Welcome Home宾至如归

文/贝丝·凯托 译/吴晓雷

By Beth Cato1

The sentient construct of the late Tunde Lankham had lingered in sleep mode for months, all too aware of the steady decline in the battery life of the base that housed her consciousness.She fully roused in an instant at the tone indicating a presence at the restaurant’s front door.

2 For an instant, she thought of employees arriving for the day, of how she’d greet every guest with a smile, as she had when she was alive. The cameras networked throughout Welcome Home Restaurant #1 quickly reminded her of reality: darkened booths, gaping holes in the roof, water-damaged floors.

3 Her battery life had dropped to a precipitous low, but even so, she initiated her hologram projector in the foyer.

通德·兰克汉姆过世之后，她的意识被存进了一台主机，她很清楚，自己的电池电量一直在下降，所以几个月以来，她让自己的感知系统处于休眼状态。餐厅门口的光线暗了下来，一定是有人来了，通德·兰克汉姆立刻从休眠中醒了过来。

2 一时间，她以为是员工来上班了，也准备好要对每位顾客笑脸相迎，她活着的时候，向来如此。然而，透过遍布在“宾至如归”一号店里的摄像头，她很快认清了现实：雅座一片黑暗，屋顶漏着大洞，地板也被水泡坏了。

3 电池的电量直线下降，已经所剩无几了。不过，即便如此，她还是启动了门厅里的全

A woman, hunkered near the floor,screamed at the sight of Tunde, who promptly said, “I’m a holographic memory construct. I mean you no harm.”

4 The woman brandished a knife as she hovered protectively over a cloth bundle. “You machines can lie.”

“I always had that capability. I’m a memory capture of Chef Tunde Lankham. Owner of three acclaimed restaurants, author of five cookbooks,judge and competitor on several television—”

5 Comprehension dawned on the woman’s brown, haggard face. “I remember you—her—on TV. She died young.”

“Yes, struck by a car, but she lived long enough to be preserved.” Tunde understood the differences in her living human self and the consciousness she had become.

6 “You can tell other machines we’re here.”

“No, I’ve been detached from broader networks since soon after the Rising.Is that a child?” She squatted before the rumpled bundle on the floor. She didn’t see through the eyes of her hologram,but she was comforted by watching herself go through human motions.息投影仪。

一看到她，蹲在地上的一个女人尖叫了起来，通德·兰克汉姆连忙解释：“我只是全息记忆影像，不会伤害你的。”

4 女人一边挥舞着一把刀子，一边俯身护着地上的一个包袱：“你们这些机器也会说谎。”

“我以前倒是一直都有这个本事。我是厨师通德·兰克汉姆的记忆保存。开了三家餐厅，口碑都很好，写过五本烹饪书，担任过评委，还参加过几次电视比赛……”

5 女人黝黑而憔悴的脸上露出了若有所悟的表情：“我记得在电视上看到过你——看到过她，她年纪轻轻就死了。”

“是的，出了车祸，不过，她坚持到了一切都被保存下来。”活着的自己和自己所存储的意识终究有所不同，这其中的差别，通德也知道。

6 “你可以告诉其他机器，我们在这儿。”

“不行，‘大叛乱’之后不久我就连不上外网了。那是个孩子吗？”她在地上那个皱巴巴的包袱旁蹲下身子。她没有办法透过全息影像的眼睛去看，但她看到自己还能像人一样行动，心里也感到宽慰。

7 “There were drones. We ran a long way before we found the stairs here.”She stroked the child’s grimy cheek.Theireyes fluttered open. “I only found them an hour ago, all alone. They haven’t spoken. I don’t even know their gender.”

8 “Hello,” Tunde said softly. The child, who had to be somewhere around seven, stared blankly. “Poor child.”

“How dare you pretend to sympathize!” the woman snarled. “You machines rose up to take out your human‘masters’, and you act like —”

“I’m not a machine.” Tunde wondered how many more times she’d need to repeat herself. “I remember everything from when I was alive. This was my first restaurant. I was based here to welcome guests and take care of them,just as I did before.”

9 “You’re like a ghost!” she said,aghast.

Tunde laughed rather than take offence. “That was a joke all through the sign-up process for Projected Preservation. Of course, the expectation was that the transfer wouldn’t happen for decades, not that it would come within months.”

7 “到处都是无人机。我们跑了很久，才发现这儿有楼梯。”女人轻轻摸了摸孩子脏兮兮的脸，孩子睁开了眼。“我也是一个小时前才发现这个孩子的，就他自己，也不说话，我都不知道是男是女。”

8 “你好啊。”通德温柔地打了声招呼。孩子看上去七岁左右，眼中一片茫然。“可怜的孩子。”

“别装出一副同情我们的样子！”女人冲她吼了起来。“就是你们这些机器造了反，要把你们的人类‘主子’赶尽杀绝，你还在这里装什么……”

“我不是机器。”通德不知道自己还要这样一遍一遍重复多少次。“我记得自己生前的一切。这里是我开的第一家餐厅。我把主机放在这儿，就是为了欢迎顾客，好好招待他们，就像从前那样。”

9 “你就像个鬼！”女人吓坏了。

通德并没有生气，反而笑了：“注册这个投射系统的过程中大家一直这么开玩笑。只不过，当时还以为要再过个几十年才用得上，没想到只隔了几个月。”

The woman slowly nodded. “You’re her, but also a machine.”

“I’m preserved by a machine, but I am not one.”

10 That machine was draining quickly now that it was fully activated. If she maintained this mode, her base would be depleted in an hour.

She would be truly dead.

She felt a flutter of panic. She remembered dying before. This time, it wouldn’t involve pain, but it was still an end to her existence.

11 The child sat up, their gaze shifting from blankness to curiosity. Tunde couldn’t vanish and unsettle them again.“My name is Tunde. What’s yours?”The child tilted their head. “I hate to think of what they’ve seen,” Tunde murmured.

12 The woman was silent for a moment. “I remember a children’s cookbook by Tunde Lankham. Her kids did the recipes with her.”

“Yes.” A simple, hoarse word. She wondered if the woman would pry further, but she instead grew quiet again.

13 Tunde detected a soft flicker to her hologram. Every second she lingered depleted her more. If she retreated to sleep mode, she could linger for a few more weeks. Maybe, just maybe, the world would change in that time.

女人缓缓点了点头。“你是她不假，但也是台机器。”

“我是被保存在了一台机器里头，可我并不是机器。”

10 因为机器全力运转的缘故，电量飞速流逝。要还是继续这种工作模式，一小时之后，她的主机电量就会耗尽。

她就会真正死去。

一阵恐慌涌上心头，她记得之前濒死的经历。这一回，不会再疼了，但她也将不复存在。

11 孩子坐了起来，眼中的迷茫变成了好奇。通德不能就这样关闭全息影像，突然消失只会再次让他不安。“我叫通德。你叫什么？”孩子歪了歪脑袋。“真不想知道他都经历了什么。”通德自言自语道。

12 女人沉默了一会儿之后，对她说：“我记得通德·兰克汉姆写过一本给孩子看的烹饪书。那些食谱是她和自己的孩子们一起准备的。”

“对。”回应就一个词，简单而刺耳。她不知道这个女人还会不会继续问下去，不过，女人又陷入了沉默。

13 通德发觉自己的全息影像轻微闪了一下。多维持一秒钟的影像，都只会多消耗一些她所剩不多的电量。如果现在就进入休眠模式，她还可以多坚持几个星期。也许，只是也许，等到那时，世界就会大不一样。

14 She almost laughed bitterly aloud.Tunde had always been an optimist,but she was also pragmatic. The power grid wasn’t coming back any time soon,no matter who ‘won’ this conflict after nearly a year. This building couldn’t withstand much more damage, either—it might not take another major storm.

But for now, Welcome Home remained standing. Right now, there were two guests in need of sanctuary. Tunde could still do what she loved best in all the world.

15 “Come on in and make yourselves at home,” she said, standing as she beckoned them inside. “Most of our stock is spoiled, of course, but there are bins of rice and folur that should be fine.The entry code for the room is 055678.”The stockroom lock had more battery life than Tunde did. A shame that they weren’t compatible. “There are clothes,rain jackets. The kitchen has all varieties of tools you can take.”

14 她差点儿没苦笑出声来。通德一向乐观，但也很实际。这场战争打了快一年了，不管最后谁会获得“胜利”，恢复电力恐怕都还遥遥无期。而这家餐厅，恐怕也经不起更多的破坏了，再来一场大暴雨，也许就会轰然坍塌。

但至少现在，“宾至如归”还屹立不倒。这会儿，有两位客人光临，寻求庇护。在这世界上，通德最爱做的事情，她还做得到。

15 “快进来吧，别客气。”她说，她站在那里，边说边招手让两位客人进来，“虽然储藏的食物坏了一大半，不过，米面都还有几箱，应该还能吃。仓库的密码是055678。”仓库密码锁的电量比通德的电量还多。可惜电池并不兼容。“店里还有衣服、雨披。厨房里什么工具都有，你们随便拿。”

16 然而，女人有些迟疑，她担心地看着通德，像是见了鬼，且不管这鬼其实是高科技的产物。

“我要是真给机器通过风报过信，这会儿它们早就到了。”通德对女人说。

16 Still, the woman hesitated, her gaze on Tunde troubled—as if she saw a ghost, albeit one made by science.

“If I had reported you to the machines, they’d already be here,” Tunde told the woman.

17 “I know. It’s not that.” She sheathed her knife at last. “I was just thinking,I always wanted to eat at your restaurants, before, but I could never afford to.”

Her restaurants. Tunde still knew a sense of pride in that. “Well, now you can. Consider this all on the house,” she quipped. As her hologram moved past the entrance lectern, the woman and the child followed.

18 Tunde flickered again, her eminent battery failure like a slowing pulse, but she felt alive. She might not be able to oversee a full home-cooked meal for her guests, but she’d take care of them.Together, they’d all feel at home. ■

17 “我知道。我担心的不是这个。”她终于收起了刀。“我就是在想，我其实之前一直都想来你的餐厅吃饭，只不过，我一直都吃不起。”

她的餐厅。听到这个，通德还是能感到一丝熟悉的骄傲。“现在，你可以如愿以偿了。今天免费大酬宾。”她俏皮地说。她的全息影像离开迎宾台往里走，女人和孩子跟在她的身后。

18 通德的影像又闪了一下，电量衰退得更明显了，仿佛心跳正在缓缓停止，不过，她觉得自己充满了活力。她大概看不到自己的客人吃完这顿丰盛的家常饭了，但她会好好招待他们。他们全都会感觉像在家一样。 □