四维虫子（1）

他：你好。

He: Hello.

我：你好。

I: Hello.

他有着同龄人少有的镇定和口才，而且多少有点儿漫不经心的神态。

He has a calmness and eloquence rare among his peers, and there's a certain nonchalant demeanor about him.

但是眼睛里透露出的信息是一种渴望，对交流的渴望。

But the information revealed in his eyes is a desire, a yearning for communication.

如果把我接触的患者统计一个带给我痛苦程度排名的话，那么这位绝对可以跻身前五名。

If I were to rank the patients I've encountered by the level of pain they brought me, he would undoubtedly rank among the top five.

他是一个17岁的少年。

He is a 17-year-old boy.

在经过多达七次的失败接触后，我不得不花了大约两周的时间四处奔波，忙于去图书馆，拜会物理学家和生物学家，听那些会让我睡着的物理讲座，还抽空看了量子物理的基础书籍。

After going through as many as seven failed attempts at contact, I had to spend about two weeks running around, busy visiting libraries, consulting physicists and biologists, attending lectures on physics that put me to sleep, and squeezing in time to read basic books on quantum physics.

我必须这么做，否则我没办法和他交流，因为听不懂。

I had to do this; otherwise, I wouldn't be able to communicate with him because I couldn't understand.

在经过痛苦恶补和硬着头皮的阅读后，我再次坐到了他面前。

After a painful cram session and a forced reading, I sat in front of him again.

由于他未成年，所以每次和他见面都有他的父亲或母亲在他身后不远的地方坐着，同时承诺：不做任何影响我们交谈的事情，包括发出声音。

Since he was a minor, every time I met with him, his father or mother sat not far behind, promising not to do anything that could disrupt our conversation, including making any noise.

我身后则坐着一位我搬来的外援：一位年轻的量子物理学教授。

Behind me sat a helper I brought along: a young professor of quantum physics.

在少年漫不经心的目光注视下，我按下了录音笔的开关。

Under the carefree gaze of the boy, I pressed the record button on the recorder.

他：你怎么没带陈教授来？

He: Why didn't you bring Professor Chen?

我：陈教授去医院检查身体了，所以不能来。

I: Professor Chen is at the hospital for a check-up, so he can't come.

陈教授是一位物理学家，我曾经搬来的救兵，但是效果并不如我想的好。

Professor Chen is a physicist, my previously recruited savior, but it did not turn out as well as I hoped.

他：哦，我说的那些书你看了没？

He: Oh, did you read those books I mentioned?

我：我时间上没有你充裕，看的不多，但是还是认真看了一些。

I: I don't have as much time as you do, so I didn't read much, but I still made an effort to look at some.

他：哦，那么，你是不是能理解我说的四维生物了？

He: Oh, so you can understand what I mean by four-dimensional beings now?

我努力在大脑里搜索着我看过的那些物理名词：嗯，不完全理解，第四维是指时间对吧？

I was struggling in my mind to recall the physics terms I had read: um, not entirely, the fourth dimension refers to time, right?

他：对。

He: Correct.

看得出他兴致高了点儿。

It was clear that his interest was piqued a little.

我：我们是生活在长、宽、高，里面的三维生物，同时也经历着时间轴在……

I: We live as three-dimensional beings in length, width, and height, while also experiencing time on a...

他不耐烦的打断我：三维是长宽高？三维是长度、温度、数量！不是长宽高！长度里面包括长宽高！

He impatiently interrupted me: Three-dimensional means length, width, and height? Three-dimensional refers to length, temperature, quantity! Not just length, width, and height! Length includes length, width, and height!

他说的没错，我努力让自己的记忆和情绪恢复常态，我居然会有点儿紧张。

He was not wrong, and I was trying to regain my composure; I was actually feeling a bit nervous.

他：要不你再回去看看书吧？

He: Why don't you go back and read the books again?

他丝毫不客气的打算轰我走。

He was quite blunt about wanting to dismiss me.

我：其实你知道的，我并没有那么好的记忆力，而且我才接触这些，但是我的确看了。

I: You know, I don't have that great of a memory, and I'm just getting acquainted with these topics, but I really did read.

我承认我听某些课的时候睡着了，但是我还是尽量的听了很多，还有笔记。

I admitted that I had fallen asleep during some lectures, but I still tried to listen a lot and took notes.

我掏出我做的有关物理学笔记本子放在他面前。

I pulled out my notebook with physics notes and placed it in front of him.

这时候坦诚是最有效的办法，他情绪缓和了很多。

At this moment, honesty was the most effective approach, and his demeanor softened significantly.

他：好吧，我知道你很想了解我说的，所以我不再难为你了，尽可能的用你能听懂的方式告诉你。

He: Alright, I know you really want to understand what I'm saying, so I won't make it difficult for you anymore and will try to explain it in a way you can understand.

我：谢谢。

I: Thank you.

他：其实我们都是四维生物，除了空间外，在时间线上我们也存在，只是必须遵从时间流的规律……这个你听得懂吧？

He: Actually, we are all four-dimensional beings; besides spatial existence, we also exist on the timeline, but we must follow the laws of the flow of time... you understand this, right?

我：听得懂……

I: I understand...

我身后的量子物理教授小声提醒我：就是因果关系。

The quantum physics professor behind me quietly reminded me: It's the cause-and-effect relationship.

他：对，就是因果关系。

He: Right, it's the cause-and-effect relationship.

先要去按下开关，录音才会开始，如果没人按，录音不会开始。

You first have to press the button for the recording to start; if no one presses it, the recording won't begin.

所以说，我们并不是绝对的四维生物，我们只能顺着时间流推进，不能逆反。

So, we are not absolute four-dimensional beings; we can only progress with the flow of time, not go against it.

而它不是。

But it is not.

我：它，是指你说过的‘绝对四维生物’吗？

I: It refers to the 'absolute four-dimensional beings' you mentioned, right?

他：嗯，它是真正存在于四维中的生物，四维对它来说，就像我们生活在三维空间一样。

He: Yes, it refers to beings that truly exist in four dimensions, where the fourth dimension is akin to how we live in three-dimensional space.

也就是说，它身体的一部分不是三维结构性的，是非物质的。

In other words, a part of its body is not three-dimensional structural but non-material.

我：这个我不明白。

I: I don't understand this.

他笑了：你想象一下，如果把时间划分成段落的话，那么在每个时间段人类只能看到的它的一部分，而不是全部。

He laughed: Imagine if time were divided into segments, then in each time segment, humans can only see a part of it, not the whole.

能理解吗？

Can you understand that?

我目瞪口呆。

I was left speechless.

量子物理教授：你说的是生物学界假设的绝对生物吧？

Quantum physics professor: You're referring to the absolute being hypothesized in the biological community, right?

他：嗯，应该不完全是，绝对生物是可以无视任何环境条件生存，超越了环境界限生存，但是四维生物的界限比那个大，可以不考虑因果。

He: Yes, but it shouldn't be entirely so; absolute beings can survive regardless of environmental conditions, transcending environmental boundaries. However, four-dimensional beings have a larger boundary and can disregard cause-and-effect.

量子物理教授：具有量子力学特性的？

Quantum physics professor: They have properties of quantum mechanics?

他：是这样。

He: Yes, that's it.

我：什么是量子力学？这部分的几堂入门课我都是一开始就睡了。

I: What is quantum mechanics? I fell asleep during the introductory lectures on that part.

量子物理教授：说清这个问题太难了，很不负责的这么简单说吧，就是两组互不相关联的粒子单元，也许远隔万里却能相互作用……我估计你还是没听懂……

Quantum physics professor: Explaining this question is very difficult; to put it irresponsibly simply, it's two sets of unrelated particle units that can interact even if they are thousands of miles apart... I guess you still don't understand...

我隐约记得跟某位量子物理学家谈的时候对方提到过，但是现在脑子却无比的混乱。

I vaguely remembered someone mentioning it when I was talking to a quantum physicist, but now my mind was in utter chaos.

我有一种不好的预感，这次谈话可能会失败。

I had a bad feeling this conversation might fail.

他接过话头：最简单的说法就是，你在这里，不需要任何设备和辅助，操纵家里的一支画笔在画画，完全按照你的意愿画。

He picked up the thread: The simplest way to put it is, you are here, and without any equipment or assistance, you control a brush at home to paint, completely according to your will.

或者象在电脑上传文件一样，把一个三维物体发给远方的别人。

Or like uploading files on a computer, sending a three-dimensional object to someone far away.

我：那是怎么做到的呢？

I: How is that done?

量子物理教授：不知道，这就是量子力学的特性，也是全球顶尖量子物理工作室都在研究的问题，你是怎么知道的？

Quantum physics professor: I don't know; that's the property of quantum mechanics, and it's a question that top quantum physics labs worldwide are researching. How do you know about this?

后面的话是对少年说的。

The following words were directed at the boy.

他：四维生物告诉我的，还有看书看到的。

He: The four-dimensional beings told me, and I learned it from the books.

我：你说的那个四维生物，在哪儿？

I: The four-dimensional being you're talking about, where is it?

他：我前面说过了，它的部分组成由非物质性的，只能感觉到。

He: I mentioned before, it has a part that is non-material and can only be felt.

我：你是说，它找到你跟你说了这些并且告诉你看什么书？

I: Are you saying it found you and told you these things and what books to read?