停止夢境

Stopping the Dream

如果讀者曾經手握這本書打盹，然後突然醒來，記得在他睡覺時夢見了海浪輕輕拍打沙灘的聲音，微風搖曳著棕櫚樹，熱氣在朦朧中顫動，清醒不知不覺地飛入半遺忘，現實進入夢境，那麼也許這位讀者會幸運地看到某個邊界，超越這個邊界後，另一個世界開始了，這個世界與我們認為是無限宇宙的物質現實的小島相比，無比巨大。

If it ever happens that the reader dozes off with this book in his hands and then wakes up suddenly remembering that while he was sleeping he dreamed of the measured rustle of waves falling onto a sandy shore where a light breeze swayed palm trees , where the hot airs tremored in a haze, where wakefulness imperceptibly flew into half-forgottenness and reality into a dream, then maybe that reader will be lucky enough to see a certain boundary, beyond which another world begins, a world that is immeasurably enormous in comparison to that tiny island of material reality, which we think of as the infinite universe.

如果是這樣，那麼，也許同一位讀者也會幸運地在鏡子的同一側看到兩個人，兩人外貌古怪，試圖徒勞地穿過鏡子的這一側。一個人臉上塗著儀式性的紅色顏料，頭髮是黑色的短髮，穿著一件帶鑽石領的深色天鵝絨長裙。第二個人臉上塗著藍色的戲劇妝，頭髮是綠松石色，穿著一件綠色連身衣，背部腰部附有一個大粉紅色蝴蝶結。仔細觀察者會在鏡子的幻影中真正看到女神瑪蒂爾達和女祭司伊特夫特，因為這裡和現在發生的一切都在那裡同時發生，因為那個詞和這個詞之間不存在時間距離。

And if this is the case, then, perhaps, the same reader will also be lucky enough to spot two individuals on the same side of the mirror, both of eccentric appearance, trying in vain to pass through to this side of the mirror. One individual has her face painted in ritual crimson face paint, her hair in a black bob and is wearing a long dark-velvet dress with a diamond collar. The second individual has blue theater makeup on her face, turquoise-colored hair and a green jumpsuit with a large pink bow attached to waist level at the back. The careful observer will in fact genuinely see diva Matilda and priestess Itfut in the mirror mirage because everything that is happening in the here and now is happening there, simultaneously, for no temporal distance exists between that word and this.

我們把女神和女祭司留在鏡子旁，她們未能成功地從命運的意志中逃脫出來。朋友們在獲得第二個名字的震驚中還沒有完全恢復過來，當他們再次注意到環境中發生的令人不安的變化時。

We left the diva and the priestess beside the mirror after their unsuccessful attempts to break out of meta-reality, in which they found themselves by the will of providence. The friends had not yet fully come back to their senses after the shock of having acquired a second name, when they noticed disturbing changes once again taking place in their environment.

來自不知何處的日光因為天空中沒有太陽而被暮色取代。但這不像正常的暮色，當天漸漸變暗，逐漸轉為夜晚。暮色像墨水滴入水中一樣滲入大氣中。黑暗的斑點迅速被光亮的空間吸收，就好像黑暗是一種物質。

The light of day which came from who knows where because the sun was absent from the sky, was replaced with twilight. But it was not like the normal twilight, when it gets dark and day gradually turns into night. Dusk poured into the atmosphere in streaks and stains, like ink dripped into water. The dark stains were absorbed quickly by the illuminated space, as if darkness were a material substance.

「芙蒂，這是怎麼回事？」瑪蒂爾達驚呼。「我害怕。」

“Futi, what’s going on?” exclaimed Matilda. “I’m afraid.”

「你不累嗎？」伊特夫特回答。「我已經習慣了。」

“Aren’t you tired of being afraid?” answered Itfut. “I’m getting used to it.”

「真是你的風格，我看得出來！你把恐懼當作一門課或職業來談論！」

“True to your usual style, I see! You talk about fear as if it were a class or occupation!”

「但它就是。你現在正忙於害怕。」 「那你呢？」

“But it is. You’re currently occupied with being afraid.” “Well, aren’t you?”

「不，我是害怕。」

“No, I’m scared.”

「這不是一樣嗎？」

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

「不，當我害怕時，我會驚慌，而當我恐懼時，我正處於讓自己回到正軌的邊緣。」

“No, when I am afraid, I’m in a panic, whereas when I am scared, I am on the verge of putting myself back.”

「把自己放回哪裡？」

“Putting yourself back where?”

「問題不在於哪裡，而在於什麼。我把自己重新組合成一個整體，準備面對危險。」

“The question is not where but into what. I put myself back together into one mass ready to face the danger head on.”

「你最好把我重新組合起來！」瑪蒂爾達尖叫著，試圖把煙霧般的黑暗從她的身體上驅走。「不，我不厭倦害怕！」

“You’d be better off putting me back together!” squealed Matilda, trying to drive the smoke-like darkness away from her body. “And no, I’m not tired of being afra-a-id!”

「蒂莉-蒂莉，看這多有趣！」伊特夫特把手穿過黑暗的斑點，手後留下了一道光亮的軌跡。然後她完全進入旋轉的黑暗中，開始轉圈。她整個身體立刻被明亮的光環照亮。

“Tili-Tili, look how interesting it is!” As Itfut ran her hand through the dark stain a luminous trail stretched beyond her hand. Then she fully entered the swirling darkness and began turning in circles. Her entire figure was instantly lit up with a bright aura.

「芙蒂，我對你的把戲一點也不感興趣！你不能讓我安心。這次一定會發生可怕的事情！」

“Futi, I’m not remotely interested in your tricks! You won’t be able to reassure me. This time something terrible is going to happen!”

「好吧，好吧！你確實說過，無論這裡發生什麼，總是可怕的。但我們還活著，不是嗎？」

“Okay, okay! You did say that whatever happens here, it’s always terrible. But we are still alive and well, aren’t we?”

「芙蒂，我驚訝你能如此冷靜。」

“Futi, I am amazed you can be so calm.”

幾秒鐘內，半陰暗的雲層充滿了整個空間。只有在屬於物理現實的鏡子一側，海景像黑暗電影院中的歡樂屏幕一樣閃耀。

In a matter of seconds, the clouds of semi-gloom had filled the entire space. Only on the side of the mirror that belonged to physical reality did the seascape shine resembling a cheery screen in a dark cinema hall.

「你看，」伊特夫特說，「不管你願不願意，你都得冷靜下來。你不能一直擔心已經發生並正在展開的事情。」

“You see,” said Itfut, “whether you want to or not, you’ve got to calm down. You can’t carry on worrying about something that has already happened and is continuing to unfold.”

「是的，我可以！是的，我可以！」瑪蒂爾達不屈不撓地說。

“Yes, I can! Yes, I can!” said Matilda, unrelentingly.

「好了，蒂莉，夠了。想像一下，夜晚已經來臨。」 「但我們現在要做什麼？」

“All right Tili, that’s enough. Just imagine that night has come.” “But what are we going to do now?”

「我們回到巨石陣吧。」

“Let’s go back to the megalith.”

「我害怕去那裡。又黑又可怕！」

“I’m afraid to go there. It’s dark and sca-a-ry!”

「但裡面會有光，還有食物，如果你沒忘記的話。」

“But inside, it’ll be light and there’ll be food, if you hadn’t forgotten.”

「真的嗎？」瑪蒂爾達驚訝地說，彷彿她第一次聽到這個消息。「食物？我現在真的需要吃點東西。」

“Really?” said Matilda in surprise as if she were receiving this for the first time. “Food? I could really do with something to eat right now.”

「那我們走吧，一步一步來。我們可以看到周圍的一切，一點也不可怕，一點也不可怕。」

“Let’s go then, one step at a time. We can see everything around us, and it’s not scary at all, not at all scary.”

伊特夫特牽著瑪蒂爾達的手，像帶著小孩一樣帶著她走。之後，瑪蒂爾達平靜了許多，乖乖地跟隨著女祭司。雖然很黑，但她們仍能辨認出周圍的空間。附近建築物的輪廓變得黑暗，其中巨石塔在更深的黑色剪影中顯得更加突出。朋友們的身影被光亮的光環籠罩，給這次詭異的夜行增添了一絲奇幻的浪漫。

Itfut took hold of Matilda’s hand and led her along like a child. After that Matilda calmed down considerably and obediently followed the priestess. Even though it was dark, they could still make out the space around them. The contours of nearby buildings blackened, and among them the megalith tower stood out in an even fuller black silhouette. The friends’ figures were shrouded in luminous auras, which gave the eerie night walk a shade of fantasy romance.

「這就是你，圖夫提，」瑪蒂爾達說。「勇敢的女祭司。如果不是你，我就會躺下等死。」

“That’s what you are, Tufti,” said Matilda. “A brave priestess. If it was not for you, I would just lie down and die.”

「蒂莉，不要隨便叫我第二個名字。你可以用它，但只有在特殊情況下。我也會對你的名字這樣做。」

“Tili, don’t call me by my second name for the sake of it. You can use it but only in special circumstances. And I will do the same with yours.”

「為什麼？為什麼要這樣？」

“Why? What for?”

「我感覺在這裡，我們的第二個名字有某種魔法意義。當我第一次聽到我的名字時，一連串的記憶和知識在我腦海中閃過，但隨後一切突然消失，我的記憶又變得模糊。現在，當你叫我第二個名字時，我想起了我對夢境世界的了解。」

“I get the impression that here our second names have a kind of magical meaning. When I heard mine for the first time, a flurry of memories and knowledge flashed through my mind but then it all disappeared just as suddenly and my memory was all a fog again. And now, when you called me by my second name, I remembered what I know about the world of dreams.

「那是什麼？」

“And what’s that?”

「你記得我之前告訴過你，超現實，我們現在所在的地方，和夢境空間是同一回事嗎？當我們做夢時，我們的注意力會飛向這個空間，但現在，我們不僅在注意力的焦點中，也在我們的身體中。」

“You remember me telling you before that meta-reality, where we are now, and the space of dreams are the same thing? Our attention zooms off into this space when we’re dreaming, only now, we’re here not only in our focus of attention but in our bodies too.”

「好吧，那又怎樣？」

“Okay, and so?”

「只有當有觀察者時，夢境才會旋轉。當沒有觀察者時，這個世界的一切都是靜止的，像一幅靜止的畫面。所有事件和時代都凝固在一個無盡的景觀中。沒有時間的流動。但一旦夢者的意識進入這個空間，畫面就會活過來。注意力讓時間運行，或者更確切地說，在超現實中，時間只有在注意力飛入這個空間並觀察時才會顯現為一種流動。」

“A dream only spins when it has an observer. When there is no observer everything in this world is static, like a still image. All events and eras are frozen into one endless landscape. There is no flow of time. But as soon as the dreamer’s awareness enters the space, the image comes to life. Attention sets

「哇！就像電影一樣，對吧？它拍在膠卷上，靜止不動，但當我們觀看時，它就開始運動。」

time in motion, or rather in meta-reality time only manifests as a flow when attention flies into this space and watches.”

「是的，只是我不明白。為什麼這些灰色的人偶停止了移動？他們是夢中的角色，夢應該在轉動，因為我們在這裡作為觀察者。」

“Woot-la! Like in a movie, right? It’s shot on a film roll and there it stays - still, but when we watch, it starts to move.”

「是的，但這裡並不是一切都停止了。總有事情在發生，即使是華麗搖滾和水也在移動，正如你自己所見。只是所有的一切都慢下來了。」

“Yes, only I don’t understand. Why have all these gray mannequins stopped moving? They are the characters in a dream and the dream should be turning since we are here as observers.”

「但為什麼我們的時間沒有與他們的時間同步？」

“Yes, but not everything has stopped here. There is always something happening, even the glamrocks and the water are moving, as you saw for yourself. It’s just all slowed down.”

「天知道。我醒來時一切正常，但他們像雕像一樣站在那裡。」

“But why isn’t our time in sync with their time?”

「我出現時他們就凍住了，我想。當我第一次發現自己在這裡時，我感覺時間靜止了。」

“God knows. When I woke up, I was fine, but they were standing there like statues.”

「在那一刻之前，你在現實中做了什麼？你記得嗎？」 「不記得了。」

“They froze when I appeared, I think. When I first found myself here, I got the sense that time stood still.”

「試試看，圖夫提，試著記起來！」

“What were you doing in reality, just before that moment? Do you remember?” “No.”

「試試看，圖夫提，試著記起來！」

“Try, Tufti, try to remember!”

「圖夫提-圖夫提，女祭司-女祭司，你在做什麼？」伊特夫特自言自語地說。「等等，伊莉特，你在劇院裡和鏡子做了什麼？嗯，使用你的第二個名字感覺真的很奇怪……就像我在和你的分身說話。」

“Tufti-Tufti, priestess-priestess, what were you doing?” said Itfut talking to herself. “Hang on, Ilit, what were you doing with the mirrors in the theatre? Hum, it feels really odd using your second name... It’s like I’m talking to your double.”

「你是指我的倒影嗎？我們在地板和牆壁上安裝了鏡子，讓觀眾無法分辨什麼是真實的，什麼是想像的。大概就是這樣。」

“To my reflection, you mean? We installed mirrors on the floor and the walls so that the viewer would not be able to tell what was real and what was imaginary. Something like that.”

「你不能和鏡子開玩笑。現實本身就像鏡子。她不喜歡我們玩弄她的模型。她也會開玩笑，但她的玩笑並不好笑，你已經發現了。」

“You can’t joke with mirrors. Reality itself is mirror-like. She does not like it when we play with her models. She can play jokes too, but her jokes aren’t that funny, as you found out.”

「是的，你可能是對的。我也知道現實不喜歡你盯著她看。」

“Yes, you’re probably right. I also know that reality does not like it when you stare at her intently.”

「怎麼說？」

“How’s that?”

「在量子力學中有一個概念，叫做不確定性原理。」

“There’s a concept in quantum mechanics. It’s called the uncertainty principle.”

「蒂莉，你是從哪裡學到這些艱深的術語的？我從沒想過你會對量子力學感興趣。」

“Tili, wherever did you learn ink-horn terms like that? I would not have had you down as someone who was into quantum mechanics.”

「是啊！但我現在不是蒂莉，我是伊莉特！我曾經有個男朋友，是個物理系學生，他告訴我很多事情。我當時不全懂，但記住了一些。」

“Yup! But I’m not Tili now, I’m Ilit! I had a boyfriend once, a physics student, and he told me all sorts of things. I did not understand it all back then, but I did remember some of it.”

「那就說說看。」

“Go on then, spill the beans.”

「所以，不確定性原理的意思是，如果你盯著現實看，它就會從你身邊溜走。」

“So, the principle of uncertainty consists in the fact that if you stare at reality, it slips away from you.”

「你說的『溜走』是什麼意思？」

“How do you mean, ‘slips away’?“

「它不想展示自己，展示它的真實本質。例如，如果你試圖細緻地研究光線的組成，你做不到。它假裝是一個連續的流，但實際上是以量子形式傳播的。

“It does not want to show itself, its true essence. For example, if you try to work out what a ray of light consists of to the tiniest detail, you can’t. It pretends to be a continuous stream but then it turns out that it travels in portions, in quanta.

而且你越仔細考慮光的本質，它就越讓人難以理解。」

And the more carefully you consider what light is, the more incomprehensible it becomes.

「蒂莉，這太神奇了！我也想起來了！」伊特夫特放開朋友的手，開始旋轉，就像她每次激動時那樣，她的裙子後立刻延伸出一道發光的漩渦。

“Tili, that’s amazing! And I’ve remembered too!” Itfut let go of her friend’s hand and began to twirl, like she did whenever she was thrilled about something and a trail of glowing vortex instantly extended out behind her dress.

「我記得，我記得！」

“I remember, I remember!”

「芙蒂，你又讓我害怕了！給我你的手！你能不能冷靜地說話？」 「好吧，好吧。在我來到這裡之前，我正忙著仔細觀察現實。」 「什麼意思？」

“Futi, you’re scaring me again! Give me your hand! Can you speak calmly?” “Okay, okay. Before I ended up here, I was busy staring very closely at reality.” “In what sense?”

「有一種神奇的練習。當你處於睡眠和清醒之間的邊界狀態時，現實的真實本質會向你揭示。」

“There is this magical practice. When you are in that borderline state between sleep and waking, the true nature of reality can be revealed to you.”

「有什麼東西向你揭示了嗎？」

“And something revealed itself to you?”

「是的，我看到現實在移動，但不是連續的流，而是像你說的光一樣以部分形式。」

“Yes, I saw reality moving, only not in a continuous stream but in portions, like what you were saying about light.”

「真的嗎？想想看，電影也是由單獨的畫面組成的。」 「那你怎麼看電影，一幕一幕地看嗎？」

“Really? Come to think of it, a movie is also made up of individual frames.” “And how do you watch a movie, scene by scene?”

「不，膠卷轉得很快，畫面融合成連續的運動，甚至在轉動時不易察覺地閃爍。」

“No, the film roll turns very quickly and the frames merge into continuous motion, even flickering imperceptibly as they turn.”

「所以，你的電影是現實的模型。這一切都吻合。現實喜歡是離散的。這就是我看到的！」

“So, your movie is a model of reality. It all fits. Reality likes to be discrete. That’s what I saw!”

「有趣。所以，你讓現實生氣了，因為你在她換裝時突然抓住了她，於是她把你丟到這裡？」

“Interesting. So, you made reality angry because you took her by surprise during a costume change and for that she dropped you here?”

「是的。現實不想揭示她的電影是如何拍攝的秘密。但我仍然不明白為什麼夢境凍結了。」

“Yes. Reality does not want to reveal the secrets to how her movie is shot. But I still don’t understand why the dream froze.”

「啊，這可能就是那個不確定性原理。當你看著她時，現實試圖溜走，或者她可能完全凍結，就像你抓住甲蟲時它會凍住一樣。」

“Ah, well, it’s probably that same principle of uncertainty. Reality tries to slip away when you look at her or she might completely freeze, like a beetle does when you pick it up.”

「原來如此！蒂莉，你真的不像有時候看起來那麼傻。」

“So that’s it! Tili, you’re really not the bimbo you sometimes seem.”

「傻瓜才是你自己！」

“Bimbo-ninny yourself!”

「如果我們回到我的世界，我們會讓你成為一名女祭司。」

“If we return to my world, we’ll make you a priestess.”

「非常感激，但我不想當女祭司，我想做個普通的女孩。」

“Humbly grateful, I’m sure. But I don’t want to be a priestess, I want to be an ordinary girl.”

「不可能。你太特別了。好吧，那你就當個女神吧。我們那裡也有類似你的劇院。」

“Impossible. You’re too unusual. All right, you’ll be a diva then. We also have something like your theater.”

「真的嗎？我會喜歡的，但我們繼續吧。你剛才說的觀察者是什麼？」

“Really? I’d like that but let’s continue. What is it you were saying about observers?”

「我們的注意力就是觀察者，」伊特夫特說。「在這個夢境空間，我們的注意力讓電影運行，並像做夢一樣觀看它。在現實中，鏡子的另一邊，情況正好相反，電影自行運行，我們的注意力生活在其中。」

“Our attention is the observer,” said Itfut. “Here in the dream space, our attention sets the movie running and watches it as if it were a dream. In reality, on the other side of the mirror, it’s the opposite, the movie runs of its own accord and our attention lives within it.”

「像電影中的角色一樣？」瑪蒂爾達問。「是的，我們在那裡和這裡都是角色。」

“Like a character in a movie?” asked Matilda. “Yes, we are characters both there and here.”

「那麼這裡和那裡的真正區別是什麼？」

“Then what’s the real difference between here and there?”

伊特夫特思考了一會兒。

Itfut thought for a moment.

「你知道嗎，我覺得沒有根本的區別。我還沒有完全弄清楚。當你試圖弄清現實時，她就會溜走。大致來說，那邊的一切都是物理和物質的，而這裡的一切都是虛擬的。」

“You know, I don’t think there is a fundamental difference. I haven’t figured it all out yet. Reality slips away as you put it when you try and figure her out. You could roughly say that on that side everything is physical and material whereas here it’s all virtual.”

「然而，我們在這裡是有身體的，不是嗎？」

“And yet, we’re in our bodies here, aren’t we?”

「我能確定的是，我們是在我們自己的模型中。物質和非物質的區別也是相對的。畢竟，在夢中，我們觸摸的所有物體如果注意力在模型內，感覺都是實體的。我還沒有遇到我的模型。我是穿過牆壁來到這裡的。」

“All I can say for certain is that we are in our own mannequins. The difference between the material and the immaterial is also approximate. After all, in a dream, all objects we touch feel solid if, of course, one’s attention is positioned within the mannequin. I have not met my mannequin yet. I got here by walking through a wall.”

「那我呢？我的真實身體在這裡還是留在那邊？」

“What about me? Is my real body here or did it stay there on the other side?”

「根據你的維克多哀嘆『你在哪裡，我的蒂莉，我的親愛的』來看，沒有找到你的身體。至於我，我不知道。我們只看到我的雕像。如果我的身體留在那裡，他們會把它埋葬。」

“Judging by the fact that your Victor lamented, ‘where are you, my Tili, my darling’, your body was not found. As for me, I don’t know. We only saw my statue. If my body had remained there, they would have buried it.”

「芙蒂，那是否意味著你無法回到那裡？」

“Futi, does that mean you won’t be able to get back there?”

「不！我會回去的，我會！現實可以安排任何她想要的事情。你只需要和她達成協議，我們一定會達成協議，這一點你可以毫不懷疑！」

“No! I will return, I will! Reality can arrange anything it wants to. You just have to come to an agreement with her and come to an agreement we will, of that you may have no doubt!”

阻斷夢境

Stopping the Dream

如果讀者手捧此書不知不覺入睡，然後猛然驚醒，記起夢中聽見海浪有節奏地拍打沙灘、微風吹拂棕櫚、炙熱氣流在霧中顫動、清醒悄無聲息地滑入半忘卻之境、現實淪為夢幻——那麼，也許這位讀者會有幸見到一條界限，跨過此界限便是另一個世界，一個與我們所謂的那微小物質現實之島（即無限宇宙）相比，龐大得難以估量的世界。

If it ever happens that the reader dozes off with this book in his hands and then wakes up suddenly remembering that while he was sleeping he dreamed of the measured rustle of waves falling onto a sandy shore where a light breeze swayed palm trees , where the hot airs tremored in a haze, where wakefulness imperceptibly flew into half-forgottenness and reality into a dream, then maybe that reader will be lucky enough to see a certain boundary, beyond which another world begins, a world that is immeasurably enormous in comparison to that tiny island of material reality, which we think of as the infinite universe.

如果真是如此，也許這位讀者還能在鏡子的同一側，窺見兩個外貌古怪的人，他們徒勞無功地試圖穿越鏡面到達這一側。其中一人臉上塗著儀式用猩紅彩妝，留著黑色短髮，穿著一襲長款深色天鵝絨禮服，搭配鑽石領飾；另一人則以藍色戲劇妝容示人，擁有松石色髮絲，身穿綠色連體工裝，背後腰部掛著一個大粉紅蝴蝶結。細心觀察者確會真切在那鏡中幻象裡見到天后Matilda與女祭司Itfut，因為此時此刻發生於此的每一切，也正同時上演於那裏，彷彿兩邊沒有任何時間距離。

And if this is the case, then, perhaps, the same reader will also be lucky enough to spot two individuals on the same side of the mirror, both of eccentric appearance, trying in vain to pass through to this side of the mirror. One individual has her face painted in ritual crimson face paint, her hair in a black bob and is wearing a long dark-velvet dress with a diamond collar. The second individual has blue theater makeup on her face, turquoise-colored hair and a green jumpsuit with a large pink bow attached to waist level at the back. The careful observer will in fact genuinely see diva Matilda and priestess Itfut in the mirror mirage because everything that is happening in the here and now is happening there, simultaneously, for no temporal distance exists between that word and this.

我們將那位天后與女祭司留在鏡旁，在她們未能成功突圍脫離由命運所安排的超現實境界後。就在朋友們因獲得第二個名字而尚未完全恢復神智時，他們又發覺周遭環境再度出現令人不安的改變。

We left the diva and the priestess beside the mirror after their unsuccessful attempts to break out of meta-reality, in which they found themselves by the will of providence. The friends had not yet fully come back to their senses after the shock of having acquired a second name, when they noticed disturbing changes once again taking place in their environment.

那來自何處的日光因天空中無太陽而顯得神秘難測，竟被暮光取代。但這暮光不同於普通薄暮逐漸暗淡的轉變，而是如同墨滴入水般，以條紋狀、染色般灑落於大氣。那些深邃的墨痕很快被明亮的空間吸收，彷彿黑暗亦有實體。

The light of day which came from who knows where because the sun was absent from the sky, was replaced with twilight. But it was not like the normal twilight, when it gets dark and day gradually turns into night. Dusk poured into the atmosphere in streaks and stains, like ink dripped into water. The dark stains were absorbed quickly by the illuminated space, as if darkness were a material substance.

「Futi，發生什麼事了？」Matilda驚呼，「我好害怕。」

“Futi, what’s going on?” exclaimed Matilda. “I’m afraid.”

「你難道不厭倦這種恐懼嗎？」Itfut回答，「我正逐漸習慣呢。」

“Aren’t you tired of being afraid?” answered Itfut. “I’m getting used to it.”

「正如你一貫的作風，我看得出來！你談論恐懼，好像那是一門學問或是一種職業！」

“True to your usual style, I see! You talk about fear as if it were a class or occupation!”

「但事實上是這樣。你現在的‘工作’就是害怕。」 「那你呢？」

“But it is. You’re currently occupied with being afraid.” “Well, aren’t you?”

「不，我只是感到害怕。」

“No, I’m scared.”

「難道這不是同一回事嗎？」

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

「不，我害怕時會陷入恐慌，而‘感到害怕’時，我正處於即將重整自己、準備迎接挑戰的邊緣。」

“No, when I am afraid, I’m in a panic, whereas when I am scared, I am on the verge of putting myself back.”

「重整自己到哪裡？」

“Putting yourself back where?”

「問題不在於去哪裡，而在於變成什麼樣子。我會把自己重新凝聚成一個整體，準備正面迎擊危險。」

“The question is not where but into what. I put myself back together into one mass ready to face the danger head on.”

「你最好把我也重新凝聚起來！」 Matilda尖叫著，試圖驅散那縷如煙般的黑暗從她身上散去。「而且，不，我一點也不厭倦害怕！」

“You’d be better off putting me back together!” squealed Matilda, trying to drive the smoke-like darkness away from her body. “And no, I’m not tired of being afra-a-id!”

「Tili-Tili，看這多有趣！」 當Itfut用手撥過那道暗色痕跡時，一條燦爛的光跡從她的手邊延伸出去。隨後，她全身投入那旋轉的黑暗中，開始不停地打轉，她整個身影頓時被一團耀眼的光環照亮。(Note: 「Tili-Tili」 為原文詞音譯)

“Tili-Tili, look how interesting it is!” As Itfut ran her hand through the dark stain a luminous trail stretched beyond her hand. Then she fully entered the swirling darkness and began turning in circles. Her entire figure was instantly lit up with a bright aura.

「Futi，我對你的把戲一點也不感興趣！你無法安撫我。這一次，某件可怕的事即將發生！」

“Futi, I’m not remotely interested in your tricks! You won’t be able to reassure me. This time something terrible is going to happen!”

「好啦，好啦！你曾說過，無論這裡發生什麼，都總是令人恐懼的。但我們還是安然無恙，對吧？」

“Okay, okay! You did say that whatever happens here, it’s always terrible. But we are still alive and well, aren’t we?”

「Futi，真令我驚奇，你竟能如此鎮定。」

“Futi, I am amazed you can be so calm.”

短短幾秒內，半昏的烏雲已經籠罩了整個空間。只有在屬於物質現實那一側的鏡面上，海景猶如昏暗電影院中一塊愉悅的屏幕般閃耀。

In a matter of seconds, the clouds of semi-gloom had filled the entire space. Only on the side of the mirror that belonged to physical reality did the seascape shine resembling a cheery screen in a dark cinema hall.

「你看，」 Itfut說，「無論你願不願意，你都必須冷靜下來。你無法一直擔憂那些已發生且仍在展開的事情。」

“You see,” said Itfut, “whether you want to or not, you’ve got to calm down. You can’t carry on worrying about something that has already happened and is continuing to unfold.”

「是的，我能！是的，我一定能！」 Matilda毫不退讓地喊道。

“Yes, I can! Yes, I can!” said Matilda, unrelentingly.

「好了，Tili，夠了。想像一下，夜幕已降臨。」 「但我們現在該怎麼辦？」

“All right Tili, that’s enough. Just imagine that night has come.” “But what are we going to do now?”

「我們回到那塊巨石那裡去。」

“Let’s go back to the megalith.”

「我好怕去那裡，那地方又黑又嚇人！」

“I’m afraid to go there. It’s dark and sca-a-ry!”

「但裡面會很明亮，而且還有食物呢，你沒忘吧？」

“But inside, it’ll be light and there’ll be food, if you hadn’t forgotten.”

「真的嗎？」 Matilda驚訝地說，好像這是她第一次聽到似的。「食物？我現在真的好想吃點東西。」

“Really?” said Matilda in surprise as if she were receiving this for the first time. “Food? I could really do with something to eat right now.”

「那我們就出發吧，一步一步來。我們可以看清周遭的一切，而且根本不害怕，一點也不嚇人。」

“Let’s go then, one step at a time. We can see everything around us, and it’s not scary at all, not at all scary.”

Itfut牽著Matilda的手，像照顧孩子一樣帶著她前行。隨後，Matilda慢慢平靜下來，乖巧地跟隨著這位女祭司。雖然天色已黑，但他們依然能辨識出周遭的空間；附近建築物的輪廓都黝黑了，而那座巨石塔更是在黑暗中凸顯出深邃的剪影。朋友們的身影籠罩在柔和的光環中，為這段怪異的夜行增添了一抹奇幻浪漫的色彩。(Note: 「巨石塔」指的是當地地標)

Itfut took hold of Matilda’s hand and led her along like a child. After that Matilda calmed down considerably and obediently followed the priestess. Even though it was dark, they could still make out the space around them. The contours of nearby buildings blackened, and among them the megalith tower stood out in an even fuller black silhouette. The friends’ figures were shrouded in luminous auras, which gave the eerie night walk a shade of fantasy romance.

「Tufti，你就是這樣，」 Matilda說，「一位勇敢的女祭司。要不是有你，我早就躺下等死了。」

“That’s what you are, Tufti,” said Matilda. “A brave priestess. If it was not for you, I would just lie down and die.”

「Tili，不要無緣無故地叫我第二個名字。你可以用，但只能在特殊情況下使用；而我也會對你的做同樣的事。」

“Tili, don’t call me by my second name for the sake of it. You can use it but only in special circumstances. And I will do the same with yours.”

「為什麼？為了什麼？」

“Why? What for?”

「我覺得這裡，我們的第二個名字似乎帶著某種魔力。當我第一次聽到自己的第二個名字時，一連串記憶和知識如洪流般湧入，但轉瞬間又全部消散，我的記憶再次變得模糊。如今，你叫我用第二個名字時，我又想起了對夢境世界的一些認知。」

“I get the impression that here our second names have a kind of magical meaning. When I heard mine for the first time, a flurry of memories and knowledge flashed through my mind but then it all disappeared just as suddenly and my memory was all a fog again. And now, when you called me by my second name, I remembered what I know about the world of dreams.

「那到底是什麼呢？」

“And what’s that?”

「你還記得我曾經告訴過你嗎？超現實（meta-reality），也就是我們現在所在的這個狀態，與夢境的空間其實是同一回事。當我們在夢中時，我們的注意力會飄向那個空間，而如今，我們不僅在注意力的焦點中存在於那裡，我們的身體也一併存在。」

“You remember me telling you before that meta-reality, where we are now, and the space of dreams are the same thing? Our attention zooms off into this space when we’re dreaming, only now, we’re here not only in our focus of attention but in our bodies too.”

「好吧，然後呢？」

“Okay, and so?”

「夢境只有在有觀察者存在時才會轉動。當沒有觀察者時，這個世界的一切都靜止不動，就像一幅凝固的畫面。所有事件和時代都凍結在一個無盡的景觀中，時間不再流動。但一旦夢者的意識進入那空間，畫面便活躍起來。注意力開始……」

“A dream only spins when it has an observer. When there is no observer everything in this world is static, like a still image. All events and eras are frozen into one endless landscape. There is no flow of time. But as soon as the dreamer’s awareness enters the space, the image comes to life. Attention sets

運動中的時間，或者更確切地說，在超現實（meta-reality）中，只有當注意力飛入這個空間並凝視時，時間才會以流動的形式顯現出來。

time in motion, or rather in meta-reality time only manifests as a flow when attention flies into this space and watches.”

Woot-la！就像電影裡那樣，對吧？它被拍攝在一卷膠片上，然後靜止不動地保留著，但當我們觀看時，便開始運動。

“Woot-la! Like in a movie, right? It’s shot on a film roll and there it stays - still, but when we watch, it starts to move.”

是啊，只是我不明白，為什麼這些灰色的人形模特全部靜止了？它們是夢中的角色，而既然我們作為觀察者在此，夢境理應不斷演變流轉。

“Yes, only I don’t understand. Why have all these gray mannequins stopped moving? They are the characters in a dream and the dream should be turning since we are here as observers.”

沒錯，但並非一切都已停止。總有些事在發生，連那些華麗的岩石和流水也在移動，正如你親眼所見，只是全部變得緩慢而已。

“Yes, but not everything has stopped here. There is always something happening, even the glamrocks and the water are moving, as you saw for yourself. It’s just all slowed down.”

但為什麼我們的時間與它們的時間不同步呢？

“But why isn’t our time in sync with their time?”

老天知道。當我醒來時，我還好好的，可它們卻像雕塑般僵立在那裡。

“God knows. When I woke up, I was fine, but they were standing there like statues.”

我想，它們是在我出現時就凍結了。當我初次發現自己來到這裡時，我感覺時間彷彿靜止不動。

“They froze when I appeared, I think. When I first found myself here, I got the sense that time stood still.”

「在那一刻之前，你在現實中做了什麼？還記得嗎？」 「不記得了。」

“What were you doing in reality, just before that moment? Do you remember?” “No.”

快試著回想一下，Tufti，努力記起來！

“Try, Tufti, try to remember!”

Itfut自言自語地說：「Tufti-Tufti，女祭司女祭司，你在忙些什麼？等等，Ilit，你在劇院裡弄那些鏡子是幹什麼？嗯，用你的第二個名字感覺真奇怪……就像我在跟你的分身對話。」

“Tufti-Tufti, priestess-priestess, what were you doing?” said Itfut talking to herself. “Hang on, Ilit, what were you doing with the mirrors in the theatre? Hum, it feels really odd using your second name... It’s like I’m talking to your double.”

「你的意思是對著你的倒影嗎？」 「我們在地板和牆面上安裝了鏡子，這樣觀者就無法分辨現實與虛幻，大概就是這樣。」

“To my reflection, you mean? We installed mirrors on the floor and the walls so that the viewer would not be able to tell what was real and what was imaginary. Something like that.”

「你不能拿鏡子開玩笑。現實本身就像一面鏡子。她不喜歡我們拿她的模樣嬉戲。她也會開玩笑，但她的笑話並不怎麼有趣，正如你發現的那樣。」

“You can’t joke with mirrors. Reality itself is mirror-like. She does not like it when we play with her models. She can play jokes too, but her jokes aren’t that funny, as you found out.”

「是的，你可能說得對。我也知道，現實並不喜歡你那樣緊盯著她看。」

“Yes, you’re probably right. I also know that reality does not like it when you stare at her intently.”

「那怎麼說？」

“How’s that?”

「在量子力學中，有一個概念，叫做不確定性原理。」

“There’s a concept in quantum mechanics. It’s called the uncertainty principle.”

「Tili，你到底從哪裡學來這種矯揉造作的詞彙？我原本可不認為你會對量子力學（quantum mechanics）有興趣。」

“Tili, wherever did you learn ink-horn terms like that? I would not have had you down as someone who was into quantum mechanics.”

「沒錯！但我現在已不再是Tili，我是Ilit！我曾有個男朋友，是個物理系學生，他跟我講過各種知識。當時我雖然沒全懂，但總算記得一些。」

“Yup! But I’m not Tili now, I’m Ilit! I had a boyfriend once, a physics student, and he told me all sorts of things. I did not understand it all back then, but I did remember some of it.”

「那就快說，別藏著掖著了。」

“Go on then, spill the beans.”

「所以說，不確定性原理講的就是：當你凝視現實時，它便悄然從你眼前溜走。」

“So, the principle of uncertainty consists in the fact that if you stare at reality, it slips away from you.”

「你說的‘溜走’是什麼意思？」

“How do you mean, ‘slips away’?“

「現實不願暴露它真正的本質。例如，假如你試圖解析一道光線的每一個細節，卻發現無法做到。它似乎是一個連續的流，實際上卻是以分段、以量子（quanta）的形式運行。」

“It does not want to show itself, its true essence. For example, if you try to work out what a ray of light consists of to the tiniest detail, you can’t. It pretends to be a continuous stream but then it turns out that it travels in portions, in quanta.

「你越是深入思考光究竟是什麼，它就顯得越難以捉摸。」

And the more carefully you consider what light is, the more incomprehensible it becomes.

「Tili，真神奇！而且我也回想起來了！」 Itfut放開了朋友的手，開始旋轉起來，就像她每當興奮時那樣，頓時在她的裙後拖出一道發光的漩渦。(Note: 描述她旋轉時散發出的光芒)

“Tili, that’s amazing! And I’ve remembered too!” Itfut let go of her friend’s hand and began to twirl, like she did whenever she was thrilled about something and a trail of glowing vortex instantly extended out behind her dress.

「我記得，我記得！」

“I remember, I remember!”

「Futi，你又嚇到我了！把你的手給我！能不能冷靜點說？」 「好了，好了。在我來到這裡之前，我正專心致志地凝視著現實。」 「你是指從哪個角度？」

“Futi, you’re scaring me again! Give me your hand! Can you speak calmly?” “Okay, okay. Before I ended up here, I was busy staring very closely at reality.” “In what sense?”

「有一種神秘的修行，當你處於睡眠與清醒之間的臨界狀態時，現實的真實本質會向你顯現。」

“There is this magical practice. When you are in that borderline state between sleep and waking, the true nature of reality can be revealed to you.”

「然後，它向你透露了什麼？」

“And something revealed itself to you?”

「是的，我看見現實在移動，但不是以連續的流動方式，而是分段存在，就像你剛才說的那樣—光是以量子形式存在的。」

“Yes, I saw reality moving, only not in a continuous stream but in portions, like what you were saying about light.”

「真的嗎？想想看，其實電影也是由一幀幀畫面組成。」 「那你是怎麼看電影的，是一幕一幕地看嗎？」

“Really? Come to think of it, a movie is also made up of individual frames.” “And how do you watch a movie, scene by scene?”

「不，膠卷轉動得非常快，那些畫面幀便迅速融合成一個連續的動態，即使在轉動時還微微閃爍著光芒。」

“No, the film roll turns very quickly and the frames merge into continuous motion, even flickering imperceptibly as they turn.”

「所以，你的電影就是現實的一個模型？一切都剛好契合，因為現實喜歡保持零散分離的狀態。這正是我所見到的！」

“So, your movie is a model of reality. It all fits. Reality likes to be discrete. That’s what I saw!”

「有意思。那你就是在換裝時讓現實措手不及，惹她生氣，以致她把你丟在這裡？」

“Interesting. So, you made reality angry because you took her by surprise during a costume change and for that she dropped you here?”

「沒錯。現實不願意揭露她的電影到底是怎麼拍攝的秘密，但我還是不明白，為什麼夢境會突然凍結。」

“Yes. Reality does not want to reveal the secrets to how her movie is shot. But I still don’t understand why the dream froze.”

「啊，好吧，大概就是那個不確定性原理。不管是你凝視現實時她悄然溜走，還是像你撿起甲蟲一樣，她就會完全凍結。」

“Ah, well, it’s probably that same principle of uncertainty. Reality tries to slip away when you look at her or she might completely freeze, like a beetle does when you pick it up.”

「所以就是這樣！Tili，你看來真的並不像有時候看上去的那個花瓶（bimbo）的樣子。」

“So that’s it! Tili, you’re really not the bimbo you sometimes seem.”

「你這花瓶傻瓜（bimbo-ninny）自己！」

“Bimbo-ninny yourself!”

「如果我們回到我的世界，我們就讓你成為一位女祭司（priestess）。」

“If we return to my world, we’ll make you a priestess.”

「謙卑感激，我當然感謝，但我並不想成為女祭司，我只希望做個普通的女孩。」

“Humbly grateful, I’m sure. But I don’t want to be a priestess, I want to be an ordinary girl.”

「根本不可能。你太不尋常了，好吧，那就讓你成為天后（diva）吧。我們這裡還有類似你那劇院（theater）的地方。」

“Impossible. You’re too unusual. All right, you’ll be a diva then. We also have something like your theater.”

「真的嗎？我倒是喜歡這個想法，但我們繼續說。你剛才提到的關於觀察者的是什麼意思？」

“Really? I’d like that but let’s continue. What is it you were saying about observers?”

「我們的注意力就是觀察者，」Itfut說，「在夢境空間裡，我們的注意力推動電影的播放，並以夢境般的方式觀看它；而在鏡子那邊，也就是現實裡，則正好相反，電影自我運轉，而我們的注意力則生活在其中。」

“Our attention is the observer,” said Itfut. “Here in the dream space, our attention sets the movie running and watches it as if it were a dream. In reality, on the other side of the mirror, it’s the opposite, the movie runs of its own accord and our attention lives within it.”

「就像電影裡的角色？」Matilda問道。「是的，我們既是那邊的角色，也是這邊的角色。」

“Like a character in a movie?” asked Matilda. “Yes, we are characters both there and here.”

「那麼，這裡和那邊究竟有什麼真正的區別？」

“Then what’s the real difference between here and there?”

Itfut沉思了一會兒。

Itfut thought for a moment.

「你知道，我不認為這兩邊有根本性的差異。我還沒有完全弄懂。正如你所說，當你試圖弄清楚現實時，她就會悄然溜走。大致上，你可以說那邊的一切都是物質和實體，而這邊則全屬於虛擬世界。」

“You know, I don’t think there is a fundamental difference. I haven’t figured it all out yet. Reality slips away as you put it when you try and figure her out. You could roughly say that on that side everything is physical and material whereas here it’s all virtual.”

「然而，我們現在還在我們的身體裡，不是嗎？」

“And yet, we’re in our bodies here, aren’t we?”

「我唯一能肯定的是，我們各自都存在於自己的模特（mannequin）之中，而物質與非物質的區別也僅能算是大概的。畢竟，在夢境裡，只要你把注意力放在那模特裡，所有你觸碰到的東西都會感覺堅實。我還沒遇到屬於我的模特呢，我是通過穿過一堵牆來到這裡的。」

“All I can say for certain is that we are in our own mannequins. The difference between the material and the immaterial is also approximate. After all, in a dream, all objects we touch feel solid if, of course, one’s attention is positioned within the mannequin. I have not met my mannequin yet. I got here by walking through a wall.”

「那我呢？我的真實身體是在這裡，還是留在那邊了？」

“What about me? Is my real body here or did it stay there on the other side?”

「從你那位Victor哀嘆‘你在哪裡，我的Tili，我的摯愛’這一點來看，你的身體沒有被找到。至於我，我就不知道了，我們只看到了我的雕像。如果我的身體還在那邊，他們早就把它埋了。」

“Judging by the fact that your Victor lamented, ‘where are you, my Tili, my darling’, your body was not found. As for me, I don’t know. We only saw my statue. If my body had remained there, they would have buried it.”

「Futi，那是不是意味著你無法再回去呢？」

“Futi, does that mean you won’t be able to get back there?”

「不！我一定會回去的！現實可以隨心安排任何事情，你只需要與她達成共識，我們也會達成協議，這點你完全可以放心！」

“No! I will return, I will! Reality can arrange anything it wants to. You just have to come to an agreement with her and come to an agreement we will, of that you may have no doubt!”