53 Nerys in Chroma

Chapter 53 Nerys in Chroma It was hidden behind a plinth holding a bust of Queen Victoria," said Nerys, quietly. "I don't know what drew me to it, but something did. When I saw the door, I just knew that I had to go through. She stood up and walked over to the drawings of doors on the wall behind the control desk. Ah, Chroma," she said. "What a place. From the moment I walked down that leafy passageway and into the Green Valleys for the first time, I just knew that I belonged here. The views, the colours, the sounds. It felt like I'd finally come home." "That's exactly how I felt too," said Peanut. "The difference is that I didn't decide to dedicate my whole life to finding a way to destroy it.

第53章 内里斯在彩域 “它藏在摆放维多利亚女王半身像的基座后面，”内里斯轻声说。 “我不知道是什么吸引了我，但确实有东西吸引了我。 看到那扇门的时候，我就知道我必须进去。 她站起身，走到控制台后方墙面上那些门的图纸旁边。 “啊，彩域，”她说。 “多棒的地方啊。 从我第一次沿着落满树叶的小径走进青山谷那一刻起，我就知道我属于这里。 这里的风景、色彩，还有声响。 我终于感觉自己到家了。” “我当时也是一模一样的感受，”皮纳特说。 “不一样的是，我可没打算穷尽一生找法子毁掉这里。

Nerys ignored her and continued, a wistful look in her eyes. "I soon found out that Chroma was the source of all the world's creative energy, and that all of the great artists throughout history had visited at some point to swim in the Rainbow Lake. I think the first person I met told me that! It made me love the place even more. "Hang on," said Rockwell. "If you knew that, why didn't you just dive into the lake, have a little swim about and then go back home having become a much better artist? Just like Dalf and van Gogh did? You'd have probably got a place at art college straight away. "I'm sure I would have," she replied. "But, unfortunately, I can't swim. My parents didn't ever take me to lessons. One more way in which they failed me." Peanut nodded, remembering her dad dragging Nerys through the water after they'd all been pushed into the lake earlier that day. "So you decided to move here instead?" asked Little-Bit. "Initially, I thought I'd just hang around until teatime. But a week passed before I knew it! At that point, I figured that I should probably head back home. I knew I might get into terrible trouble with my parents for being away for so long, but I didn't care. So what if they'd been worried sick? That being said, you can Imagine my surprise when I discovered that, as far as they were concerned, I'd only been gone for a

内里斯没理她，眼里带着怅惘，继续说了下去。 “我很快就发现，彩域是全世界创造力的源头，古往今来所有伟大的艺术家，都来过这里的彩虹湖畅游。 我记得我遇到的第一个人就是这么告诉我的！ 这让我更爱这个地方了。 “等一下，”罗克威尔说。 “你既然都知道，为什么不直接跳进湖里游一圈，变厉害之后再回家呢？ 就像达尔和梵高那样啊？ 你说不定能直接拿到艺术学院的录取通知书了。 “我当然知道我能，”她回答。 “但可惜啊，我不会游泳。 我爸妈从来没带我去上游泳课。 这是他们对不起我的又一件事。” 皮纳特点点头，想起那天所有人被推进湖里后，她爸爸拖着内里斯在水里走的样子。 “所以你就决定干脆搬到这里来？”小比特问。 “一开始，我以为我只会待到茶点时间。 可等我反应过来，一周都过去了！ 那时候我才想着，我大概该回家了。 我知道离家这么久，爸妈肯定会大发雷霆，但我根本不在乎。 就算他们担心得要死又怎么样呢？ 话虽如此，你肯定能想象我有多吃惊——我发现对他们来说，我才离开

few hours. As you now know, time moves at different speeds across the dimensions. This whole Chroma thing just got better and better!" "So, when did it all change?" asked Rockwell. "When did you decide that you needed to destroy it?" "That very night, actually," replied Nerys. "On the train back to Wales, it occurred to me that if there had been fewer creative people who wanted to go to the Royal College of Art, then I might have got a place there after all. Then it hit me. If Chroma was the source of all the world's creativity, all I had to do was put a stop to that and then I'd have no more competition. She pulled Little Tail from her pocket. "So, I began to draw up my masterplan," she said. Her Welsh accent had now totally disappeared, and she sounded exactly like Mr White had the first time they had met him on the snowfields of the North Draw. "What with the time difference between Chroma and the real world, I decided that it made sense to play the long game. And, boy, has it been a long game! Over many years, I'd visit the city regularly, staying for weeks at a time. I learned about all its stories and legends—including that of Pencil Number One and Conté's heir its history and its political structure. I got to know the system inside out, and after a year or two I'd formulated a plan. I decided to run for mayor. If I could get control

才几个小时而已。 你现在知道了，不同维度的时间流速不一样。 那时候我只觉得彩域的一切简直太完美啦！” “那一切是什么时候变的呢？”罗克威尔问。 “你是什么时候决定要毁掉这里的？” “其实就是那天晚上，”内里斯回答。 “在回威尔士的火车上，我突然想到，如果想进皇家艺术学院的天才少一点，那我说不定就能考上了。 然后我灵光一闪。 如果彩域是全世界创造力的源头，我只要掐断这份创造力，就再也没有竞争对手了。 她从口袋里掏出小尾巴。 “所以，我开始策划我的大计，”她说。 她的威尔士口音已经完全消失了，说话的语气和他们第一次在北画雪原遇到的怀特先生一模一样。 “因为彩域和现实世界有时差，我觉得放长线钓大鱼才是对的。 说真的，这线可放得太长了！ 这么多年来，我经常来这座城市，一待就是好几周。 我摸清了这里所有的故事和传说——包括一号铅笔和孔特继承人的故事，还有这里的历史和政治结构。 我把这里的规则摸得一清二楚，一两年之后就定下了完整的计划。 我决定竞选市长。 只要我能拿到控制权

of the city, that's when I could begin to shut it down as a creative force. "I hate to say this," said Rockwell, "but as a plan, that's actually pretty solid. Albeit in an incredibly selfish and evil way. "I knew that I, Nerys, couldn't run for mayor, though," she said. "Those lonely years at school taught me that I didn't have the charisma to attract voters. So, I decided to invent a new persona. A character that people would warm to. Someone they would follow." She reached up, lifted the fedora from her head and held it out in front of her. And that's when I became... Mr White."

整座城市的控制权，我就能开始一点点废掉这里的创造力了。 “恕我直言，”罗克威尔说，“但这个计划其实还挺周密的。 只不过是极度自私又邪恶的计划罢了。 “但我知道，我内里斯没法竞选市长，”她说。 “上学时那些孤单的日子告诉我，我没有吸引选民的魅力。 所以我决定，创造一个新的身份。 一个大家会喜欢的角色。 一个大家愿意追随的人。” 她抬起手，摘下头上的费多拉帽，举到身前。 然后从那一刻起，我就变成了…… 怀特先生。”