The elevator took almost twenty minutes to reach its terminus. Cheng Xin stepped out of the elevator and saw a black steel door. White text on the door gave the formal name for the Deterrence Center: Gravitational Wave Universal Broadcast System Control Station Zero. The insignias of the UN and the Solar System Fleet were embossed on the door.
电梯运行了近二十分钟才到达，程心走出电梯，迎面看到一扇黑色的钢门，门上用白色的大字写着黑暗森林威慑控制中心的正式名称：引力波宇宙广播系统零号控制站，并镶嵌着联合国和太阳系舰队的徽标。
Half a year ago, a joint session of the UN and the Solar System Fleet had elected Cheng Xin to succeed Luo Ji as the Swordholder and given her authority to control the gravitational wave deterrence system. She had received almost twice as many votes as the next candidate. She was now proceeding to the Deterrence Center in the Gobi Desert, where the deterrence authority handover ceremony was to take place.
半年前。在联合国和太阳系舰队联合会议上，程心当选为第二任引力波威慑系统控制者，即执剑人，她得到的票数是第二名的将近一倍。现在她正前往威慑控制中心，在那里将举行威慑控制权的移交。
The Deterrence Center was the deepest man-made structure ever, about forty-five kilometers beneath the surface. This location was already below the crust, past the Mohorovičić discontinuity, in the mantle of the Earth. The pressure and temperature here were both far higher than in the crust, and the stratum around her was made up mostly of solid, hard peridotite.
威慑控制中心是人类所建造的最深的建筑，位于地下四十五千米，已经穿过了地壳，深人到莫霍不连续面下的地慢中。这里的压力和温度都比地壳高许多，地层的主要成分是坚固的橄榄岩。
The high-speed elevator continued to descend, and the increasing layers of earth above seemed to put all their weight on Cheng Xin’s heart.
高速电梯向下沉去，上方越来越厚的地层似乎全压在程心的心上。
The handover ceremony was a solemn occasion, but the bulk of it had been held on the surface forty-five kilometers above. There, all the leaders of Earth International and Fleet International, representing all of humanity, had gathered, and they watched as Cheng Xin entered the elevator. Only two people would oversee the final handover: the PDC chair and the chief of staff for the Solar System Fleet, representing the two institutions directly operating the deterrence system.
威慑控制权移交仪式是很隆重的。不过都是在四十五千米高的地面上进行，那里聚集了地球国际和舰队国际的所有首脑，程心就是在他们那代表着全人类的注视下走进电梯的。但这里主持最后交接的只有两个人：行星防御理事会主席和舰队总参谋长，他们代表了直接领导和运行威摄系统的两个机构。
This ultra-deep structure was quite complex. It possessed its own independent air circulation system and was not directly connected with the atmosphere above the surface — otherwise, the high air pressure generated by a depth of forty-five kilometers would cause great discomfort to the occupant. It was also equipped with a powerful cooling system to withstand the high temperature of the mantle, nearly five hundred degrees Celsius.
这座超深建筑是很复杂的，有独立封闭的空气循环系统，而不是直接与地面大气相通，否则，四十五千米深度产生的高气压将使人感到严重不适；还有一套强大的冷却系统，以抵御地慢近500°C的高温。但程心看到的只有空旷。门厅的白墙显然都具有显示功能。
All Cheng Xin could see, however, was emptiness. The lobby’s walls could all apparently act as electronic displays, but they showed nothing but whiteness, as though the building wasn’t in use yet. Half a century ago, when the Deterrence Center was designed, Luo Ji had been consulted, but he had only provided one piece of input: As simple as a tomb.
但现在全是空空荡荡的白色，其他一无所有，仿佛这里刚建完还没有正式使用。半个世纪前在设计控制中心时曾征求过罗辑的意见。他当时只是简单地说了二句：像坟墓一样简洁。
The first dark forest deterrence system consisted of more than three thousand nuclear bombs wrapped in an oil film substance deployed in orbit around the sun. After detonation, the film would cause the sun to flicker and broadcast the location of Trisolaris to the universe. Although the system was grand, it was extremely unstable. After the droplets stopped blockading electromagnetic radiation from the sun, a transmission system based on using the sun as a superantenna was immediately put in place to supplement the nuclear bomb deterrence system.
建立黑暗森林威慑的第一个系统，是围绕着太阳的三千多枚包裹着油膜物质的核弹，核弹爆炸后产生的尘埃将使太阳发生闪烁，向宇宙广播三体世界的坐标信息。这个系统虽然庞大，但极不稳定，可靠性也很差。在水滴解除对太阳的电磁波全频段封锁后，向太阳发射超大功率电波的发射系统立刻投入运行，与核弹链威慑系统互相补充。
“We don’t want you to live like him,” said the chief of staff. Perhaps because of his military uniform, Cheng Xin saw in him traces of men of the past, and his words warmed her slightly. But the heavy weight on her heart, as heavy as the forty-five kilometers of earth above her, did not lessen.
“我们不希望你过他那样的生活，真的。”舰队参谋长说。也许是他着军装的缘故，程心从他身上看到了一些过去的男人的影子，他的话也让她感到一丝温暖，但这些除不去她心上的沉重，这沉重像上方的地层，已经累积了四十五千米厚。
[Excerpt from A Past Outside of Time, The Choice of the Swordholder: Ten Minutes Between Existence and Annihilation]
【摘自《时间之外的往事》执剑人的抉择——生存与毁灭的十分钟】
The PDC chair pointed at the empty lobby and explained to Cheng Xin that they would redecorate the place based on her ideas. If she wanted, she could have a lawn, plants, a fountain, and so forth. She could also choose to have a holographic simulation of scenes from the surface.
PDC主席指着空旷的门厅对程心说，控制中心将按照她的想法重新布置，这里可以有草坪、植物和喷泉等等，如果她愿意，这里也可以用全息影像完全模拟地面的景观。
At the time of the founding of deterrence, humankind already had a basic grasp of the technology for detecting gravitational waves and neutrinos, but they lacked the ability to modulate and transmit. These were the very first technologies humans demanded from Trisolaris. Compared to quantum communications, these technologies were still primitive, since both gravitational waves and neutrinos were limited by the speed of light, but they were a whole level above electromagnetic waves.
在威慑建立时，人类已经初步掌握了引力波和中微子的接收技术，只缺少发射和调制技术。人类要求三体世界传送的第一批技术信息就是关于这方面的；这使地球世界迅速掌握了中微子和引力波通信技术。筑然与量子通信相比，这两项技术仍然落后，引力波和中微子的传输速度都限制在光速，但与电磁波通信相比已经高了一个层次。
Both of these systems relied on electromagnetic radiation, including visible light, as the broadcast medium. We now know that this is the most primitive technique for interstellar communication, equivalent to smoke signals in space. Since electromagnetic waves decay and become distorted rapidly, the broadcast range is limited.
以上两个系统都是以包括可见光在内的电磁波作为广播媒介。现在知道，这是星际通信中最原始的手段，被称为“太空狼烟”。由于电磁波在太空的高衰减性和高崎变性，广播的范围十分有限。
Both of these means of transmission decayed relatively slowly and had very long broadcast ranges. Neutrinos, in particular, interacted with almost nothing else. Theoretically, a modulated beam of neutrinos could transmit information to the other end of the universe, and the accompanying decay and distortion would not affect the decoding of the information. But while neutrinos must be focused in a particular direction, gravitational waves were omnidirectional, thus gravitational waves became the main method of establishing dark forest deterrence.
这两种传递媒介都具有极低的衰减，因而具有极远的极远的传送距距。特别是中微子，几乎不与其他物质发生作用，理论上一来经过调制的中微子，可以把信息传到已知的宇宙尽头，所产生的哀减和崎变也不彩响你信息的阅读。但中微子束只能定向发射，弓！力波却可以向宇宙的所有方向进行广播，于是，引力波成为黑昭森林威慑的主要手段。
The degenerate matter forming the vibrating string was naturally found in white dwarves and neutron stars. Under typical conditions, this substance naturally decayed and turned into regular matter over time. Man-made vibrating strings typically had a half-life of around fifty years, beyond which the antennas lost their effectiveness. Thus, every half century, the antennas needed to be refreshed with new ones.
构成振动弦的简并态物质原本在白矮星和中子星内部存在，放在常规环境中会发生衰变，变成普通元素。目前人类能够制造的振动弦半衰期是五十年左右，半衰期一到，天线就完全失效，所以引力波天线的寿命是半个世纪，到时需要更换。
The fundamental principle of gravitational wave transmission relied on the vibration of a long string of extremely dense matter. The ideal transmission antenna would involve a large number of black holes connected together to form a chain that generated gravitational waves as it vibrated. But even Trisolaris didn’t possess such a level of technology, and humankind had to resort to constructing the vibrating string out of degenerate matter. The extremely dense degenerate matter packed an enormous mass into strings mere nanometers in diameter. A single string took up only a minuscule portion of the giant antenna, the bulk of which consisted of support and protection for the ultra-dense string. Thus, the total mass of the antenna wasn’t extraordinarily large.
引力波发射的巷本原理是其有极高质量密度的长弦的振动，最理想的发射天线是黑洞。可用大量微型黑洞连成一条长链。在振动中发射引力波。但这个技术即使三体文明也做不到，只能退而求其次，使用简并态物质构成振动弦。这种超密度弦的直径仅有几纳米，只占天线整体的极小一部分，体积巨大的天线大部分只是用来支撑和包裹这种超密弦的材抖。所以天线总质量并不太大。
During the Deterrence Era, the ETO gradually disappeared, but another kind of extremist organization sprang up. They believed in the cause of human supremacy, and advocated for the complete annihilation of Trisolaris. The “Sons of the Earth” was one of the largest of these organizations. In Year 6 of the Deterrence Era, more than three hundred “Sons of the Earth” attacked a gravitational wave broadcasting station located on Antarctica with the aim of seizing the transmitter. Equipped with advanced weapons such as mini-infrasonic nuclear bombs, and aided by members who had infiltrated the broadcasting station ahead of time, the attackers nearly succeeded. If the defending troops stationed at the site hadn’t destroyed the antenna in time, the consequences would have been disastrous.
威慑建立后，地球三体组织逐渐消失，但另一类与之相反的极端组织——信奉人类中心论，主张彻底消灭三体世界——却发展起来。“地球之子”就是其中规模较大的一个。威慑纪元6年，“地球之子”对设在南极大陆的一个引力波发射台发动袭击，企图夺取发射器，进而掌握威慑控制权。“地球之子”出动三百多名武装人员。使用了包括小型次声核弹在内的先进武器，加上该组织在发射台内部潜伏的内应，袭击险些得手。如果不是守卫部队及时炸毁了发射天线，后果不堪设想。
During the earliest stage of gravitational wave deterrence, the main strategic concern was with ensuring deterrence power. Plans were made to build a hundred broadcasting stations scattered around the continents. But gravitational wave communication suffered from a flaw: The transmission equipment could not be miniaturized. The complex, gigantic antennas were extremely costly to manufacture, and in the end only twenty-three gravitational transmitters were built. But the focus on ensuring deterrence finally faded, due to another event.
引力波威慑第一阶段的主要战略思想是确保威慑，计划建造一百个引力波发射台，部署在各大洲的不同位里。但引力波通信有一个缺陷：发装置无法小型化。引力波天线体积巨大结构复杂，建设成本高昂，最终只建造了二十三台引力波发射器。但使得“确保威慑”思想被否定的还是另一个事件。
Initially, the gigantic gravitational wave antennas had to be built on the surface. As technology advanced, in Year 12 of the Deterrence Era, the three terrestrial antennas and their support systems moved deep underground. Everyone understood, however, that burying the transmitters and the control center beneath the Earth’s surface primarily guarded against a threat originating from humankind itself, but was meaningless against an attack by Trisolaris. For droplets constructed from strong-interaction material, tens of kilometers of rock were not much different from mere liquid, barely able to impede their progress.
最初，庞大的引力波天线只能在地面建造。但随着技术的进步建立十二年后，三架发射天线和相关设备都移到地层深处。然而人们清楚，几十千米厚的地层对发射台和控制中心提供的保护，主要是针时来自人类自身的威胁，对于三体世界可能发动的攻击则意义不大。对于用强互作用力构造的水滴，掩护引力波发射器的几十千米地层如同液体一样，可以轻易穿透。
This incident terrified both worlds. People began to realize the great danger posed by gravitational wave transmitters. Simultaneously, Trisolaris pressured Earth until gravitational wave transmission technology was strictly controlled, and the twenty-three broadcasting stations were cut down to four. Three of the stations were terrestrial, located in Asia, North America, and Europe, and the last one was the spaceship Gravity.
“地球之子”事件在两个世界都引起了巨大的恐慌。人们意识到引力波发封器是一个何等危险的东西。三体世界也施加了巨大的压力，使得地球在对引力波技术传播严加控制的同时，很快把已建成的二十三个发射台缩减为四个，其中三个分别位于亚洲、北美和欧洲，剩下的一个鱿是太空中的。‘万有引力“号飞船。
All the transmitters relied on an active trigger, because the dead hand trigger technique used in the circumsolar nuclear bomb system was no longer necessary. Luo Ji had established deterrence by himself, but now, if the Swordholder were killed, others would be able to take over.
所有发射器的启动均采用正触发，环太阳核弹链采用的负触发方式已没有意义，因为现在的情况与罗辑单枪匹马建立威慑时已大不相同，一旦执剑人被消灭，别的人或机构可以接过威慑控制权。
After Earth established deterrence, the Trisolar invasion fleet veered away, as verified through observation. With that threat diminished, most people turned their focus to the whereabouts of the ten droplets that had already reached the Solar System. Trisolaris insisted that four of the droplets remain in the Solar System, justifying the decision by arguing that the gravitational wave transmitters could be seized by extremist factions within humankind, and Trisolaris should have the power to take steps to protect both worlds in the event of such an occurrence. Reluctantly, the Earth agreed, but required the four droplets to stay beyond the Kuiper Belt. Moreover, each droplet had to be accompanied by a human probe, so that the droplets’ locations and orbits were known at all times. Thus, in the event of a droplet attack, the Earth would have about fifty hours of advance warning. Of these four droplets, two eventually followed Gravity to hunt Blue Space, and only two remained in the vicinity of the Kuiper Belt.
威慑建立后，航向太阳系的三体舰队全部转向，这是可以用人类的观测技术证实的。人们最关心的，是已经到达太阳系的十个水滴——强互作用力宇宙探测器的去向。三体世界坚持在太阳系留下四个水滴，理由是引力波发射器有可能被人类极端势力劫持，这种情况一旦发生，三体世界应该有能力采取措施保卫两个世界的安全。地球当局勉强同意，但要求四个水滴的位置不得超越太阳系外围的柯伊伯带，同时每个水滴都有一个人类探测器跟随，随时掌握其位置和执道。这样一旦有变，地球能够有五十个小时左右的预警时间。这四个水滴中的两个后来随”万有引力“号追击”蓝色空间“号，柯伊伯带只剩下两个水滴。
No one knew where the other six droplets had gone.
但没人知道另外六个水滴在哪里。
Most people were convinced that the six droplets were hidden somewhere in the Solar System. But because the droplets were tiny, fast, and invisible to radar, they were extremely difficult to locate and track. Even by spreading oil films or using other advanced detection techniques, humans could only reliably detect droplets if they approached within 1/10 AU of the Earth, or fifteen million kilometers. Outside this sphere, the droplets were free to roam undetected.
人们确信，那六个水滴肯定大部分甚至全部潜伏在太阳系。但是由于水滴体积极小速度极快，具有超强的机动能力。且对电磁雷达隐形，对它们的搜索和跟踪极其困难。地球采用播撒油膜物质和其他最先进的大空监测手段，有效的监视半径也只能达到十分之一个天文单位，也就是一千五百万千米，如策水滴进入这个范围，地球有把握发现，但若在这个半径之外。基本上就是水滴自由行动的空间了。
Trisolaris claimed that the six droplets had left the Solar System to rejoin the Trisolaran Fleet, but no one on Earth believed this.
按照三体世界的说法，那六个水滴已经离开太阳系追赶转向的三体舰队了，但没人相信。
At maximum speed, a droplet could cross fifteen million kilometers in ten minutes.
水滴以最高速度冲过这一千五百万千米，只需十分钟。
Trisolarans were no longer creatures of transparent thought. During the past two centuries, they had learned a great deal about strategic thinking — lies, ruses, and tricks. This was perhaps the greatest benefit they gained from studying human culture.
三体人对于人类，早已不是当初的透明思维的生物了。在过去的两个世纪中，他们在欺骗和计谋方面学得很快，这可能是他们从人类丈化中得到的最大的收获。
This was all the time the Swordholder would have to make a decision if dark forest deterrence broke down.
这就是一旦那个终极时刻到来时，执剑人所拥有的决断时间。
Luo Ji sat cross-legged on the ground in the middle of the white hall, facing the curved wall. His long hair and beard, combed neatly, were also white, almost merging with the white wall. The whiteness everywhere contrasted strongly with his black Zhongshan suit.5 Sitting there, he appeared as a stable upside-down T, a lonely anchor on a beach, immobile under the winds of time howling overhead and before the roaring waves of the ages, steadfastly waiting for a departed ship that would never return. In his right hand, he held a red ribbon, the hilt of his sword: the switch for the gravitational wave broadcast. His presence gave the empty eye of this room an iris. Though he was but a black dot, the desolate sense of loss was relieved, giving the eye a soul. Luo Ji sat facing the wall so that his own eyes were invisible, and he did not react to his visitors.
罗辑盘腿端坐在白色大厅正中，面对着那堵弧形白墙，他的头发和胡须都很长，但不乱，梳理得很整齐，也都是纯白色，几乎与白墙融为一体，这使得他穿的整洁的黑色中山装格外醒目。他端坐在那里，呈一个稳定的倒丁字形，仿佛是海滩上一只孤独的铁锚，任岁月之风从头项吹过。任时间之浪在面前咆哮，巍然不动，以不可思议的坚定等待着一艘永不归航的船。他的右手握着一个红色的条状物，那就是执剑者的剑柄——引力波广播的启动开关。他的存在使这个空眼球有了眸子，虽然与大厅相比只是一个黑点，却使荒凉和茫然消失了，眼睛有了神。而罗辑本人的眼睛从这个方向是看不到的，他对来人丝毫没有反应。
More emptiness and openness greeted Cheng Xin. This was a semicircular hall, with the curved wall facing her. The surface was translucent, resembling ice. The floor and ceiling were pure white. Cheng Xin’s first thought was that she stood in front of an empty, iris-less eye, exuding a desolate sense of loss.
迎接程心的是更加广阔的空白和空旷。这是一间半圆形的大厅，迎面是一堵半弧形的白墙，表面有些半透明，像冰做的，地板和顶板都是洁净的白色。这里给程心的第一印象是：她面对着一只没有眸子的空眼球，透出一种荒凉的茫然。
[Deterrence Era, Year 62, November 28, 4:00 P. M. to 4:17 P. M.: Deterrence Center]
【威慑纪元62年11月28日16：00至16：17，威慑控制中心】
With a deep rumble, the meter-thick heavy steel door opened and Cheng Xin and the others walked into the heart of the dark forest deterrence system.
一阵低沉的隆隆声响起，那道有一米多厚的沉重钢门缓缓移开，程心一行三人走进了黑暗森林威慑系统的心脏。
Then she saw Luo Ji.
然后程心看到了罗辑。
It was said that Master Batuo, the founder of Shaolin Monastery, had meditated in front of a wall for ten years until his shadow was carved into the stone. If so, Luo Ji could have inscribed his own shadow into this wall five times.
据说少林寺的创始人巴托大师在一堵墙前冥想了十年，直到他的影子被刻在石头上。如果面壁十年可以破壁，那这堵白墙已经破了五次。
The PDC chair stopped Cheng Xin and the fleet chief of staff. “Still ten minutes until the handover,” he whispered.
PDC主席拦住了程心和参谋长，轻轻地说：“离交接时间还有十分钟”。
At the beginning of the Deterrence Era, Luo Ji had enjoyed a brief period of happiness. He had been reunited with his wife, Zhuang Yan, and daughter, Xia Xia, and relived the joy of two centuries ago. But within two years, Zhuang Yan took the child and left Luo Ji. There were many stories told about her reasons. A popular version went like this: While Luo Ji remained a savior in the eyes of the public, his image had already transformed in the minds of those he loved the most. Gradually, Zhuang Yan had come to realize that she was living with a man who had already annihilated one world and held the fate of two more in his hand. He was a strange monster who terrified her, and so she left with their child. Another popular story said that Luo Ji left them, instead, so that they could live a normal life. No one knew where Zhuang Yan and their child had gone — they were probably still alive, living tranquil, ordinary lives somewhere.
在威慑建立之初，罗辑曾有过一段美好时光，那时他与庄颜和孩子团聚，重温两个世纪前的幸福。但这段时间很短暂，不到两年，庄颜就带着孩子离开了罗辑。原因众说纷纭，比较流行的说法是，当罗辑在公众面前仍然是一个救世主时，他的形象在他最亲近的人眼中已经发生了变化，庄颜渐渐意识到，与自己朝夕相处的是已经毁灭了一个世界、同时把另外两个世界的命运摸在手中的男人，他变成了一个陌生的怪物，让她和孩子害怕，于是她们离开了；另一种说法是，罗辑主动叫她们离开，以便她们能正常的生活。庄颜和孩子以后不知所踪，她们现在应该都还活着，在什么地方过着普通人平静的生活。
In the last ten minutes of his fifty-four-year career as the Swordholder, Luo Ji remained steadfast.
五十四年的最后十分钟，罗辑仍然坚守着。
In this cosmic arena, Luo Ji faced not the fancy moves of Chinese sword fighting, resembling dance more than war; nor the flourishes of Western sword fighting, designed to show off the wielder’s skill; but the fatal blows of Japanese kenjutsu. Real Japanese sword fights often ended after a very brief struggle lasting no more than half a second to two seconds. By the time the swords had clashed but once, one side had already fallen in a pool of blood. But before this moment, the opponents stared at each other like statues, sometimes for as long as ten minutes. During this contest, the swordsman’s weapon wasn’t held by the hands, but by his heart. The heart-sword, transformed through the eyes into the gaze, stabbed into the depths of the enemy’s soul. The real winner was determined during this process: In the silence suspended between the two swordsmen, the blades of their spirits parried and stabbed as soundless claps of thunder. Before a single blow was struck, victory, defeat, life, and death had already been decided.
罗辑置身于宇宙的决斗场，他所面对的，不是已经成为花架子的中国剑术，也不是炫耀技巧的西洋剑法，而是一招夺命的日本剑道。在真正的日本剑道中，格斗过程极其短暂，常常短至半秒，最长也不超过两秒，利剑相击的转瞬间，已有一方倒在血泊中。但在这电光石火的对决之前，双方都要以一个石雕般凝固的姿势站定，长时间地逼视对方，这一过程可能长达十分钟！这时，剑客的剑不在手里而在心中，心剑化为目光直刺敌人的灵魂深处，真正的决斗是在这一过程中完成的，在两剑客之间那寂静的空间里，灵魂之剑如无声的霹雳撞击搏杀，手中剑未出。胜负生死已定。
His family had left him at the time when gravitational wave transmitters took over the task of deterrence from the circumsolar ring of nuclear bombs. Thereafter, Luo Ji embarked on his long career as the Swordholder.
庄颜和孩子离开之时，也是地球引力波发射器代替环绕太阳的核弹链成为威慑武器的时候，从此，罗辑开始了漫长的执剑人生涯。
But it could also happen in the next second.
但也可能就在下一秒。
Luo Ji stared at the white wall with just such an intense glare, aimed at a world four light-years away. He knew that the sophons could show his gaze to the enemy, and his gaze was endowed with the chill of the underworld and the heaviness of the rocks above him, endowed with the determination to sacrifice everything. The gaze made the enemy’s heart palpitate and forced them to give up any ill-considered impulse.
罗辑就是以这种目光逼视着那堵白墙，逼视着那个四光年外的世界。他知道智子使得敌人能看到自己的目光。这目光带着地狱的寒气和巨石的沉重，带着牺牲一切的决绝，令敌人心悸，使他们打消一切轻率的举动。
In this manner, Luo Ji and Trisolaris stared at each other for fifty-four years. Luo Ji had changed from a carefree, irresponsible man into a true Wallfacer, who faced his wall for more than half a century; the protector of Earth civilization who, for five decades, was ready to deal the fatal blow at a moment’s notice.
就这样，罗辑与三体世界对视了五十四年，他由一个玩世不恭的人。变成一位面壁五壁四年的真正面壁者，一位五十四年执剑待发的地球文明的守护人。
Throughout this time, Luo Ji had remained silent, not uttering a single word. As a matter of fact, after a person ceased to speak for ten or fifteen years, he lost his powers of speech. He might still be able to understand language, but he would not be able to speak. Luo Ji certainly could no longer speak; everything he had to say, he put into his gaze against the wall. He had turned himself into a deterrence machine, a mine ready to explode on contact at each and every moment during the long years of the past half century, maintaining the precarious balance of terror between two worlds.
这五十四年中，罗辑一直在沉默中坚守，没有说过一句话。事实上，如果一个人十至十五年不说话，他将失去语言能力，虽能听懂但不能说了。罗辑肯定已经不会说话了，他要说的一切都在那面壁的炯炯目光中。他已经使自己变成一台威摄机器，一枚在半个世纪的没长岁月中每一秒都一触即发的地雷。维持着两个世界恐怖的平衡。
There was always an end to the gaze of the swordsmen, a final moment of truth in the contest. For Luo Ji, one participant in this universal contest, the moment when the sword was swung for the first and last time might never arrive.
剑客的逼视总有尽头，最后的对决总会到来，但对干罗辑，对于他置身的这场宇宙决斗，出剑的时刻可能永生永世也不会出现。
“Mr. Luo, this is Cheng Xin, your successor. Please pass the switch to her.”
“罗辑先生，这是引力波宇宙广播系统最高控制权第二任掌握者程心、请把广播启动开关交给她。”
“It is time to hand over the final authority for the gravitational wave universal broadcast system.” The PDC chair broke the silence solemnly.
“引力波宇宙广播系统最高控制权交接时间已到。”PDC主席打破沉默郑重宜布。
Luo Ji did not move from his pose. The fleet chief of staff walked over, intending to help him get up, but Luo lifted a hand to stop him. Cheng Xin noticed that the motion of his arm was strong, energetic, without a hint of the hesitation one might expect in a centenarian. Then, Luo Ji stood up by himself, his posture steady. Cheng Xin was surprised to see that Luo Ji did not push against the ground with his hands as he uncrossed his legs and stood up. Even most young men couldn’t perform such a motion effortlessly.
罗辑仍然保持原姿态不动，参谋长走过去想扶他站起来，但他抬起左手谢绝了。程心注意到，他抬手的动作刚健有力，完全没有百岁老人的迟缓。然后。罗辑自己稳稳地站了起来，令程心惊奇的是，他由盘腿坐地到直立。两手竟没有接触过地面，年轻人要做到这点都很吃力。
Luo Ji stood tall and straight. He looked at the white wall, which he had stared at for more than half a century, for a few more seconds. Then he bowed slightly.
罗辑站立的身姿很挺拔，他向着看了半个世纪的白墙凝视了最后几秒钟。然后向墙微微鞠躬。
He was paying his respects to his enemy. To have stared at each other across an abyss of four light-years for half a century had bonded them by a link of destiny.
他是在向敌人致意，他们隔着四光年的深渊遥遥对视半个世纪，这也是一种缘分。
The switch retained the warmth from Luo Ji’s hand. It really did resemble the hilt of a sword. It had four buttons, three on the side and one at the end. To prevent accidental activation, the buttons required some strength to press, and they had to be pressed in a certain order.
开关带着罗辑的体温。它真的很像剑柄。上面有四个按钮。其中一个在顶端。为防止意外启动，除了按下按钮需要很大的力度外，还要按一定顺序按动才能生效。
With both hands, Luo Ji handed over the switch. With both hands, Cheng Xin accepted this heaviest object in the history of the Earth. And so, the fulcrum upon which two worlds rested moved from a 101-year-old man to a 29-year-old woman.
罗辑用双手把开关交给了程心，程心也用双手接过了这个地球历史上最沉重的东西，于是，两个世界的支点由一位一百零一岁的老人转移到一个二十九岁的年轻女子身上。
Then he turned to face Cheng Xin. The old and new Swordholders stood apart, silently. Their eyes met for only a moment, but in that moment, Cheng Xin felt a sharp ray of light sweeping across the dark night of her soul. In that gaze, she felt as light and thin as a sheet of paper, even transparent. She could not imagine what kind of enlightenment the old man in front of her had achieved after fifty-four years of facing the wall. She imagined his thoughts precipitating, becoming as dense and heavy as the crust above them or as ethereal as the blue sky above that. She had no way to know, not until and unless she herself had walked the same path. Other than a bottomless profundity, she could not read his gaze.
然后他转身面对程心，新老执剑人默默相对。他们的目光只是交会了短暂的一刹那，那一瞬间，程心感觉有一道锐利的光芒扫过她灵魂的暗夜，在那目光中，她感觉自己像纸一样薄而轻飘，甚至完全透明了。她无法想象，五十四年的面壁使这位老人悟出了什么，他的思想也许在岁月中沉淀得像他们头顶的地层一样厚重，也可能像地层之上的蓝天一样空灵。她不可能真正知道，除非自己也走到这一天。除了不见底的深邃，她读不懂他的目光。
Luo Ji backed up two steps and nodded at the three people in front of him. With steady, strong strides, he walked toward the door.
罗辑轻轻后退两步，向三人微微点头致意，然后转身迈着稳健的步伐向大门走去。
Cheng Xin noticed that, throughout the entire process, no one offered a word of thanks to Luo Ji for his fifty-four years of service. She didn’t know if the PDC chair or the fleet chief of staff meant to say something, but she could not recall any of the rehearsals for the ceremony including plans for thanking the old Swordholder.
程心注意到，在整个过程中，没有谁对罗辑五十四年的工作说过一句感谢的话。她不知道PDC主席和舰队总参谋长是否想说；交接过程在没有罗辑参与的情况下预演过多次，没有表达感谢的安排。
Humankind did not feel grateful to Luo Ji.
人类不感谢罗辑。
In the lobby, a few black-suited men stopped Luo Ji. One of them said, “Mr. Luo, on behalf of the Prosecution for the International Tribunal, we inform you that you have been accused of suspected mundicide. You are under arrest and will be investigated.”
门厅中，几个身穿黑色西装的人挡住罗辑，其中一人说：“罗辑翅我以国际法庭检察官的名义通知你，你已被指控犯有世界灭绝罪，现被国际法庭拘押，将接受调查。”
Luo Ji did not even spare them a glance as he continued to walk toward the elevator. The prosecutors stepped aside instinctively. Perhaps Luo Ji did not even notice them. The sharp light in his eyes had been extinguished, and in its place was a tranquility like the glow of a sunset. His three-century-long mission was finally over, and the heavy load of responsibility was off his shoulders. From now on, even if the feminized humankind saw him as a devil and a monster, they all had to admit that his victory was unsurpassed in the entire history of civilization.
罗辑没有看这些人，继续向电梯门走去，检察官们不由自主地让出路来。事实上，罗辑可能根本就没有觉察到他们的存在，他眼中锐利的光芒熄灭了，代之以晚霞般的平静。漫长的使命已经最后完成，那最沉重的责任现在离开了他。以后，不管他在已经女性化的人类眼中是怎样的恶魔和怪物，人们都不得不承认，纵观文明史，他的胜利无人能及。
The PDC chair and the fleet chief of staff left as well, saying nothing.
然后，PDC主席和舰队总参谋长也默默地离开了。
The steel door had remained open, and Cheng Xin heard the words spoken in the lobby. She felt an impulse to rush over and thank Luo Ji but stopped herself. Dejectedly, she watched him disappear into the elevator.
钢门没有关，程心听到了门厅里的人说的话。她突然有一种冲动。想冲过去对罗辑说声谢谢，但还是克制住了自己，黯然地看着他的身影消失在电梯中。
With a deep rumble, the steel door closed. Cheng Xin felt her previous life seep out of the narrowing crack in the door like water escaping from a funnel. When the door shut completely, a new Cheng Xin was born.
当钢门隆隆地关闭时，程心感到以前的人生像漏斗中的水一样从越来越窄的门中漏出去；当钢门完全关上时，一个新的她诞生了。
The white, semicircular hall was deathly silent, as though time was sealed in here and no longer flowed. It really did resemble a tomb. But this would be her entire world from now on. She decided that she had to give life to this place. She didn’t want to be like Luo Ji. She wasn’t a warrior, a duelist; she was a woman, and she needed to live here for a long time — perhaps a decade, perhaps half a century. Indeed, she had been preparing for this mission her whole life. Now that she stood at the starting point of her long journey, she felt calm.
白色的半圆大厅中一片死寂，仿佛时间也被封闭在这里不再流dJ，真的很像坟墓。以后这儿就是她的全部世界了。她首先要做的是让这里恢复生活的气息。她不想像罗辑那样，她不是战士和决斗者，她是女人，毕竟要在这里度过很长的时间，可能是十年、半个世纪，其实她为这个使命准备了一生，所以站在这漫长道路的起点，她很坦然。
She looked at the red switch in her hand. It was already a part of her. She and it would be inseparable from now on. Even when she slept, she had to keep it by her pillow.
她再次看看手中的红色开关，它已经成为她的一部分，以后她与它不能分离，即使睡眠时也要把它放在枕边。
But fate had other ideas. Her career as the Swordholder, a career she had been preparing for since her birth, lasted only fifteen minutes from the moment she accepted the red switch.
但命运却再次显示了它的怪异无常，程心准备了一生的执剑人生涯，从她接过红色开关时起，仅仅持续了十五分钟便结束。
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