5 THE DREAMS OF DEAD PEOPLE

4 THE DREAMS OF DEAD PEOPLE

死人的梦

WOULD YOU CHANGE THE RULES? If you were one of the enslaved people that built Akhenaten's city, what would you do? You would probably want to stop working so hard in the middle of the desert and go back to your parents. But that was against the rules. Those who were enslaved couldn't go anywhere without permission, and nobody would give you permission to go home. You could break the rules, but that was very dangerous. If you tried to run away, one of the pharaoh's soldiers might catch you, beat you, and perhaps even kill you. Would you still try?

你会改变规则吗？ 如果你是建造阿肯那顿城市的奴隶之一，你会怎么做？ 你可能会想停止在沙漠中如此努力地工作，回到你父母身边。 但这是违反规定的。 那些被奴役的人未经允许不能去任何地方，没有人会允许你回家。 你可以违反规则，但那是非常危险的。 如果你试图逃跑，法老的士兵可能会抓住你，打你，甚至杀了你。 你还会尝试吗？

If you were one of the pharaoh's soldiers, and you saw someone who was enslaved trying to run away, what would you do? Maybe you felt sorry for those who were enslaved and wished you could let them go home. You knew it was against the rules, but you weren't comfortable with this particular rule. You might think, "I could pretend I was asleep and didn't see anything." But falling asleep on guard duty was also against the rules. You were frightened that if an important bureaucrat caught you, they would write to the pharaoh, telling him you fell asleep on your watch or deliberately allowed an enslaved person to escape. Then the pharaoh might be so angry he would in turn enslave you, or perhaps even kill you. On the other hand, if you followed the rules and caught the enslaved person, maybe the pharaoh would promote you to captain and raise your salary! Would you still let an enslaved person go? If you were an important bureaucrat and you saw a soldier allowing someone who was enslaved to escape, what would you do? Maybe you thought the soldier was kind, and you hoped he wouldn't be punished. But you knew it was against the rules, and you also knew it was your job to report rule-breaking. Again, you might think, "I could pretend I didn't notice or forgot." But the rules said it was a bureaucrat's job to notice everything and write to the pharaoh about it. Also, the pharaoh had ordered you to complete the new city as quickly as possible. If enslaved people ran away, the building would never be complete. The pharaoh would be furious, and that would probably be the end of your career.

如果你是法老的士兵，你看到一个被奴役的人试图逃跑，你会怎么做？ 也许你为那些被奴役的人感到难过，希望你能让他们回家。 你知道这是违反规定的，但你对这条规定感到不舒服。 你可能会想，“我可以假装我睡着了，什么也没看见。” 但是值班时睡觉也是违反规定的。 你害怕如果一个重要的官员抓住了你，他们会写信给法老，告诉他你在值班时睡着了，或者故意让一个被奴役的人逃跑。 然后法老可能会非常愤怒，反过来奴役你，甚至杀了你。 另一方面，如果你遵守规则，抓住被奴役的人，也许法老会提升你为船长，提高你的工资！你还会放一个被奴役的人走吗？ 如果你是一个重要的官僚，你看到一个士兵让一个被奴役的人逃跑，你会怎么做？ 也许你认为那个士兵很善良，你希望他不会受到惩罚。 但你知道这是违反规定的，你也知道举报违规行为是你的工作。 同样，你可能会想，“我可以假装我没有注意到或忘记。” 但根据规定，官僚的职责是注意一切并向法老汇报。 此外，法老命令你尽快完成新城市。 如果被奴役的人逃跑了，这座建筑就永远不会完工。 法老会暴跳如雷，那很可能就是你事业的终结。

Besides, you knew that if people just stopped obeying the rules they didn't like, there was no knowing where that might end. A soldier who decides to ignore a rule and allow someone who is enslaved to escape might ignore a different rule next time; maybe they abandon the army in the middle of a battle or even sell state secrets to the enemy. So would you report the soldier to the pharaoh? And what if you were the pharaoh—would you change the rules? Maybe you thought slavery was bad and didn't like punishing disobedient people. But you were worried about what could happen if you suddenly changed the rules. It took hundreds of years to create the kingdom of Egypt and make a million people cooperate effectively. There was a reason for every rule. Plus, if you suddenly changed the rules, people might not know what to do. They might refuse to pay their taxes. Soldiers might stop obeying orders. Nobody would build cities, dikes, and canals. The result could be total chaos! The whole kingdom could collapse! Thousands of people might die in wars, in floods, in famines. And all because you thought you were so smart. Would you still change the rules? Even when rules are very unfair, it isn't always easy to change them. THE WAY THE COOKIE CRUMBLES It took a lot of people following a lot of rules to build kingdoms like ancient Egypt. It wasn't just enslaved people, soldiers, and bureaucrats who had to obey the rules—everybody followed rules like work hard, have lots of children, pay your taxes… and do whatever the king tells you. When people followed the rules, there was order in the kingdom. When people disobeyed the rules, there was chaos. It wasn't easy to make everybody follow the rules, especially because many of them were unfair. The rules made some people

此外，你知道，如果人们不再遵守他们不喜欢的规则，谁也不知道会有什么结局。 如果一个士兵决定无视一条规则，允许被奴役的人逃跑，那么下次他可能会无视另一条规则；也许他们会在战斗中放弃军队，甚至把国家机密卖给敌人。 你会向法老报告这个士兵吗？ 如果你是法老，你会改变规则吗？ 也许你认为奴隶制是不好的，不喜欢惩罚不听话的人。 但你担心如果你突然改变规则会发生什么。 建立埃及王国，让一百万人有效地合作，花了几百年的时间。 每条规则都是有原因的。 另外，如果你突然改变规则，人们可能不知道该怎么做。 他们可能会拒绝纳税。 士兵们可能不再服从命令。 没有人会建造城市、堤坝和运河。 结果可能是彻底的混乱！整个王国都会崩溃！成千上万的人可能死于战争、洪水和饥荒。 都是因为你自以为很聪明。 你还会改变规则吗？ 即使规则非常不公平，改变它们也并不总是那么容易。 许多人遵循许多规则才建立起像古埃及那样的王国。 不仅仅是奴隶、士兵和官僚必须遵守规则——每个人都要遵守规则，比如努力工作、多生孩子、纳税……对国王说什么就做什么。 当人们遵守规则时，王国就有了秩序。 当人们不遵守规则时，就会出现混乱。 让每个人都遵守规则并不容易，尤其是因为其中许多规则是不公平的。 规则造就了一些人

rich, while making other people poor. The rules said that rich boys went to school, rich girls stayed at home, and poor boys and girls toiled in the fields. These differences between people had nothing to do with any law of nature. It wasn't gravity that enslaved people or that banned girls from going to school. It was humans who invented these rules. Suppose Pepy the schoolboy met a farm girl called Maat on the street. "Where are you going?" asked Maat. "I am going to school to learn to read and write," answered Pepy. "I'm going to be an important bureaucrat when I grow up!" "Wow!" cried Maat. "I want to go to school and become an important bureaucrat too. But I have to go to the field instead—we're picking onions today. Why can't we swap places? I could go to school, and you could pick onions." "Sorry," said Pepy, "but it's what the rules say. My father's a rich bureaucrat, so I get to go to school. Your parents are poor farmers, so you pick onions. And even if your parents were rich—you're a girl! You can't go to school! I have three sisters, and none of them goes to school." "That's so unfair!" cried Maat. "Who invented these rules? Nobody ever asked me if I agreed to them." "Don't blame me," said Pepy. "I'm only ten. I didn't make the rules either. It was like this when I got here. Like grown-ups always say: that's the way the cookie crumbles." "Pffff." Maat snapped. "That cookie sure favored you!"

富有，却使别人贫穷。 根据规定，有钱的男孩去上学，有钱的女孩呆在家里，贫穷的男孩和女孩在地里劳作。 人与人之间的这些差异与任何自然法则无关。 不是重力奴役了人类，也不是重力禁止女孩上学。 是人类发明了这些规则。 假设小学生佩皮在街上遇到了一个叫玛特的农家女孩。 “你去哪儿？”玛特问。 “我要去学校学习读书和写字，”佩皮回答。 “我长大后要当一名重要的官僚！”“哇！”玛特叫道。 “我也想去上学，成为一名重要的官员。 但是我得去田里了——我们今天要摘洋葱。 为什么我们不能交换位置？我可以去上学，你可以摘洋葱。” “对不起，”佩皮说，“但这是规定。 我爸爸是个有钱的官僚，所以我可以去上学。 你的父母是贫穷的农民，所以你去摘洋葱。 即使你的父母很有钱，你也是个女孩！你不能去上学！我有三个姐妹，她们都没有上学。” “太不公平了！”玛特叫道。 “谁发明了这些规则？” 从来没有人问过我是否同意。” “别怪我，”佩皮说。 “我才十岁。规则也不是我定的。 我来的时候就是这样的。 就像大人们常说的：这就是饼干碎的方式。” “噗。”真理正义之神。“那块饼干肯定对你有好处！”