52 The Trigger

Chapter 52 The Trigger old RAZER 003, set that big oaf free, would you?" barked Nerys. The robot sped over to Alan, produced a tiny circular saw from its side panel and cut through the Mona Lisa's frame. It fell to the floor in two pieces. 003 then cut through the tape binding his arms and legs. Once free, Alan stretched his arms out to the sides and wiggled his thick fingers. But he thanked neither the robot nor Nerys. "There's still something I don't understand," said Rockwell. And that's "Oh, trust me, there's a lot you don't understand, Tall Human," said 67 gleefully, eyes still purple and swirling. "Yes, well, fortunately, Rockwell, it doesn't matter

第五十二章 触发机关 “老雷泽003，把那个大块头蠢货放了，行不行？”内里斯吼道。 机器人飞快冲到艾伦身边，从侧板掏出一把小圆锯，锯开了蒙娜丽莎的画框。 画框裂成两半掉在了地上。 接着003锯断了绑住艾伦四肢的胶带。 重获自由后，艾伦张开双臂，扭动了一下粗胖的手指。 可他既没向机器人道谢，也没谢内里斯。 “有件事我一直想不明白。”罗克韦尔说。 “哦，相信我，高个子人类，你想不明白的事儿可多了去了。”67号兴高采烈地说，眼睛还是紫的，不停打转。 “没错，不过啊，幸运的是罗克韦尔，这根本不重要

whether you understand or not," said Nerys. "All three of you have been an enormous help without even knowing it. As have your mother and that poor, ridiculous man, Mr Stone. I suppose all those years spent pretending to work for them weren't totally wasted, after all. "I have a question," said Peanut, quietly. "Go on then, lovely. Ask away." "Why?" "Why, what?" replied Nerys. "Why all this? Why do you want to rid the world of its creativity? There must be a reason. I mean, why do you hate art so much?" Nerys smiled, shook her head, and walked over to the chair next to the control desk. "You might find this hard to believe, young Peanut, she said as she sat down, "but I was a very artistic child. Full disclosure: I didn't enjoy school, and school didn't enjoy me. But the one thing I was good at was art. In fact, the only time

，你明不明白都没关系。”内里斯说。 “你们三个都帮了我大忙，自己却还不知道呢。 还有你的妈妈，还有那个可怜又可笑的斯通先生，也帮了忙。 说起来啊，我这么多年假装为他们干活，到头来也不是完全白费功夫。 “我有个问题。”花生小声说道。 “说吧，小可爱。 尽管问。” “为什么？” “为什么什么？”内里斯答道。 “为什么要做这一切？ 你为什么要毁掉这个世界的创造力？ 这里面肯定有原因。 我是说，你为什么这么恨艺术？” 内里斯笑了笑，摇摇头，走到了控制台旁边的椅子边。 “小花生，你可能很难相信，她坐下说道，可我小时候可是个很有艺术天分的孩子。 说实话吧，我不喜欢上学，学校也不喜欢我。 但我唯一擅长的事情就是画画。 实际上，只有在

that people would notice me was when I drew or painted. I was invisible until I picked up a pencil. My classmates only ever wanted to be friends with me for the duration of the art lesson though. After that, everything would go back to normal and I'd be on my own again. But at least I had the art room. I loved that place. It was somewhere I could retreat to whenever I felt lonely. The pictures that I made there were my friends, and they never stole my lunch money or laughed at me behind my back." "Well, in that case, this makes no sense at all," said Little- Bit. "If you love art, why are you trying to destroy it?" My parents never understood," continued Nerys, ignoring the question. "They didn't view art as a worthwhile subject to study at school, let alone something that a person could ever make a career out of. "A waste of time", they called it. "What a load of rubbish," said Peanut. "That's what I thought at the time too," said Nerys. "And I hated them for saying it. Then they made me leave school at the age of fifteen and forced me to take a typing position at a local accountancy firm. "A proper job", they called it. "Sounds pretty boring to me," said Little-Bit. It was boring. So I carried on with my art regardless, continued Nerys. "I would paint in my bedroom whenever I could and take myself off to art galleries and life-drawing classes at every opportunity. Then, when I turned eighteen,

人们注意到我的时候，就是我画画的时候。 在我拿起铅笔之前，谁都不会注意到我。 不过，也就上美术课那一会儿，我的同学才愿意和我做朋友。 下课之后，一切又变回老样子，我又变回孤零零一个人了。 但至少我还有美术教室。 我特别喜欢那个地方。 每当我觉得孤单，我都能躲到那里去。 我在那儿画的画就是我的朋友，它们从来不会偷我的午餐钱，也不会在背后笑话我。” “这样的话，我就更听不懂了。”小比特说。 “你要是喜欢艺术，为什么还要毁掉它？” “我爸妈从来都不理解我。”内里斯没有理这个问题，继续说道。 他们不觉得艺术是值得在学校学习的有用科目，更别说把它当成一份事业了。 他们说这就是“浪费时间”。 “真是一派胡言！”花生说。 “我那时候也是这么想的。”内里斯说。 “我因为他们说这种话，恨透了他们。 后来他们逼我十五岁就退学，强迫我去本地一家会计事务所做打字员。 他们说这是“正经工作”。 “我听着就觉得好无聊。”小比特说。 确实很无聊。 所以我不管他们，还是继续画画。”内里斯继续说道。 我一有空就在卧室画画，一有机会就去美术馆，去人体素描课。 后来，等我满十八岁的时候，

I secretly applied to go to the Royal College of Art. It was a lifelong dream of mine. Unfortunately for me, competition was high and I was told that I wouldn't be offered a place." "Why not?" asked Rockwell. "Were you rubbish?" I certainly was not!" shouted Nerys, with venom in her eyes. "If you must know, they said my style was too naive and that I didn't have a solid enough grasp of the foundations. Pah! What nonsense! I think perhaps being a female applicant in the 1960s had much more to do with it. I bet there were loads of men—with less talent—who were offered places. "So, what happened next?" asked Peanut. "Well, I was furious, obviously," she said. "Furious with the art college for rejecting me, furious with my parents for not encouraging my creativity when I was younger, and furious with the world for not providing me with the opportunities that I deserved!" Peanut looked at Nerys's hands. They were shaking. I remember leaving the interview and just walking around London in a daze. I must have gone all the way from Kensington to Soho, because I suddenly found myself stood on the Charing Cross Road right outside the National Portrait Gallery. Galleries had always been my happy place, so I decided to go inside and try to cheer myself up. That's when I found it. "Found what?" asked Peanut, already knowing the answer. "That's when I found the door.

我偷偷申请了皇家艺术学院。 那是我一辈子的梦想。 可惜，竞争太激烈了，我得到通知，我没有拿到入学名额。” “为什么呀？”罗克韦尔问。 “你画得太烂了吗？” “我当然不是！” 内里斯吼道，眼睛里满是怒意。 “你非要知道的话，他们说我的风格太天真，对基础功底掌握得不够扎实。 哼！ 简直胡说八道！ 我觉得啊，在1960年代，我是个女申请者，这才是真正的原因。 我敢打赌，一大堆天赋还不如我的男人都拿到了名额。 “那之后发生了什么？”花生问。 “哎呀，我当然气疯了。”她说。 “我气艺术学院拒收我，气我爸妈小时候不鼓励我的创造力，更气这个世界不给我我应得的机会！” 花生看向内里斯的手。 那双手正在发抖。 我记得我离开面试后，昏昏沉沉在伦敦走了很久。 我肯定从肯辛顿走到了苏活区，因为我突然发现自己站在查令十字街，就在国家肖像馆的门外。 美术馆一直是我的开心乐园，所以我决定进去走走，让自己心情好一点。 就在那儿，我找到了它。 “找到什么？”花生问，其实已经猜到了答案。 “就是在那儿，我找到了那扇门。”