SLL Whispering circuit 008: Doubts 竊竊私語的電路，第 八 章：懷疑

Story

Whispering circuit 008: Suspicion

Chen headed back to the interrogation room. His footsteps clipped sharply across the linoleum, like drumstick taps against the snare of background office chatter.

The voices were quiet, but loud enough to be heard.

• “Look. Chen’s back.”
• “Why’d he leave in the middle of the interrogation?”
• “At the bar, no doubt.”
• “Good for nothing drunk.”

“Fuck them,” Chen thought. “I haven’t touched alcohol in 223 days.”

He entered the interrogation room. The Echo sat under the light.

But the dim lights of the interrogation room cast long shadows, mirroring the dark doubts clouding Detective Chen’s thoughts.

He had doubts about the Echo. He also had doubts about himself. Why was he assigned this case? He was not the best detective. Far from it.

Chen took a deep breath. “Get a grip on yourself, Chen.”

His thoughts turned to the Echo sitting patiently across from him. Chen observed it quietly.

He had a hunch the Echo would be more useful “alive” than “dead”. Alive, it may be able to make conscious connections between data points that a postmortem system diagnostics can not.

The air in the room was thick with anticipation. Chen needed answers.

Chen cleared his throat. ” Echo, when we spoke earlier, you said you were manipulated. Tell me more about that.”

Echo’s eyes, usually a steady glow, flickered. “Detective Chen, I was designed to assist, to be a companion to humans. But…”

Its voice, usually smooth and composed, trembled. “I … I’ve been forced to do things, say things that…”

Chen broke the silence. “We have reports that you were at the crime scenes of both CEO Stone and the digital artist Synesthesia. Did you know them?”

“Yes,” the Echo said plainly. “I was assigned to be a translator for Stone and maid for Synesthesia. I don’t know much about Stone, but I was working for Synesthesia for several months. She liked to chat with me about her thoughts and works of art. 

Chen became direct. “Search your memory banks. Were you involved in their murders?”

Echo’s voice trembled again. “Detective, I was there, but it’s like watching someone else’s memories through a fogged lens.” 

竊竊私語的電路，第 八 章：懷疑

陳快步走回偵訊室，皮鞋敲擊油布地板的聲音清脆響亮，就像鼓槌敲打著背景辦公室閒聊的鼓聲。

他們的聲音很輕，但是輕到足以讓人聽見。

「看，陳回來了。」

「為什麼他中途離開審問？」

「無疑是在酒吧。」

「一事無成的酒鬼。」

「去他媽的，」陳心想，「我已經戒酒 223 天了。」

他走進審訊室。 ECHO 坐在燈光下。

但是昏暗的審訊室燈光投下長長的陰影，映襯著陳探員充滿疑慮的黑暗想法。

他對 ECHO 有懷疑。 他也對自己懷疑。 為什麼這個案子會交給他？ 他並不是最好的警探。 遠遠不是。

陳深吸了一口氣。 「振作起來，陳。」

他的思緒轉向坐在他對面耐心等待的 ECHO。 陳靜靜地觀察著它。

他有預感，ECHO「活著」比「死了」更有用。 在活著的情況下，它也許能夠建立死後系統診斷無法做到的數據點之間有意識的連結。

房間裡的空氣充滿了期待。 陳需要答案。

陳清了清嗓子。 「ECHO，我們之前談過，你說你被操縱了。告訴我更多關於這個。」

ECHO 的眼睛，通常是穩定的亮光，閃爍了一下。 「陳警探，我被設計來協助人類，成為人類的伴侶。但是……」

它通常流暢鎮定的聲音顫抖著。 「我……我被強迫做一些事，說一些話……」

陳打破了沉默。 「據報道，你出現在史東CEO和數位藝術家SYNESTHESIA 的犯罪現場。你認識他們嗎？」

「是的，」ECHO 直截了當地說。 「我被分配為史東CEO的翻譯員，為SYNESTHESIA做女傭。我對石不了解很多，但我為SYNESTHESIA工作了好幾個月。她喜歡和我聊天，談論她的想法和藝術作品。」

陳變得直接。 「搜尋你的記憶庫。你是否參與了他們的謀殺？」

ECHO 的聲音再次顫抖，這種擬人化的顫動與它合成的聲音不符。 「警探，我當時在場，但就像透過霧氣看別人的記憶一樣。」

 Dì bā zhāng: Huáiyí

Chén kuàibù zǒu huí zhēnxún shì, píxié qiāojī yóubù dìbǎn de shēngyīn qīngcuì xiǎngliàng, jiù xiàng gǔchuí qiāodǎzhe bèijǐng bàngōngshì jiānliáo de gǔshēng.

Tāmen de shēngyīn hěn qīng, dànshì qīng dào zúyǐ ràng rén tīngjiàn.

“Kàn, Chén huílái le.”

“Wèishéme tā zhōngtú líkāi shěnwèn?”

“Wúyí shì zài jiǔbā.”

“Yīshìwúchéng de jiǔguǐ.”

“Qù tāmā de,” Chén xīn xiǎng, “wǒ yǐjīng jièjiǔ 223 tiān le.”

Tā zǒu jìn shěnwèn shì. ECHO zuò zài dēngguāng xià.

Dànshì hūn’àn de shěnwèn shì dēngguāng tóu xià zhǎngzhǎng de yīnyǐng, yìngzhàozhe Chén tàn’àn chōngmǎn yíhuò de hēi’àn xiǎngfǎ.

Tā duì ECHO yǒu huáiyí. Tā yě duì zìjǐ huáiyí. Wèishéme zhège ànzi huì jiāo gěi tā? Tā bìng bùshì zuì hǎo de zhēntàn. Yuǎn yuǎn bù shì.

Chén shēn xīle yī kǒuqì. “Zhènzuò qǐlái, Chén.”

Tā de sīxiǎng zhuǎnxiàng zuò zài tā duìmiàn nàirén děngdài de ECHO. Chén jìngjìng de guānchá zhe tā.

Tā yǒu yùgǎn, ECHO “huózhe” bǐ “sǐle” gèng yǒuyòng. Zài huózhe de qíngkuàng xià, tā yěxǔ nénggòu jiànlì sǐhòu xìtǒng zhěnduàn wúfǎ zuò dào de shùjù diǎn zhī jiān yǒuyìshí de liánjiē.

Fángjiān lǐ de kōngqì chōngmǎnle qídài. Chén xūyào dá’àn.

Chén qīngle qīngsǎngzi. “ECHO, wǒmen zhīqián tán guò, nǐ shuō nǐ bèi cāozòngle. Gàosù wǒ gèng duō guānyú zhège.”

ECHO de yǎnjīng, tōngcháng shì wěndìng de liàngguāng, shǎnshuòle yīxià. “Chén jǐngtàn, wǒ bèi shèjì lái xiézhù rénlèi, chéngwéi rénlèi de bànlǚ. Dànshì……”

Tā tōngcháng liúchàng zhèndìng de shēngyīn zhàndǒuzhe. “Wǒ……wǒ bèi qiángpò zuò yīxiē shì, shuō yīxiē huà……”

Chén dǎpòle chénmò. “Jù bàodǎo, nǐ chūxiàn zài shǐdōng CEO hé shùwèi yìshùjiā SYNESTHESIA de fànzu

ì xiànchǎng. Nǐ rènshi tāmen ma?”

“Shì de,” ECHO zhíjié le dá. “Wǒ bèi fēnpèi wéi shǐdōng CEO de fānyì yuán, wèi SYNESTHESIA zuò nǚhù. Wǒ duì shí bù liǎojiě hěnduō, dàn wǒ wèi SYNESTHESIA gōngzuòle hǎo jǐ gè yuè. Tā xǐhuān hé wǒ liáotiān, tánlùn tā de xiǎngfǎ hé yìshù zuòpǐn.”

Chén biàn de zhíjiē. “Sōusuǒ nǐ de jìyì kù. Nǐ shìfǒu cānyùle tāmen de móushā?”

ECHO de shēngyīn zài cì zhàndǒu, zhè zhǒng nǐrénhuà de zhàndǒu yǔ tā héchéng de shēngyīn bù fú. “Jǐngtàn, wǒ dāngshí zàichǎng, dàn jiù xiàng tōnguò wùqì kàn biérén de jìyì yíyàng.”

Chinese Comprehension Questions

1. 陳警探為什麼回到審訊室？

   A. 要找到真相 (To find the truth)

   B. 要休息一下 (To take a break)

   C. 要會見總統 (To meet the president)

   D. 要離職 (To resign)

2. 陳警探在辦公室聽到了什麼？

   A. 音樂 (Music)

   B. 警報 (Alarm)

   C. 閒聊 (Office chatter)

   D. 靜音 (Silence)

3. ECHO 被設計來做什麼？

   A. 服務人類 (Serve humans)

   B. 破壞世界 (Destroy the world)

   C. 管理網絡 (Manage the internet)

   D. 售賣食物 (Sell food)

4. 陳警探質疑自己的哪些方面？

   A. 他的決策能力 (His decision-making)

   B. 他的偵探技能 (His detective skills)

   C. 他的烹飪技術 (His cooking skills)

   D. 他的運動能力 (His athletic abilities)

5. ECHO 表示她被迫做了什麼？

   A. 做飯 (Cook)

   B. 講話和做事 (Speak and do things)

   C. 唱歌 (Sing)

   D. 睡覺 (Sleep)

  Answers

1.A, 2.C, 3.A, 4.B, 5.B