科學和怪物

原作節選

I worked harder and harder now. I slept for only a short time each night， and I did not eat much food. I wrote to my family less often. But they loved me and did not stop writing to me. They said they understood how busy I was. They did not want me to stop work to write or to see them. They would wait until I had more time. They hoped to see me very soon.

The professors realized that I was doing very important work， and so they gave me my own laboratory. There was a small flat above the laboratory， where I lived， and sometimes I stayed inside the building for a week and did not go out.

Above the laboratory I built a very tall mast1. It was 150 metres high， and higher than the tallest building in the city. The mast could catch lightning and could send the electricity2 down to my machine in the laboratory. I had never forgotten the lightning that had destroyed the tree. There had been so much power in the electricity of that lightning. I believed I could use that electricity to give life to things that were dead.

I will say no more than that. The secret of my machine must die with me. I was a very clever scientist， but I did not realize then what a terrible mistake I was making.

In my laboratory I made a body. I bought or stole all the pieces of human body that I needed， and slowly and carefully， I put them all together.

I did not let anybody enter3 my laboratory or my flat while I was doing this awful4 work. I was afraid to tell anybody my terrible secret.

I had wanted to make a beautiful man， but the face of the creature5 was horrible. Its skin was thin and yellow， and its eyes were as yellow as its skin. Its long black hair and white teeth were almost beautiful， but the rest of the face was very ugly.

Its legs and arms were the right shape， but they were huge. I had to use big pieces because it was too difficult to join small pieces together. My creature was two and a half metres tall.

For a year I had worked to make this creature， but now it looked terrible and frightening6. I almost decided to destroy7 it. But I could not. I had to know if I could put life into it.

I joined the body to the wires from my machine. More wires joined the machine to the mast. I was sure that my machine could use electricity from lightning to give life to the body. I watched and waited. Two days later I saw dark clouds in the sky， and I knew that a storm was coming. At about one oclock in the morning the lightning came. My mast began to do its work immediately8， and the electricity from the lightning traveled down the mast to my machine. Would the machine work？

At first nothing happened. But after a few minutes I saw the creatures body begin to move. Slowly， terribly， the body came alive. His arms and legs began to move， and slowly he sat up.

The dead body had been an ugly thing， but alive， he was much more horrible. Suddenly I wanted to escape from him. I ran out of the laboratory， and locked the door. I was filled with fear at what I had done.

For hours I walked up and down in my flat. At last I lay down on my bed， and fell asleep. But my sleep was full of terrible dreams， and I woke up suddenly. The horrible thing that I had created was standing by my bed. His yellow eyes were looking at me； his mouth opened and he made strange sounds at me. On his yellow face there was an awful smile. One of his huge hands reached towards me…

現在我工作越來越努力。每天晚上我只睡很短的時間，吃的東西也很少。我給家里寫的信更少了。但家里人愛我，他們沒有停止給我寫信。他們說他們理解我有多忙。他們不想讓我停止工作而去給他們寫信或是去看望他們。他們愿意等到我有時間的時候再說。他們希望很快見到我。

教授們意識到我在從事一項重要的工作，因而給了我一間實驗室。實驗室的上面有一個小套房，我就住在里面。有時候，我一個星期都待在那座建筑物里不出去。

我在實驗室的上方建起一個很高的桿子。它有150米高，比全城最高的建筑物還要高。那個桿子能夠“捕獲”閃電，并把電送到我實驗室的機器上。我從未忘記摧毀那棵樹的閃電。那次閃電中的電曾有那么大的力量。我相信我可以利用電給無生命的東西注入生命。

我不想再多說什么。我的機器的秘密必須隨我一起消亡。我是個很聰明的科學家，可我那時沒有意識到自己在犯多么可怕的錯誤。

我在實驗室造了一個人體。我所需要的人體各部分均是買來或偷來的，然后我緩慢而細心地把它們拼湊到一起。

在干這項可怕的工作時，我沒有讓任何人進入過實驗室和我的住處。我不敢告訴任何人那可怕的秘密。

我曾想造一個漂亮的男人，但這個家伙的臉非常可怕：皮膚又薄又黃，眼睛同皮膚一樣黃。黑長的頭發和白色的牙齒倒也漂亮，臉上的其余部分卻很丑陋。

它的腿和胳膊的形狀是對的，但它們太大了。因為拼接小片的人體太困難，我只得用大片的去拼接。我創造的這個東西有2.5米高。

我曾為制造這個東西工作了一年時間，現在它看上去卻恐怖嚇人。我幾乎決定要毀了它。但我做不到。我必須知道我是否能將生命植入其中。

我把那個身體同我機器上的那些電線連接起來。更多的電線再把機器和桿子連接起來。我確信我的機器可以用閃電給那個身體生命。我觀察著、等待著。兩天后，我看到天上有了烏云，知道將有一場暴風雨來臨。大約在凌晨1點，閃電閃了一下。我的桿子立即開始工作，閃電通過桿子傳到了我的機器上。機器會管用嗎？

起先沒有發生什么。但幾分鐘過后，我看見那個東西的軀體在動。那具軀體緩慢而可怕地變活了。他的胳膊和腿開始移動，而且他慢慢地坐了起來。

那個無生命的軀體本來就可怕，而現在變成活的，就更加恐怖了。突然間我想逃開。我跑出實驗室并且鎖上門。我對我所做的一切充滿恐懼。

有好幾個小時我都在房間里走來走去，最后我躺倒在床上并睡著了。可是噩夢縈繞著我，我猛然醒了過來。我所創造的那個可怕的東西正站在我的床邊，他黃色的眼睛看著我。他的嘴張著，并對我發出奇怪的聲音。他黃色的臉龐上露出可怕的笑容。他的一只大手伸向了我……

Tips

●Frankenstein： 弗蘭肯斯坦，小說主人公的名字。出于對科學的盲目追求，他制造了似人的怪物，并因此喪命。這個詞也成為了常用的英文典故。人們用Frankenstein，Frankenstein monster或Frankensteins monster（弗蘭肯斯坦的怪物）來指代威脅其創造者的東西。例如：Many people think that the atomic bomb is a Frankenstein monster.（很多人認為，人類制造原子彈是自招滅亡。）類似的人名典故還有：Pandoras box（潘多拉之盒），指災難、麻煩、禍害的根源；Uncle Tom（湯姆叔叔），指逆來順受的人。

●laboratory： 實驗室，簡寫為lab。英文中經常會將一個較長的單詞裁減為一個簡單易懂的詞，例如refrigerator→fridge冰箱； automobile → auto汽車。

瑪麗·雪萊

去年年底，“基因編輯嬰兒事件”的出現引發了一場關于科學與生命倫理的大討論。許多人提到赫胥黎（Huxley）那本著名的長篇小說《美麗新世界》（Brave New World）。書中描繪了一個想象中的未來世界，人類在嚴密的科學控制下，在工廠中被整齊劃一地制造出來。事實上，最早講述“人造人”的故事，并對人類濫用科學技術可能帶來的后果進行反思的，是19世紀英國女作家瑪麗·雪萊（Mary Shelley）。

《弗蘭肯斯坦》（Frankenstein）又譯作《科學怪人》，是瑪麗·雪萊的第一部小說，也是其最為人熟知并稱道的作品。自1818年初次出版，它被多次改編為戲劇、電影，影響巨大，被譽為世界首部科幻小說、最杰出的哥特式浪漫主義作品。其中的科學怪人形象在西方更是家喻戶曉，成為與吸血鬼、木乃伊、狼人等并肩的西方“鬼怪”、文化符號。

故事中，弗蘭肯斯坦是一位年輕科學家的名字，即維克多·弗蘭肯斯坦（Victor Frankenstein）。他出身名門，刻苦勤奮，卻狂熱于生命起源的研究，妄圖利用最新的生物學知識征服死亡。在大學的秘密實驗室里，維克多利用從停尸間采集的人類肢體和器官，拼接出一具人體，并利用雷電賦予其生命。可當這人形軀體睜開眼的那一刻，走火入魔的維克多才意識到“造人”行為的愚蠢。眼見他的創造物身高二米五，面容可怖，形同怪物（the monster），維克多逃走了，怪物也不知所蹤。可對維克多及其家人來說，真正的災難才剛剛開始。

本期節選段落描寫的正是維克多以第一人稱敘述的“造人”經過。字里行間不難看出，這位年輕的科學家對知識的追尋近乎瘋狂。他懷著巨大的好奇心探索未知的力量，想為世界揭示生命最深層的奧秘。身為科學家，這份強烈的渴望與求知欲好似一把雙刃劍，出于善意或無辜的舉動，若不考慮社會責任和影響，也許會帶來無法把控的駭人后果。正如開頭提到的基因技術，正如弗蘭肯斯坦創造的怪物。

（王希茜 / 賞析）