【故事主線】

分別來(lái)自中國(guó)香港、印度、英國(guó)和澳大利亞的六位主人公為了尋找傳說(shuō)中的食人族踏上了開(kāi)往南美的郵輪……

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【人物簡(jiǎn)介】

小強(qiáng)：男，香港富豪之子，喜好探險(xiǎn)旅游，本次探險(xiǎn)旅行的發(fā)起人。

蜜兒：女，香港某野外生存俱樂(lè)部教練，武功出色，中國(guó)的“勞拉”。

威廉：男，英國(guó)作家，以經(jīng)常發(fā)布一些驚世奇聞的旅行游記著稱。

桑杰：印度小男孩，印度洋海嘯后當(dāng)?shù)氐奈ㄒ恍掖嬲摺?/p>

艾德里安：男，澳大利亞生物學(xué)家，喜歡研究昆蟲(chóng)。

白雪：蜜兒的寵物狗，忠心耿耿，總給人帶來(lái)意外驚喜。

編?。篔ames Palmer（英國(guó)）

情節(jié)策劃：何彥平、王妮

插畫：姚薇

本欄目有償歡迎讀者參與劇情策劃

投稿信箱：contribution@bilingualtime.com

Plot Synopsis

【本期劇情】

艾德里安將所有人帶回家，還有那個(gè)昏迷不醒的神秘男子。大家對(duì)這一系列奇怪事件都感到非常不安時(shí)卻發(fā)現(xiàn)神秘男子的身體構(gòu)造異于常人，而且他的身上也有一個(gè)小型蛇形符，在他奇跡般地蘇醒后，蛇形符背后的秘密初露端倪，而維多利亞號(hào)也宣布停止原來(lái)的航行計(jì)劃，那小強(qiáng)一行人是否因此而放棄他們的探險(xiǎn)之旅呢？

Episode 8: The Astonishing Truth

第八集：驚人的真相

情景1：小強(qiáng)一行人來(lái)到艾德里安的家中。陌生人依舊昏迷不醒。

Adrian: It's strange. I've been looking over his wounds, and they're healing abnormally fast. And his anatomy - it doesn't seem normal. I hate to say it - but it doesn't even seem human.

Candy: What are you saying?

Adrian: He could be some kind of mutant, I guess. Or have a congenital condition I don't know about.

Candy: One where you heal fast? That seems odd. But I've heard of monks who can do that - you know, like a kind of chi power.

Adrian: Whatever it is, I think he'll be awake soon.

Candy: What's that around his neck?

Adrian: It's an amulet of some kind!

Candy: It looks just like … like Sanjay's amulet. Here, let me -

（她伸手去拿護(hù)身符，注意到它熠熠生輝。）

Candy: Maybe I shouldn't take it off him. But let me go and talk to Sanjay.

（她走進(jìn)另外一間房，里面的人在看電視。）

Xiaoqiang: Look, the meteorites are still striking all over the oceans. They're saying that if it doesn't end soon, there'll be food shortages, hospital failures, all kinds of things. I just spoke to my father, and he asked me to stay in Australia for the moment. He's really worried about the risks of travelling - doesn't even want me coming home to help with the business. At least he's off my back about that!

William: Maybe it's a sign. Maybe we shouldn't be going on this expedition at all.

Candy: William, you're always changing your mind on this. We have to press on. I'm sure whatever this is, it'll be over soon.

William: I can only hope you're right.

Candy: Anyway, I've got some news about our mysterious stranger.

Xiaoqiang: I hope he's doing ok. I think he really saved our bacon in that crash, you know. I remember seeing him at the last moment, putting himself between us and the car that hit us.

Candy: Adrian said he's healing really fast. But - my news.

Xiaoqiang: Yes?

Candy: He's wearing an amulet. A snake amulet - like Sanjay's.

Xiaoqiang: Sanjay? Do you know anything about this?

Candy: This gets stranger and stranger.

Adrian: (from the next room)Come in here, everyone - he's awake!

情景2：真相大白

（大家都圍在床邊，神秘人在床上慢慢坐起來(lái)。）

Candy: Are you feeling ok? What's your name?

Saka: Call me Angeraksaka. Or Saka.

Sanjay: That's Hindi for bodyguard!

Saka: My family has always named themselves after their duty.

Candy: What do you mean, your duty?

Saka: Perhaps I should not say.

Xiaoqiang: I think it's time you started talking! We could still go to the police with this, you know! Im sure there are plenty of people who'd be interested in all this.

Sanjay: I must make a confession. I think - I think I have seen this man before.

Xiaoqiang: You have? Why didn't you say so before?

Sanjay: I wasn't certain. It was so confused, and I was half-unconscious. In the tsunami … he saved me.He pulled me from the waves. I thought then he was just a Sikh, a soldier perhaps. But my amulet then - it was glowing. When I was in danger, when we heard the waves were coming, I pushed the button on it, like my father told me to.

Saka: I am a bodyguard. I am charged with the protection of this little one, as I was charged with the protection of his father. Then I failed. I will not fail again.

Xiaoqiang: Who are you working for? Are you an accomplice of the Hills? They were interested in Sanjay.

Saka: I work for no-one except the prince.

Candy: The prince?

Saka: The prince! (he gestures at Sanjay)

Sanjay: What do you mean? I'm not a prince! I'm just an ordinary boy.

Saka: My prince, you know there is something different about you. There always has been.

Candy: You've always been able to talk to Snow White - almost as if you understand what he's saying.

Saka: Give me your hand. (he draws a knife, and draws it sharply across Sanjay?s hand)

Sanjay: Owww!

Candy: What are you doing!

Saka: Watch.

Adrien: My god, it's healing - that's incredible.

Sanjay: He's right … it's always been like this. If I hurt myself as a child, the cuts or bruises would fade.Even after the tsunami, I woke up without a scratch on me.

Saka: It is the power of our kind.

Candy: So you're saying you and Sanjay - you're some kind of superhumans?

Saka: I am from another planet. Or, rather, my ancestors were. I was born here.

Candy: What on earth are you talking about? You mean you're an alien?

Saka: Of a kind. The higher mathematics is difficult for me to understand, let alone explain. It is not another planet as you would think of it, but instead, it exists in a parallel position to the Earth in the cosmic slipstream.

Candy: Eh?

Saka: Think of it as another dimension, with another Earth, where humanity took different paths.

Candy: But if you're still human, why are you so strong?

Saka: The travel between dimensions affected our ancestor's bodies. Our metabolism, our very nature, reacts differently. And my kind are modified for strength, back on our homeland.

Adrien: What do you call your planet?

Saka: We call it 'Earth,' of course. In our science, your earth is 'Earth-2.' But perhaps here, my earth is the second earth.

Saka: Please! You must not reveal us. We would be in terrible danger.

William: That woman - she's one of you, isn't she?

Saka: From the Russian lands. Yes. Here, and many others. Our enemies.

Candy: Your enemies?

Saka: When we came here, we were fleeing a civil war on our own planet. The family - the family of the prince – were the losers. They fled as far as they could, to another world entirely; beyond the space and time we know. The science was newly developed, and primitive. The others came after us. Or so my grandfather told me. This was nearly four hundred years ago. We were bred to be a warrior caste, soldiers and protectors of the nobles. It has been twenty generations for us here. We placed ourselves among monks and mystics, warriors and scholars, as we guarded your ancestors. There were others, other survivors, but they fell. Some, I know now, were slain by the Russian woman. Her family were among those hunting us.

William: So … she isn't just an ordinary woman. I knew it, by God!

Saka: Her family - their name translates, as best as I can render it, as 'The Renders' - have always been cruel and vicious. It does not surprise me that they found positions of power here as well. We thought them dead for years, and concentrated on finding the technology to return ourselves. But then they found us, fifty years ago! It was my grandfather's time - that was when we were scattered from our charges. We have been seeking them for years. My father died in this quest, drowned by a mob in the Mumbai riots, and I thought I would die never having seen the face of the man I was charged to protect.

Sanjay: How did you find me? In the tsunami …

Saka: For years we had not been able to locate our prince. The growing use of telecommunications by people on this earth meant that so many other signals were interfering with ours. Finally I caught your distress call on the amulet by luck, as I was nearby. I received the message that Sanjay was in danger. Yet, when I arrived, it was too late for his father …

Adrian: But what about his father? How could he perish like that? You seem to be almost invulnerable.

Saka: Water is our weakness. In it we lose our strength, our invulnerability. It was with human force only that I could save Sanjay.

Candy: What about these meteorites?

Saka: I have no idea. Perhaps more interference from our world? My grandfather theorized that after we left, the time delay effect of dimensional travel might have thrown the worlds out of joint. It may be only a few days later there, but hundreds of years here. It would explain why no other travellers have come.

Candy: What do we do now?

Saka: When our warships rode the slipstream, one of them crashed in India. The other - in the Amazon.A third - in Russia. But the Indian and Russian ones have been destroyed. This is why the others are seeking it now - whoever gets it would have a tremendous weapon. And perhaps a way back to our home planet.

Xiaoqiang: That must have been what my uncle uncovered - or something like it!

Saka: I'm not certain how you fit into this. There are webs and patterns beyond me, a simple soldier. But I know this - if you care about Sanjay, if you care to stop the Russian, if you care about the future of this world or another - we must find that warship before they do!

Candy: Then I guess … we're going to have to find a way to the Amazon.

William: I got another message from the Hills. They said they've found a small ship willing to risk it and take us.

Candy: Then we have to go - even if it's a trap. We need to find out more!

Sanjay: This is my fight. You must not risk yourselves.

Adrien: Fascinating! A man could make a career in this - a Nobel, even. It could change everything we know about the world - physics, biology, everything!

William: Don't be absurd, lad. We're all in it, now. I'm not certain I believe all this - but - we have to go. To the Amazon!

情景1：小強(qiáng)一行人來(lái)到艾德里安的家中。陌生人依舊昏迷不醒。

艾德里安：很奇怪。我仔細(xì)檢查了他的傷口，它們愈合地出奇得快。還有他的骨骼，看起來(lái)不正常。我不想說(shuō)——但它不像是人類。

蜜兒：你什么意思？

艾德里安：他可能是某種突變體，我猜的?；蛘哂形也恢赖南忍旎巍?/p>

蜜兒：愈合很快的地方么？這似乎很奇怪。但我曾聽(tīng)說(shuō)僧人會(huì)那樣——你知道，某種氣的力量。

艾德里安：不管它是什么，我覺(jué)得他一會(huì)兒就會(huì)蘇醒。

蜜兒：他脖子上掛的是什么東西？

艾德里安：是一種護(hù)身符！

蜜兒：它很像……像桑杰的護(hù)身符。讓我——

（她伸手去拿護(hù)身符，注意到它熠熠生輝。）

蜜兒：也許我不應(yīng)該將它從他身上拿下來(lái)。但我要過(guò)去跟桑杰說(shuō)句話。

（她走進(jìn)另外一間房，里面的人在看電視。）

小強(qiáng)：看，隕石仍在襲擊整個(gè)海面。據(jù)說(shuō)如果不很快停止，食物將短缺，醫(yī)院將關(guān)門，會(huì)出現(xiàn)很多可怕的事。我剛跟我爸通了電話，他讓我先呆在澳大利亞。他很擔(dān)心旅程中的危險(xiǎn)——甚至不要讓我回去幫忙打理生意。不管怎樣，至少他不再拿那事煩我了。

威廉：可能它是個(gè)征兆?；蛟S我們根本不應(yīng)該進(jìn)行這次探險(xiǎn)。

蜜兒：威廉，你在這事兒上總是變來(lái)變?nèi)?。我們必須?jiān)持下去。我確信，不管怎樣，都會(huì)很快結(jié)束的。

威廉：我只能希望你是對(duì)的。

蜜兒：先不說(shuō)這些，我有一些關(guān)于這個(gè)神秘陌生人的消息。

小強(qiáng)：我希望他安然無(wú)恙。我覺(jué)得他在車禍中真的救了我們。我記得最后一次見(jiàn)到他時(shí)，他處于我們和撞我們的那輛車之間。

蜜兒：艾德里安說(shuō)他愈合的非?？?。但——我的消息。

小強(qiáng)：什么？

蜜兒：他戴著一個(gè)護(hù)身符。一個(gè)蛇形護(hù)身符——就像桑杰的那個(gè)。

小強(qiáng)：桑杰？關(guān)于這個(gè)東西你知道什么嗎？

蜜兒：這件事越來(lái)越詭異。

艾德里安：（從另外一個(gè)房間）大家過(guò)來(lái)——他醒了！

情景2：真相大白

（大家都圍在床邊，神秘人在床上慢慢坐起來(lái)。）

蜜兒：你還好么？你叫什么？

薩卡：叫我昂格拉克薩卡?；蛘咚_卡。

桑杰：這是北印度語(yǔ)中保鏢的意思！

薩卡：我的家人通常把職責(zé)名稱作為自己的名字。

蜜兒：什么意思，你的職責(zé)？

薩卡：或許我不應(yīng)該說(shuō)。

小強(qiáng)：我覺(jué)得現(xiàn)在你該開(kāi)口了！我們?nèi)钥梢詧?bào)警，你知道！肯定有很多人對(duì)這些感興趣。

桑杰：我必須承認(rèn)。我想，我想我以前見(jiàn)過(guò)這個(gè)人。

小強(qiáng)：你見(jiàn)過(guò)？你以前怎么不說(shuō)？

桑杰：我當(dāng)時(shí)不確定。很混亂，我也不大清醒。在海嘯中……他救了我。他把我從海浪中拉了上來(lái)。我當(dāng)時(shí)以為他只是個(gè)錫克人，可能是一名士兵。但當(dāng)時(shí)我的護(hù)身符——在發(fā)亮。當(dāng)我遇到危險(xiǎn)，聽(tīng)到海浪襲來(lái)時(shí)，我就按下護(hù)身符上的按鈕，這是我父親教我的。

薩卡：我是個(gè)保鏢。我受命保護(hù)這個(gè)小家伙，也受命保護(hù)他父親。我失職了。今后絕不會(huì)再失職。

小強(qiáng)：你為誰(shuí)效力？你是希爾夫婦的幫兇么？他們對(duì)桑杰很感興趣。

薩卡：我只為王子效力。

蜜兒：王子？

薩卡：王子！（他向桑杰致敬。）

桑杰：你什么意思？我不是王子！我只是一個(gè)普通的男孩。

薩卡：王子殿下，你知道你有與眾不同的地方。一直都有。

蜜兒：你一直能跟白雪對(duì)話——就好像你聽(tīng)得懂他說(shuō)話。

薩卡：手給我。（他拔出一把小刀，在桑杰手上迅速劃過(guò)。）

桑杰：嗷！

蜜兒：你干嘛呢！

薩卡：看。

艾德里安：我的天，在愈合——真神奇。

桑杰：他是對(duì)的……一直都這樣。我小時(shí)候傷到自己時(shí)，傷口或傷痕就會(huì)消失。即使是海嘯之后，我醒來(lái)時(shí)身上也沒(méi)有一處傷痕。

薩卡：這是我們這種人的力量。

蜜兒：那你是在說(shuō)你和桑杰——你們是某種超人么？

薩卡：我來(lái)自另外一個(gè)行星?；蛘哒f(shuō)，我的祖先是。我在地球出生。

蜜兒：你到底在說(shuō)什么？你的意思是說(shuō)你是外星人？

薩卡：其中一種。更深?yuàn)W的我不懂，更別說(shuō)解釋了。不是你們想象的另外一個(gè)行星，它其實(shí)在宇宙中同地球處于平行的位置。

蜜兒：嗯？

薩卡：試想另外一個(gè)維度，另外一個(gè)地球，那里的人類不一樣。

蜜兒：但如果你還是人類，為什么這么強(qiáng)壯？

薩卡：維度間的穿梭影響了我們祖先的身體。我們的新陳代謝，我們的本質(zhì)，與眾不同。在我們家鄉(xiāng)，我們這種人天生強(qiáng)壯。

艾德里安：你們把你們的星球叫什么？

薩卡：我們當(dāng)然稱之為“地球”。在我們的科學(xué)里，你們的地球是“地球二號(hào)?！钡赡茉谶@里，我的地球是第二個(gè)地球。

薩卡：求求你們！不要把我們的情況透露出去。那樣我們的處境會(huì)非常危險(xiǎn)。

威廉：那個(gè)女人——她跟你們是一類的，是么？

薩卡：來(lái)自俄國(guó)。是的。這里，還有許多。我們的敵人。

蜜兒：你們的敵人？

薩卡：我們來(lái)這里時(shí)，我們星球上正發(fā)生內(nèi)戰(zhàn)，人們紛紛逃離。王子的家族是失敗方。他們能逃多遠(yuǎn)就逃多遠(yuǎn)，逃到另外一個(gè)世界，穿越了我們所知的時(shí)空。這門科學(xué)剛興起，還處在原始階段。其他人來(lái)追捕我們。這是我祖父告訴我的。這大約是400年前的事了。我們一出生就是武士、士兵和貴族的保鏢。我們?cè)谶@里已經(jīng)是第20代人了。我們化裝成僧人、秘法師、武士和學(xué)者等，保護(hù)你的父親。有其他幸存者，但已經(jīng)去世。我現(xiàn)在知道了，有一些人是被那個(gè)俄國(guó)女人殺死的。她的家人當(dāng)時(shí)也在追殺我們。

威廉：所以……她不是一個(gè)普通女人。我對(duì)天發(fā)誓，我早就知道。

薩卡：她的家人——將他們的名字翻譯過(guò)來(lái)，最好聽(tīng)的也是“破壞者”—— 既殘忍又惡毒。毫不奇怪，他們?cè)谶@里也變得強(qiáng)大起來(lái)。我們?cè)詾樗麄兌妓懒撕枚嗄炅?，就專心去找讓我們回去的技術(shù)。但五十年前，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)了我們！那是我祖父的年代，我們也是那個(gè)時(shí)候被派到各地執(zhí)行任務(wù)的。我們找桑杰父子找了很多年。尋找期間我的父親遇害，是在孟買騷亂中被一群暴徒淹死的，我曾想如果我死了，就永遠(yuǎn)見(jiàn)不到我奉命保護(hù)的人了。

桑杰：你是如何找到我的？在海嘯時(shí)……

薩卡：我們找了很多年都沒(méi)能找到王子。這個(gè)地球上的人們使用無(wú)線電越來(lái)越頻繁，干擾了我們自己的信號(hào)。最后我很幸運(yùn)收到了你的護(hù)身符發(fā)出的求救信號(hào)，因?yàn)楫?dāng)時(shí)我就在不遠(yuǎn)處。我收到消息，知道桑杰有危險(xiǎn)。但當(dāng)我到時(shí)已經(jīng)太晚，來(lái)不及救他父親了……

艾德里安：但他父親呢？他怎么會(huì)那樣去世？你們似乎是刀槍不入。

薩卡：水是我們的克星。在水里我們就會(huì)渾身無(wú)力，不再是刀槍不入。我救桑杰只是憑借普通人的力量。

蜜兒：隕石是怎么回事？

薩卡：我不知道。可能是來(lái)自我們世界的更多的阻礙？據(jù)我祖父推論，我們離開(kāi)之后，維度穿梭引起的時(shí)間延遲效應(yīng)可能會(huì)把世界弄得一團(tuán)糟。這在那里可能只是幾天之后的事，但在這里就是幾百年后的事。這也是為什么其他人還沒(méi)來(lái)。

蜜兒：我們現(xiàn)在該怎么辦？

薩卡：我們的戰(zhàn)艦在穿越?jīng)_流時(shí)，一個(gè)在印度墜落。另一個(gè)落在亞馬遜。第三個(gè)落在俄國(guó)。但落在印度和俄國(guó)的都已經(jīng)墜毀。因此他們?cè)谡宜獰o(wú)論是誰(shuí)找到它都會(huì)得到一個(gè)強(qiáng)大的武器?；蛟S還能找到回我們自己星球的路。

小強(qiáng)：我叔叔肯定發(fā)現(xiàn)了這些，或者類似的事。

薩卡：我不確信你是不是說(shuō)的同一件事。有很多事我不明白，我只是一名普通的士兵。但我知道——如果你關(guān)心桑杰，如果你想制止那個(gè)俄國(guó)女人，如果你關(guān)心這個(gè)世界或其他世界的未來(lái)，我們就必須在他們之前找到戰(zhàn)艦！

蜜兒：那我認(rèn)為……我們得想辦法去亞馬遜。

威廉：我又收到了希爾夫婦的信息。他們說(shuō)他們找到了一艘小船，想冒冒險(xiǎn)，也愿意帶上我們。

蜜兒：我們必須走——即使它是一個(gè)圈套。我們必須找出更多！

桑杰：這是我的斗爭(zhēng)。你們不要冒險(xiǎn)。

艾德里安：太棒了！這可以成就一番事業(yè)——甚至獲得諾貝爾獎(jiǎng)。這會(huì)改變我們所了解的世界上的任何事情——物理學(xué)、生物學(xué)，一切！

威廉：小鬼，別犯傻了。我們現(xiàn)在是同一根繩上的螞蚱。我不確信我們是否要相信這些，但我們必須要走。去亞馬遜！

To be Continued…

下集預(yù)告

小強(qiáng)一行人帶著巨大的疑慮登上了希爾夫婦的船，由于隕石降落，他們將原計(jì)劃取道夏威夷改成去復(fù)活島，亞馬遜之旅由此開(kāi)始。在船上，威廉開(kāi)始回憶自己以前的美好時(shí)光，大家都興高采烈地談?wù)撈鹱约鹤铋_(kāi)心的事。但在船靠近復(fù)活島時(shí)卻出現(xiàn)了一群全副武裝的人將他們抓起來(lái)，而威廉居然也是他們中的一員……

Notes

1. off one's back

意為“煩某人、跟某人啰嗦”。

例句：You wanna get off my back?

你別煩我，好不好？

2. press on

意為“加緊、勇往直前”。

例句：You should press on with your work.

你應(yīng)該加緊做自己的工作。

Steadfast in our purpose, we now press on.

遵循著我們的目標(biāo)，我們?cè)谟峦鼻啊?/p>

3. save one's bacon

意為“使某人保住性命、生計(jì)、名譽(yù)等, 使某人免于死亡、損害”。

例句：I am nearly bankrupt, but your loan saved my bacon.

我已瀕於破產(chǎn)，是你借給我的錢使我幸免於難。

4. charge with

意為“承擔(dān)、擔(dān)負(fù)”。

例句：I'm charging you with cleaning the room before you go.

我要你負(fù)責(zé)把房間打掃干凈再走。

5. by God

意為“老天作證”。

例句：By God he's done it!

老天作證，他做過(guò)那件事！

6. out of joint

意為：“混亂、紊亂”。

例句：The delays put the whole schedule out of joint.

一再的拖延打亂了全部安排。