《耶利歌》扭曲灵魂！

II

首先，让我给你讲讲扎尔斯·克里奇的故事吧，他来自这个城市的最低层。童年时，他经常去罗马大竞技场通道里找东西吃，那里到处都是有钱人吃剩下的美味佳肴，因此吃饭对他来说完全不成问题。克里奇非常幸运地在如此恶劣的环境里存活了下来。根据某些自然观点，经历能使绝大多数人重塑自我，扎尔斯的经历就使他强壮起来。13岁时，他就已经比他所有的哥哥们都高大了。并且，在获得了体能上优势之后，他开始对自己所居住的这个堕落城市是如何运作的感到好奇。在尚未看清自己所处境地之前，他就认定自己是无法逃脱这个陷阱的。
First，let me tell you about Zarles Kreiger，who came from the loweststrata of the city．As a child，it was common for him to eat at theVomitorium，where – as in ancient Rome – the rich food disgorged by thewealthy and over – fed could be purchased for a small amount ofmoney，and consumed a second time．It was Kreiger’s good fortune thatsuch a life of poverty did not kill him．By some physicalparadox，experiences that would have reduced most men to shadows oftheir former selves，served to strengthen Zarles．By the time he wasthirteen he was already larger than all his older brothers．And alongwith his physical prowess came something else: a curiosity about howthe infinitely corrupt city in which he lived actually worked．Withoutunderstanding the trap in which he was caught，he reassured，he wouldnever be able to escape from it．

14岁那年，克里奇成了东方城邦中一名叫做杜拉夫·卡斯卡利安的黑帮头子的信使，并且很快在这个犯罪团伙里得到了提升，原因很简单：他愿意做吩咐他做的任何事情。作为回报，卡斯卡利安把他当成自己的儿子一样对待：为了不使他被捕，卡斯卡利安在克里奇每次杀人后都找人帮他清理后事。而克里奇则成了一个无恶不作的杀手，他不喜欢一刀命中要害，而喜欢用长镰刀先把被害者的内脏挖出来，然后再用他们自己的肠子将他们活活勒死。
As the age of fourteen he became a runner for a gangster in the EastCity called Duraf Cascarellian，and quickly elevated himself in thecriminal’s employ，simply because he was willing to do anythingrequested of him，In return，Cascarellian treated Keiger like a son;protecting him from capture by sending men out after Kreiger to cleanup after one of his murders．Kreiger was a messy killer．Not for him thesimple slit across the throat．He liked to use scythes，firstdisembowelling his victims then strangling them with their ownentrails．

即便是在普利摩顿这样一个堕落的城市里，克里奇的罪行还是没多久就败露了。尤其是当人们发现被害者大多是卡斯卡利安的政敌时，克里奇这个名字一下子便家喻户晓了。那些对皇帝不满的法官、议员、记者们常常成为克里奇的刀下鬼。对克里奇自己来说，他并不在乎自己杀的人是谁，血就是血，并不因身份不同而有所区别。无论是杀共和党人还是皇亲贵族，他都能从中获得同等的乐趣。
Now such behaviour does not go unnoticed for long，even in a city asfilled with excesses as Primordium．And Kreiger’s reputation wasincreased considerably by the fact that the hits Cascarellian washaving him make were often political．Judges，congressmen，journalists whowere critical of the Emperor: these were often Kreiger’s victims．Bloodwas blood as far as Kreiger was concerned，and he took the same pleasurein it whether it poured from the flesh of a Republican or a Royalist．

然后，他遇见了一个名叫露辛迪克的女子，一切都改变了……
The he met a woman called Lucidique，and all that changed．

III

露辛迪克是一位议员的女儿，她的父亲在最近的一次露天演讲中对城市日渐颓废堕落这一现实表示不满。他指出普菲多王朝把人民的税收用于满足自己的欲望，而这一切必须被制止。
Licidique was the daughter of a Senator who had been lately complainingin open forum about the fact that the city was running into a state ofdecadence．The Perfetto Dynasty was using the people’s taxes to fund itsown pleasures，the Senator argued: it had to stop．

国王立即亲自下了命令：替我把这个议员干掉。卡斯卡利安非但没有对此表示异意，还满心欢喜地建议国王派克里奇去杀掉这个惹麻烦的政客。
The order quickly came down from the Emperor: rid me of thisSenator．Cascarellian，not gibing a damn about the philosophicalissues，but happy to oblige his Emperor，sent Kreiger out to kill thepolitical troublemaker．

克里奇来到议员的住处，在种满玫瑰的花园里抓住了他的目标，轻而易举地挖出了他的肠子然后把他抬进屋子。正当他把议员的尸体安置在餐桌上时，露辛迪克走了进来。她正在沐浴，大概听见不寻常的动静，便拿着两把刀，浑身赤裸着跑来对付入侵者。
Kreiger went to the Senator’s estate，caught him in the garden amongsthis roses，gutted him and carried him inside.He was in the act ofarranging the Sanator’s body on the dinner table，when Lucidiqueentered．She was naked，having just came from bathing．But she was alsoprepared for the intruder．She carried two knives．

她绕着站在她父亲鲜血和内脏中间的克里奇走了一圈。
She circled Kreiger，as he stood amongst the blood and the innards of her father．

“你要是敢动一下的话，我就杀了你，”她说。
“If you move I’ll kill you，” she said．

“就用这两把餐刀？” 克里奇挥舞着他的镰刀问道。“回去洗澡，就当你什么都没看到。”
“With two table knives？” Kreiger said，slicing the air with his scythes．“Go back to your bath and forget I was here.”

“可是你刚杀了我的父亲！”
“This was my father you just murdered！”

“是的。你们长得很相象。”
“Yes．I see the resemblance.”

“我真想知道象你这样的人在杀我父亲之前有没有动过脑子想一想。他想推翻国王的统治为的正是让你和所有象你一样的人不再受到他们的剥削。”
“I would have thought a man like you would have thought twice abouttaking a knife to my father’s throat．He wanted to overthrow the Empireso that you and your like would not be exploited.”

“为我和象我一样的人？你对我几乎一无所知。”
“Me and my like？ You don’t know anything about me.”

“但我可以猜想，” 露辛迪克说，“你出生贫寒，长期生活在阴暗肮脏的角落以至于渐渐无法明辨是非。”
“I can guess，” Lucidique said．“You were born in filth，and you’ve livedin filth so long you don’t even see what’s going on right in front ofyou．”

克里奇的表情起了微妙的变化，“这么看你或许知道那么一点点，”他很不自然地说道。这个女子的自信让他感到很不自在。“我要走了，让你好好哀悼你的父亲，”他边说边从餐桌旁退开。
Kreiger’s expression changed．“So perhaps you do know a little，” he saidhis voice uneasy．The woman’s confidence unnerved him．“I will leave youto mourn your father，” he said，retreating from the table．

“等等！” 露辛迪克叫道，“别这么着急。”
“Wait！” the woman said．“Not so quickly.”

“‘等等’是什么意思？要知道我可以不费吹灰之力就杀掉你。”
“What do you mean: wait？ I could kill you in a heartbeat if I wanted to.”

“但你不会这么做，否则你早就已经杀了我了。”
“But you don’t want to，or you would have done it.”

“你叫什么名字？”
“What’s your name？”

“露辛迪克。”
“Lucidique.”

“那么好吧，你想从我这儿得到什么？”
“So then，what do you want from me？”

“我要你跟我一起去普利摩顿最阴暗的街道看一看。”
“I want you to come with me，into the filthiest streets of Primordium.”

“相信我，我已经看过那些景象了。”
“Believe me，I’ve seen them.”

“那么你就让我也看一看。”
“Then you show me.”