After some time, both Claire and Eliza and their granddaughters arrived at the year 2084. Eliza felt a bit dizzy after the molecules in her body had been separated and regrouped together. The four girls descended the Time Booth, discovering themselves to be situated on a flat surface, the stuffy and polluted air soon reached their nostrils, and Claire and Eliza, who weren't at all accustomed to such a level of pollution, started coughing immediately, but soon stopped after they became quite used to it.
很快地， Claire 和 Eliza 以及他們的孫女們都紛紛來到了 2084年。Eliza 身體的分子被分解再組裝回來後，使她感到有些許的頭暈。四個女孩們走出了時光亭，發現自己站在一個平台上。充滿污染的空氣很快地飄到了 Claire 和 Eliza 的鼻孔裏，使得兩人不禁開始猛力地咳嗽。不過，過了一會兒，兩人也漸漸習慣了。
很快地， Claire 和 Eliza 以及他們的孫女們都紛紛來到了 2084年。Eliza 身體的分子被分解再組裝回來後，使她感到有些許的頭暈。四個女孩們走出了時光亭，發現自己站在一個平台上。充滿污染的空氣很快地飄到了 Claire 和 Eliza 的鼻孔裏，使得兩人不禁開始猛力地咳嗽。不過，過了一會兒，兩人也漸漸習慣了。
"We're now on top of a really tall building," explained Annie, "Now, we have to get to our apartment to make sure that Dickinshfirtz is in his laboratory." As she explained, she took out a capsule-shaped object out of a pocket in her dress, which soon disappeared after the object is taken out. Then, she threw it onto the floor. As if by magic, Claire and Eliza stared in awe as the capsule exploded into a huge and transparent bubble-shaped object, which has the capacity to hold four people. "Wow!" Claire and Eliza exclaimed in astonishment in one voice.
「我們正站在一棟高樓上。」安妮解釋道。「現在，我們得先回公寓，好確認迪肯弗還在他的實驗室裏。」她說畢便從衣服口袋裏取出了一個膠囊，說也奇怪，膠囊被取出後口袋自己就消失不見了。安妮將膠囊往地上一扔，彷彿魔法一般，Claire 和 Eliza 目瞪口呆地看著膠囊爆破後變成了一個泡泡形狀的物體，體積剛好可容納四人。「哇！」Claire 和 Eliza 異口同聲地說。
「我們正站在一棟高樓上。」安妮解釋道。「現在，我們得先回公寓，好確認迪肯弗還在他的實驗室裏。」她說畢便從衣服口袋裏取出了一個膠囊，說也奇怪，膠囊被取出後口袋自己就消失不見了。安妮將膠囊往地上一扔，彷彿魔法一般，Claire 和 Eliza 目瞪口呆地看著膠囊爆破後變成了一個泡泡形狀的物體，體積剛好可容納四人。「哇！」Claire 和 Eliza 異口同聲地說。
"This is called the Bubble, our main transport here!" elucidated Annie, "This is just like a real bubble, but it is made out of a material that is very flexible, yet, very resistant; hence, do not worry that it'll pop. Also, it's completely powered by solar energy. This technology is yet to be invented in the year 2016." Made completely speechless by this seemingly alien-like technology, Claire and Eliza could only touch the surface of the Bubble in awe. The surface felt extremely soft but flexible, like the surface of a balloon.
「這個叫做泡泡，是咱們這兒的主要交通工具！」安妮解釋道。「它就像是真的泡泡一般，只是用了很有彈性、很堅固的材質所製作而成的。所以，阿嬤，別擔心它會破。而且，它完全是靠太陽能發動的。這個技術在 2016年還尚未被發明。」Claire 和 Eliza 驚訝地看著眼前這個酷似外星技術的東西，並小心翼翼地摸著泡泡的表面。表面摸起來很有彈性，和一顆氣球一樣。
"Oops! I've got to set it up to let you in," said Annie as she entered the bubble easily, and started touching her palm, whilst continuing to explain, "The Bubble will not let anything in unless it is programmed to do so. Inside the Bubble, it is antigravity, so it'll feel like as if you are floating, so you don't get dizzy whilst it is moving fast. But don't worry, grandma, inside, there's plenty of fresh air and oxygen, so we won't suffocate."
「對了！我得先設定它，這樣你們才能進去。」安妮說著說著便鑽進了泡泡裏，並開始按著手掌心，繼續說明道。「泡泡若是沒有設定，是不會讓任何東西進入的。在泡泡裏，不受地心引力的控制，所以感覺起來自己像在漂浮一般，如此一來，就不會覺得頭暈了。可是，阿嬤，別擔心，裏面有豐富的新鮮空氣和氧氣，是不會窒息的。」
"What are you doing?" inquired Eliza, motioning to Annie's palm.
「妳在幹嘛呀？」Eliza 指著安妮的手掌問道。
"Oh! That is the remote to control the Bubble," explained Cathy, "Every remote nowadays can be controlled using your hand, as it's all virtual!" After Annie has finished her settings, Claire and Eliza entered the Bubble, and the four girls began their journey as they floated onto the sky and started flying towards their destination. From above, they could perceive that down below, there were extremely tall buildings that were so close together, that there were barely any gaps in-between. They didn't perceive any roads or streets. Seeing their grandmas peering down, Cathy continued to explain, "In 2084 AD, there are still many types of transports, but whichever one you choose to use, they all float in the air. As now that the population has grown to over 100 billion, we can no longer accommodate everyone if we don't give up overground transport. Hence, around 50 years ago, they have already started to develop over-sky transport technology, so we can build more houses for everyone."
「噢！這是泡泡的遙控器啊！」凱西說道。「現在所有的遙控裝置都是虛擬的，只要用手就可以控制了！」安妮設定完畢後，Claire 和 Eliza 也鑽進了泡泡，於是，四個女孩兒便開始了她們的空中之旅。由上往下看，她們留意到下面的建築物都好高、而且非常的密集，建築物之間幾乎沒有縫隙。她們並沒有看到任何道路。看到阿嬤們好奇地往下看，凱西趕緊解釋道：「在2084年，還是有很多交通工具可以選擇，但是不管選擇哪一項，都是在空中的。因為現在地球的人口數量已超越了一千億人口，若我們不放棄地上交通，我們就無法容納這麼多人。因此，50年前，政府就開始發展空中交通技術，這樣我們就可以蓋更多的房子了。」
"OMG! We're floating in here!" cried Claire in ecstasy.
「噢買尬！我們在飄浮呀！」Claire 興奮地喊道。
"Why is the sky so blue if it's so polluted?" queried Eliza, pointing to the beautiful blue sky with some white clouds here and there, "And why is it so polluted anyways? Shouldn't you guys have already gotten rid of all polluting things by now?"
「如果污染這麼嚴重，為什麼天空還是這麼藍呢？」Eliza 指著湛藍色的天空問道：「還有，為什麼會有這麼多污染呀？你們不是早該廢除所有會污染的東西了嗎？」
"Yes, we have grandma," replied Annie, "We have stopped causing all sorts of pollutions 40 years ago. All this pollution was from before. Around twenty years ago, the government has started to pump all the polluted air out into outer-space, but as the pollution that was created before was so much that the air is still polluted. The sky you see if not real, it is just a virtual sky. In reality, the sky is so grey and polluted, but it is unpleasant to the eye, so the government has decided to create an image to replace it."
「對啊，阿嬤！」安妮答道。「早在 40 年前我們就已經停用了一切污染的來源。這些污染全都是以前所造成的。20年前，政府才開始將所有被污染的空氣排放到外太空，只是之前所製造的污染實在太多，這麼短的時間內根本無法排放完畢。我們所看到的天空其實不是真的長這樣，那也是虛擬的。事實上，因為天空污染太嚴重，太灰暗了，不好看。所以，政府就決定製造了一個影像放上去。」
"The weather's pretty good today!" remarked Claire, "What's the weather usually like here?"
「今天天氣真好！」Claire 說。「這兒平時天氣都是如何呢？」
"It's always boringly the same- sunny. And the temperature, too, always 28 degrees Celsius," Cathy sighed, "As humans are now able to control the weather, so that only at certain parts of the world, where all the agriculture are, there is rain. The rest of the world doesn't need rain, as all the water is transported from a central station."
「每天都很無聊～這兒永遠是晴天。溫度也都控制在攝氏28度。」凱西嘆氣道。「因為現在人類已能掌控天氣，所以只有在地球的一些地方～也就是整個地球的農產品來源地，會下雨。世界其他地區都不需要雨，因為所有的水都是統一從一個中央處理處發放的。」
"That must be so dull! Imagine that- the same weather everyday!" exclaimed Eliza.
「這樣好無聊喔！真難想像每天天氣都一樣！」Eliza 說。
~To be Continued~
～待續～
No comments:
Post a Comment