58 THE CLOUD

CHAPTER 58 THE CLOUD A dark cloud was rising in the south. It billowed and swelled and constantly changed shape. And it was headed straight for the Juggernaut. As the cloud floated closer, it became clear that it was actually a gigantic flock of birds. There were seagulls and puffins and cormorants and vultures and skuas and terns and sandpipers and eagles and every other type of northern bird, all flying together. The Ancient Shark's call to action had made the leap from ocean to sky, and birds were coming to join the fight. Up in the control room, the station manager and the assistant manager stood together as the birds approached. "Roz must have something to do with this," said Akiko. "You don't really think that robot can speak with animals?" said George. Akiko shrugged. "Do you have a better explanation?" A lone seagull flew out to greet the flock. Nimbus

第五十八章云南方升起了一片乌云。 它翻腾着，膨胀着，不断地改变着形状。 它直接飞向了神像号。 当那片云飘近时，才发现那其实是一大群鸟。 有海鸥、海雀、鸬鹚、秃鹫、贼鸥、燕鸥、矶鹞、鹰和其他各种北方鸟类，全都在一起飞翔。 古鲨的行动召唤已经从海洋跃上了天空，鸟儿们也来加入战斗。 在控制室里，当鸟儿飞来时，站长和副站长站在一起。 明子说：“罗兹肯定和这件事有关。” “你不会真的认为那个机器人能和动物说话吧？”乔治说。 作者耸耸肩。“你有更好的解释吗？”一只孤独的海鸥飞出来向鸟群打招呼。 光辉灿烂的

knew the station well, and his advice quickly spread from bird to bird. He explained that it was useless to attack a building or a platform or a walkway. The birds needed to focus on easier targets. And then a group of BOSUNs marched into view. The sky darkened as the flock of birds descended. Smaller birds splattered the robots with their droppings. Larger birds scraped at robotic faces with their talons. The BOSUNs were caught off guard. One robot stumbled over a railing and slammed hard onto a lower platform. His body fizzled and twitched and then was still. The remaining BOSUNs fought back, swatting at birds with their big blocky hands. BOSUN 1 stomped through a doorway and stomped back out holding a rifle. He aimed the weapon and fired. Blazing beams of light flashed through the air. Charred feathers floated across the station. Winged bodies dropped into the waves. The birds regrouped and searched for other targets. They battered windows and tore at floodlights. And

他对电台很熟悉，他的建议很快就传开了。 他解释说，攻击建筑物、平台或人行道是没有用的。 这些鸟需要专注于更容易的目标。 然后，一群bosun进入了视野。 当鸟群降落时，天空变暗了。 较小的鸟类将它们的粪便溅到机器人身上。 更大的鸟用爪子刮机器人的脸。 bosun夫妇猝不及防。 其中一个机器人绊倒在栏杆上，重重地摔在较低的平台上。 他的身体嘶嘶作响，抽搐着，然后静止了。 剩下的bosun开始反击，用他们粗壮的大手拍打着小鸟。 1号水兵跺着脚穿过一扇门，拿着一支步枪又跺着脚走了出来。 他瞄准武器开枪了。 耀眼的光束在空中闪烁。 烧焦的羽毛飘过车站。 长着翅膀的尸体掉进了海浪里。 鸟儿们重新集结，寻找其他目标。 他们砸碎窗户，撕毁泛光灯。 和

then they noticed the drone hovering high above. The flying machine zigged and zagged, dodging eagles and vultures. But before it could find safety it was swallowed up in a seething swarm of birds. One poor sandpiper was sucked into an engine and—poof!—the engine exploded into flames and the drone went spiraling toward the control room. The humans dove for cover as the drone came hurtling at them. With its last gasp of life, the drone pulled up, narrowly missing the windows but crashing onto the roof of the control tower. It bowled through the cluster of antennas, and all wireless communication cut out. Signals from the robots suddenly stopped. The electronic map of the area went blank. The Juggernaut had lost contact with the outside world.

然后他们注意到无人机在高空盘旋。 那架飞行器盘旋着，躲避着老鹰和秃鹫。 但还没等它找到安全的地方，就被一群沸腾的鸟群吞没了。 一只可怜的矶鹞被吸进了发动机，然后噗！引擎爆炸起火，无人机盘旋着飞向控制室。 当无人驾驶飞机向他们飞来时，人类俯冲寻找掩护。 在它最后的喘息中，无人机拉了起来，差一点撞到窗户，但撞到了控制塔的屋顶上。 它滚过天线群，所有的无线通讯都中断了。 机器人发出的信号突然停止了。 该地区的电子地图一片空白。 神像号失去了与外界的联系。