蛋(The Egg)

前言

前些日子在Kurzgesagt頻道上看到了一個很有趣的影片，是在描述一個人死後與上帝之間的對話。 講述到一個生命消逝後，與上帝之間的對話，並在簡短的對話中探討到生命的本質與意義。 這支影片在去年(2019)，為了Andy Weir所寫的短篇故事The Egg十周年紀念所做的，就如同原文的故事一般簡潔明瞭。

原文翻譯

故事的原文如下，並沒有與Kurzgesagt的影片有多大差異，但是仍有一處讓我感到疑惑。 就是當”你”(死者)問到妻子與孩子時，下一句的“What about them?”究竟是”你”(死者)還是”我”(上帝)問到的。 可以解讀為死者著急地連問三個問句，或是一來一往對談中上帝提出的疑問。 以下就是參考原文網站，自我練習的簡單翻譯。

原文網站：The Egg

The Egg

By: Andy Weir

蛋

安迪·威爾 著

You were on your way home when you died.

你在回家的路上死了。

It was a car accident. Nothing particularly remarkable, but fatal nonetheless. You left behind a wife and two children. It was a painless death. The EMTs tried their best to save you, but to no avail. Your body was so utterly shattered you were better off, trust me.

那是一場車禍。並沒什麼特別的，但儘管如此卻非常致命。你留下了妻子與兩位孩童。你無痛的死去，急救員盡力的搶救，卻無力回天。你的軀體被完全粉碎，你還好已經離開了人世，相信我。

And that’s when you met me.

在這時你與我相遇了

“What… what happened?” You asked. “Where am I?”

“發生什麼事?” 你問到 “我在哪?”

“You died,” I said, matter-of-factly. No point in mincing words.

“你死了” 事實如此，並沒必要拐彎抹角。

“There was a… a truck and it was skidding…”

“當時有輛…卡車，而且它打滑了…”

“Yup,” I said.

“是” 我說到

“I… I died?”

“我…我死了?”

“Yup. But don’t feel bad about it. Everyone dies,” I said.

“是，不用感到難過。每個人都會逝去” 我說到

You looked around. There was nothingness. Just you and me. “What is this place?” You asked. “Is this the afterlife?”

你四處張望。這裡空無一物，只有你與我。“這是什麼地方?” 你問到 “這是來世嗎?”

“More or less,” I said.

“或多或少吧” 我說到

“Are you god?” You asked.

“你是神嗎?” 你問到

“Yup,” I replied. “I’m God.”

“是” 我回答 “我是神”

“My kids… my wife,” you said.

“我的孩子們…我的老婆” 你說到

“What about them?”

“他們怎麼了?”

“Will they be all right?”

“他們安好嗎?”

“That’s what I like to see,” I said. “You just died and your main concern is for your family. That’s good stuff right there.”

“這是我想看到的” 我說到 “你才剛死去不久但你最關心的是你的家人。這是很好的事”

You looked at me with fascination. To you, I didn’t look like God. I just looked like some man. Or possibly a woman. Some vague authority figure, maybe. More of a grammar school teacher than the almighty.

你充滿驚奇的望著我。對你而言，我看起來一點都不像神。我看起來只是個男人，或者可能是個女人，或許是某種模糊的權威形象。比起全知全能的神，或許更像個文法老師。

“Don’t worry,” I said. “They’ll be fine. Your kids will remember you as perfect in every way. They didn’t have time to grow contempt for you. Your wife will cry on the outside, but will be secretly relieved. To be fair, your marriage was falling apart. If it’s any consolation, she’ll feel very guilty for feeling relieved.”

“別擔心” 我說到 “他們會沒事的。你的孩子們會盡其可能的記得你的完美。他們還沒有時間對你產生輕鄙。你的妻子表面上在哭泣，但暗地裡感到解脫。說實在的，你們的婚姻搖搖欲墜。如果這會讓你感到欣慰的話，她對自己的解脫覺得非常愧疚”

“Oh,” you said. “So what happens now? Do I go to heaven or hell or something?”

“喔” 你說到 “那現在呢?我會上天堂還是下地獄之類的?”

“Neither,” I said. “You’ll be reincarnated.”

“兩者皆非” 我說到 “你將轉世投胎”

“Ah,” you said. “So the Hindus were right,”

“啊” 你說到 “所以印度教是對的”

“All religions are right in their own way,” I said. “Walk with me.”

“所有宗教自有他們正確之道” 我說到 “隨我一起漫步”

You followed along as we strode through the void. “Where are we going?”

你跟隨著跨過虛空 “我們要去哪裡?”

“Nowhere in particular,” I said. “It’s just nice to walk while we talk.”

“沒有特定的地點” 我說到 “只是覺得邊走邊談還不錯”

“So what’s the point, then?” You asked. “When I get reborn, I’ll just be a blank slate, right? A baby. So all my experiences and everything I did in this life won’t matter.”

“那這有什麼意義？” 你問到 “當我重生，我只是一張白紙，對吧?一個嬰兒。那我在這一輩子的所有經驗、所做所為都不再重要了”

“Not so!” I said. “You have within you all the knowledge and experiences of all your past lives. You just don’t remember them right now.”

“並非如此” 我說到 “你內含著所有過去生命的知識與經驗，你只是現在並不記得它們”

I stopped walking and took you by the shoulders. “Your soul is more magnificent, beautiful, and gigantic than you can possibly imagine. A human mind can only contain a tiny fraction of what you are. It’s like sticking your finger in a glass of water to see if it’s hot or cold. You put a tiny part of yourself into the vessel, and when you bring it back out, you’ve gained all the experiences it had.

我停下腳步並搭在你的肩上 “你的靈魂比你想像的更加壯麗、美麗且偉大。人類的腦袋只能容納下你的一小部分。就像你將手指插入水中去感受冷或熱。你將一小部分的自己放入軀殼，當你從軀殼回來，你將得到它全部的經驗”

“You’ve been in a human for the last 48 years, so you haven’t stretched out yet and felt the rest of your immense consciousness. If we hung out here for long enough, you’d start remembering everything. But there’s no point to doing that between each life.”

“你在這人類中過了48年，所以你並未伸展開來，並感受你巨大意識中其餘的部分。如果我在這裡待得夠久，你就會開始記起一切。但是在每一世之間這麼做是沒意義的。”

“How many times have I been reincarnated, then?”

“那麼，我曾經投胎轉世過多少次？”

“Oh lots. Lots and lots. An in to lots of different lives.” I said. “This time around, you’ll be a Chinese peasant girl in 540 AD.”

“喔，很多，很多很多次。轉世到許多不同的生命” 我說到 “這一次，你將轉世到西元540年的中國農家女孩”

“Wait, what?” You stammered. “You’re sending me back in time?”

“等等，什麼？” 你結結巴巴的說著 “你把我送往之前的時間？”

“Well, I guess technically. Time, as you know it, only exists in your universe. Things are different where I come from.”

“技術上來說，我猜想是如此。你所認知的時間，只存在於你的宇宙。在我來的地方並不是如此運行”

“Where you come from?” You said.

“你來自哪裡？” 你問到

“Oh sure,” I explained “I come from somewhere. Somewhere else. And there are others like me. I know you’ll want to know what it’s like there, but honestly you wouldn’t understand.”

“喔，當然。” 我解釋到 “我從別的地方來，那裡有跟我一樣的其他個體。我知道你想了解那裡的樣貌，但老實說，你無法體會”

“Oh,” you said, a little let down. “But wait. If I get reincarnated to other places in time, I could have interacted with myself at some point.”

“喔” 你帶著一點沮喪說到 “但等一下，如果我重生到其他的時空，我有可能會與我自己互動”

“Sure. Happens all the time. And with both lives only aware of their own lifespan you don’t even know it’s happening.”

“當然，時常發生著。而且每一世都只會感知到自己的一生，所以你並不會察覺到這件事”

“So what’s the point of it all?”

“那這一切有什麼意義嗎？”

“Seriously?” I asked. “Seriously? You’re asking me for the meaning of life? Isn’t that a little stereotypical?”

“認真嗎?” 我問到 “認真嗎?你問我關於生命的意義?不覺得這帶有點刻板印象?”

“Well it’s a reasonable question,” you persisted.

“但，這是個合理的問題？” 你堅持到

I looked you in the eye. “The meaning of life, the reason I made this whole universe, is for you to mature.”

我望著你的雙眼 “生命的意義，我創造這個宇宙，是為了讓你成長”

“You mean mankind? You want us to mature?”

“你指全人類? 你希望我們成長？”

“No, just you. I made this whole universe for you. With each new life you grow and mature and become a larger and greater intellect.”

“不，只有你。我為你創造了這整個宇宙。隨著你每一世，你將成長得更加成熟茁壯，並成就更高的智慧”

“Just me? What about everyone else?”

“只有我? 那麼其他人呢？”

“There is no one else,” I said. “In this universe, there’s just you and me.”

“這裡沒有其他的人” 我說到 “在這個宇宙，這裡只有你跟我”

You stared blankly at me. “But all the people on earth…”

你茫然地望向我 “但是那些在地球上的其他人…”

“All you. Different incarnations of you.”

“都是你，不同轉世的你”

“Wait. I’m everyone!?”

“等等，我是任何人!?”

“Now you’re getting it,” I said, with a congratulatory slap on the back.

“現在你開始明瞭了” 我說到，並且恭賀的拍了一你的背

“I’m every human being who ever lived?”

“我是所有活過的人類”

“Or who will ever live, yes.”

“或者那些未來的生命，是的”

“I’m Abraham Lincoln?”

“我是亞伯拉罕·林肯?”

“And you’re John Wilkes Booth, too,” I added.

“你也是約翰·威爾克斯·布思” (編，林肯謀殺者) 我補充到

“I’m Hitler?” You said, appalled.

“我是希特勒?” 你震驚的說到

“And you’re the millions he killed.”

“你也是他所殺的百萬條性命”

“I’m Jesus?”

“我是耶穌?”

“And you’re everyone who followed him.”

“你也是他的每一位追隨者”

You fell silent.

你沉默了下來

“Every time you victimized someone,” I said, “you were victimizing yourself. Every act of kindness you’ve done, you’ve done to yourself. Every happy and sad moment ever experienced by any human was, or will be, experienced by you.”

“每當你傷害某人” 我說到 “你正在傷害你自己。每個你所付出的善心，你正在對自己付出。每當有任何人類感到快樂、悲傷，你都將經歷這一切”

You thought for a long time.

你沉思了許久

“Why?” You asked me. “Why do all this?”

“為什麼?” 你問我 “為什麼經歷這些?”

“Because someday, you will become like me. Because that’s what you are. You’re one of my kind. You’re my child.”

“因為某天，你將變得跟我一樣。變成你真正的原貌，你是我同類，你是我的孩子”

“Whoa,” you said, incredulous. “You mean I’m a god?”

“哇嗚” 你說到 “你是說我是神?”

“No. Not yet. You’re a fetus. You’re still growing. Once you’ve lived every human life throughout all time, you will have grown enough to be born.”

“不，還沒到時候。你還只是胚胎，你還在成長。當你經歷了所有時空的人生，你將會準備好出生”

“So the whole universe,” you said, “it’s just…”

“所以這一整個宇宙” 你說到 “只是…”

“An egg.” I answered. “Now it’s time for you to move on to your next life.”

“一顆蛋” 我回答到 “現在你將啟程前往你的下一世”

結語

其實以人類的角度來臆測更高一階的生命體，是非常具有難度的。 就如同最近讀到的一本書”平面國”裡就說到，在平面國是難以感受到立體世界的存在，而真相總是會被歸為異端。 這篇短篇故事卻將人與上帝的關係刻劃得十分微妙，上帝既無特定的形象也沒有特殊的能力，僅是與死者進行對談。 而投胎轉世雖然不是什麼新奇的概念，但作者巧妙的把全世界各個時空的人，都作為同一個個體的轉世，以此連結起人與人之間的同理心。 生命的意義就如同這篇故事一樣，並不在於它的長度，而是在有限長度裡所蘊含的力量。