This time, it was Claire's turn to press the button. "Let's see! This suits us better!" Claire had barely finished speaking when the room transformed into bare walls with Victorian furniture.
這次,換Claire走過去壓按鈕了。「我覺得這個挺適合我們的!」Claire 話還沒說完,房間的內裝頓時變成了素面的牆壁,裏面還放著維多利亞時期的傢俱。
"OMG! You're right! Enjoying afternoon tea in a victorian parlour has always been my dream!" Eliza exclaimed in excitement. Then, the four girls sat down to afternoon tea. They had barely taken a sip of the warm tea when they heard a feminine voice, "Incoming call! Incoming call from Grandma! Answer or not?"
「噢買尬!對耶!在維多利亞客廳裏喝著著下午茶一直都是我的夢想耶!」Eliza 興奮地叫道。然後,四個女孩們便坐下來,開始享用下午茶。她們才喝了一口暖暖的茶,就聽到了一個女人的聲音說:「有來電!有來自阿嬤的來電!要接嗎?」
"Who's that?" Claire and Eliza started up in shock.
「誰呀?」Claire 和 Eliza 嚇得跳了起來。
"Grandma, it's you calling. I mean....you from 2084 calling!" Annie hastily explained, "Quick! Hide yourselves behind the sofa. It's against the laws of time travel for the same individual in different time zones communicating in whatever form!"
「阿嬤,是你們打來的。我的意思是說....是2084年的你們打來的。」安妮趕緊解釋道。「快!趕快躲到沙發後面。和另一個時空的自己有任何的溝通都是違反時間旅行的原則的。」
"Plus, you'll scold us if we don't answer!" Cathy mumbled.
「再說!如果我們不趕快接,你們可是會唸我們的!」凱西喃喃自語道。
Just when Claire and Eliza had completely hidden themselves and peeping behind the sofa, Annie said: "Answer!", and they were utterly astonished to discover that the wall facing the sofa had turned into a screen, and on it appeared two figures. Claire and Eliza gasped in disbelieve to perceive that the two figures were no other than themselves! At first, the girls were sort of curious to be able to see how they would look like in their eighty-sixth year, though a bit anxious to see all the wrinkles on their faces. Nonetheless, to their extreme horror and surprise, the figures on the screen looked exactly like they were now. No wrinkles, but exactly like eighteen-year-olds!
Claire 和 Eliza 才剛躲到沙發後面並探出頭來偷看時,安妮就喊道:「接聽!」。然後,她們驚訝地看著沙發對面的牆壁竟瞬間變成了一面螢幕,螢幕上有著兩個影像。更令 Claire 和 Eliza 目瞪口呆的是:螢幕的影像竟就是她們自己!起初,兩人有些興奮可以看到自己86歲時的模樣,雖然有點兒擔心看到滿臉皺紋的自己。然而,令她們吃驚的是:螢幕上的自己竟和她們現在長得一模一樣~沒有皺紋,就如同十八歲的少女一般!
"Hey sweeties! Whatcha doin'? What took you so long to answer the phone?" It was Eliza's voice, exactly as it was when they were eighteen.
「你們好啊,親愛的!你們在忙啥呀?這麼晚才接電話?」那是 Eliza 的聲音,居然和十八歲時一模一樣。
"OMG! What's this?" Now it was Claire's turn to speak, "A Victorian room? It's good to know that you appreciate the antiques, but to be honest, we're not THAT old, honey. You don't need to change the interior design just because we're calling! Right, Eliza?" Eliza nodded in acquiescence.
「噢買尬!現在是什麼情形?」這次換 Claire 說話了。「維多利亞的客聽?我很高興看到你們懂得欣賞古董,只是,阿嬤也沒那麼老吧?!沒必要因為要跟阿嬤說話,特別將房間佈置成維多利亞的造型啊!對吧,Eliza?」Eliza 點了點頭表示贊同。
Annie and Cathy glanced at each other and stuttered, "Oh, grandma, of course it's not because of that! We....you know....we've always enjoyed enjoying afternoon tea in a Victorian parlour. Don't we, Annie?" Cathy replied.
安妮和凱西互看了一眼,支支吾吾的說:「唉唷,沒有啦,阿嬤!當然不是因為要跟妳們通電話才換的呀!我們....我們也很喜歡在維多利亞的客聽享受下午茶時光呀!對吧,安妮?」凱西答道。
"That's my good girl! You have the same taste as grandma! Come on, let me hug you!" Without warning, the two figures of Claire and Eliza emerged from the screen and entered the room. The Claire and Eliza that were hiding behind the sofa had to cover their mouths to prevent themselves from gasping out loud. In fact, the new technology of 2084 also allows video-calling to be 4D, so the people in the conversation can actually emerge from the screen and feel the presence of each other. However, all this is virtual, just like everything else, and those who emerged from the screen were not, in reality, present in the room.
「唉唷,真是乖女孩呀!怎麼跟阿嬤的喜好相同啊?來,給阿嬤抱抱!」毫無預警的,Claire 和 Eliza 的影像竟從牆壁裏走了出來。躲在沙發後面的 Claire 和 Eliza 得摀住嘴巴才讓自己沒有叫出來。原來,在2084年,視訊電話也是4D的,所以和你對話的人可以直接從螢幕走出來,並可以真的感覺到對方的存在。然而,這些都是虛擬的,因為那個從螢幕裏出現的人其實並不真的存在同一個空間。
The group hugged each other and kissed. "You've gotten thinner, Annie!" Eliza said, "Seriously, you've gotta eat more. Well, I know, we don't get nutrients from food nowadays, unlike the good old days, and eating is just for the fun and pleasure. But at least you should increase the nutrition level of your nutrients pill."
祖孫熱情的擁抱後,Eliza 說:「安妮,妳怎麼好像又變瘦了?你真的該多吃點兒!我知道現在已經和以前不一樣,不再靠食物來攝取營養,吃東西只是好玩而已。可是,你至少得增加你的營養丸養份的劑量吧?」
"Yes, grandma, I will," responded Annie, "But don't forget, grandma, all this is virtual! We don't really look like this, we've just chosen to be presented this way, so that's how others will see us. Actually, I'm not really that thin!"
「好的,我會的,阿嬤!」安妮答道。「只是,阿嬤,別忘了,這都是虛擬的。我們不是真的長這樣啦!我們只是希望別人看到的自己是長得如此罷了。其實我也沒那麼瘦啦!」
"Right!" replied Eliza, "But thank goodness we have this technology nowadays. So we don't have to look all wrinkly and ancient, like the grandmas in our days. Grandmas have the right to be pretty, too! Don't they, Claire?"
「對吼!」Eliza 回答說。「也是因為現在有這麼先進的技術,阿嬤才不用像我們以前的老人一樣長得滿臉皺紋。阿嬤也有漂亮的權利啊!對吧,Claire?」
~To be Continued~
~待續~
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