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駛?cè)?。他匆匆趕過去,拉動貨車一側(cè)的拉桿。貨車尾部的車廂門慢慢降下來,瓦力開心地加速駛上坡道,進(jìn)入車廂。到家了!
瓦力將他的新橡膠履帶從輪子上剝了下來,而外面狂風(fēng)正抽打著貨車。他會在早上回去工作之前再戴上這對履帶,但是現(xiàn)在是休息的時間。他從背部取下一臺破破爛爛的大賣場冷藏箱。這是他的百寶箱,接下來他準(zhǔn)備開始他每晚的例行活動——整理他白天在垃圾堆里找到的珍寶。
但是在那之前,瓦力走到一臺舊電視機(jī)前,打開了他最喜愛的錄像節(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)身按下一個按鈕,啟動了一個旋轉(zhuǎn)儲物架。儲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:幾個舊玩具和廚房用具(他不知道它們是什么,所以對它們非常好奇),還有一個打火機(jī)。
聽著錄像帶的背景音樂,瓦力感到活力充沛。他在眾多的寶貝間移動,經(jīng)常停在電視機(jī)前看著屏幕上閃過的模糊影像。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,等著播放下一部分。等開始放下個部分的時候,他按下胸前的“錄音鍵”,并靠近電視機(jī)。瓦力能看見演員們現(xiàn)在不跳舞了。他們一起走著,互相注視著對方的眼睛。然后,他們握住了對方的手。
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。這個孤獨(dú)的機(jī)器人疑惑了好一會兒:握住別人的手會是什么感覺?
那晚深夜,暴風(fēng)雨停歇了,瓦力慢慢駛到貨車外,將他的百寶箱倒過來清理干凈。他按下胸前的“播放”鍵,重聽那首歌。雖然這個小機(jī)器人的程序設(shè)定中沒有對愛情的理解,他的線路中卻搏動著浪漫的沖動。正是這種奇怪的沖動使瓦力抬頭凝視著濃濃霧霾中僅僅可見的幾顆星星,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)出了一個警告信號。風(fēng)又加速了。瓦力看向地平線,發(fā)現(xiàn)一場超強(qiáng)的沙暴正從干涸的海灣那里向他襲來。
瓦力迅速駛向貨車。他很熟悉遇上沙暴可能面臨的種種危險——空氣中滿是灰塵和碎片,他會看不見;狂風(fēng)會抽打著他,使他機(jī)械關(guān)節(jié)的各個縫隙里都填滿沙子;當(dāng)然,還有被深埋的可能性。這一次他很幸運(yùn),因?yàn)樗x他的貨車不遠(yuǎn),那里很安全。
在瓦力進(jìn)入貨車開始升起車廂門的時候,一陣讓人睜不開眼睛的風(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)出類似口哨的機(jī)械聲音來召喚他的蟑螂。沙暴眼看要襲來,車門恰好關(guān)閉,主人和他的寵物進(jìn)入了他們安全的小家。
瓦力打開一塊大賣場的海綿蛋糕,將它放在一塊擱板上。蛋糕里的防腐劑使其幾百年來都沒有腐壞,還保持著濕潤。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,然后閉上眼睛,關(guān)閉電源過夜。車廂外,沙暴威力十足,在這片土地上肆虐。
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