Part 1 Holston 4

Part 1 Holston

4

Present Time

Holston sat on the lone¹ steel bench in the airlock, his brain numb² from lack of sleep and the surety of

what lay before him. Nelson, the head of the cleaning lab, knelt in front of him and worked a leg of

the white hazard suit over Holston’s foot.

“We’ve played around with the joint³ seals and added a second spray-on lining,” Nelson was

saying. “It should give you more time out there than anyone has had before.”

This registered with Holston, and he remembered watching his wife go about her cleaning. The

top floor of the silo with its great screens showing the outside world was usually empty for cleanings.

The people inside couldn’t bear to watch what they’d done—or maybe they wanted to come up and

enjoy a nice view without seeing what it took to get it. But Holston had watched; there was never any

doubt that he would. He couldn’t see Allison’s face through her silver-masked helmet, couldn’t see

her thin arms through the bulky suit as she scrubbed and scrubbed with her wool pads, but he knew

her walk, her mannerisms. He had watched her finish the job, taking her time and doing it well, and

then she had stepped back, looked in the camera one last time, waved at him, then turned to walk

away. Like others before her, she had lumbered⁴ toward a nearby hill and had begun climbing up,

trudging⁵ toward the dilapidated spires⁶ of that ancient and crumbling⁷ city just visible over the horizon.

Holston hadn’t moved the entire time. Even as she fell on the side of the hill, clutching her helmet,

writhing⁸ while the toxins⁹ first ate away the spray-on linings¹⁰, then the suit, and finally his wife, he

hadn’t moved.

“Other foot.”

Nelson slapped his ankle. Holston lifted his foot and allowed the tech to bunch the rest of the suit

around his shins. Looking at his hands, at the black carbon undersuit he wore against his skin,

Holston pictured it all dissolving off his body, sloughing¹¹ away like flakes¹² of dried grease from a

generator’s pipe while the blood burst from his pores and pooled up in his lifeless suit.

“If you’ll grab the bar and stand—”

Nelson was walking him through a routine he’d seen twice before. Once with Jack¹³ Brent, who had

been belligerent¹⁴ and hostile right up to the end, forcing him as sheriff to stand guard by the bench.

And once with his wife, whom he had watched get ready through the airlock’s small porthole.

Holston knew what to do from watching these others, but he still needed to be told. His thoughts were

elsewhere. Reaching up, he grabbed the trapezelike bar hanging above him and pulled himself

upright. Nelson grabbed the sides of the suit and yanked them up to Holston’s waist. Two empty

arms flapped at either side.

“Left hand here.”

Holston numbly¹⁵ obeyed. It was surreal to be on the other side of this—this mechanical death-walk

of the condemned¹⁶. Holston had often wondered why people complied, why they just went along.

Even Jack Brent had done what he was told, as foulmouthed and verbally abusive as he’d been.

Allison had done it quietly, just like this, Holston thought as he inserted one hand and then the other.

The suit came up, and Holston thought that maybe people went along with it because they couldn’t

believe it was happening. None of it was real enough to rebel against. The animal part of his mind

wasn’t made for this, to be calmly ushered¹⁷ to a death it was perfectly¹⁸ aware of.

“Turn.”

He did.

There was a tug¹⁹ at the small of his back, and then a noisy zipping sound up to his neck. Another

tug, another zip. Two layers of futility²⁰. The crunch²¹ of industrial Velcro over the top. Pats and double-

checks. Holston heard the hollow helmet slide off its shelf; he flexed²² his fingers inside the puffy

gloves while Nelson checked over the dome’s innards.

“Let’s go over the procedure one more time.”

“It’s not necessary,” Holston said quietly.

Nelson glanced toward the airlock door leading back to the silo. Holston didn’t need to look to

know someone was likely watching. “Bear with me,” Nelson said. “I have to do it by the book.”

Holston nodded, but he knew there wasn’t any “book.” Of all the mystic oral traditions passed

through silo generations, none matched the cultlike intensity²³ of the suit makers²⁴ and the cleaning

techs. Everyone gave them their space. The cleaners might perform the physical act, but the techs

were the people who made it possible. These were the men and women who maintained the view to

that wider world beyond the silo’s stifling²⁵ confines.

Nelson placed the helmet on the bench. “You got your scrubbers here.” He patted the wool pads

stuck to the front of the suit.

Holston pulled one off with a ripping sound, studied the whorls and curls of the rough material,

then stuck it back on.

“Two squirts from the cleaning bottle before you scrub with the wool, then dry with this towel,

then put the ablating films on last.” He patted the pockets in order, even though they were clearly

labeled and numbered—upside down so Holston could read them—and color-coded.

Holston nodded and met the tech’s eyes for the first time. He was surprised to see fear there, fear

he had learned well to notice in his profession. He almost asked Nelson what was wrong before it

occurred to him: the man was worried all these instructions were for naught²⁶, that Holston would walk

out—like everyone in the silo feared all cleaners would—and not do his duty. Not clean up for the

people whose rules, rules against dreaming of a better place, had doomed²⁷ him. Or was Nelson

worried that the expensive and laborious²⁸ gear he and his colleagues had built, using those secrets and

techniques handed down from well before the uprising, would leave the silo and rot to no purpose?

“You okay?” Nelson asked. “Anything too tight?”

Holston glanced around the airlock. My life is too tight, he wanted to say. My skin is too tight. The

walls are too tight.

He just shook his head.

“I’m ready,” he whispered.

It was the truth. Holston was oddly and truly very much ready to go.

And he remembered, suddenly, how ready his wife had been as well.

1 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

2 numb   

adj.麻木的，失去感觉的；v.使麻木

参考例句：

• His fingers were numb with cold.他的手冻得发麻。
• Numb with cold,we urged the weary horses forward.我们冻得发僵，催着疲惫的马继续往前走。

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

4 lumbered   

砍伐（lumber的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• A rhinoceros lumbered towards them. 一头犀牛笨重地向他们走来。
• A heavy truck lumbered by. 一辆重型卡车隆隆驶过。

5 trudging   

vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• There was a stream of refugees trudging up the valley towards the border. 一队难民步履艰难地爬上山谷向着边境走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Two mules well laden with packs were trudging along. 两头骡子驮着沉重的背包，吃力地往前走。 来自辞典例句

6 spires   

n.（教堂的） 塔尖，尖顶( spire的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Her masts leveled with the spires of churches. 船的桅杆和教堂的塔尖一样高。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• White church spires lift above green valleys. 教堂的白色尖顶耸立在绿色山谷中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 crumbling   

adj.摇摇欲坠的

参考例句：

• an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子
• The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。

8 writhing   

（因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She was writhing around on the floor in agony. 她痛得在地板上直打滚。
• He was writhing on the ground in agony. 他痛苦地在地上打滚。

9 toxins   

n.毒素( toxin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The seas have been used as a receptacle for a range of industrial toxins. 海洋成了各种有毒工业废料的大容器。
• Most toxins are naturally excreted from the body. 大部分毒素被自然排出体外。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 linings   

n.衬里( lining的名词复数 )；里子；衬料；组织

参考例句：

• a pair of leather gloves with fur linings 一双毛皮衬里的皮手套
• Many of the garments have the customers' name tags sewn into the linings. 这些衣服有很多内衬上缝有顾客的姓名签。 来自辞典例句

11 sloughing   

v.使蜕下或脱落( slough的现在分词 )；舍弃；除掉；摒弃

参考例句：

• a snake sloughing its skin 正在蜕皮的蛇
• Only minor sloughing occurred during the earthquake. 在地震时只有小的脱落现象。 来自辞典例句

12 flakes   

小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人

参考例句：

• It's snowing in great flakes. 天下着鹅毛大雪。
• It is snowing in great flakes. 正值大雪纷飞。

13 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

14 belligerent   

adj.好战的，挑起战争的；n.交战国，交战者

参考例句：

• He had a belligerent aspect.他有种好斗的神色。
• Our government has forbidden exporting the petroleum to the belligerent countries.我们政府已经禁止向交战国输出石油。

15 numbly   

adv.失去知觉，麻木

参考例句：

• Back at the rickshaw yard, he slept numbly for two days. 回到车厂，他懊睡了两天。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• He heard it numbly, a little amazed at his audacity. 他自己也听得一呆，对自己的莽撞劲儿有点吃惊。 来自辞典例句

16 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

17 ushered   

v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The secretary ushered me into his office. 秘书把我领进他的办公室。
• A round of parties ushered in the New Year. 一系列的晚会迎来了新年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

19 tug   

v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船

参考例句：

• We need to tug the car round to the front.我们需要把那辆车拉到前面。
• The tug is towing three barges.那只拖船正拖着三只驳船。

20 futility   

n.无用

参考例句：

• She could see the utter futility of trying to protest. 她明白抗议是完全无用的。
• The sheer futility of it all exasperates her. 它毫无用处，这让她很生气。

21 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

22 flexed   

adj.[医]曲折的，屈曲v.屈曲( flex的过去式和过去分词 )；弯曲；（为准备大干而）显示实力；摩拳擦掌

参考例句：

• He stretched and flexed his knees to relax himself. 他伸屈膝关节使自己放松一下。 来自辞典例句
• He flexed his long stringy muscles manfully. 他孔武有力地弯起膀子，显露出细长条的肌肉。 来自辞典例句

23 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

24 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 stifling   

a.令人窒息的

参考例句：

• The weather is stifling. It looks like rain. 今天太闷热，光景是要下雨。
• We were stifling in that hot room with all the windows closed. 我们在那间关着窗户的热屋子里，简直透不过气来。

26 naught   

n.无，零 [=nought]

参考例句：

• He sets at naught every convention of society.他轻视所有的社会习俗。
• I hope that all your efforts won't go for naught.我希望你的努力不会毫无结果。

27 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

28 laborious   

adj.吃力的，努力的，不流畅

参考例句：

• They had the laborious task of cutting down the huge tree.他们接受了伐大树的艰苦工作。
• Ants and bees are laborious insects.蚂蚁与蜜蜂是勤劳的昆虫。