《机器人总动员》第8章

The next morning, WALL · E pulled EVE up to the roof of his truck. He aimed her toward the sun and waited. But there was no change in EVE, not a single sign that she was recharging in the sunlight.

 

WALL · E took EVE to different places. He held an umbrella over her during a thunderstorm, and—BOOM!—the umbrella was struck by lightning. So was WALL · E.

 

WALL · E cared for EVE as she slept. When a sandstorm appeared on the horizon, he placed a barrel over her. He held the barrel steady as the sand buried him in a tiny dune¹.

 

After the storm, WALL · E had another idea. He decided² that perhaps he could jump-start her electronic heart with his own. He attached the jumper cables, closed his eyes, and hoped for the best. But EVE's state-of-the-art electronic defense³ system was powerful and far more advanced than WALL · E's. BOOM!—the electric jolt⁴ toppled WALL · E.

 

A bit deflated⁵ but not defeated, WALL · E made a leash⁶ out of old Christmas lights, wrapped it around EVE, and whistled for his cockroach⁷.

 

Pulling gently on the leash, WALL · E went for a walk with his two companions. Then WALL · E took EVE for a boat ride on a lake of steaming sludge. Using an old street sign as an oar⁸, he rowed her to a particularly scenic⁹ scrapyard. He set her on the hood¹⁰ of a junked car to watch the sunset through the polluted air.

 

As he observed the light being refracted through the smoggy haze¹¹, the sky turned a brilliant purple and gold. To WALL · E, the worn and smoggy world he lived in suddenly took on a rosy¹² glow. He sighed and etched WALL · E & EVE on an old post with his laser.

 

Later that night, WALL · E placed EVE on the roof of his truck, the solar Christmas lights around her aglow¹³. He set up his television in front of her so that she could watch. But no matter what WALL · E tried, there was no response.

 

The next day, WALL · E decided to return to work. He halfheartedly got ready, then checked on EVE one more time. Leaving her on the truck's roof with the feeble hope that the sun's rays might awaken¹⁴ her, he turned away. Unenthusiastically, he called to his cockroach and set out.

 

At his work site, WALL · E noticed that he was just going through the motions of trash compacting. He was simply following his directive, like a normal robot. His passion for interesting items was gone. WALL · E realized he'd found the one thing in all the world that made being in it worthwhile.

 

WALL · E stopped and pulled out his lighter¹⁵. Seeing it flicker¹⁶, he sighed and remembered the good times he had shared with EVE.

 

A gust¹⁷ of wind suddenly blew out the tiny flame. WALL · E looked across the dry bay toward home. Was another sandstorm blowing in? No, it was something else: A bright glow was descending¹⁸ from the clouds. He heard the low rumble¹⁹ and instantly realized that it was the spaceship that had brought EVE. He raced toward home, terrified that the ship was coming to take her back!

 

"Eee-vah! Eee-vah!" WALL · E called out.

 

As he reached the freeway ramp²⁰ near his home, WALL · E suddenly stopped short. In the distance, the probe ship was hovering²¹ over his truck. A giant robotic arm reached out and lifted EVE into the ship's hold.

 

"Eee-vah! Eee-vah!" WALL · E screamed as he scrambled²² toward her. The cargo²³ doors closed as the rocket engines powered up.

 

WALL · E rushed down a hill of rubble²⁴ and up a broken freeway overpass²⁵. Then, quickly, he stopped. He placed his cockroach on the ground and gestured to him: "Stay!" The disappointed cockroach sat down, chirping²⁶ impatiently.

 

WALL · E careened toward the spaceship and latched²⁷ onto it just as a wall of flame blasted from the engines.

 

Inside the ship, robotic arms fastened EVE into a slot among a long row of dormant²⁸ probe-bots. EVE was the only probe-bot flashing a green light.

 

Outside, little WALL · E was steadily²⁹ climbing the side of the ship as the final engines ignited. He clamped his small hands onto a metal support rod and closed his eyes as the rocket blasted into space. On the ground, WALL · E's cockroach dutifully stayed put as he watched his master disappear into the clouds.

 

第二天早晨，瓦力将伊芙拖到货车的车顶上。他使她朝向太阳，然后等待着。但是伊芙没有任何变化，没有任何迹象表明她在阳光下充电。

 

瓦力把伊芙带到不同的位置。他在雷雨中为伊芙打伞，然后“轰”的一声雨伞被闪电击中。被闪电击中的还有瓦力。

 

伊芙睡着时瓦力照看着她。当他看见地平线上一场沙暴正在袭来，他用一个圆桶罩住她。他稳稳地抱着圆桶，任由沙土将他埋在一个小沙丘下。

 

沙暴过后，瓦力又想到一个主意。他认为也许他可以用引线将她的电子心脏和自己的跨接来启动它。他接好跨接电缆，闭上眼睛，怀抱着最好的希望。但是伊芙最新的电子防御系统很强大，远比瓦力先进。“轰”的一声电流一下子将瓦力电倒在地。

 

瓦力有点泄气，却仍没有放弃，他把圣诞节用过的彩灯串当作链条，围绕在伊芙身上，然后吹了声口哨招呼他的蟑螂。

 

瓦力轻轻拉着彩灯链条，带着他的两个伙伴去散步。然后瓦力带着伊芙泛舟湖上，雾蒙蒙的湖中满是泥浆。他拿一个旧路标当桨，划船带她去一个风景特别优美的废料场。他将她安置在一辆废弃轿车的引擎盖上，透过被污染的空气看日落。

 

在他观察光线在雾霾中的折射时，天空变成了鲜艳的紫色和金色。在瓦力看来，他所生活的破旧不堪、烟雾蒙蒙的世界突然披上了一层玫瑰色的光泽。他叹了口气，在一根旧柱子上用激光蚀刻上了“瓦力和伊芙”。

 

那天深夜，瓦力将伊芙安置在他的货车车顶上，环绕着她的圣诞节太阳能彩灯串亮闪闪的。他将他的电视机放在她面前让她看。但是不论瓦力怎样尝试，她都没有回应。

 

第二天，瓦力决定回去工作。他草草做好准备，然后再一次去查看了一下伊芙的情况。他将她留在货车车顶上转身离开，心里对阳光可能使她苏醒抱着微弱的希望。他无精打采地叫了一声他的蟑螂，然后出发了。

 

在他的工作场地，瓦力发现他仅仅是在完成压缩垃圾的动作。他就像一个普通的机器人那样，不过是遵照指令行事。他对于有趣物品的热情荡然无存。瓦力意识到他已经找到了这世上唯一让他的人生有价值的事。

 

瓦力停下来，掏出了他的打火机。看着火焰闪烁，他叹口气，想起了他和伊芙一起度过的美好时光。

 

突然一阵狂风吹灭了这微小的火苗。瓦力望了望位于干涸海湾另一边的家。又一场沙暴要袭来吗？不，是别的东西：一团明亮的光芒从云层中降落。他听到了低沉的隆隆声，立刻意识到这就是送伊芙来的那艘太空飞船。他朝家飞奔而去，十分害怕飞船是来带她回去的。

 

“伊——娃！伊——娃！”瓦力喊道。

 

瓦力赶到他家附近的高速公路匝道时，猛然一个急刹车。在远处，探测飞船正盘旋在他的货车上方。一个巨大的机械臂伸出来将伊芙举起放入了飞船的货舱。

 

“伊——娃！伊——娃！”瓦力一边尖叫一边朝她赶去。飞船的引擎加大了功率，货舱的门也关上了。

 

瓦力冲下一个瓦砾堆，冲上一座断裂的高速公路立交桥。然后，他马上停了下来。他将他的蟑螂放在地上，打手势告诉他：“待在这儿！”蟑螂失望地坐下，不耐烦地发出吱吱声。

 

瓦力向着飞船猛冲过去。他刚扒到飞船的外面，它的引擎就喷出一道火墙。

 

在飞船内部，机械臂将伊芙固定在一个槽内，和其他休眠的探测机器人一起排成一长列。伊芙是唯一闪烁着绿灯的探测机器人。

 

在飞船外面，最后几个引擎也点火了，小瓦力不断地沿着飞船的侧面往上爬。他的小手紧紧握住了一根金属支撑杆。在飞船喷火飞向太空的时候他紧闭双眼。在地面上，瓦力的蟑螂听话地待在原地没动，看着他的主人消失在云层中。

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