FREE OF ENVY, FREE OF HATRED1, BUOYANT IN the service of chaos2, Corky Laputa began his day with a cinnamon-pecan roll, four cups of black coffee, and a pair of caffeine tablets.
Anyone who would bring the social order to ruin must embrace anything that gives him an additional edge, even at the risk of destroying his stomach lining3 and instigating4 chronic5 intestinal6 inflammation. Fortunately for Corky, periodically consuming massive quantities of caffeine seemed to increase the bitter potency7 of his bile without causing acid indigestion or other regrettable symptoms.
Washing down caffeine with caffeine, he stood at his kitchen window, smiling at the low somber8 sky and at the trailing beard of night fog that had not entirely9 been shorn away by the blunt gray dawn. Bad weather was again his co-conspirator.
The current pause in the rain would be brief. Rushing in fast on the heels of the departing tempest, a new and reportedly stronger storm would wash the city and justify10 the wearing of rain gear, regardless of how elaborate it might be.
Corky had already reloaded the weatherproof interior pockets of his yellow vinyl slicker, which hung now from a hook in the garage.
[329] He carried his last cup of coffee upstairs to the guest room, where he finished it while informing Stinky Cheese Man that his beloved daughter, Emily, was dead.
The previous night he’d reported the final torture and savage11 murder of Rachel, Stinky’s wife, who was still alive, of course, and not in Corky’s custody12. The invented details were so imaginative and vivid that Stinky had been reduced to uncontrollable tears, to sobs13 that sounded weirdly14 inhuman—and quite disgusting—coming from his withered15 voice box.
Although crushed by despair, Stinky had not suffered the heart attack for which Corky had been hoping.
Rather than coddle the man with a sedative16, Corky had introduced a powerful hallucinogenic through a port in the IV line. His hope was that Stinky would be unable to sleep and would pass the darkest hours between midnight and dawn in a hell of drug-induced visions featuring his brutalized wife.
Now, regaling his guest with an even more outrageous17 tale of the many crude violations18 and cruel acts of violence visited upon young Emily, Corky grew weary of the tears and anguish19 that were replayed here yet again. Under the circumstances, a massive cardiac infarction didn’t seem too much to ask, but Stinky would not cooperate.
For a man who supposedly loved his wife and daughter more than life itself, Stinky’s determination to survive was unseemly now that he’d been told that his family was nothing more than rotting meat. Like most traditionalists, with all their loudly expressed belief in language and meaning and purpose and principle, Stinky was probably a fraud.
Now and then, Corky glimpsed rage underlying20 Stinky’s grief. Into the man’s eyes came hatred hot enough to sear with a look, but then at once vanished under pools of tears.
Perhaps Stinky clung to life only for the hope of revenge. The guy was delusional21.
Besides, hatred only destroys the hater. By the example of her wasted life, Corky’s mother had proved the truth of that contention22.
[330] With facility and efficiency, Corky changed infusion23 bags after doctoring the new one with a drug that would induce a semiparalytic state. Stinky had so little muscle tissue left that an artificially induced paralysis25 seemed unnecessary, but Corky was loath26 to let anything to chance.
Ironically, to serve chaos well, he needed to be well organized. He required a strategy for victory and the carefully planned tactics necessary to fulfill27 that strategy.
Without strategy and tactics, you weren’t a true agent of chaos. You were just Jeffrey Dahmer or some crazy lady who kept a hundred cats and filled her yard with unsightly piles of junk, or a recent governor of California.
Five years ago, Corky had learned how to give injections, how to insert a cannula in a vein28, how to handle the equipment related to an IV setup, how to catheterize either a man or a woman. ... Since then, he had enjoyed a few opportunities, as with Stinky Cheese Man, to practice these skills; consequently, he used these instruments and devices with a facility that any nurse would admire.
In fact, he’d been trained by a nurse, Mary Noone. She had the face of a Botticelli Madonna and the eyes of a ferret.
He’d met Mary at a university mixer for people interested in utilitarian29 bioethics. Utilitarians30 believed that every life could be assigned a value to society and that medical care should be rationed31 according to that assigned value. This philosophy supported the killing32, by neglect, of the physically33 handicapped, Down-syndrome children, people over sixty with medical problems requiring expensive treatment like dialysis and bypass surgery, and many others.
The mixer had been full of fun and witty34 conversation—and he and Mary Noone had clicked the moment their eyes met. They’d both been drinking Cabernet Sauvignon when they were introduced, and over refills, they had fallen in lust35.
Weeks thereafter, when he had asked Mary to teach him the proper way to give an injection and how to maintain a patient on [331] intravenous infusion, Corky had solemnly revealed that his mother’s health was rapidly declining. “I dread36 the day when she’ll be bedridden, but I’d rather attend to her myself than turn her over to strangers in a nursing home.”
Mary told him that he was a wonderful son, and Corky pretended to accept this compliment with humility37, which was an easy pretense38 to maintain because he was lying about both his mother’s health and his intentions. The old bitch had been as healthy as Methuselah still six centuries short of the grave, and Corky had been toying with the idea of injecting her with something lethal39 while she slept.
He was pretty sure that Mary suspected the truth. Nevertheless, she taught him what he wanted to know.
Initially40 he believed that her willingness to educate him in these matters could be attributed to the fact that she was hot for him. Jungle cats in heat didn’t copulate with the ferocity or the frequency of Mary Noone and Corky in the few months that they had been together.
Eventually he realized that she understood his true motives41 and didn’t disapprove42. Furthermore, he began to suspect that Mary was a self-styled Angel of Death who acted upon her utilitarian bioethics by quietly killing the patients whose lives she deemed to be of poor quality and of little value to society.
He dared not remain her sex toy under such circumstances. Sooner or later, she would be arrested and put on trial, as angels of her breed usually were. By virtue43 of being her lover, Corky was sure to be closely scrutinized44 by the police, which would put his life’s work and possibly his freedom in jeopardy45.
Besides, after they had been together more than three months, Corky grew uneasy about sleeping in the same bed with Mary Noone. Although as a lover he might command a high value in horny Mary’s estimation, Corky didn’t know how much—or how little—she thought he was worth to society.
To his surprise, when he cautiously raised the issue of an amicable46 [332] breakup, Mary responded with relief. Apparently47, she had not been sleeping well, either.
In time he had chosen not to kill his mother by injection, but the effort to educate himself in these aspects of medical care had not been wasted.
During the years since, he had seen Mary only twice, both times at bioethics parties. The old heat was still there between them, but so was the wariness48.
With an efficiency and tenderness that Mary Noone would admire, Corky finished ministering to Stinky Cheese Man.
The paralytic24 drug would incapacitate Stinky without making him drowsy49 or putting him in an altered state of consciousness. With full mental clarity, he could spend the day agonizing50 over the deaths of his wife and daughter.
“Now I’ve got to dispose of Rachel’s and Emily’s bodies,” Corky lied with panache51 that pleased him. “I’d feed their remains52 to hogs54, if I knew where to find a hog53 farm.”
He remembered a recent news story about a young blonde whose body had been dumped in a sewage-treatment plant. Borrowing details from that crime, he spun55 for Stinky a story about the ponds of human waste for which his loved ones were bound.
Still no heart attack.
Late this evening, when he returned here with Aelfric Manheim, Corky would introduce the boy to this emaciated56 wretch57, to prime him for the terrors that awaited him. Aelfric’s suffering would be of a somewhat different variety from what had been required of this once-arrogant lover of Dickens, Dickinson, Tolstoi, and Twain. If the stubborn drudge58 hadn’t died of a heart attack during the day, Corky would kill him before midnight.
Leaving Stinky to whatever strange thoughts might occupy the odd mind of a traditionalist in these circumstances, Corky donned his amply provisioned yellow slicker, locked the house, and set out into the December day in his BMW.
[333] The new storm had already shouldered into the city. Great dragon herds59 of black clouds seethed60 from horizon to horizon, coils tangled61 in one colossal62 heaving mass, full of pent-up roars and white fire that might soon be breathed out in dazzling, jagged plumes63.
A tentative drizzle64 fell, but cataracts65 were sure to follow, vertical66 rivers, torrents67, Niagaras, a deluge68.
1 hatred | |
n.憎恶,憎恨,仇恨 | |
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2 chaos | |
n.混乱,无秩序 | |
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3 lining | |
n.衬里,衬料 | |
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4 instigating | |
v.使(某事物)开始或发生,鼓动( instigate的现在分词 ) | |
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5 chronic | |
adj.(疾病)长期未愈的,慢性的;极坏的 | |
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6 intestinal | |
adj.肠的;肠壁;肠道细菌 | |
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7 potency | |
n. 效力,潜能 | |
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8 somber | |
adj.昏暗的,阴天的,阴森的,忧郁的 | |
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9 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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10 justify | |
vt.证明…正当(或有理),为…辩护 | |
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11 savage | |
adj.野蛮的;凶恶的,残暴的;n.未开化的人 | |
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12 custody | |
n.监护,照看,羁押,拘留 | |
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13 sobs | |
啜泣(声),呜咽(声)( sob的名词复数 ) | |
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14 weirdly | |
古怪地 | |
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15 withered | |
adj. 枯萎的,干瘪的,(人身体的部分器官)因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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16 sedative | |
adj.使安静的,使镇静的;n. 镇静剂,能使安静的东西 | |
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17 outrageous | |
adj.无理的,令人不能容忍的 | |
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18 violations | |
违反( violation的名词复数 ); 冒犯; 违反(行为、事例); 强奸 | |
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19 anguish | |
n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦,烦恼 | |
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20 underlying | |
adj.在下面的,含蓄的,潜在的 | |
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21 delusional | |
妄想的 | |
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22 contention | |
n.争论,争辩,论战;论点,主张 | |
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23 infusion | |
n.灌输 | |
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24 paralytic | |
adj. 瘫痪的 n. 瘫痪病人 | |
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25 paralysis | |
n.麻痹(症);瘫痪(症) | |
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26 loath | |
adj.不愿意的;勉强的 | |
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27 fulfill | |
vt.履行,实现,完成;满足,使满意 | |
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28 vein | |
n.血管,静脉;叶脉,纹理;情绪;vt.使成脉络 | |
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29 utilitarian | |
adj.实用的,功利的 | |
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30 utilitarians | |
功利主义者,实用主义者( utilitarian的名词复数 ) | |
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31 rationed | |
限量供应,配给供应( ration的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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32 killing | |
n.巨额利润;突然赚大钱,发大财 | |
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33 physically | |
adj.物质上,体格上,身体上,按自然规律 | |
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34 witty | |
adj.机智的,风趣的 | |
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35 lust | |
n.性(淫)欲;渴(欲)望;vi.对…有强烈的欲望 | |
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36 dread | |
vt.担忧,忧虑;惧怕,不敢;n.担忧,畏惧 | |
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37 humility | |
n.谦逊,谦恭 | |
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38 pretense | |
n.矫饰,做作,借口 | |
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39 lethal | |
adj.致死的;毁灭性的 | |
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40 initially | |
adv.最初,开始 | |
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41 motives | |
n.动机,目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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42 disapprove | |
v.不赞成,不同意,不批准 | |
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43 virtue | |
n.德行,美德;贞操;优点;功效,效力 | |
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44 scrutinized | |
v.仔细检查,详审( scrutinize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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45 jeopardy | |
n.危险;危难 | |
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46 amicable | |
adj.和平的,友好的;友善的 | |
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47 apparently | |
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 | |
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48 wariness | |
n. 注意,小心 | |
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49 drowsy | |
adj.昏昏欲睡的,令人发困的 | |
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50 agonizing | |
adj.痛苦难忍的;使人苦恼的v.使极度痛苦;折磨(agonize的ing形式) | |
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51 panache | |
n.羽饰;假威风,炫耀 | |
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52 remains | |
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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53 hog | |
n.猪;馋嘴贪吃的人;vt.把…占为己有,独占 | |
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54 hogs | |
n.(尤指喂肥供食用的)猪( hog的名词复数 );(供食用的)阉公猪;彻底地做某事;自私的或贪婪的人 | |
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55 spun | |
v.纺,杜撰,急转身 | |
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56 emaciated | |
adj.衰弱的,消瘦的 | |
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57 wretch | |
n.可怜的人,不幸的人;卑鄙的人 | |
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58 drudge | |
n.劳碌的人;v.做苦工,操劳 | |
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59 herds | |
兽群( herd的名词复数 ); 牧群; 人群; 群众 | |
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60 seethed | |
(液体)沸腾( seethe的过去式和过去分词 ); 激动,大怒; 强压怒火; 生闷气(~with sth|~ at sth) | |
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61 tangled | |
adj. 纠缠的,紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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62 colossal | |
adj.异常的,庞大的 | |
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63 plumes | |
羽毛( plume的名词复数 ); 羽毛饰; 羽毛状物; 升上空中的羽状物 | |
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64 drizzle | |
v.下毛毛雨;n.毛毛雨,蒙蒙细雨 | |
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65 cataracts | |
n.大瀑布( cataract的名词复数 );白内障 | |
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66 vertical | |
adj.垂直的,顶点的,纵向的;n.垂直物,垂直的位置 | |
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67 torrents | |
n.倾注;奔流( torrent的名词复数 );急流;爆发;连续不断 | |
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68 deluge | |
n./vt.洪水,暴雨,使泛滥 | |
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