How to survive the apocalypse | Ada, Ep. 1

Hi, I’m Ada.

翻译人员: Victoria Lu 校对人员: Bruce Wang

你好，我是 Ada。

In this series, I tackle some of life’s pressing existential questions,

在本系列中，我探讨了生活中一些 紧迫的生存问题，

like “what’s the best way to survive the apocalypse?”

比如 “在世界末日中生存的最佳方法 是什么？”

Do you ever look around and think,

你有没有环顾四周，想过， 当世界有这么多可能的终结

how is everyone just going about their business

时，每个人都是

when there are so many ways the world could end?

怎么做生意的？

I want to shake them.

我想动摇他们。

Not that they'd listen to me.

并不是说他们会听我的话。

Not yet at least.

至少还没有。

Oh! Good morning.

哦！早上好。

Oh, sorry.

哦，对不起。

You must be Ada, our new clerical assistant.

你一定是 我们的新文员助理艾达。

You’re late.

你迟到了。

Three minutes.

三分钟。

Let me show you around.

让我带你四处看看。

Um, I, uh, this library is amazing.

嗯，我，呃，这个图书馆太神奇了。

Um, you know, I basically lived in a library

嗯，你知道，我在写哲学 论文

when I was writing my philosophy thesis on—

时基本上 住在图书馆里 ——

You’ll sit at reception and help patrons with the Wi-Fi password

你会坐在接待处帮助顾客 输入 Wi-Fi 密码

or returning a book, things like that.

或者归还一本书，诸如此类。

Anything more complicated, you come get me.

再复杂点的话 你来接我

And when there are no patrons, there’s plenty to keep you busy.

而且，当没有顾客时， 有很多东西可以让你忙得不可开交。

Every minute that passes, you could spend doing something.

每过一分钟， 你就可以花点时间做点什么。

Something important, or more important than this, at least.

至少是一些重要 或比这更重要的东西。

But you also have to work, and eat, and sleep, and pair socks,

但是你还必须工作、吃饭、睡觉、 穿袜子，

and make other tiny attempts to exert order on the chaos of the universe.

并做出其他微小的尝试，在混乱的宇宙中施加 秩序。

Excuse me, could you help me find these books?

对不起，你能帮 我找到这些书吗？

Hmm. Biochemistry, Saccharomyces cerevisiae life cycle.

嗯。生物化学， 酿酒酵母生命周期。

You must be a scientist.

你必须是一名科学家。

A former scientist. I was a nuclear physicist.

一位前科学家。 我曾经是一名核物理学家。

Now I brew craft beer.

现在我酿造精酿啤酒。

But why?

但是为什么？

Brewing beer is the perfect blend of art and science.

酿造啤酒是艺术与科学的完美 融合。

And after years tucked away in a lab, I wanted to do something real,

在实验室里呆了多年之后， 我想做一些真实、切实

something tangible.

的东西。

I love being able to see the joy on someone’s face when they taste my beer.

我喜欢能够看到 别人品尝我的啤酒时脸上的喜悦。

Ah, okay, I’m just gonna say it.

啊，好吧，我要说出来。

We— I mean we, humanity— always seem to be just around the corner from catastrophe,

我们 —— 我的意思是我们，人类 — — 似乎总是处于灾难的拐角处，

and you had the chance to actually do something about that and chose not to.

而你有机会为此做 点什么，但选择不这样做。

I’m... I’m sorry?

我是...对不起？

How much joy do you think craft beer will bring

当我们努力在世界末日中幸存下来 时，你认为 精酿啤酒会带来多少欢乐？

when we’re trying to survive the apocalypse?

Um, well, I’m not sure I’d want to survive the apocalypse, as you put it.

嗯，好吧，我不确定我是否想像你所说的那样 在世界末日中幸存下来。

I mean, think for a second what it would actually be like to lose almost everyone

我的意思是，想一想失去你关心的几乎所有

and everything you care about.

人和所有东西到 底会是什么样子。

But it wouldn't necessarily be like that.

但不一定是这样。

Yes, you would lose a lot.

是的，你会损失很多。

But even in a truly global catastrophe,

但是，即使在真正的全球灾难中，大多数

there would almost certainly be places where most people

人和基础设施也几乎肯定会

and infrastructure survive.

有生存 的地方。

And have what kind of life, though?

但是，过着什么样的生活呢？

So, say our town survives.

所以，假设我们的城镇幸存下来。

We have a lot of luxuries— bars, and coffee shops,

我们有很多奢侈品—— 酒吧、咖啡店

and souvenir stores selling magic crystals.

和出售 魔法水晶的纪念品商店。

Hey, sounds like I'll need protection from negative energy more than ever.

嘿，听起来我比以往任何时候都更需要保护自己 免受负能量的侵害。

Mhm.

嗯。

Without the interconnected global systems we relied on,

如果没有我们所依赖的相互关联的全球 系统，

we’ll have to find ways to produce food, medicines, electricity, fuel,

我们将不得不想办法在当地生产食 物、药品、电力、燃料

and clean water locally.

和清洁水。

Our best bet to survive in the long run

从长远来看，我们生存的最佳选择

is to collaborate— within our town, of course—

是合作——当然是在我们的城镇 内——

but also with whatever other survivors we can contact.

但也要与我们可以联系的任何其他 幸存者合作。

Hey! Everyone! We need to ration our food until we can call for help— hey!

嘿！大家！我们需要配给我们的食物， 直到我们能打电话求救——嘿！

She wants to invite outsiders in to take our food!

她想邀请局外人 来吃我们的食物！

No, that’s not what I said—

不，我不是这么说的——

(Crowd booing)

（人群的嘘声）环

Look around. People are desperate.

顾四周。人们很绝望。

Even if other survivors don’t raid us, I doubt they’ll help.

即使其他幸存者没有突袭我们， 我也怀疑他们会有所帮助。

Especially when we have nothing to give in return.

尤其是当我们没有什么 可以回报的时候。

Electricity, then. Let's work on that.

那么，电力。让我们努力解决这个问题。

Getting the nearest power plant back up and running will be a massive effort.

让最近的发电厂恢复 运行将是一项艰巨的努力。

Hey, people, listen to me! Everyone listen, I—

嘿，伙计们，听我说！ 大家听着，我-

(Crowd booing)

（人群嘘）

Guys, electricity will make things so much better.

伙计们，电力会让 事情变得更好。

We’ll do it for ourselves. Not to contact other people.

我们会自己做。 不要联系其他人。

Right?

对吧？

Ugh, it runs on coal.

呃，它靠煤炭运行。

Actually, fossil fuels are easier to use than more advanced technologies.

实际上，化石燃料 比更先进的技术更易于使用。

So you’re proposing mining for coal?

所以你在提议开采煤炭？

That doesn't sound easy.

这听起来并不容易。

No, but there are other things we can burn in a coal plant.

不，但是 我们可以在燃煤电厂里燃烧其他东西。

We've got lots of wood which we can use to make charcoal,

我们有很多木头 可以用来制造木炭，

which is more compact and burns way hotter than wood.

木炭比木头更紧凑，燃烧 得更热。

It’s not as efficient as coal, but it’s the best option we have.

它的效率不如煤炭， 但这是我们最好的选择。

To fuel the power plant and get the local grid back on,

为了给发电厂加油并 恢复当地电网，

we’re going to need a lot of charcoal.

我们将需要大量的木炭。

No one will get any electricity unless everyone works together.

除非 大家齐心协力，否则没有人能获得任何电力。

Okay, okay. There are ways to get a little electricity with a lot less fuel.

好吧，好吧。有一些方法可以用更少的燃料获得少量 电力。

They’ll thank me later.

他们稍后会感谢我的。

The internet?

互联网？

Cellular data?

蜂窝数据？

Ugh. Even landlines rely on physical infrastructure

呃。即使是固定电话也 依赖物理基础设施，

that seems like it’s all been disrupted.

而这些基础设施似乎都 已中断。

Hmm. Okay, so how can I get a message out?

嗯。好吧，那我怎样才能把消息传出去？

Well, radios pick up signals in the air.

好吧，无线电接收空中的信号。

You can make a simple radio that doesn't even need electricity pretty easily.

你可以很容易地制作一台 甚至不需要电的简单收音机。

In World War Two, prisoners of war scavenged the materials to make them.

在第二次世界大战中，战俘 搜集材料来制作它们。

Any old wire will work as an aerial.

任何旧电线都可以用作天线。

It’ll pick up the electromagnetic fields of passing radio waves.

它会吸收经过的无线电波 的电磁场。

Lots of common substances can complete the receiver

许多常见的物质 可以完善接收器

and make messages intelligible, including...

并使消息 易于理解，包括...

a number of crystals.

许多水晶。

It's for the best.

这是最好的。

(Radio static)

（无线电静电）

The Svalbard Seed Vault has hundreds of millions of seeds...

斯瓦尔巴群岛种子库有 数亿颗种子...

on an island in the Arctic Circle.

在北极圈的一个岛上。

Apparently, seaweed is a good food source,

显然，海藻是一种很好的食物来源，

but we’re nowhere near the sea.

但我们离海很远。

Whoa! Paper mills can be retrofitted to process wood into food.

哇！可以对造纸厂进行改造， 将木材加工成食品。

They break down wood in big vats.

他们在大桶里分解木头。

Then, instead of making the pulp into cardboard or paper,

然后，

they use enzymes to convert the cellulose into edible sugar.

他们不是将纸浆制 成纸板或纸，而是使用酶将纤维素 转化为可食用的糖。

Okay, focus.

好吧，集中精力。

We don’t have a paper mill, but we have plenty of wood.

我们没有造纸厂， 但我们有充足的木材。

Hello? Can you hear me? We can trade wood for— hey!

你好？你能听见我说话吗？ 我们可以用木头换来——嘿！

We don’t want outsiders flocking to our town!

我们不希望局外人 涌向我们的城镇！

I'll find out who stole my stolen generator and steal it back.

我会查出谁偷了我偷来的 发电机然后把它偷回来。

We're distilling alcohol to use for antiseptic and fuel.

我们正在蒸馏酒精 用于防腐剂和燃料。

A big vat for grinding things up.

一个用来磨东西的大桶。

It’s not a paper mill, but it’s similar.

它不是造纸厂，但很相似。

We retrofit every one of these breweries in town for the hottest new trend.

我们对城 里的每一家啤酒厂进行了改造，以适应最热门的新趋势。

Converting wood and cardboard into lignocellulosic sugar

将木头和纸板 转化为木质纤维素糖，

for a sweet flavor with notes of avoiding death by starvation.

以获得甜味，并带有避免因饥饿而死亡 的味道。

You know, with some additional equipment,

你知道，只要有一些额外的设备，

these breweries could produce electricity from their byproducts.

这些啤酒厂就可以利用其副产品发 电。

And who will manufacture that equipment?

谁来制造这些设备？

We need a wider range of skills than people in this town have.

我们需要 比这个城镇的人更广泛的技能。

Other survivors are probably afraid to make contact, too.

其他幸存者可能也 害怕接触。

Someone has to go first.

必须有人先走。

What was that about needing different skill sets?

那需要 不同的技能组合是什么意思？

Fine. Yes, I admit it— a brewer could help people after a global catastrophe.

很好。是的，我承认——啤酒制造商可以在全球灾难之后帮助 人们。

But that doesn’t mean it’s better to become a craft brewer

但这并不意味着成为精酿啤酒制造商

than a nuclear physicist.

比成为核物理学家更好。

Maybe not, but in this scenario you’re imagining,

也许不是，但是在 你想象的这种情况下，

it might be more useful to be a car mechanic or a library assistant

成为汽车修理工或图书馆助理可能

than a nuclear physicist.

比成为 核物理学家更有用。

You don’t really know, do you?

你真的不知道，对吗？

No, I don’t.

不，我不知道。

But I do know that everything we talked about would be even more useful

但我确实知道，

if we worked on it now, before a catastrophe.

如果我们在灾难发生 之前现在就努力解决这个问题，我们 谈论的所有内容都会更加有用。

We could keep fossil fuels in the ground.

我们可以将化石燃料留在地下。

We could set up long range radio systems that don't rely on infrastructure.

我们可以建立不依赖基础设施 的远程无线电系统。

Make power grids more robust, and work on technologies to feed people.

使电网更加强大， 并研究为人们提供食物的技术。

We could even make practical knowledge manuals and,

我们甚至可以制作实用的 知识手册，

I don’t know, put them in libraries.

我不知道，把它们放在图书馆里。

Ada, isn’t this something else you should be doing?

艾达，这不是 你应该做的其他事情吗？

Yes, that’s what I’m saying! The question is what, exactly?

是的，我就是这么说的！ 问题是，到底是什么？

The books, Ada! Get him the books.

这些书，艾达！ 把书拿给他

I apologize for the holdup.

对于这次阻止，我深表歉意。

Oh, I don't mind. I've learned to cherish every moment.

哦，我不介意。我学会 了珍惜每一刻。

See you tomorrow.

明天见。

Something to aspire to.

值得向往的东西。