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ANTEBELLUM
引子
The man in the tattered coat stands in a room of shadows, bathed in light.
tattered: 褴褛的 coat: 外套 stand in: 站立于 shadow: 阴影 bath: 沐浴 in light: 被光线照着
一个衣衫褴褛的男人立在暗影幢幢的房间里，浴在光中。
No, that is wrong: the figure is not illuminated by the light, but rather is light incarnate, light folded and curved in on itself in a holographic replica of its originator.
figure: 图像 illuminate: 照亮 rather: 恰恰相反 incarnate: 具体化的 fold: 折叠 curve: 弯曲 holographic: 全息的 replica: 复制品 originator: 本人
错了，其实没有光照着他，光是从男人身体内部发出的。光线盘绕弯曲，勾勒出一个全息图像，这是发射信息者本人的三维复制图像。
The man speaks to the dimly lit room, unknowing and uncaring if there is anyone present beyond the limits of his own radiance.
dimly: 黯淡的 lit:亮着的 uncaring: 不在乎 present:呈现 limit: 限定 radiance: 光辉
这个发光的幻影对着灯光黯淡的房间讲话，它不知道从自己身上发出的光照耀着谁，也不知道听众是什么人。它并不在乎。
Phantom smoke, equally luminous, snakes up from the cigarette in his left hand.
phantom: 虚幻的 smoke: 烟 equally: 同样地 luminous: 发光的 snake up: 冉冉升起 cigarette: 香烟
—缕虚幻的烟从它手中的香烟上缭绕着冉冉升起。
He is a shard of the past, a bit of what had gone before, frozen in light, playing to an unseen audience.
shard: 残留 a bit of: 一点 frozen: 凝结的 unseen: 看不见的 audience: 听众
已逝的岁月留下的一丝残星，消亡的事物留下的一点碎片，凝结在全息图像的光影中，面对说话者无法看见的听众述说。
“You know me,” says the shining figure, pausing to take a drag on his coffin nail.
shining: 光亮的 figure: 图像 pause: 暂停 take a drag: 抽一口烟 coffin nail:香烟
“你们认识我，”发光的幻影说，略停一下，吸了口烟，
“You’ve seen my face on the Universe News Network, and you’ve read the reports under my byline.
universe: 宇宙 network: 网络 report: 报道 byline: 专栏报道
“你们在宇宙新闻网络(UNN)上见过我。不少人可能还读过我的专栏报道，
Some of those were even written by me. Some others, well, let’s say I have talented editors.” The light-starred figure gives a tired, almost amused shrug.
talented: 有才干的 editor: 编辑 light-starred: 光影的 tired: 厌倦的 amused: 讥讽的 shrug: 耸肩
其中有一些的确是我写的。另外那些，我声明一下，和我无关，要归功于我聪明能干的主编。”光影讥讽地说，无可奈何地耸了耸肩。
The recording presents him as a small mannequin, but he looks as if in real life he would be of normal height and proportions, if a little lanky.
recording: 记录的 present: 呈现 mannequin: 模型 as if: 好像 normal: 普通的 height: 身高 proportion: 比例 lanky: 瘦长的
这个幻影的大小像个小模型，看样子此人应当是个中等个子，比常人稍瘦一点。
His shoulders slope slightly from exhaustion or age.
shoulder: 肩膀 slope: 倾斜 slightly: 些微的 exhaustion: 疲惫 age: 年龄
不知是因为疲惫还是岁数关系，他的肩膀有些倾斜。
His dirty-blond hair is spattered with lighter striations of gray and is swept back in a ponytail to hide an obvious bald spot.
blond hair: 金发 spatter: 洒 striation: 条痕 gray: 灰色 sweep: 扫过 ponytail: 马尾发 hide: 隐藏 obvious: 明显的 bald: 秃的 spot: 斑点
脏兮兮的金发中略有些灰白的发缕，梳向后脑，希望遮住头上一块明显的秃斑。
His face is worn, a bit craggier than would be permitted for a traditional newscast,
worn: 疲倦的 craggy: 有皱纹的 permitted: 认为 traditional: 惯例的 newscast: 新闻主持人
他一脸倦容，不大像电视新闻的主持人，皱纹更多一些。
but still recognizable. It remains a famous face, a comfortable face, a well-known face across human space, even in these later war-torn days.
recognizable: 认识的 remain: 仍是 comfortable: 安心的 well-known: 知名的 war-torn: 战火连绵的
但这依然是一张人们熟悉的面孔，一张让人放心的面孔，一张人类空间里众所周知的面孔。哪怕在这些战火肆虐的日子里，也还是这样。
But it is his eyes that demand attention. They are deep-set, and even in the recording seem to reach out.
demand attention: 让人难忘 deep-set: 深陷的 recording: 录音 reach out: 向外射出
他的眼睛让人难忘，双目深陷，犀利的眼光好像正从光影里向外刺出。
It is the eyes that create the illusion that the shining figure can truly see his audience, and see them to the core of their beings.
create: 造成 illusion: 错觉 core: 核心 being: 存在
给人一种这个发光的幻影能看到他的听众的错觉。
That has always been his talent, connecting with his audience even when he was light-years away.
talent: 才能 shining: 光亮的 connect: 吸引 audience: 观众 light-year: 光年
这是他特有的才华，即使远隔几光年，他也能吸引住他的听众。
The figure takes another pull on his cancer stick, and his head is bathed in a holy nimbus of smoke.
figure: 图像 pull: 抽 cancer stick: 香烟 bathe: 笼罩 holy: 淡淡的 nimbus: 云雾
光影抬起手中的烟，抽了一口缓缓吐出，他的头部笼罩在一团淡淡的烟雾中，
“You may have heard the official reports of the fall of the Confederacy of Man and of the glorious rise of the empire called the Terran Dominion.
official: 官方的 report: 报道 fall: 崩溃 confederacy: 联邦 glorious: 辉煌的 rise: 崛起 empire: 帝国 dominion: 政权
“你们可能已经看过了官方的报道，关于特兰联邦的崩溃，以及被称为‘特兰帝国’的新政权的崛起。
And you may have listened to the stories of the coming of the aliens, the hordes of Zerg and the inhuman, ethereal Protoss.
alien: 外星人 horde: 大群 inhuman: 非人类 ethereal: 无情的
另外你们可能也听说了异星种族侵犯人类的故事，蜂蚁一般拥来的泽格族和无情的普罗托斯族。
Of the battles of the Sara system and the fall of Tarsonis itself. You’ve heard the reports.
battle: 战争 system: 星系 fall: 毁灭 report: 报道
有关萨拉星系的战事和塔索尼斯星的毁灭，你们见过不少报道。
As I said before, some of those reports had my name on them. Parts of them are even true.”
some of: 一些 part of: 一部分 true: 真实的
我刚才说过，其中一些是以我的名义发布的。我想在这里告诉大家，那些报道大多数都是编造的。
In the darkness beyond the light someone shifts uneasily, unseen. The holographic projector lets out only stray bits of light, rogue photons,
darkness: 黑暗 beyond: 在…之外 shift: 移动 uneasily: 不安地 unseen: 未被看见的 projector: 放映机 stray: 杂散的 rogue: 游移的 photon: 光子
在光线之外的黑暗中有个不被看见的人不安的移动着。全息放映机只放出杂散的光，游移的光子，
but the audience remains for the moment a mystery. Somewhere behind the darkness-shrouded audience there is the sound of dripping water.
audience: 观众 mystery: 疑惑 shrouded: 覆盖的 dripping: 滴落的
此刻听众们心中充满了疑惑。在被黑暗笼罩的听众身后某处有水滴落的声音。
“You read my words, then, and believed them. I’m here to tell you, in those broadcasts,
believe: 相信 broadcast: 新闻报道
“你们读了我的文章，然后，你们也相信了我所说的。在这里我告诉你们，在那些广播报道中，
that most of them were grade-A cow patties, massaged by the powers that be into more suitable and palatable forms.
grade-A cow patties: 指虚假不实的 massage: 篡改 power: 权力 suitable: 合适的 palatable: 愉悦的 form: 形式
大部分都是编造的，是权力机构肆意删改添加。
Lies were told, both small and large, lies that have led us in part to our present sorry situation.
lie: 谎言 tell: 发生影响 lead: 引导 in part: 在某种程度上 present: 现在的 sorry: 凄惨的 situation: 处境
谎言公然流行，形形色色的谎言，最终把我们推到了现在这种凄惨的处境中。
A situation that is not going to improve unless we start talking about what really happened.
improve: 改善 unless: 除非 talking about: 谈论 really: 真正地
除非我们敢于面对现实，了解身边发生的实际情况，否则难以改变目前的处境。
What happened on Chau Sara and Mar Sara and Antiga Prime and Tarsonis itself. What happened to me and some friends of mine, and some enemies as well.”
happen: 发生 enemy: 敌人 as well: 也
那么，切奥·萨拉，玛尔·萨拉，安提卡主星，还有塔索尼斯，在这些行星上发生了什么事?我的周围，我的朋友，还有我的敌人，发生了什么事?真实的情形到底是怎样的呢?”
The figure pauses, drawing itself up to its full height. It looks around, its sightless eyes sweeping the darkened room. It looks into the core of its audience’s soul.
figure: 图像 pause: 暂停 draw oneself up: 挺直身体 look around: 环顾四周 sightless: 无法看到的 sweep:扫视 darkened: 昏暗的 core: 本质 audience: 观众 soul: 灵魂
幻影停顿一下，挺直身体。它用自己那双无法看到听众的眼睛，扫视一圈暗黑的房间，咄咄逼人的目光仿佛看透了所有人的灵魂。
“I’m Michael Daniel Liberty. I’m a reporter. Call this my most important, perhaps final, report. Call this my manifesto.
reporter: 记者 call: 称为 perhaps: 或许 final: 最后的 report: 报道 manifesto: 自述
“我是迈克·利伯蒂。我是一个记者。在这里，我要向你们披露的，是我最重要的报道。也许这是我记者生涯中最后的报道。我向你们披露我的自述，
Call it what you will. I’m just here to tell you what really happened. I’m here to set the record straight. I’m here to tell you the truth.”
will: 想要的 set the record straight: 澄清问题 truth: 真相
披露你们想了解的事件。我只是想让大家都知道，在我们身边，究竟发生了什么事。在这里，我将直言不讳地告诉你们真相。”
作者：Jeff Grubb 翻译：佚名
解析：Wayne 编辑：Wayne
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