۞
The short history of time travel
时间穿越简史
~
Giacomo Andrea de Ferrara
贾可蒙·安德烈·德·费拉拉
❅
页面1
Part one
一
About king Frederick and his Order of Justice
腓特烈国王与正义骑士团
1212-1465
——————————
۞
页面2-3
This extraordinary story begins a long time before I or Master Leonardo were born.
这段非凡的历史发端之际，在我与老师列奥纳多降生的长久之前。
It was the year 1212 and Frederick II had just become king.
彼时还是1212年，腓特烈二世刚刚登基。
He was a wise man, interested in the sciences.
此人英明智慧，热衷科学。
He appreciated people for their merits and skills rather than their position in society.
比起人们在社会中的地位，他更重视其品德与能力。
——————————
۞
页面4-5
The young king quickly showed his aptitude for governance, and it wasn’t long before he was crowned emperor of the Romans.
年轻的国王很快展现出了治国的天赋，没过几年便登上了罗马皇帝的宝座。
His open-mindedness and (according to some) his lack of a moral compass cost him the favor of the Pope and the Church.
他思想开明，部分人还说他不辨善恶，这两个品质令他失去了教宗与教会的支持。
And so it happened that he stood before a fateful decision.
于是，他遇到了关乎命运的选择——
Would he let himself be excommunicated, or would he take his men on a Crusade into the Holy Land of Jerusalem?
他要任由教会将他开除教籍，还是率领军队东征圣地耶路撒冷？
——————————
۞
页面6-7
The Crusade was perilous, but with it came an unexpected discovery.
东征之途危险重重，不过他们收获了一项意外发现：
Somewhere in Palestine in a desert cave, Frederick and his men found a miraculous device.
腓特烈与部下于巴勒斯坦境内某处沙漠岩洞发现了一台神奇的机器。
The king called it “The Gate to the Temple of Wisdom” and he brought it back to Europe with him.
皇帝称之“智慧神殿之门”，将其带回了欧洲。
——————————
۞
页面8-9
The device allowed them to visit times when miracles were more common and human knowledge was without bounds.
这台机器能够令人到达其他时代，看到奇观随处可见，看到人类的知识不再有边界。
But Frederick very well understood the power that slept within the device and the consequences if it fell into the wrong hands.
不过，腓特烈非常明白这个机器蕴含了怎样的潜能，也明白一旦落入歹人之手又会产生怎样的后果。
And that is why he created the Ordo Iustitialis, sworn and bound to the protection of the gate, and built a remote and defensible fortress for it.
正因如此，他创建了正义骑士团，团内成员誓言终生保护神殿之门，并在偏远之地为其修建了固若金汤的城堡。
——————————
۞
页面10-11
After his death, the order went into hiding and fell into obscurity, but it never stopped protecting the gate… until the year 1465.
腓特烈二世驾崩后，骑士团遁入城堡，逐渐不再为人所知。但他们一直都在守护智慧之门，自始至……1465年。
Generation after generation of popes took it upon themselves to seek the order’s hideout.
一代又一代教宗孜孜不倦，寻找骑士团的藏身之处。
But it took two hundred years before one of them was successful.
寻找二百余年，终于心愿得偿。
Paul II became the architect of the end of the independent Ordo Iustitialis.
保禄二世发现了城堡的所在，也剥夺了正义骑士团的独立。
——————————
۞
页面12-13
One fateful night, the pope’s men infiltrated the order’s fortress under the clock of darkness.
那个命运的夜晚，教宗的部下趁着夜色进入了骑士团的城堡。
The most able and loyal brothers either died by their hand or scattered into the surrounding countryside.
骑士团最忠诚、善战的成员，要么死在他们手中，要么被迫逃至周边乡下。
But not before they were able to destroy the gate.
不过他们成功摧毁了智慧之门。
Paul II took over the remains of Ordo Iustitialis, but neither demands nor pleas could bring the power of the gate under his control.
保禄二世接管了骑士团的余党，可无论厉喝还是恳求，都无法将神殿之门恢复如初。
——————————
۞
页面14-15
Part two
二
About how I became a sp^y against my will
误打误撞成卧底
1495-1496
——————————
۞
页面16-17
In the year 1495, the young but very ambitious Duke Cesare Borgia showed heavy interest in having his man employed in the service of Leonardo.
1495年，抱负远大的年轻公爵恺撒·博尔吉亚意欲安插自己的人在列奥纳多身边，为其效力。
He wanted Leonardo to be unable to keep secrets from him.
他不希望列奥纳多对他有所隐瞒。
But Leonardo was a demanding master. And Borgia’s men might have been loyal, but very rarely quick-witted. That’s how I fit into the story.
但列奥纳多对助手要求颇高，且博尔吉亚的手下不论忠心与否，个个蠢钝庸碌，我才有了出场的机会。
At the time I was staying in the damp cells of Castello Estense.
我当时人在埃斯特城堡的狱中，几乎再无出狱希望。
Borgia waited until I had lost almost all hope of ever seeing the light of day again. And then he came with his proposition.
博尔吉亚等到我万念俱灰，方才表示有意保我出狱。
——————————
۞
页面18-19
My freedom in exchange for me becoming a sp^y in Leonardo’s workshops.
我的自由有其条件：我需要进入列奥纳多的工作室成为卧底。
I accepted. Although I still needed to complete the master’s test.
我接受了，不过我依旧要通过老师的考验。
Many claimed that it is impossible, but I had another advantage over them besides my wit: a device called the Oculus Perpetua.
许多人称列奥纳多的考验根本无法通过，然而本人拥有另一项优势：名为永恒之眼的装置。
It allowed me to see right inside mechanisms and pierce the very fabric of time.
它能令我透视机械内部，也能穿越古今时间。
It was no coincidence that if found its way into my hands at that time. But I had no way of knowing that yet.
我彼时遇到此物绝非巧合，只是当时我还无从明白这个事实。
——————————
۞
页面20-21
A year came and went and I became an invaluable assistant to Leonardo.
一年后我成为了列奥纳多的得力助手。
The Borgias had their hands full as well.
博尔吉亚家族也收获颇丰。
During the same year, Cesare’s father Rodrigo Borgia became the pope and took upon himself the name Alexander VI, and one of the documents ending up on his desk was a treatise on Ordo Iustitialis.
恺撒的父亲罗德里哥·博尔吉亚同年就任教宗，圣明亚历山大六世，且拿到了有关《正义骑士团年代记》的一本典籍。
——————————
۞
页面22-23
Alexander VI was an extremely ambitious man. Some would say he was predestined for the position – whether they meant it as an insult or a compliment.
亚历山大六世雄心勃勃，有些人说他当教宗是命中注定，也不知是贬损还是赞扬。
And so when he learned about the order and the gate, he immediately started thinking about how he would use the power.
因此，当他知道骑士团和智慧之门的存在之后，便立刻开始思考如何令这二者为自己所用。
But first he needed to acquire it.
但首先他需要掌握他们。
He decided to entrust the task to someone he could count on completely: his son.
于是他决定将这个任务交给了儿子恺撒·博尔吉亚，因为他对恺撒非常放心。
He became a member of Ordo Iustitialis and was charged with taking care of the miraculous time machine.
恺撒因而加入了正义骑士团，受命负责那台神奇的时间机器。
——————————
۞
页面24-25
Cesare, like many influential Italians, employed many different artists and scholars.
恺撒与很多意大利权贵一样，资助了很多工匠与学者。
When he got his hands on the plans for the gate, he knew right away that it would be almost impossible to build something like that.
他拿到智慧之门的图纸时，就知道建造此物近乎不可能。
But he also knew that if anyone were to do it, it would have to be master Leonardo da Vinci.
但他也明白，如果有人能做到，那必然是列奥纳多大师。
——————————
۞
页面26-27
For a time, Leonardo could work in peace. Slowly but steadily, he revealed the mysteries of the miraculous device.
列奥纳多一度潜心研究智慧之门，且渐渐了解了这台机器的神奇之处。
But as he learned of the gate’s power, he started to understand what ramifications there could be if it fell into the wrong hands.
但随着他了解到这道门的强大，他意识到此物如果落入歹人之手将会产生怎样的后果。
On the one hand, he regretted that he ever took such a task upon himself, while on the other he felt that the greatest mystery in human history was just in front of him.
他一面后悔接下这项任务，一面又感觉自己眼前的图纸蕴含着人类史上最伟大的秘密。
——————————
۞
页面28-29
Part three
三
About the joys and sorrows of Cesare Borgia
恺撒·博尔吉亚的喜忧
1498-1503
——————————
۞
页面30-31
I wouldn’t describe Cesare Borgia as the most patient of men, but he understood that work on such an undertaking takes time.
在我看来，恺撒·博尔吉亚虽然绝对不是个慢性子，但也明白研究这种东西并非一日之功。
Even then, from time to time he was unable to control himself and showed a glimpse of his true nature.
话虽如此，他有时依旧无法掩饰自己的急躁，从而露出本色。
It was 1498 when I witnessed this first-hand.
1498年的某天，我亲眼看到了他的真实面目。
He pressed Master Leonardo, and when unsuccessful he came to remind me of my part of our deal and took my sketch of Leonardo’s plans to build the time machine.
他催促列奥纳多老师尽快完工，结果催促未遂，便找到了我，还从我手中夺走了列奥纳多给时间机器画的图纸草图。
At the same time, the Oculus vanished from my room, but it was comforting to know that he was not behind it.
与此同时，永恒之眼也在我的房间不翼而飞，而后得知此事与他没有关系，我心中庆幸万分。
——————————
۞
页面32-33
Cesare had his hands full for the next couple of years.
恺撒在接下来的几年忙得不可开交。
He earned a reputation for being powerful and cunning warrior.
他名利双收，声名远播。
With full support of both the pope and the French king John III of Navarre, nobody could stand in his way.
身后有教宗与法兰西国王胡安三世撑腰，谁也不敢奈他何。
He conquered city after city on his way to creating a unified dominion of northern Italian provinces completely in the hands of the house Borgia.
他攻城略地，一路拿下了意大利北部的多个省份，尽皆归入博尔吉亚家族之手。
——————————
۞
页面34-35
But nothing lasts forever. Cesare became a victim of circumstance that completely reversed his fortune.
然而，好景不长，命运的无常彻底改变了恺撒的境遇。
In 1503, he was visiting his father when both of them suddenly came down with an illness.
1503年某日，他正在探访他父亲，突然双双患病。
Alexander VI never awoke and Cesare had lingering symptoms for life.
亚历山大六世再也没有醒来，恺撒也落下了终生不去的病根。
Of course, illness is only one possible explanation.
诚然，患病只是一种可能的说法。
Whether it was just a coincidence or if there was an intent to poison both men is something I will leave to the reader’s imagination.
至于此次事件仅为巧合，抑或却有他人有意毒害父子二人，那就留待读者自行揣摩了。
——————————
۞
页面36-37
It seemed that even after the death of his father, Cesare could bring their plan to fruition.
即便父亲去世，恺撒似乎依然有望完成他的计划。
The new pope, later known as Julius II, assured him that he would support his campaign if Cesare helped with the election.
新任教宗，即儒略二世，向恺撒保证，只要他能帮助自己胜选，就助他成功。
But right after he sat upon the throne of Saint Peter, he changed his tune.
谁知他刚一坐上圣伯多禄的宝座，就变了心意。
Borgia lost everything.
博尔吉亚失去了一切。
His most powerful ally, his domain in Northern Italy, and even his position in Ordo Iustitialis.
他失去了强大的盟友，失去了意大利北部领土，连他在正义骑士团的位置也没了。
——————————
۞
页面38-39
But whatever his fate, Cesare Borgia had no intention of giving up. On the contrary. And his way forward was to have the time machine made by Master Leonardo.
不过无论命运如何，恺撒·博尔吉亚不仅丝毫没有放弃的意思，而且企图拥有列奥纳多老师造出的时间机器。
But for that to work, he needed Leonardo to actually finish it. And to be the first who got to use the completed machine.
但他想成功，就需要列奥纳多把机器造出来，然后第一个使用它。
——————————
۞
页面40-41
Life in Italy wasn’t easy even for a clever and experienced sellsword like Cesare Borgia, especially when he had to hide from his enemies every step of the way.
即便是恺撒·博尔吉亚这样精明、老道的雇佣兵，意大利的生活也并不容易。况且他时时刻刻还要躲避敌人的追踪。
Both paranoia and desperation made his visits to Leonardo’s workshop more and more frequent.
他天性多疑、处境艰难，因而三天两头造访列奥纳多的工作室，且日益频繁。
It escalated to such an extent that the master began to fear for his life, and finally decided to move to Milan where he could continue his work without interruption. Or so he thought.
后来老师因为担忧自己会有性命之虞，最终决定迁至米兰，觉得到了那边就能安心做事了。
——————————
۞
页面42-43
Part four
四
About the time machine of Master Leonardo
列奥纳多老师的时间机器
1506-1508
——————————
۞
页面44-45
I understood how dire the situation was in the year 1506 when Leonardo invited me to his house in the Florentine Palazzo Gondi.
1506年，列奥纳多邀请我去佛罗伦萨的贡迪府邸，我就知道了情况有多严峻。
Before my arrival, the master left me a series of notes and indices to lead me to his machine.
老师在府里留下了若干字条和清单，引我找到了他的机器。
He had to use it himself before we could meet because both Borgia and the members of the secret society were on his heels and threatened to catch him.
他在我们见面之前不得不用了一次时间机器，因为博尔吉亚与秘密骑士团都在四处找他，还要将他抓去审讯。
——————————
۞
页面46-47
Thus I had to find my own way through his house full of wondrous contraptions and inventions.
老师家中布置了各种神奇的装置和发明，我一路摸索。
Luckily I was able to find most of the indices before Leonardo’s pursuers, and I got my hands on a special glove that was made as a unique key to successfully use the time machine.
所幸最终我抢在其他人前面找到了绝大多数线索，拿到了一只特殊的手套。只有依靠这只手套，才能成功打开那台时间机器。
——————————
۞
页面48-49
At the last moment, Cesare Borgia showed me why he is such a dangerous foe when he attacked me near Leonardo’s machine and was successful in jumping through the gate after me.
我最终启动了时间机器，却遭到恺撒·博尔吉亚的袭击。他不仅让我明白了眼前的这个对手多么危险，还紧随我后跳入时间机器。
Before I came to, he stole the glove from my unconscious body and vanished.
趁我昏迷他夺走了手套，人间蒸发。
Fortunately he had no time to search the place carefully, otherwise he would have been sure to find the Oculus Perpetua prepared for me in the tower of Baida Fiorentina.
幸好他当时没有时间仔细翻找那个地方，否则一定还会将老师在巴迪亚教堂里留给我的永恒之眼一并带走。
——————————
۞
页面50-51
At the time, neither of us knew that everything had gone according to the master’s plan.
那时，我与恺撒都不知道一切尽在老师的掌握之中。
Borgia and I had been taken two years into the future to the year 1508.
我们两人传到两年之后的1508年。
But Leonardo, just a few moments earlier, had used the machine to travel into the past, where he started working diligently to make everything fall into place.
然而列奥纳多不久之前刚刚跳入机器回到了过去，开始勤加谋划，以保自己的计划天衣无缝、滴水不漏。
It was he who prepared the Oculus Perpetua for me when I needed it, and then took it back to sp^y on Borgia and the secret society.
永恒之眼正是由他为我而造，而后为了监看博尔吉亚与秘密骑士团，便又拿了回去。
——————————
۞
页面52-53
He found a safe place in the past at the villa of his good friend Luca Pacioli, where he stayed for an incredible thirteen years before we met again.
他回到过去以后，住进好友卢卡·帕西奥利的庄园，找到了安身之处，足足待了十三年，直到我们再次相见。
He finally introduced me to his plan to destroy the time machine and made me understand that it is the only way forward.
也就是到了那天，他才告诉我自己计划销毁时间机器，而且向我解释只有那样才会有出路。
But first we had to obtain the secret of Ordo Iustitialis.
不过，我们当时的首要任务是了解正义骑士团的秘密。
——————————
۞
页面54-55
Our first move was to visit a secret library in the monastery of Sacra San di Michele near Torino.
我们先是去了都灵附近的圣弥额尔修道院。
After a tedious and difficult search, we finally found the Chronicle of Ordo Iustitialis and for the first time we knew the roots of the secret society that hounded Leonardo and had such an interest in procuring his time machine.
费了一番周折，最终找到了秘密书房和《正义骑士团年代记》。到了这个时候，我们才知道这个秘密组织的来源，也才知道他们费了那么多功夫是为了得到列奥纳多的时间机器。
Regrettably, they hunted us down and we had to improvise…
熟料他们追了上来，我们只得随机应变……
——————————
۞
页面56-57
Part five
五
About the last journey through time
最后一次时间穿越
1508
——————————
۞
页面58-59
The Oculus was damaged but luckily it was able to whisk me away from the greatest danger in time.
敌人一箭射坏了永恒之眼，所幸这个设备在危难之时依旧将我带离了那个时间。
Though I am definitely no coward, it really scared me when I was falling through time and space, chaotically, endlessly.
我在时空之间落了很久很久，虽然我绝非懦夫，但那个场景也令我胆战心惊。
In the end my fall was painful but left no serious injuries.
最后我终于重重落在地上，还好没有摔出重伤。
I regained consciousness in rarely used catacombs and was able to put pieces of the Oculus back together, find the Chronicle of the Order once again, and finally slip unnoticed from the monastery.
我苏醒后，发现自己身处人迹罕至的墓道，而后得以将永恒之眼修复如初。我再次找到《年代记》，并悄悄溜出修道院。
——————————
۞
页面60-61
When I finally met with Leonardo again, and for the first time with his host Luca, the master shared with us the details of his plan.
后来我终于又见到列奥纳多，也见到了他的好友卢卡。老师详细向我们阐述了他的计划。
The gate must be destroyed.
智慧之门必须被销毁。
Not just the machine Leonardo built using the plans of Ordo Iustitialis, but also the original one. Frederick’s Gate to the Temple of Wisdom. Completely.
不只是列奥纳多造的那一台，腓特烈原本发现的那一道也要销毁。彻底销毁。
But to do that we will need to use the time machine and all of Leonardo’s inventions: the Oculus and both special gloves.
可是，想要销毁这两台机器，我们需要启动那个时间机器，还要借助列奥纳多的发明：永恒之眼和两只手套。
It is time to visit Borgia.
该去会会博尔吉亚了。
——————————
۞
页面62-63
I think we once again underestimated Cesare Borgia.
我感觉我们又低估了恺撒·博尔吉亚的城府。
He expected an attempt to infiltrate his hideout and was well prepared for me.
他知道有人会潜入他的藏身之处，就在楼内守株待兔。
As his prisoner, I had no option but to accept his offer to exchange the glove he stole from me earlier for an amulet symbolizing power over Ordo Iustitialis, which is in the possession of Pope Julius II.
我进了他的圈套，只能答应他的条件，帮他去教宗儒略二世那里偷来象征正义骑士团团长之权的护符，以此交换他手上的那只手套。
With regard to what he told me about the order and the pope, this could actually work in out favor…
至于他说的那些关于骑士团和教宗的话，对于我们而言或许都是有用的信息……
——————————
۞
页面64-65
With Luca’s help I got into the heart of the Vatican, to the personal quarters of the pope.
卢卡带着我来到了梵蒂冈的心腹之地——教宗的起居之所。
Borgia was telling the truth. Ordo Iustitialis was indeed beholden to the pope, and now I knew how it happened.
博尔吉亚所言不虚。正义骑士团现在确实为教宗马首是瞻，而且我现在也知道是什么原因了。
I also finally learned how to find the secret society. And the amulet I obtained for Borgia wasn’t just a symbol of power.
我最终知道了秘密骑士团的藏身之地，另外，博尔吉亚托我寻找的护符并非只是权力的象征。
It was time to take the initiative, but first we needed to reconvene in the safety of Luca’s home.
现在，我们需要主动出击，不过要先到卢卡家汇合，那里比较安全。
——————————
۞
页面66-67
Borgia had to be following us, because shortly after our arrival he was knocking on the gates with his underling following closely.
博尔吉亚一定跟踪了我们，我们刚到卢卡庄园没多久，他就带着手下找上门来。
He apparently changed his mind about the trade as he wanted the pope’s amulet just like that.
显然他改变了主意，现在企图强抢教宗的护符。
He was definitely better armed than us. But he couldn’t anticipate Leonardo’s Oculus Perpetua, and with its help we were finally able to stop him.
他的装备确实胜过我们，不过他不知道我们还有列奥纳多的永恒之眼，帮助我穿越回过去，破坏了他的计划。
With the complete set of the master’s inventions, the pope’s amulet, and knowledge of the place where the order likely hid the time machine, our goal was within our grasp.
如此一来，我们终于拿到了老师的三件发明和教宗的护符，还知道了骑士团藏匿时间机器的地方。成功已经不远了。
——————————
۞
页面68-69
Castel del Monte was full of Ordo Iustitialis secrets.
蒙特城堡藏了正义骑士团的太多秘密。
Some of them would require long periods of study; others perhaps couldn’t be understood without further travel through the gate.
一些需要长期研究才能揭破，一些可能需要借助智慧之门才能理解。
I felt a tinge of regret knowing it will all be lost forever. But it was the only way.
想到这个东西即将永远消失，我的心中升起了一丝愧疚，但这是唯一的办法。
We couldn’t allow the gate’s power to fall into the wrong hands.
我们绝对不能让智慧之门落入歹人手中。
They almost had us in the courtyard of the fort, but I was able to slip into the time machine at the last moment, and right after that continued through the original gate.
我们在城堡的院子里险些被他们抓住，我在最后时刻跳进了时间机器，紧接着进入了原本的那道智慧之门。
I remained alone; hundreds, maybe thousands of years away from home.
再没有第二个人进来，此时可能距离“现在”已是数百乃至数千年之遥。
——————————
۞
页面70-71
The last part of my journey took place at a location known by the members of Ordo Iustitialis as the Temple of Wisdom.
最后我来到了正义骑士团所说的智慧神殿。
It was very hard to imagine that this huge, majestic building could have been the work of human hands.
这座建筑恢弘阔大，很难想象出自人类之手。
Maybe there was a bit of truth in the tales of the mythical Nephilim.
或许真如传说所言，这个地方实为神秘的伟人建筑。
But there was no time to speculate. I had to ensure the gate’s complete destruction.
没时间猜这些了，我必须彻底摧毁智慧之门。
When I saw the pillars falling around me and watched the irrevocable destruction of the last remnants of an ancient civilization, I felt like crying.
我看到身边的立柱倒塌，目睹古代文明仅存的遗迹就此覆灭，悲痛之情涌上心头。
But it wasn’t just an end. It was also a new beginning.
不过，这并非只是终点，也是一个新的起点。
For me, Leonardo and Luca alike, and who knows, maybe even for Cesare Borgia…
于我如此，于列奥纳多和卢卡如此，或许于恺撒·博尔吉亚而言，也是如此……