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Chapter 1
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My girlfriend was 15 percent of my age, and I was old-fashioned enoughthat it bugged1 me. Her name was Lil, and she was second-generationDisney World, her parents being among the original ad-hocracy thattook over the management of Liberty Square and Tom Sawyer Island.
She was, quite literally2, raised in Walt Disney World and it showed.
It showed. She was neat and efficient in her every little thing, from hershining red hair to her careful accounting3 of each gear and cog in the animatronicsthat were in her charge. Her folks were in canopic jars in Kissimmee,deadheading for a few centuries.
On a muggy4 Wednesday, we dangled5 our feet over the edge of theLiberty Belle’s riverboat pier6, watching the listless Confederate flag overFort Langhorn on Tom Sawyer Island by moonlight. The Magic Kingdomwas all closed up and every last guest had been chased out the gateunderneath the Main Street train station, and we were able to breathe aheavy sigh of relief, shuck parts of our costumes, and relax togetherwhile the cicadas sang.
I was more than a century old, but there was still a kind of magic inhaving my arm around the warm, fine shoulders of a girl by moonlight,hidden from the hustle8 of the cleaning teams by the turnstiles, breathingthe warm, moist air. Lil plumped her head against my shoulder and gaveme a butterfly kiss under my jaw9.
“Her name was McGill,” I sang, gently.
“But she called herself Lil,” she sang, warm breath on my collarbones.
“And everyone knew her as Nancy,” I sang.
I’d been startled to know that she knew the Beatles. They’d been oldnews in my youth, after all. But her parents had given her a thorough—ifeclectic—education.
“Want to do a walk-through?” she asked. It was one of her favorite duties,exploring every inch of the rides in her care with the lights on, after17the horde10 of tourists had gone. We both liked to see the underpinnings ofthe magic. Maybe that was why I kept picking at the relationship.
“I’m a little pooped. Let’s sit a while longer, if you don’t mind.”
She heaved a dramatic sigh. “Oh, all right. Old man.” She reached upand gently tweaked my nipple, and I gave a satisfying little jump. I thinkthe age difference bothered her, too, though she teased me for letting itget to me.
“I think I’ll be able to manage a totter11 through the Haunted Mansion12,if you just give me a moment to rest my bursitis.” I felt her smile againstmy shirt. She loved the Mansion; loved to turn on the ballroom13 ghostsand dance their waltz with them on the dusty floor, loved to try andstare down the marble busts14 in the library that followed your gaze asyou passed.
I liked it too, but I really liked just sitting there with her, watching thewater and the trees. I was just getting ready to go when I heard a softping inside my cochlea. “Damn,” I said. “I’ve got a call.”
“Tell them you’re busy,” she said.
“I will,” I said, and answered the call subvocally. “Julius here.”
“Hi, Julius. It’s Dan. You got a minute?”
I knew a thousand Dans, but I recognized the voice immediately,though it’d been ten years since we last got drunk at the Gazoo together.
I muted the subvocal and said, “Lil, I’ve got to take this. Do you mind?”
“Oh, no, not at all,” she sarcased at me. She sat up and pulled out hercrack pipe and lit up.
“Dan,” I subvocalized, “long time no speak.”
“Yeah, buddy15, it sure has been,” he said, and his voice cracked on asob.
I turned and gave Lil such a look, she dropped her pipe. “How can Ihelp?” she said, softly but swiftly. I waved her off and switched thephone to full-vocal mode. My voice sounded unnaturally16 loud in thecricket-punctuated calm.
“Where you at, Dan?” I asked.
“Down here, in Orlando. I’m stuck out on Pleasure Island.”
“All right,” I said. “Meet me at, uh, the Adventurer’s Club, upstairs onthe couch by the door. I’ll be there in—” I shot a look at Lil, who knewthe castmember-only roads better than I. She flashed ten fingers at me.
“Ten minutes.”
18“Okay,” he said. “Sorry.” He had his voice back under control. Iswitched off.
“What’s up?” Lil asked.
“I’m not sure. An old friend is in town. He sounds like he’s got aproblem.”
Lil pointed17 a finger at me and made a trigger-squeezing gesture.
“There,” she said. “I’ve just dumped the best route to Pleasure Island toyour public directory. Keep me in the loop, okay?”
I set off for the utilidor entrance near the Hall of Presidents and booteddown the stairs to the hum of the underground tunnel-system. I took theslidewalk to cast parking and zipped my little cart out to Pleasure Island.
I found Dan sitting on the L-shaped couch underneath7 rows of fakeduptrophy shots with humorous captions18. Downstairs, castmemberswere working the animatronic masks and idols19, chattering20 with theguests.
Dan was apparent fifty plus, a little paunchy and stubbled. He hadraccoon-mask bags under his eyes and he slumped21 listlessly. As I approached,I pinged his Whuffie and was startled to see that it haddropped to nearly zero.
“Jesus,” I said, as I sat down next to him. “You look like hell, Dan.”
He nodded. “Appearances can be deceptive,” he said. “But in this case,they’re bang-on.”
“You want to talk about it?” I asked.
“Somewhere else, huh? I hear they ring in the New Year every night atmidnight; I think that’d be a little too much for me right now.”
I led him out to my cart and cruised back to the place I shared with Lil,out in Kissimmee. He smoked eight cigarettes on the twenty minute ride,hammering one after another into his mouth, filling my runabout withstinging clouds. I kept glancing at him in the rear-view. He had his eyesclosed, and in repose22 he looked dead. I could hardly believe that this wasmy vibrant23 action-hero pal24 of yore.
Surreptitiously, I called Lil’s phone. “I’m bringing him home,” I subvocalized.
“He’s in rough shape. Not sure what it’s all about.”
“I’ll make up the couch,” she said. “And get some coffee together.
Love you.”
“Back atcha, kid,” I said.
19As we approached the tacky little swaybacked ranch-house, he openedhis eyes. “You’re a pal, Jules.” I waved him off. “No, really. I tried tothink of who I could call, and you were the only one. I’ve missed you,bud.”
“Lil said she’d put some coffee on,” I said. “You sound like you needit.”
Lil was waiting on the sofa, a folded blanket and an extra pillow onthe side table, a pot of coffee and some Disneyland Beijing mugs besidethem. She stood and extended her hand. “I’m Lil,” she said.
“Dan,” he said. “It’s a pleasure.”
I knew she was pinging his Whuffie and I caught her look of surpriseddisapproval. Us oldsters who predate Whuffie know that it’s important;but to the kids, it’s the world. Someone without any is automatically suspect.
I watched her recover quickly, smile, and surreptitiously wipe herhand on her jeans. “Coffee?” she said.
“Oh, yeah,” Dan said, and slumped on the sofa.
She poured him a cup and set it on a coaster on the coffee table. “I’ll letyou boys catch up, then,” she said, and started for the bedroom.
“No,” Dan said. “Wait. If you don’t mind. I think it’d help if I couldtalk to someone … younger, too.”
She set her face in the look of chirpy helpfulness that all the secondgencastmembers have at their instant disposal and settled into an armchair.
She pulled out her pipe and lit a rock. I went through my crackperiod before she was born, just after they made it decaf, and I alwaysfelt old when I saw her and her friends light up. Dan surprised me byholding out a hand to her and taking the pipe. He toked heavily, thenpassed it back.
Dan closed his eyes again, then ground his fists into them, sipped25 hiscoffee. It was clear he was trying to figure out where to start.
“I believed that I was braver than I really am, is what it boils downto,” he said.
“Who doesn’t?” I said.
“I really thought I could do it. I knew that someday I’d run out ofthings to do, things to see. I knew that I’d finish some day. You remember,we used to argue about it. I swore I’d be done, and that would be theend of it. And now I am. There isn’t a single place left on-world that isn’t20part of the Bitchun Society. There isn’t a single thing left that I want anypart of.”
“So deadhead for a few centuries,” I said. “Put the decision off.”
“No!” he shouted, startling both of us. “I’m done. It’s over.”
“So do it,” Lil said.
“I can’t,” he sobbed26, and buried his face in his hands. He cried like ababy, in great, snoring sobs27 that shook his whole body. Lil went into thekitchen and got some tissue, and passed it to me. I sat alongside him andawkwardly patted his back.
“Jesus,” he said, into his palms. “Jesus.”
“Dan?” I said, quietly.
He sat up and took the tissue, wiped off his face and hands. “Thanks,”
he said. “I’ve tried to make a go of it, really I have. I’ve spent the lasteight years in Istanbul, writing papers on my missions, about the communities.
I did some followup studies, interviews. No one was interested.
Not even me. I smoked a lot of hash. It didn’t help. So, one morningI woke up and went to the bazaar28 and said good bye to the friendsI’d made there. Then I went to a pharmacy29 and had the man make me upa lethal30 injection. He wished me good luck and I went back to my rooms.
I sat there with the hypo all afternoon, then I decided31 to sleep on it, and Igot up the next morning and did it all over again. I looked inside myself,and I saw that I didn’t have the guts32. I just didn’t have the guts. I’vestared down the barrels of a hundred guns, had a thousand knivespressed up against my throat, but I didn’t have the guts to press thatbutton.”
“You were too late,” Lil said.
We both turned to look at her.
“You were a decade too late. Look at you. You’re pathetic. If you killedyourself right now, you’d just be a washed-up loser who couldn’t hack33 it.
If you’d done it ten years earlier, you would’ve been going out on top—achampion, retiring permanently34.” She set her mug down with a harderthan-necessary clunk.
Sometimes, Lil and I are right on the same wavelength35. Sometimes, it’slike she’s on a different planet. All I could do was sit there, horrified36, andshe was happy to discuss the timing37 of my pal’s suicide.
But she was right. Dan nodded heavily, and I saw that he knew it, too.
“A day late and a dollar short,” he sighed.
21“Well, don’t just sit there,” she said. “You know what you’ve got todo.”
“What?” I said, involuntarily irritated by her tone.
She looked at me like I was being deliberately38 stupid. “He’s got to getback on top. Cleaned up, dried out, into some productive work. Get thatWhuffie up, too. Then he can kill himself with dignity.”
It was the stupidest thing I’d ever heard. Dan, though, was cocking aneyebrow at her and thinking hard. “How old did you say you were?” heasked.
“Twenty-three,” she said.
“Wish I’d had your smarts at twenty-three,” he said, and heaved asigh, straightening up. “Can I stay here while I get the job done?”
I looked askance at Lil, who considered for a moment, then nodded.
“Sure, pal, sure,” I said. I clapped him on the shoulder. “You lookbeat.”
“Beat doesn’t begin to cover it,” he said.
“Good night, then,” I said.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 bugged 095d0607cfa5a1564b7697311dda3c5c     
vt.在…装窃听器(bug的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • The police have bugged his office. 警察在他的办公室装了窃听器。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He had bugged off before I had a chance to get a word in. 我还没来得及讲话,他已经走了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 literally 28Wzv     
adv.照字面意义,逐字地;确实
参考例句:
  • He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
  • Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候,她不走到真正要昏厥了,决不肯坐下来。
3 accounting nzSzsY     
n.会计,会计学,借贷对照表
参考例句:
  • A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
  • There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。
4 muggy wFDxl     
adj.闷热的;adv.(天气)闷热而潮湿地;n.(天气)闷热而潮湿
参考例句:
  • We may expect muggy weather when the rainy season begins.雨季开始时,我们预料有闷热的天气。
  • It was muggy and overcast.天气闷热潮湿,而且天色阴沉。
5 dangled 52e4f94459442522b9888158698b7623     
悬吊着( dangle的过去式和过去分词 ); 摆动不定; 用某事物诱惑…; 吊胃口
参考例句:
  • Gold charms dangled from her bracelet. 她的手镯上挂着许多金饰物。
  • It's the biggest financial incentive ever dangled before British footballers. 这是历来对英国足球运动员的最大经济诱惑。
6 pier U22zk     
n.码头;桥墩,桥柱;[建]窗间壁,支柱
参考例句:
  • The pier of the bridge has been so badly damaged that experts worry it is unable to bear weight.这座桥的桥桩破损厉害,专家担心它已不能负重。
  • The ship was making towards the pier.船正驶向码头。
7 underneath VKRz2     
adj.在...下面,在...底下;adv.在下面
参考例句:
  • Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
  • She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣,里面套着一条连衣裙。
8 hustle McSzv     
v.推搡;竭力兜售或获取;催促;n.奔忙(碌)
参考例句:
  • It seems that he enjoys the hustle and bustle of life in the big city.看起来他似乎很喜欢大城市的热闹繁忙的生活。
  • I had to hustle through the crowded street.我不得不挤过拥挤的街道。
9 jaw 5xgy9     
n.颚,颌,说教,流言蜚语;v.喋喋不休,教训
参考例句:
  • He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
  • A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。
10 horde 9dLzL     
n.群众,一大群
参考例句:
  • A horde of children ran over the office building.一大群孩子在办公大楼里到处奔跑。
  • Two women were quarrelling on the street,surrounded by horde of people.有两个妇人在街上争吵,被一大群人围住了。
11 totter bnvwi     
v.蹒跚, 摇摇欲坠;n.蹒跚的步子
参考例句:
  • He tottered to the fridge,got a beer and slumped at the table.他踉跄地走到冰箱前,拿出一瓶啤酒,一屁股坐在桌边。
  • The property market is tottering.房地产市场摇摇欲坠。
12 mansion 8BYxn     
n.大厦,大楼;宅第
参考例句:
  • The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
  • The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。
13 ballroom SPTyA     
n.舞厅
参考例句:
  • The boss of the ballroom excused them the fee.舞厅老板给他们免费。
  • I go ballroom dancing twice a week.我一个星期跳两次交际舞。
14 busts c82730a2a9e358c892a6a70d6cedc709     
半身雕塑像( bust的名词复数 ); 妇女的胸部; 胸围; 突击搜捕
参考例句:
  • Dey bags swells up and busts. 那奶袋快胀破了。
  • Marble busts all looked like a cemetery. 大理石的半身象,简直就象是坟山。
15 buddy 3xGz0E     
n.(美口)密友,伙伴
参考例句:
  • Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气,老兄。有什么麻烦吗?
  • Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了,你这家伙!
16 unnaturally 3ftzAP     
adv.违反习俗地;不自然地;勉强地;不近人情地
参考例句:
  • Her voice sounded unnaturally loud. 她的嗓音很响亮,但是有点反常。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Her eyes were unnaturally bright. 她的眼睛亮得不自然。 来自《简明英汉词典》
17 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
18 captions 6b4aeece714abf706fa5b974cc5a9a41     
n.标题,说明文字,字幕( caption的名词复数 )v.给(图片、照片等)加说明文字( caption的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • I stared, trying to grasp the point of the picture and the captions. 我目不转睛地看着漫画,想弄清楚漫画和解说词的意思。 来自辞典例句
  • Indicates whether the user or the system paints the captions. 指示是由用户还是由系统来绘制标题。 来自互联网
19 idols 7c4d4984658a95fbb8bbc091e42b97b9     
偶像( idol的名词复数 ); 受崇拜的人或物; 受到热爱和崇拜的人或物; 神像
参考例句:
  • The genii will give evidence against those who have worshipped idols. 魔怪将提供证据来反对那些崇拜偶像的人。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史
  • Teenagers are very sequacious and they often emulate the behavior of their idols. 青少年非常盲从,经常模仿他们的偶像的行为。
20 chattering chattering     
n. (机器振动发出的)咔嗒声,(鸟等)鸣,啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的,啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式
参考例句:
  • The teacher told the children to stop chattering in class. 老师叫孩子们在课堂上不要叽叽喳喳讲话。
  • I was so cold that my teeth were chattering. 我冷得牙齿直打战。
21 slumped b010f9799fb8ebd413389b9083180d8d     
大幅度下降,暴跌( slump的过去式和过去分词 ); 沉重或突然地落下[倒下]
参考例句:
  • Sales have slumped this year. 今年销售量锐减。
  • The driver was slumped exhausted over the wheel. 司机伏在方向盘上,疲惫得睡着了。
22 repose KVGxQ     
v.(使)休息;n.安息
参考例句:
  • Don't disturb her repose.不要打扰她休息。
  • Her mouth seemed always to be smiling,even in repose.她的嘴角似乎总是挂着微笑,即使在睡眠时也是这样。
23 vibrant CL5zc     
adj.震颤的,响亮的,充满活力的,精力充沛的,(色彩)鲜明的
参考例句:
  • He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
  • She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。
24 pal j4Fz4     
n.朋友,伙伴,同志;vi.结为友
参考例句:
  • He is a pal of mine.他是我的一个朋友。
  • Listen,pal,I don't want you talking to my sister any more.听着,小子,我不让你再和我妹妹说话了。
25 sipped 22d1585d494ccee63c7bff47191289f6     
v.小口喝,呷,抿( sip的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He sipped his coffee pleasurably. 他怡然地品味着咖啡。
  • I sipped the hot chocolate she had made. 我小口喝着她调制的巧克力热饮。 来自辞典例句
26 sobbed 4a153e2bbe39eef90bf6a4beb2dba759     
哭泣,啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 ); 哭诉,呜咽地说
参考例句:
  • She sobbed out the story of her son's death. 她哭诉着她儿子的死。
  • She sobbed out the sad story of her son's death. 她哽咽着诉说她儿子死去的悲惨经过。
27 sobs d4349f86cad43cb1a5579b1ef269d0cb     
啜泣(声),呜咽(声)( sob的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • She was struggling to suppress her sobs. 她拼命不让自己哭出来。
  • She burst into a convulsive sobs. 她突然抽泣起来。
28 bazaar 3Qoyt     
n.集市,商店集中区
参考例句:
  • Chickens,goats and rabbits were offered for barter at the bazaar.在集市上,鸡、山羊和兔子被摆出来作物物交换之用。
  • We bargained for a beautiful rug in the bazaar.我们在集市通过讨价还价买到了一条很漂亮的地毯。
29 pharmacy h3hzT     
n.药房,药剂学,制药业,配药业,一批备用药品
参考例句:
  • She works at the pharmacy.她在药房工作。
  • Modern pharmacy has solved the problem of sleeplessness.现代制药学已经解决了失眠问题。
30 lethal D3LyB     
adj.致死的;毁灭性的
参考例句:
  • A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
  • She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。
31 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
32 guts Yraziv     
v.狼吞虎咽,贪婪地吃,飞碟游戏(比赛双方每组5人,相距15码,互相掷接飞碟);毁坏(建筑物等)的内部( gut的第三人称单数 );取出…的内脏n.勇气( gut的名词复数 );内脏;消化道的下段;肠
参考例句:
  • I'll only cook fish if the guts have been removed. 鱼若已收拾干净,我只需烧一下即可。
  • Barbara hasn't got the guts to leave her mother. 巴巴拉没有勇气离开她妈妈。 来自《简明英汉词典》
33 hack BQJz2     
n.劈,砍,出租马车;v.劈,砍,干咳
参考例句:
  • He made a hack at the log.他朝圆木上砍了一下。
  • Early settlers had to hack out a clearing in the forest where they could grow crops.早期移民不得不在森林里劈出空地种庄稼。
34 permanently KluzuU     
adv.永恒地,永久地,固定不变地
参考例句:
  • The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
  • The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。
35 wavelength 8gHwn     
n.波长
参考例句:
  • The authorities were unable to jam this wavelength.当局无法干扰这一波长。
  • Radio One has broadcast on this wavelength for years.广播1台已经用这个波长广播多年了。
36 horrified 8rUzZU     
a.(表现出)恐惧的
参考例句:
  • The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
  • We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。
37 timing rgUzGC     
n.时间安排,时间选择
参考例句:
  • The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
  • The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。
38 deliberately Gulzvq     
adv.审慎地;蓄意地;故意地
参考例句:
  • The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
  • They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。


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