《耶利歌》扭曲灵魂！

II

在迪曼德大街的一间房子里，曾一度属于被谋杀的参议员，后来自己也获得了相当的名声的房子。传言那里有

一对爱人；或者是很多。白天或黑夜，路过者听到交欢的声音：喘息，呜咽，不可抵制的呻吟。
The house on Diamanda Street，which once belonged to the murdered Senator，had gathered itself

quite a reputation of late．
There were lovers there，it was rumoured; several of them．Night and day，passers by heard the

sound of lovemaking: the sighs，the sobs，the
irresistible demands．

那里的房子几乎都已经被毁坏了，他们的拥有者早已跑到了安全的城市；或是更安宁的国家。做一个农夫度过

平凡但却安稳漫长的一生。不过人们依然会回到迪曼德大街，只是为了探听一下那唯一一所灯火依旧的房子所

散发出的声音。不，不只是听。在那个地方有一种感觉，在人们的皮肤之下。能量从打开的窗户里渗透出来，

让萤火虫不可抗拒，随之飞舞争斗，最后精疲力竭，昆虫的尸体布满草丛。
The houses nearby were all virtually deserted，their owners having fled Primordium for safer

cities; or better still，for the country．Life on a pigfarm might be boring，but at least it had

a chance of being long．Nevertheless people came to Diamanda Street of late，simply to hear the

noise of pleasure out of the lamp-lit home．No，not just to hear．There was a feeling about the

place，which got under people's skin．The energy seeping out from open windows，was enough to

make the fireflies assemble in their many tens of thousands each dusk and describe elaborate

arabesques in their pursuit of one another，the air so thick with their passion，and their light

so insistent，that the house was festooned with their flight paths，which lingered long after

the deed was done and the insects lay exhausted and extinguished in the long grass．

有时候，猥琐的人类来到房子附近的阴影中，企盼能偷窥到那对爱侣，并看到了他们希望他看到的东西。正如

这强大力量所显示的，他们不是自然的生物，毫无疑问。
Sometimes the human voyeurs，who lingered in the shadows of the nearby houses，hoping to catch a

glimpse of the lovers，were granted what
they were here to see．As the strange force of the lover's din suggested，they were not natural

creatures，not by any means．

他们看上去就像某种混合体；三分之一的人类，三分之一的金属，另外三分之一介于血肉与金属之间，好像被

剥开刮碎然后又打磨光滑。
They seemed to be hybrids; one third human，one third metallic，one third the no man's land

between flesh and devices made to strip it and slash it and scour it．

当他们起身他们在流血；但却微笑着，亲吻着对方的伤口，好像那些可怕的痛苦创伤都是热恋的证明。
They bled as they rose from their nuptial sheets; but smiled，kissing one another's wounds as

though they were inconsequential，as though
these flaps and sores and gougings were proof of devotion．

世界依然在继续。蒙特法罗将军很快听说了迪曼德大街的房子和它的名声。他去了那里，在一天晚上。一切似

乎都缥缈不定：空气充满了波动的光亮，房子在呻吟颤抖。然后欢愉而恐怖的叫声从令人致盲的火光与黑影中

传出，从一个房间到另一个房间，环绕传遍每间房。
Word got round，quickly enough．It didn't take long for the General Montefalco to hear about the

house on Diamanda Street，and the reputation it had got for itself．He went to the location，

late one night．Things were in full swing: the air filled with weaving lights，the houses

moaning and shaking．Then shrieks of terrible joy out of the fire-lit interior and shadows on

the blinds，moving from room to room as the momentum of the lovers' passion carried them around

the house．

蒙特法罗从未曾见过，听过或是感受过这样的事情。迷信的东西席卷他的全身，翻搅他的肠胃竖起他的毛发，

他躲藏在窗口下，最终站了起来，逃离了那房子，手掌被汗水湿透。他听到身后传来的声音，他转过身。那是

乌班诺。他看起来就像是一个刚刚看到自己最恐怖的事实，或是上帝，或者两者皆是的人。“我们要除掉这些

。”蒙特法罗说道，非常平静。
Montefalco had never seen，heard or felt anything like it before．A wave of something like

superstition passed through his body，weakening his bowels and making his hair，which was a

quarter inch from widow's peak to nape，stand on end．He started to retreat from the house，

clammy-palmed．As he did so he heard a voice behind him．He turned．It was Urbano．He looked

like a man who had just discovered some truly terrible thing about himself，or God，or

both．"These we kill，" Montefalco said，very calmly．

乌班诺将军开始点头，但是他太恐惧了，他小便吓尿尿水流在他擦得黑亮的鞋子上。他掏出手帕擦了擦他的嘴

唇；然后说：“是的。”
General Urbano began to nod，but the motion was too much for his sickened system．He puked a

yellowish puke，which spattered his immaculately polished boots．He took out a handkerchief and

wiped his mouth; then he said: "Yes."

“是？”
"Yes？"

“是。我们要除掉。”
"Yes．These we kill."

那晚晚些时候，蒙特法罗去见塔利萨克。他很明智的独自一人去。没有乌班诺或是博哥特愿意跟他去。
Later that night，Montefalco went back to see Talisac．He went alone，which turned out to be a

wise move．Neither Urbano nor Bogoto had the
guts for what awaited him there．

这个地方比他四十八小时前来的时候还要糟了；尸体依然到处都是，但是都有了新的形态。看上去到处都是雾

气，还有能量，都在从它们身上被吸出来，让它们枯萎。眼睛的地方塌陷只剩下一个黑洞，嘴唇干瘪后退露出

牙齿，让它们看上去就像是瞎眼的咧嘴尖叫的猴子。它们的血肉枯萎紧缚住骨骼；皮肤就像是薄薄的干枯纱布

，包裹着骨骼。侏儒卡米尔走了出来向蒙特法罗将军致意，并踢了踢堆在一旁的尸体，它们翻滚着倒塌下来。
The place had deteriorated considerably in the forty-eight hours since he'd last stepped over

the threshold; the bodies were still everywhere，but they were in a new condition．It looked as

though all the moisture，all the energy，had been [****]ed out of them，leaving them withered．The

eyes had gone from the sockets and the lips had been drawn back from the teeth，giving them all

the look of blind，squealing monkeys．The flesh on their torsos had withered to bones; as had

the meat on their arms and legs．The skin itself was now like a thin layer of dried tissue，

covering the structure of the bone．When the dwarf Camille appeared to greet Montefalco，and

kicked a couple of the corpses aside，they rolled away from her kick like so many paper

mannequins．

“它完成了？”蒙特法罗问她。
"Is it done？" Montefalco asked her．

“是的，完成了，”卡米尔笑着说，“我想你会满意的。”
"Oh yes，it's done，" Camille said with a twinkling smile，"and I think you're going to be very

pleased."

一个声音从阴影中显现，说着蒙特法罗无法领会的言语。
A voice emerged from the shadows，speaking words Montefalco could not comprehend．

“他要我展示它，”卡米尔说。
"He's asking me to unveil it，" Camille said．

将军搜索着肮脏的房间，找到了那个所谓的“他”；在房间的尽头他看到一个形体，被明显是从地板上掀起的

毯子所包裹。
The General scanned the dirt-walled room，looking for what 'it' might be; and there at the end

of the chamber he saw a monumental form，covered with a threadbare tapestry obviously brought

down from the floor above．

“那个？”他说，不等任何回答就开始走向它。他踩过横七竖八的尸体，它们在他脚下碎裂，化作尘土与碎块

。很快房间里充满了尸体的粉尘。
"That？" he said，not waiting for confirmation before approaching it．As he strode through the

bodies，they cracked beneath his heels，erupting into dust and fragments．Soon the room was

filled with spiraling bits of pale human stuff．

蒙特法罗抓起毯子。当他这样做的同时，卡米尔叫出了那东西的名字-“卫奈尔·阿纳托米卡。”
Montefalco grabbed hold of the tapestry．As he did so，Camille named the thing - "VENAL

ANATOMICA."

将军一把掀开摊子将它展示出来。
The General pulled the tapestry off and revealed it．

从它在毯子下的体形就可以猜到，它有着巨大的形体，九英尺甚至更高一些。它有一张死人的脸，并装备满各

种古老的谋杀武器。长钉钉在它的肩膀和腿上。凝结的血液包裹着钢钉，但当它移动时，血沫从它的身体里从

伤口中涌出。
As might have been guessed from its scale beneath the carpet，it was of heroic size，nine feet

or more．It had death's face，and was equipped
with a variety of medieval murder weapons．There were nails crudely hammered into its shoulder

and leg．Blood had coagulated around the
nails，but when Anatomica began to move （as now it did） fresh blood bubbled up from the wounds

and ran down its body．

“它认识我？”将军问。
"Does it know me？" the General asked．

“是的，”卡米尔说，“它已经准备好执行您的命令了。”塔利萨克说，而卡米尔翻译。“他说他没有对它的