Welcome Home宾至如归

The taste of freedom.

品尝自由的味道。

The sentient construct of the late Tunde Lankham had lingered in sleep mode for months， all too aware of the steady decline in the battery life of the base that housed her consciousness. She fully roused in an instant at the tone indicating a presence at the restaurant’s front door.

通德·兰克汉姆过世之后，她的意识被存进了一台主机，她很清楚，自己的电池电量一直在下降，所以几个月以来，她让自己的感知系统处于休眼状态。餐厅门口的光线暗了下来，一定是有人来了，通德·兰克汉姆立刻从休眠中醒了过来。

For an instant， she thought of employees arriving for the day， of how she’d greet every guest with a smile， as she had when she was alive. The cameras networked throughout Welcome Home Restaurant #1 quickly reminded her of reality： darkened booths2， gaping holes in the roof， water-damaged floors.

一时间，她以为是员工来上班了，也准备好要对每位顾客笑脸相迎，她活着的时候，向来如此。然而，透过遍布在“宾至如归”一号店里的摄像头，她很快认清了现实：雅座一片黑暗，屋顶漏着大洞，地板也被水泡坏了。

Her battery life had dropped to a precipitous low， but even so， she initiated her hologram projector in the foyer.

电池的电量直线下降，已经所剩无几了。不过，即便如此，她还是启动了门厅里的全息投影仪。

A woman， hunkered near the floor， screamed at the sight of Tunde， who promptly said， “I’m a holographic memory construct. I mean you no harm.”

一看到她，蹲在地上的一个女人尖叫了起来，通德·兰克汉姆连忙解释：“我只是全息记忆影像，不会伤害你的。”

The woman brandished a knife as she hovered protectively over a cloth bundle. “You machines can lie.”

女人一边挥舞着一把刀子，一边俯身护着地上的一个包袱：“你们这些机器也会说谎。”

“I always had that capability. I’m a memory capture of Chef Tunde Lankham. Owner of three acclaimed restaurants， author of five cookbooks， judge and competitor on several television—”

“我以前倒是一直都有这个本事。我是厨师通德·兰克汉姆的记忆保存。开了三家餐厅，口碑都很好，写过五本烹饪书，担任过评委，还参加过几次电视比赛……”

Comprehension dawned on the woman’s brown， haggard face. “I remember you—her—on TV. She died young.”

女人黝黑而憔悴的脸上露出了若有所悟的表情：“我记得在电视上看到过你——看到过她，她年纪轻轻就死了。”

“Yes， struck by a car， but she lived long enough to be preserved.” Tunde understood the differences in her living human self and the consciousness she had become.

“是的，出了车祸，不过，她坚持到了一切都被保存下来。”活着的自己和自己所存储的意识终究有所不同，这其中的差别，通德也知道。

“You can tell other machines we’re here.”

“你可以告诉其他机器，我们在这儿。”

“No， I’ve been detached from broader networks since soon after the Rising. Is that a child？” She squatted before the rumpled bundle on the floor. She didn’t see through the eyes of her hologram， but she was comforted by watching herself go through human motions.

“不行，‘大叛乱’之后不久我就连不上外网了。那是个孩子吗？”她在地上那个皱巴巴的包袱旁蹲下身子。她没有办法透过全息影像的眼睛去看，但她看到自己还能像人一样行动，心里也感到宽慰。

“There were drones. We ran a long way before we found the stairs here.” She stroked the child’s grimy cheek. Their3 eyes fluttered open. “I only found them an hour ago， all alone. They haven’t spoken. I don’t even know their gender.”

“到处都是无人机。我们跑了很久，才发现这儿有楼梯。”女人轻轻摸了摸孩子脏兮兮的脸，孩子睁开了眼。“我也是一个小时前才发现这个孩子的，就他自己，也不说话，我都不知道是男是女。”

“Hello，” Tunde said softly. The child， who had to be somewhere around seven， stared blankly. “Poor child.”

“你好啊。”通德温柔地打了声招呼。孩子看上去七岁左右，眼中一片茫然。“可怜的孩子。”

“How dare you pretend to sympathize！” the woman snarled. “You machines rose up to take out your human ‘masters’， and you act like —”

“别装出一副同情我们的样子！”女人冲她吼了起来。“就是你们这些机器造了反，要把你们的人类‘主子’赶尽杀绝，你还在这里装什么……”

“I’m not a machine.” Tunde wondered how many more times she’d need to repeat herself. “I remember everything from when I was alive. This was my first restaurant. I was based here to welcome guests and take care of them， just as I did before.”

“我不是机器。”通德不知道自己还要这样一遍一遍重复多少次。“我记得自己生前的一切。这里是我开的第一家餐厅。我把主机放在这儿，就是为了欢迎顾客，好好招待他们，就像从前那样。”

“You’re like a ghost！” she said， aghast.

“你就像个鬼！”女人吓坏了。

Tunde laughed rather than take offence. “That was a joke all through the sign-up process for Projected Preservation. Of course， the expectation was that the transfer wouldn’t happen for decades， not that it would come within months.”

通德并没有生气，反而笑了：“注册这个投射系统的过程中大家一直这么开玩笑。只不过，当时还以为要再过个几十年才用得上，没想到只隔了几个月。”

The woman slowly nodded. “You’re her， but also a machine.”

女人缓缓点了点头。“你是她不假，但也是台机器。”

“I’m preserved by a machine， but I am not one.”

“我是被保存在了一台机器里头，可我并不是机器。”

That machine was draining quickly now that it was fully activated. If she maintained this mode， her base would be depleted in an hour.

因为机器全力运转的缘故，电量飞速流逝。要还是继续这种工作模式，一小时之后，她的主机电量就会耗尽。

She would be truly dead.

她就会真正死去。

She felt a flutter of panic. She remembered dying before. This time， it wouldn’t involve pain， but it was still an end to her existence.

一阵恐慌涌上心头，她记得之前濒死的经历。这一回，不会再疼了，但她也将不复存在。

The child sat up， their gaze shifting from blankness to curiosity. Tunde couldn’t vanish and unsettle them again. “My name is Tunde. What’s yours？” The child tilted their head. “I hate to think of what they’ve seen，” Tunde murmured.

孩子坐了起来，眼中的迷茫变成了好奇。通德不能就这样关闭全息影像，突然消失只会再次让他不安。“我叫通德。你叫什么？”孩子歪了歪脑袋。“真不想知道他都经历了什么。”通德自言自语道。

The woman was silent for a moment. “I remember a children’s cookbook by Tunde Lankham. Her kids did the recipes with her.”