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Episode 01. A HAIRLINE FRACTURE
第一篇 應力性骨折
For all of cosmopolitan Earth type, who don't venture into the far
reach of the space, there's a planet way out in the outer colonies called
Eridanus II. If you're thinking of visiting, don't bother. It was catastrophic
glassed in a Covenant attack in 2530. The 19 years before it got wiped out,
our hero Master Chief Petty Officer John 117, then known as John, was born in
a metropolis called Elysium City—that's where I started.
"Do I remember him? Oh yeah. You don't forget a kid like that."
That's Deon Govender. He chatted with me in his home in the outer
colonies. Deon’s retired now, but years ago he taught John at Elysium City
Primary Education Facility Number 119. Apparently schools in the outer colonies
don’t have the catchiest names.
Govender: John was something else. He was sharp and quick, always
evaluating the situation. Other kids just gravitated to him you know?
Deon seemed most excited to talk about John's athletic ability. The
kids used to play king of the hill after school. You know, the old game where
you wrestle and push each other to try to be the last man standing.
Govender: I would walk by sometimes, see 'em playing after school
and without fail, I swear, it was always John standing alone at the top of
that hill. Every single day—matter of fact—I think the other kids
ended up fighting for king halfway up the hill. 'Cause nobody was messing
with John.
I definitely remember John. You're going way. . .
That's Ellie Bloom, another lifelong resident of the outer colonies.
When she was young, she and John lived on the same street, just a few houses
down.
Bloom: Well, he was little younger than me, but I tell you that boy
did not look like a kindergartener. He was a big kid. My friend Katrina and I
used to be in this vacant lot in the neighborhood. The three of us would build
these obstacle courses that are random junk and then race. You know, just kid
stuff.
As Ellie talked about her early years in Elysium, it wasn't long
before she was getting nostalgic.
Bloom: At warm night my parent would let us go out to the green space,
and lie on the grass. And we just lie there, stare up at the star. It was a
nice place to grow up.
Finding Ellie was a huge win foe me. When a planet's been glassed,
tracking down former residents can be damn near impossible. Any records kept
locally: paper, harden data storage, even human memories, after full-scale
glassing they're just gone. Thankfully tough, the Office of Naval Intelligence
or ONI had furnished me with a list of interviewees. That's how I got Deon.
But I wanted go the extra mile with the story, so I hitted up some of my old
connection in the Otter Colonies looking for more sources. Ellie was my only
hit so far.
Giraud: Did you keep in touch with John?
Bloom: No. I wasn't allow to use waypoint when I was little. But I did
keep in touch with Katrina. We still talk actually. You know, she probably
still remembers John. I'm gonna tell her that I talked to you. Wait, what was
this for again? It'a a military thing?
Giraud: Oh no. John, uh, John is the Master Chief.
Bloom: What? He. . .
Giraud: Yeah, John became the Master Chief.
Bloom: Like "the" Master Chief?
Giraud: Yup.
Bloom: Oh my god. No. . . Wait, are you serious?
Giraud: I'm not kidding ya.
Bloom: Oh my god. That was crazy.
Ellie lost her mind for a few minutes. I guess it's not everyday you
find out that your childhood playmate saved the galaxy.
Bloom: Oh my god. Now I'm definately telling Katrina. I mean, she's
gonna freak out.
All right. So maybe Ellie wasn't gonna be much help. I needed more of
a young warrior angle. Here's Deon again.
Govender: . . . the boxer story?
Giraud: No, no, no. What's that?
Govender: Ok, ok. So I thaught the primary you know right? But I also ran this
boxing league in the high school. The second week we're doing drill in the gym,
John walks in. Mind you: John was at six grade at the time. I said, "hey John,
what's up?" He says, "I wanna sign up for boxing." And I said, "John, you're
twelve you know. What are you talking about?"
Giraud: But John was adamant.
Govender: I looked at him. He ain't leaving. So I said okay what the hell.
Figure let it be a formative lesson for the kid. I put him in the ring with one
of the smaller guys. John pummeled this boy. It's over in about fifteen
seconds. So well alright. I put him in with this bruiser, a real good fighter.
Ok, good fighter. Two punches! John laid him out. Twelve years old!
I like talking to Deon. He was warm and funny and that grandfatherly
memory lain kinda way. I realized I got lost in it all, when the narrative took
a dark turn.
Govender: But then one week, John just didn't show up.
對於遍佈在地球上、不曾到宇宙深處探險的人們，可能不知道外殖民地有顆星球叫
Eridanus II。如果你想要去造訪一下的話，請打消這個念頭，它已經在2530年被星盟攻
擊以後催毀。在Eridanus II被毀滅的19年前，當時的John，也就是我們的英雄一級士官
長John 117出生於這個星球的Elysium市，而我也從這裡開始挖掘真相。
我還記得他嗎？當然，像那樣的孩子可是忘不了的。
這是Deon Govender，我們在他位於外殖民地的家對談。Deon已經退休了，他在好幾
年前曾在Elysium市初等教育學校119號教過John。外殖民地的學校的名字真的很無趣。
Govender: John跟其他的孩子不一樣，他很敏銳、反應快，總是在衡量周遭的狀況。別
的孩子總是會被他吸引。
Deon在談John的運動神經時感覺特別興奮。以前的小孩放學後都會一起玩山丘之王，
就是那個要把別人推出去直到自己成為山丘上最後一個人的老遊戲。
Govender: 下課後我有時會去看他們玩耍，每次最後一個站在山丘上的都是
John，屢試不爽。其實別的孩子都在一半的時候就在爭誰是山丘之王了，因為沒人比的
過John。
我絕對記得John。那是好久……
這是Ellie Bloom，另一個生下來就住在外殖民地的居民。她小時候跟John住在同一
條街上，只隔了幾棟房。
Bloom: 他年紀比我小一點，但他看起來完全不是那樣，他真的很大隻。我跟我的朋友
Katrina當時會到附近的空地，我們三個會用廢棄物蓋障礙跑道，然後就在那裡賽跑。
小孩嘛你懂的。
Ellie回憶她在Elysium的童年不久，講著講著她就開始思鄉了。
Bloom: 晚上如果天氣夠暖和的話，我爸媽就會讓我到綠地，躺在草地上。我們就躺在
那，盯著星空看。在那長大真的很棒。
能找到Ellie對我來說十分重要，當一個星球被glass以後，要再找到當地的居民幾乎
是不能的。所有保存在當地的資料，包括文件、硬碟資料、甚至是人的記憶，在全面的
glass攻擊之後就灰飛煙滅了。但多歸了海軍情報局也就是ONI，提供我一串受訪者名單，
這就是我跟Deon取得聯繫的方法。但除此之外我還想更進一步深入這個故事，所以我找來
我在外殖民地的老友，Ellie是我目前唯一的希望。
Giraud: 你還有跟John聯繫嗎？
Bloom: 沒有，我小時候家裡不准我用waypoint（譯註：類似當時的網路），但我還有跟
Katrina聯絡，我們到現在都還會聊天。她大概也還記得John，我要跟她講我們談過。你
說這是什麼訪問，跟軍方有關？
Giraud: 喔不是，呃，John其實就是士官長。
Bloom: 什麼？他……
Giraud: 對，John成為了士官長。
Bloom: 就是那個士官長？
Giraud: 沒錯。
Bloom: 天啊。等一下，你是認真的嗎？
Giraud: 我沒在開玩笑。
Bloom: 老天，這太瘋狂了。
Ellie陷入瘋狂幾分鐘，畢竟不是每個人都會發現小時候的玩伴拯救了銀河系。
Bloom: 喔天啊，我現在一定要跟Katrina講了，她一定會興奮到瘋掉。
好吧，也許Ellie對我不會有太大的幫助。我想要多一點年輕勇士的故事。這是Deon
的訪問。
Govender: ……我講過拳擊的故事了嗎？
Giraud: 沒有，是什麼故事？
Govender: 好好好。我在國小教書嘛，但我也在中學帶拳擊社。我們在練習的第二週，
John來了，記住當時他才12歲。我說：「怎麼啦，John？」他說：「我想要加入拳擊社。」
我就說：「John，你才12歲，你真的知道你在幹嘛嗎？」
Giraud: 但他很堅定。
Govender: 我看他不想走的樣子，所以我說好吧，就給他學一課。我安排他跟一個個子
比較小的對打，John把他打倒了，過程不到15秒。所以我就讓他和一個壯漢打，很會打
的一個。結果兩拳John就打他打倒了，John才12歲！
我喜歡跟Deon講話，他親切又幽默，還有他給人那種祖父的感覺。我都沒發現我聽
得忘我，直到故事來到了一個黑暗的轉捩點。
Govender: 但是有一個禮拜，John就沒出現了。