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http://www.halopedia.org/Hunt_the_Truth#Episode_02:_BAD_RECORDS
Episode 02. BAD RECORDS
第二篇 错误记录
I couldn't believe it. According to the document I was looking at,
John, the boy who would go on to become the Master Chief, died forty-one years
ago. My protagonist, the greatest hero of our time, was dead at six. It was a
major discrepancy, and I needed to find a way to fix it.
I'm Benjamin Giraud, and this is Hunt the Truth.
ONI AI: Continue to hold.
If you ever happen to obtain sufficient clearance to call the Office of
Naval Intelligence, you'll be on hold for at least an hour. If you ever happen
to get a call from them, you will also ... wait an hour. And in the end, they
never unblock the video, so you just end up talking to a really crisp insignia.
Giraud: I am waiting to talk to Michael Sullivan, hoping he can help me with my
little ... records problem.
ONI AI: Continue to hold.
And it's been ... eighty-five minutes.
Michael Sullivan, also known as Sully, works for the ONI in public
relations. If it seems odd to you that the most secretive agency in our
government has a PR department, you're not alone, but that's not something I'd
mention to them. Besides, Sully had hooked me up with the assignment in the
first place. I was grateful for the opportunity.
ONI AI: Office of Naval Intelligence. Public relations.
Sullivan: Ben!
Giraud: Hi! Sully, hey! Ah yeah, thanks for taking my call.
Sullivan: Absolutely. How are the sources?
Up until this point, I'd had no problems with the story. All my facts
had been lining up nicely, but now ... I had an obscure document from the far
reaches of the galaxy that listed John as deceased. This contradicted
everything. I needed Sully to make it make sense, and thankfully, he did just
that.
Sullivan: Welcome to the Outer Colonies! Nothing makes sense out there.
Giraud: No, I know, I know, it's just, uh- I just wanted to make sure that I
buttoned up all the details.
Sullivan: And that's what you're doing! Look, Ben - it's the far reaches of
space out there, and the planet you're talkin' about was glassed to hell. You
know just as well as anybody that if there are any local records, they're a
mess.
OK, so - I felt a little stupid. Sully was right - it's a real problem
in the Outer Colonies: planets destroyed by glassing have bad records. Every
researcher knows this, and every researcher knows that questioning that fact
is standard fodder for conspiracy theories.
It's a coverup! That's Government Secrecy 101!
That's a message I received last week from a man named Meshach Miradi.
He's one of many truthers out there who've come out of the woodwork since I
started doing this story. Apparently, he heard I was investigating the Master
Chief. Meshach seems less ridiculous than most of the characters who've been
filling up my inbox, but he's definitely been the most persistent. He's left
me a message every day for the past two months. I never respond, but I did
find the timing of his last message pretty funny.
Miradi: Let me guess - the government is telling you that the records don't
make sense because the planet was glassed. Right? That's what they tell you!
Technically, Meshach was right. That was what the government was
telling me. But unfortunately for Meshach's theory, it was true - glassed
planets have bad records. John's childhood friend Ellie Bloom has dealt with
this reality her whole life.
Bloom: ... you have no idea ...
I recalled what she'd said in her interview.
Bloom: I mean, it can be hard enough out here trying to do business between
planets that haven't been glassed. There's so much upheaval. Keeping track of
personal records, financial documents, medical records - it's a total
crapshoot.
In retrospect, I'd probably been asking for this kind of hiccup.
Getting cute with the research, opening up a rat's nest of old paper records -
and for what? All I'd dug up from slogging on my own was a few hazy
kindergarten stories from Ellie and a nonsensical death record.
But - things were looking up. Sully had arranged a face-to-face
interview with ONI Vice Admiral Gabriella Dvorak. That not only got me
offworld, but it was onboard the newest Autumn-class heavy cruiser, the UNSC
Unto The Breach. Got a private shuttle up, full luxury - they had me riding in
style. When I came aboard, Dvorak even greeted me personally.Now, civilians
aren't normally allowed onboard an active duty ship, let alone given this sort
of attention.
Giraud: Ah, I-
Dvorak: Please. Call me Gabriella.
Giraud: Okay ...
This was not the kind of hospitality I was used to.
Giraud: Um, what- what, uh, brings you way out here?
Dvorak: [brief laugh] Work.
She told me she was on a detachment and in the neighbourhood. I guess I
lucked out. The white-glove treatment continued too - captain's mess, officer's
quarters, the whole thing. By the time we finally got to her office for the
interview, Dvorak could have said anything and I'd have been thrilled. But
she's the real deal, and she jumped right into it.
Dvorak: It was that 'finally' moment. After all the fighting was done, I was
helping lead all the prisoners out of the containers.
As lieutenant in the UNSC, Gabriella not only took part in the grand
operations that freed John and countless others from the rebel labour camps in
Elysium City, but she remembered the 13-year-old as well. She described the
liberation.
Dvorak: When you saw them, what had been done to them, you realised who you'd
been fighting to save. The aftermath of it, ah ... it was ugly. Everyone was
streaming out into the daylight squinting, limping, just - grey and fragile
and sickly. Their ... backs were hunched, all their eyes just staring at the
ground, and - they looked ... they looked dead.
That's when she saw John.
Dvorak: He was sticking out like a sore thumb. In the middle of all this -
just - beaten humanity, there's this ... tall, young kid walking toward me,
towering over the others, his shoulders back, his eyes forward, and when he
passed me, he looked right at me. Looked in my eyes. Ah, I mean, that doesn't
sound like much, but that eye contact coming from someone in that moment, who'd
been in that circumstances ... was shocking. He looked malnourished and
dehydrated like everybody else, but he was so young, and whatever had broken
all these people - it hadn't broken him.
In the aftermath, Dvorak remained stationed in Elysium City, working in
the refugee camps. From the first day, John stepped up to help Gabriella with
her duties. She came to know him well over the next several months.
Dvorak: There was a point when he told me about his parents. That they'd been
abducted along with him. He didn't say much, but, um ... they didn't make it.
Her understanding was that it had gotten ugly in there. They died a
couple days apart, a few weeks before the Liberation - and John was there when
it happened. On the rare occasion when John opened up about this, Dvorak says
it was memorable.
Dvorak: He would get this look on his face when he talked about - eh - it's
hard to describe. I'd see it on him other times too - he seemed to feel the
weight of all that had happened, but still ... he was calm. Not angry, not
desperate, just ... resolute. He was a remarkable young man.
Like so many people at the time in Elysium City, and throughout this
region of the galaxy, John had lost his home, his family, everything. People
packed up whatever they had left, got out of town, and most never looked back.
But Deon Govender - John's boxing coach - said many of them found a way to get
some measure of closure.
Govender: Yeah, yeah, definitely. We all got separated and spread out across
the planet and all the Colonies, but - some of us were able to cobble together
a list of names. An, uh - kind of a memorial, that grew longer as we got more
information. Yeah ... I remember seeing John's parents' names on the list
early on, but ... but not John. After he missed that last practice ... never
saw him again, but ... I remember thinking, "That's OK, you know, as long as
I never see his name on this list, that's OK." And I never did.
His will to survive left an impression on then-Lieutenant Gabriella
Dvorak as well.
Dvorak: I think ... John just didn't wanna be a victim any more. I remember him
telling me he was gonna enlist. He said he was gonna make a difference. I've
never been more sure of another person than I was of him when he said that.
Out of the chaos of war, from the rubble, a young John was able to
forge a purpose for himself. A purpose that would drive him to become the hero
the galaxy would one day need him to be. This is the kind of turn in a story
that gives me patriotic goosebumps. I was feeling genuinely moved on my trip
back home. When I got there, though, Ellie Bloom was gonna ruin all that for
me.
Bloom: Hey, I just wanted to follow up with you about your story. I'm - really
confused.
Giraud: OK, uh, what's-
Bloom: Remember how I said I was gonna tell my friend Katrina about it?
Katrina was that other girl in John's neighbourhood - the third wheel
in Ellie's childhood stories of playing with John. Ellie had moved offplanet in
2517, but Katrina had stayed.
Bloom: Sh- she said that John was dead. He died when he was six.
Giraud: Wai- wait a minute, wait, what?
Bloom: John was perfectly healthy, but then he just started wasting away. At
first I thought maybe it was some autoimmune thing and then they thought it was
something else, and then something else, and then meanwhile he's getting all
these tests but the doctors couldn't figure it out at all, and his parents were
panicking, I ... it sounded horrible.
Then - John died. Just like that. I had no idea what to make of this.
Ellie seemed convinced, though, so I got her to put me in touch with her friend
Katrina. Katrina wouldn't let me record the interview, but this woman was
adamant. I wanted to discount what she was saying, but she seemed to remember
it so vividly, providing extensive detail - I couldn't ignore it. As far as
this person was concerned, John - was - dead. Before I could even begin to wrap
my head around that claim, though, here was the kicker from Katrina: John's
parents were alive and well in Elysium City, all the way up until Katrina left
the planet in 2528 - four years after their supposed death. She was wrong. She
had to be thinking of someone else, or - she was lying? Why would she lie,
though? I had to admit, she seemed pretty convincing, but - it didn't make
sense otherwise. I still thought I could fix the story, though - make the
pieces fit. Make it make sense. But what I didn't realise was that this crack
was only the beginning - and the whole ugly mess was about to split open.
Please join me for the next episode of Hunt the Truth.
我无法接受。根据我现有的资料，John，原本应该要成为士官长的男孩，在四十一年
前死了。我故事里的主角、我们这个时代里最伟大的英雄，在六岁时就已经死了。这些资
料有极大的出入，我必须想办法弄清这一切。
我是Benjamin Giraud，你正在收听Hunt the Truth。
海军情报局人工智能：请继续等候。
如果你有管道能打给海军情报局的话，你至少要等上一个小时。如果你有机会接到他
们的电话，你还是要等上一小时。重点是，他们会监控通话，你不会有和高层的人说话的
机会。
Giraud：我在等Michael Sullivan，希望他能帮我解决我一些……纪录的问题。
海军情报局人工智能：请继续等候。
Giraud：我已经等了……八十五分钟了。
Michael Sullivan，也就是Sully，在ONI（海军情报局）的公关部门工作。你可能很
怀疑我们政府里最神秘的组织怎么会有公关部，你不是第一个这么想的，但我当然不会去
跟们提这件事情。而且当初就是Sully把我找来做这份工作的，我也很感谢他给我这个机
会。
海军情报局人工智能：海军情报局，公关部。
Sullivan：Ben！
Giraud：嗨，Sully。呃，谢谢你接我的电话。
Sullivan：我很乐意。你的资料来源都还好吧？
到现在为止，我认为故事都没有问题，所有资料都互相呼应。但突然，我拿到了来自
外太空的一份含糊的资料显示John已经死亡，它把一切都变得矛盾了。我需要Sully帮我
解释清楚，我也很庆幸他这么做了。
Sullivan：这就是外殖民地，一切都不会合乎逻辑。
Giraud：不，我了解你的意思。我只是想说，呃，我想确定我把所有细节都搞清楚了。
Sullivan：你现在就是在这么做啊！听我说，Ben，那是一个位在遥远外太空的星球，它
被还glass到像是人间炼狱。就跟其他人一样，你应该知道就算有当地的纪录，那也会是
一团糟。
好吧，我觉得我自己有点蠢。Sully说的没错，外殖民地就是有这个问题，被glass的
星球的纪录会出错。每个相关的研究者都知道，而若是去怀疑这个事实的就是助长了阴谋
论者的说法。
这是颗烟雾弹，政府掩盖真相的标准流程！
这是我上礼拜收到来自一个叫做Meshach Miradi的人的讯息，我在接到这个工作以后
很多怀疑论者纷纷冒了出来，他是其中一个。显然他知道我在调查士官长，Meshach跟其
他在传来我收件匣里的人比起来算是比较不荒谬的，但他却是最有毅力的。他在过去两个
月里每天都传讯息给我。我从来没有回复他，但我却发现他一则讯息来的时候非常奇妙。
Miradi：让我猜猜，他们告诉你纪录有问题是因为个星球被glass了对吧？他们是那样跟
你讲的。
Miradi讲的基本上没错。政府是这样跟我讲的，但很可惜Meshach讲的也是事实，被
glass的星球就是会有纪录上的问题。John的儿时玩伴Ellie Bloom一生都在面对这个问
题。
Bloom：你绝对无法想像……
我回想起她在访问时所说的。
Bloom：要在没有被glass的星球之间办事就已经够难的了，能遭遇到的变化太多了。要
追踪个人的纪录、财务资料、病历，根本无迹可寻。
现在回想起来，我也许一直以来都是在自讨苦吃。在调查资料的时候耍小聪明，挖
出了一堆乱七八糟的老资料，究竟是为了什么？我所找到的只是几个模糊的幼稚园记忆
和毫无道理的死亡记录。
幸好，情况总算要好转了。Sully安排了我和ONI的副司令Gabriella Dvorak面对面
访谈，我不只是离开了星球，我还搭上最新的秋风级大型战舰（Autumn-class heavy
cruiser）UNSC Unto The Breach。我搭了私人接驳艇，很豪华。当我登上战舰以后，
Dvorak还亲自来欢迎我。是说，平民一般来说是不能登上执勤中的战舰的，所以这引起
了些许的注意。
Giraud：呃，我……
Dvorak：请叫我Gabriella。
Giraud：好……
我不是很习惯这种善意。
Giraud：呃，是什么把妳请来这里的？
Dvorak：（笑）工作。
她告诉我她当时在一支分遣队又刚好在附近，我想我算是幸运。他们周到服务还不
只这样，我还体验了上尉的伙食、军官的宿舍。直到我们终于到了她的办公室准被访问
的时候，她说不管她说什么都能让我很激动，但她是来真的，所以她直接切入了正题。
Dvorak：那时已经是善后的时候了，所有战斗都已经结束，我正在带战俘离开。
身为UNSC的中尉，Gabriella解放了在Elysium市的劳动营，让包括John在内的无数
民众重获自由。她也还记得当时才十三岁的John，她描述了当时的情况。
Dvorak：当你看到他们还有他们所承受的事物以后，你才发觉到你一直努力保护的是什
么。战后的情况……真的很糟。每个人走到阳光下时都是瞇着眼，走路一拐一拐，他们
灰头土脸、一副病恹恹的样子，弓著身子盯着地上，就像是行尸走肉。
她就是那时见到John的。
Dvorak：他很显眼，他就在这群被击倒的人们里……这个高大、年轻的孩子朝着我走过
来，他在突出于人群之间、挺著胸、目视前方。当他经过我的时候，他直视着我，往我
的眼睛里看。那听起来可能没什么，但是和在那种时刻、经历过那种状况的人有眼神交
流，那让人很震惊。他跟其他人一样都是营养不良、脱水的样子，但他还那么年轻，然
而击败其他人的那一切，没有击倒他。
在战后，Dvorak继续待在Elysium市里的难民营。从第一天开始，John就挺身而出帮
忙Gabriella的勤务，这在几个月后她更加的认识John。
Dvorak：他有跟我谈过他的父母。他们跟他一起被绑架。他没说太多……但他们没撑过
来。
她的理解是情况非常的糟，他们在几天之内相继去世，就在解放之前的几个礼拜，
John当时也在现场。John是在一个很罕见的状况下谈论这些，Dvorak 说这让她印象深刻。
Dvorak：他谈这些的时候的表情……很难形容。我在其他时候也看过他这样，他像是感
受得到承重，但他依然很镇定。他没有怒气、没有绝望，意志很坚定。他是个很了不起
的年轻人。
就像其他当时在Elysium市——还有银河系里其他地区——的人们一样，John失去了
他的家园、家人、一切。人们打包了他们所剩的事物，离开以后，就再也不往回看了。但
Deon Govender，John的拳击教练，说有很多人找到了从中解脱的方法。
Govender：对、对，没错。我们都被迫分离，分散到各个殖民星上。但是我们有些人凑
齐了一个名单，算是追悼他们，而我们得到了更多资讯以后名单就越来越长。我记得我
一开始就有看到John的父母的名字，但没有John。自从他缺席了那次练习以后……我就
再也没看到他了。但我还记得当时是这么想“没关系，只要我没在名单上看到他的名字
就好了。”而我也从来没看到他出现在名单上。
他的求生意志也让当时的中尉Gabriella Dvorak印象深刻。
Dvorak：我觉得，John就是不想再当受害者了。我记得他跟我说他要入伍，他要改变，
当他说这些时我从来没有对人那么有信心过。
在战争的混乱之间、从残骸之中，年轻的John找到了他的目标，这个目标驱使他成
为了银河系所需要的英雄。这样的转捩点让我起了充满爱国意味的鸡皮疙瘩，我在回家
的路上是打从心里的感动。然而当我回到家以后，Ellie Bloom却扫了我的兴。
Bloom：嘿，我想要跟上你故事的进度，我觉得很困惑。
Giraud：好，呃，是什……
Bloom：你记得我说我要跟我朋友Katrina讲吗？
Katrina是另一个住在John附近的女生，在Ellie童年和John玩耍记忆里的电灯泡。
Ellie在2517年就离开星球了，但Katrina还留着。
Bloom：她说John死了，他在六岁的时候死了。
Giraud：等等，妳在说什么？
Bloom：John原本很健康，但是他突然就开始变得虚弱。我一开始以为是自体免疫之类
的，但他们认为是其他因素，医生做了许多检测但是就是毫无头绪，他们的父母非常慌
乱。听起来糟透了。
接着，John死了，就这样。我不知道我该如何反应，但Ellie感觉非常确信，所以我
请她让我和她朋友Katrina取得联系。Katrina不让我录下访谈，但她非常坚定，我试着去
怀疑她所说的，可是感觉她的记忆非常清晰，给了我很多细节让我无法忽视。就这个人所
了解的，John死了。但在我还没能够消化这个说法以前，Katrina又给了我一个意外的转
折：John的父母当时在Elysium都还活着，一直到2528年Katrina离开星球为止——这是他
们原本死亡的四年后。她搞错了，她一定是想成别人了，还是说她在说谎？但她为何要说
谎？我不得不说，她很有说服力，但这实在不合理。不管怎样我还是认为我能改正这个故
事，把拼图拼起来，让它合理。但我并没发现这裂缝只是冰山一角，后面还有一大团糟准
备迎面袭来。
请继续锁定下一篇的Hunt the Truth。