Shi sat down next to Wang and handed him his car keys. “You parked right at the intersection at Dongdan. If I had arrived just a minute later, the traffic cops would have had it towed.”
大史在汪淼身边坐下了，将一把车钥匙递给他，“东单口儿上就随便停车，我晚一步就让交警拖走了。”
Da Shi, if I had known you were following me, I would have been comforted, Wang thought, switching to Shi Qiang’s familiar nickname in his mind, though self-respect made him hold back the words. He accepted a cigarette from Da Shi, lit it, and took his first drag since he quit several years ago.
大史啊，要知道你一直跟在我后面，我至少会有些安慰的。汪淼心里说，但自尊使他没将这话说出口。他接过大史递过来的一枝烟，点上后，抽了戒烟几年后的第一口。
“You wouldn’t understand.” Wang took several more deep puffs.
“你不会明白的。”汪淼猛抽几口烟说。
“Your problem is, you understand too well… Fine, let’s go grab a bite.”
“我是太明白了……那好，去吃饭吧。”
“So how’s it going, buddy? Finding it hard to bear? I said you couldn’t handle it. And you insisted on playing the tough guy.”
“怎么样老弟，扛不住了吧？我说你不成吧，你还硬充六根脚指头。”
“I’m not hungry.”
“我不想吃。”
“Then we’ll go drinking! My treat.”
“那去喝酒，我请你！”
Wang got into Da Shi’s car and they drove to a small restaurant nearby. It was still early, and the place was deserted.
汪淼于是上了大史的车，开到附近一家小饭店，天还早，店里没什么人。
“Two orders of quick-fried tripe, and a bottle of er guo tou!”22 Da Shi shouted, without even looking up. He was obviously a regular here.
“二斤爆肚，一瓶二锅头！”大史喊道，头也不抬，显然对这儿很熟了。
As he stared at the two plates filled with black slices of tripe, Wang’s empty stomach began to churn, and he thought he was going to be sick. Da Shi ordered him some warm soymilk and fried pancakes, and Wang forced himself to eat some.
看到端上来的两大盘黑乎乎的东西，汪淼空空的胃翻腾起来，差点吐出来。大史又给他要豆浆和油条，汪淼强迫自己吃了点儿。
Then they drank shots of er guo tou. He began to feel lightheaded, and his tongue loosened. Gradually, he recounted the events of the last three days to Da Shi, even though he knew that Da Shi probably knew everything already — maybe Da Shi even knew more than he did.
然后和大史一杯接一杯地喝起二锅头。他感觉自己轻飘飘的，话也多了起来，将这三天的事情全部向大史说了，虽然他清楚，大史可能都知道，甚至知道的比他还多。
“That’s a very appropriate metaphor.”
“这比喻很到位。”
“More bullshit. Come, drink!”
“还是扯淡，来，干！”
“Bullshit.”
“扯淡。”
“You’re saying that the universe was… winking at you?” Da Shi asked, as he slurped down strips of tripe like noodles.
“你是说，宇宙在冲你眨巴眼儿？”大史像吃面条似的吞下半盘爆肚，抬头问。
“Your lack of fear is based on your ignorance.”
“你的无畏来源于无知。”
Wang finished another shot. Now the world was spinning around him, and only the tripe-chomping Shi Qiang across from him remained stable. He said, “Da Shi, have you ever… considered certain ultimate philosophical questions? For example, where does Man come from? Where does Man go? Where does the universe come from? Where does the universe go? Et cetera.”
汪淼干了这杯后，感觉世界围绕着自己旋转，只有对面吃爆肚的大史很稳定，他说：“大史啊，你——考虑过一些终极的哲学问题吗？哦，比如说，人类从哪里来，要到哪里去；宇宙从哪里来，要到哪里去之类的。”
“Nope.”
“没有。”
“Never?”
“从来没有？”
“You must see the stars. Aren’t you awed and curious?”
“你总看到过星空吧，难道没有产生过一点敬畏和好奇？”
“Buddy, when I work at night, if I look up at the sky, the suspect is going to escape.”
“老弟，我夜里蹲点时要是仰头看天，那监视对象溜了怎么办？”
“How is that possible? I thought you often worked the night shift?”
“怎么可能呢？你们不是常上夜班吗？”
“Never.”
“从来没有。”
“I never look at the sky at night.”
“我夜里从不看天。”
“To be honest, even if I were to look at the stars in the sky, I wouldn’t be thinking about your philosophical questions. I have too much to worry about! I gotta pay the mortgage, save for the kid’s college, and handle the endless stream of cases… I’m a simple man without a lot of complicated twists and turns. Look down my throat and you can see out my ass. Naturally, I don’t know how to make my bosses like me. Years after being discharged from the army, my career is going nowhere. If I weren’t pretty good at my job, I would have been kicked out a long time ago… You think that’s not enough for me to worry about? You think I’ve got the energy to gaze at stars and philosophize?”
“其实啊，我就是看天上的星星也不会去想你那些终极哲学，我要操心的事儿多着呢，要供房子，孩子还要上大学，更不要提那没完没了的案子……我是个一眼能从嘴巴看到屁眼的直肠子，自然讨不得领导欢心，退伍后混了多少年还是这么个熊样儿，要不是能干活，早让人踹出去了……这些还不够我想的，我还有心思看星星想哲学？”
“We really have nothing to say to each other. All right. Drink!”
“我们真没的谈，干！”
“But, I did indeed invent an ultimate rule.”
“不过啊，我倒还真发明了一条终极定理。”
“Fine.”
“好吧。”
“Anything sufficiently weird must be fishy.”
“邪乎到家必有鬼。”
“If you had even basic knowledge of science, you’d know it’s impossible for any force to accomplish the things I experienced. Especially that last one. To manipulate things at the scale of the universe — not only can you not explain it with our current science, I couldn’t even imagine how to explain it outside of science. It’s more than supernatural. It’s super-I-don’t-know-what…”
“如果你有些起码的科学常识，就无法想象是怎样的力量才能做成这两件事，特别是后一件，在整个宇宙的尺度上，不但用人类现有的科学无法解释，甚至在科学之外我都无法想象。这连超自然都不是，我都不知道是超什么了……”
“What… what kind of crappy rule is that?”
“你这是……什么狗屁定理！”
“You’re right. All right, drink up!”
“那倒也是，来，干！”
“Then tell me what I should do next.”
“那你给个建议，下一步我该怎么办？”
“I’m saying that there’s always someone behind things that don’t seem to have an explanation.”
“我说的‘有鬼’是指没有鬼，是有人在捣鬼。”
“I’m telling you, that’s bullshit. I’ve seen plenty of weird things.”
“还是那句话：扯淡！邪乎事儿我见多了。”
“Tell me.”
“说说。”
“Keep on drinking. And then sleep.”
“继续喝，喝完了睡觉。”
Wang Miao had no idea how he got back into his car. He tumbled into the backseat and fell into a dreamless slumber. He didn’t think that he was asleep for long, but when he opened his eyes, the sun was already near the horizon in the west. He got out of the car. Even though the alcohol that morning had made him weak, he did feel better. He saw that he was at one corner of the Forbidden City. The setting sun shone on the ancient palace and turned into bright gold ripples in the moat. In his eyes, the world became once again classical and stable. Wang sat until it got dark, enjoying the peace that had been missing from his life. The black Volkswagen Santana that he was now so familiar with pulled out of the traffic streaming through the street and braked to a stop right in front of him. Shi Qiang got out of the car.
汪淼不知道自己是怎么回到自己的车上，躺在后座上陷入了无梦的沉睡，感觉时间并不长，但睁开眼睛后，看到太阳已在城市的西边快要落下去了。他走下车，虽然早上喝的酒让他浑身发软，但感觉好多了。他看到，自己正在紫禁城的一角，夕阳照在古老的皇宫上，在护城河中泛起碎金，在他眼中，世界又恢复了古典和稳定。汪淼就这样享受着久违的宁静，直到天色暗下来，那辆他熟悉的黑色桑塔纳从街道上车流中钻出来，径直开过来刹住，大史走了下来。
“Who? You? Go have dinner. Then drink a little more. Then sleep again.”
“谁，你吗？去吃晚饭，再喝点儿，喝完接着睡。”
“Then what?”
“然后呢？”
Da Shi stared at Wang a while. Then he laughed. “I’ve said the very same thing to General Chang several times. We’re in the same boat, you and I. I’ll be honest: I know fucking shit. My pay grade is too low, and they tell me nothing. Sometimes I think this is a nightmare.”
大史盯着汪淼看了一会儿，然后仰天一笑，”这话我也对常伟思说过几次，咱俩是难兄难弟。实话告诉你，我他妈的什么也不知道，级别低，他们不告诉我，有时真像在做噩梦。”
“Slept well?” Da Shi growled.
“睡好了？”大史瓮声瓮气地问。
“Fine. I’ll tell you what little I know.” Da Shi pointed to the shore of the moat around the Forbidden City. The two found a spot and sat down. It was now night, and traffic flowed ceaselessly behind them like a river. They watched their shadows lengthening and shortening over the moat.
“那好，我现在就把多出来的都告诉你。”大史指了指护城河的河沿，两人在那里找了个地方坐下来。天已经黑了下来，身后是车灯的河流，他们看着自己的影子在河面上长长短短地变幻着。
“Da Shi, can you tell me something about what’s really going on? I’m begging you.”
“大史，你就不能告诉我一些真相吗？就算我求你了。”
“Yes. What next?”
“是，下一步该怎么办？”
“Fuck the countdown. Your first priority right now is to make sure you can stand straight and not collapse into a heap. Then we can talk about other things.”
“去他妈的倒计时，你现在首先要保证站直了别趴下，然后才能说别的。”
“Then? Don’t you have to go to work tomorrow?”
“然后？明天你总得去上班吧。”
“But the countdown… there’s only 1,091 hours left.”
“倒计时已减到……1091小时了。”
“But you must know more than I.”
“可你知道的总比我多。”
“No, not really.”
“基本不看。”
“In my line of work, it’s all about putting together many apparently unconnected things. When you piece them together the right way, you get the truth. For a while now, strange things have been happening. “For example, there’s been an unprecedented wave of crimes against academia and science research institutions. Of course you know about the explosion at the Liangxiang accelerator construction site. There was also the murder of that Nobel laureate… the crimes were all unusual: not for money, not for revenge. No political background, just pure destruction. “Other strange things didn’t involve crimes. For example, the Frontiers of Science and the suicides of those academics. Environmental activists have also become extra bold: protest mobs at construction sites to stop nuclear power plants and hydroelectric dams, experimental communities ‘returning to nature,’ and other apparently trivial matters… Do you go to the movies?”
“干我们这行的，其实就是把好多看上去不相关的事情串联起来，串对了，真相就出来了。前一阵发生过好多事儿，针对科研机构和学术界的犯罪急剧增多，这是从未有过的事儿。你当然知道良湘加速器工地的那起爆炸案，还有那名获诺贝尔的学者被杀的案子……犯罪的动机都很怪，不为钱，不为报复，也没什么政治背景，单纯地搞破坏。还有其他一些犯罪之外的事，比如‘科学边界’和那些学者的自杀等等。环保分子最近的活动也过分活跃，一会儿在工地集会阻止水库和核电站的建设，一会儿又搞什么回归自然的试验社会……还有其他一些看上去是鸡毛蒜皮的事儿——你最近看电影吗？”
“Recent big-budget films all have rustic themes. The setting is always green mountains and clear water, with handsome men and pretty women of some indeterminate era living in harmony with nature. To use the words of the directors, they ‘represent the beautiful life before science spoiled nature.’ Take Peach Blossom Spring: it’s clearly the sort of film that no one wants to see. But they spent hundreds of millions to make it. There was also this science fiction contest with a top reward of five million for the person who imagined the most disgusting possible future. They spent another few hundred million to turn the winning stories into movies. And then you’ve got all these strange cults popping up everywhere, where every cult leader seems to have a lot of money…”
“最近的几部大片，全土的掉渣，上面青山绿水的，不知哪个年代的帅哥靓妹在里面男耕女织过得挺舒服，用导演的话说，是表现被科技强奸之前的美好生活。比如那部《桃花源》，明摆着拍出来没人看，可就有人硬把几个亿砸进去。还有一个科幻小说征文大赛，最高奖五百万，谁把未来写的最恶心谁就能得奖，然后又砸进去几个亿把那几篇小说拍成电影……奇奇怪怪的邪教也都冒出来，每一个教主都财大气粗……”
“You have to connect all the dots. Of course I didn’t need to busy myself with such concerns before, but after I was transferred from the crime unit to the Battle Command Center, it became part of my job. Even General Chang is impressed by my talent for connecting the dots.”
“得把它们串起来看，当然我以前用不着操这份闲心，但从重案组调到作战中心后，这就是我份内的事儿了。我能把它们串起来，这就是我的天分，连常伟思也不得不服。”
“Everything that’s happening is coordinated by someone behind the scenes with one goal: to completely ruin scientific research.”
“所有这一切，都有且只有一个后台，它想把科学研究彻底搞垮。”
“Who?”
“谁？”
“And your conclusion?”
“得出的结论呢？”
“What does that last bit have to do with everything you mentioned before?”
“这些与你前面说的有什么关系？”
“I have no idea. But I can sense the plan, a very comprehensive, intricate plan: damage scientific research installations, kill scientists, drive scientists like you crazy and make you commit suicide — but the main goal is to misdirect your thoughts until you’re even more foolish than ordinary people.”
“不知道，真的不知道，但能感觉到它的计划，很气派很全面的一个计划：破坏科研设施，杀害科学家；或让你们自杀，让你们发疯……但主要还是让你们往歪处想，这样你们就变得比一般人还蠢。”
“At the same time, they want to ruin science’s reputation in society. Of course some people have always engaged in anti-science activities, but now it’s coordinated.”
“同时，还要在社会上把科学搞臭，当然以前也一直有人干这个，但这次绝对是有组织的。”
“Your last statement is really perceptive.”
“你最后这句真精辟！”
“I believe it.”
“我相信你说的。”
“Now you believe me. So many of you scientific elites couldn’t figure it out, and I, having gone only to vocational school, had the answer? Ha! After I explained my theory, the scholars and my bosses all ridiculed it.”
“哼，也就是现在吧。你们这些科学精英都看不出来的事，居然被我这个专科毕业的大老粗看出来了？我说出这个想法后，没少被领导和学者们笑话。”
“Scientists, of course.”
“科学家呗。”
“No. Many of the best scientists can be fooled by pseudoscience and sometimes devote their lives to it. But pseudoscience is afraid of one particular type of people who are very hard to fool: stage magicians. In fact, many pseudoscientific hoaxes were exposed by stage magicians. Compared to the bookworms of the scientific world, your experience as a cop makes you far more likely to perceive such a large-scale conspiracy.”
“错了，世界上有许多一流学者被伪科学骗得团团转，最后还为之摇旗呐喊。但伪科学最怕另一种人，他们很难被骗：魔术师。事实上，大量的伪科学骗局，都是被魔术师揭穿的。比起科学界的书呆子来，你多年的警务和社会经验显然更有能力觉察这种大规模犯罪。”
“If you had told me your theory back then, I’m sure I wouldn’t have laughed at you. Take those frauds who practice pseudoscience — do you know who they’re most afraid of?”
“就是当时你对我说的这些，我也肯定不会笑话你。你知道一些伪科学的事吧，知道那些搞伪科学的最怕什么人吗？”
“Well, there’re plenty of people smarter than me. People in positions of power are well aware of the plot. When they ridiculed me at first, it was only because I wasn’t explaining my theory to the right people. Later on, my old company commander — General Chang — had me transferred. But I’m still not doing anything other than running errands… That’s it. Now you know as much as I do.”
“其实比我聪明的人还是有的，这种事早就被上面觉察了，我开始时还被笑话是没找对地方，再后来就被老连长招到了这儿，不过也只是干些跑腿的事儿……好了，这就是我比你多知道的那点儿。”
“Who’s the enemy?”
“敌人是谁？”
“A bunch of my old buddies from the army are now generals, so I know a few things.”
“我在部队的好几个老战友现在都混成将军了，所以知道一些。”
“I was baffled, too. I asked them, and they said that now that there’s a war, of course the military would be involved. I was like you, thinking that they were talking nonsense. But no, they weren’t joking. The army really is on high alert. There are twenty-some Battle Command Centers like ours around the globe. And above them there’s another level of command structure. But no one knows the details.”
“我也纳闷，问他们，他们就说战争爆发了，战争当然是军队的事儿。我和你一样，开始以为他们是在说梦话。可他们真没开玩笑，现在部队确实处于临战状态。我们这样的作战中心，在全球有二十多个，上面还有一级，但谁都不知道是什么。”
“No idea. NATO officers are now stationed in the war room of the PLA General Staff Department, and a bunch of PLA officers are working out of the Pentagon. Who the fuck knows who we’re fighting?”
“不知道。北约军官进驻总参的作战室了，五角大楼里也有一大帮子解放军，谁他妈知道谁是敌人？”
“Another question: What does this have to do with the military?”
“有个疑问：这些与军方有什么关系呢？”
“This is all so bizarre. Are you sure it’s all true?”
“这也太离奇了，你说得这都是真的？！”
“The media has no idea about any of this?”
“这么大的事，新闻媒体居然没有一点儿反应？”
“Ah, that’s another thing. All the countries are keeping a tight lid on this, and they’ve been successful so far. I can guarantee you that the enemy is incredibly powerful. Those in charge are terrified! I know General Chang very well. He’s the sort who’s afraid of nothing, not even the sky falling, but I can tell that he’s worried about something much worse right now. They’re all scared out of their wits, and they have no confidence that we’ll win.”
“这又是一个了不得的现象：所有国家同时保密，而且做的这么严实。我现在可以肯定一点：敌人是个狠角色，上面害怕了！我太熟悉常伟思了，从他那里就能看出来，他是天塌下来都不怕的人，但现在塌下来的可能不止是天了。他们被吓得够呛，他们根本没有信心战胜那个敌人。”
“If what you say is true, then we should all be frightened.”
“要这样，那太可怕了。”
“Everyone is afraid of something. The enemy must be, too. The more powerful they are, the more they have to lose to their fears.”
“不过谁都有怕的东西，那个狠角色也有；越厉害的角色，它怕的东西对它就越致命。”
“What do you think the enemy is afraid of?”
“那它怕什么？”
“You! Scientists! The odd thing is that the less practical your research is, the more they’re afraid of you — like abstract theories, the kind of thing Yang Dong worked on. They are more frightened of such work than you are of the universe winking at you. That’s why they’re so ruthless. If killing you would solve the problem, you’d all be dead by now. But the most effective technique remains disrupting your thoughts. When a scientist dies, another will take his place. But if his thoughts are confused, then science is over.”
“怕你们，怕科学家。而且奇怪的是，你们研究的东西越是没有实际用处，越是天马行空不着边际，像杨冬那号的，它就越怕，比你怕宇宙眨眼更怕，所以才出手这么狠。要是杀你们有用，它早就把你们杀光了，但最有效的办法还是扰乱你们的思想，人死了还会有别人，但思想乱了，科学就完了。”
“You’re saying they’re afraid of fundamental science?”
“你是说它怕基础科学？”
“Yes, fundamental science.”
“是，基础科学。”
“But my research is very different in nature from Yang Dong’s. The nanomaterial I work on isn’t fundamental science. It’s just a very strong material. What’s the threat to them?”
“我和杨冬的研究差别很大，纳米材料不是基础科学，只是一个高强度材料，能威胁到那种力量？！”
“Then what should I do?”
“那我该怎么办？”
“You’re a special case. Usually, they don’t bother those engaged in applied research. Maybe the material you’re developing really scares them.”
“你还真是个特例，像你这种搞应用研究的，它现在一般还不打扰，也许你那些材料中真有让它怕的东西。”
“Go to work and keep up your research. That’s the best way to strike back at them. Don’t worry about that shitty countdown. If you want to relax a bit after work, play that game. If you can beat it, that might help.”
“去上班，研究下去，这就是对它最大的打击，别管什么JI巴倒计时。如果下了班想放松，也可以玩玩那个游戏，能打通它最好。”
“That game? Three Body? You think it’s connected to all this?”
“游戏？《三体》？难道它与这些也有关系？！”
“Anything else?”
“哦，没别的了？”
“Definitely connected. I know that several specialists at the Battle Command Center are playing it, too. It’s no ordinary game. Someone like me, fearless out of ignorance, can’t play it. It has to be someone knowledgeable like you.”
“有关系，我看作战中心的好几个专家也在玩儿，那玩意儿不是一般的游戏，我这样无知无畏的人玩不了，还真得你这样有知识的才行。”
Da Shi drove away before Wang had a chance to thank him.
汪淼连谢谢都没来的急说，大史就上车走了。
“No. But if I find out more I’ll let you know. Keep your phone on, buddy. Keep your head screwed on straight, and if you get scared again, just remember my ultimate rule.”
“没了，有的时候我再告诉你，手机要一直开着。老弟，可得站值啰！害怕的时候就想想我那条终极定理。”
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