My Job 我的工作

My job is to follow a set routine， working on a factory line.

我的工作是按照既定程序，在生产线上干活儿。

I take the same train to my workplace at the same time every morning， do the same tasks， and leave at the same time every afternoon. Lately， business has been so slow that while I show up every day， there’s very little for me to do.

每天早晨，我定点搭乘同一趟火车到上班地，干同样的活儿，每天下午定点下班。最近生意不佳，尽管我每天打卡上班，但几乎无事可做。

Nothing new ever happens， and I find nothing funny nor sad. It’s like I’m a robot. No， I think it’d be better if I actually were.

没什么新鲜事，我也没觉得什么事有趣或难过。就好像我是个机器人。不，我想我要真是个机器人，反而还好点。

K， the new hire， stood next to me. The same guy as always.

新员工K站我旁边，还是往常那副样子。

“Yo. Did you hear what they said on TV yesterday？”

“喂，你听到昨儿电视上说的了吗？”

“What？”

“什么？”

“They’ve come up with a new， humanoid robot that’s cheap and smart， and easier for factories to take on. They say it’ll put humans out of a job.”

“他们研发了一种新型人形机器人，价格便宜还十分聪明，而且更便于工厂使用。他们说这种机器人会让人类失业。”

Apparently， they’d also said that it still costs a lot at present， so wouldn’t be rolled out anytime soon. K’s words shook me.

显然，他们还说过，目前这种机器人造价仍然不菲，因此不会马上就推出。K的话令我震惊。

“Pretty soon even we might get a new robot here，” he added.

“很快我们这儿就可能用上新机器人了。”他补充说。

“Don’t even joke about that. We’d lose our jobs.”

“可别开这种玩笑。我们会丢了工作的。”

“Could you go anywhere else if you left？”

“要是离开这儿，你还有别的地儿可去吗？”

“Nah. I didn’t get into the right schools， there’s no way I’d be qualified.”

“没。我没上好学，去哪儿都不够格。”

K laughed. “That’s how it goes. No chance a robot would go to school. Yeah， a yesteryear model like you is expensive to run， your cognition’s riddled with bugs， and to top it off you’re a piece of junk that thinks it’s human.”

K大笑。“就是这么回事。机器人哪儿有机会上学啊。也是，像你这样的旧型号用起来太贵了，你的认知现在满是漏洞，最糟糕的是，还自以为是人，其实毫无用处。”

*          *         *

My job is to sing in a fashionable bar.

我的工作是在一个时尚酒吧唱歌。

I match the beat of percussion instruments， follow the melody of a piano， and sing in a crystal-clear voice. Today’s setlist is all gentle ballads. I stand onstage， clad in a chic dress.

我合着打击乐器的节拍、跟随钢琴的旋律歌唱，歌声如水晶般清澈。今天的曲目都是温柔的民谣。我穿着时髦的长裙，站在台上。

Not many people come on days when I perform. It gets a bit boring， and loneliness inevitably bleeds into my voice.

我演唱的日子，来的人一般不多。这工作变得有点儿无聊，孤独不可避免地浸入我的歌声。

Unusually， the bar was booked out today for me to sing for a group of customers. Partway through the set， a beautifully dressed woman spoke to me.

与往常不同，今天酒吧都订满了，我要为一群顾客唱歌。唱了半场休息时，一个衣着漂亮的女人跟我说起话来。

“That was a gorgeous， heart-rending song. And I have to say， of all the voices I’ve ever heard， yours is the finest. Would you be so kind as to sing one more for us？”

“那首歌好听极了，忧伤得让人心碎。我得说，在我听过的所有歌声中，你的歌声最美。可以请你再给我们唱一首吗？”

“Sure， I’d be delighted. I’ll sing for you as best I can.”

“没问题，我很乐意。我会尽全力为各位演唱。”

“Thanks. Whenever you’re ready.”

“多谢。你准备好了可以随时开始。”

No one had ever said something like that to me before. For the first time， I was glad to be singing there.

以前从没有人对我说过这样的话。平生第一次，我很高兴自己能在那儿唱歌。

When I finished， applause rang out. I turned to the lady who’d addressed me earlier. “How was that， did you like it？”

一曲结束，掌声响起。我转向早先跟我说话的女士。“这首怎么样？您喜欢吗？”

“It truly is a lovely song. I suspect， though， it’d be hard for the average person to sing.”

“真是一首动听的歌。但我估计，对一般人来说，这首歌很难唱。”

“Yes， I had to practise a great deal before I could perform it well.”

“是很难，我做了大量练习，否则不可能把它唱好。”

“Exactly， it’s a trial for humans. Having analyzed how you just sang it， now we can create a voice which will sing whenever anyone likes.”

“确实，对人类来说是个考验。我们分析了你刚才的演唱方式，现在我们可以模拟创造一种歌声，无论何时想听都可以听到。”

*          *         *

My job is to follow a set routine， working on a factory line.

我的工作是按照既定程序，在生产线上干活儿。

I repeat the tasks I’m assigned over and over， quit exactly on time， go back to a warehouse to lie down， and set my thinking program to standby. I guess business has been going well lately， but I’m depressed by just how monotonous the bulk of my workload is. No matter how depressed a robot gets， however， they keep going as they’re programmed to. That’s what it is to be a robot.

我重复着一次又一次分派给我的任务，按时下班，回到仓库躺下，将我的思维程序设置为待机。我猜最近生意不错，但我却抑郁了，因为我的大部分工作都十分单调。然而，无论机器人多么抑郁，它们都会按照设定的程序一直工作。这就是做机器人的本分。

The same robot as always， Number 3， stood beside me. Its speech synthesis software gives it its own unique voice. The change of pace I get from chatting with it is all that ever takes the edge off my depression.

一如既往，还是3号机器人站在我旁边。它的语音合成软件赋予了它独特的声音。唯一可能减轻我抑郁的就是与它聊天带来的节奏变化。

“How’re you feeling today？” it asked.

“今天感觉怎么样？”它问。

“Robots never feel anything. And we’re not allowed to talk during work， while our programs are running.”