时间线:2079
SCARRED MINDS AND CRUMBLING TOWERS
POSTED BY: MILES LANIER
创伤之魂,倾复之塔
发帖人:迈尔斯·卢内尔
What a long, strange trip it’s been. Five years ago, strange events led me to believe that I was losing my mind, and I contacted Mr. MacCallister—more support for my theory—offering to trade what I knew for access to this community. I’m pleased to say that the risk paid off. This posting will, I hope, tie up the loose threads that my first contribution unraveled.
First, the good news: The tide is turning against CFD.
> Thank fucking Ghost.
> Butch
However, as a wise man once said: “The most dangerous time in any operation is when everything is coming together.” The battle against CFD is far from won, and as you’ll see, gaining the momentum won’t necessarily make it any easier. I’ve compiled as much information as I can about both our current best efforts to combat the disorder and a few questions that have yet to be answered.
On a related note, I’m sure most of you are aware by now that NeoNET has left the ranks of the AAAs, and Richard Villiers has been replaced by Johnny Spinrad as the playboy of the Big Ten. The details I’ve been able to collect on that are also included in this file.
真是次漫长而怪异的旅行。五年前,奇怪的事件让我确信自己正在失去理智,所以我联系了麦克卡利斯特先生(Mr. MacCallister)——为了更多理论支持——用我所知的和他交换,获得了这个社区的接入权。我可以很高兴地说,这次冒险是值得的。我希望这个帖子能给我第一次贡献的信息收个尾。
首先,好消息是:CFD的风向正在逆转。
>真TM感谢鬼魂了。
>Butch
但是正如智者曾说过:“任何任务里最危险的时候都是一切准备就绪之时。”与CFD的战斗还远未胜利,正如你们所见,胜利的趋势并一定不能让获胜来得轻易。我尽我所能收集了关于当前应对这种病症的方法以及一些有待回答的问题的消息。
一条有关的信息是,我相信你大部分人都知道新网已经从AAA的席位上退下了,强尼·斯普兰德(Johnny Spinrad)取代理查德·维里斯(Richard Villiers)成为了十大的花花公子。我能找到的具体信息也包含在这份文件里。
UNFRAGGING THE CLUSTER
The revelation of the truth behind the Boston lockdown sent shockwaves around the world.
Evo’s and NeoNET’s share prices plummeted as public opinion turned against them. When the lockdown’s true cause came out, the UCAS government announced that it would take the perpetrators to the Corporate Court as fast as it could assemble a case.
For the second time in as many decades, the Corporate Court Crisis Coordination Committee stepped in to manage the disaster. As a show of good faith, Celedyr gave C5 the schematics for his Overwriter nanites and their programming goo, which were immediately put to use in the relief efforts.
> Good faith? From a dragon? You can’t be serious.
> Frosty
> Our kind are not completely lacking in conscience, and Script-Diver is no fool; he knows that trying to avoid responsibility for this debacle would do him more harm than good. After the events of recent years, I suspect he is not feeling lucky.
> Orange Queen
> Nice to see that even the greats aren’t above the “get out in front of it” approach.
> Kay St. Irregular
理清混乱
波士顿封锁的真相揭露后,全世界都受到了冲击。
舆论对天演和新网迅速转向反面,让两者的股价大跌。封锁的真正原因暴露后,UCAS政府宣布将尽快提起诉讼将肇事者告上公司法庭。
这是几十年以来第二次公司法庭危机处理委员会[1]介入灾难管理工作。为了表达善意,塞勒迪尔向C5交出了他的复写者(Overwriter)纳米体以及它们的编程基质(programming goo),两者很快被用于救灾工作。
>善意?龙的?你在开玩笑吧。
>Frosty
>我们的种族并不是完全缺乏同情心,并且脚本潜者[2]也不是傻瓜,他知道逃避他对这次灾难的责任坏处大于好处。经过近些年的事件,我猜他可能觉得自己有点倒霉。
>Orange Queen[3]
>很高兴看到即使是巨龙不能免除“直面问题”的选项。
>Kay St. Irregular
译注:
[1]Corporate Court Crisis Coordination Committee,简称C5
[2]Scrip-Diver,塞勒迪尔的矩阵用名之一
[3]巨龙Hestaby的化名。(龙真喜欢接入点啊……
Almost overnight, corporate-run clinics sprang up in BRA signatory nations around the world, offering free CFD screenings and treatment to anyone who could prove their identity.
> Which, as usual, means no SINless need apply—and if you can afford a fake SIN good enough to fool GOD, you can afford the “confidentiality surcharge” at a private clinic that offers the treatments for a fee, instead of risking contact with people who work for a living.
> Chainmaker
> Hey, it’s not their fault that people in certain circles think the masses are a disease worse than CFD. Luckily for the rest of us, a lot of those people won’t even go to the private clinics to avoid starting rumors that they have CFD. Makes for great blackmail material.
> Kat o’ Nine Tales
> Note that Lanier said, “BRA signatory nations”—as in, not in the NAN, despite the original outbreak being in the PCC. I’d bet nuyen that the Big Ten are trying to use that clause as leverage to get the NAN to grant them extraterritoriality.
> Mika
> It also means anyone who’s willing to move CFD treatments into the NAN can make some pretty sweet cred. Sometimes, the border patrols will even let you go when they realize what you’re carrying.
> Turbo Bunny
几乎一夜之间,公司归属诊所在全球所有签署了BRA[1]的国家如雨后春笋般出现,给所有能够证明自己身份的人提供免费CFD诊断和治疗。
>也就是说,和以往一样,意味着无SIN者不适用——如果你能负担得起一张足够骗过GOD的假SIN,你可以自费给有偿提供这类治疗的私人诊所一笔“保密附加费”,而不用冒险和那些以工作谋生的人接触(instead of risking contact with people who work for a living)。
>Chainmaker
>嘿,某些圈子里的人觉得拥挤比CFD还糟,又不是他们的错。对我们来说幸运的是,为了避免传出自己有CFD的流言,那些人中有不少根本不会去私人诊所。会是很好的勒索材料。
>Kat o' Nine Tales
>注意卢内尔说的,“签署了BRA的国家”——也就是,不包括NAN,虽然病毒最早是在PCC[2]爆发的。我用新円打赌十大正试图用这个条款作为条件让NAN赋予他们治外法权。
>Mike
>也表示出于任何原因把CFD治疗方法带进NAN的人都会得到相对不错的信誉。有时候,边境巡逻队意识到你带着什么后甚至会直接让你走。
>Turbo Bunny
译注:
[1]Business Recognition Accords,商业认可协议,即公司治外法权。
[2]Pueblo Corporate Council,普韦布洛公司议会,位于北美的类公司组织国家。
As usual, petty megacorporate squabbles filtered into the relief efforts. Not wanting to lose more money than they already had, Shiawase insisted on using the treatment it had developed—the much-reviled NanoScrub, or as one wit called it, “NaNope”—citing a lack of trust in any “cure” developed by NeoNET. The rest of the Japanacorps followed suit.
> They might’ve gotten NanoScrub rolled out, but after his near-complete failure to capture Evo’s lost share of the bio-augmentation market, Kazuja Shiawase is still on thin ice with the rest of the family. The only reason he still has a job is that Shiawase Biotech managed to reduce NanoScrub’s rate of side effects from ten percent to less than one percent, which I’ve heard was less about research than it was about stopping whoever was behind the shadow interference in the project.
> Baka Dabora
> Probably another victim of the ongoing ColtraneKiyomoto rivalry. The only question is whether one of Kazuja’s rivals used the MFID itself to sabotage Kazuja’s efforts, or just had them stand back while runners did the job instead.
> Kay St. Irregular
The UCAS government filed lawsuits in the Corporate Court against NeoNET, Evo, and Aztechnology in late 2078. The verdicts in the cases against NeoNET were handed down throughout the second half of 2079; I’ll cover those in more detail later. And finally, Deep Space Exploration and Colonization I departed from Gagarin Station just last week, which has already had a huge effect on the Monads remaining on Earth—and is the subject of the next section.
和往常一样,超企间可悲的争吵也掺进了救灾工作。幸福公司不想继续丢掉更多的钱,他们坚持使用自己开发的治疗方法——饱受的唾弃纳米擦除(NanoScrub),或者用风趣的说法,“不纳米”(Nanope)——以表达对新网研发的“治疗药物”的不信任。其它日本公司纷纷效仿。
>他们或许能推出纳米擦除,但在试图取得天演丢失的殖装市场份额中遭遇近乎完全失败后,和也·幸福和其他家族成员的关系依然紧绷。他还有工作的原因是幸福生物科技(Shiawase Biotech)成功将纳米擦除的副作用从10%降到了不到1%,就我所听到的,这不是研究的效果,而是制止了在项目背后干涉的黑手,不管那是谁。
>Baka Dabora
>或许是正在进行的柯川-清本(ColtraneKiyomoto)斗争的另一位受害者。唯一的问题是:是和也的一个对手用MIFD[1]破坏了他的研究,或者只是让MIFD退后把活交给狂奔者。
>Kay St. Irregular
2078年年末,UCAS政府在公司法庭向新网、天演和阿兹科技提起诉讼。诉讼中针对新网的证词在2079年下半年被陆续提交,我会在后面详细说明。最后,深空探索与殖民I号[2]在上周起飞离开了加加林基地[3],这对还留在地球的单体有巨大影响——这是下一节的内容。
译注:
[1]Market Information and Forecasting Department,市场信息与预测部
[2]Deep Space Exploration and Colonization I,简称DSECI
[3]Gagarin Station,天演在火星的基地。参考附1
ON THE DEFENSIVE
When the truth about CFD first came out, metahumanity’s views on head cases were split between hate and pity. Some argued that they were victims who only did what was necessary to escape their torturers, the way any metahuman would. Others refused to forget that these digital invaders had erased loved ones who had nothing to do with the corps’ misdeeds. If nobody could bring back the people they’d lost, revenge was the next best thing.
The head cases found each other and organized into Monads, then lost what little sympathy they had gained when DSECI launched last week. Reports that the departed Monads’ hosts were left catatonic aboard Gagarin Station set off a firestorm of negative publicity.
> I know a lot of people are still upset about Gagarin, but I’ll leave this here in the hope that people will read after they’ve had a chance to cool off. The Monads at Gagarin and on DSECI were the ones who asked the Space Rescue Service to stand by during the launch, and they made sure there weren’t active Monads who might accidentally retransmit CFD in the area while the SRS was ferrying the hosts back groundside. As far as I know, they all made it back alive, too.
> Plan 9
Estimates of how many Monads actually departed with DSECI vary wildly, as the Corporate Court has kept the number of “returned” bodies found aboard Gagarin Station strictly classified.
> The CC did, but the Space Rescue Service has been a little more lax—emphasis on little, but I can confirm that the number of people recovered went into the thousands. I’ll pass on any more data I find, but with how closely everyone’s connected up here, I try to keep my nose out of SRS business.
> Orbital DK
With DSECI’s departure, earthbound Monads are busy figuring out their next steps. They certainly have no shortage of problems to face.
防守方
最初传出CFD的真相后,泛人类对脑病患的看法分为憎恨与同情。有的人辩称他们只是些想要逃离折磨的受害者,每个泛人类都会这么做。其他人则不愿忘记是这些电子入侵者擦除了那些和公司作为毫无干系的所爱之人。如果无法带回那些失去的人,最好的办法就是复仇。
脑病患相互找到了彼此并组成了单子组织(Monads),但在上周DSECI发射后他们失掉了所能得到的一丁点同情。报道称单子离开后,昏迷宿主被扔在加加林基地,这激起了爆炸式的负面舆论。
>我知道有许多人还在对加加林事件感到不快,但我在这里写下这些,希望他们冷静后能读到。加加林和DSECI的单子要求宇宙救援服务(Space Rescue Service)在发射时待命,并且确保SRS把宿主运回地面时附近没有任何可能传播CFD的单子活动。据我所知,宿主们也都活着回来了。
>Plan 9
关于有多少单子搭乘ESECI离开的猜测差别很大,公司法庭对在加加林基地被发现并且“归来”的个体数目严格保密。
>CC是保密了,但宇宙救援服务的保密稍微宽松——重点在稍微,但我能确认恢复的人有好几千。找到更多资料后我会发出来,但鉴于这里每个人的联系都很近,我会努力不过问SRS的事务。
>Orbital DK
DSECI离开后,留在地球的单子正忙着研究出下一步该怎么走。他们要面对的问题可没有短缺。
MATTERS OF LAW
The backlash resulting from Evo’s acceptance of the Monads has made both national governments and megacorporate leaders hesitant to do the same. The Monads have little motivation to go anywhere else, though; receptions from other corps have ranged from cool to downright hostile, and while many North American governments are offering citizenship to both Monads and AIs, none of them have laws in place to prevent anti-Monad prejudice. In fact, certain countries have just the opposite—early in 2079, the Confederation of American States brought its first Monad test case to court on charges of involuntary manslaughter. I’ve attached a video clip from the trial here [link], along with a transcript of the meaty part.
法律事务
天演接收单子的决定导致了公众的反弹,这让国家政府和超企的领导们犹豫是否要采取相同政策。但单子几乎没有什么动力去其它地方;其它公司对他们的接受程度从冷漠到公开的敌意不等,虽然许多北美政府给单子和AI提供公民权,但他们中没有那个国家有法律制止了歧视单子的行为。事实上,有些国家正相反——2079年年初,美洲联邦(Confederation of American States)进行了第一次单子审判,罪名为过失杀人。我附上了一次庭审的录像[链接],以及主要部分的文本。
GEORGIA SUPERIOR COURT: PEOPLE V. L. O. PANE
[Clip excerpted from State of Georgia vs. L. O. Pane, Judge M.J. Weatherby presiding.]
ASST. DISTRICT ATTORNEY JELLICOE: Mr. PANE, you said that when you were formulating your escape plan from your alleged torture—
DEFENDANT PANE: Alleged? It happened.
ADA JELLICOE: —at NeoNET’s hands, you decided your best chance lay in, as you described it, “writing yourself to an external organic storage medium”—or in other words, into the brain of a metahuman, is that correct?
PANE: Yes.
ADA JELLICOE: And that one of the reasons for doing so was that metahuman brains are function
ally similar to the digital storage media you previously occupied?
PANE: Yes.
ADA JELLICOE: Mr. Pane, I assume someone of your … background is very familiar with the mechanics of data storage. When someone attempts to write data to a medium where data is already stored, what happens?
PANE: The application will ask the user to confirm whether they would like to overwrite the existing data.
ADA JELLICOE: And if the user consents, the existing data is overwritten by the new data?
PANE: Yes.
ADA JELLICOE: What happens to the old data at that point?
PANE: It’s erased.
ADA JELLICOE: Can the data that’s been erased be recovered?
PANE: Sometimes.
ADA JELLICOE: But not always.
PANE: No.
ADA JELLICOE: And if the data can’t be recovered, is it still functional?
PANE: Not usually.
ADA JELLICOE: Mr. Pane, when you decided to “write” yourself to the victim’s brain, were you aware of the possibility that any existing data there would be overwritten as a result? PAME: Yes.
ADA JELLICOE: And that any data overwritten as a result of your “transfer” was potentially unrecoverable?
PANE: (nervously) Yes.
ADA JELLICOE: And you chose to do so anyway.
PANE: (long pause)
ADA JELLICOE: Mr. Pane?
PANE: (shifting in his chair) I … invoke my Fifth Amendment right to protection from self-incrimination.
ADA JELLICOE: Your Honor? JUDGE WEATHERBY: Mr. Pane, you waived that right when you agreed to testify. Please answer the question.
PANE: (sighs) Yes.
ADA JELLICOE: You chose to write yourself into a metahuman brain, despite knowing that any data already contained therein—that is, the thoughts, feelings, and memories of the person who already possessed that body—would be overwritten and might be permanently lost.
PANE: (angrily) We never intended to do this kind of damage!
ADA JELLICOE: But you knew it was possible.
PANE: (long pause)
ADA JELLICOE: MistPANE: (frustrated, resigned) Yes, we knew it was possible.
ADA JELLICOE: Nothing further, Your Honor.
The Georgia Superior Court found the defendant guilty of involuntary manslaughter. He’s appealing his verdict with the help of the well-known legal firm Schmidt, Jakob & Lei, but at this point his prospects are anyone’s guess. Nobody has tried to present a “secondary cerebral revision” case yet, but if Pane’s case is anything to go by, I suspect the CAS will charge any Monad defendant with first-degree murder.
佐治亚高等法院:公诉人对L·O·佩恩
[截自佐治亚州对L·O·佩恩的诉讼,庭审法官M·J·韦瑟比]
地方检察官助理杰里科:佩恩先生,你说你是在策划逃出你所谓的折磨——
被告佩恩:所谓的?它发生了。
艾达·杰里科:——从新网手中,你认为你最好的机会是,如你形容的,“把你自己写入一个外部有机存储介质”——或者换种说法,写入一个泛人类的大脑,我说得对吗?
佩恩:是的。
艾达·杰里科:这么做其中一个原因是泛人类的大脑在机能上和你之前占据的数字存储介质相似?
佩恩:是的。
艾达·杰里科:佩恩,现在,我相信以你的……背景,你很熟悉数据存储的机制。当某人试图在一个已经存有数据的介质上写入数据时,会发生什么?
佩恩:应用会向用户确认是否要复写已有的数据。
艾达·杰里科:如果用户同意,原有的数据会被新数据复盖?
佩恩:是的。
艾达·杰里科:这时旧数据会怎么样?
佩恩:被擦除了。
艾达·杰里科:被擦除的数据可能被恢复吗?
佩恩:有时候。
艾达·杰里科:但不是每次都能。
佩恩:不是。
艾达·杰里科:如果数据不能恢复,那它还能运行吗?
佩恩:通常不行。
艾达·杰里科:佩恩先生,当你决定把你自己“写入”被害人的大脑时,你是否意识到这会导致所有现有数据被重写的可能性?
佩恩:是的。
艾达·杰里科:并且你的“转移”导致的任何数据被重写可能是不可恢复的?
佩恩:(紧张地)是的。
艾达·杰里科:你还是决定做了。
佩恩:(长时间停顿)
艾达·杰里科:佩恩先生?
佩恩:(在椅子上挪动)我……引用第五宪法修正案的权利免除自证有罪。
艾达·杰里科:法官大人?
韦瑟比法官:佩恩先生,你同意作证时就放弃了这项权利。请回答问题。
佩恩:(叹气)是的。
艾达·杰里科:你选择把把你自己写入一个泛人类大脑,即使你知道已经存储在内的数据——即是已经占有这具身体的人的思想、情感和记忆——会被重写并且可能永久丢失。
佩恩:(生气地)我们从来没想要造成那样的伤害!
艾达·杰里科:但你知道这是可能的。
佩恩:(长时间停顿)
艾达·杰里科:佩——
佩恩:(沮丧地、放弃般地)是的,我们知道这是可能的。
艾达·杰里科:没有问题了,法官大人。
佐治亚高等法院判决被告过失杀人罪名成立。他在著名律师事务所施密特,雅各布&雷恩(Schmidt, Jakob & Lei)的帮助下提起上诉,但此时他的前景还是所有人的猜测。还没有任何人试图提起“二级大脑修改”的指控,但如果参考佩恩的案子,我怀疑CAS不会对任何单体被告提起一级谋杀指控。
> The knowledge of the Monads’ origins being so widespread actually helps them here. So many people having anti-Monad sentiments makes it difficult for the courts to find an unbiased jury—any perceived prejudice can get a potential juror disqualified.
> Kay St. Irregular
> But what if people agreed to let a Monad move in?
> Plan 9
> If honoring the contract would require one or both parties to break the law, the contract is considered unenforceable—consenting to an illegal act doesn’t make it legal. The courts take a lot of heat over that principle, though, especially from libertarians. They don’t like the idea that someone could be jailed for things like patient requested euthanasia or consensual rough sex.
> DangerSensei
Needless to say, this position is very unpopular among both Monads and civil-rights advocates, who claim that interpreting CFD transmission as assault or murder effectively criminalizes being a Monad. CAS lawmakers have responded that CFD transmission isn’t protected by CAS metahuman rights laws. The pro-Monad activists naturally rejected that argument and have begun pursuing legal action.
> All of the “primary cerebral revision” cases we’re aware of were NeoNET citizens, and those events happened outside the CAS. How can a court in Georgia even charge them?
> Icarus
> The principle of universal jurisdiction has existed for over a century, starting with the Nuremburg Trials after the Second World War. Normally it’s reserved for crimes against metahumanity and the like, but the CAS’ “tough on Monads” stance led the CAS Congress to pass a law claiming universal jurisdiction over CFD-related crimes. That law’s constitutionality hasn’t been reviewed by the CAS Supreme Court, but I suspect this case will change that. And the corps, of course, will weigh in when they can determine how money will best flow.
> Fianchetto
>单子的来源被广泛地认知了,这点其实帮了他们。有太多人带有反单子情绪,让法庭很难找到中立的法官——待选法官表现出任何偏见都会被认为不合格。
>Kay St. Irregular
>但如果有人同意让单子进入自己的大脑呢?
>Plan 9
>如果履行协议会让参与双方或其中一方违反法律,那么这份协议就被认为无法执行——自愿进行的违反行为依然不是合法的。但关于这条准则,法庭收到了激烈反对,尤其是来自自由主义者的。他们不喜欢某人会因给主动要求的病人安乐死或者在进行参与者同意的暴力性行为这类事情被关进监狱。
>DangerSensei
毋须多言,这个看法在单子和公民权鼓吹者之中都十分不受欢迎,后者称,将CFD的转化视为侵犯或谋杀实际上是把单子的存在犯罪化。CAS的回应是CFD转化不受CAS泛人类权力法案保护。支持单子的活动家们当然反对这种论点,他们正在提请法律诉讼。
>我们知道的“一级大脑修改”案例都是新网公民,那些案子也是发生在CAS外面。一个佐治亚的法庭怎么能控告他们?
>Icarus
>普遍管辖权[1]已经确立了有一个多世纪了,最早开始于第二次世界大战后的纽伦堡审判。通常专门用于对泛人类犯下的罪行以及类似案件,但CAS“严惩CFD”的立场使得CAS国会通过了一条法律,称普遍管辖权也适用于CFD相关犯罪。这条法律是否符合宪法还需要CAS最高法院审查,但我怀疑这个案子会改变这点。而公司们,当然也会在决定好金钱最好该怎么流之后站边。
>Fianchetto
译注:
[1]universal jurisdiction:国际法原则之一。无论被控犯罪之人的国籍、居住国或与起诉国关系如何,即使该罪行是在起诉国领土之外犯下的,该国也可以对该人行使刑事管辖权。由于所犯罪行被认为是危害全人类的,并且罪行极为严重,不容有管辖权投机,因此任何国家都有权对其加以惩罚。
TROUBLE IN PARADISE
I had planned to include information on each of the Big Ten’s Monad-related activities in this section, but it turns out that for any corp besides Evo and Saeder-Krupp, the answer is “not much.” On top of that, S-K’s counterintelligence apparatus is as skilled as ever, my queries were blocked so thoroughly that even if that information does exist, I’m not sure whether anyone outside S-K would be able to access it.
> If it makes you feel any better, Mr. Lanier, my former comrades in S-K Prime weren’t any more forthcoming. I’ve tried to learn more on a few occasions since the Market Panic download, with no success. I don’t know whether that means Lofwyr is keeping the Monads under even tighter security than before, or that he’s decided they’re no longer useful and disposed of them.
> Heisenberg
On the other hand, Evo’s Monad-related issues are wide-ranging. They may have captured the lion’s share of the market with Monad-developed technologies, but Evo may yet find that the price for openly accepting Monads into the corp was too high.
Evo was the first of the Big Ten to offer sanctuary to Monads. Corporate emphasis on diversity aside, everyone knew the Russian mega was using the Monads’ scientific brilliance to recoup some of their financial losses. Mere weeks after opening their doors to the Monads, Evo was besieged by shadowrunners looking for paydata on the miracle tech the Monads were surely helping them develop.
> Just curious, did anyone besides Planners not take a run against Evo in the past couple years?
> Slamm-0!
> Yeah, that’s what I thought.
> Slamm-0!
天堂里的烦恼
我打算把每家十大与单子相关活动的信息都放在个部分,但发现除了天演和塞德-克虏伯之外,其它公司的内容都是“没多少”。更不用说,S-K的反情报机构的工作和以往一样熟练,我的探寻被完全阻挠,即使真的有那方面的信息,我也不确定S-K以外的人有谁能接触到。
>不知能否让你好受一点,卢内尔先生,我在S-K总部(S-K Prime)的前战友也不愿提供信息。市场恐慌(Market Panic)文档发布后,我尝试了几次想了解更多内容,但都没成功。我不知道这是否意味着洛菲尔对单子的控制比以前更加严苛,还是他决定单子没用了并把他们都处理掉了。
>Heisenberg
而另一方面,天演与单子有关的问题则更为广泛。他们或许利用单子研究出的技术取得了大部分市场份额,但天演可能还没发现公开接受单子进入公司的代价实在太高。
天演是十大中第一个给单子提供庇护的公司。先不管公司对多样性有多看重,所有人都知道这家俄罗斯超企在利用单子高超的科学能力挽回他们的部分经济损失。在他们对单子打开大门后短短几周后,天演就被狂奔者包围了——都是为了和那些肯定是单子帮他们开发的技术奇迹有关的有价数据。
>只是好奇,过去几年,除了Planner们[1]之外有谁没参加过针对天演的狂奔?
>Slamm-0!
>啊,我想也是这样。
>Slamm-0!
译注:
[1]或许指Plan9和Plan10?
Despite more shadow interference than any other single megacorp has seen in a similar period of time, Evo kept their more sensitive trade secrets hidden long enough to be the first to market with their Monad-designed augmentations. The results were so successful that even after the origins of CFD became public, Evo enjoyed a slight increase in their market share.
As the DSECI launch grew closer, though, more and more of the Monad researchers left the corporate labs for Gagarin Station. The ones who remained were already working beyond normal metahuman capacity, which resulted in a lot of grumbling from the Monads when the corporate leadership made it clear that they expected productivity levels to remain high despite the loss of so many staff.
> So you’re telling me the Monads wanted to go to a corp where people accepted them, then they started complaining because they’re being treated the same way every other corp drone is?
> Red
> I have it on good authority that that demand came from Ysil. The tension had been there since before she was appointed CEO, but the naga cultural disdain toward technology and the non-Awakened opened the fissures wider. The factions that had supported the Monad Cynthia Bills and the AI Taylor Dacopral for the CEO spot have become an informal bloc that’s trying to influence policy in a pro-AI/Monad direction. Last I heard, the Monads were talking amongst themselves about protesting their working conditions by forming a labor union.
> Plan 9
> A union full of machines in metahuman bodies that replaced regular metahuman workers? That’s just … as a Wobbly, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
> Chainmaker
虽然天演受到的暗处介入比其它任何一家处于类似状况的超企都要多,他们还是把更加敏感的商业机密隐藏了足够长时间,让他们能第一时间发布他们的单子设计殖装。设计非常成功,即使在CFD的来源被公开后,天演的市场份额还略微有提升。但随着DSECI的发射日益临近,越来越多的单子研究院离开了公司实验室去往加加林基地。留下的单子已经在以超出泛人类能力的强度工作,这导致了许多单子的不满,而公司领导层已经表明了他们指望在失去了许多员工的情况下,依然保持原有的高水平生产力。
>所以你在跟我说单子们想去一家人们能接受他们的公司,然后他们开始抱怨他们受到了和其他公司工蜂一样的待遇?
>Red
>我有相对权威的消息来源称这个要求来自尤希尔(Ysil)。她被任命为CEO之前局面就一直十分紧张,但娜迦文化对科技和非觉醒者的蔑视让嫌隙愈发扩大。支持单子辛西娅·比尔斯和AI泰勒·道格普拉尔成为CEO的派系结成了非正式利益集团,正试图将公司政策导向对AI/单子有利的方向。我最近听到的消息是,单子正在讨论成立工会以抗议他们的工作环境。
>Plan 9
>一个全是住在泛人类躯体里、取代了正常泛人类的机械工人组成的工会?这可真是……作为一个世界产业工人协会[1]的会员,我不知道是该哭还是笑。
> Chainmaker
译注:
[1]Industrial Workers of the World,会员自称Wobbly
Time will tell whether Evo can keep its product-development edge without the majority of their Monad researchers, but that isn’t the only potential disaster Evo has to watch out for, as the inter-corp conflict with NeoNET continues to play out. Ironically, Evo may end up suffering almost as much harm from the Corporate Court’s decision in the NeoNET case as NeoNET themselves did. Even though the Court is holding all of the CFD-related trials in-camera, the UCAS government convinced them to make the full record of the trial available to the public, including all of the evidence that NeoNET presented to try to shift the blame to Evo. I expect Evo’s reputation to suffer further as more of that evidence comes into the public eye.
时间会告诉我们天演能否在失去大部分单子研究员的情况下继续待在在产品开发最前沿,但这并不是唯一一个天演需要当心的潜在危机,它和新网的公司摩擦还在继续。讽刺的是,最后天演因为公司法庭对新网案件的判决受到的惩罚或许会和新网一样严厉。虽然公司法庭把所有CFD相关的审判都设为非公开,UCAS政府还是说服了他们将审判的完整记录对公众公开,包括所有新网提供的、试图将罪名转向天演的证据。我估计随着越来越多的证据进入公众视野,天演的声誉会进一步受损。
BOSTON
After a few months of C5-led relief efforts, the situation in the NEMA began to stabilize. Supply drops into the QZ became more regular. Corporate security forces began air operations to soften up the worst-hit areas of the sprawl, with mixed results.
> With the near-total Matrix embargo in the QZ, the corpsec goons weren’t subtle about it, either. I found a report in a Knight Errant host describing how victims of the Lockdown strain were drawn to active Matrix transmitters. Someone suggested mounting a repeater unit on a helicopter or t-bird and flying low enough to draw the head cases out, then hosing the area down with Gatling guns and rocket fire.
> Slamm-0!
> Part of me is sickened by that, but I have to admit, it would be effective.
> Picador
When the damages from the Corporate Court’s NeoNET ruling were finally awarded to the NEMA government, the slow process of reconstruction began. C5 directed the initial efforts on the ground, first securing NeoNET Towers as a staging area. Corpsec forces led by Knight Errant pushed through the Hub to link up with units moving east from Route 128.
The least-affected areas of the city were pacified relatively quickly, but the lockdown is still in place around worst-hit zones. The MIT&T cordon is still in place, and probably will be for the foreseeable future. South of the river, C5 and the corpsec forces have managed to narrow the Hub Containment Zone to between BU and Northeastern, and are pushing hard to clear the Fenway so they can focus on hitting MIT&T from all sides.
波士顿
C5主导的救援工作进行了几个月后,NEMA[1]的情况开始稳定。往隔离区的物资空投变得更为常规。
公司的安保力量开始空中作业以缓和受灾最严重区域的治安状况,结果有好有坏。
>有了隔离区里近乎彻底的矩阵禁令,公司安保也没想隐藏。我在游侠的主机里找到了一份文件,里面描述了封锁区病毒变种的受害者会被活动的矩阵信号发射器吸引。有人建议在直升机或者雷鸟上安装中继器,然后低飞把脑病患引出来,再用加特林和火箭炮扫射这片区域。
>Slamm-0!
>我有一部分觉得恶心,但我得承认那会很有效。
>Picador
当公司法庭对新网的罚金终于到了NEMA政府的手上时,重建开始了。
C5首先把工作放在地面,先是保证新网群塔(NeoNet Towers)的安全,把这里作为基地。游侠带领着安保队伍在中心城[2]推进,和东边由128公路出发的队伍汇合。
城市里遭受影响最小的区域内的骚乱很快被平息下来,但受灾最严重的区域周围还处于封锁中。MIT&T[3]封锁警戒区还未解除,很可能在的未来都会持续下去。河流南岸,公司安保力量成功将市中心控制区缩小到BU[4]和东北大[5]之间,并且正在努力清理芬威区(Fenway),以便让他们能够集中力量从各个方向出击MIT&T。
译注:
[1]Northeastern Metroplex Axis,东北都会中轴区
[2]Hub,波士顿的别称,波士顿曾被称为the Hub of the Universe
[3]The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Thaumaturgy,麻省理工与咒术学院
[4]BU-Boston University波士顿大学。
[5]Northeastern,Northeastern University东北大学
> Good, then they can rebuild Fenway Park!
> Slamm-0!
> I took an astral jaunt over to MIT&T and regretted it the instant I got there. The DIMR and Manadyne have already started preparing to clean up the astral space once the head cases are out, but they’re going to have a bloody awful time of it, and it’s going to get worse before it gets better. I’ve heard whispers that some of their magicians are trying to get in early and are hiring teams to babysit while they discreetly try to limit any further damage.
> Winterhawk
With the head cases contained, the biggest threat to people on the ground are the gangs and the Knights of the Red Branch. As soon as word of the NeoNET ruling came down, the KRB and their Bane-Sidhe allies jumped at the chance to thin the Ancients’ numbers before the corps wouldn’t let them run wild anymore, and the Centurions and the Roxx stepped up their turf war over Roxbury.
> It seems the KRB didn’t get the message last time we crossed paths. I may have to pay them another visit.
> Thorn
>不错,那样他们就可以重建芬威公园了!
>Slamm-0!
>我从星界稍微拜访了一下MIT&T,但一到那我就后悔了。脑病患都离开后,DIMR[1]和魔法力公司就已经在开始准备清理星界空间了,但它们得花上老长一段时间,而且情况在好转之前还会变糟。我听到一些细小的传闻说他们有些法师正尝试提前进去,并且正在雇佣一些队伍在他们小心地控制后续危害时照料他们。
>Winterhawk
脑病患都被收容的情况下,对地面上的人们威胁就是帮派以及红枝骑士[2]了。对新网的判决传开后,KRB和他们那些仙宫之祸[3]的盟友马上跳起来抓住机会,在公司停止放任他们之前削弱古人帮[4]的人数,百夫长[5]和罗克斯[6]也抓紧了他们对罗克斯伯里(Roxbury)的地盘斗争。
>看起来上次我和KRB交手后他们还没理解我的信息,我可能要再去会会他们。
>Thorn
译注:
[1]Dunklezahn Institute of Magic Research,黑牙魔法研究院。
[2]Knights of the Red Branch,简称KRB,波士顿反精灵团体,由因提尔那诺成立而被驱逐的爱尔兰人组成。
[3]Bane-Sidhe,另一个极端反精灵帮派,同样由爱尔兰人组成。
[4]Ancients,一个全球性精灵帮派。
[5]Centurions:波士顿帮派,首领据称是前UCAS/CAS特种部队成员,以残酷、严苛著称。
[6]Roxx:波士顿底层黑手党帮派。
Mayor O’Rylan’s been too busy trying to organize the reconstruction efforts to press Knight Errant to step up their patrols, and even if she wasn’t, KE’s heavy hitters are all tied up dealing with the head cases. So, the gangs are making hay while the sun is shining, and it’ll be interesting to see whether they remember to run when the head cases are gone and all the AAAs’ corpsec is sitting on their doorstep.
One notable absence from Boston is the newest member of the Big Ten. Spinrad Global’s American VP, Katie Brookes, has repeatedly said the corp is reviewing its options for a move into the Hub, but nobody’s heard anything that sounds like actual movement. Personally, I think she’d rather just stay in Manhattan until the place doesn’t look like an urban brawl arena anymore.
Everywhere else, Boston is still Boston. Two catastrophes in fifteen years have left the city and its people more than a little weary, but for now, it looks like the worst is over. Enough areas have been cleared of head cases that the corps are reopening their offices. They haven’t taken the walls down yet, but the NEMA government is starting to let a few carefully screened people into and out of the QZ. In a few months, things might even be within shouting distance of normal. At least, as normal as a city can be with a big hole where its main economic engine used to be.
> Smugglers who can figure out reliable ways over the wall (or as reliable as things like that get, anyway) still have the chance to make some really good cred. Now that the corps have had time to clear out some of the head cases, word’s getting around that Boston’s safe enough to move people or cargo through, and they haven’t loosened the cordon enough to account for the increased demand.
> Traveler Jones
奥雷兰(O’Rylan)市长正忙于组织重建工作,没能督促游侠组建巡逻队,但哪怕她有时间,KE的重火力也全都被用来对付脑病患,再无余力。因此帮派们还能趁着日头好做工,当脑病患都解决了、AAA的公司安保坐在他们家门口时,看看他们还记不记得跑路一定很有趣。
值得注意的是波士顿内十大新晋成员的缺席。斯普兰德全球(Spinrad Global)的美洲副总裁,凯蒂·布鲁克斯,曾多次称公司正在评估进入中心城的方式,但没人听到过任何像是实际行动的声音。个人来说,我猜她宁愿待在曼哈顿,直到这个地方不再像个城区混战的竞技场一样。
就其它地方而言,波士顿还是波士顿。十五年内两次大灾[1]让这种城市和它的居民相当疲惫,但就现在来说,似乎最糟糕的已经过去了。有足够的区域已经把脑病患清理干净,公司也把他们的办公室重新开张。他们还没把墙拆了,但NEMA政府正着手让一些经过仔细扫描的人士出入隔离区。在未来几个月,情况甚至会离“普通”不远。至少,和一个曾经的经济主力所在位置现在只剩下一个大洞的城市那样“普通”。
>要是有走私客能找出可靠的越墙途径(不管怎么说,和这类事情能达到的可靠程度一样),他们还有机会赢得一些相当棒的名声。现在公司有时间清理掉一些脑病患了,有传言说波士顿已经能安全地把人或活物运进去,但公司还没把封锁放松到能满足日益增长的需求。
>Traveler Jones
译注:
[1]另一次灾难指崩溃2.0,东海岸交易所(ECSE)那时就在波士顿。
LOOSE THREADS
The nano-pocalypse seems to have been averted, but it would be premature to say CFD and the Monads are gone. The situation has simply transformed from CFD as a whole into individual Monads. They may be allies, employers, or enemies, but in many ways, they are becoming acclimated to life in the Sixth World, living just like other people.
> Except most people can’t overwrite other people’s brains. It’s those subtle differences that matter.
> Hard Exit
There is one exception to that, however. It seems Eliohann saw my comment in the Market Panic file, because shortly after posting it, I received a message from “Neurosis,” a warning that a threat from the past would return. I’ve been investigating and verifying the evidence Eliohann included since I received it, with the help of one of JackPoint’s members, in the hopes that it was yet another hoax. Unfortunately, it wasn’t.
I’m sure most of you already know the background behind Project Vulcan. Needless to say, it succeeded—but it very nearly didn’t, or at least, not in the way Celedyr intended. Another digital intelligence besides Cerberus tried to take over Eliohann’s body during the encoding process. NeoNET’s internal investigation later found that the digital intelligence’s profile matched a known AI, and that the code to create the backdoor was provided by Dr. Penelope Ann Xavier. Traces of the same code were later found in a small but significant number of CFD infectees inside the Boston QZ, and C5 investigators reported a similarity between it and code fragments found in the Renraku Arcology servers in 2061.
松线头
纳米启示录似乎已经中止,但要说CFD和单子问题已经消失还为时尚早。状况只是把CFD这个整体的问题转化为了单子个体的问题。他们或许是盟友、是雇员,或者是敌人。但从许多方面来看,他们已经融入了第六纪,和其他人一样生活。
>区别是大部分人不能重写别人的大脑。正是这些细微的差别才重要。
>Hard Exit
但有一个例外。伊里奥海恩似乎读到了我在市场混乱里的留言[1],因为在我发出去没多久,我收到了来自“神经症”的信息,警告说一个来自过去的威胁将会回归。我收到之后就开始调查确认伊里奥海恩附上的证据,接入点的一名成员也帮了忙。我希望这只是又一个恶作剧。不幸的是,这不是恶作剧。
我确信你们大多数人都了解伏尔甘计划[2]的背景了。不用说,它成功了——但几乎要失败,或者不像塞勒迪尔预计的那样。在编码过程中,除了刻尔柏洛斯,还有另一个电子智能试图占据伊里奥海恩的身体。新网随后的内部调查发现那个电子智能的形象与一位知名AI吻合,用于制造后门的代码由佩内洛普·安娜·塞维尔博士提供[3]。之后波士顿隔离区内的部分CFD感染者身上也发现了同样的代码,数量不多,但不容忽视。C5的调查员报告这些代码与2061年在联络生态建筑服务器上发现的代码碎片相似。
译注:
[1]见附2
[2]见附3
[3]猜猜这位是谁?
> Oh frag.
> Slamm-0!
I asked some trusted associates to review my evidence in the hopes that I’d made a mistake, but all of them confirmed it: The AI writing itself into those CFD infectees was Deus.
> Oh fragfragfragfragfragfragfragfragfragfragfrag– <user disconnected: Slamm-0!>
> Did Slamm-0! just brick himself?
> Kat o’ Nine Tales
> Pretty sure he wasn’t the only one.
> Pistons
> I suspect someone will ask me this eventually, so I’ll just answer now: No, I don’t know what Deus is planning. I was the JackPointer who helped Lanier investigate Eliohann’s claims, because I want to see Deus and Pax stopped as much as anyone. (Don’t bother with the usual wave of “bulldrek” posts; I know you don’t believe me, and I couldn’t care less.)
> Puck
> And Lanier just took your word for it?
> Glitch
> We’ve both been in this business too long to take anything for granted, Glitch. During our conversations, Puck was held inside a Faraday cage—at his own suggestion, I might add—and subjected to a mind probe from … let’s call him a former NeoNET executive. Suffice it to say, if Puck had intended to feed us bad intel, we would have known.
> Miles Lanier
>哦靠。
>Slamm-0!
我请了一些可靠的关系者检查我的证据,希望是我弄错了,但他们都确认了:这个把自己写入那些CFD感染者的AI就是“主”。
>哦靠靠靠靠靠靠靠靠靠靠靠靠靠靠靠靠靠靠靠靠靠靠靠——<用户断连:Slamm-0!>
>刚才是Slamm-0!把自己砖了?
>Kat o' Nine Tales
>很确定他不是唯一的。
>Pistons
>我猜最后会有人问的,所以我现在答了:不,我不知道“主”在计划什么。我就是那个帮助卢内尔调查伊里奥海恩说法的接入点成员,因为我和所有人一样都希望阻止“主”和Pax。(不劳费心发些和平常一样的“狗屎”;我知道你们不相信我,我也不在乎。)
>Puck
>卢内尔就相信了你的话?
>Glitch
>我们都在这行混了这么久,什么东西都不会理所当然地接受。我们的对话时,Puck被关在了一个法拉第笼里——他自己的建议,我得补充——并且接受了心灵探针,施法者是……姑且称他为一位前新网执行官。这足以保证,如果Puck想给我们错误的信息,我们会知道的。
>迈尔斯·卢内尔
> Speaking of loose threads, a technomancer contact in Boston told me about a few people he met who were … honestly, I don’t know what to call them. My contact said they were fellow technomancers he knew personally, who didn’t show any signs of CFD infection, but had some awfully Monad-like abilities. When I tried to get more information from him, he got dumped mid-convo; a mutual friend told me later that he’d been bagged by a corp.
> Netcat
> I knew it. I fucking knew it. The AIs are possessing their techno-freak pets and using them to turn everyone into head cases. None of you believed me before, and now– <user muted by sysop
>
> Clockwork
> I don’t know whether you’re Clockwork or Plan 10 spoofing Clockwork’s account, but behave yourself.
> Glitch
> And as if Boston didn’t have enough crazy drek going on already, last time I went over the wall, I saw a corpsec unit made up entirely of orks and trolls. Typical, right? Except that if the rumors are true, every single one of them is a Monad. Personally, I’m not getting close enough to find out.
> 2XL
> I’m fine, everyone, the rugrat just spilled his drink on my deck. So Butch, now that you’ve saved the world from CFD, what are you going to do with all that free time?
> Slamm-0!
> Sleep like the fucking dead. Good night, folks.
> Butch
>说到松线头,一个在波士顿的超链联系人告诉我,他见到的一些人……老实说,我不知道该怎么叫他们。我的联系人说他们是他认识的超链者,没有任何CFD症状,但有些非常像单子的行为。我想从他那问到更多信息的时候,他被甩出去了,就在说话的时候。之后一个朋友告诉我他被某家公司干掉了。
>Netcat
>我就知道。我TM就知道。AI占据了他们的超链怪胎宠物再用他们把所有人都变成脑病患。之前你们没人信我,现在——<用户被管理员禁言>
>Clockwork
>我不知道你是Clockwork还是Plan 10盗了Clockwork的号,但注意你的行为。
>Glitch
>我很好,各位,小屁孩刚刚吐在了我的碟板上。那么Butch,既然你已经从CFD手中拯救了世界,接下来的空闲时间你要干啥?
>Slamm-0!
>睡死过去。晚安,伙计们。
>Butch
THE FATE OF A GIANT
To quote the classics, NeoNET has passed on. It is no more, has ceased to be, has expired and gone to … well, you know.
> I wasn’t expecting Lanier to be fond of twentieth-century British comedy.
> Winterhawk
> Nobody expects it.
> Miles Lanier
When the truth came out about CFD and the Boston lockdown, it was inevitable that the UCAS government would take NeoNET to task. The verdict was decided long before the trial had begun, of course, but neither the UCAS nor the Corporate Court was going to miss an opportunity to polish their public image when the blame fell squarely on one of their own.
To nobody’s surprise, the Corporate Court found in favor of the UCAS, and NeoNET was ordered to establish a disaster relief fund totaling in the hundreds of billions of nuyen. Naturally, the corporation had expected that outcome since the trial began and had already been busy downsizing, restructuring, and selling off whatever assets they could. At first, it looked like NeoNET might have weathered the storm, until the Court delivered the second half of its decision. I’ll let Justice Belczyk’s words speak for themselves. [link]
> Holy drek.
> Mr. Bonds
> Could someone translate that to non-lawyer?
> Lyran
> It means that for the first time since … drek, almost before I was born, there won’t be a triple-A mega with Villiers running the show.
> Bull
> It’s not just that. JRJ is at least an A-rated corp in itself. Villiers is the sole owner, but he can’t be a director or the CEO with the ban in place. If voting shares are his only means of controlling JRJ, whoever Villiers appoints in his stead could sell JRJ out from under him before he has a chance to stop them. The Corporate Court might’ve just taken away Villiers’ Golden Ticket.
> Mr. Bonds
巨人的命运
引用经典的台词,新网已逝。它不复存在,不成公司,已然断气,已经去了……好吧,你们懂的。[1]
>没想到卢内尔会喜欢20世纪的英国喜剧。
>Winterhawk(冬鹰)
>没人想得到。
>迈尔斯·卢内尔
当CFD和波士顿封锁的真相被披露后,无可避免地UCAS政府会找新网麻烦。当然判决在审判开始之前就已经决定好,但当罪名落到他们中的一员身上是,UCAS和公司法庭都不会放过这个打磨自己公众形象的机会。
没有人惊讶公司法庭的判决偏向了UCAS,新网被责令成立总计数千亿新円的灾难救援基金。这家公司自然在审判开始时就预计到了这样的结果,并且已经在忙着裁员、重组、卖出他们所能卖出的资产。一开始,新网似乎能够熬过这场风暴,但随后公司法庭公布了决定的后半。我让你们自己看Belczyk法官的话。[链接]
>哦老天。
>Mr. Bonds(邦德先生)
>有人能给不是律师的人翻译一下吗?
>Lyran(莱伦)
>意思是自从……该死,几乎是在我出生之前起第一次,不会再有一家AA公司是维里斯控制的了。
>Bull(公牛)
>不只这样。JRJ[2]自己至少还是家A级公司。维里斯是它的全权所有者,但有了这条禁令,他就不能成为董事或者CEO了。如果投票股份是维里斯控制JRJ的唯一手段,那么不管他指派谁取代自己,这个人都能在他眼皮底下把JRJ卖了,而他毫无办法。公司法庭还不如也拿走维里斯的金色入场券[3]。
>Mr. Bonds(邦德先生)
译注:
[1]Monty Python and the Flying Circus第一季第八集的台词。全台词:“It's not pining, it's passed on. This parrot is no more. It has ceased to be. It's expired and gone to meet its maker. This is a late parrot. It's a stiff, bereft of life, it rests in peace. If you hadn't nailed it to the perch, it would be pushing up the daisies. It's rung down the curtain; joined the choir invisible. This is an ex-parrot!”
[2]即JRJ国际JRJ International,公司法庭创始公司之一,拥有永久公司法庭席位,2038年被理查德·维里斯买下。
[3]Golden Ticket,即永久公司法庭席位。
Of course, Richard Villiers wouldn’t be Richard Villiers if he didn’t have a plan. From what I’m told, the first thing he did after leaving the courtroom was to walk into a private lounge, where Johnny Spinrad and a team of lawyers happened to be waiting. By the time they left, Spinrad Global was poised to become the newest member of the Big Ten, NeoNET would only barely outlive its debts, and Richard Villiers had made another tidy profit from one of his many schemes.
> Wait, how can Villiers just transfer NeoNET’s AAA membership to Spinrad? Doesn’t he have to sell it, or have the Corporate Court vote on it, or something?
> Picador
> It’s legal hair-splitting. The short version is that the guaranteed Corporate Court seat—the “Golden Ticket”— belongs to JRJ International, which Villiers owns. Villiers simply “leases” the rights to the Court seat like a landlord renting out an apartment. The CC couldn’t force Villiers to sell JRJ, but they could force him to give up control of it, so Villiers turned around and rented the apartment out to Spinrad instead.
> Cosmo
> And now Johnny finally has the AAA membership he wants—for a decade, anyway. It’ll be interesting to see what happens when Villiers claims it back.
> Fianchetto
> So /dev/, does this mean you’re a Spinrad citizen now? (What do they call those, Spinizens?)
> Red
> If Spinrad’s adopting former NeoNET corp families, nobody’s told us—and even if they did, too many people from Novatech are out of jobs for SpinGlobal to take them all. I think any city in NorthAm and Asia with a major NeoNET presence is going to have a lot of new runners, if they don’t already.
> /dev/grrl
当然,要是理查德·维里斯没有一个计划那他就不会是理查德·维里斯。就我被告知的内容,他在离开法庭后做的第一件事是走进一间私人休息室,强尼·斯普兰德以及一队律师正好在那等着。他们离开时,斯普兰德全球已经准备好成为十大新成员,新网勉强清理了负债,而理查德·维里斯再次利用他许多谋划之一弄到了又一笔丰厚利润。
>等等,维里斯怎么就能把新网的AAA成员资格转给斯普兰德?他不是应该把它卖了,或者让公司法庭投票,或者别的?
>Picador(长矛手)
>是些法律上的细节。稍短的说明是这样,公司法庭席位——也就是“金色入场券”——属于JRJ国际,为维里斯所有。维里斯只是将法庭的席位“出租”出去,就像房东出租公寓一样。CC不能强迫维里斯卖掉JRJ,但他们能迫使他放弃控制权,于是维里斯转头将公寓租给了斯普兰德。
>Cosmo(宇宙)
>现在强尼终于得到了他渴望的AAA资格——至少为期十年。看看维里斯要求重新获得所有权时会发生什么,会很有趣。
>Fianchetto(侧翼出象)
>那么/dev/,现在你是斯普兰德公民了?(他们怎么称呼,斯普兰人(Spinizens)?)
>Red(里德)
>没人同我们说过斯普兰德要接收前新网公司家庭这件事——即使他们接收了,超新科技也有太多没有工作的人,斯普国际没法全盘收下。我猜北美和亚洲那些新网主要业务所在的城市将出现一大批新的狂奔者,甚至现在已经有了。
>/dev/grrl
THE OTHER VILLIERS DIVORCE
As you’d expect, the damages NeoNET had to pay and the loss of the Corporate Court seat were the straws that broke the camel’s back. Fifteen years after being forged from the Crash, Novatech, Erika, and Transys-Neuronet went their separate ways.
> Even the NeoNET dissolution was another Villiers scheme. Apparently, he offered Malmstein and Celedyr a deal where Transys-Neuronet and Erika got cut loose before the Corporate Court decision was released, and Villiers got their shares in NeoNET in return. The dwarf and dragon agreed, then Villiers turned around and sold
the Golden Ticket, and he and his Trans-Latvia ball and chain cashed in on Spinrad buying out NeoNET’s share of the Z-OG Bank. Any truth to that, Miles?
> Mr. Bonds
> Let’s just say I don’t expect Richard to get birthday cards from them anytime soon.
> Miles Lanier
Since the split, Malmstein has been focusing heavily on Erika’s operations in Africa, forming a partnership with A-rated Bosaso Industries in the Ethiomalian Territories, managing the Kilimanjaro mass driver, and doing other things that pointedly lack any connection to NeoNET’s former endeavors. Celedyr, on the other hand, hasn’t been seen in public since the Corporate Court decision. I suspect he’s decided to lie low until the negative publicity blows over.
维里斯家族的分裂
如你们所预计,新网要承担的损失以及失去公司法庭席位是压断骆驼背的最后一根稻草。自奔溃起,合并了15年之后,超星科技、艾利卡还有超统神经网络分道扬镳。
>新网的解散也是维里斯的又一计划。显然他给马斯坦[1]和塞勒迪尔进行了一项交易,让超统-神经网络和艾瑞卡在公司法庭公布决定之前脱离,而作为交换,维里斯得到了他们在新网的股份。这位矮人和巨龙同意了,维里斯便转身将卖掉了金色入场券,泛拉脱维亚给他的枷锁也都在斯普兰德买下新网在Z-OG银行时兑成了现金。里面有真相吗,迈尔斯?
>Mr. Bonds(邦德先生)
>我这么说吧,理查德最近都不会从他们那里收到生日贺卡了。
>迈尔斯·卢内尔
分家后,马斯坦的重心一直在艾瑞卡非洲的工作上,他和埃塞马里领(Ethiomalian Territories)的A级公司博萨索工业(Bosaso Industries)建立伙伴关系,管理乞力玛扎罗的质量投射器,还在做一些明显和新网之前的工作毫无关系的事务。另一方面,塞勒迪尔在公司法庭判决后就没再公众场合露面。我估计他觉得低调行事,等待负面效果过去。
译注:
[1]Anders Malmstein,艾瑞卡的CEO。
[2]Trans-Latvia,超星科技的神秘股东之一,据说这家公司的目的是限制维里斯。
CORPORATE COURT RULING (Excerpt from the Corporate Court’s decision in United Canadian and American States, Plaintiff v. NeoNET, Celedyr, Anders Malmstein, and Richard Villiers, Defendants. Judgement rendered September 29, 2079. Delivered by Belczyk J. for the majority.)
“… for the foregoing reasons we find that, though Mr. Villiers was not directly responsible for the events leading to the widespread destruction in Boston, his failure to organize NeoNET’s corporate structure in an effective manner created a gap in oversight which allowed these events to occur. As such, we declare that Mr. Villiers was grossly negligent and in breach of his fiduciary duty as chief executive officer of NeoNET. Counsel for the United Canadian and American States has recommended that Mr. Villiers be barred from holding an officer or director position in any corporation under the jurisdiction of this court for a period of no less than ten years. The court accepts counsel’s recommendation, and we do so order.”
公司法庭裁决(节选自公司法庭的判决,原告联合加拿大和美利坚合众国,被告新网、塞勒迪尔、安德斯·马斯坦以及理查德·维里斯。判决于2079年9月29日生效。由Belczyk法官宣读。)
“……鉴于前述原因,我们判决,尽管维里斯先生对最终导致波士顿广泛受损的一系列事件并不负有直接责任,但他未能有效管理新网的公司架构,造成的监管失职让让这些事件得以发生。故此,我们宣布维里斯先生极大地忽视、违反了他作为新网首席执行官的诚信义务[1]。加拿大和美利坚合众国的法律顾问建议本法庭禁止维里斯先生至少在十年内担任任何公司的管理或负责人。法庭接受法律顾问的建议,并作此判决。”
译注:
[1]fiduciary duty,“控股股东的诚信义务是指公司控股股东在行使权力时应充分考虑公司和其他股东的利益,不能作出有损于公司和其他股东利益的决定。”
FAMILY HEIRLOOMS
Twenty years after its debut, the phoenix has risen from a different set of ashes, with a different Villiers at its helm. Richard has been grooming his daughter Caroline to follow in his footsteps for years, and after his sudden but inevitable departure, Cara took Richard’s place as CEO of the much-diminished family business.
> ”Much-diminished” is one way to put it. Everything except Novatech’s core Matrix subsidiaries—the remnants of Fuchi, Mangadyne, Matrix Industries, and Central Industrial, among others—was sold off in the surprise restructuring.
> Mr. Bonds
> Yeah, but that still makes them one of the top Matrix outfits in the world, even if the Corporate Court downgrades them to A or AA. Villiers is still the majority shareholder, too, so Novatech isn’t likely to be absorbed by another mega.
> Icarus
Shortly after Cara took the reins, Novatech moved its official headquarters from Boston to St. Louis, and Cara seems to have moved her own office into the ARCHology—which was transferred to Novatech ownership days before the Corporate Court ruling. Besides Novatech, Cara has also stepped into Richard’s other director and officer positions, save for JRJ.
> Does the Corporate Court really think Villiers won’t still be controlling those companies if his daughter’s the one replacing him?
> Balladeer
> On the contrary, the Court’s probably thrilled with that. Richard has the same problem with Cara as he did with Samantha: They’re too much alike. It might mean they get along well, but it also means they’ll only cooperate with each other when it benefits them, not out of any sense of familial loyalty.
> Icarus
As for Richard himself, he’s as closed-mouthed about his schemes as ever, but I’m certain of one thing: He’s not happy about taking Evo’s share of the blame for CFD. Knowing him, he’s already set plans into motion to see that injustice corrected. (Those of you willing to work for the archetypal corporate Mr. Johnson may be hearing more from your fixers soon.)
> Footloose and fancy-free, with a giant pile of nuyen and a grudge against the AAA that screwed him … Villiers sounds like the next Art Dankwalther to me.
> Glitch
> Stop, the irony is killing me.
> Bull
家族遗产
初次登场20年后,凤凰从另一堆灰烬中升起,掌舵的是另一位维里斯。为了让他的女儿卡洛琳跟随他的脚步,理查德已经准备了好几年了。在他这次突然但不可避免的离开后,卡拉接下了理查德CEO的位置,这个家族生意已经衰弱了许多。
>“衰弱许多”是一种说法。除了超星科技的核心矩阵子公司——富士的残余、魔法力、矩阵工业(Matrix Industries)还有中央工业(Central Industrial)等之外,所有资产都在这次突然重组中被卖掉了。
>Mr. Bonds(邦德先生)
>没错,但这些还是让他们成为世界上顶尖的矩阵供应商之一,哪怕公司法庭把他们降级到了A或者AA。维里斯还是大股东,所以超星科技不大可能被另一家超企吞并。
>Icarus(伊卡洛斯)
就在卡拉拿到控制权后不久,超星科技就把它的官方总部从波士顿搬到了圣路易斯,卡拉似乎也把她自己的办公室搬到了同一栋生态建筑——就在公司法庭判决前几天建筑所有权转给了超星科技。超星科技之外,卡拉还接任了理查德其它的负责人和主管职位,除了JRJ。
>公司法庭真的觉得让他的女儿代替,维里斯就不会还在控制这些公司吗?
>Balladeer(民谣歌手)
>相反,公司法庭大概会为此兴奋。理查德和卡拉的问题和他同萨曼莎[1]的问题一样:他们太像了。这可能表示他们会相处不错,但也意味着他们只会在对自己有利时互相合作,而不是出于什么家族忠诚感。
>Icarus(伊卡洛斯)
至于理查德本人,他和以前一样对他的计划闭口不谈,但有一件事我很确定:他可不高兴帮天演担下了CFD的责任。我很清楚他已经做好了计划让正义得到伸张。(你们中那些愿意为典型的公司约翰逊先生工作的人可能很快就会从你们的掮客那里听说了。)
>逍遥自在,有一大笔新円,还对某家拖自己下水的AAA抱有恨意……我听起来,维里斯就像是下一个亚特·丹克瓦尔特[2]。
>Glitch(失误)
>停下,这讽刺简直要杀了我了。
>Bull(公牛)
译注:
[1]Samantha Villiers,理查德·维里斯的前妻。
[2]Art Dankwalther,一个想要摧毁超星科技的疯狂富翁,最后被公司法庭下了欧米伽禁令*,随后被雷神之枪**杀死。
译注的译注:
*Omega Order:公司法庭用于防止公司竞争扩大化的法令,允许其他所有公司对某家公司使用武力。
**Thor shot:轨道武器。
FAREWELL
As I mentioned in my introduction, I first set virtual foot on this host—or node, or VPN, or whatever they’re called nowadays—just over five years ago. Today will likely be the last time I do so as a primary contributor. I may still stop in from time to time, triumvirate allowing, but the simple fact is that my purpose for contacting Mr. MacCallister has been fulfilled. Besides, somebody has to keep Richard out of trouble, now that he has all that free time on his hands.
I never would’ve expected to say this when I first arrived, but thank you, JackPoint. Whatever our differences, you’ve consistently impressed me in the last few years. The aid you’ve lent me with my own struggle has been invaluable, and for that, you’ve earned my respect and my gratitude. I suspect that if we ever cross paths again, it’ll be as opponents instead of cautious allies, but I wish you the best all the same.
–Miles Lanier
> Wait, after all this, he’s still going to work with Villiers?
> Nephrine
> As has been observed in countless business articles, they complement each other well. Besides, Villiers has a ton of liquid cash, a lot of interesting ideas, and a perpetual sense of restlessness. How could it not be fun to be in his circle?
> Cosmo
> Right. Because Miles Lanier is all about the fun.
> Kay St. Irregular
作别
正如我在自我介绍里提到的,我第一次踏入这个主机——或者叫节点还是VPN,还是现在叫做什么别的——还是在五年前。今天大概是我最后一次作为主要贡献者发言了。我还会时不时过来,只要三人小组[1]同意,但情况是我联络麦克卡利斯特的目的已经完全实现了。另外,还得有人让理查德免于麻烦,毕竟现在他手上有大把空闲时间。
我第一次到这里时,从未想过我会这样说,但是,感谢你们,接入点。虽然我们有诸多分歧,但在过去几年里你们一直在让我惊讶。你们为我自身的努力所提供的帮助是无价的,为此你们赢得了我的尊敬和感激。我猜如果我们如果再次有交集,也会是作为对手而不是谨慎的盟友,但我依然愿你们安好。
——迈尔斯·卢内尔
>等下,经过这么多事情,他还要继续和维里斯混?
>Nephrine(肾升压素)
>如同无数的商业报道观察到的那样,他们能很好地互补。还有,维里斯有成吨的现金,一大把有趣的点子,以及一颗永不平静的躁动之心。在他的圈子里怎么会不好玩?
>Cosmo(宇宙)
>对啊。因为迈尔斯·卢内尔只关心好玩。
>Kay St. Irregular(K街偶客)
[1]指Glitch\Bull\Slamm-0!