莫詹坤老師譯作

1: The Mongol Chief

Heaven knows from what mysterious distance he had come. He rode down the winding pathway from the high Mongolian plateau with the mountains, barren, stony and inaccessible, stretching on all sides, an impenetrable barrier; he rode down past the temple that guarded the head of the pass till he came to the old river bed which was the gateway into China. It was hedged in by the foothills brilliant under the morning sun, with sharp shadows; and the innumberable traffic of the centuries had formed on that stony floor a rough road. The air was keen and clear, the sky was blue. Here all the year round, from daybreak till sundown, passed an unending stream, camels in caravan bearing the brick tea of Urga seven hundred miles away and so to Siberia, long lines of wagons drawn by placid bullocks, and little carts in twos and threes behind stout ponies; and in the contrary direction, into China, again camels in caravan bringing hides to the markets of Peking, and wagons in long procession. Now a mob of horses went by and then a flock of goats. But his eyes did not rest on the varied scene. He seemed not to notice that others were travelling the pass. He was accompanied by his henchmen, six or seven of them, somewhat bedraggled it is true, on sorry nags, but they had a truculent air. They ambled along in a slovenly bunch. He was dressed in a black silk coat and black silk trousers thrust into his long riding boots with their turned-up toes, and on his head he wore the high sable cap of his country. He held himself erect, riding a little ahead of his followers, proudly, and as he rode, his head high and his eyes steady, you wondered if he thought that down this pass in days gone by his ancestors had ridden, ridden down upon the fertile plain of China where rich cities lay ready to their looting.

 

 

1. 蒙古首領

莫詹坤譯，原載：《中國屏風上》，北京：中央編譯出版社，2023年10月，第6-7頁。

天曉得他來自哪處神秘的遠方。他沿着蜿蜒曲折的山路策馬而下，蒙古高原的群山，荒瘠頹敗、砂石遍地、人迹罕至，向四面八方延展而去，形成一道不可穿越的屏障；他穿馳而過守衛入關通道的城樓，在一片古老的河床前止住腳步，這裡是通向中國的門戶。河床被晨光中明耀的丘陵所環繞，投下尖尖的陰影；數世紀以來，難以計數的商旅交通将礫石遍地的河床踏出一條崎岖不平的道路。空氣冷峻而清新，天空蔚藍。此處，四季流轉、晨曉落日之中，往來阡陌、川流不息。旅隊的駱駝背着磚茶，前往七百英裡之外的庫倫[1]，再接着去往西伯利亞。敦厚的公牛拉着一隊長長的大車，結實的矮腳馬則拖着三三兩兩的雙輪小車。朝着相反的方向，去往中國的方向，同樣是大批駱駝商隊，馱着皮毛，去往北京的市場，後面也跟着冗長的大車隊伍。現在，馬群走過了，羊群也從面前過去了。但他的眼神并不在眼前的景物上作片刻停駐。他似乎毫不在意途經通道的其餘人等。他由六七個随從作伴，确能感受到他們已是人困馬乏，但仍不減彪悍之氣。一行人策馬，徐徐而行。他身着黑綢外套，黑綢褲腳則塞進了那一雙鞋尖高翹的馬靴，頭上戴着蒙古國高高的貂皮帽子。他筆直地坐立在馬背上，傲氣地于仆人們先行一步，當他揚鞭馳騁的時候，頭顱高昂、眼神堅毅，你忍不住揣想，他是否在遙憶那過往的峥嵘歲月，他的祖先們正是沿着這條道路，揮戈南下，踏足富庶榮華的中原大地，大肆掠奪。

 

2: The Altar of Heaven

It stands open to the sky, three round terraces of white marble placed one above the other, which are reached by four marble staircases, and these face the four points of the compass. It represents the celestial sphere with its cardinal points. A great park surrounds it and this again is surrounded by high walls. And hither, year after year, on the night of the winter solstice, for then heaven is reborn, generation after generation came the Son of Heaven solemnly to worship the original creator of his house. Escorted by princes and the great men of the realm, followed by his troops, the Emperor purified by fasting proceeded to the altar. And here awaited him princes and ministers and mandarins, each in his allotted place, musicians and the dancers of the sacred dance. In the scanty light of the great torches the ceremonial robes were darkly splendid. And before the tablet on which were inscribed the words: Imperial Heaven – Supreme Emperor, he offered incense, jade, and silk, broth and rice spirit. He knelt and knocked his forehead against the marble pavement nine times.

And here at the very spot where the vice-regent of heaven and earth knelt down, Willard B. Untermeyer wrote his name in a fine bold hand and the town and state he came from, Hastings, Nebraska. So he sought to attach his fleeting personality to the recollection of that grandeur of which some dim rumour had reached him. He thought that so men would remember him when he was no more. He aimed in this crude way at immortality. But vain are the hopes of men. For no sooner had he sauntered down the steps than a Chinese caretaker who had been leaning against the balustrade, idly looking at the blue sky, came forward, spat neatly on the spot where Willard B. Untermeyer had written, and with his foot smeared his spittle over the name. In a moment no trace remained that Willard B. Untermeyer had ever visited that place.

2. 天壇

莫詹坤譯，原載：《中國屏風上》，北京：中央編譯出版社，2023年10月，第21-22頁。

蒼茫大地之上，它仰天而立，三層圓形漢白玉露台，一層高過一層，直抵分列東南西北方的四樽大理石階，象征着渾天四儀[2]。它被一座大花園所環繞，再外圍則是森森高牆。如此這般，年複一年，每臨冬至寒徹之夜，陽氣回升之時，曆朝天子來到這裡，莊嚴祭拜列祖列宗。齋戒沐浴之後，皇帝在諸位親王、文武百官及大内侍衛的陪同下步向圜丘壇。王公大臣們各就其位、恭候良久，樂工與舞者表演雅樂。在碩大火把黯淡的光輝下，官員們的朝服映出幽微的光影。在刻有“皇天上帝”的牌位[3]前，皇帝上香、奠帛、祭酒。他俯下身軀、前額叩地、三跪九拜。

就在這奉天承運真命天子們的虔拜之地，魏拉德·B·昂特梅耶厚臉皮地題上了自己的名字，以及鎮名和州名：黑斯廷斯，内布拉斯加州。他依稀聽過一些說法，試圖将自己白駒過隙的人生附着在後世對神聖的緬懷之上。他以為這樣一來，哪怕他日身先朝露，後來人依然能記住他。他決意用這樣粗鄙的辦法實現永生。但人的希望總是落空。他剛走下台階，旁邊那位一直斜倚着欄杆、悠然自在望着藍天的中國管理員便走上前去，朝着魏拉德·B·昂特梅耶題字的地方氣沖沖啐了一口，又用鞋底就着唾沫在那上面來回搓踏。魏拉德·昂特梅耶曾到此一遊的痕迹即刻蕩然無存了。

 

3: The Picture

I do not know whether he was a mandarin bound for the capital of the province, or some student travelling to a seat of learning, nor what the reason that delayed him in the most miserable of all the miserable inns in China. Perhaps one or other of his bearers, hidden somewhere to smoke a pipe of opium (for it is cheap in that neighbourhood and you must be prepared for trouble with your coolies), could not be found. Perhaps a storm of torrential rain had held him for an hour an unwilling prisoner.

The room was so low that you could easily touch the rafters with your hand. The mud walls were covered with dirty white-wash, here and there worn away, and all round on wooden pallets were straw beds for the coolies who were the inn’s habitual guests. The sun alone enabled you to support the melancholy squalor. It shone through the latticed window, a beam of golden light, and threw on the trodden earth of the floor a pattern of an intricate and splendid richness.

And here to pass an idle moment he had taken his stone tablet and, mixing a little water with the stick of ink which he rubbed on it, seized the fine brush with which he executed the beautiful characters of the Chinese writing (he was surely proud of his exquisite calligraphy and it was a welcome gift which he made his friends when he sent them a scroll on which was written a maxim, glitteringly compact, of the divine Confucious), and with a bold hand he drew on the wall a branch of plum-blossom and a bird, perched on it. It was done very lightly, but with an admirable ease; I know not what happy chance guided, the artist’s touch, for the bird was all a-quiver with life and the plum-blossoms were tremulous on their stalks. The soft airs of spring blew through the sketch into that sordid chamber, and for the beating of a pulse you were in touch with the Eternal.

 

 

3. 畫

莫詹坤譯，原載：《中國屏風上》，北京：中央編譯出版社，2023年10月，第40-41頁。

我不知道他是一位趕赴省城就職的官員，還是一名求學的門生，也不知是何種緣故令他羁絆于中國無數糟糕的小旅館中最不能忍受的這一家小旅館。也許他的轎夫躲到某處去抽鴉片了（這一帶的鴉片煙很便宜，所以你也得留意着你的苦力會不會給你惹麻煩），這會子不見了人影。又或許是一場突如其來的暴雨使他在這裡做了一個鐘頭不情不願的囚徒。

房間太矮了，以至于擡手就能觸到房梁。土牆上刷過的白石灰早已斑駁脫落、肮髒不堪，四周的木闆床上鋪着稻草，是為那些常年光顧的苦力們準備的。隻有陽光才能令你暫時忍受這讓人喪氣的污穢。一道金色的光束透過格子窗戶直射進來，在踏平的土瘩地上投下一種複雜而燦爛的圖案。

為了打發時間，他拿出硯台，點了些許清水，用墨錠輕輕研磨，随後他拿起那支能寫一筆好字的毛筆（他對自己精妙的書法頗為得意，常以孔夫子的格言警句書于卷軸，饋贈親友），在牆上揮就一幅喜鵲登梅圖。一氣呵成，卻又輕松自如；我不知是何種幸運賦予藝術家這般靈感：鳥兒振翅欲飛，梅瓣綻枝嬌顫，輕柔的春風自畫中而來，拂過這間陋室。僅此一瞬，你已感知永恒。

4: Arabesque

There in the mist, enormous, majestic, silent, and terrible, stood the Great Wall of China. Solitarily, with the indifference of nature herself, it crept up the mountain side and slipped down to the depth of the valley. Menacingly, the grim watchtowers, stark and foursquare, at due intervals stood at their posts. Ruthlessly, for it was built at the cost of a million lives and each one of those great grey stones has been stained with the bloody tears of the captive and the outcast, it forged its dark way through a sea of rugged mountains. Fearlessly it went on its endless journey, league upon league to the farther-most regions of Asia, in utter solitude, mysterious like the great empire it guarded. There in the mist, enormous, majestic, silent, and terrible, stood the Great Wall of China.

4. 阿拉伯藤蔓花飾[4]

莫詹坤譯，原載：《中國屏風上》，北京：中央編譯出版社，2023年10月，第93頁。

 

迷霧之中，屹立着巨大、雄偉、靜默、可畏的中國長城。它帶着與生俱來冷漠的本性，孤獨地爬上一道道山脊，再滑向一條條山谷。長城是威嚴的，每隔一段就矗立着一座堅不可摧、呈四方形的烽火台，鎮守着邊關。長城是無情的，幾百萬人為此命喪黃泉，每一塊巨大的灰磚上，都沾染着囚犯與流放者的血淚，它在蜿蜒曲折的群山間開出一條黑黢黢的通道。長城是無畏的，它展開無盡的征途，一裡格一裡格地綿延開去，直抵亞洲最遙遠的邊界。它遺世獨立，與其所守衛的偉大帝國一樣神秘莫測。迷霧之中，屹立着巨大、雄偉、靜默、可畏的中國長城。

5: The Song of the River

You hear it all along the river. You hear it, loud and strong, from the rowers as they urge the junk with its high stem, the mast lashed alongside, down the swift-running stream. You hear it from the trackers, a more breathless chaunt, as they pull desperately against the current, half a dozen of them perhaps if they are taking up a wupan, a couple of hundred if they are hauling a splendid junk, its square sail set, over a rapid. On the junk a man stands amidships beating a drum incessantly to guide their efforts, and they pull with all their strength, like men possessed, bent double; and sometimes in the extremity of their travail they crawl on the ground on all fours, like the beasts of the field. They strain, strain fiercely, against the pitiless might of the stream. The leader goes up and down the line and when he sees one who is not putting all his will into the task he brings down his split bamboo on the naked back. Each one must do his utmost or the labour of all is vain. And still they sing a vehement, eager chaunt, the chaunt of the turbulent waters. I do not know how words can describe what there is in it of effort. It serves to express the straining heart, the breaking muscles, and at the same time the indomitable spirit of man which overcomes the pitiless force of nature. Though the rope may part and the great junk swing back, in the end the rapid will be passed; and at the close of the weary day there is the hearty meal and perhaps the opium pipe with its dreams of ease. But the most agonizing song is the song of the coolies who bring the great bales from the junk up the steep steps to the town wall. Up and down they go, endlessly, and endless as their toil rises their rhythmic cry. ‘He, aw – ah, oh.’ They are barefoot and naked to the waist. The sweat pours down their faces and their song is a groan of pain. It is a sigh of despair. It is heart-rending. It is hardly human. It is the cry of souls in infinite distress, only just musical, and that last note is the ultimate sob of humanity. Life is too hard, too cruel, and this is the final despairing protest. That is the song of the river.

 

5. 江中号子

莫詹坤譯，原載：《中國屏風上》，北京：中央編譯出版社，2023年10月，

第108-109頁。

沿着整條江岸，你都能聽到來自船夫們铿锵有力的号子。他們在喘急的水流中奮力劃槳，船尾高高翹起，桅杆也被沖得倒向一側。當江畔的纖夫們拼盡全力拉着船隻逆流前行，你聽到他們吼出的号子，那才更驚心動魄。如果是條烏篷船，興許隻需要六七個人，而要将一艘挂着直帆的大船拖過重重險灘，則需要幾百号人。船正中站着一個人，一刻不停地擊鼓，号召人們拼命使勁。纖夫們像着了魔一般，深深地屈着腰，有時候，氣力用到極緻，他們用四肢趴地，像田野裡的牲畜。他們拉呀，拼命地拉呀，與無情的江流苦苦抗争。頭領在隊伍頭尾之間走來走去，當他看到有人沒有使出全力，就會用竹篾抽他赤裸着的脊背。每個人都必須傾盡全力，否則一切都會前功盡棄。盡管如此，他們的歌聲依舊熱情洋溢、豪情萬丈，這是奔騰不止的江河之歌。我不知道該用什麼樣的語言來形容這種歌聲想要表達的力量，它代表了緊繃的心弦、撕裂的肌肉，以及人類誓死征服無情自然的百折不撓的意志。盡管繩索會斷開，大船會晃晃悠悠地向後倒退，但最終，人們還是渡過了險灘，這疲憊的一天最終會以一頓熱騰騰的飯菜，或許還外加幾支讓人酣然入睡的大煙而結束。但是，最揪心的号子來自那些苦力們，他們将大包貨物卸下船來，再一步一步沿着陡峭的石階扛到城牆邊。他們就這樣一刻不停、上上下下地走着，他們精疲力竭之時，發出的節奏分明的号子也從未中斷，“嘿，嗷-啊，嗬。”他們赤着腳，上身也是光着的，汗水從他們的臉龐上不斷滑落。他們的号子是痛苦的呻吟，是絕望的歎息，是撕心的呼喊。這幾乎不是人發出的聲音。這是靈魂在無盡痛苦之中發出的有韻律的呐喊，最後一個音符是人性最沉重的悲泣。生活太難了，太殘酷了，這是最後絕望的抗争。這就是江中号子。

 

6: Nightfall

Towards evening perhaps, tired of walking, you get into your chair and on the crest of a hill you pass through a stone gateway. You cannot tell why there should be a gateway in that deserted spot, far from a village, but a fragment of massive wall suggests the ruin of fortifications against the foes of a forgotten dynasty. And when you come through the gateway you see below you the shining water in the rice fields, diapered, like the chessboard in some Chinese Alice in Wonderland, and then the rounded, tree-clad hills. But making your way down the stone steps of the narrow causeway which is the high road from city to city, in the gathering darkness you pass a coppice, and from it waft towards you chill woodland odours of the night. Then you hear no longer the measured tread of your bearers, your ears are on a sudden deaf to their sharp cries as they change the pole from shoulder to shoulder, and to the ceaseless chatter or the occasional snatch of song with which they enliven the monotonous way, for the woodland odours are the same as those which steal up from the fat Kentish soil when you pass through the woods of Bleane; and nostalgia seizes you. Your thoughts travel through time and space, far from the Here and Now, and you remember your vanished youth with its high hopes, its passionate love, and its ambition. Then if you are a cynic, as they say, and therefore a sentimentalist, tears come to your unwilling eyes. And when you have regained your self-control the night has fallen.

 

6. 夜幕低垂

莫詹坤譯，原載：《中國屏風上》，北京：中央編譯出版社，2023年10月，

第145-146頁。

 

傍晚将至，也許是走累了，你坐上轎子，攀上山頂的時候，經過了一座石門。你不知道在這遠離村莊的荒涼之地如何會有一座石門。但一處斷牆的殘存表明，這或許是某個已然被遺忘的王朝用來抵禦外侵而築就的要塞的遺址。當你穿過這座石門，俯身可見山腳下呈菱形狀的一塊塊波光粼粼的稻田，好似中國版《愛麗絲夢遊仙境》中的棋盤，接着，就能看到那些為蒼翠樹木所籠蓋的圓形山丘。沿着連接城鎮的狹窄石階拾級而下，在漸漸晦暗的天色之中，行經一片低矮的樹林，林中的涼氣向你撲面而來。頃刻之間，轎夫們緩行的腳步聲、他們換轎杠到另一個肩膀時發出的尖喊、他們打發單調行程的閑聊聲和歌謠聲，全都聽不見了。因為，這林子裡的氣息和你穿過布萊恩森林時嗅到的肯特郡的沃土散發出的氣息并無二緻；一股鄉愁瞬間湧上心頭。你的萬千思緒背離了此時此地，在時空中漫遊，你想起了那些逝去的刹那芳華，那曾經的意盈心滿之願、染神刻骨之愛、壯志淩雲之心。如果你是一個人們口中常言道的那種憤世嫉俗，也就自然容易多愁善感的人，你的雙眸将會情不自禁地滿溢淚水。而當你平複了心境，夜幕已經低垂。

 

7: The Question

They took me to the temple. It stood on the side of a hill with a semi-circle of tawny mountains behind it, staging it, as it were, with a formal grandeur; and they pointed out to me with what exquisite art the series of buildings climbed the hill till you reached the final edifice, a jewel of white marble encircled by the trees; for the Chinese architect sought to make his creation an ornament to nature and he used the accidents of the landscape to complete his decorative scheme. They pointed out to me how cunningly the trees were planted to contrast with the marble of a gateway, to give an agreeable shadow here, or there to serve as a background; and they made me remark the admirable proportion of those great roofs, rising one beyond the other in rich profusion, with the grace of flowers; and they showed me that the yellow tiles were of different hues so that the sensibility was not offended by an expanse of colour but amused and pleased by a subtle variety of tone. They showed me how the elaborate carving of a gateway was contrasted with a surface without adornment so that the eye was not wearied. All this they showed me as we walked through elegant courtyards, over bridges which were a miracle of grace, through temples with strange gods, dark and gesticulating; but when I asked them what was the spiritual state which had caused all this mass of building to be made, they could not tell me.

7. 問

莫詹坤譯，原載：《中國屏風上》，北京：中央編譯出版社，2023年10月，第190頁。

 

他們帶我參觀一座廟宇。它依山而建，身後黃褐色的群山環拱着它，襯托出它的莊嚴與雄偉。他們指給我看這些建築的設計是如何精巧：鱗次栉比的建築順着山勢而修，直抵被綠樹環繞的用漢白玉裝飾的大殿；因為中國建築師尋求的是将自身的創造融入自然，因此，他們總是巧借風物，妙手生景。他們指給我看這些樹木栽種得如何巧妙：恰好與大理石的門面相映成趣，在這一處形成了怡人的綠蔭，在那一處又成了襯景。他們讓我留意那些雕有精美花飾的巨大屋檐：那種精妙的對稱，它們一層高過一層,極其繁複。他們向我展示黃色的瓦片其實顔色并不相同：一眼望去，并不會看到一片金燦燦，人的感知不會産生什麼不适，隻會賞心悅目于微妙的色調變化。他們向我展示大門是如何精雕細琢，而與之形成對比的是牆面的天然去雕飾，如此一來，人的眼睛才不會感到疲乏。一路上，他們談興頗濃，我們就這樣踱過優雅的庭院，走過别緻的小橋，穿過供奉着做出各種姿勢的諸神的大殿；但當我問及究竟是什麼樣的精神境界讓人建造了這些氣勢恢宏的建築時，他們卻沉默不語。

 

 

 

 

 

 

程水英老師譯作

《暗夜無聲》選文

13No. 3 Berth

第十三章3号泊位

“FROM THE GOSPEL of St. John; Chapter 15, Verse 13,” announced the parson. “‘Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.’”

牧師說道：“約翰福音第15章第13節告訴我們，人為朋友舍命，人的愛心沒有比這個大的。”

Itwasnotaveryorthodoxsermon.Theparson,oncearegularchaplaininthe R.A.F., had been invalided out toward the end of the war. He had a small country living, which afforded him no money for holidays, and in lieu of them he took occasional locum tenens duty for a London friend. The ReverendJames Roland’stheologywasshaky;hisChristianzealhadbeenbluntedbytenyearsof ChurchParadesandsevenyearsofpreachingtomeager,lethargiccongregations such as he faced this evening. As a parish visitor he was inclined to be lazy, while he treated his churchwardens with a certain officer-class brusqueness which did him no good in his own parish. It is doubtful whether hehad converted a soul to hisreligion.

這不是一個很正統的布道。這個牧師曾經是皇家空軍的常駐牧師，在戰争快結束的時候被遣散了。他住在一個小鄉村，沒有錢度假，因此他偶爾替一個倫敦朋友代勞。詹姆斯·羅蘭牧師的神學是不可靠的；十年的教堂遊行和七年的布道（像他今晚這樣，面對人數寥寥、昏昏欲睡的會衆），削弱了他對基督教的熱忱。作為另一個教區的訪客，他有懶惰的傾向，而他對待教堂執事卻如軍官般粗暴，這在他自己的教區裡對他沒好處。他是否讓一個靈魂皈依了他的宗教值得懷疑。

The Reverend Roland had, however, one sheet anchor and saving grace. He wasatruehero-worshiper.Nothingwouldeverbesoalive,sorealforhimashis friendsintheR.A.F.whohadraggedhim,drunkwithhim,thengoneupintothe air to die. When he spoke of them, as he was speaking this evening—telling stories of self-sacrifice and courage—his mediocrity, his failure fell away from him,andhetookonalittleofthegreatnesswhichhewasdescribing.

然而，羅蘭牧師有一點可取之處。他是一個真正的英雄崇拜者。對他來說，沒有什麼比他在皇家空軍的朋友們更有生氣，更真實的了。他們曾痛打過他，和他一起喝過酒，然後在空中死去。今天晚上，當他談到這些故事時——講關于自我犧牲和勇氣的故事——平庸和失敗脫離了他，他表現出了一點他所描述的偉大。

Foxylistened,enthralled.Thiswasthegoods.Hiscynical,perky,opportunist young mind, which up to the present had fed on the doctrine of sauve qui peut and on the nasty little crumbs that fall from Fleet Street and Hollywood tables, respondedtoanappealithadneverbeforeencountered.IftheReverendRoland did not make a convert of Foxy, he at least set him on a new course. Bert Hale was his friend, Foxy said to himself. If he had gone to the police sooner, Bert wouldneverhavebeenkidnaped.HeandCopperhadgonetheirusualways,since the kidnaping, with hardly a thought for Bert; it wasn’t good enough, reflected Foxy, listening to the slangy, commonplace, heartfelt sermon. A God hanging on a cross in Palestine to save the world meant nothing to him. Apilot, whom the parson called by his Christian name, flying a crippled bomber back over England, ordering his crew to bail out, then turning out to sea again and goingforaBurtonsothatthe1000-pounderjammedinthebombbayshouldnot endanger anyone on home soil—this was something Foxy could take in and be exaltedby.

阿狸聽着,入迷了。這就是善行。他那憤世嫉俗、自以為是、投機取巧的年輕頭腦，先前一直以“為人處世”的原則為指導，以艦隊街和好萊塢餐桌上掉下來的肮髒的小面包為食糧，現在卻對一種從未遇到過的呼籲做出了回應。如果羅蘭牧師沒有使阿狸皈依，至少讓他走上了一條新的道路。伯特·黑爾是我朋友，阿狸自言自語道。如果我早點去報警，伯特就不會被綁架了。自從綁架發生後，他和Copper仍舊照常行事，幾乎沒有想到伯特。“這樣不夠好，”阿狸一邊聽着那句通俗、平實、發自内心的布道，一邊反省。一個被挂在巴勒斯坦十字架上拯救世界的上帝對他來說毫無意義。一名飛行員（牧師用他的教名稱呼他），駕駛一架殘破的轟炸機飛回英格蘭上空，命令他的機組人員跳傘，然後再次出海并前往伯頓，确保卡在炸彈艙的1000磅炮彈不會危及本土的任何人——這才是阿狸能夠領會并引以為豪的東西。

The mood would not last long, perhaps. But so exalted was Foxy at the momentthat,ifhecouldhavesavedBertbyhurlinghimselfontherazorsofthe twoyouthsinthefrontpew,hewouldhavedoneit.Nothingsosimple,however, was called for. A much more cold-blooded courage would be required to carry outtheprojectforminginFoxy’smind.Theyouths,hebelieved,mustbelongto the mob which had snatched Bert. Why else should they be after him? And the only way he could hope to rescue Bert was to let the mob take him; then, keeping his ears open and his wits sharp, try to find where they had put his friend and escape with theinformation.

這種情緒也許不會持續多久。但此時此刻，阿狸是如此興奮，如果他能撲向前排座位上兩個年輕人的剃須刀來救伯特，他早就做了。然而，事情沒有什麼簡單。要完成阿狸心中的計劃，需要更多不動聲色的勇氣。他相信這些年輕人一定是抓走伯特的暴徒。不然他們為什麼要追他？而他唯一能救伯特的辦法就是讓暴徒把他帶走。然後，張大耳朵，保持警覺，設法找到他們把他的朋友關在哪裡，再帶着情報逃走。

When the service was over and the choir disrobing. Foxy extricated himself fromtheawkwardquestionstheywerebeginningtoaskhiminthevestry,darted out of church, and walked steadily over to the two youths who were waiting on the other side of the road. The congregation had dispersed. The rest of the choir had not yet emerged. No one saw Foxy walk away with the youths; and it was the best part of forty-eight hours before a description of them, gleaned from members of the choir, the verger, and the policeman who had spoken to them outside the church, could becirculated.

禮拜結束，唱詩班脫去了衣服。在法衣室裡，人們開始問他一些尴尬的問題，阿狸設法解脫出來，沖出教堂，接着不慌不忙地走到等在路另一邊的兩個年輕人身邊。會衆已經散去了。唱詩班的其他成員還沒有出現。沒有人看見阿狸跟着年輕人離開；過了四十八小時，唱詩班的成員、教堂執事和在教堂外面跟他們談過話的警察才把他們的外貌特征描述給大家。

 

Nigel’s first intimation that the boy he wanted to interview had disappeared came by telephone next morning, not long after a call from Sir Rudolf’s secretary, inquiring on his employer’s behalf about Nigel’s progress.

第二天早上，在魯道夫爵士的秘書打來電話，代表他的雇主詢問進展後不久，奈傑爾又接到一個電話，才得知他想問詢的男孩失蹤了。

“PleasethankSirRudolf,willyou?AndtellhimI’mgettingonallright,but apparentlytheywon’tletmeoutforseveraldays,”Nigelhadreplied.

“請代我謝謝魯道夫爵士，好嗎？告訴他我一切都好，但顯然他們幾天内不會放我出來。”奈傑爾回答道。

Clare, who was sitting with him, raised her eyebrows.

和他坐在一起的克萊爾揚起了眉毛。

“Ibelieveyoupositivelyenjoybeing—what’stheword?—hospitalized.You look perfectly healthy tome.”

“我相信你肯定很喜歡——怎麼說來着?——住院。我看你很健康。”

“What a suspicious-minded girl you are,” said Nigel, reflecting that she had every reason to be in this case; for he intended to leave hospital secretly very much sooner, and future inquiries would be answered by the news that Mr.Strangeways had had a relapse. But this it was inadvisable for Clare to know. Shehadbeengivenaparttoplaywhichshewouldplaybetterifshebelievedin it.

“你真是個多疑的姑娘。”奈傑爾說着，心想她完全有理由參與這個案子，因為他打算很快秘密地離開醫院，将來的調查将以斯崔奇威先生舊病複發的消息作為答複。但是這件事不應該讓克萊爾知道。她被賦予一個角色，如果她相信這個角色，她會演得更好。

“You’re not nervous about tonight, are you, my dear?” asked Nigel.

“你對今晚不緊張吧，親愛的？”奈傑爾問道。

“Notnervous,no.Theprospectjustfillsmewithrepulsion,that’sall.”

“不緊張，不。想到這事隻會讓我充滿厭惡，僅此而已。”

The prospect Clare alluded to was a dinner-and-dance date with Alec Gray, which,onNigel’sinstructions,shehadsuccessfullyangledforthepreviousday.

克萊爾提到的那件事是和亞曆克·格雷共進晚餐，還要跳舞，在奈傑爾的指示下，她前一天就成功地争取到了這個約會。

“I wouldn’t mind being used as a cross between a tethered goat and a call girl,” she broke out, her dark eyes flashing, “if only I knew what it was all about.”

“我不介意被當成拴着的山羊和應召女郎的混合體，”她脫口而出，烏黑的眼睛閃着光，“要是我知道這是怎麼回事就好了。”

Nigel took her hands. After a mutinous little struggle they remained in his. “You’ll make a much better goat if you don’t know.”

奈傑爾握住她的手。經過小小的反抗，這雙手還是被他握住。“如果你不知道，你會做一隻更好的山羊。”

“But what am I supposed to talk to him about?”

“可是我該跟他談什麼呢？”

“Oh, the weather, the crops, the dance floor, Epstein—anything you like,” Nigel offhandedly replied.

“哦，天氣、莊稼、舞池、愛潑斯坦——任何你喜歡的事，”奈傑爾随口答道。

“Damn you, Nigel!” she exclaimed, snatching her hands from his. “Sometimes you’re absolutely inhuman.” She paced the room with that swift, swirling movement of hers which suggested flying draperies, silver-flashing limbs, arrows, Artemis.

“你該死,奈傑爾！”她嚷道，把手從他手裡抽出來。“有時候你完全沒有人性。”她在房間裡飛快地旋轉着踱來踱去，使人想起飄揚的帷幔、閃着銀光的四肢、箭和阿爾忒彌斯。

“I’m sorry, darling,” he said. “What I mean is, don’t start up dangerous subjects like burglary, kidnaping, or N. Strangeways. He mustn’t get the impression that you’ve been laid on to pump him. If he broaches them it’s another matter. You listen, you encourage him, you know nothing about anythingexceptthatIwassearchingforBertHaleandamnowhorsdecombat.”

奈傑爾說道：“對不起，親愛的，我的意思是，不要開始講危險的話題，比如入室盜竊、綁架或奈傑爾·斯崔奇威。千萬别讓他覺得你是受人擺布的。如果他開口，那就是另一回事了。你聽着，你鼓勵他，你什麼都不知道，隻知道我在找伯特·黑爾，而且現在我已經失去戰鬥力了。”

“Oh well—”

“哦，好吧——”

“The one important thing is to keep him there as long as possible, and when he’sleaving,gototheladies’roomandtelephonethisnumber.”Nigelgavehera slip of paper, which she put away in herhandbag.

“重要的是要讓他在那裡待得越久越好，當他離開時，你去洗手間，打這個電話。”奈傑爾給了她一張紙條，她放在手提包裡。

“You are mysterious! What do I say?”

“弄這麼神秘。我該說什麼?”

“Just say—let’s think—say, ‘Bobbles is on his way.’”

“讓我想想，就說……說‘小絨球在路上了。’”

Clare gave her delicious giggle. Then her face clouded again. “Do I have to come back with him? In a taxi? I’m sorry, Nigel, but I don’t like the idea. You know what he is.”

克萊爾發出甜美的笑聲。然後她的臉又變得陰沉起來。“我一定要跟他一起回來嗎？在出租車上嗎？抱歉，奈傑爾，我不喜歡這個主意。你知道他是什麼人。”

“Certainly not. What do you take me for? I’ve ordered a hired car to bring you home. It will be waiting outside for you. The driver is a friend of mine, an ex-pugilist. If young Gray starts anything, just tap on the window and the pug will look after him.”

“當然不是。你把我當什麼了？我已經叫了輛車送你回家。它就在外面等你。司機是我的一個朋友，前拳擊手。如果小格雷要動手，就敲敲窗戶，拳擊手會照顧他的。”

Clare beautifully tilted her head, smiling a secret smile. “I take it all back,” she said. “You’re a wonder, and the joy of my life.”

克萊爾優美地歪着頭，露出神秘的微笑，說道：“我收回剛說的話，你是個奇迹，是我生命中的歡樂。”

“GoodLord!Yousavedmylife,didn’tyou?TheleastIcandoistopreserve your honor. Have you got thekey?”

“上帝！你救了我的命，不是嗎？我至少能維護你的榮譽。你有鑰匙嗎？”

“Here it is.”

“在這裡。”

“Good girl,” said Nigel, as Clare handed him the key of Alec Gray’s flat which he had arranged with Lady Durbar to borrow.

“好姑娘。”奈傑爾說。克萊爾把亞曆克·格雷公寓的鑰匙遞給他，那是奈傑爾和杜巴夫人商量好要借的。

“I suppose this is the key to some little love nest you and Hess are setting up.” Clare’s voice did not sound quite as light as she meant it to.

“我想這是你和赫斯正在建的愛巢的鑰匙吧。”克萊爾的聲音聽起來并不像她想說的那麼輕松。

Nigel’s pale blue eyes regarded her steadily. “If ever I set up a love nest again, it won’t be with her. And you know it.”

奈傑爾淡藍色的眼睛目不轉睛地看着她。“就算我再建立愛巢，也不會是和她在一起。你是知道的。”

WhenClareMassingerhadleft,heturnedoverthekeyinhishand.Itwasthe weakest point in this scheme. Hesione must know very well what he wanted it for, and he could not be certain that her past infatuation for Gray would not cause her to repent of thus betraying him. Well, the risk had to be taken. Someone must go through Gray’s flat, and the police had good reasons for not doing it themselves as yet: a police search might spring the mine sooner than was advisable—Gray must not know just how close upon his heels they were; andsecondly,SuperintendentBlounthadinformedNigelthatveryconsiderable influence was being brought to bear upon the Yard, from a quarter hisAssistant Commissionerwouldnotdivulge,tolayoffAlecGray.TheYard,Nigelknewas well as Blount, was politically incorruptible. But it meant that any action taken against Gray must be backed by an absolutely watertight case, or else there would be a most unholy row and heads wouldroll.

克萊爾·馬辛格離開後，奈傑爾把手裡的鑰匙翻過來。這是這個計劃中最薄弱的環節。赫西奧妮一定很清楚他想拿鑰匙的目的，他不能肯定赫西奧妮過去對格雷的迷戀是否會讓她後悔背叛了格雷。必須冒這個險。必須有人搜查格雷的寓所，但警察有充分的理由不親自動手，因為警方的搜查可能會打草驚蛇，并不明智。格雷一定不知道他們離他有多近。第二，布朗特警司已通知奈傑爾，他的助理警司有一個不願透露的隐情，正在對警察廳産生相當大的影響，要求别碰亞曆克·格雷。奈傑爾和布朗特一樣清楚，倫敦警察廳在政治上是清廉的。但這意味着，對格雷采取的任何行動都必須有絕對無懈可擊的證據支持，否則就會造成非常不利的争吵，有人會因此而頭大。

That afternoon Nigel was smuggled out of the hospital and driven to a friend’shouse.Alittlebeforeseven-thirtyintheevening,thedecorumofRadley Gardens was assailed by music from an ancient, wheezing gramophone. This instrument was being slowly pushed up the street in a pram, which had painted on its sides: Old Clown. Out of work. Spare a tanner for Toto. The individual pushing the pram would have wrung the heart of a Scrooge: tall, stooping, cadaverous;tatteredplimsollsonhisfeet;infilthy,patchedclothes,hiswrinkled face almost invisible behind a jungle of hair, Toto tottered up Radley Gardens, radiating an aura of utter melancholy which the gramophone, tinnily screaming out I Pagliacci, did nothing toalleviate.

那天下午奈傑爾被偷運出醫院，送到一個朋友家。傍晚将近七點半的時候，拉德利花園的莊嚴氣派被一台古老的、呼哧呼哧的留聲機放出的音樂所破壞。這個留聲機被裝在嬰兒車裡慢慢推上街道，車身兩側寫着：老小醜。失業。給托托六便士吧。那個推着嬰兒車的人會讓一個吝啬鬼心碎：高大、駝背、形容枯槁；腳上穿着破爛的帆布鞋；身上穿着打補丁的髒衣服，滿是皺紋的臉幾乎隐藏在亂蓬蓬的頭發後面。這個叫托托的人蹒跚地走在拉德利花園裡，散發着一種極度憂郁的氣氛，留聲機放的是歌劇《醜角》^[5]第一幕的曲子，也絲毫沒有減輕這種氣氛。

A taxi was waiting outside No. 34. As the old clown approached, his faded blue eyes were rejoiced by the sight of a beautiful dark girl, in a flame-colored evening dress, emerge from the house, followed by a pin-headed, slick-hairedman. When she saw the dismal object wheeling the pram, she took a shilling from her bag. Averting those faded blue eyes, the clown held out a filthy claw, and in a husk of a voice said, “Thank you, lady. Gawd bless you.”

一輛出租車正等在34号門外。當老小醜走近時，他那雙褪色的藍眼睛因看到一個皮膚黝黑的漂亮女孩從房子裡出來而欣喜不已，她穿着火紅色的晚禮服，後面跟着一個平頭、頭發光溜的男人。當女孩看到那個可憐的東西推着嬰兒車時，她從包裡掏出一先令。小醜轉開褪色的藍眼睛，伸出一隻肮髒的手，聲音低沉地說：“謝謝你，女士。上帝保佑你。”

Ah well, thought Nigel as the taxi moved off, if Clare could not recognize me, Alec Gray certainly did not. He wheeled his deplorable pram to the end of the street, collecting a few coppers thrown from windows en route; then, going downadesertedcul-de-saconthefarsideofCampdenHillRoad,hedisposedof pram and gramophone among the debris of a bombed site, put on a long cloak andsombrerohatwhichhadbeenconcealedinthepram,andreturnedtoRadley Gardens with a large, rolling gait, the image of a genuine, if disreputable, painter.HeenteredNo.34,wentupstairs,lethimselfintoGray’sflat,closedthe doorandputitonthechain,drewthecurtains,andswitchedonthelight.

出租車開走時，奈傑爾想，如果克萊爾認不出我，亞曆克·格雷肯定也認不出。他把那可憐的嬰兒車推到街道的盡頭，在路上撿了幾個從窗戶扔下來的銅闆；然後，他沿着坎普登山路對面一條廢棄的小路走下去，把嬰兒車和留聲機扔在一個被炸毀的廢墟中，穿上藏在嬰兒車裡的長鬥篷和寬邊帽，步履蹒跚地回到拉德利花園，仿佛一個真正的畫家，盡管名聲不佳。他進了34号房間，上了樓，進了格雷的公寓，關上門，挂上鍊子，拉上窗簾，打開燈。

His next step was to find an escape route, if there was such a thing. If Clare playedherpartcorrectly,andtelephonedthenumberhehadgivenher,hewould not need it; but one couldn’t be too careful. A little prospecting discovered the ladderwhichleduptotheroofgarden;andwarilyinvestigatingthis,Nigelfound a fire escape leading down the back wall of the house. He returned to thesitting room. With his usual blatant disregard for his neighbors, Gray had left theradio playing at full blast. This was most convenient. It would cover any noise Nigel might make. Throwing off cloak and hat, putting on a pair of gloves, he looked round theroom.

他的下一步就是找到一條逃跑路線，如果真有這麼一條路的話。如果克萊爾把她的角色演對了，打了他給她的那個号碼，他就不需要這麼做。但還是小心為妙。稍作探查，便發現了通向屋頂花園的梯子。奈傑爾小心翼翼地調查了一下，發現了一條通向房子後牆的防火通道。他回到客廳。格雷一如既往地公然漠視他的鄰居，把收音機開到最大音量。這真是太方便了。可以蓋住 奈傑爾可能發出的任何響聲。他脫下鬥篷和帽子，戴上手套，環視了一下房間。

It was furnished and decorated with a good deal more taste than Nigel had expected. The radio and cocktail cabinet were vulgar enough; but over the mantelpiece, which was littered with invitation cards, there hung a tolerable Utrillo, and on the wall facing it a really fine Vuillard interior. A grand piano stoodinonecorner,asaxophoneandaguitarleanedagainstanother.Therewere two enormous armchairs, an expensive-looking divan, and a walnut escritoire. Nigel moved over to the latter. He had a jemmy in his pocket, and no scruples about breaking drawers open, for he intended the job to look like a straight burglary.Inthepresentinstance,however,noviolencewasneeded.Thedrawers of the escritoire were not locked, and Nigel began methodically to go through the papers theycontained….

這裡的家具和裝飾都比奈傑爾想象的更有品味。收音機和雞尾酒櫃已經夠俗了；在那擺滿請帖的壁爐台上，挂着一幅相當漂亮的郁特裡羅^[6]畫作，對面的牆上挂着一幅非常精美的維亞爾^[7]室内畫。一個角落裡放着一架三角鋼琴，一個角落裡放着薩克斯管和一把吉他。有兩把巨大的扶手椅，一張看上去很昂貴的長沙發椅和一個胡桃木的寫字台。奈傑爾轉向了後者。他口袋裡裝着一把撬棍，可以毫無顧忌地撬開抽屜，因為他想把這件事弄得像入室行竊。然而，在目前的情況下，不需要使用暴力，因為紳士的抽屜沒有上鎖。奈傑爾開始有條不紊地檢查裡面的文件。

 

《黎明死亡線》選文

She leaned there bound and helpless in the dark. They’d never make that bus now. Poor Quinn would wait there for her at the Graves house with the dead man to keep him company, until broad daylight; until someone happened on him there, and gave the alarm, and they arrested him for it. And that would be the end of it; he’d never be able to clear himself. After all, this Bristol woman and her partner hadn’t left anything half as incriminating behind them over there as that broken-into wall safe that he was responsible for. She could accuse them all she wanted to afterwards — that is, if she survived this walling up alive — but it wouldn’t do any good. She hadn’t been an eye-witness to his first entry; she hadn’t even set eyes on him until afterwards. Her word would be worthless.

她在黑暗中無助地倚在那裡。他們現在絕對趕不上那班公共汽車了。可憐的奎因會在格雷夫斯的房子裡等她，陪着死者直到天明：到後來有人在那裡遇見他，報了警，警察會因此逮捕他。一切就此結束；他永遠無法洗脫罪名。畢竟，這個叫布裡斯托爾的女人和她的伴侶在那裡留下的東西，遠不及他負責的那個破牆保險箱的一半有罪。她以後可以随心所欲地指控他們——也就是說，如果她能在這堵牆裡活下來的話——但這也于事無補。她并不是他第一次進來時的目擊者；直到後來她才看見他。她的話毫無價值。

Precious minutes ticking by. Minutes that were drops of her heart’s blood. It must be all of five-thirty by now. In another ten minutes at the latest she and Quinn should have been starting for the bus terminal. What a fat chance now. She might have known the city would outsmart them. It always did. Just a small-town boy and a small-town girl — what chance did they have against such an antagonist? He’d go up the river to the electric chair. And she’d turn into a tough-gutted chain-dancer in a treadmill, without a heart, without a hope, without even a dream anymore.

寶貴的時間一分一秒地過去。這幾分鐘裡她的心髒在滴血。現在一定五點半了。最遲再過十分鐘，她和奎因就該動身去公共汽車終點站了。現在機會真渺茫。她原本可能知道這個城市會比他們聰明。總是如此。隻是一個小鎮男孩和一個小鎮女孩——他們對抗這樣一個對手有什麼勝算？奎因會逆流而上直到坐電椅。她會在重複單調的生活中變成一個冷酷無情的鍊舞者，沒有心，沒有希望，甚至不再有夢想。

Precious minutes trickling by, that couldn’t be stopped, that couldn’t be called back again.

寶貴的時間一分一秒地過去，無法停止，也無法再喚回。

Suddenly that other door outside had reopened and someone was in the room again. For a minute wild hope flashed through her mind. Ah, the happy ending, the camera finish, like in the storybooks, like in the pictures! Someone to rescue her in the nick of time. The besotted hotel clerk come up to investigate, his suspicions aroused by her non-reappearance when they left? Or maybe even Quinn himself, drawn here by some miraculous sixth sense —

突然，外面的另一扇門又開了，有人又進來了。刹那間，她腦子裡閃過了瘋狂的希望。啊，拍攝結束，結局圓滿，像在故事書裡，像在電影裡！在緊要關頭有人來救她。醉醺醺的酒店職員上來調查，因為當他們離開時，她沒有出現引起了他的懷疑。或者奎因自己，被神奇的第六感吸引到這裡……

Then a voice spoke, cottony with subdued rage, and the bottom dropped out of her hopes again. It was Griff, Bristol’s accomplice. The two of them had come back again. Maybe to finish her off, here and now, on the spot.

“Why’dn’t you think of that sooner, you half-witted dope? What’s the matter, your brain missing a cylinder?”

“I’m going to ask her now,” Bristol’s voice answered him grimly. “I would’ve the first time, only you came out of there too fast for me. There must have been something there that tipped her off to me. It’s a cinch she didn’t pull my name and address out of a trick hat —”

然後一個聲音說話了，帶着壓抑的憤怒，她的希望又破滅了。是格裡夫，布裡斯托爾的同謀。他們兩個又回來了。也許要在此時此地，當場了結她。

“你為什麼不早點想到這點呢，你這個笨蛋？怎麼了，你的腦子短路了？”

“我現在就去問她，”布裡斯托爾的聲音冷酷地回答他。“本來剛開始我就想問的，隻是你從那裡出來得太快了。一定有什麼暗中指引她找到我。她肯定不是從魔術帽裡把我的名字和地址給變出來的——”

The closet door swung out and blinding light spilled over her, shutting off her eyes for a moment. She was aware of herself being loosened from the hook that had held her fast. She was hauled out into the open once more, between the two of them. The towel gag was lowered sufficiently to enable her to speak.

壁櫥的門打開了，耀眼的光線灑在她身上，她閉上了眼睛。她意識到自己從那緊緊鈎住她的鈎子上松了下來。她又被拖到他們兩人之間的空地上。塞住嘴的毛巾放得足夠低，使她能說話。

Joan Bristol held the back of her hand poised threateningly toward her lips, ready to swing it and flatten them. “Now you try to scream and I’ll dent you in!”

She couldn’t have, even if she’d wanted to. All she could do was pant and sag exhaustedly against the man who was holding her up.

Bristol raised a hand to her hair, took a half turn in it, and drew her head back at a taut inclination. “Now, no stalling. What I want to know is this: just what was it over at Graves’s place that hooked you onto me? How’d you know I knew him, and how’d you know where to find me? I’m going to let you have it, and I’m going to keep on letting you have it, until you give me the straight goods on it!”

瓊·布裡斯托爾舉起手背，威脅地指着布裡基的嘴唇，準備随時揮手，把她嘴唇壓平。“現在你敢尖叫，我就抽你！”

即使她想叫，也做不到。她所能做的隻是氣喘籲籲，無精打采地靠在那個扶着她的男人身上。

布裡斯托爾舉起一隻手去抓她的頭發，轉了半圈，然後将她的頭向後拉緊。“現在,少廢話。我想知道的是：到底格雷夫斯那兒發生了什麼事讓你盯上我？你怎麼知道我認識他，你怎麼知道在哪能找到我？你要不說，我要繼續讓你吃苦頭，直到你告訴我實話！”

Bricky answered in a muffled but unhesitant voice. “You dropped your hotel bill over there. I found it lying in the room with him.”

The blow, when it came, was rabid and with a sound like a paper bag full of water dropping from a third-floor window, but it wasn’t from Bristol to Bricky, it was from her own teammate to Bristol. She staggered five or six steps back away from the commingled little group they made.

布裡基用低沉但毫不遲疑的聲音回答：“你把旅館賬單掉在那邊了。我發現賬單和他一起在地上。”

猛地響起一巴掌，聽起來像一個裝滿水的紙袋從三樓的窗戶掉了下來，但不是布裡斯托爾打布裡基，而是布裡斯托爾的隊友打她。她踉踉跄跄地走了五六步，脫離他們。

“Why, you —!” he grated. “I mighta known you’d do something like that! It’s as good as leaving your calling card sticking out of his vest pocket! I oughta slap you down to the soles of your feet!”

“She’s lying!” Joan Bristol shrilled, one side of her face slowly reddening as with an eczema. “I could swear I still saw it in my handbag after I got back here —!”

“Did you take it out to show it to him? Answer me! Did you? Yes or not?”

“Yes, I did — I — you know, as part of the buildup, to show him how bad I needed money. That was at the start, before he got tough about it. But I know I put it back again, Griff! I know I brought it back here with me!”

他勃然大怒：“為什麼,你……我早知道你會做這種事！這就像把你的名片留在他的背心口袋裡一樣！我要把你全身打爛！”

“她在說謊！”瓊·布裡斯托爾尖叫着，一邊的臉慢慢地變紅，就像濕疹一樣。“我敢發誓，我回到這裡以後，我還看見它在我的手提包裡……！”

“你拿出來給他看了嗎？回答我！是嗎？是或不是？”

“是的，我确實——我——你知道，作為債務積累的一部分，我想讓他知道我是多麼需要錢。那是開始的時候，在他變得強硬之前。但我知道我又把它放回去了，格裡夫！我知道我把它帶回來了！”

Bricky shook her head, within his boa constrictor-like grasp. “It fell out. It was for seventeen dollars and eighty-nine cents. It had ‘Past Due’ stamped on it, in sort of purple ink. It even had your room number on it.”

He gave her a merciless shake. “Did you bring it here with you? What’d you do with it? Where is it?”

“I left it there where it was. I was afraid to touch anything. I left everything just the way I found it.”

Bristol closed in again, the sting of the punitive blow evidently lessened by now. “Don’t take her word for it, she may have brought it with her. Frisk her and see if it’s on her.”

“You do it, you’re a dame. You ought to know where — I’ll hold her.”

布裡基費力地搖搖頭，那男人像大蟒蛇一樣抓着她。“它掉了出來。金額是17美元89美分。上面用紫色墨水印着“過期”字樣。上面甚至還有你的房間号。”

他狠狠地搖了她一下。“你把賬單帶來了嗎？你想用它做什麼？它在哪裡？”

“我把它留在原地了。我什麼都不敢碰。我把一切都照我發現時的樣子留在那兒。”

布裡斯托爾再次靠近，剛才懲罰性一擊的劇痛現在明顯減輕了。“别相信她的話，她可能帶來了。搜搜看是不是在她身上。”

“你來搜，你是女人。你應該知道在哪裡，我抓着她。”

《名譽》選文

A Big, Brown Trout

London, July 1978

 

一條褐色大鳟魚

倫敦，1978年7月

 

When Yunus ran into Tobiko after weeks of desperate searching, hewasovercomewithamixtureof reliefanddread.Reliefathaving found her, when he had almost given up hope, but also a harrowingfearoflosingheragain.Heclungtoherlikeaclamtoits shell.

尤努斯絕望地搜尋了幾個星期，終于遇到托比科時，他感到既寬慰又害怕。感到寬慰的是當他幾乎放棄希望時找到了她。但同時也害怕再次失去她。他緊緊地抱住她，像一隻蚌。

Shehadchangedsomewhat,gainedabitofweight.Herhair,dark andshinylikeablackpebbleinrain,wasstilllong,buttheendswere nowdyedanincandescentgreen.Shehadreplacedthesilverpiercing onherbottomlipwithasparklingstud.Oneachearlobeshewore half-a-dozencrimsonhearts,astinyandbrightasdropletsofblood. Yunuscountedthem,noticing,onceagain,howsmallherearswere and how verypretty.

她有些變化，體重增加了一點。她的頭發烏黑發亮，就像雨中一顆黑色的小石子，依然很長，但發梢卻染成了閃亮的綠色。她用閃閃發光的金屬扣代替了她下唇上穿孔的銀飾。她每邊耳垂上都戴着半打深紅色的心形耳飾，小得像血滴一樣明亮。尤努斯數了數，又一次注意到她的耳朵是多麼小巧，多麼漂亮。

Tight-lipped, Tobiko refused to explain where she had beenall thistimeorwhyshehadfailedtoleaveanote.Hereandthere.Needed achangeofair,pet.Yunuswasannoyedtolearnwhereshewasstaying: inathree-bedroommaisonettewiththeCaptainandhismother.A fewothersfromthesquatwerealsothere.

托比科守口如瓶，拒絕解釋自己一直在哪裡，也拒絕解釋自己為什麼沒有留下字條。“這裡那裡到處都住。需要換換空氣，寶貝。”尤努斯知道她住在什麼地方，心裡很不高興：她與船長和他的母親住在一個三居室的複式公寓裡。另外幾個占屋者也在那裡。

TheCaptain’smother,MrsPowell,wasaretiredteacher,awidow. Inreality,shehadlittletoleranceforthegroupunderherroof,but shehadagreedtohostthemforawhileinthehopeofspendingmore timewithheronlyson.Shehadmovedintothebedroomupstairs withherTVandhot-waterbottle,leavingtherestoftheflattothe punks.Sheseldomventuredoutofherroom,havingallhermeals there,pretendingnottonoticetheincessantcommotionorthesmell of weed coming fromdownstairs.

船長的母親鮑威爾夫人（MrsPowell）是一位退休教師，一個寡婦。事實上，她對住在自己家裡的這群人幾乎沒有什麼寬容之心，但她已經同意接待他們一段時間，希望能有更多的時間和她唯一的兒子在一起。她帶着電視和熱水壺搬進了樓上的卧室，把公寓的其餘部分留給了這些朋克青年。她很少走出自己的房間，吃飯全在那裡，假裝沒有注意到樓下不斷傳來的騷動和野草的氣味。

ThefirsttimeYunusvisitedthepunksinthatflat,hesatonthe sofa next to Tobiko, small andsmiling.

尤努斯第一次去那套公寓拜訪朋克們，他坐在托比科旁邊的沙發上，身材矮小，面帶微笑。

‘It’satemporarysolution,’saidtheCaptainbywayofexplanation.‘Untilwegobacktoouroldplace.We’regonnabringeveryone togetheragain.’

“這是一個臨時的解決辦法，”船長解釋道。“等我們回到原來的地方，我們要再把所有人聚集在一起。”

‘We’regettingourhousebackandthistimenobody’sgonnakick usout. We’ve learnedourlesson,’saidBogart,acigarettebetweenhis lips,andaguitarwithonlytwostringsinhishand.‘We’llkicktheir arses.’

“我們要把房子收回來，這次沒人會把我們趕出去。我們已經吸取了教訓，”博加特（Bogart）嘴上夾着一根香煙，手裡拿着兩根琴弦的吉他，說道，“我們會踢爆他們的屁股。”

Therewassomeonenewwiththemwhohadnohairexceptfora mopontop,whichhehaddyeddifferentshadesoforange.Hewas nicknamedMrFilchbecausehedidn’tbelieveintheneedtopayfor anything–books,LPs,food,underwear.OnceheliftedapairofDoc Martens,carryingabootinsideeachsleeveofhisgabardinecoat. Now,sittingbackwithagrin,MrFilchinterjected,‘Yeah,you’relike cats. Licking yourwounds.’

他們有個新朋友，除了頭頂蓬亂的一把之外沒有頭發，他把這一把頭發染成了不同色度的橙色。他被昵稱為費爾奇^[8]先生，因為他不相信任何東西都需要付錢——書、黑膠唱片、食物、内衣。有一次，他提着一對馬丁靴，在他那件華達呢上衣的每隻袖子裡裝一隻靴子。“現在，”費爾奇先生插嘴說，“是的，你就像貓一樣。舔着你的傷口。”

Yunuslistenedtotheirblather,gladtohavetheminhislifeagain, oddly soothed by their unconventional ways. Noticing hishappiness, Bogartremarked,‘Thekidislikeacattoo.’

尤努斯聽着他們的喋喋不休，很高興他們又回到了他的生活中，奇怪的是他們非傳統的生活方式使他得到了安慰。博加特注意到他的快樂，說：“這孩子也像貓一樣。”

‘Andyou’rehiscosylittlebasket,’theCaptainsaidtoTobikowith awink.

“而你是他那舒适的小籃子，”船長對托比科眨眨眼說。

Tobikolaughedbutonlyalittle,soasnottooffendYunus.To changethesubject,sheturnedtoBogartandasked,‘Whatwasthat you were playing?’

托比科隻是微微一笑，以免冒犯尤努斯。為了改變話題，她轉向博加特，問道：“你在玩什麼?”

‘Oh,it’sasongIcomposed.YouknowIwasthinkingthesquat raidwasourBloodySunday.Sortof.SoImadethissong.It’scalled BloodyTuesday.’

“哦，這是我寫的一首歌。你知道我認為占屋襲擊是我們的血色星期日。某種程度上。所以我做了這首歌，就叫血色星期二。”

Needingnofurtherincentive,Bogartbegantosing.Themelody was terrible, the lyrics evenworse.

不需要更多激勵，博加特開始唱歌。旋律不好聽，歌詞更糟糕。

I’montheedge,I’monthedole, LikeastoneItumbledintothishole,

Thishole,thishole,thishole,thishole. TheOldBilldon’tringbeforetheyhaul, BloodyTuesday,worstdayofall.

Riseagainstthesystem!Ithasnosoul!

Nosoul,nosoul,nosoul,nosoul.

我身處邊緣，我需要救濟，

像一塊石頭，我跌進這個洞裡，

這個洞，這個洞，這個洞，這個洞。

老比爾^[9]抓人之前，警笛不會響起，

血色星期二，最悲慘的一日。

反對這個體制！它沒有靈魂!

沒有靈魂，沒有靈魂，沒有靈魂，沒有靈魂。

Iggy Pop – wearing an Afghan waistcoat and a buff-coloured T-shirt so short that it barely covered his nipples – plugged his ears with his fingers. ‘Ow, can’t you shut your bleedin’ gob!’

伊基·波普穿着一件阿富汗式的馬甲和一件短得幾乎蓋不住乳頭的暗黃色T恤，用手指堵住耳朵。“啊，你不能閉上你那該死的臭嘴嗎？”

‘What?’ Bogart exclaimed, stopping halfway. ‘It’s shite, man,’ said Iggy Pop.

“什麼？”博加特大聲說道，中途停了下來。“唱得太爛了，夥計。”伊基·波普說。

‘Itwasn’tevenaTuesday,’saidTobiko.‘ItwasWednesdaywhen theyraided.’

“根本不是在星期二，”托比科說。“他們突襲的時候是在星期三。”

Bogart frowned. ‘Says who?’

博加特皺起眉頭說：“誰說的？”

Yunus listened, half amused, half worried, knowing howeasily theycould move fromchildishmerrimenttooutrightwarwhenthey were stoned, slamming the doors, shouting and swearing, at one another or atthemselves.

尤努斯聽了，一半好笑，一半憂慮，他知道，當他們被石頭攻擊、砰地關上門、互相大喊大叫、咒罵他人或自己時，他們可以輕易地從幼稚的嬉戲變為直接的争鬥。

‘Whatdoyoulotknow?Youknob-heads,’scoffedBogart.He paused for a moment, scowling at Tobiko. ‘You don’t flipping remember what you had forbreakfast.’

“你們都知道些什麼？你們這些蠢蛋，”博加特嘲笑道。他停了一會兒，對托比科怒視着說：“你該死的都不記得你早餐吃了什麼。”

‘Let’s ask Yunus,’ suggested Tobiko. ‘He’s neutral.’

“我們問問尤努斯，”托比科建議，“他是中立的。”

‘Neutralmyarse,’theCaptainobjected.‘He’ssosoftonyou,say snow is black, and he’d totallyagree.’

“我的屁股才中立，”船長反對道。“他對你太好了，你說雪是黑的，他也會完全同意。”

Blushingprofuselybutfeigningignorance,Yunusknewhehadto saysomething–aremarkinterestingenoughtodistractthem.Sohe announced, ‘I want to have atattoo.’

尤努斯滿臉通紅，但假裝不理會，他知道他必須說點什麼——說點有趣的，足以分散他們的注意力。于是他宣布：“我想弄個紋身。”

Bogart chuckled. ‘Whoa! This lad is cool!’

博加特咯咯地笑了。“哇！這個小夥子酷！”

‘We’lldoit,’saidIggyPop.‘Noproblem.I’mthebesttattooartist intown.’

“我們來做吧，”伊基·波普說。“沒問題。我是鎮上最好的紋身師。”

‘Darlin’, won’t your mam get upset?’ Tobiko asked tenderly. Yunus had already thought about this. ‘Well, she will if she sees it.But if you put it somewhere on my back, she won’t know.’

“親愛的，你媽媽不會心難過嗎？”托比科溫柔地問道。尤努斯已經考慮過這一點。“好吧，如果她看到了，她會的。但如果你把它放在我的背上，她就不會知道。”

‘Clever boy,’ said Mr Filch.

“聰明的小夥，”費爾奇先生說。

‘I’llgoandfetchtheset,’saidIggyPop,rubbinghishandstogether.

“我去拿那套東西，”伊基·波普搓着手說。

‘AndIneedtohaveapee,’saidYunusquietly.

“我需要去小便，”尤努斯平靜地說。

Upstairs,thereweretwodoors,oneoneachsideofthecorridor. Afterabriefhesitation,Yunusopenedtheoneontheleft.Hewas surprisedtoseeawomansittinginbedinamauvenightgown, munchingfromaboxofRitzcrackers,watchingthenewepisodeof TheSouthBankShow.Herhairwasabird’snestandshemusthavebeen crying, as there were streaks of mascara on her cheeks. She looked slightly bonkers.

樓上有兩扇門，走廊兩邊各有一扇。猶豫片刻之後，尤努斯打開了左邊的那扇門。他驚訝地看到一個女人穿着淡紫色的睡衣坐在床上，一邊吃着一盒麗茲餅幹，一邊觀看《南岸秀》的最新一集。她的頭發像個鳥巢，她一定哭過了，因為她的臉頰上有幾道睫毛膏的印子。她看起來有點瘋狂。

‘Sorry, ma’am.’

“對不起，夫人。”

Yunuswasabouttoclosethedoorwhenthewomanmurmured withouttakinghereyesoffthescreen,‘Aretheyrecruitingyou?’

尤努斯正要關上門，那女人的眼睛一直盯着屏幕，喃喃地說：“他們在招募你嗎？”

Theboystoppedinhistracks,notsureifthewordshadbeen addressed to him.‘Pardon?’

男孩停住了腳步，不知道這些話是不是說給他聽的。于是他問：“什麼？”

‘Aretheyrecruitingyou?’thewomanrepeated.‘Willyoubethe youngest delinquent inEngland?’

“他們在招募你嗎？”這個女人重複道。“你會成為英國最年輕的少年犯嗎？”

‘No,’ Yunus replied, alarmed.

“不是的，”尤努斯回答道，有點驚慌。

‘That’s good,’ she said, still talking to the TV. ‘All my life I’ve worked with children, but I can’t help my own son.’

“那很好，”她說，還在對着電視講話。“我一生都和孩子們一起工作，但我幫不了自己的兒子。”

NowYunuslookedatthewomanmorecarefully,recognizingMrs Powell,theteacherwhohadcometoseehisparentsabouthissister’s education.HealsosawhowmuchsheresembledtheCaptain–wide forehead, long nose with round tip, slightly protruding flint-grey eyes.

現在尤努斯更仔細地打量着這個女人，認出她是鮑威爾夫人，曾經來拜訪自己父母了解姐姐教育情況的那位老師。他也看到了她長得多麼像船長——寬前額，長鼻子，圓鼻尖，微微突出的火石般灰色的眼睛。

‘Whenmysonwasyouragehewassoadorable,’shewenton.‘Childrenaredelightfulwhenthey’rebabies,butthentheystarttowalkandbreakeverything,andwhentheygrowuptheyhateyou!’

“我兒子像你這麼大的時候，他非常可愛，”她繼續說着。“孩子們在嬰兒時期是可愛的，但是接着他們開始走路，破壞一切，再當他們長大後，他們就恨你！”

MrsPowellturnedtowardsYunus,hergazeasearchlight.Thereweredarkbagsunderhereyes.Shelookedtired,inneedofagoodsleep.‘Whatdoyoucallyourmother,darling?’

鮑威爾夫人轉向尤努斯，目光如炬。她的眼睛下面有黑眼袋。她看起來很疲倦，需要好好睡一覺。她問道：“你怎麼稱呼你媽媽，親愛的？”

‘I . . . I call her “Mum”,’ saidYunus.

“我……我叫她‘媽媽’，”尤努斯說。

‘Well,tellhershe’saluckywoman.Mysoncallsme“TheSystem”. HethinksI’mabourgeoisbuffoon!’Shesighed.‘Doyouthinkhe’s right?’

“告訴她她是個幸運的女人。我兒子叫我‘體制’。他認為我是個資産階級小醜！”她歎了口氣。“你認為他是對的嗎？”

‘Oh, no,’ Yunus said, perturbed. He remembered having promised Tobikoawhileagothathewouldneverletthesystemgetanywhere nearhim.Yethedidn’ttaketohisheels.‘Ithinkyou’reabeautiful lady,MrsPowell.Youjusthavetoseeyourselfinsunshine.’

“哦，不，”尤努斯不安地說。他記得曾經答應過托比科不會讓體制接近他。然而他并沒有避開。“我認為你是一位美麗的女士，鮑威爾夫人。你隻需要在陽光下看到自己。”

Thewomanstoodstunnedforamomentbeforeshebrokeintoa chuckle.Ahuskycroak,butwhenshelookedagaintherewasanew sparkleinhereyes.‘That’sthesweetestthingI’veheardlately.’

那女人站在那裡呆了一會兒，突然咯咯地笑了起來。嗓音粗啞，但是當她再擡眼看時，她的眼睛裡放出新的光彩。“這是我最近聽到的最甜蜜的事情。”

‘Cheers, ma’am.’

“再見，夫人。”

WhenYunusreturnedtothelivingroom,hefoundTobikosittingbythewindow,lookingatabirdinthegarden,itsfeathersiridescent intheafternoonsun.Shehadtwomugsofhotchocolateready.As theysippedtheirdrinks,Yunus ventured,‘MayIaskyousomething?’

當尤努斯回到客廳時，他發現托比科坐在窗前，看着花園裡的一隻鳥，它的羽毛在午後的陽光下閃閃發光。她準備了兩杯熱巧克力。當他們呷飲料時，尤努斯鼓起勇氣問：“我可以問你個問題嗎?”

‘Sure, pet.’

“當然，寶貝。”

‘Aboutsecrets,’hesaidnervously.‘Mysistersaysyoushouldnever sharethemwithanyone.Notevenareed.’

“關于秘密，”他緊張地說。“我姐姐說秘密不應該和任何人分享。哪怕一根蘆葦。”

Tobiko studied him curiously. ‘I’m not sure whatyou’re talking about.’

托比科好奇地盯着他。“我不确定你在說什麼。”

‘IsupposeI’mtryingtoask...Ifthereisapersonyouloveand thatpersonhasasecretthatnobodyknowsandit’sabitembarrassing...butyoufinditout.Doyouthinkyoushouldtellherthator not?’

“我想我是在問……如果有一個你愛的人，而那個人有一個不為人知的秘密，這有點尴尬……但你發現了。你覺得你應該告訴她嗎?”

‘Wow,that’satoughone.Ithinkyou’dbetterkeepshtoom,then.’

“哇，這就艱難了。我覺得你最好還是保持沉默。”

AndwiththosewordsTobikoplacedherheadontheboy’sshoulder,carefully,notwithherfullweight.Yunus’sheartpulsedinthehollow of his throat. He wished the moment could go onfor ever.ButsoontheCaptainandtheothersreturned,carryingaboxofneedles and tattoo designs.

說着這些話，托比科輕輕地把頭靠在男孩的肩膀上，而不是全身都靠着。尤努斯的心快要跳出喉嚨。他希望這一刻永遠繼續下去。但很快，船長和其他人回來了，手裡拿着一盒針和紋身圖案。

‘Allrightie.Let’sgettowork,’saidIggyPop.‘Look,thiscould hurt a bit. Is thatokay?’

“好了，我們開始吧，”伊基·波普說。“聽着，這可能會有點疼。可以嗎？”

Yunus nodded, biting his lip.

尤努斯點點頭，咬着嘴唇。

‘Andwhatkindoftattoowouldyoulike?Aword?Asymbol?’

“你想要哪種類型的紋身？一個字？還是一個符号？”

‘Canyoumakemeawhale,please?’askedYunus.‘Liketheonethat swallowed the prophet.’

“請你給我紋一條鲸魚可以嗎？”尤努斯問。“就像吞下先知的那條。”

When the tattoo was finished, it looked more like a big, brown trout–thefishthatGrandmaNazehad,inanotherlife,inabygone world, wished tobecome.

當紋身完成後，它看起來更像一條巨大的棕色鳟魚——在另一個生命中，一個過去的世界裡，納茲奶奶希望變成的那條魚。

 

《平台資本主義》選文

3 Great Platform Wars平台大戰

If platforms are the emerging business model for the digital economy, how do they appear when set in the longer history of capitalism? In particular, up to this point we have largely left out one of the fundamental drivers of capitalism: intracapitalist competition. In Chapter 1 we set out the context of the long downturn – that period since the 1970s when the global economy has been saddled by overcapacity and overproduction in the manufacturing sector. As companies were unwilling and unable to destroy their fixed capital or to invest in new lines, international competition has steadily continued and, alongside it, the crisis of overcapacity in manufacturing. Unable to generate growth in this situation, in the 1990s theUnited States began trying to stimulate the economy through an asset-price Keynesianism that operated by inducing low interest rates in order to generate higher asset prices and a wealth effect that would spark broader economic growth.This led to the dot-com boom of the 1990s and to the housing bubble of the early years of the twenty-first century. Today, as we saw in the previous chapter, asset-price Keynesianism continues apace and is one of the fundamental drivers behind the current mania for tech start-ups. Yet, behind the shiny new technology and slick façade of app interfaces, what broader consequences do these new firms hold for capitalism? In this chapter we will step back to look at the tendencies unleashed by these new firms into the broader economic environment of the long downturn. Some argue that capitalism renews itself through the creation and adoption of new technological complexes: steam and railways, steel and heavy engineering, automobiles and petrochemicals – and now information and communications technologies.1 Are we witnessing the adoption of a new infrastructure that might revive capitalism’s moribund growth? Will competition survive in the digital era, or are we headed for a new monopoly capitalism?

如果說平台是數字經濟的新興商業模式，那麼在資本主義的漫長曆史中，它們是如何出現的呢？特别是到目前為止，我們在很大程度上忽略了資本主義的一個根本驅動因素：資本主義内部的競争。在第一章中，我們闡述了長期低迷的背景——自20世紀70年代以來，全球經濟一直受到制造業産能過剩和生産過剩的困擾。由于企業不願也無法破壞固定資本或投資新的行業，國際競争穩步持續，随之而來的是制造業産能過剩的危機。在這種情況下，在20世紀90年代，美國開始試圖通過一種資産價格凱恩斯主義來刺激經濟，這種凱恩斯主義通過降低利率來産生更高的資産價格和财富效應，從而引發更廣泛的經濟增長。這導緻了20世紀90年代的互聯網繁榮，以及21世紀初的房地産泡沫。今天，正如我們在前一章所看到的，資産價格凱恩斯主義仍在迅速發展，是當前對科技初創企業的狂熱背後的根本驅動因素之一。然而，在大放異彩的新技術和光鮮亮麗的應用程序界面背後，這些新公司對資本主義有什麼更廣泛的影響呢？在本章中，我們将回過頭來看看這些新公司在長期低迷的經濟環境中所表現出的趨勢。有人認為，資本主義通過創造和采用新的技術複合體而重新發展：蒸汽和鐵路、鋼鐵和重型工程、汽車和石化産品，以及現在的信息和通信技術。^[[i]]我們是否正在見證一種新的基礎設施得到采用，它能使資本主義奄奄一息的經濟複蘇嗎？在數字時代，競争會繼續存在嗎？還是我們會走向新的壟斷資本主義？

With network effects, a tendency towards monopolisation is built into the DNA of platforms: the more numerous the users who interact on a platform, the more valuable the entire plat-form becomes for each one of them. Network effects, moreover, tend to mean that early advantages become solidified as permanent positions of industry leadership. Platforms also have a unique ability to link together and consolidate multiple network effects. Uber, for instance, benefits from the network effects of more and more drivers as well as from the network effects of more and more riders.2 Leading platforms tend consciously to perpetuate themselves in other ways as well. Advantages in data collection mean that the more activities a firm has access to, the more data it can extract and the more value it can generate from those data, and therefore the more activities it can gain access to. Equally, access to a multitude of data from different areas of our life makes prediction more useful, and this stimulates the centralisation of data within one platform. We give Google access to our email, our calendars, our video histories, our search histories, our locations– and, with each aspect provided to Google, we get better predictive services as a result. Likewise,platforms aim to facilitate complementary products: useful software built for Android leads more users to use Android, which leads more developers to develop for Android, and so on, in a virtuous circle. Platforms also seek to build up ecosystems of goods and services that close off competitors: apps that only work with Android, services that require Facebook logins. All these dynamics turn platforms into monopolies with centralised control over increasingly vast numbers of users and the data they generate. We can get a sense of how significant these monopolies already are by looking at how they consolidate ad revenue: in 2016 Facebook, Google, and Alibaba alone will take half of the world’s digital advertising.3 In the United States, Facebook and Google receive 76 per cent of online advertising revenue and are taking 85 per cent of every new advertising dollar.

在網絡效應的影響下，壟斷的趨勢是建立在平台的DNA上的。在一個平台上互動的用戶越多，整個平台的價值就越高。此外，網絡效應往往意味着早期的優勢會固化作為行業領袖的永久地位。平台也有一種獨特的能力，可以連接并整合多個網絡效應。例如，優步受益于越來越多的司機以及越來越多的乘客的網絡效應。^[[ii]]領先的平台也會有意識地在其他方面使自己保持不敗。數據收集的優勢意味着，公司可以訪問的活動越多，它可以提取的數據越多，從這些數據中産生的價值就越大，因此它能獲得的活動也越多。同樣地，從我們生活的不同領域獲取大量的數據使得預測更加有用，這也刺激了一個平台内數據的集中。我們讓谷歌訪問我們的電子郵件，我們的日曆，我們的視頻曆史，我們的搜索曆史，我們的位置——并且，由于每個方面都提供給谷歌，我們得到更好的預測服務。同樣，平台旨在促進互補産品：為安卓開發的有用軟件會讓更多的用戶使用安卓，從而引導更多的開發人員為安卓開發，諸如此類，形成良性循環。平台還設法建立起與競争對手相隔離的産品和服務生态系統：比如僅适用于安卓的應用程序，或者需要登錄臉書的服務。所有這些動态都将平台變成了壟斷組織，并對越來越多的用戶和他們産生的數據進行集中控制。通過觀察這些壟斷企業如何整合廣告收入，我們可以了解他們的重要性：在2016年，臉書、谷歌和阿裡巴巴将占據全球數字廣告的半壁江山。^[[iii]]在美國，臉書和谷歌獲得了76%的在線廣告收入，而每一個新廣告的收入中有85%也被它們占有。^[[iv]]

Yet it is also true that capitalism develops not only greater means for monopoly but also greater means for competition. The emergence of the corporation form, the rise of large financial institutions, and the monetary resources behind states all point to its capacity to initiate new lines of industry and to topple existing monopolies.5 Equally importantly, digital platforms tend toarise in industries that are subject to disruption by new competitors.6 Monopolies, in this view, should only ever be temporary. The challenge today, however, is that capital investment is not sufficient to overturn monopolies; access to data, network effects, and path dependency place even higher hurdles in the way of overcoming a monopoly like Google. This does not mean the end of competition or of the struggle for market power, but it means a change in the form of competition.7 In particular, this is a shift away from competition over prices (e.g. many services are offered for free). Here we come to an essential point. Unlike in manufacturing, in platforms competitiveness is not judged solely by the criterion of a maximal difference between costs and prices; data collection and analysis also contribute to how competitiveness is judged and ranked. This means that, if these platforms wish to remain competitive, they must intensify their extraction, analysis, and control of data – and they must invest in the fixed capital to do so. And while their genetic drive is towards monopolisation, at present they are faced with an increasingly competitive environment comprised of other great platforms.

然而，資本主義不僅為壟斷發展提供了更大的手段，而且也為競争提供了更大的手段。企業形式的出現，大型金融機構的崛起，以及國家背後的貨币資源，都表明它有能力開創新的行業，并颠覆現有的壟斷企業。^[[v]]同樣重要的是，數字平台往往會出現在受到新競争對手幹擾的行業中。^[[vi]]在這種觀點看來，壟斷應該隻是暫時的。然而，今天的挑戰是，資本投資不足以推翻壟斷；獲取數據、網絡效應和路徑依賴，在壓制像谷歌這樣的壟斷企業的道路上，面臨着更大的障礙。這并不意味着競争或市場權力争奪的結束，但這意味着競争的形式發生了變化。^[[vii]]特别是，這是對價格競争的轉移（舉例來說，許多服務是免費提供的）。我們來到了一個重要的節點。與制造業不同的是，平台上的競争力并不僅僅由成本和價格之間最大差異的标準來評判；數據收集和分析也有助于對競争力進行判斷和排名。這意味着，如果這些平台希望保持競争力，它們必須加大對數據的提取、分析和控制，而且它們必須在固定資本上進行投資。盡管它們的基因驅動趨向于壟斷，但目前它們面對的是由其他大型平台組成的競争日益激烈的環境。

 

Tendencies趨勢

Since platforms are grounded upon the extraction of data and the generation of network effects, certain tendencies emerge from the competitive dynamics of these large platforms: expansion of extraction, positioning as a gatekeeper, convergence of markets, and enclosure of ecosystems. These tendencies then go on to be installed in our economic systems.

由于平台是基于數據的提取和網絡效應的産生而形成，所以這些大型平台的競争動态會展現一定的趨勢：提取的擴展，定位為守門人，市場的融合，以及生态系統的封閉。這些趨勢随後在我們的經濟體系中得到鞏固。

At one level, the expansion of platforms is driven by the cross-subsidisation of services used to draw users into a network. If a service appears likely to draw consumers or suppliers into the platform, then a company may develop the tools to do so. Yet expansion is also driven by factors other than user demand. One such factor is the drive for further data extraction. If collecting and analysing this raw material is the primary revenue source for these companies and gives them competitive advantages, there is an imperative to collect more and more. As one report notes, echoing colonialist ventures: ‘From a data-production perspective, activities are like lands waiting to be discovered. Whoever gets there first and holds them gets their resources – in this case, their datariches.’8 For many of these platforms, the quality of the data is of less interest than their quantity and diversity. Every action performed by a user, no matter how minute, is useful for reconfiguring algorithms and optimising processes. Such is the importance of data that many companies could make all of their software open-source and still maintain their dominant position due to their data.10 Unsurprisingly, then, these companies have been prolific purchasers and developers of assets that enable them to expand their capacity for gaining information. Mergers relating to big data, for instance, have doubled between 2008 and 2013.11 Their vast cash glut and frequent use of tax havens contributed to making this possible. A large surplus of capital sitting idle has enabled these companies to build and expand an infrastructure of data extraction.

在某種程度上，平台的擴展是由将用戶引入網絡的服務提供的交叉補貼驅動的。如果一項服務可能吸引消費者或供應商進入該平台，那麼一家公司可能會開發工具來實現這一功能。然而，擴張也是由用戶需求以外的因素驅動的。其中一個因素是進一步提取數據的驅動力。如果收集和分析這些原材料是這些公司的主要資源，并賦予它們競争優勢，那麼就有必要收集越來越多的原材料。正如一份報告所指出的：“從數據生産的角度來看，活動就像是等待被發現的土地。無論誰先到達那裡，擁有這些土地，就能持有土地上生産的資源——在這種情況下，數據即财富。”^[[viii]]對于許多這樣的平台來說，數據的質量不如數量和多樣性更讓人感興趣。^[[ix]]用戶執行的每一項操作，無論多微小，對于重新配置算法和優化流程都是有用的。這就是數據的重要性，許多公司都可以将他們的軟件開源，并且由于持有數據，仍然保持着他們的主導地位。^[[x]]意料之中的是，這些公司一直是多産的資産購買者和開發者，使他們能夠擴大獲取信息的能力。例如，與大數據相關的并購在2008年至2011年期間翻了一番。^[[xi]]它們的巨額現金過剩和頻繁利用避稅天堂導緻了這一現象的發生。大量過剩的資本閑置，使這些公司得以建立和擴大數據提取的基礎設施。

This is the context in which we should understand the significant investments made in the consumer internet of things (IoT), where sensors are placed in consumer goods and homes. 12 For example, Google’s investment in Nest, a heating system for residential homes, makes much more sense when it is understood as the extension of data extraction. The same goes for Amazon’snew device, Echo, an always-on device that consumers place in their homes. At the mention of its name, Echo will respond to questions; but it is also capable of recording activities around it. It is not difficult to see how this might be useful for a company trying to understand con-sumer preferences. Similar devices already exist in many phones – Siri for Apple, Google Now for Android, not to mention the emergence of smart TVs.13 Wearable technologies are another major element of consumer IoT. Nike, for instance, is using wearables and fitness technology to bring users onto its platform and extract their data. While all these devices may have some use value for consumers, the field has not been driven by consumers clamouring for them. Instead, consumer IoT is only fully intelligible as a platform-driven extension of data recording into everyday activities. With consumer IoT, our everyday behaviours start to be recorded: how we drive, how many steps we take, how active we are, what we say, where we go, and so on. This is simply an expression of an innate tendency within platforms. It is therefore no surprise that one of Facebook’s most recent acquisitions, the Oculus Rift VR system, is able to collect all sortsof data on its users and uses this information as part of the sales pitch to advertisers.14

這是我們應該了解的背景，即對消費者物聯網（IoT）進行重大投資的背景，在這個物聯網中，傳感器被放置在消費品和家庭中。^[[xii]]例如，谷歌對住宅供暖系統Nest的投資在被理解為數據提取的延伸時更有意義。亞馬遜的新設備Echo也同樣适用，它是一款永遠在線的設備，用戶可以在家中使用。在提到它的名字時，Echo會回答問題，但它也能記錄周圍的活動。不難看出，對于試圖理解消費者偏好的公司來說，這可能是有用的。類似的設備已經存在于許多手機中——蘋果的Siri，谷歌的安卓，更不用說智能電視的出現了。^[[xiii]]可穿戴技術是消費者物聯網的另一個重要組成部分。例如，耐克正在利用可穿戴設備和健身技術将用戶引入其平台，并提取他們的數據。盡管所有這些設備可能對消費者有一定的價值，但這一領域并沒有受到消費者強烈要求的驅動。相反，隻有當平台驅動的數據記錄延伸到日常活動中，消費者物聯網才是完全可理解的。随着消費者物聯網的發展，我們的日常行為開始被記錄下來：我們如何開車，我們走了多少步，我們有多活躍，我們說了些什麼，我們去了哪裡，等等。這隻是平台内部固有趨勢的一種表達。因此，臉書最近的一次收購——Oculus Rift VR系統——能夠收集用戶的各種數據，并将這些信息作為向廣告商推銷的一部分，這一點也就不足為奇了。^[[xiv]]

The fact that the information platform requires an extension of sensors means that it is countering the tendency towards a lean platform. These are not assetless companies – far from it; they spend billions of dollars to purchase fixed capital and take other companies over. Importantly, ‘once we understand this [tendency], it becomes clear that demanding privacy from surveillance capitalists or lobbying for an end to commercial surveillance on the Internet is like asking Henry Ford to make each Model T by hand’. 15 Calls for privacy miss how the suppression of privacy is at the heart of this business model. This tendency involves constantly pressing against the limits of what is socially and legally acceptable in terms of data collection. For the most part, the strategy has been to collect data, then apologise and roll back programs if there is an uproar, rather than consulting with users beforehand. 16 This is why we will continue to see frequent uproars over the collection of data by these companies

信息平台需要擴展傳感器的事實意味着它正在抵制轉向精益平台的趨勢。這些公司并不是沒有資産的公司，他們花費數十億美元購買固定資産，并收購其他公司。重要的是，“一旦我們理解了這一點（這種趨勢），就會清楚地看到，從實施監控的資本家那裡要求隐私，或者遊說他們在互聯網上停止商業監視，就像要求亨利·福特用手來制作每一輛T型車。”^[[xv]]要求維護隐私的人忽略了一點，抑制隐私正是這種商業模式的核心。這一趨勢涉及到在數據收集方面對社會和法律可接受的限度的不斷施壓。很多時候，這些公司的策略就是收集數據，如果引起嘩然，就會道歉并回滾程序，而不是事先咨詢用戶。^[[xvi]]這就是為什麼我們會繼續看到不斷有人抗議這些公司收集數據的原因。

If data collection is a key task of platforms, analysis is the necessary correlate. Theproliferation of data-generating devices creates a vast new repository of data, which requires increasingly large and sophisticated storage and analysis tools, further driving the centralisation of these platforms.17 If expanding the capacity to collect data is one competitive imperative for these companies, developing corresponding means of analysis is another. Advances in hardware, database organisation, and network infrastructure therefore all play significant roles in gaining speed and insight advantages over one’s competitors. Much of Google’s initial success, for instance, stemmed from its pioneering work of creating useful internal software and innovative hardware architecture.18 Rather uniquely, Google designs and builds its own custom servers rather than purchasing standard servers off the market – again, in an effort to gain competitive advantage.19 And, while often it eventually releases information about its operations (which have then been copied by numerous others), it only does so after it has gained a clear advantage.20 It is the importance of analytics that lets us understand why Google is heavily invested in artificial intelligence (AI) research as well, given that this is the key area for developinga competitive advantage over other platforms. Google is the biggest investor in this area, but Amazon, Salesforce, Facebook and Microsoft are all investing heavily in AI as well. Firms also have imperatives to develop the entire stack, and not just one area of it (e.g. data management, or analytical tools).21 Bottlenecks in the flow of data from sensors to commodity are an impediment to producing more value. The result is a tendency to increasingly take on all the features of the stack, from hardware to software.

如果數據收集是平台的關鍵任務，則數據分析是必要的關聯。數據生成設備的激增創建了一個龐大的新的數據存儲庫，這需要越來越大型、越來越複雜的存儲和分析工具，從而進一步推動這些平台的集中。^[[xvii]]如果擴大收集數據的能力是這些公司的一項競争要求，那麼開發相應的分析方法是另一件必須完成的事。因此，在硬件、數據庫組織和網絡基礎設施方面的進步，都為在速度和洞察力方面獲得比競争對手更多的優勢發揮了重要作用。例如，谷歌最初的成功很大程度源于它在開創有用的内部軟件和創新性硬件架構方面的工作。^[[xviii]]更獨特的是，谷歌設計并構建自己的定制服務器，而不從市場上購買标準服務器，仍然是為了獲得競争優勢。^[[xix]]而且，盡管它最終會發布關于自身操作的信息（這些信息已經被其他許多人複制了），但它隻會在獲得了明确的優勢之後才會這樣做。^[[xx]]正是分析的重要性讓我們明白，為什麼谷歌在人工智能（AI）研究領域也投入了大量資金，因為這是開發相對其他平台競争優勢的關鍵領域。谷歌是這一領域的最大投資者，但亞馬遜、Salesforce、臉書和微軟也都在大力投資人工智能。公司也有必要開發整個堆棧，而不僅僅是其中一個領域（例如數據管理或分析工具）。^[[xxi]]從傳感器到商品的數據流的瓶頸，是産生更多價值的障礙。結果産生一種趨勢，即從硬件到軟件越來越多地采用堆棧的所有功能。

This is matched by a second tendency, whereby expansion across the ecosystem around a core business segment is driven in part by the need to occupy key positions within the ecosystem. These evade traditional distinctions: they are neither horizontal mergers (combining companies that directly compete), nor vertical mergers (combining companies within the same supply chain), nor conglomerate mergers (combining suppliers of similar and complementary products).22 These mergers consist not so much in the vertical integration of classic Fordist firms or in the lean competencies of the post-Fordist era; they are more like rhizomatic connections driven by a permanent effort to place themselvesin key platform positions. Let us take a first example. As access to the internet shifted away from desktop computing and towards handheld smartphones, control over the operating system (OS) platforms became essential. The shift caused companies to rush and implant themselves into the smartphone market: Google followed in Apple’s footsteps, and Amazon and Facebook later attempted to catch up. Google used the traditional platform tactic of cross-subsidisation in order to occupy the mobile OS market: it licensed Android for free to hardware makers, so as to undercut Apple’s enclosed system. The gambit worked, and Android today has more than 80 per cent of the market and is the most widely used OS on any device.23 Similar competitive battles – and subsequent business expansions – have been going on at the interface level as well. As the primary means by which users interact with platforms, interfaces occupy a key intermediary position in the broader ecosystem. For the last decade, Google’s search engine has been the primary interface into the rest of the internet, outpacing any other effort. Rival platforms have had to route around Google’s search engine dominance by extending their businessinto new interface areas. One expression of this is that search engines within apps (rather than the open web) are becoming increasingly wide-spread. Instead of searching the internet through Google, users can search internally, on Amazon or Facebook. If people move into apps or start searching on Amazon instead of Google, these are threats to Google’s basic business model.

這與另一種趨勢相匹配，即圍繞核心業務部門的整個生态系統的擴張，部分是因為需要在生态系統中占據關鍵位置。它們不同于傳統的特性：既不是橫向合并（合并了直接競争的公司），也不是縱向合并（合并在同一供應鍊中的公司），也不是混合合并（合并了類似的和互補的産品供應商）。^[[xxii]]這些合并不那麼像傳統的福特公司式的垂直整合，也沒有後福特時代的精益能力；它們更像是一種根莖式的連接，受一種永久的努力推動，要把自己放在關鍵平台的位置上。讓我們來看第一個例子。随着對互聯網的訪問從台式電腦轉向手持智能手機，對操作系統（OS）平台的控制變得至關重要。這一轉變導緻公司紛紛湧入智能手機市場：谷歌追随蘋果的腳步，亞馬遜和臉書随後試圖追趕。為了占領移動操作系統市場，谷歌采用了交叉補貼的傳統平台策略：将安卓免費授權給硬件制造商，以削弱蘋果的封閉系統。這一策略奏效了，安卓如今擁有超過80%的市場份額，在任何設備上都是最廣泛使用的操作系統。^[[xxiii]]類似的競争——以及随後的業務擴張——一直在界面上進行。作為用戶與平台交互的主要方式，界面在更廣泛的生态系統中占據了關鍵的中間位置。在過去的十年裡，谷歌的搜索引擎一直是互聯網其他領域的主要界面，超過了其他任何公司的成就。競争對手的平台不得不将其業務拓展到新的界面領域，以繞過谷歌的搜索引擎霸主地位。其中一種說法是，應用程序内的搜索引擎（而不是開放的網絡）正變得越來越廣泛。用戶可以在亞馬遜或臉書上搜索，而不是通過谷歌搜索互聯網。如果人們在亞馬遜上進入應用程序或者開始搜索，而不用谷歌，這些都是對谷歌基本商業模式的威脅。