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Chapter 70
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As Hiro crests1 the pass on his motorcycle at five in the morning, the town of Port Sherman, Oregon, is suddenly laid out before him: a flash of yellow loglo wrapped into a vast U-shaped valley that was ground out of the rock, a long time ago, by a big tongue of ice in an epochal period of geological cunnilingus. There is just a light dusting of gold around the edges where it fades into the rain forest, thickening and intensifying3 as it approaches the harbor -- a long narrow fjordlike notch4 cut into the straight coastline of Oregon, a deep cold trench5 of black water heading straight out to Japan.

Hiro's back on the Rim6 again. Feels good after that night ride through the sticks. Too many rednecks, too many mounties.

Even from ten miles away and a mile above, it's not a pretty sight. Farther away from the central harbor district, Hiro can make out a few speckles of red, which is a little better than the yellow. He wishes he could see something in green or blue or purple, but there don't seem to be any neighborhoods done up in those gourmet7 colors.

But then this isn't exactly a gourmet job.

He rides half a mile off the road, sits down on a flat rock in an open space -- ambush-proof, more or less -- and goggles8 into the Metaverse.

"Librarian?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Inanna."

"A figure from Sumerian mythology9. Later cultures knew her as Ishtar, or Esther."

"Good goddess or bad goddess?"

"Good. A beloved goddess."

"Did she have any dealings with Enki or Asherah?"

"Mostly with Enki. She and Enki were on good and bad terms at different times. Inanna was known as the queen of all the great me."

"I thought the me belonged to Enki."

"They did. But Inanna went to the Abzu -- the watery10 fortress11 in the city of Eridu where Enki stored up the me -- and got Enki to give her all the me. This is how the me were released into civilization."

"Watery fortress, huh?"

"Yes, sir."

"How did Enki feel about this?"

"He gave them to her willingly, apparently12 because he was drunk, and besotted with Inanna's physical charms. When he sobered up, he tried to chase her down and get them back, but she outsmarted him."

"Let's get semiotic," Hiro mumbles13. "The Raft is L. Bob Rife's watery fortress. That's where he stores up all of his stuff. All of his me. Juanita went to Astoria, which was as close as you could get to the Raft a couple of days ago. I think she's trying to pull an Inanna."

"In another popular Sumerian myth," the Librarian says, "Inanna descends14 into the nether15 world."

"Go on," Hiro says.

"She gathers together all of her me and enters the land of no return."

"Great."

"She passes through the nether world and reaches the temple that is ruled over by Ereshkigal, goddess of Death. She is traveling under false pretenses16, which are easily penetrated17 by the all-seeing Ereshkigal. But Ereshkigal allows her to enter the temple. As Inanna enters, her robes and jewels and me are stripped from her and she is brought, stark18 naked, before Ereshkigal and the seven judges of the underworld. The judges 'fastened their eyes upon her, the eyes of death; at their word, the word which tortures the spirit, Inanna was turned into a corpse19, a piece of rotting meat, and was hung from a hook on the wall.' Kramer."

"Wonderful. Why the hell would she do something like that?"

"As Diane Wolkstein puts it, 'Inanna gave up all she had accomplished20 in life until she was stripped naked, with nothing remaining but her will to be reborn ... because of her journey to the underworld, she took on the powers and mysteries of death and rebirth.'"

"Oh. So I guess there's more to the story?"

"Inanna's messenger waits for three days, and when she fails to return from the nether world, goes to the gods asking for their help. None of the gods is willing to help except for Enki."

"So our buddy21, Enki, the hacker22 god, has to bail23 her ass2 out of Hell."

"Enki creates two people and sends them into the netherworid to rescue Inanna. Through their magic, Inanna is brought back to life. She returns from the netherworld, followed by a host of the dead."

"Juanita went to the Raft three days ago," Hiro says. "It's time to get hacking24."


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 crests 9ef5f38e01ed60489f228ef56d77c5c8     
v.到达山顶(或浪峰)( crest的第三人称单数 );到达洪峰,达到顶点
参考例句:
  • The surfers were riding in towards the beach on the crests of the waves. 冲浪者们顺着浪头冲向岸边。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The correspondent aroused, heard the crash of the toppled crests. 记者醒了,他听见了浪头倒塌下来的轰隆轰隆声。 来自辞典例句
2 ass qvyzK     
n.驴;傻瓜,蠢笨的人
参考例句:
  • He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。
  • An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。
3 intensifying 6af105724a108def30288b810d78b276     
v.(使)增强, (使)加剧( intensify的现在分词 );增辉
参考例句:
  • The allies are intensifying their air campaign. 联军部队正加大他们的空战强度。 来自辞典例句
  • The rest of the European powers were in a state of intensifying congestion. 其余的欧洲强国则处于越来越拥挤的状态。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
4 notch P58zb     
n.(V字形)槽口,缺口,等级
参考例句:
  • The peanuts they grow are top-notch.他们种的花生是拔尖的。
  • He cut a notch in the stick with a sharp knife.他用利刃在棒上刻了一个凹痕。
5 trench VJHzP     
n./v.(挖)沟,(挖)战壕
参考例句:
  • The soldiers recaptured their trench.兵士夺回了战壕。
  • The troops received orders to trench the outpost.部队接到命令在前哨周围筑壕加强防卫。
6 rim RXSxl     
n.(圆物的)边,轮缘;边界
参考例句:
  • The water was even with the rim of the basin.盆里的水与盆边平齐了。
  • She looked at him over the rim of her glass.她的目光越过玻璃杯的边沿看着他。
7 gourmet 8eqzb     
n.食物品尝家;adj.出于美食家之手的
参考例句:
  • What does a gourmet writer do? 美食评论家做什么?
  • A gourmet like him always eats in expensive restaurants.像他这样的美食家总是到豪华的餐馆用餐。
8 goggles hsJzYP     
n.护目镜
参考例句:
  • Skiers wear goggles to protect their eyes from the sun.滑雪者都戴上护目镜使眼睛不受阳光伤害。
  • My swimming goggles keep steaming up so I can't see.我的护目镜一直有水雾,所以我看不见。
9 mythology I6zzV     
n.神话,神话学,神话集
参考例句:
  • In Greek mythology,Zeus was the ruler of Gods and men.在希腊神话中,宙斯是众神和人类的统治者。
  • He is the hero of Greek mythology.他是希腊民间传说中的英雄。
10 watery bU5zW     
adj.有水的,水汪汪的;湿的,湿润的
参考例句:
  • In his watery eyes there is an expression of distrust.他那含泪的眼睛流露出惊惶失措的神情。
  • Her eyes became watery because of the smoke.因为烟熏,她的双眼变得泪汪汪的。
11 fortress Mf2zz     
n.堡垒,防御工事
参考例句:
  • They made an attempt on a fortress.他们试图夺取这一要塞。
  • The soldier scaled the wall of the fortress by turret.士兵通过塔车攀登上了要塞的城墙。
12 apparently tMmyQ     
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎
参考例句:
  • An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽,豁然开朗。
  • He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
13 mumbles e75cb6863fa93d697be65451f9b103f0     
含糊的话或声音,咕哝( mumble的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • He always mumbles when he's embarrassed. 他感到难为情时说话就含糊不清了。
  • When the old lady speaks she often mumbles her words. 这位老妇人说起话来常常含糊不清。
14 descends e9fd61c3161a390a0db3b45b3a992bee     
v.下来( descend的第三人称单数 );下去;下降;下斜
参考例句:
  • This festival descends from a religious rite. 这个节日起源于宗教仪式。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The path descends steeply to the village. 小路陡直而下直到村子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
15 nether P1pyY     
adj.下部的,下面的;n.阴间;下层社会
参考例句:
  • This terracotta army well represents his ambition yet to be realized in the nether-world.这一批兵马俑很可能代表他死后也要去实现的雄心。
  • He was escorted back to the nether regions of Main Street.他被护送回中央大道南面的地方。
16 pretenses 8aab62e9150453b3925dde839f075217     
n.借口(pretense的复数形式)
参考例句:
  • They obtained money under the false pretenses of patriotism. 他们以虚伪的爱国主义为借口获得金钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He obtained money from her under false pretenses. 他巧立名目从她那儿骗钱。 来自辞典例句
17 penetrated 61c8e5905df30b8828694a7dc4c3a3e0     
adj. 击穿的,鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式
参考例句:
  • The knife had penetrated his chest. 刀子刺入了他的胸膛。
  • They penetrated into territory where no man had ever gone before. 他们已进入先前没人去过的地区。
18 stark lGszd     
adj.荒凉的;严酷的;完全的;adv.完全地
参考例句:
  • The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
  • He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。
19 corpse JYiz4     
n.尸体,死尸
参考例句:
  • What she saw was just an unfeeling corpse.她见到的只是一具全无感觉的尸体。
  • The corpse was preserved from decay by embalming.尸体用香料涂抹以防腐烂。
20 accomplished UzwztZ     
adj.有才艺的;有造诣的;达到了的
参考例句:
  • Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
  • Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。
21 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!
22 hacker Irszg9     
n.能盗用或偷改电脑中信息的人,电脑黑客
参考例句:
  • The computer hacker wrote that he was from Russia.这个计算机黑客自称他来自俄罗斯。
  • This site was attacked by a hacker last week.上周这个网站被黑客攻击了。
23 bail Aupz4     
v.舀(水),保释;n.保证金,保释,保释人
参考例句:
  • One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
  • She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。
24 hacking KrIzgm     
n.非法访问计算机系统和数据库的活动
参考例句:
  • The patient with emphysema is hacking all day. 这个肺气肿病人整天不断地干咳。
  • We undertook the task of hacking our way through the jungle. 我们负责在丛林中开路。


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