我记得自己躺在地上，弗兰克和拉尔夫站在我身旁。
Ralph was trying to say something, but I couldn’t
hear it over the intense ringing in my ears.
拉尔夫想对我说些什么，可我双耳嗡鸣，一个字都听不清。
There was the smell of burning metal,
and below it, another scent I couldn’t quite place.
我能闻到金属燃烧的味道，此外还有一种说不好的气味。
I tried to sit up, but there was such an intense shooting pain
in my left leg as I did so that did I collapsed again.
我想坐起身，可右腿却传来一阵刺骨的疼痛，于是我又躺倒在地。

A few yards away I could hear our Crusader,
smoke pouring from the cracked armor.
我能听到，我们的十字军就停在几码之外的地方，滚滚浓烟从破裂的装甲里向外喷涌。
It surprised me how intact she seemed,
until I saw the flames creeping up from the hatch.
我没想到，她看起来竟然完好无损，直到我看见舱口里冒起火苗。
It was then the ringing in my ears faded enough for me
to hear it: the screaming from inside the tank.
这时，耳鸣终于消褪得差不多了，我这才听到坦克里传来的尖叫声。
Dicky was still in there.
迪基还在里面。
I looked at my companions, and saw in their faces that they heard it too.
我望向两个同伴，从他们脸上的表情不难看出，他们也听到了。
There was nothing they could have done to save the poor fool, of course.
当然，他们也救不了这个可怜的家伙。
If, if they had trapped him in there, then, then getting to him would
have been impossible, and trying would only have got them killed.
如、如果他真的被困住了，那是没救的，救他只会把自己的命也搭进去。
So I had to lie there and listen to Dicky roast to death.
于是我只能躺在那里，听着迪基被活活烧死。
I don’t know how long it took, but it felt like hours.
我不知道究竟过了多久，但感觉就像几个小时一样。

At some point, there must have been a retreat ordered,
as I saw the rest of the Crusaders pulling back.
上面一定是下达了撤退的命令，因为我看到其他十字军坦克开始后退。
Frank managed to catch the attention of one of them, and the commander agreed to take me back somewhere the medics could get a look at my leg,
弗兰克设法取得了一架坦克的注意，他们的指挥官同意带我去后方医院查看腿部伤势，
although there wasn’t room for us all,
so they literally strapped me to the top of the tank,
但是坦克盛不下这么多人，最后他们直接把我捆在坦克顶上，
and we drove off, leaving Ralph and Frank to make their own way back.
我们开走了，留下拉尔夫和弗兰克两人徒步撤退。

It wasn’t until I tracked Ralph down almost 10 years later that I found
近十年后，我又找到拉尔夫时才得知
they had been captured soon afterwards,
and spent the rest of the war in an Italian POW camp.
在那之后不久他们就被俘了，战争结束前一直被关在意大利的战俘营里。
Oh, the way they described it, it had been quite comfortable,
but as far as I knew at the time, we were leaving them to their death.
听他的描述，那段日子他们过得还挺舒服，不过撤退时我们都以为他们两个死定了。
If, if I hadn’t been so delirious in the heat and pain, I might have cried.
如、如果不是被热浪和疼痛折磨得神志不清，我搞不好会哭出来。
My memory of the trip back is fragmented,
我对回程的记忆是支离破碎的，
and I have only faint impressions of the pain which every vibration of the tank’s engines sent through my injured leg as I passed in and out of consciousness.
我模糊地记得自己晕倒了，只有坦克引擎震动时，腿部传来的剧痛能让我偶尔清醒。

Then there was stillness; shouting.
后来则是一片平静，还有别人的喊叫声。
I remember a faint prick in my arm,
我记得胳膊上传来一阵轻微的刺痛，
and then a different sort of haze settled over my mind
as numbness and sleep spread through my veins.
接着一阵麻木和睡意顺着血管传遍全身，一种与之前不同的热浪席卷了我的思绪。
The next thing I recall with any clarity is my hospital bed.
再后来，我能清晰记起的，是我的病床。
I’d been taken over the border, back to Egypt, and had
ended up in the British military hospital in Alexandria.
他们带我撤出边境回到埃及，最后被送进亚历山大的一个英属军事医院。
When I awoke, it was so quiet that for a minute
I had the sudden, panicked thought that I might be deaf.
等我醒来时，周遭鸦雀无声，一时间我简直害怕自己聋了。
But it was just that after 70 days of
hearing the roar of one engine or another,
过去70天，我每天听到的都是引擎的呼啸声，
the peace of an almost empty hospital was so deep
and serene that I couldn’t understand it.
如今躺在几乎空置的医院，这深邃的宁静反而让我无法理解。

When she came round, the nurse was kind enough to inform me
来查房的护士好心地告诉我，
that I was one of the first wounded to have returned
from Bir el Gubi, but they expected more.
我们是从比尔古比撤回的第一批伤兵，不过后面应该还会有更多。
Sure enough, over the next few days the ward filled up and
my peace slipped away beneath the steady stream of injured soldiers.
果然，接下来的几天中，病房逐渐被伤兵填满了，我的平静也在不经意间溜走。
I didn’t mind too much, as it was still a damn sight better
than rolling over the boiling desert in an iron coffin.
我并不十分在意，毕竟这可比困在一口铁棺材里，在滚烫的沙漠中四处奔走强多了。
Not to mention the fact that it turned out I wasn’t going to lose the leg,
which is the sort of news to put you in a very good mood.
更不用说，我后来得知，我的腿保住了，这样的消息总是让人忍不住心情愉快。
The doctors told me I’d probably always
have a limp, as I’m sure you’ve noticed,
大夫告诉我，我以后可能永远都是个瘸子了，我想你们一定也看出来了，
but it wasn’t infected, and there wasn’t the
nerve damage they had been afraid of,
不过我的腿没感染，也没有他们之前担心的神经损伤，
so all told it was a pretty good wound to get.
所以总的来说，这个伤可以算是个好伤。

After a few weeks, I was walking on without too much pain, and the
nurses advised me to start taking the occasional walk around Alexandria.
几周之后，我走动时不那么痛了，护士建议我偶尔在亚历山大溜达溜达。
I did so, but between the locals and the army,
it was a crowded noisy place, even at night.
我听从了她们的建议，但遍地的平民和军队使这座城市又挤又吵，即便夜里也是一样。
I took to taking my walks further and further
from the hospital and the city centre,
我开始走得离医院和市中心越来越远，
and occasionally I’d find myself wondering some way
beyond the city limits – at least, as far as my leg would allow.
偶尔我也会在体力范围之内走到里城区很远的地方，
It was still hot, even in late December,
即使已是十二月下旬，这里的天气依然炎热
but beyond the edge of the city there was a peaceful
quiet that I just couldn’t find anywhere else.
但在城市之外，这个地方有一种别处难寻的静谧。

It was two days before I was due to return to active duty that it happened.
事情是在距离我重回阵线还有两天的时候发生的。
I’d been restless all week, and I couldn’t
seem to settle down or focus on anything.
那一整周我都心神不宁，根本静不下心，没法集中精神。
Once I got out near Pompey’s Pillar, the crowd
seemed to disperse and my mind finally cleared a bit.
有一次我出城走到庞贝柱附近，身边的人群似乎都消散了，我的思绪也清晰了一些。

I kept walking, though not paying any real attention
to my surroundings, until I found myself rather lost.
我不停地走着，对周围景物并没特别上心，最后迷了路。
After several hours my leg was starting to ache badly and
I took a moment or two to rest against a nearby door.
这么走了几小时，我的双腿开始疼得厉害，于是我就近找了扇门，靠着休息了一会儿。
The wood of the door was old and dry,
and creaked as I put my weight against it.
老旧的木门十分干燥，在我的重量之下发出吱呀的声音。
I didn’t even notice it buckling ‘till it was too late.
等我注意到门脱扣时，已经太晚了。
The next thing I knew I was lying face down
a dingy basement, my leg screaming in fresh pain.
缓过神时，我已经脸朝下趴在肮脏的地下室里了，两条腿更是疼得要命。

It wasn’t broken again, which was a relief,
but I still had to sit there for a while recovering from my fall.
万幸，腿倒是没折，但我还是得坐着休息一会儿才能恢复。
And nobody seemed to have noticed what
had happened, or at least they didn’t care,
路人似乎都没注意到发生了什么，或者说他们看到了但是没往心里去，
and I took a few moments to look exactly where I was.
于是我花了点时间观察这个地方。

The basement looked old, really old.
这间地下室看起来很破旧，已经上年头了。
I’m not an expert on Egyptian architecture,
but it didn’t look much like the rest of Alexandria.
我不是埃及建筑方面的专家，但这间屋子和亚历山大其余的建筑大相径庭。
More than that, aside from the now-broken door,
此外，除了如今已被打破的门之外，
there didn’t seem to be any entrance of the place
or anything connecting it to the building above.
这里没有任何其它入口，也没有与上层建筑连通的地方。
It was dry and cool, and there didn’t seem to be anything else of note,
这里干燥凉爽，没有其他值得注意的东西，
except for an old grate made of brass, or maybe bronze,
that I assumed led to the city’s sewer system.
除了一道不知是黄铜还是青铜的旧栅栏，栅栏下面可能是下水道。

It was as I finally, painfully dragged myself to my feet that I saw it.
最后，我痛苦地站起身子，这时我才看到。
From somewhere far beyond the grate, as the setting sun fell on it,
came the glint of something round and white.
在黄昏落日的余晖中，我看到栅栏深处的某个地方，有个白色的圆形物件在闪着光。
It was only for a second, and if I hadn’t spent so long training
to spot objects that distance I probably wouldn’t have noticed it,
那光芒一闪即逝，若不是我平日一直训练远距离视物的能力，八成就错过了，
but there was definitely something there.
但我敢肯定，栅栏深处一定有东西。

I approached the metal grate expecting to smell the sewer beyond,
but instead there came the scent of something else.
我走到金属栅栏旁，满以为会闻到下水道的气味，没想到里面传出的却是另一种味道。
All that, at that point I had no idea what it was
but I would have described it as not unlike wood.
不过当时我完全不知道那是什么味道，硬要描述的话，我觉得有点像木头。
I tested the grate and found it came away easily from the floor,
我试着拽了拽栅栏，很轻松地就把栅栏从地上拽起来了，
leaving a hole large enough to climb through without any problems.
地上只剩下一个可以轻易进人的圆洞。

I had taken to keeping a torch on me on my walks, as I sometimes had
a tendency to wander too far, and so I’d be walking back in the dark.
我散步时习惯带着手电，因为我偶尔会走得太远，回去时天已经黑了。
Shining it into the now-open hole revealed what looked like an old tunnel.
用手电照亮打开的洞口，我发现下面似乎是一条古老的通道。
Whether it was man-made, a naturally-occurring cave,
至于这到底是人造的通道，还是天然形成的洞窟，
or somewhere in between I couldn’t say,
but it was easily big enough for me to walk down.
亦或是人力借助天然洞窟挖掘而成的，我说不准，总之我可以毫不费力的走进去。
And once again I saw that glint of pale white a long way down, so I went in.
我又一次看到地下深处传来一闪而过的白光，于是我走了进去。

It was slow going, as my leg was still weak and
the floor of the tunnel was not level.
我走得很慢，一是因为我的腿还很虚弱，二是因为通道里并非平地。
I had to crouch at points and place my
hands upon the dusty walls for support.
有些地方必须蹲下身子，用手撑着布满尘土的墙壁才能通过。
After a few minutes I was deep enough that
my torch was the only source of light,
深入通道几分钟后，我的手电筒成了这里唯一的光源，
and the passage began to open up into what seemed to be a large room.
通道也越来越宽，最后来到一个诺大的房间。

It was there, in a small alcove carved into the wall,
that I saw what had caught the light.
这里有一个开在墙上的壁龛，我找到了刚才一直在反光的东西。
It was an old papyrus scroll lying amongst
the shattered remnants of this case.
其中有一个破碎的盒子，里面放着一捆老旧的纸莎草卷轴，反光的就是那卷轴。
I cast my torch around and saw more shelves carved into the walls
of the chamber, each of which housed a scroll of its own.
我用手电照亮四周，发现房间四壁还有不少这样的架子，每座架子上都有类似的卷轴。
They were written in a language I didn’t recognize,
but they were old and they smelled of age and dry decay.
我不认识卷轴上面的文字，我只能看出这些散发着干燥腐朽气味的卷轴年代久远。

It wasn’t the only room like that, there were dozens of chambers like it,
all of different shapes and sizes connected like a warren.
这不是唯一的房间，还有几十个不同形状、大小各异的房间，像兔子洞一样连在一起。
Some were empty, others still had a handful of
old scrolls left in alcoves or fallen to the floor.
有些房间空无一物，另一些房间还有一部分旧卷轴，放在壁龛中，或是散落在地上。
It looked like the place had been looted long, long a time ago.
看起来这个地方很久、很久之前就被洗劫一空了。

After checking through few rooms I was sure
又察看了几个房间后，我十分确定，
that whatever this was, it must have been a huge archeological find.
虽然我不知道这是什么地方，但这一定是重大的考古学发现。
I really didn’t know who to tell about it, but I knew I needed to tell somebody.
虽然我不知道该把这个发现告诉谁，但我知道一定得让大家知道。
As I turned to head back towards the entrance,
my torch beam fell upon something dark in an adjoining room.
转身准备返回入口时，我的手电照到了隔壁房间里某个黑色的东西。

It was a body.
那是一具尸体。
From the looks of it, the corpse had endured a long,
long time and the dry air had almost mummified it,
看起来这具尸体已经有年头了，早已被风化成木乃伊，
leaving a desiccated skin stretched tight over the bony frame.
瘦削的骨架上只剩下干瘪的皮囊。
It wore what looked to be the remains of
chainmail and a black Karloff Tabard
它好像穿着破损的锁子甲，外面套着一件黑色卡洛夫战袍，
with a pointed white cross emblazoned on the chest.
胸口绣着尖锐的白色十字架。
A broken sword lay nearby, now rusted almost into nothing,
尸体旁边还有一把几乎锈成齑粉的断剑，
and as I gazed at the dead man’s face I
couldn’t stop a chill running down my spine.
我望向尸体的脸，脊背突然感到一阵恶寒。
I tried to tell myself that it was just the way the skull had warped
over the years that made him look like he was screaming.
我试图说服自己，不过是多年来头骨的干缩塌陷，才让他露出一副好似尖叫的表情。
His eyes were gone, but rather than simply decaying into nothingness,
他的双眼不见了，但并非是单纯的腐烂风化，
there were ragged scratches around the edge
of the socket, leaving messy, hollow pits.
空洞的眼窝周围布满了锐利、凌乱的抓痕。

I was feeling very afraid now and had just turned around
to leave when my torch abruptly turned off.
这时我已经感到非常害怕，已经转身准备离开，可我的手电突然灭了。
It was the strangest thing.
最诡异的事情发生了。
It should have been pitch dark. Though there was no light at all filtering
through into those underground caverns, but it still – I could see everything.
这里应该一片漆黑才对。这些地下洞穴中没有一丝光亮，我却能清楚地看到一切。
Every detail of the shriveled corpse before me was as clear as day.
眼前这具干瘪尸体上的每一个细节，都被我尽收眼底。
There was no light to see it, I can’t explain it,
even really describe how it felt,
那里根本没有光，我也解释不清，甚至没法描述那种感觉，
but it was absolute darkness and I could still see.
但我在伸手不见五指的漆黑洞穴中依然能目能视物。
At the same time I suddenly got the most intense feeling
of being watched, like a thousand eyes turned to me at once.
同时，我突然强烈地感受到一种被监视的感觉，好像有一千只眼睛同时转向我的方向。

I froze.
我呆住了。
From somewhere deeper within that strange,
ancient library there was a sound of movement.
然后，这座诡异的古老图书馆深处，传来了走动的声音。
The rustling of cloth, and a slow rhythmic step coming toward me.
那是布衣摩擦的声音，有什么东西迈着缓慢却有节奏的脚步，正向我走来。
I started to back away towards the tunnel
that had brought me there, but it was hard.
我开始朝来时的通道退去，但这没那么容易。
The sense of being watched was getting stronger,
an almost physical weight that seemed to drag me down.
被监视的感觉越来越强烈，几乎已经变成一种有形的力量，压住了我的身体。

I reached the mouth of the tunnel just as a figure came into view.
我走向洞口时，看到一个身影。
It wore what looked like the remains of an ancient robe, and in the
darkness I could see long spindly fingers stretching, probing toward me.
它穿着的好像是破旧的古老长袍，在黑暗中，我看到它正用细长的手指指着我。
From within its huge, flowing hood I could
see nothing except a single lidless eye.
我看到，它那飘动的巨大兜帽下空无一物，唯有一只圆睁的眼睛。
I don’t know at what point I started screaming,
我不知道我是从什么时候开始尖叫的，
but I know I didn’t stop until I was restrained by military police fleeing
through the streets of Alexandria in the early hours of the morning.
但我知道，我在亚历山大的街道上乱窜，第二天凌晨被宪兵抓起来后才停止叫喊。
I spent another month there undergoing
psychiatric evaluation before being discharged.
我又在那里住了一个月，进行心理评估，最后才得以出院。

GERTRUDE
I see. Did you ever locate that basement again?
我明白了。你后来又找到过那间地下室吗？

WALTER
Well, I wanted to, but I was supervised the rest of my time in Alexandria.
嗯，我想找来着，但在亚历山大的剩余时间中，一直有专人监管我。

GERTRUDE
Did you tell any of your superiors about it?
你把这件事告诉你的上级了吗？

WALTER
No. I was half convinced I’d dreamt the whole thing up.
没有。因为我自己也有些怀疑，或许这一切都是我的臆想。

GERTRUDE
And did you replace the grate?
那你有没有把栅栏重新放好？

WALTER
The what?
什么？

GERTRUDE
The bronze grate over the entrance to the archive.
遮住档案馆入口的铜栅栏。
Did you replace it when you fled?
你逃跑时有没有把栅栏重新遮住？

WALTER
Oh yeah, yes – yes, I think I did.
噢，是的，是、是的，我觉得我应该是遮住了。

GERTRUDE
One other thing. That feeling of being watched. Have you ever had it since?
还有一件事。那种被监视的感觉。后来还有过吗？

WALTER
Well, I wasn’t sure when to say anything, but
嗯，我还琢磨该在什么时候提起这事，但我又有这种感觉了。
yes, I have just now.
我刚刚又有过这种感觉。
That funny turn I took on the way down the stairs, I felt it again.
我下楼梯时转过那个弯，接着又有了那个感觉。
All those eyes watching me.
那些眼睛，它们在盯着我。

GERTRUDE
Thank you, Walter.
谢谢你，沃尔特。
Now, I –I need to check some maps with you,
but I don’t think we need that on tape.
现在，我、我需要与你核实一些地图，不过不用录音。
Are you all right here for now?
你现在感觉没问题吧。

WALTER
I should be.
应该没问题。

GERTRUDE
It’s unlikely to happen, but if anyone else comes down here –
应该不会有事，但是如果有人下来这里的话 -

WALTER
I’ll tell them I’m an old friend of yours paying you a visit.
我会告诉来人，我是你的老朋友，是专程来探望你的。

GERTRUDE
Thank you. This statement is off the record and I don’t want
anyone to bother you about it further. Let’s keep it between us.
谢谢你。这份叙述不记录在案，我不希望有人再就这件事打扰你。这事只有你我知道。

[CLICK]
[按钮声]

GERTRUDE
Well, that was certainly useful.
嗯，确实是有用的信息。

It’s taken a long time to track down someone
still living who found the Serapeum of Alexandria.
我花了很久才找到去过亚历山大的塞拉皮斯神庙，而且仍然在世的人。
It’s not a full confirmation of my theory about ancient iterations
of the archive, but I’m certainly feeling validated for pursuing it.
这虽然不能完全证明档案馆自古以来就存在，但至少，一直以来的追查是有意义的。

I had been working on the assumption that
the great library itself would have fulfilled the function,
一直以来，我认为亚历山大图书馆本身就足以履行档案馆的职能，
but it makes a lot more sense that it would have been the Serapeum offshoot.
显然，更为合理的理论是，塞拉皮斯神庙的部分分支才是档案馆。
The ruins of the main Serapeum itself near
Pompey’s pillar are quite well researched,
对于庞贝柱附近的塞拉皮斯神庙主厅，世人已有详实的研究，
so this could be the secret caves mentioned
in certain accounts of its destruction.
所以，这可能是某些典籍中所记录的，被毁坏的秘密洞穴。

According to Eunapius, the destruction of the Serapeum
in 391 AD was conducted by a Christian mob,
根绝尤纳皮乌斯的记载，塞拉皮斯神庙在公元391年被一群基督教徒摧毁，
emboldened by the reforms of Pope Theodosius the First,
attempting to drive the worship of other gods from Alexandria.
当时的教皇狄奥多西一世推行改革，准备将一切对异神的崇拜逐出亚历山大。

There are other accounts, however,
不过，也有一些其它记载中提到，
that claimed the scholars barricaded themselves inside
with prisoners and retreated to hidden caverns deep below.
学者和囚犯一起退到地下洞穴中，筑起壁垒，与神庙隔绝。
Some even go so far as to claim the captives were tortured
into the worship of pagan deities or offered as blood sacrifices.
甚至有记载称，囚犯受到了严苛的折磨，被迫膜拜异神，或是被用作血祭。
There’s even one unnamed contemporary historian that
describes the mob attacking the Serapeum not as Christians,
还有一位姓名不详的当代史学家称，那些袭击塞拉皮斯神庙的人并非基督徒，
but using a phrase which roughly translates as “those who sing the night”.
而是一群异教徒，其原文可粗略翻译为“夜之歌者”。

The corpse found by Mr. Heller would seem to be the remains of a hospitaller knight of the order of St. John, at least based on his description of the Tabard,
至于海勒先生发现的尸体，从他身着的战袍看来，他应该是圣约翰医院骑士团的一员，
most likely from the sack of Alexandria in 1365 by Peter the First of Cyprus.
很可能是1365年塞浦路斯彼得一世攻陷亚历山大这一时期的人。

While generally grouped in with the rest of the Crusades,
虽然这场战争也被归档到十字军东征中，
it’s generally considered to be one of the few
such attacks with no religious motivation.
但学术界普遍认为这是少数不涉及宗教因素的战争之一。
Given this discovery, however, I do wonder
if there might have been… other reasons.
不过，这次的发现让我怀疑，也许其中…另有原因。

Regardless, I have further follow-up of my own to do.
无论如何，我有我自己的后续调查要做。
My biggest concern right now is whatever
creature Mr. Heller encountered down there.
如今最让我担心的，是海勒先生在地下遭遇的不知名生物。
It was 56 years ago, but if it’s still alive, I should be careful.
虽说那已经是56年前的事了，但如果它还活着的话，我必须多加小心才行。
What was it? A guardian of some sort?
它究竟是什么东西？某种守护者吗？
Or perhaps… perhaps… it too was once an archivist.
又或许…或许…它曾经也是个档案员。

[CLICK]
[按钮声]

ARCHIVIST
档案员
Well, only two tapes so far and already I… I don’t know what to think.
嗯，虽然只听了两盘磁带，我却已经…我不知道该作何感想。

Another archive, an earlier version.
比我们早一步的，另一座档案馆。
Am I just part of a chain?
难道我只是长链上的一环吗？
A long, unending string of people who call themselves
“the archivist” stretching back to…
一连串以“档案员”自居的人，一直追溯到…

Are we all destined to end up like Gertrude, just following the same path?
难道我们都走在同样的道路上，最终命运都和格特鲁德一样？
I need to find out more about her.
我需要更多有关她的情报。
One thing’s becoming clear, though.
不过有一件事倒是日渐清晰。
She did not trust the Magnus Institute.
她不信任马格努斯研究院。
Something that I can certainly sympathize–
这一点我当然是深有同感 -

[DOOR OPENS]
[开门声]

MARTIN
马丁
Was just going down to the cafe, did you want a sandwich?
我正准备去咖啡厅，你要不要来个三明治？

ARCHIVIST
档案员
Er, that depends.
呃，不一定。
Are you, are you going to keep hovering around me if I go to the canteen?
如、如果我去食堂的话，你还会一直围着我转吗？

MARTIN
I just worry.
我只是很担心。
You needed five stitches after you “accidentally”
stabbed yourself with the bread knife.
你“不小心”用面包刀刺到自己之后，可是缝了五针才好。
If you’re still claiming that’s what happened–
如果你依然坚称这就是真实的事情经过 -

ARCHIVIST
I am.
是的，我坚持。

MARTIN
– then you’ll forgive me for worrying when you use sharp knives.
- 那么只要你用刀我就会感到担心，这个还请见谅。

ARCHIVIST
Fine. I’ll come with.
好吧。我和你一起去。
Just give me a second to grab my coat.
等我一下，我拿上外衣。

MARTIN
Sure.
好的。

[DOOR CLOSES]
[关门声]

ARCHIVIST
Mr. Heller died from a stroke in 2004, making followup on this tape difficult.
海勒先生在2004年因中风去世，使得追查这盘磁带变得异常困难。
But I’ve found a news article from March 1998,
six months after the statement was taken.
但我找到了一篇写于1998年3月的新闻稿，也就是本篇叙述的6个月后。
It reports an explosion in Alexandria which destroyed several
buildings in the vicinity of Pompey’s Pillar and killed 17 people.
其中写到亚历山大发生了一起爆炸事故，庞贝柱附近多幢建筑被毁，17人因此丧生。
Official investigation determined it to be a gas mains explosion, but… I wonder.
官方调查记录称事故原因是燃气管线爆炸，但是…我认为不然。

Gertrude Robinson is not who I thought she was.
格特鲁德·罗宾逊与我之前的想象大相径庭。

End supplement.
补充完毕。

[CLICK]
[按钮声]

This post has been edited by 贝克的小号: 2022-10-05, 13:59