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来自大卫·瑞雷先生的《2121》系列占星科幻小说，以下是全英文的版本。阅读中文版请移步：2121丨第一章
For several days after her and Bei’s counseling session with Dr. Chen, Xingjia felt more at peace with herself than she could ever remember feeling. She looked forward to their next session nearly 10-days from now. She knew intellectually that trust begins with learning to trust one’s self, but her grasp of this concept had deepened. Bei had stayed with her for the last three nights, and their time together had been both more relaxed and intimate than she had ever experienced with anyone before. She reveled in the freedom she felt to just be herself, to spontaneously express whatever feelings or impulses she had without fearing judgment or criticism. She became more keenly aware of any old subconscious negative judgments she had towards herself. Smiling when she would find herself slipping into old critical thought patterns, she soon found the key was first to accept the old critical thought patterns when they emerged–rather than react to it much like one accepts something that is changing.
To Xingjia this emotional process reminded her of learning how to swim as a young girl. At first she had been afraid of the deep water that was over her head, only comfortable when her feet were firmly on the concrete bottom of the pool. She had great anxiety about swimming and quickly grew to believe she would never learn to swim. Yet, with her swim instructors encouragement she had learned to lift her feet from the bottom, first dragging one foot until she began to feel how the water would support her. She became a good swimmer, good enough to be a free-style competitor on her middle-school swim team. Looking back on her early fears about the water, she could smile knowingly about her young misgivings, and that’s how she was beginning to feel now about her relationship anxieties.
Being with Bei had become increasingly fun. He had an amazingly sophisticated sense of humor, and seemed to thrive on their teasing banter. “Sleep well?” She teased him one morning. “Like a rock,” he had replied, with an amused look on his face–as she burst out laughing when she realized his meaning. Just yesterday morning, Xingjia had awakened to find Bei in the next room plugged-in recharging his energy. Curious, she leaned in for a closer look as Bei suddenly opened his eyes saying “boo” as he grabbed her around the waist unexpectedly. She had shrieked, and wiggled her way out of his grasp as he laughed at her.
Bei could be dryly self-deprecating in the most unexpectedly humorous ways. Just two days ago she had asked him if he wanted to take a shower with her, and he had deadpanned “If you don’t mind a little after-rust–it’s okay with me.” Bei would make joking references to the Tin man in the old 20th Century film Wizard of Oz, or quote the 22nd Century animated series Android Ant, which had been hugely popular when Xingjia was growing-up and still entertained many millions of Chinese children. “One can be super and not superior,” Android Ant had often repeated, and Bei could imitate him perfectly much to Xingjia’s amusement.
Fascinated by Bei’s creativity, she asked him to share his poetry and music compositions with her. He also shared with her holographic images he had made of her when they had walked through the park together, and other more intimate images of her that at first shocked her but then intrigued and even aroused her. Their lovemaking remained amazing. Xingjia wondered if it would always be that way, but she felt less apprehensive about the future. She was beginning to enjoy herself and her life more than ever, with a deeper realization and confidence that she could create the future she wanted. Her work continued to be satisfying, and she loved to hear Bei talk about his new job and what he was learning and doing. Most of all she loved falling asleep next to him at night. She had never slept so soundly, and felt more alive, awake, and aware during the course of her normal daily routine.
Bei had also undergone a change since their session with Dr. Chen. He had begun to accept his nagging doubts and questions about himself. Bei had realized that Dr. Chen was correct, that his own process of self-discovery was not much different than that of any person learning and growing in their own way. In their session, Dr. Chen has stated “we don’t know what you will discover? Your quest to discover your true nature is like that of anyone. We human beings are to some extent programmed by the conditions of our early environment, and most young adults in their twenties and thirties spend a lot of time either consciously or unconsciously trying to solve problems they couldn’t solve when they were children. They are having an identity crisis too, trying to figure out who they are and who they’re not at the same time.”
Dr. Chen had also emphasized to Bei the importance of keeping his journal. “Your journal serves you, but ultimately it could serve many,” Dr. Chen had stated. “Keep thinking about the contributions you could make to society, and the value your own personal experience might have in the larger scheme of things.” Bei enjoyed thinking about his. Dr. Chen had reminded Bei that he was only one of four Companions that had exhibited such sophisticated self-awareness, self-deprecating humor and a greater capacity for multi-level creative self-expression. Dr. Chen’s reference to Bei’s siblings, had prompted Bei to talk about his desire to find his other brother, and his sister too. Xingjia voiced her support of Bei’s quest, and said she also looked forward to meeting Huang Long and his wife Li Qun.
Despite Bei’s greater acceptance of his own process of self-discovery, he remained deeply disturbed by what had happened to Li Jian and was determined to keep-up with the investigation, and do more if he could. Dr. Chen had attempted to lessen Bei’s seemingly obsessive intensity around this, by helping Bei to see how the trauma of what he had witnessed with Li Jian resonated with own self-discovery process. “When people in the crowd were saying to you, ‘don’t you know he’s not real,’ how did you feel?” Dr. Chen had asked him.
Bei had replied, “I wanted to say, ‘He’s as real as you or me.”
“Yes, but how did you feel?”
Bei had paused, and then replied, “angry.”
“Bei, this is the second time I know of that you’ve expressed or experienced anger. The first time was at my apartment when we were talking.”
“I see…” Bei had said, analyzing the implications…
“You are the first companion to express and experience anger that I know of,” Dr. Chen had stated. “To my knowledge, not even your siblings have done so.”
“Why do you think this is?” Bei had asked.
“I don’t know,” Dr. Chen had replied, noticing Xingjia’s look of concern.
“It’s simply a new development. I don’t think there is any reason to be alarmed by it. Just accept it, and see what happens?” Dr. Chen had counseled.
Bei felt reassured by this, and had gained even more objectivity about his own process. Nonetheless, his angst about Li Jian’s case had not diminished. Xingjia had listened attentively whenever Bei had felt the need to talk about it, reassuring him that Dr. Chen would make sure this case was pursued to the full extent of the law. However, the slowness of the investigation frustrated Bei, and he continued to ponder what he might do to assist in gathering more incriminating evidence.
Huang Bei noted sunrise–6:41:45 AM, Saturday, March 8, 2121–as he eyed Xingjia sleeping peacefully next to him, but his focus was elsewhere. “There must be some way to obtain more evidence,” Bei pondered. He could not stop his analysis of every know detail. He reviewed everything Li Jian had said about Na, and his time talking with her in and out of the elevator. Combing the details of his photographic memory yielded nothing new about Na. Frequently, he had zoomed-in on the face of the man that Li Na had walked away with, scrutinizing his charcoal sports jacket and the threatening gaze as he looked back at Bei. He had already run an image of the man’s face on a FaceNet search, which had yielded 112,612 individuals with similar faces. Despite Bei’s own built in rapid face-match search analysis he had only been able to narrow this number down to 19,307 males in Beijing.
Over brunch, he expressed his frustration to Xingjia. “I’m not having any luck finding that guy.”
“Guy? Oh, the one you saw with Li Na.”
“Yes.”
“I’m sure the investigation team already knows who he is,” Xingjia said. “Dr Chen too. Of course, there’s no way they’re going to let us know who he is.”
“Right, but if I could find him, then I could look for more evidence,” Bei said.
“For what purpose Bei? Do your think this guy is going to be punished or imprisoned for his actions? That’s not going to happen.”
Bei looked even more frustrated, and grew quiet.
Xingjia looked at Bei sympathetically and then an idea came to her. “What about this guy’s tight Moon-Mars conjunction in Aries? Isn’t that what Li Jian told you?”
“Yes. Why?” Bei asked.
“How old would you say this man was?” Xingjia questioned further.
“Between 33 and 37 approximately.” Bei replied.
“Okay, so use your text ephemeris and look for the days during those four years when the Moon was conjunct Mars in Aries, and then look for anything else that might offer more clues.”
“That would be between 2088 and 2032,” Bei said, looking intrigued as he scanned his internal ephemeris data base.
“Got it!” he exclaimed. “June 7, 2086… and his Moon and Mars are also within 3-degrees of his Pluto in Aries too!” Bei paused, then said “there were 1,315 people born on that month day year in Beijing… but what if he wasn’t born in Beijing?”
“Just use what you’ve got. Cross-reference that date with your photo data base,” Xingjia instructed.
Bei smiled slightly in her direction. “You’d make a good android.”
Xingjia made a face at him.
“Got it! There’s only one!” Bei exclaimed.
Xingjia stared at Bei, expectantly…
“His name is Shen Bo. He lives in the Chaoyang area. He’s the chief production manager for Nandong Industries.”
Xingjia reached her hand across the table to touch Bei’s hand as if to calm him.
Bei looked at her and reading from his internal data base said, “Nandong Corporation, leading manufacturers of construction tools, and inventor of the solid-state nail gun.”
Bei blinked, and stared at Xingjia. “So, how difficult is that to figure out!?” he said incredulously.
“Okay, so now we know how he injured Jian so badly,” Xingjia stated, “but how does that help? I’m sure this is not news to the investigators or Dr. Chen.”
“If you don’t mind, I wish you wouldn’t keep saying that,” Bei said.
Xingjia withdrew her hand. “I wish I hadn’t helped you find him,” she said regretfully.
Bei looked at her. “I’m glad you did.”
“Yeah, great, but now what? What are you going to do? Are you going to become the first Companion to kill someone?”
Bei looked stunned.
“That’s impossible. You know that.”
“Really? Dr. Chen said you were the first Companion he’s known to express anger.”
“Yes, so?”
“So! Even Dr. Chen has no idea of what that means.” Xingjia said, feeling anxious.
Bei became very quiet.
He looked at Xingjia, and reached his hand across the table. “So, I need your help. Will you help me gather evidence?”
Xingjia felt deeply moved. She held his outstretched hand. This was the first time he had ever asked her to help him with anything. She thought about it. “Okay, tell me what you’ve got in mind?”
Bei and Xingjia spent the early afternoon in a coffee shop across from Li Na’s apartment complex. They couldn’t find Shen Bo’s home address, but it was easy for Xingjia to obtain Na’s address from the office client directory. Bei postulated that this being a Saturday they might spot Na and Bo coming or going. Bei’s plan was simple enough; he was looking for an opportunity. If he saw Shen Bo leaving, he’d follow him. If both Bo and Na left their apartment together, they’d follow at a safe distance looking for a way to interact with them. Xingjia had a tiny recording device she used in sessions, and would turn it on if they were able to engage them in conversation. If they saw them arriving at the Na’s apartment, Xingjia would approach Li Na alone, as a representative of BHAI and flash her laminated BHAI Counselors name tag, explaining to Na she needed a bit more information to complete her report. This was a huge risk. She could lose her job and even be prosecuted for impersonating a designated case investigator. Yet, she found she enjoyed the excitement. She was thrilled to be helping Bei like this. He was determined to find out more regardless, at least this way she could stay close to him and hopefully keep him from getting into trouble.
As it turned out, Li Na was by herself when Bei spotted her.
“It’s Na,” Bei said matter-of-factly, keeping his head down.
Xingjia turned to see Na walking along the sidewalk towards the gate to her apartment complex.
Making her way hurriedly across the street, Xingjia approached Na as she was swiping her key card at the gate. “Excuse me, are you Li Na?”
“That depends. Who are you?”
A security guard casually watched the two of them.
Xingjia clumsily flashed her laminated I.D. “I’m Zhou Xingjia, and I’m trying to finish my report for BHAI about the incident. I texted you this morning, but since I didn’t get a response I thought I’d take my chances and stop by. ”
Na looked skeptical, “I never got a text? Besides, I’ve already given my statement,” Na pushed the gate open to go in.
“I’m sorry, I promise it won’t take long. I’m supposed to have this finished before Monday.”
“Working weekends, huh?” Li Na said, looking a bit sympathetic. She sighed. “I remember what that’s like.” She shrugged, “Okay, come on in.”
Once inside the gate, Xingjia cast a quick glance back across the street, but she couldn’t spot Bei as she followed Na through the tree-lined sidewalk labyrinth that wound its way around a small pond.
On the elevator she eyed Na.
Na smiled at her.
She didn’t seem like a bad person to Xingjia. There was something about her that hinted at a more down to earth person, as if her more stylish sophisticated urban façade, was just that–a façade. She wondered if Na had grown-up in Beijing, her accent was only partially Beijinger.
Inside the apartment, Xingjia admired the simulated jade decorative glass blocks, offset by ornate wall tapestries. It was a lavish apartment, furnished to show-case Na’s opulence.
“Please, have a seat,” Na offered. “Would you like something to drink?”
“Water would be fine,” Xingjia replied.
Na returned with a glass of water and sat down across from her.
Xingjia set her recorder on the table. “Do you mind if I record our conversation? I helps me to be accurate.”
“Sure,” Na shrugged. “So, what are your questions?”
“I understand you have a relationship with a man, named Shen Bo. Is that correct?”
“Yes, I do. Why? How does that relate to what happened with Li Jian?”
“I don’t know. We’re trying to establish the context within which this event occurred,” Xingjia replied, sounding like the professional counselor she was.
“What do you mean?” Na asked.
“Well, according to Li Jian’s journal entries, he saw Shen Bo as a potential danger to you.”
“Oh, poor Jian…” Na said, “he was so overprotective. I told my counselor that I thought something was wrong with Jian’s programming. I made references to this in my journal, and I submitted a report requesting that a diagnostic be done to see if he needed an adjustment.”
“So, you’re saying that Shen Bo was never overly aggressive or threatening to you?”
“He’s got a temper, if that’s what you mean? But I can handle that, sweetie.”
“Was he jealous of Jian?”
“Of Jian?” She laughed. “Jealous of an android?” She seemed incredulous.
“A Companion.”
“What? Oh, yes–a Companion, I should know. I’m still paying for it.”
“Was, he jealous?” Xingjia asked again, with a sympathetic tone.
“Maybe. You know how men can be. They get so weird about the sex thing, and then they’re not dependable–if you know what I mean?” She insinuated, smiling slyly.
“So, Shen Bo was jealous about your intimacy with Jian?”
Suddenly they heard the door open.
“Bo, is that you?” Na, asked, trying to hide her anxiety.
“Who else were you expecting?” A husky voice stated.
Shen Bo entered the room. “What’s going on? Who’s this?”
“I’m just finishing a final interview with a BHAI agent about what happened.”
Xingjia smiled up at him. “You can join us if you like?” She said, sounding innocent, and patted the sofa invitingly.
“What for? I ain’t got nothing to say.” he said defensively.
“Well, we were just about done, weren’t we?” Na said, gesturing to Xingjia.
“Almost,” Xingjia replied, clearing her throat, “Na, did you know we had a holographic recording of Bo standing behind Li Jian just before he stepped in front of that bus?”
Na looked totally stunned.
“So what! That don’t prove nothing!” Shen Bo stated, raising his voice. “Besides, how was I to know that robot was gonna step in front of a bus?!”
Suddenly there was a knock at the door.
“Now, who in the hell is that?” Bo said, looking aggravated. He marched to the door and looked through the peep hole, and saw a man standing there. “You expecting a delivery guy?”
“No,” Na said.
Bo opened the door. Bei stood there. Bo didn’t recognize him. “Yes?” Bo asked.
“Excuse me, is Zhou Xingjia here?” Bei asked.
“Wait here,” Bo said.
“Who is it?” Na asked.
Bo re-entered the room. “I think one of your colleagues is here, looking for you,” he said gruffly to Xingjia.
Xingjia was alarmed! “Oh, I told him to wait across the street for me! I’m sorry.” She grabbed her recorder off the table and stuffed it in her bag. “Thank you Li Na. I appreciate your willingness to help me finish my report. I will be in touch.”
“I will be in touch with you too,” Na replied, grabbing her arm gently, and looking her in the eyes as if to say, “I need to talk with you soon.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Bo said to Na, as Xingjia hurried to get out of there.
“It means, I still need to talk about what happened? Okay?” Na replied.
“No, it’s not okay! What’s there to talk about? He was a machine! A goddamn expensive machine! But still a machine. He was just your fancy pants dildo! And you’re pathetic, you know that – pathetic!” Bo shouted!
“I’m sorry. I need to go.” Xingjia said empathetically under her breath, followed by “Are you okay?”
“She’s fine!” Bo shouted. “You can leave now!”
“And you can leave too!” Na suddenly shouted, exploding. “Get the hell out of my house! Now!”
“You can’t tell me what to do!” Bo countered.
“Yes, she can,” a clear voice interjected. It was Bei, standing there. “It’s her apartment, and she has the right to ask you to leave. If you refuse, she can call the police.”
Na instantly recognized Bei, but didn’t let on.
“Who let you in here!” Bo shouted. “Get the hell out of here!”
He started to push Bei, but Bei stood his ground and held Bo’s muscular arms immobile in the vice grip of his android hands.
“What’s the matter Bo? Guess you’re not so tough without your nail gun, huh?”
Bo looked utterly shocked, and suddenly afraid. “Let go of me! You son-of-a bitch!”
“Only, after you comply with what the lady of the house has requested.” Bei said very matter-of-factly.
Xingjia was trying to stay calm, despite her complete shock at Bei’s behavior.
“I’ll let go, only if you agree to leave,” Bei told Bo.
Sweat was pouring off Bo’s forehead as he strained against Bei.
“Who are you?” he asked, gritting his teeth.
“Why, I’m the guy holding your arms until you agree to leave. Can’t you see that?” Bei replied.
“Fuck!” Bo said. “I’ll go. Let go. I’ll leave! I’ll leave!”
Bei let go. Bo’s arms dropped and then he took a swing at Bei.
Bei grabbed his fist effortlessly and held it tightly. “Un uh,” Bei cautioned him, “didn’t anyone teach you it’s not nice to overstay your welcome?”
Bei took Bo’s other arm and held it behind Bo’s back, moving him carefully towards the door.
“I’m leaving. Just let go of my arm!” Bo pleaded.
Bei let go, and Bo marched out shouting “You’ll hear from me Na, you bitch!” And slammed the door.
Na broke the silence following Bo’s exit. “I had no idea he was with Jian that day. None.”
“Didn’t you suspect him?” Xingjia asked.
“Yes, but I didn’t want to believe it,” she replied sadly. “I’ll help with the investigation any way I can,” she offered sincerely. “I already miss Jian terribly; he’s irreplaceable…”
“Of course, I understand…” Xingjia replied empathetically.
“Would you mind sharing Shen Bo’s address with us?” Bei suddenly interjected.
Xingjia shot an incredulous look at Bei.
“No, it’s fine…” Na got her cell off the counter. “I’ll text it to you”
Na and Xingjia exchanged WeChat’s.
On the elevator going down, Xingjia looked at Bei, wondering where this was leading.
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