10
walked, priding herself on “eating on the climb” like a porter. They continued to pass these
much. And they moved so fast. She and Marnes pressed themselves against the rail as a downward
porter apologetically stomped7 past. His shadow, a girl of fifteen or sixteen, was right behind him,
loaded down with what looked to be sacks of garbage for the recycling center. Jahns watched the
suddenly felt very old and very tired.
The two of them fell into a rhythmic9 pace, the reach of each foot hovering10 over the next tread, a
sort of collapsing11 of the bones, a resignation to gravity, falling to that foot, sliding the hand,
extending the walking stick forward, repeat. Doubt crept into Jahns around the thirtieth floor. What
They passed the upper water treatment plant on thirty-two, and Jahns realized she was seeing
portions of the silo that were practically new to her. It had been a lifetime ago that she’d been this
deep, a shameful15 thing to admit. And in that time, changes had been made. Construction and repairs
were ongoing16. Walls were a different color than she remembered. But then, it was hard to trust one’s
memory.
populated levels of the silo, where less than two dozen men and women—but mostly men—operated
within their own little kingdom. The silo servers took up almost an entire floor, the machines slowly
reloading with recent history, having been wiped completely during the uprising. Access to them was
now severely18 restricted, and as Jahns passed the landing on the thirty-third, she swore she could hear
the mighty thrumming of all the electricity they consumed. Whatever the silo had been, or had been
originally designed for, she knew without asking or being told that these strange machines were some
organ of primacy. Their power draw was a constant source of contention19 during budget meetings. But
the necessity of the cleaning, the fear of even talking about the outside and all the dangerous taboos21
that went with it, gave IT incredible leeway. They housed the labs that made the suits, each one
tailored to the person waiting in the holding cell, and this alone set them apart from all else.
No, Jahns told herself, it wasn’t simply the taboo20 of the cleaning, the fear of the outside. It was the
hope. There was this unspoken, deadly hope in every member of the silo. A ridiculous, fantastical
hope. That maybe not for them, but perhaps for their children, or their children’s children, life on the
outside would be possible once again, and that it would be the work of IT and the bulky suits that
emerged from their labs that would make it all possible.
Jahns felt a shiver even to think it. Living outside. The childhood conditioning was that strong.
Maybe God would hear her thoughts and rat her out. She imagined herself in a cleaning suit, a far too
On the thirty-fourth, she slipped off onto the landing. Marnes joined her, his canteen in hand.
There was something childlike and romantic about this, but also something practical. It was more
difficult to reach one’s own water than it was to grab that of the other from their pack.
“You need a break?” He passed the canteen, which had two swallows left in it. Jahns took one of
them.
“This is our next stop,” she said.
they were on, but it was as if he needed to double-check.
Jahns returned his canteen. “In the past, I’ve always wired them to get the okay on my
nominations27. It was something Mayor Humphries did before me, and Mayor Jeffers before him.” She
“I didn’t know they had to approve.” He took the last swallow and patted Jahns on the back,
twirled his finger for her to turn around.
pouch31, Marnes’s canteen shoved in its place. Her pack felt a smidgen lighter32. She realized Marnes
wanted to carry her water and share it until it too was empty. “I think the unwritten rule is there just
“So this time you’re doing it in person.”
She turned back around to face her deputy. “I figured we were passing this way …” She paused
while a young couple hurried up the stairs behind Marnes, holding hands and taking the treads two at
a time. “And that it might feel even more conspicuous34 not to stop and check in.”
“Check in,” Marnes said. Jahns half expected him to spit over the railing; the tone seemed to
require such punctuation35. She suddenly felt another of her weaknesses exposed.
“I’m gonna think of it as a fact-finding raid,” Marnes muttered, following her.
••••
Jahns could tell that, unlike at the nursery, they would not be buzzed through and sent back into
the mysterious depths of IT. While they waited to be seen, she watched as even a member of the staff,
identifiable from their silver overalls37, was patted down and searched just to leave the wing and exit
toward the stairs. A man with a wand—a member of IT’s own internal security detail—seemed to
have the job of checking everyone who passed through the metal gates. The receptionist on the
outside of the gates was deferent enough, however, and seemed pleased to have the mayor for a visit.
She expressed her condolences for the recent cleaning, an odd thing to say but something Jahns
wished she heard more often. They were shown to a small conference room attached to the main
foyer, a place, she supposed, for meeting with various departments without putting them through the
hassle of passing through security.
“Look at all this space,” Marnes whispered once they were alone in the room together. “Did you
see the size of that entrance hall?”
Jahns nodded. She looked around the ceiling and walls for some peephole, something to confirm
the creepy sensation that she was being watched. She set her bag and walking stick down and
collapsed38 wearily into one of the plush chairs. When it moved, she realized the thing was on wheels.
Nicely oiled wheels.
“Always wanted to check this place out,” Marnes said. He peered through the glass window that
looked back into the wide foyer. “Every time I’ve passed this place—and it’s only been a dozen times
or so—I’ve been curious to see what’s inside.”
Jahns nearly asked him to stop talking but worried that it would hurt his feelings.
“Boy, he’s coming in a hurry. Must be because of you.”
Jahns turned and looked out the window to see Bernard Holland heading their way. He
“Mayor.”
attempt to hide this flaw. Short, portly, and with a pair of glasses perched on his small nose, he
looked every bit the technical expert. Above all, to Jahns at least, he looked smart.
He reached for Jahns’s hand as she rose from the chair, the blasted thing nearly scooting out from
underneath43 her as she pressed down on the armrests.
“Careful,” Bernard said, grabbing her elbow to steady her. “Deputy.” He nodded toward Marnes
while Jahns regained44 her balance. “It’s an honor to have you down. I know you don’t take these trips
often.”
“Thanks for seeing us on short notice,” Jahns said.
“Of course. Please, make yourselves comfortable.” He swept his hand over the lacquered
conference table. It was nicer than the one in the mayor’s office, though Jahns assuaged45 herself by
assuming it was shiny from being less frequently employed. She sat in the chair warily46, then reached
into her bag and produced the set of files.
“Straight to business, as always,” Bernard said, sitting beside her. He pushed his small round
spectacles up his nose and glided47 forward on the chair until his plump belly48 met the desk. “Always
appreciated that about you. We are, as you can imagine with yesterday’s unfortunate events, as busy
as ever. Lots of data to go through.”
“How’s that going?” Jahns asked while she arranged the material in front of her.
Two have risen. Most have remained unchanged.” He waved his hand. “It’s a lot of boring technical
stuff, but it’ll all be in my report. I should have it ported up before you get back to your office.”
“That’ll be fine,” Jahns said. She wanted to say something else, to acknowledge his department’s
hard work, to let him know that another cleaning had been successful, God knew why. But it was
Holston out there, the closest thing she’d ever had to a shadow, the only man she’d ever seen running
for her office when she was dead and feeding the roots of the fruit trees. It was too soon to mention it,
much less applaud it.
“I normally wire this sort of thing to you,” she said, “but since we were passing by, and you won’t
be up for the next committee meeting for, what, another three months … ?”
“The years go fast,” Bernard said.
“I just figured we could informally agree to this now, so I could offer our best candidate the job.”
She glanced up at Marnes. “Once she accepts, we can finish the paperwork on our way back up, if
own, rather than accept hers.
through a few pieces of high- quality paper. “We were wired about your visit, but your list of
candidates didn’t hit my desk until this morning. Otherwise, I would have tried to save you the trip
down and back up.” He pulled out a piece of paper devoid54 of creases56. It didn’t even look bleached57.
Jahns wondered where IT got such things while her office was held together with cornflour paste.
“I’m thinking, of the three names listed here, that Billings is our man.”
“We may consider him next—” Deputy Marnes started to say.
“I think we should consider him now.” He slid the paper toward Jahns. It was an acceptance
printed underneath.
She had to catch her breath.
“You’ve already contacted Peter Billings about this?”
“He accepted. The judge’s robe was going to be a little stifling59 for him, being so young and full of
energy. I thought he was a fine choice for that role, but I think he’s an even better one now for the job
of sheriff.”
along with Bernard’s suggestion, seeing it as a trade for a future pick of her own. She studied the
signature, Peter’s hand familiar from his various notes sent up on behalf of Judge Wilson, under
whom he currently shadowed. She imagined one of the porters who had flown past them on the steps
that day, apologizing as they went, rushing this very piece of paper down.
“I’m afraid Peter is currently third on our list,” Mayor Jahns finally said. Her voice suddenly felt
tired. It sounded frail61 and weak in the cavernous and wasteful62 space of that underused and outsized
conference room. She looked up at Marnes, who was glaring at the contract, his jaw63 clenching64 and
unclenching.
“Well, I think we both know Murphy’s name is on this list for flattery. He’s too old for the job—”
“Younger than me,” Marnes interrupted. “I hold up just fine.”
“And why is that?” Jahns asked.
“I’m not sure how … thorough your background check has been, but we’ve had enough problems
with this candidate that I recognized her name. Even though she’s from Maintenance.”
“What kinda problems?” Marnes demanded.
Jahns shot the deputy a look of warning.
“Nothing we would have wanted to report, mind you.” Bernard turned to Marnes. There was
venom67 in the small man’s eyes, a raw hatred68 for the deputy, or perhaps for the star on his chest.
“Nothing worth involving the law. But there have been some … creative requisitions from her office,
items rerouted from our use, improper69 claims of priority and the like.” Bernard took a deep breath
and folded his hands together on top of the folder in front of him. “I wouldn’t go as far as calling it
stealing, per se, but we have filed complaints with Deagan Knox as head of Mechanical to inform
him of these … irregularities.”
Bernard frowned. He spread his hands on the folder. “That’s it? Have you been listening? The
woman has practically stolen goods, has had items rerouted from my department. It’s not clear if
these are even for silo use. They could be for personal gain. God knows, the woman uses more than
her allowance of electricity. Maybe she trades for chits—”
“Is this a formal accusation71?” Marnes asked. He made a show of pulling his pad from his pocket
and clicking his mechanical pen.
“Ah, no. As I said, we would not want to trouble your office. But, as you can see, this is not the
sort of person to enter a career in high law. It’s what I expect of a mechanic, to be honest, which is
where, I’m afraid, this candidate should stay.” He patted the folder as if putting the issue to rest.
“That’s your suggestion,” Mayor Jahns said.
“Why, yes. And I think since we have such a fine candidate ready and willing to serve and already
living in the up top—”
“I’ll take your suggestion into account.” Jahns took the crisp contract from the table and
deliberately72 folded it in half, pinching the crease55 with her fingernails as she slid them down its length.
“And since you have no formal complaints about our first candidate, I will take this as tacit
approval to speak with her about the job.” Jahns stood and grabbed her bag. She slid the folders into
the outside pouch and secured the flap, then grabbed her walking stick from where it leaned against
the conference table. “Thank you for seeing us.”
“Yes, but—” Bernard scooted away from the table and hurried after her as Jahns made for the
door. Marnes got up and followed, smiling.
“What should I tell Peter? He’s of the assumption that he starts anytime!”
“You should never have told him anything,” Jahns said. She stopped in the foyer and glared at
Bernard. “I gave you my list in confidence. You betrayed that. Now, I appreciate all you do for the
silo. You and I have a long and peaceable history working together, overseeing what might be the
most prosperous age our people have known—”
“Which is why—” Bernard began.
“Which is why I’m forgiving this trespass,” Mayor Jahns said. “This is my job. My people. They
elected me to make these kinds of decisions. So my deputy and I will be on our way. We will give
our top choice a fair interview. And I will be sure to stop by on my way up in case there is anything
to sign.”
Bernard spread his hands in defeat. “Very well,” he said. “I apologize. I only hoped to expedite
the process. Now, please, rest a little, you are our guests. Let me get you some food, maybe some
fruit?”
“We’ll be on our way,” Jahns said.
“Fine.” He nodded. “But at least some water? Top up your canteens?”
Jahns remembered one of them was already empty, and they had a few more flights to go.
“That would be a kind gesture,” she said. She signaled to Marnes, who turned so she could grab
his canteen from his pack. Then she turned her back so he could grab hers as well. Bernard waved to
one of his workers to come fetch them and fill them up, but the entire time he kept his eyes on this
curious and intimate exchange.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
gauge
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| v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器 | |
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2
nibbled
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| v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的过去式和过去分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬 | |
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3
esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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4
pang
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| n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷 | |
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5
guilt
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| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
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6
trudged
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| vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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7
stomped
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| v.跺脚，践踏，重踏( stomp的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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8
sinewy
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| adj.多腱的，强壮有力的 | |
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9
rhythmic
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| adj.有节奏的，有韵律的 | |
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10
hovering
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| 鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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11
collapsing
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| 压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂 | |
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12
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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13
undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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14
elevation
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| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
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15
shameful
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| adj.可耻的，不道德的 | |
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16
ongoing
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| adj.进行中的，前进的 | |
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17
sparsely
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| adv.稀疏地；稀少地；不足地；贫乏地 | |
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18
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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19
contention
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| n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张 | |
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20
taboo
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| n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止 | |
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21
taboos
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| 禁忌( taboo的名词复数 )； 忌讳； 戒律； 禁忌的事物（或行为） | |
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22
coffin
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| n.棺材，灵柩 | |
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23
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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24
strapped
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| adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带 | |
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25
stenciled
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| v.用模板印（文字或图案）( stencil的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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26
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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27
nominations
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| n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 ) | |
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28
nomination
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| n.提名，任命，提名权 | |
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29
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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30
tugged
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| v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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31
pouch
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| n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件 | |
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32
lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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33
oversight
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| n.勘漏，失察，疏忽 | |
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34
conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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35
punctuation
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| n.标点符号，标点法 | |
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36
goodwill
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| n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉 | |
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37
overalls
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| n.（复）工装裤；长罩衣 | |
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38
collapsed
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| adj.倒塌的 | |
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39
flicked
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| （尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等） | |
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40
smoothly
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| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
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41
crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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42
wispy
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| adj.模糊的；纤细的 | |
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43
underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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44
regained
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| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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45
assuaged
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| v.减轻( assuage的过去式和过去分词 )；缓和；平息；使安静 | |
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46
warily
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| adv.留心地 | |
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47
glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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48
belly
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| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
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49
sensors
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| n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 ) | |
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50
atmospheric
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| adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的 | |
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51
toxins
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| n.毒素( toxin的名词复数 ) | |
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52
folder
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| n.纸夹，文件夹 | |
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53
flipped
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| 轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥 | |
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54
devoid
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| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
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55
crease
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| n.折缝，褶痕，皱褶；v.(使)起皱 | |
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56
creases
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| （使…）起折痕，弄皱( crease的第三人称单数 )； （皮肤）皱起，使起皱纹 | |
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57
bleached
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| 漂白的，晒白的，颜色变浅的 | |
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58
neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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59
stifling
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| a.令人窒息的 | |
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60
judicial
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| adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的 | |
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61
frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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62
wasteful
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| adj.（造成）浪费的，挥霍的 | |
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63
jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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64
clenching
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的现在分词 ) | |
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65
tilted
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| v. 倾斜的 | |
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66
gut
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| n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏 | |
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67
venom
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| n.毒液，恶毒，痛恨 | |
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68
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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69
improper
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| adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的 | |
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70
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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71
accusation
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| n.控告，指责，谴责 | |
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72
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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73
folders
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| n.文件夹( folder的名词复数 )；纸夹；（某些计算机系统中的）文件夹；页面叠 | |
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74
horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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