Chapter 14 Chapter 9 Little Flame and One-Eyed Man·1

The storm is over.Time flies too—three weeks have passed.The humid East Virginia summer still lingers.But pupils have already started school and school buses have begun scurrying up and down the well-groomed country streets of the Longmont area.In Washington, not far away, a new round of elections, rumors and malicious slander is on the scene again. None of this had any effect on the two hacienda-style houses at Ita's headquarters and their subterranean honeycomb of passages and chambers.Shiiichi's affairs related to the outside world probably belong to Charlie's schooling.Hawksteeler thinks she should be educated; though Charlie resists his advice at first, Rainbird finally convinces her—"What's the harm in that?" Of course you can't fall behind others.Shit—sorry, Charlie—but sometimes I wish I had more than eight years of education.Then I wouldn't be mopping floors like I am now—

I can guarantee it.Besides, it can help you pass the time. " So she agreed--for John.The teachers came: a young man taught English; an elderly woman taught mathematics; a young woman with thick glasses taught French; a guy in a wheelchair taught science, and she felt herself Also learned a lot.But she did all this only for John. John had risked his job three times to hand her note to her dad.Charlie felt very guilty about this, so she was willing to do anything that would make John happy.And he brought her the news of his father: he was doing well; he was very happy to hear that Charlie was well; now, he was actively collaborating with them on the experiment.This last troubled her a little; but she had grown up and was beginning to understand—though not much—that what was good for her was not always good for her father.And lately she had come to believe that John might be the one who knew best what to do with her.John is eager and funny (he always makes her laugh with a swear word and then an apology) and is very touching.

About ten days after the power outage, he started the fire.There was no mention of doing experiments, and when they talked about it later, they always hid in the kitchen.John told her there were no bugs, and that they kept their voices down when they talked. He said that day, "Did you ever think about lighting things again, Charlie?" He always called her Charlie now instead of "baby."Charlie made him do it. Hearing this, she couldn't help but start to tremble all over.Ever since the incident at Menders Farm, she'd been like this whenever there was a mention of a fire: tense.Chilled all over and started shaking.Hawkesdanler called it a "moderate fear response" in the report.

"I told you," she said, "I can't do that. I don't want to." "Can't do it and don't want to do it are two different things," John said.He's rinsing the floor, but he's doing it slowly in order to talk to her.He barely moved his lips when he spoke, the way inmates in a prison talk to each other. Charlie said nothing. "I've got a little idea about it," he said, "but if you don't want to hear--if you've made up your mind--I'll keep my mouth shut." "No, it's okay," Charlie replied politely.But she wished he would keep his mouth shut, and not talk about it, or even think about it, because it made her very uncomfortable.But John had done so much for her... She had absolutely no desire to offend anyone or hurt his feelings.She needs friends.

"I just think they must know how your function got out of control on that farm," he said. You did the experiment, what do you think?" "No, but one by one." He slightly raised a hand from the mop: "Listen to me, listen to me." "OK." "And they'll go knowing that's the only time you'll start a—what's it called—a big fire, Charlie. And all you gotta do is make them a little fire. And if anything happens—I I don't think so, because I think you can control yourself, you just don't think so- but let's say what happened, who can they blame, eh? Will they blame you? The goddamn bosses They spent half a year forcing you to do this and they blame you? Fuck, oh sorry."

What he said frightened her.But she was still amused by the "don't bad luck befall me" look on his face after the swearing. John smiled back, and then he shrugged. "Besides, I guess if you want to control something, you have to keep practicing." "I don't care if I can control it because I'm never going to do it again." "Maybe so, maybe not," John said stubbornly, wringing out the mop. He stood the mop in the corner, poured the dirty water into the sink, and then began to pick up a bucket of clean water to rinse the mop, "Maybe you will use your function when you are frightened."

"No, I don't think so." "Or when you've got a high fever, flu or mumps or — fuck it. I don't know either - what infectious disease. ’ That was still a useful clue that Hawkes butler gave him. ‘Have you ever had your appendix removed, Charlie? " "No……" John started mopping the floor. "My brother had it done. But the wound got infected in the beginning and he almost died. It's because we were Indians on the reservation and no one cared about us. He had a high fever for about a week One hundred and five degrees, began to lose consciousness, talking gibberish and don't know who he was talking to. You know? He said our father was an angel of death who was coming to take his life, so he wanted to use the Killed him with a knife. I told you, didn't I?"

"No." Charlie whispered.This time, I was not afraid of being heard by others, but was deeply attracted by this horror story, "Really?" "Really," John assured him.He wrung out the mop again, "It's not his fault, it's the high fever. When you're unconscious, you can say anything, you can do anything. Anything." Charlie understood what he meant, and her heart grew heavier and heavier.Some things she never thought about. "But if you can control this..." "If I'm unconscious, how can I possibly control it?" "Just because you sure can." Rainbird began to quote Dr. Varys' metaphor, the one that had so disgusted Cap about a year ago, "It's like potty training, Charlie. Once you start getting the size under control." You've got it under control forever. Comatose people sometimes soak their bed with sweat, but they rarely wet it."

Hawksdanner had pointed out that this wasn't 100 percent true, but how would Charlie know? "Don't you get it? I just mean that if you can get it under control, you won't have to worry about it anymore. You've proven it, but it takes practice to conquer it. Like you Learning to tie shoelaces, learning to write in kindergarten—” "I... I just don't want to light a fire! I don't want to! I don't want to!" "Well, well, I upset you," said John distressed, "I really didn't mean to. I'm sorry, Charlie. I won't say any more. My talkative mouth. "

But the second time, she brought it up herself. That was at about three.Four days later.She thought carefully about what John had said, and believed she had found a loophole in it. "They won't let me stop," she said. "They'll keep asking for more. You don't know how they chase us. They'll never stop. As soon as I start doing it, they'll talk big. Make it bigger and bigger until... I don't know...but I'm afraid." He really adores her.Her intuition and natural intelligence are unbelievably sharp.He wondered what he would think if he—Rain Bird—told Hawkes that Le Charli knew all about their top-secret plans.All of their reports on Charlie had said Passive Thermal Disruption was just a "central part" of many related psychic abilities. Rainbird believed her intuition was one of those abilities, and his father had told them over and over that it was Lee knew Al Steinowitz and the others were coming to the farm before they arrived. It's chilling to think about. If she ever had an intuition about who he really was... People say despised A woman's rage was worse than hellfire; and if he was right about Charlie's abilities:

If so, then she can create a hell.Or a hell of a similar version... He may suddenly find himself getting hotter and hotter until he burns.This surmise added a special flavor to his present actions... a flavor he hadn't tasted for a long time. "Charlie," he said, "I'm not saying you're going to do it for them." She looked at him suspiciously. Rain Bird sighed. "I kind of don't know what to say to you," he said, "I think I'm kind of in love with you. I never had a daughter, but you're like my daughter. They keep you here and don't let you see Daddy , you were never allowed to go out, and you didn't have things that other kids had... It made me very uncomfortable." Now he fixed his good eye on her so brightly that she could not help being a little frightened. "You can get everything, as long as you cooperate with them...with some strings attached." "Conditions," Charlie repeated.She was completely bewildered. "Yeah! You could get them to let you out in the sun, I'm sure. And maybe go to the shops in Longmont. You could move out of this fucking box and put in a normal one." house, and playing with the other kids, and—” "Can I see my father?" "Of course, of course." But alas, that never happened.Because when these two people meet and exchange information,You'll find out that the friendly servant John is like the good fairy in fairy tales, purely non-existent.Rain Bird never delivered a message to Andy McGee. Hawkes butler believes that doing so is likely to get nowhere.While Rain Bird was dismissive of Hawkesdale on most things, this time he agreed. It may not be so difficult to trick a one-year-old child with flattery such as not bugging the kitchen and speaking in a low voice to avoid being overheard;Although McGee was drugged up now, he might still realize that they were just playing red cheek to Charlie.The Bad Face Game - An old trick police departments have used for centuries to break down criminals' psychological defenses. So he just pretended he gave Andy her message.He did see Andy often, but it was on a TV monitor; Andy was indeed experimenting with them, but he had lost his special powers, and he couldn't even persuade a child to eat a popsicle.He's become a fat, useless clown, all he cares about is TV and when he'll get his medicine; and he's never asked to see his daughter again.Letting Charlie see her father at this moment, seeing what they had done to her dear papa, would probably negate all their efforts to soften Charlie.And now he was close to taking that fortress, and Charlie herself was willing to be taken. No, everything was negotiable except this one: Charlie McGee would never see her father again.Rainbird had figured out long ago that Hawksdanner would fly Andy to Moil; but Charlie didn't need to know that. "You really think they'll let me see Dad?" "No doubt," he replied easily, "of course not at first; he's their trump card, and they know it. But if you get the experiment to a certain point, and then suddenly tell them that if they don't Let you see your father, and you refuse to continue to cooperate—" He deliberately didn't finish speaking, and a big and attractive bait had already been thrown into the water; but this little girl didn't know that it was full of hooks, and it was not delicious. She looked at him thoughtfully.That day, the two did not mention this matter again. Ten days later, Rain Bird suddenly changed his position completely.He didn't have any specific reason for doing this, but his instinct told him that further persuasion would not have any results, and that it might be more effective to cover Mi Zhang. "Remember what we said last time?" he began.He is waxing the floor.Charlie was pretending to check in the refrigerator, one was clean.The little pink foot was placed behind the other, and Rainbird could see the rounded heels of hers—a pose that reminded him strongly of his own boyhood.For some reason, he felt that this pose was a bit sexy and full of mystery.There was another burst of tenderness in his heart.At this moment, she turned her head and looked at him suspiciously, her hair in a ponytail draped over her shoulders. "I remember," she said, "I remember." "Well, I've been thinking about it, and I'm kind of wondering how I can be so talkative and give people advice," he said. "I can't get a thousand dollar loan from the bank to buy a car." "Hey, John, that doesn't mean anything—" "No, it speaks volumes. If I had knowledge. I'd have gone to college, and I'd be a Hawksteiner." She said with great contempt: "My dad said that a fool can buy a college degree with money." Yu Bird was elated. After another three days, the fish took the bait. Charlie told him she had decided to let them experiment.She said she would be careful.And said that if those people didn't know how to be careful, she would teach them.She spoke slowly with a straight face, her face pale and pale. "Don't do that," John said, "unless you've thought it through." "I've tried it," she murmured. "Are you doing this for them?" "No!" "Excellent! Are you doing it for yourself?" "Yes. For myself. And my dad." "That's good," he said, "and Charlie, make them listen to you, understand? You've shown them how strong you are.Don't let them underestimate you now. If they see a weakness in you they will take advantage of it, be strong.Do you understand what I mean? " "I... I think so." "Give them something, and you'll get something. You have to do it every time, and you can't do it for nothing." He suddenly became dejected, and the light in his eyes disappeared.She hated to see him so depressed and decadent. "Don't let them treat you like me. I served my country for four years and sacrificed an eye. For more than a year I lived in a pit in the ground and ate bugs. Had a high fever and smelled Stinks of my own feces. Scratching lice from my head. And when I finally come out, they say thank you, John, and put a mop in my hand. They take my rights away, Charlie. Got it ? Don't let them do this to you." "I see." She said solemnly. His face softened a little, and he asked with a smile, "So which day is this great day?" "Tomorrow I'm going to see Dr. Hauksteiner. I'm going to tell him that I've decided to cooperate . . . only to an extent. Then I'm going to tell him what my terms are." "Okay, just don't ask for too much at first. It's like the acrobats in the fairgrounds. Show them something and then take the money." She nodded. "But let them see who's good. Let them know who's in charge, right?" "Yes" he smiled more happily. "Good boy," he said. Hawkes butler was simply mad. "What the fuck are you playing?" he yelled at Rainbird.They're in Karp's office, Rainbird thought: How dare he yell just because Karp is refereeing here.He looked again at Hawksstander's fiery blue eyes, flushed face, and whitened fists, and secretly admitted that perhaps he was wrong.He had ventured into the hallowed domain of Hawksdale.After the blackout, Director Rain Bird's scheming was certainly successful; Hawksdanner knew it too.But this time it's a different matter. Rain Bird just looked at Hawksdanner calmly. "The conditions you said are simply impossible! You know very well that she can't see her father at all! 'Give them something, and you will get something." Hawkes imitated the rain furiously Bird, "You idiot!" Rainbird was still staring at Hawksdanner intently. "Stop calling me an idiot." He said in a very calm tone.Hawkes butler was startled, but only for a moment. "Okay, gentlemen," Cap said wearily, "stop arguing." There is a tape recorder on his desk.They had just finished hearing Rainbird and Charlie talk this morning. "Obviously Dr. Hawkes didn't realize that he and his team were finally going to have something," Rainbird said. "If I'm doing the math correctly, it would expand their existing knowledge base by 100 percent." "At the cost of an accident with disastrous consequences," said Hawksdanler darkly. "This accident can't be controlled because you are too short-sighted." Rain Bird retorted, "Maybe he was too busy playing with mice." "Enough! Gentlemen," Cap said, "we're not here to blame each other. This is not the purpose of our meeting. ’ He looked at Hauksteiner and said: ‘You’re about to have a job, but I’ll say you don’t even know what gratitude is. " Hawkes but Legu blew something. Garp looked at Rain Bird: "Also, I think you got a little bit pissy later on." "You think so? Then you still don't understand." Rain Bird looked at him and then at Hawksdale, and then he looked at Karp and said, "I think you two are too lacking in understanding. You have two child psychologists on your staff.If they represent the academic level of the field, there are plenty of kids out there who need help. " "Easy to say," said Hawksdanner, "it's—" "You just don't understand how smart she is," Rainbird interrupted him. "You don't understand how keenly she sees cause and effect. Being with her is like navigating a minefield. I propose to her This hard and soft approach is because she will figure it out on her own sooner or later. But if I bring it up to her first, it makes her trust me more...actually turns a bad thing into a good thing. " Hawkes butler opened his mouth to speak.Cap raised a hand to stop him, then turned to Rainbird.He is gentle.The soothing voice (to Rainbird only. To him alone) said to Rainbird: "But you still seem to be limiting the work that Hawksteeler and his men can do. Sooner or later she will understand her final request —to see her father—was impossible to satisfy. We all thought it would make her permanently useless to us. "Exactly," said Hawkes butler. "And if she's as smart as you say," Karp said, "she's likely to go out of her way to make this impossible demand." "She'll bring it up," agreed Rainbird, "and that'll end it all. On the one hand she'll see him and realize I've been lying about his situation, from which she'll conclude I've been doing it for you Service. So it's all about how long you can keep her going." Rain Bird leaned forward: "There are a few things to remember. First, you two must understand that she will never set fire for you again. She is human, a little girl who wants to see her father. She is not a laboratory rats in the house." "We've already—" Hawksdanner began impatiently. "No. No, you didn't. We've got to go back to the basic carrot-and-stick game. Charlie agrees to collaborate on the experiment, and she thinks she's dangling a carrot in front of you that will end up putting you-- herself —to her father. But we know that is not the case at all. In fact, the carrot is her father, and we are leading her. A mule can plow for four weeks in order to get the carrot hanging in front of him. Ten acres of land, because mules are stupid. But this little girl is not stupid." He watched Garp and Hawksteeler. "I keep saying that. It's like driving a nail into prime oak. It's hard, you know? You two never seem to remember that. Sooner or later she'll figure it out and tell you to fuck off. Because she's not A mule is not just a lab rat." And you want her to stop, Cap thought bitterly, you want her to stop so you can kill her. "So you must remember this most basic point." Rain Bird continued, "After that, you can think about how to extend her cooperation time as much as possible. After everything is over, write a report. If you can get enough data, you will get a Big bonus. So you have to swallow this carrot. In the future you can go back to injecting witches' nectar into a bunch of poor, ignorant fools." "You're insulting," said Hawksdanler in a trembling voice. "But my analysis is faster than a computer." Rain Bird replied. "How do you suggest extending her cooperation?" "Just give her a little privilege and you'll get something," Rainbird said. "Let her go for a walk on the grass. Or...all little girls love horses. I guarantee you can get her to do at least half a dozen experiments if you just let a groom take her for a run on the base track, That's enough to keep a bombast like Hawkes butler on the tip of a needle for five years." Hawkes butler pushed the table and stood up: "I'm not sitting here to listen to this." "Sit down and shut your mouth," Cap said. Blood was rushing to Hawksdanner's head, and he looked as if he was about to fight.But all this came and went quickly.Now he looks like he's about to cry. "You could send her into town to do the shopping," Rainbird said. "Maybe you could send her to ride the rocking horse at Seven Chess in Georgia. And maybe send her good friend John the Handyman with you." "You do think these things are okay—" Cap began. "No, I don't think so. It won't be very long. Sooner or later she'll talk about her father. But she's human and wants something for herself. She can go as far as you want and keep talking to herself Say this is to show you some unique skills before asking you to pay. But at the end of the day she's going to mention her dear old dad, yes.She's not the type to be bribed.She is strong. " "Then our car will be at its stop," Karp mused. "Everyone get out of the car, the project is coming to an end. At least for this stage." In many ways, he was relieved to see the end of the project coming to an end. . "No, not right away." Rain Bird said with a grim smile, "We still have a long hole in our hand. After throwing out all the little carrots, there is a big one left. Not her father— Can't promise her this - but still let her do it a little longer. " "What could that be?" Hawkesdanler asked. "Go and guess." Yu Bird said with a smile and stopped talking.Cap might guess.For all the blows he's had in the first half, he's half-brained and far smarter than most of his staff.As for Hawksteel, he would never have guessed.By Rain Bird's standards, Hawksdanner was barely qualified, that is, he could get a job in the government. It doesn't matter whether the two can guess what this last carrot was; the result will still be the same.In any case, it will be Xianyu Bird who will be steering the steering wheel of the whole incident.He could have asked them: Do you know who her father is now when her father is away? Let them figure it out for themselves.If they can figure it out. John continued to smile smugly. 4 Andy McGee sits in front of his television set with a small lamp burning above it Andy watches the screen with an expression of calm, numb pleasure, and inwardly; He was tense as hell.Just today. For Andy, the three dry spells that followed the blackout were filled with almost unbearable tension and stress, mixed with a kind of criminal excitement.He now understands why the Russian KGB can cause so much fear in people.Now, he once again had a secret in his heart.It made him restless and restless, like all people with big secrets.But it also made him feel whole and powerful again.Because now he is the one who got those people fooled.No one knows how long he can last or if this will lead to anything, but the important thing is that he is acting now. It is almost ten o'clock in the morning.The perpetually grinning Pinchet would come to his room at ten o'clock sharp.They'd go for a walk in the garden, talk about his progress, and this time, Andy was going to mentally "push" him—at least try.He might have done it before, were it not for those surveillance cameras and ubiquitous listening devices.The wait gave him time to carefully consider his line of attack and double-check its weak points.In fact, he has rewritten parts of the script in his head several times. Lying in bed at night, he thought over and over: Don't forget that the one-eyed man is watching you all the time, you must keep this in mind.He's watching over you all the time, and if you really want to help Charlie, you have to keep them in the dark. He had never slept so little in his life.Mainly because he was worried about talking in his sleep.Some nights he would lie awake for hours on end, not even daring to roll over for fear they might wonder why a man on medication could be so restless.And when he finally fell asleep, he always slept very lightly, and often had some weird dreams (the one-eyed pirate with the artificial leg often appeared in the dream), and would wake up from the dream from time to time. Because they believed he was seriously addicted, it was easy to secretly throw away those pills.He's now taking his pills four times a day, and he hasn't had any trials since the blackout.He believed they had given up trying.Perhaps that was what Pinchett was going to tell him during his walk today. Sometimes he'd cough up the pills and spit them into the hand covering his mouth, and put them in some food wrapper to be tossed down the garbage chute when he got a chance.Most of the tablets are flushed down the toilet.Sometimes, he would spit the pills into half-empty drink cans to dissolve them, then toss them together in a nonchalant manner before dumping them in the sink later. God knows he's not good at it, but those who watch him are very professional.But he thought they were not as serious now as they used to be.If they were still watching over him like they used to be, he would definitely be caught.no doubt. The doorbell rang briefly.Andy fought hard not to let himself jump. The time had come, he said to himself again. Herman Pinchert had entered the living room.He was not as tall as Andy, but very slender. There was something about him that always made Andy feel a little effeminate, though it was hard for him to say what it was.Today he looks exceptionally neat and elegant in a gray pullover and a light jacket.And, of course, that requisite toothy smile. "Good morning, Andy," he said. " "Oh." Andy paused after speaking, as if searching for something in his mind, "Hello, Dr. Pinchett." "Can I turn off the TV? You know it's time for us to go for a walk." "Oh." Andy's brow furrowed, then widened, "Okay. I've seen it three or four times. I like the ending though. It's good. The UFOs took him, you I know. To the stars." "Yeah," said Pinchet, turning off the TV. "Can we go?" "Where are you going?" Andy asked. "Go for a walk," said Herman Pinchert patiently. "Remember?" "Sniff," said Andy, "of course." He stood up. The hallway outside Andy's room was wide, with a tiled floor and dim and indirect lighting.There's a communications or computer center somewhere not far away.People went in with punched cards; went out with stacks of printed material.From time to time, the hum of small machines could be heard in the room. Outside the door of Andy's room sits a young man in a tracksuit—the hallmark of a government agent.Below his arm, the suit was bulged by the pistol inside.The agent was part of the routine, but when Andy and Pincher were out for a walk, he followed far behind, keeping watch out of earshot.Andy didn't think he was going to cause him any trouble. As he and Pinchett walked toward the elevator, with the agent following behind, Andy's heart was beating wildly, and it seemed to shake his entire chest.But he still carefully observed everything around him unobtrusively.There were about a dozen unmarked doors on both sides of the corridor.Walking through the corridors before, he had seen a few doors wide open—a small private library, a copy room—but he had no idea what was behind most of them.Charlie might be behind one of those doors right now—or maybe in another part of the base at all. They went into an elevator big enough for a hospital gurney, and Pinchert pulled out a key chain, inserted one of them into the key slot, and pressed an unmarked button.The doors closed, and the elevator began its smooth ascent.The ETA agent was standing at the back of the elevator car.Andy put his hands in his jeans pockets, a small numb smile on his face. The elevator doors opened.Outside was a hall that looked like it had once been a ballroom.Floors are nailed-together oak parquet.Across the spacious hall, a spiral staircase spirals gracefully to the upper floors.To the left, French windows open to a sunny terrace and rock garden beyond.On the right, the heavy oak door was ajar, and there was the sound of many typewriters inside—the typists were rushing to produce two large packages of documents for the day. There are bursts of floral fragrance in the air. Pinchet led Andy through the sunny ballroom.As usual, Andy was full of praise for the wooden floor, as if he was seeing it for the first time.They walked through the French windows, followed by the Shadow Agent.Bees are flying in the air.Beyond the rockery garden are patches of dense bushes.The lawnmower works tirelessly.Andy lifted his head toward the sun with sincere gratitude. "What do you think, Andy?" asked Pinchet. "Very good, very good." "You see, you've been here almost half a year," said Pinchett, in a tone of surprise that "time flies when you're having a good time."They turned right onto a gravel path.The scent of flowers filled the still air.Near the house opposite the goose pond, two horses trotted leisurely. "It's been a long time," Andy said. "Yeah, it's really long," said Pinchet, laughing, "and we've come to the conclusion that your powers have been—disappeared, Andy. Actually, you know we haven't had any satisfactory results." .” "You've been drugging me," said Andy reproachfully, "and if I'm intoxicated, you certainly can't expect me to perform at my best. Pincher cleared his throat, but didn't mention that Andy hadn't taken any medication during the first three trials, which were also inconclusive. "I mean, I've tried, Dr. Pinchett. I've tried." "Yes, yes, of course you tried. So we thought—that is to say, I thought—that you should take a break. Ita had a faint in Moyi in the Hawaiian Islands, Andy. And I'm very Going to write a summary report on the six months soon. How do you feel about—" Pinchett's laugh has turned into a provocative smile of a TV host, and the tone is like a grown-up about to surprise a child. Surprise 1 "What do you think if I recommend you to go there for vacation in some time in the future?" Sometime in the future, Andy thought, it might be two years, maybe five years, and they'll continue to monitor him in case his will control reappears, or treat him as: Contingency measures in case any unexpected difficulties should arise on Charlie's side, but in the end, he had no doubts that he would have an accident or an overdose or simply a "suicide." "Can I still get treatment?" Andy asked. "Oh, sure," said Pinchett. "Hawaii..." Andy said dreamily.Then he turned to Pinchet with a look of stupid slyness, "Perhaps Dr Hawkes but Dr Le will not let me go. Hawkes But Dr. Le doesn't like me.I know. " "Hey, he likes you," Pinchet assured him, "he really likes you, Andy: And anyway, you're mine, not Dr Hawkesdale's.I assure you, he will agree to my proposal. " 但你还没有就此事写出你的报告。”安迪说。 “还没有。我认为应该先跟你谈谈。不过，豪克斯但勒的同意确实只是个形式问题。” “也许应该再做一组试验，那才是明智的。安迪说，并在脑子里对品彻特轻轻一”、推”，“为了保险起见品彻特的眼睛忽然奇怪地颤动起来。他的笑容凝结了，变得有些困惑，接着就完全消失了。现在轮到品彻特看起来像是那个服了药的人；这念头使安迪感到一阵恶意的满足。蜜蜂在花丛中吟唱，新修过的草坪的浓重气息弥漫在空中。 “在你写报告时，建议再进行一组试验。”安迪重复道。 品彻特的眼睛变得清醒了。他灿烂的笑容重新出现。“当然，这次夏威夷度假的事暂时只有我们两个人知道。”他说“等我写报告时，我会建议再进行一组试验。我想这是明智的．你知道，为了保险起见。” “但在这之后我会去夏威夷？” “是的。”品彻特说，“在这之后。” “而一组试验大概需要三个月时间？” “是的，大约三个月。”品彻特满面春风，仿佛安迪是他最出色的学生。 现在，他们离他塘越来越近。野鹅在如镜的水面上缓缓滑行。两个人在池边驻足。在他们身后，那个穿运动衣的年轻人正注视着池塘对面。那里，一对中年男女并肩骑马缓缓而行。一只野鹅从水面滑过，留下的平滑波纹打破了他们在水中的倒影。安迪觉得这对男女看上去就是一幅宣传邮寄购物保险的广告画。这类广告充斥周日报纸，滚滚不断地涌入你怀中一一一或你的咖啡甲他的头有一丝轻微的疼痛，但并不严重。然而刚才由于紧张，他差点给了品彻特过重的·“推”。如果那样，那个年轻人也许就会注意到这一推的结果。虽然他看上去好像并没有在注意他们，但这骗不了安迪。 “和我谈谈附近的道路和周围的地区。”他静静地对品彻特说，并且再次轻轻“推”了一下。从他们断断续续的谈话中、他已了解到这里离华盛顿不很远，但离中央情报局在兰格雷的基地却很远。除此之外，他一无所知。 “自从他们把那些坑填上后，这儿就变得非常漂亮。”品彻特梦吃般地说。 “是的，这里很不错。”安迪说完陷入了沉默。有时他发功： 后，受力对象会产生几乎是服药后的那种对往事的回忆一通常是通过某种模糊的联想——而打断这种回忆是很不明智的，否则会产生回波效应，回波会进一步发展为反弹，而这种反弹可能会导致……导致任何可怕的事。以前他班上的学员商人瓦尔特·米蒂就发生过这类情况，差点把安迪吓得魂飞魄散。幸好那次最终还一切顺利。但如果这时品彻特老兄猛然恐惧地尖叫起来，那就： 会一切都不顺利了。 “我妻子喜欢那东西。”品彻特依然梦吃般地说。 “那东西是什么？”安迪问，“她喜欢什么？” “她的新垃圾处理器。它非常……” He fell silent. “非常漂亮。”安迪提示道。那个穿运动衣的年轻人走近了些，安迪感到自己唇上冒出了一层细汗。 “非常漂亮。”品彻特表示同意，依然目光迷离地望着池塘。 那个特工走得更近了。安迪觉得自己可能要被迫再使用一次特异功能……轻轻的一次。品彻特仍然像个显像管已经爆炸的电视，呆呆地站在他身旁。 那特工捡起一块木头扔进池里）木头轻轻击在水面上，荡起道道涟漪。品彻特的眼睛颤动起来。 “附近的乡村非常漂亮。”品彻特说，“都是山区，你知道骑马很不错。如果能抽出身来，我和妻子每星期要在这里骑次马。我想东边最近的镇是多恩……确切他说是东南边。很小的一个镇。多恩在301号高速公路上。盖泽是东边最近的镇。” “盖泽是在高速公路上吗？” “不。只是一条小公路上。” “多恩旁边的301号高速路通向哪里？” “如果往北走，一直到首都华盛顿。如果往南，一直到里士满以远。” 安迪现在想谈谈恰莉。他本打算询问恰莉的情况，但是品彻特的反应有点让他担心。他关于妻子。坑、漂亮和——多奇怪——垃圾处理器的联想显得很怪异，令人不安。也许品彻特虽然是个能被控制的人，但并不是一个好对象。也许他本人的神经就有些不正常，但却紧紧地包裹在一副正常的面孔下；只有上帝知道在这层表面之下，各种力量是怎样达到微妙的平衡的。控制精神不稳定的人会导致各式各样的结果。如果没有后面的特工，安迪也许无论如何也会试一试（在经历了这么多磨难后，他对扰乱赫尔曼·品彻特的大脑没有任何内疚可言），但是现在他有些担心。一个有特异功能的精神病学家可能是对人类的莫大恩赐…… 不过安迪·麦克吉可不是什么精神病学家。 也许仅从一次回忆反应就假设出这许多东西有些愚蠢；以前他曾在许多人身上看到过这种反应，但很少有人精神失常。但是他对品彻特没有把握，品彻特笑得大多。 忽然在他潜意识的深层，一个冰冷。带着杀意的声音说道： 告诉他回家去自杀。然后“推”他一下。狠狠地“推”他一下） 他挥去这念头，并为此感到恐惧和一丝厌恶。 “好了。”品彻特说着环顾四周，脸上挂着微笑，“我们回去好吗？” “好的。”安迪说。 他终于行动了，但他对恰莉的情况仍一无所知。 部门间备忘录 提交者：赫尔曼·品彻特 敬启者：帕特里克·豪克斯但勒 日期：九月十二日 事涉：安迪·麦克吉 过去三天里，我重新检查了所有记录和大部分录音带，并和麦克吉谈了话。自从我们上次在九月五日的讨论之后，情况没有实质性的变化，但是如果没有强烈反对意见（就像卡普顿·霍林： 斯特所说“这只不过是钱的问题”），我希望暂时推迟夏威夷度假计划。 事实是，帕特，我认为再进行一组试验是明智的一为保险起见。在这之后我们可以按原定计划把他送到默依营地，我想最后一组试验大约需要三个月时间。 请在我写正式报告前提出建议。 赫尔曼 部门间备忘录 提交者：帕·霍 敬启者：赫尔曼·品彻特 日期：九月十三日 事涉：安迪·麦克吉 我不明白！上次开会时我们都同意了的——你和我们一样——麦克吉已毫无利用价值。你知道我们已等了很长时间，该采取行动了。 如果你希望进行另一组试验——那就到我这来。我们下星期要和那女孩做试验，但由于来自某个方面的大量愚蠢干涉，我认为女孩的合作不会持续很长。而在她同意合作时，让她父亲呆在附近也许是个好主意……就算是个“灭火器”？ ? ? 你说的不错——也许“只是钱的问题”，但这是纳税人的钱。 而现在极少鼓励对这些人征税，赫尔曼。尤其是由卡普顿·霍林斯特征税。别忘了这一点。计划让他最多再停留六至八个星期，除非你取得了什么成果……不过我并不认为这有什么可能性。 帕特 “他妈的，畜生。”赫尔曼·品彻特看完这份备忘录后高声骂道：他再次读了遍第三段：这个豪克斯但勒，这个拥有一辆1958年雷鸟的豪克斯但勒，却在为钱教训他。他一把将备忘录揉成一团扔向废纸篓，然后靠坐在他的转椅里。至多两个月！他可不喜欢这样，三个月更合适。他确实感到—— 忽然，他脑海中神秘而且出人意料地出现了家里装的那套垃圾处理器。这也令他非常不安。最近不知为什么这套垃圾处理器钻进了他的大脑，而他却无法将它清除出去。特别是当他处理有关委迪·麦克吉的问题时，这个形象就异常活跃：中间黑洞洞的垃圾口上覆盖着一层塑料隔膜……像女人的私处…… 他更深地坐在椅子里，胡思乱想着。当他猛地清醒过来时，他不安地发现时间已经过去了二十分钟。他拿出一纸备忘录表格开始给那个混蛋豪克斯但勒写一张条子，心中对他那段关于“只不过是钱”的评语耿耿于怀。他克制住自己没有再去申请三个月的时间（那个处理器光滑的黑洞再次浮现在他脑海中）。如果豪克斯但勒说是两个月，那就是两个月。但如果他真的从安迪身上获得了什么成果，那他可就要好好庆祝一番了。 他写完字条，匆匆地在下面签上赫尔曼，然后往后一靠，揉起太阳穴来。他有些头疼。 在中学和大学，赫尔曼·品彻特一直是个不为人知的异性装扮瘤者。他喜欢穿上女人的衣服，因为他觉得这使他显得……怎么说呢，非常漂亮。大学三年级时，他参加了三角州俱乐部，被两个兄弟会员发现了他的隐私。同往常一样，让他们保持沉默的代价真让人难以启齿，同品彻特本人兴高采烈参加的捉弄新成员的把戏没什么两样。 凌晨两点钟，他们会在俱乐部厨房的地上扔满垃圾和杂物。 然后强迫全身穿着妇女服装的品彻特把它们打扫干净，然后再擦地板。 这时只要有另外一个会员兄弟睡眼朦胧地晃下楼来找东西吃，他就会被发现。 后来，他们发展到彼此手淫。品彻特猜测这也许是让他们保持沉默的真正原因，所以心中对此不无感激。但他还是怀着恐惧和对自己的厌恶退出了俱乐部——最主要的原因是他发现整个事情竟然让他很兴奋。从那以后，他再也没有穿过女人的衣服。他不是同性恋者。他有一个可爱的妻子和两个很乖的孩子，这证明他并不是同性恋。他已多年没有想起这件屈辱，令人作呕的事情了。而现在一一一那个垃圾处理器。那个蒙着塑料隔膜的光滑的黑洞，依旧浮现在眼前。他的头疼更甚了。 安迪发功带来的回波开始了。现在它只是在缓缓地起作用； 那个处理器的形象，那认为自己很漂亮的念头，还只是时断时续地出现。 但它会加快速度，并且开始出现反弹。 直到令人再也无法忍受。 “不行。”恰莉说，“这不行。”说完她转身再次大步走出了那间小屋子。她紧绷着脸，脸色发白，眼圈下带着少许紫晕。 “嗨，等一下。”豪克斯但勒伸出双手叫道。他强作一副笑脸：“有什么不对头，恰莉？” “一切。”她说，“一切都不对头。” 豪克斯但勒环视着屋子。一个角落里立着一架索尼电视摄像机。它的电线穿过木板墙接在隔壁观察室里的盒式磁带录像机上，屋子中央的桌子上摆着一个装满木片的铁制烟灰缸。在它左边，是一个脑电波记录仪，一个穿着白大褂的年轻人正摆弄着“我还是不明白。”豪克斯但勒说道。他仍然慈爱地微笑着，但他快气疯了。用不着一个能看出别人在想什么的人就知道这二点；你只要看看他的眼睛就行了。 “你不听我说。”恰莉颤声说，“你们都不听我说，除了——，（除了约翰；可你不能说出来。） “告诉我们怎么办。”豪克斯但勒说。 她的脾气仍然很大：“如果你们听了我的话，你们早就知道了，那个盛木片的铁烟灰缸，它还行，可只有它才行。桌子是木头的，还有那墙，都是可燃的……还有那个人的衣服。”她指着那个实验员说。那人不禁哆嗦了一下。 “恰莉一一、”“那个摄像机也是。” “恰莉，那个摄像机是——” “它是塑料的，如果温度过高，它会爆炸，、于是碎片就会到处乱飞。而且还没有水！我告诉过你，一旦它出来后，我必须把它推到水里去。我爸爸和妈妈告诉我的。我必须把它推到水里让它熄灭。否则……否则……” 她放声大哭。她想约翰。她想爸爸。最重要的是，噢，最最重要的是她想离开这儿。昨天整整一夜她都没有合眼。 豪克斯但勒著有所思地看着她。tears.烦躁……他想这些都明显表明这次她是真的准备完成试验了。 “好吧。”他说，“好吧，恰莉。你告诉我们怎么办，我们就怎么办。” “这样就对了。”她说，“否则你们什么都得不到。” 豪克斯但勒想：我们会得到许多，你这个小婊子。 结果证明，他完全正确。 “当天下午晚些时候，他们把她带到另一个房间。上午被带回自己的房间后，她在电视机前睡着了——她仍很年轻，尽管精神上既不安又混乱，但生理需要仍占了上风——她大概睡了快六个小时。加上中午又吃了一个汉堡和许多薯条，她现在感觉好多了，也镇定多了。 她久久地仔细巡视着这间屋子。 盛木片的烟灰缸放在一张金属桌子上。墙壁是没有任何装饰的灰色工业用钢板。 豪克斯但勒说：“那个实验员穿的是石棉制服和石棉鞋。”他俯身对她说着话，脸上仍挂着慈爱的微笑。脑电波记录仪的操作员看上去很热，极不舒服。为了防止呼吸进去石棉纤维，他脸上戴着一块白布面罩。豪克斯但勒指着远处一面墙里的长方形镜子对恰莉说：“那是单向玻璃。我们的摄像机在它后面。你看，那是水桶。” 恰莉走到水桶边。这是个老式水桶，与周围刻板的环境丝毫不协调。桶里装满了水。恰莉想这应该可以。 “行了。”她说。 豪克斯但勒笑得更开心了：“'好极了”“不过你得到隔壁房间去。我不愿意看着你来做。”恰莉神秘莫测地盯着豪克斯但勒，“也许会出什么事。”： 豪克斯但勒慈爱的笑容忽然变得有些僵硬。 “她说得对，你知道。”雨鸟说，”'如果你按她说的去做，第一次你就会做成了”豪克斯但勒看着他，嘴里咕吹了一声。 豪克斯但勒、雨鸟和卡普正站在单向玻璃前。他们身后的摄像机窥视着室内，索尼录像机发出几乎听不到的嗡嗡声。玻璃有些偏振作用，所以试验室里的东西看上去有些发蓝，就像透过长途汽车车窗看到的景物，那个实验员正将脑申波记录仪联在恰莉头上。接着观测室里的一个电视监视器上出现了她的脑电波。 “看看那些脑波。”一个技术人员悄声道，“她确实很兴奋。” “是吓坏了。”雨鸟说，“她确实吓坏了。” “你相信了，是不是？”卡普忽然问道，“开始的时候你并不相信，但现在你信了。” “是的。”雨鸟说． "I believe." 在另外那问屋子里，实验员从恰莉身边走开：“这里准备就绪。” 豪克斯但勒打开一个拨动开关：“开始，恰莉，你准备好了就开始吧。”“恰莉朝单向玻璃望去，有那么神秘的一刹那，她似乎正直视着雨鸟的那只好眼。 雨鸟看着她，脸上淡淡地笑着。 恰莉·麦克吉望着单问权璃，只看见自己的身影……但她能强烈感觉到后面盯着她的眼睛。她真希望约翰能在她身边；这会使她感觉轻松些。但她丝毫没有察觉到他就在这儿。 她看着那个装满木片的烟灰缸。 只需轻轻一“推”。她想着这件事情，再次恐惧而厌恶地发现自己居然愿意去做。一个又热又饿的人坐在一大块巧克力冰淇淋面前，想狼吞虎咽地把它吃下去，没错，但开始你也许会希望先细细……细细地品味一下。 这种希望使她为自己感到羞愧；之后却又近乎愤怒地摇了摇头。我为什么不应该喜欢去做呢？人们总是愿意做他们擅长的事。就像妈妈喜欢做夹层饼和波特城的杜瑞先生喜欢做面包一样。如果他自己家里已经够了，他就会为别人做。所以很自然你会愿意做你所擅长的事…… 木片，她有些不以为然地想，他们本可以让我做些更难的事来。 最先有感觉的是那个实验员。他穿着石棉服，开始觉得闷热。浑身出汗。最初他以为是衣服的原因。接着他看到那个小孩的脑波呈现出高而尖的波纹；这是精力高度集中的标志，也是大脑想象力驰骋的象征。 他感觉越来越热——猛然间他害怕了。 “那儿开始了！”观测室中一个实验员兴奋地大声说，“温度急速上升了十度。她的脑波看上去就像安第斯山脉——” “着火了！”卡普高叫着，“着火了！他颤抖的声音充满骄傲和喜悦，就像为了这一时刻已等待多年的人。 她给了那装满木片的烟灰缸不轻不重的一“推”。那些木片不是着了起来，而是腾地一声炸了开来，片刻之后，那烟灰缸猛地跳了两次，将燃烧着的木块抛洒出来，然后喳地一声重重击在墙上，在那钢板上留下一个小坑。 监视脑波记录仪的那个实验员恐惧地大叫一声，突然朝门口冲去。他的喊叫猛地将恰莉抛到了奥尔巴尼机场。这是穿着一双熊熊燃烧的军鞋。冲向女厕所的埃迪·戴尔戈多的叫声。 她带着突然感到的恐惧和兴奋想到：噢，上帝，它变得厉害多了！ 铁墙上出现了一道奇怪的深色波纹。屋子里变得闷热不堪。 在观测室中，数字温度计从七十度上升到八十度，接着停顿了一下，然后猛地爬升到九十，九十四度。之后上升速度才减慢下现在恰莉有些惊慌失措，她将脑中的火源朝水桶抛去。桶里的水蒸腾起来。接着涌起无数水泡。五秒钟之内，桶里的凉水就变成了滚沸的开水。 那个实验员已逃之夭夭，连试验室的门都忘了关上：观测室中突然一阵骚动。豪克斯但勒哈哈大笑；卡普站在玻璃前、目瞪口呆地瞪视着那桶沸腾的水。团团蒸气从桶里升起，单向玻璃上开始蒙上一层雾气。只有雨鸟仍镇定地将两只手背在身后，淡淡地笑着，他看上去就像一个其得意门生刚刚用晦涩的定理解决了一个棘手难题的老师。 （回去！)她在心中狂叫。 （回去！回去！退回去！） 突然间它消失了。似乎体内什么东西放松了，自由地旋转了一两秒钟后停了下来；她从全神贯注的状态中醒了过来，又重新看见了房间，并且感觉到自己制造的热量已使她大汗淋漓。在观测室中，温度计达到了九十六度，之后开始下降。滚沸的水开始渐渐平息，但至少有一半已经变成了蒸气，尽管试验室的门敞开着，小屋仍像蒸气室一样闷热，潮湿。 豪克斯但勒极度兴奋地检查着试验器具。他平常总是把头发紧紧梳向后面，极其整齐，光滑，似乎一起风便会发出呼啸声； 而现在整个发型歪向一边，脑后的头发还立了起来，看上去像个小丑。 “成功了！”他大口喘着粗气，“成功了，我们成功了……已经录下来了……温度梯度变化曲线……你看见那桶里的水开了吗'……那稣……我们录音了吗……录下了……我的上帝，你看见她做了些什么吗？” 他走过一个实验员身边，又猛地转回身，粗暴地抓住他的衣服领子：“你敢说对她所干的事还有什么怀疑吗？” 那个像豪克斯但勒本人一样兴奋的实验员猛烈地晃着自己的脑袋：“一点儿怀疑都没有，头儿。一点儿也没有。” “感谢上帝。”豪克斯但勒说着旋风般转开了，再次变得神情恍馏，“我本应想到……什么东西……是的，什么东西……可那烟灰缸……飞了起来……” 他猛地看见了仍背着双手站在单向玻璃前，脸上挂着温和。