The infrared laser Morse code rig was set up. What to say? Might as well talk about romance—that felt safest for now.
红外激光摩斯码设备架好了,说点什么呢?说搞对象吧,这个目前来讲是最安全的.
"Liliya, Erika, come back. May the love in my heart heal the wounds you bear.
"莉莉娅和艾芮卡回来吧,但愿我心中的爱能够治愈你们所受的伤.
Set aside the burden of liberating humanity; let us be personal acquaintances, pen pals even. Any relationship will do—guest, daughter, wife, mother, ally, anything at all.
忘掉解放人类的重任,我们只做私人交往,笔友好不好,什么关系都行,客人,女儿,妻子,妈妈,同盟,任何关系.
This is a private invitation." Then he left an email address.
这是私人邀请,"然后留下了一个电子邮箱.
Lin Yuhui thought about how Liliya and Lydia would get along later. They were parthenogenetic clones, identical in every way, from different timelines, reunited aboard this very ship. Yet their coexistence seemed far from harmonious. Lydia, young and headstrong, sometimes clashed with Liliya, their opinions diverging.
林语晖想了想莉莉娅后期和莉迪娅的相处,本来她们是孤雌生殖的完全相同的克隆体,来自于不同的时间线,在这里的飞船上相聚了,但是相处得好像并不太好,莉迪娅孩子年轻气盛,有时候会和莉莉娅有些矛盾,意见不一致.
How Lin Yuhui longed for their family to meet in the cosmos with greater peace and happiness. He understood their friction as something akin to the dynamic between daughters raised by a single mother—a subconscious undercurrent of rivalry. If Lilia had a male partner, perhaps both she and her child might approach their interactions with Lydia with a calmer mindset.
林语晖是多么希望她们一家人在宇宙中相遇的时候能够更和谐幸福啊.对于她们的关系不好相处,林语晖的理解是,她们就像单亲妈妈带的女儿那样的关系一样,潜意识里有雌竞的成分,要是莉莉娅有一个异性伴侣,她和她的孩子可能都会对于与对方相处有更平和的心态.
So Lin Yuhui added:
所以林语晖接着添加,
"Liliya should find a partner in at least one of her timelines, experience what it feels like to be loved. Perhaps such experience could help mend her bond with Lydia. Lydia would understand how deeply Liliya loves her, and long to be loved by her in return.
"莉莉娅应该至少在她的一个时间线里找一个伴侣,体会一下被爱的感觉,或许这样的经验能够帮助她和莉迪娅的关系,莉迪娅会理解莉莉娅是多么的爱莉迪娅,并且想同样地被她所爱.
Liliya, what can I do to undo the tragedy that befell you and Erika? Thank you for all you've given. What can I do for the Tayget people?"
莉莉娅,我能做什么挽回你和艾芮卡的悲剧呢?谢谢你们的付出,我能为塔吉特人做些什么呢?"
He translated this into English and sent it via infrared laser in Morse code.
然后将这些翻译成英语,用红外激光发送摩斯码.
But Lin Yuhui soon realized a problem: programmable relays weren't ideal here. First, they only lasted a hundred thousand cycles. The first one failed after seventy thousand. Then the second took over.
但是林语晖很快就意识到了一个问题,可编程继电器在这里的应用不太适合,首先是它只有十万次的开关寿命,第一个用了七万多次就坏掉了,然后第二个上岗.
Moreover, their switches were mechanical, producing an irritating click-clackwith every operation.
另外就是它的开关是机械的,工作时候咔哒咔哒的声音,有些烦人.
A more efficient method would be a digital I/O card. Lin Yuhui had used one before—the Advantech PCL-724. Back then, it cost him two months' salary, over nine hundred yuan. He had been a young man with dreams then, hoping to develop a motion-capture device using the 24-channel digital I/O card, to create an animated film like A Bug's Life. But he quickly discovered his skills and resources fell short of his ambitions.
更有效的方式是使用数字IO卡,林语晖以前用过,研华的PCL-724,当年花了两个月的工资,九百多元买的.那也曾经是一个有梦想的年轻人.他想用24路的数字信号IO卡开发一个动作捕捉设备,做一个"虫虫特工队"那样的动画片,但是很快他就发现了他的能力和资源不足以覆盖他的野心.
Over twenty years later, that I/O card's bus interface was obsolete. When Lin Yuhui searched on Taobao, he marveled once again at the maturity of China's industrial ecosystem. A domestic USB digital I/O card—thirty-nine yuan. Anything made in China eventually became as affordable as cabbage.
而二十多年后,那时的IO卡总线已经不能用了,林语晖上淘宝网一搜索,不由得再一次感慨中国当前的工业体系完善.国产的USB接口数字IO卡,39元钱.只要是中国造的东西,啥都能干成白菜价.
Switching to the digital I/O card eliminated the annoying clicks and concerns over lifespan, allowing for longer daily transmission windows. Yet before any optical signal reached its target, a neural one arrived first.
换成数字IO卡后,没有了那恼人的咔哒声,也不用担心使用寿命了,延长了每天的发射时间.结果光信号没到,神经信号先到了.
In late January 2025, Liana posted a new video on her Twitter platform about imagination. The next day, Lin Yuhui saw it reposted on a domestic aggregation site. He knew Liliya and Erika had mentioned possessing telepathic abilities. It seemed his daily ritual—opening his computer before writing, gazing at their photos, imagining he was comforting their wounded spirits—had inadvertently intruded upon them. He immediately deleted the desktop photos of Liliya and Erika.
2025年1月底,莉安娜在她的推特平台上发布了新视频,关于想象力的.第二天林语晖在国内搬运平台看到了,他知道莉莉娅和艾芮卡以前都提到过她们拥有心灵感应能力.似乎自己每天打开电脑,写小说之前,会看着她们的照片想象着安慰她们受伤的心灵,这样的操作冒犯了人家.他立刻就把自己电脑桌面上莉莉娅和艾芮卡的照片删掉了.
Then he reconsidered: perhaps his optical transmissions were also ill-advised. So, starting January 28, 2025, he changed the content. No more references to the Zavaroni or Tayget people.
然后他又想了想,也许自己发布的光信号信息也不太适合,于是他从2025年1月28日开始,更改了发送内容,不再与扎娃罗尼人相关,
"Positive extraterrestrial beings near Earth, I am an adult male from this planet. May we converse?" He left an email address.
"地球周边的正向地外生命们,我是地球上的成年男性,我们可以交谈吗?"然后留下了电子邮箱,
"I wish to ask about the consciousness field. I deeply want to understand," Lin Yuhui knew they comprehended human consciousness far better than humanity itself did.
"我想问关于意识场的问题,我很想知道,"林语晖知道他们很了解人类的意识,只是人类自己不知道罢了.
"Positive extraterrestrial beings near Earth, I am an adult male from this planet. Would you like to tour my city and country? I can be your guide."
"地球周边的正向地外生命们,我是地球上的成年男性,你想游览我的城市和国家吗?我可以做你的向导."
"Perhaps we could trade art, dolls, or daily goods. It would benefit the people of both our worlds."
"也许我们可以交易艺术品和娃娃,或者日常用品,对我们双方的人民都有益处."
After writing this, Lin Yuhui paused and added another line:
写完以后林语晖想了想,又加了一条,
"Positive extraterrestrial humans, I am an Earth man. Is there any woman willing to be my girlfriend, or any kind of companion—whatever you desire, friend?"
"正向的地外人类,我是地球男人,哪位女性愿意做我的女友,或者任何类型关系的,你愿意的,朋友吗?"
Lin Yuhui specifically emphasized "whatever you desire." He understood the prime directive of the cosmos: never violate another's free will, and adhere to the ancient precept: "Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire."
林语晖特意强调了你愿意这一点,他很清楚宇宙的法则,那就是不能违背他人自由意志,并且奉行己所不欲勿施于人的古训.
Pleased with this addition, he thought: Even if the police or state security came knocking, what crime was there in seeking a partner? Unable to find true love on Earth, was he not allowed to look to the stars? Could they police matters of the heart? He added a wry postscript:
加完这一条他很得意,就算是公安,国安找到自己的头上,我找对象怎么了?地球上找不到真心爱人了,我去找女外星人,难道找对象你们也管吗?然后再调侃一句,
"I am sane. I will not harm you. Please do not shoot me with a laser gun. I can only transmit, not receive. Contact me via email."
"我没病,不会伤害你,请你也不要用激光枪射我.我只能发送,不能接收,请邮件联系."
Satisfied with the English draft, Lin Yuhui hit "Run." Transmission began. Characters scrolled across the screen, mirroring the outgoing message. He glanced at the infrared doorbell's night vision feed—the infrared laser was transmitting steadily.
翻译成英文看看没啥问题,林语晖点击运行,开始发送,屏幕上字符滚动同步显示发送内容,同时看看红外夜视门铃的视频画面,红外激光确实在正常发送.
He didn't expect much. He knew alien life was bound by primary directives, forbidden from casual contact with humanity.
他也没期望太多,因为他知道外星生命受到首要指令的限制,不能随意与人类交流.
The only permitted public channel had been psychic channelling for decades. The direct remote communications between the Zavaroni, Tayget, and select Earthlings—initiated years ago—were merely a sanctioned experimental contact program. Ordinary people had little real chance of genuine interaction.
公开的被允许的方式只有几十年以来的通灵信息传导.而多年前开始的扎娃罗尼人和塔吉特人与部分地球人的直接远程交流只是一个受批准的实验接触项目.所以普通公众并没有太大机会与外星生命真正地互动.
So, once the program ran smoothly, he left the computer to its task and launched two rounds of Game for Peaceon his phone. Evening, after dinner, brought more players online—not just schoolkids, but college students, young adults, grown men, and homemakers. Chatting while playing served as his social hour.
所以程序正常运行之后他就把电脑放在一边让它自己去跑了.然后开两局手游和平精英.吃完饭的晚间人还能多一点,除了小学生还有大学生,小青年,大老爷们家庭主妇都有,和他们一起玩两局游戏,边打游戏边聊天,就当社交时间了.
Yet Lin Yuhui spent more time admiring the female avatar he controlled. She was pleasing to the eye. He'd started with male avatars, naturally—for the sake of "charming ladies"—but over time, found it pointless.
不过林语晖更多的还是欣赏他所控制的虚拟角色,当然是女性,看着舒服.其实他一开始也是使用男性角色的,毕竟泡妞需要啊,但是久而久之,也没发现有啥作用.
And when male characters got shot and died, their screams lacked the melodic quality of the female ones. Grating.
并且男性角色中枪死掉的时候叫得也没有女性好听,恶心.
Besides, this was a shooter game. Male avatars had larger hitboxes—not just broader target areas, but higher visual detection probability. They couldn't carry more weight or run faster than their female counterparts. What was the point?
再说了,这是射击游戏啊,男性角色的体型比女性大很多,不说被弹面大,就说被发现的视觉概率都比小体型大,何况男性角色也不比女性背更多重量,也不比女性跑得快,用它干啥.
For his female avatar, he chose the round-faced model, unlike most younger players who favored the slim-faced one. A generational gap in aesthetics, perhaps. The round face looked kinder, luckier, more prosperous for her husband… and, faintly, reminiscent of Cerise…
女性角色他选择了圆脸的那个,不像一般年轻玩家都选瘦脸的.这就是代沟在审美上的体现吧.圆脸那个多好看啊,一看就命好,旺夫,还,有点像瑟瑞丝...
Ah, best not dwell on it. This was better. No jealousy. No heartache. Dress her however he pleased, and she'd model it for him. Especially when holding the winner's cup after a match—that slender waist, those defined abs—exquisite.
唉,不想那么多了,这个多好啊,不会让自己吃醋,也不会让自己伤心.想给她穿什么,她就穿什么给自己看,尤其是吃鸡举奖杯的时候,那小腰条,那马甲线,太好看了.
Was this sexual frustration? Yes. Alone since late 2017—eight years without a woman. But what he craved wasn't mere flesh, nor is it about taking and getting stabbed in the back.
呃,这么性压抑吗?是啊,孤身一人,从2017年底到现在已经八年了,没有女人.可是他要的不是那一坨肉,也不是索取与背刺.
That morning, in early February, the Northeast land showed signs of thawing ice and snow. Lin Yuhui walked back from buying breakfast, gazing at the ashen sky, and thoughts of Liliya stirred in his chest again.
这天早上起来,二月份的东北大地,冰雪已经有了将要融化的迹象.林语晖下楼买了早餐往回走着,眼望灰蒙蒙的天空,不由得心中又想到了莉莉娅.
The southeast wind of early spring, damp with moisture, brushed his cheeks and seeped into his heart. After breakfast, he wanted to write a short poem for Liliya. Inspiration eluded him, so he summoned Doubao, DeepSeek, Wenxin, and Yuanbao—all those AIs—asking them to compose a verse for a beloved woman, reflecting the season.
早春的东南风含着水气,吹拂着林语晖的脸颊,也吹进了他的心中.回到家里吃过早餐,他想要为莉莉娅写一首小诗,可是没有什么思路,于是他把豆包,deepseek,文心,元宝这些AI都拉了出来,叫它们依据现在的季节特点,给女性爱人写一首小诗.
Their outputs were bland, insipid, affected. Lin Yuhui rejected them all. DeepSeek even tried to justify itself, claiming poetry was inherently personal.
结果都是水货,不痛不痒,无病呻吟,林语晖否定了它们的输出结果,deepseek的回答还在给自己找理由,说写诗本来就是很私人的事情.
Lin Yuhui couldn't be bothered to argue. After a moment's thought, picturing a vast snowfield, he wrote his own small poem for Liliya:
林语晖也懒得回怼它,思索片刻,想象着茫茫雪原,写下了送给莉莉娅的小诗,
snow and ice, the winter of time.
blizzard scratche snowscape no place to rest.
through the crevices of melting, i see hope and light.
endure frozen night, there stars blinking eyes.
do you feel seasons whisper? do you care lives go by.
my body yellow and dry, my heart yearn for birds singing high.
i see footprints point to ahead, pass through the grave, if spring of mine.