txtx2 翻译的，只是他最近很少上来，所以代为贴一下
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32. Babycakes 婴儿蛋糕
A few years back all the animals went away. We woke up one morning, and they just weren't there anymore. They didn't even leave us a note, or say good-bye. We never figured out quite where they'd gone.
We missed them.
Some of us thought that the world had ended, but it hadn't. There just weren't any more animals. No cats or rabbits, no dogs or whales, no fish in the seas, no birds in the skies.
We were all alone.
We didn't know what to do.
We wandered around lost, for a time, and then someone pointed out that just because we didn't have animals anymore, that was no reason to change our lives. No reason to change our diets or to cease testing products that might cause us harm.
After all, there were still babies.
Babies can't talk. They can hardly move. A baby is not a rational, thinking creature.
We made babies.
And we used them.
Some of them we ate. Baby flesh is tender and succulent.
We flayed their skin and decorated ourselves in it. Baby leather is soft and comfortable.
Some of them we tested.
We taped open their eyes, dripped detergents and shampoos in, a drop at a time.
We scarred them and scalded them. We burnt them. We clamped them and planted electrodes into their brains. We grafted, and we froze, and we irradiated.
The babies breathed our smoke, and the babies' veins flowed with our medicines and drugs, until they stopped breathing or until their blood ceased to flow.
It was hard, of course, but it was necessary.
No one could deny that.
With the animals gone, what else could we do?
Some people complained, of course. But then, they always do.
And everything went back to normal.
Only…
Yesterday, all the babies were gone.
We don't know where they went. We didn't even see them go.
We don't know what we're going to do without them.
But we'll think of something. Humans are smart. It's what makes us superior to the animals and the babies.
We'll figure something out.
几年前所有的动物都消失了。一天早上我们醒来，它们就那么不见了。它们也没留个条子，或是说声再见。我们一直没弄明白它们跑哪儿去了。
我们想念它们。
我们中的一些人认为，这就是世界末日了。但实际上并非如此。只不过是没有动物了而已。没有了猫或是兔子，也没有了狗或是巨鲸，海里没有了鱼，空中也没有了鸟儿。
只剩下我们。
我们不知道该怎么办。
在一段时间里，我们不知所措。之后有人指出，仅仅是动物不见了，我们没有理由要改变自己的生活——没有理由改变我们的饮食习惯，也没有理由停止产品危害测试。
毕竟，还有婴儿呢。
婴儿不会说话。它们几乎不能动弹。婴儿算不上是理性的、有思想的生物。
我们能生孩子。
然后我们可以使用它们。
它们中的一些可作食用。婴儿肉鲜嫩多汁。
我们剥了它们的皮，用来作服装饰物。婴儿皮柔软舒适。
它们中的一些用来做实验。
我们撑开它们的眼睛，把清涤剂或是洗发水滴进去，一次一滴。
我们割伤它们，烫伤它们。我们烧。我们夹住它们，把电极插进它们的大脑。我们做活体移植，冷冻实验，辐射测试。
婴儿们吸进化学烟雾，它们的血管里流淌着各种药剂，直到它们停止呼吸，或是血液停止流动为止。
这很困难，当然。但这是必须的。
没人能否认这一点。
但没有了动物，我们还能怎么办？
当然有些人抱怨。不过不管怎么样，他们总是会抱怨的。
一切都回归了正常。
只是……
昨天，所有的婴儿都消失了。
我们不知道它们到哪儿去了。我们甚至没看见它们的消失。
我们不知道，没有了婴儿我们该怎么办。
但是我们会想出些主意的。人类是聪明的。这正是我们能够凌驾于动物和婴儿的原因。
我们会想出些主意的。
当然有些人抱怨。不过不管怎么样，他们总是会抱怨的。 |
发表于 2007-2-22 00:38:09