WALL · E picked up his pace as he headed toward his truck. He scurried up and pulled a lever on the truck’s side. Slowly the back began to come down, and WALL · E happily sped up the ramp and into the trailer. Home!
The wind whipped the truck as WALL · E peeled his new rubber treads from his wheels. He would put them on again in the morning before returning to work. But now it was time to relax. He removed a battered BnL cooler from his back. It was his collection box, and he was ready to begin the nightly ritual of going through the treasures he had found in the trash during the day.
But first, WALL · E went to an old television set and turned on his favorite video: Hello, Dolly! He always played it when he arrived home. After watching the video for a minute, he turned back to press a button that activated the rotating racks of shelves where he neatly stored his treasures. The day had yielded some very special finds: a few old toys and utensils (all of which made WALL · E curious, since he didn’t know what they were) and a lighter.
As he listened to the background music from the video, WALL · E perked up. He moved among his many treasures, stopping often in front of the fuzzy images scrolling across his television screen. The actors were singing and dancing to the song WALL · E had been humming all day. He paused, waiting for the next part. When it came, he hit the Record button on his chest and moved closer. WALL · E could see that the actors were not dancing now. They were walking together and looking into each other’s eyes. Then they took each other’s hands.
WALL · E tilted his head, his large eyes gazing tenderly at the screen. He interlocked his own two robotic hands. And for a moment the lonely robot wondered what it would be like to hold someone else’s hand.
Later that night, when the storm had ended, WALL · E rolled outside and turned over his collection box to clean it out. He pressed the Play button on his chest and listened to the song again. Although the little robot wasn’t programmed to understand romance, it was romance that pulsed through his circuits. It was this same strange impulse that made WALL · E gaze up at the few stars visible through the polluted haze and wish for someone to share his world.
Suddenly, WALL · E’s internal systems gave him a warning sign. The wind was picking up again. WALL · E checked the horizon. A massive sandstorm was approaching across the dried-up bay.
WALL · E swiftly headed back into the truck. He was familiar with the dangers of being caught in a sandstorm—air so clogged with dirt and debris that he wouldn’t be able to see; whipping winds that would fill every crevice in his robotic joints with sand; and, of course, the chance of being buried. This time he was lucky: he was close to the safety of his truck.
A blinding wave of sand roared closer as WALL · E entered the truck and began to raise its door. He stopped for a moment, remembering, and then turned and made a robotic noise—like a whistle—to call for his cockroach. The door shut just as the storm hit, with both master and pet safe inside their little home.
WALL · E unwrapped a BnL sponge cake and set it on a shelf. Still moist from the preservatives that had kept it intact for centuries, the little cake made a comfy cockroach bed.
WALL · E collapsed into a box shape and backed into an empty shelf. Rocking the shelf back and forth like a cradle, he closed his eyes and shut down for the night. Outside, the full force of the storm raged across the terrain.
瓦力加快速度向著他的貨車(chē)駛?cè)ァK掖亿s過(guò)去,拉動(dòng)貨車(chē)一側(cè)的拉桿。貨車(chē)尾部的車(chē)廂門(mén)慢慢降下來(lái),瓦力開(kāi)心地加速駛上坡道,進(jìn)入車(chē)廂。到家了!
瓦力將他的新橡膠履帶從輪子上剝了下來(lái),而外面狂風(fēng)正抽打著貨車(chē)。他會(huì)在早上回去工作之前再戴上這對(duì)履帶,但是現(xiàn)在是休息的時(shí)間。他從背部取下一臺(tái)破破爛爛的大賣(mài)場(chǎng)冷藏箱。這是他的百寶箱,接下來(lái)他準(zhǔn)備開(kāi)始他每晚的例行活動(dòng)——整理他白天在垃圾堆里找到的珍寶。
但是在那之前,瓦力走到一臺(tái)舊電視機(jī)前,打開(kāi)了他最喜愛(ài)的錄像節(jié)目《你好,多莉!》。他總是一回家就播放它??戳艘环昼婁浵窈?,他轉(zhuǎn)身按下一個(gè)按鈕,啟動(dòng)了一個(gè)旋轉(zhuǎn)儲(chǔ)物架。儲(chǔ)物架的擱板上整整齊齊地?cái)[放著他的寶貝們。今天他發(fā)現(xiàn)了一些非常特別的東西:幾個(gè)舊玩具和廚房用具(他不知道它們是什么,所以對(duì)它們非常好奇),還有一個(gè)打火機(jī)。
聽(tīng)著錄像帶的背景音樂(lè),瓦力感到活力充沛。他在眾多的寶貝間移動(dòng),經(jīng)常停在電視機(jī)前看著屏幕上閃過(guò)的模糊影像。演員們起舞歌唱,伴奏的正是瓦力一整天都在哼著的那首曲子。他停了下來(lái),等著播放下一部分。等開(kāi)始放下個(gè)部分的時(shí)候,他按下胸前的“錄音鍵”,并靠近電視機(jī)。瓦力能看見(jiàn)演員們現(xiàn)在不跳舞了。他們一起走著,互相注視著對(duì)方的眼睛。然后,他們握住了對(duì)方的手。
瓦力歪了歪腦袋,他的大眼睛溫柔地盯著電視屏幕。他將自己的兩只機(jī)械手交握在一起。這個(gè)孤獨(dú)的機(jī)器人疑惑了好一會(huì)兒:握住別人的手會(huì)是什么感覺(jué)?
那晚深夜,暴風(fēng)雨停歇了,瓦力慢慢駛到貨車(chē)外,將他的百寶箱倒過(guò)來(lái)清理干凈。他按下胸前的“播放”鍵,重聽(tīng)那首歌。雖然這個(gè)小機(jī)器人的程序設(shè)定中沒(méi)有對(duì)愛(ài)情的理解,他的線(xiàn)路中卻搏動(dòng)著浪漫的沖動(dòng)。正是這種奇怪的沖動(dòng)使瓦力抬頭凝視著濃濃霧霾中僅僅可見(jiàn)的幾顆星星,希望有人能和他共享他的世界。
突然,瓦力的內(nèi)部系統(tǒng)發(fā)出了一個(gè)警告信號(hào)。風(fēng)又加速了。瓦力看向地平線(xiàn),發(fā)現(xiàn)一場(chǎng)超強(qiáng)的沙暴正從干涸的海灣那里向他襲來(lái)。
瓦力迅速駛向貨車(chē)。他很熟悉遇上沙暴可能面臨的種種危險(xiǎn)——空氣中滿(mǎn)是灰塵和碎片,他會(huì)看不見(jiàn);狂風(fēng)會(huì)抽打著他,使他機(jī)械關(guān)節(jié)的各個(gè)縫隙里都填滿(mǎn)沙子;當(dāng)然,還有被深埋的可能性。這一次他很幸運(yùn),因?yàn)樗x他的貨車(chē)不遠(yuǎn),那里很安全。
在瓦力進(jìn)入貨車(chē)開(kāi)始升起車(chē)廂門(mén)的時(shí)候,一陣讓人睜不開(kāi)眼睛的風(fēng)沙咆哮著向他越靠越近。他停頓了一下,想起了一件事,然后轉(zhuǎn)身發(fā)出類(lèi)似口哨的機(jī)械聲音來(lái)召喚他的蟑螂。沙暴眼看要襲來(lái),車(chē)門(mén)恰好關(guān)閉,主人和他的寵物進(jìn)入了他們安全的小家。
瓦力打開(kāi)一塊大賣(mài)場(chǎng)的海綿蛋糕,將它放在一塊擱板上。蛋糕里的防腐劑使其幾百年來(lái)都沒(méi)有腐壞,還保持著濕潤(rùn)。這一小塊蛋糕成了蟑螂舒適的床鋪。
瓦力收縮成盒子形狀,后退到一塊空擱板上。他讓擱板像搖籃一樣前后晃動(dòng),然后閉上眼睛,關(guān)閉電源過(guò)夜。車(chē)廂外,沙暴威力十足,在這片土地上肆虐。
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