Chapter 12 Chapter Twelve

Apparently a murder followed by suicide.Initial reports indicated that they had seen horrific scenes of mass murder, with bodies strewn about the settlement, and dead mothers holding the bodies of babies in their arms.Several of the victims died by shooting, but most killed themselves by taking medication in a death ritual unlike any Jeff reached for the channel switch on the shortwave radio, switching from the BBC news channel to jazz. The coffee pot started to bubbly.He poured himself a large mug of coffee, adding a dash of dark rum to warm the drink even more.There was a fresh snowfall last night, about six inches deep, and the bottom half of the kitchen window was buried in a drift of snow blown by the wind.It's time to shovel snow this afternoon, he thought.It's time to go to the warehouse, too, and chop some cedar for the kindling, and then bring some more white oak firewood to the back porch.But he's not in the mood to do it, at least not right now.

The Jonestown that happened this week He may not be able to help but feel sad even though he has heard the abhorrent story retold three times.For whatever reason, today he just wanted to sit by the beeping fire and read.Hannah.He has already read half of the second volume of Oran's "Intellectual Life", and he plans to read "A Distant Mirror: The Troubled Fourteenth Century" next.Both books had just been published that year, but he had already read Tachman's book twenty years earlier, when he and Judy took their two children on the Trans-Siberian Express across Asia in the former Soviet Union that summer. Read it on the train.As long as he reads the book cover, he will recall the vast Siberian grassland, the endless birch forest outside the city of Novosibirsk outside the train, and little Aibo's fascination with the old brass Russian teapot on the corridor of the carriage.During the 600-mile journey from Moscow to Khabarovsk in the north of Manchuria, the female train driver used slow-burning peat blocks to make the teapot continuously emit steam, and served countless cups of hot tea to passengers.The metal cup holder of the teacup is engraved with astronauts and travel companions The female driver gave Aibo some cup holders to take home as souvenirs.Jeff remembers watching his adopted daughter curl up in front of the fireplace in their home on Pascher Ferry West in Atlanta, sipping hot milk from a cup that was just one of his days before his death. Worship

He cleared his throat and blinked, trying to drive away the sudden memory.Maybe it's best for him to do some housework today, to keep his body busy, rather than sitting in the cabin and thinking about it.In any case, there is still a long time to live like this, what in winter? Jeff pricked up his ears, thinking he heard an engine.impossible.Before the spring thaw, no one was stupid enough to drive this road unless Jeff sent out an emergency on shortwave equipment.But the engine came back, and he swore he heard the creaking and booming, louder than before, and it sounded like there was a car heading down the road.

He put on his big down jacket and woolen hat and went outside.Is McGuinness in trouble?Someone sick or injured?Maybe a misfire? As the mud-splattered SUV swerved through the gate he had opened and swerved left, an image flashed through Jeff's mind.Then he recognized the driver with straight blond hair at a glance. Good morning.Pamela.Phillips said she saw her booted feet on the running boards of the sturdy four-wheel drive.Your driveway really sucks. There is not much traffic on this road. I am not surprised.As she spoke, she jumped out of the driver's seat. Looks like some poor guy stepped on a mine on the road, long ago.

People here say that man's name is Hector, George.Hector.During the prohibition period (Annotation: 1920-1933, the United States implemented the Prohibition Prohibition, prohibiting the production and sale of alcohol.) He installed a mobile still on his Ford Model T car and drove the car around Lest we get caught, the car exploded one day. Where is the Hector?Was he killed along with it? He was unharmed, just had to set up another still.He dropped the idea of ​​mobility, though.At least that's what people say. Very creative idea, huh?She took a deep breath of the crisp, cold mountain air, exhaled slowly, and looked at Jeff.So, how are you doing?

Not bad, how about you? Been busy since we last saw each other.How long ago was that, three and a half years ago.She rubbed her hands together quickly a few times.Hello, is there anywhere around here where a lady can keep warm? Excuse me, come in, I made some coffee.You startled me so much that I didn't realize it just now. She followed him into the cabin, took off her coat, and sat down in a chair by the fire while he poured the coffee.He held up the bottle of dark rum and gave her a questioning look, and she nodded.He poured a rich golden wine into her glass and handed it to her.As she sips her mixed drink, she conveys her approval with silent, animated expressions.

how did you find meAs he asked, he sat down on the chair opposite her. Well, you told me you lived near Redding.My attorney spoke to your agent in San Francisco and he was kind enough to help us narrow it down a bit.But when I drove here, I asked around the town and it took me a while to find someone willing to give me directions. People here are very private. I think so too. A lot of people don't like having people driving around their land, especially strangers. I am no stranger to you. Not far away, said Jeff, I thought we were strangers when we parted in Los Angeles. She sighed, absently touching the sheepskin collar of a folded, faded denim jacket on her lap.We have so much in common, yet we think so differently.In the end, they ended up hating each other.

Yes, you can interpret it like this.Or it can be said that you are so fucking stubborn, so you can't understand your own obsession Hello!She slammed her coffee cup down next to the shortwave radio and interrupted Jeff's conversation loudly. This has made me miserable enough, don't make it any worse, will you?I drove six hundred miles to see you, now listen to what I have to say. Well, go ahead. Listen, I know you're surprised to see me today.But try to imagine how surprised I was when you showed up in front of me.By then you've seen "Star Ocean" and you've had time to think about me and come to a definite conclusion.You know I might be born again, but I don't know that there are other people in the world who are in the same situation as me.I thought I had found the only possible explanation for what happened to me in the world.I thought what I was doing was right.

Well, I still don't know if I'm doing it right or not.Maybe right, maybe wrong.It is not yet time to draw conclusions on this matter. Why? Can I add some rum to the coffee?Maybe pour some more coffee. no problem.After refilling their glasses with wine and coffee, he sat back and listened to Pamela. When you came to Los Angeles, I was already working on the script for the next film.In October, the final draft was completed. Of course, budget won't be an issue.I nominate Peter.Will directed, before he had done The Devil Waves, so everyone thought I was crazy to use him.There was a slanted smile on her lips, and she leaned forward, holding the steaming cup with her slender hands.The special effects team I formed was the fun.I hired John first.whitney.At that time, he had already laid the foundation for making computer graphics. Many short films he made had mandalas as the theme, and I hoped to use the mandala as the core image of the film.I let him go and gave him one of the first prototype Cray supercomputers to play with.

Then I got Douglas, who did the special effects for "2001: A Space Odyssey."Cypress.I gave him some pointers on the direction he should go, and let him invent the Shawscomm dynamic imaging system a few years earlier.The entire movie was shot using this technique, although Wait a minute, Jeff interjects, what's a Shawscomb? Pamela gave him a surprised look, with a little hurt pride in her eyes.Haven't you seen Continuum? He shrugged apologetically.Redding's theaters did not show the film. No, the movie is only showing in theaters in San Francisco and Sacramento.We had to make some special changes to all the theaters.

Why? Shawscon motion image technology can produce lifelike images on movie screens, but to achieve the effect, you must have special projection equipment.You know how movies work, right?Twenty-four frames are projected per second, that is, twenty-four still images. As one image begins to disappear from the retina, the next image appears immediately, thus creating a flowing, uninterrupted motion image.This is called the phenomenon of persistence of vision.In fact, there are forty-eight frames projected per second, because each image will be repeated once to deceive the human eye.But of course it is not the eyes that are fooled, but our brains.Even though we think what we see on the screen is continuous motion, in a deeper unconscious we are aware of starts and stops.This is one reason why a videotape looks clearer and more real than a film, because the videotape is recorded at thirty frames per second, so the intervals in between are shorter. The Xiao Si Kang technology has pushed this process one step further.It is shot at a full sixty frames per second with no extra frames.Chuanbai used EEG to monitor the brain wave activity of people watching movies, and then projected at different speeds, and found that the brain wave response reached the highest point at this time.The human visual center seems to be programmed to perceive reality at that special speed, processing sixty visual information per second.So Xiao Si Kang's imaging technology is like a pipeline directly to the brain, not a three-dimensional image, and the effect is more delicate than that.The resulting images are like deep chords that directly touch perception, resonating with what is actually seen. All in all, we shot the entire movie with Shawscomb technology, including computer-generated mandalas, Mandelbrot fractals, and special effects that Whitney and their team created.We shot most of it at Pinewood Studios in London.I was looking for talented but unknown actors, mainly from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.I didn't want any star power to overshadow the film's themes and its message. She finished her coffee and stared at the bottom of the heavy brown cup. "Continuum" was released on June 11, and it was synchronized all over the world.But the movie was a complete failure. Jeff frowned puzzled.How to say? Like I said earlier, that movie fell apart.The box office was not bad in the first month of its release, and then gradually no one watched it.Critics hated the movie, and so did audiences.Word-of-mouth from audiences is even worse than reviews, which are bad enough.The general response can be summed up in the phrase A Legacy of Sixties Mysticism.Messy, incomprehensible, and artificial are also the views of many people.The only reason most people buy tickets to enter is because of the innovation of Xiao Si Kang technology, as well as computer graphics.These are all well done, but are the only things people like about this movie. A long, awkward silence ensued.I regret.Jeff finally spoke. Pamela smiled wryly.It's fun, isn't it?The reason you refused to work with me any further was because of fear of the dangerous impact this film might have, of the change it would cause in the world but the world ended up not taking it seriously at all, instead treating it as a corny joke. What went wrong?Jeff asked gently. Partly it's a matter of timing: the meme generation, disco, cocaine.No one wants to hear anymore sermons about the oneness of man and nature, the eternal connection of existence.Heard it so much in the 60s, now the only thing I want to do is party.But of course it was my fault.The critics were right, it's a bad movie.Too abstract, too obscure, with no plot and no real characters for the audience to identify with.Just a philosophical work, a self-indulgent gospel movie with no real substance.People distance themselves from this movie in droves, and they can't be blamed. Are you a little hard on yourself? She turned the empty coffee cup around in her hand, but still looked down.Just face it.I learned a painful lesson, but I've matured to accept it.We both have to accept a lot, after all we have lost so much. I know what this movie means to you and how deeply you believe that what you are doing is right.I respect that, even if I don't agree with what you're doing. She looked at him with soft green eyes that he had never seen before.Thanks.Your words mean a lot to me. Jeff stood up and took his large coat from the hook on the door.Putting on his coat, he said to her, I want to show you something. They were standing in the snow that had just fallen on the top of the mountain, the hillock where he dredged the irrigation system the week before he first saw "Star Sea".The Pitt River is frozen over now, there are no salmon in the river, and the tops of the trees on Mount Buck are covered with snow and their branches hang low.From this distance, the imposing, symmetrical cone of Mount Shasta rose against the clear November sky. I dreamed about that mountain, Jeff told her, and it seemed like it had something important to tell me in the dream, trying to explain to me everything that had happened to me. It doesn't look real, she whispered, even divine.I can understand why visions like this should dominate your dreams. The Indians who live here really consider it a sacred mountain.Not only is it volcanic, but other mountains in the Cascades are more active and have a more immediate impact on the environment.But no mountain has the same allure as Shasta. Its charm remained, Pamela whispered as she looked at the silent mountain, and there was a power in that mountain.I can feel it. Jeff nodded in agreement with her words, gazing at the majestic and majestic mountain wall in the distance like her. There is still a ritual of worshiping the mountains, white men's, not Indians'.Some people think that this mountain has something to do with Jesus, and has something to do with Jesus' resurrection.Others believe that aliens or some offspring of humanity live there, in the lava tunnels beneath the mountain.Weird and crazy ideas.Mount Shasta somehow elicits such associations. A strong mountain wind blew, and it grew colder, and Pamela shivered.Without thinking, Jeff wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her closer to his warm body. Sometimes, he said, I would imagine every possible explanation for what happened to us, no matter how strange it sounded.Time warping, black holes, the wrath of god I just mentioned that some people think that Mount Shasta is inhabited by aliens, well, I also used to believe that all this was all alien experiments.You must have had the same thought once or twice, right?I can see some clues from "Xinghai".Maybe that's the truth, maybe we're just sentient guinea pigs trying to find the way out of the maze.Maybe there will be a nuclear holocaust at the end of 1988, so the collective heart will of all human beings that ever existed chose this way to avoid the extinction of human beings.I don't know what the answer is. That's the point: I don't know, and I'm finally mature enough to accept that I don't have the power to know the truth, or change it. That doesn't mean you can't keep wanting to know the answer.she said as she moved closer to his face. Of course not, and I still want to know the answer.I keep thinking.But for a long time, the search for answers stopped consuming my life.Our plight, as extraordinary as it is, is fundamentally no different from that faced by anyone who has ever existed: we are here and we don't know why we are here.We can philosophize about everything, seek the key to the secret through a thousand different paths, but it will never bring us any closer to the answer. But, Pamela, we have been given an incomparable gift, and that gift is life, which we know and have more potential than anyone we have ever known.Why can't we accept this gift calmly? Someone said about Plato, I think, a life without any aim is not worth living. That's right.But examining life in too much detail can drive one mad, if not suicidal. She looked down at the tracks they had left in the pristine snow.Or let people fail miserably.she said quietly. You have not failed.You have tried to make the world one, and in the process you have created great works of art.These efforts, these creations, these actions have their own existence value. Maybe, until I die again, until the next rebirth.Then it all goes away. Jeff shook his head in disapproval, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. What will disappear will only be the finished product of your hard work, but your struggle, your hard work and dedication are the real value, and these will remain, in your heart. Her eyes filled with tears.But, so much loss, so much pain.children Life is bound to be lost.It took me many, many years to finally learn how to deal with this subject, and I don't expect to be completely resigned to it in the future.But that doesn't mean we have to turn away from the world, or stop trying to be the best we can be, stop trying to be the best.At least we owe ourselves too much, no matter what benefits these losses get, we deserve it. He kissed her teary cheeks, and then pressed a kiss lightly on her lips.In the western sky, a pair of great eagles are slowly hovering over Devil's Gorge. Have you ever taken to the skies?Jeff asked. Do you mean by glider or hang glider?No, never. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his arms.We'll fly through the air, he whispered into her soft tawny hair.Together we will. After passing Ravestoke, the train began to climb up the Rocky Mountains, speeding along great gloomy glaciers.Dense forests of red cedar and hemlock cover the surrounding slopes, and just around a bend a field of heather, trapped between two glaciers, bursts into view.The gentle spring breeze set off shimmering waves in this sea of ​​pink and purple flowers. The fleeting beauty seems to be silently rebuking the ruthless ice wall that traps them. These flowers, Jeff thought, had erotic qualities.The fragile, weather-beaten delicate body is reflected on the unmoved cold ice, and the bright colors are like a woman's lips, or Jeff smiled at Pamela, who sat beside him, and put his hand on her bare knee, sliding his fingers up the hem of her skirt.She blushed as he gently caressed the inner thighs.She scanned the observation car stealthily, wondering if anyone was watching them, but the eyes of the other passengers were fixed on the majestic scenery that flew by outside the window. Jeff's hand moved up, touching the wet silk.Pamela let out a gasp and arched her back against the leather seat as he pressed her valley lightly.He slowly withdrew his hand, and his fingertips gently left dragging marks on her thigh. Want to take a walk?he asked, and she nodded.He took her hand and led her out of the observation car to the rear of the train.They stopped in the limousine and dining room, where they stood on the rickety metal platform, balancing carefully and kissing.The wind was blowing hard through the open window, and it was at least fifteen degrees cooler than the morning they had left Vancouver, and Pamela shivered in his arms. The sleeping car was empty, and it seemed that everyone either went to the viewing car to enjoy the endless scenery of the glacier, or went to the dining car to look for food.Once in their double car room, Jeff puts down a rollaway bed, and Pamela reaches for the blackout shades.He pulled her into his arms, stopping her movement. Let this landscape inspire us.He said. She resisted the offer, teasing that if the windows were left open, we would be a part of the landscape. No one will see us except a few birds and deer.I want to see how you look in the sun. Pamela drew back a few steps.Behind her, against an ever-changing backdrop of snow-covered rivers and sheer glacial cliffs, she strips off her blouse in this painting, allowing it to slide down her arms.She tore away the belt that held her skirt, and it fell gently to the floor. Why don't you look at the scenery?she asked with a mischievous smile. I am watching. She removed the remaining restraints, and stood naked outside the window in the treacherous wilderness that flew by.While undressing, Jeff scanned her naked body with hungry eyes. He walked towards her and joined her body. He eagerly pressed her into the soft chair by the window, and the curtains were raised. , the afternoon sun was dancing on their faces, and the rumbling wheels were speeding across the railway below, shaking the married couple in a steady rhythm.The train journey to Montreal took four days and four nights. A week later, they took the train back west again. What about the Middle Ages?asked Pamela.Imagine what it would be like, to live a life of dreadful monotony over and over again. The Middle Ages was not as dull and boring as most people think.I still think a big war, and the years leading up to it, is much worse than that.Come to think of it, keep going back to Germany in 1939.Jeff said. At least you can leave and escape to America, where you know you'll be safe. If you're Jewish, you can't do it.What if you were already in Auschwitz, for example? This is their favorite topic of debate this month: what kind of rebirth experience will people in another historical period have; what is the best way to deal with world events and situations that they are not familiar with. As soon as the two of them started talking, there seemed to be no end to the chatter of their musings, projects, and memories.They went back and told what had happened to them in different lives, detailing the personal life histories that had been briefly stated in that unguarded conversation in Los Angeles in 1974.Jeff had told her about all the emptiness and nonsense he had done with Shara and the healing of those years alone by Montgomery Creek.She shared with him the intense dedication she had made to the medical profession, the frustration she felt when she knew she would no longer be able to make the most of what she had learned, and the joy she then experienced in creating Star Ocean.A tall, bearded young black man passed by on an inline skate, weaving deftly through the crowded crowd on the sidewalk of East Fifty-ninth Street, skating toward the Central Park entrance.The big International radio he was carrying on his shoulder was playing George.Moreaud's rendition of Burundi's heavy-paced version of "As You Go" overwhelms Pamela's answers to Jeff's hypothetical questions. After more than a year of alternating between Jeff's cabin in Northern California and his retreat in Pamela's Dopanna Valley, they've now moved to New York for six weeks.Now that they're together, these two secluded retreats are a better fit for both of them.They have a lot to talk about, a lot of very personal emotions and thoughts to share.But they haven't retreated from the world yet, not all of them.Jeff started playing around with some high-risk investments, funding small companies and products that weren't funded enough when they were reborn in the past, so didn't know their success or failure in advance.One table toy had become quite popular, a clear plastic tube fitted with tiny magnets, in which a ballerina danced slowly in a clear viscous suspension; the best-selling Christmas gift of 1979.But another laser video system proposed by two of Pamela's cinematographer friends didn't have such luck, at least not yet.The project has been experiencing technical problems with the camera and may not be successful as a result.But it doesn't matter.The uncertainty and unpredictability of these plans is what attracted him to invest. As for her, Pamela has returned to filmmaking, and now she can enjoy a whole new level of fun and freedom from this job.No longer limited by self-imposed tasks, trying to raise the level of human consciousness and existence to a new level.She wrote a light-hearted rom-com about the wrong people meeting at the wrong time.She found a young girl named Dai Rui.Hannah played the heroine, and insisted on letting a man named Robb.Reiner's TV comedian has full reins directing the play.As usual, her colleagues were taken aback by her choice of such an unproven talent, but since she was the producer and the sole funder of the film, it was up to her in the end.She and Jeff moved to New York so she could oversee pre-production and scout locations for new films.In a few days, the second week of June, filming will begin. They turned right and walked north on Fifth Avenue, continuing to chat about their historical fantasies. Think about what Da Vinci would have accomplished if he had had the opportunity we have.Pamela mused.The sculptures and paintings he could complete in different lifetimes. Suppose he is like us.Maybe the world went on and on in the different timelines that belonged to each of his lifetimes, as did every timeline we've ever existed.If da Vinci had had more time to revise and perfect his inventions, in some version of the twentieth century his inventions might be better known than his art.In another twentieth century, he might have retreated into endless contemplation and thus left little posthumous memory.Similarly, maybe in a certain future, you will be remembered because of "Xinghai", and in another future, my future enterprise has continued to play the role of a large enterprise. Already continued?she frowned.Are you trying to say it will continue? No, Jeff replied, if the flow of time is continuous, the rest of the world ignores your and my cyclical destiny and continues unaffected, and according to the changes we drive in each life, from each version of A new line of reality forks in the cycle, and each rebirth we experience should advance history twenty-five years. She pursed her lips and thought for a moment.If that's the case, the individual timelines will be interleaved.When we die, each branch will continue on the path it took in 1988, but the previous one will be twenty-five years ahead of us now. That's right.So in the world of our last rebirth, you married Dustin.When Hoffman and I lived in Atlanta, it was only seventeen years since our deaths.It's the year 2005, and most of the people we know are still alive. But if it's been another forty-two years since we were first born again, you're a physician in Chicago, and I've been building a conglomerate, it's now 2029.My daughter Ge Liqian is over fifty years old, maybe her own children are already grown up. Jeff fell silent. Although his only biological daughter was still alive, his objective age was ten years older than what he had lived to. This thought made his heart dignified. Pamela helped him finish what he hadn't finished.And sixty-seven years have passed on the timeline of our first life.The world we grew up in is well into the second half of the 21st century, and my kids are in their seventies, man. The thought game has become more serious and unsettling than originally expected.They were immersed in their own thoughts, neither of them spoke, and they almost didn't notice a well-dressed, nearly forty-year-old blonde woman standing outside the Shirley Holland Hotel, and a teenage girl standing beside her. Boy, apparently they were waiting for the doorman to help them get a taxi. As Jeff and Pamela passed, the woman narrowed her eyes with a hint of curiosity.Jeff's restless mind was suddenly attracted by something in the expression. Judy?He yelled hesitantly, and stopped under the canopy of the hotel. The woman took a step back when she heard it.I'm afraid I have to remember, wait a minute, she said, you read at Emory, didn't you?Emory University in Atlanta? Yes, Jeff said softly, we went to school together. You know, I thought you looked familiar just now.Indeed she blushed, as she always did.Maybe she suddenly remembered the night she sat in the back of that old Chevrolet or in the chair outside the Harris Pavilion waiting for the gate.Jeff could see that she couldn't remember his name, so he quickly put up his name to relieve her of the embarrassment. I'm Jeff.Winston, he said, we used to go to the movies or have a beer at Moy and Joey. Well, of course I remember you, Jeff.how are you doing very good.I'm having a good time.Pamela, this is my college friend, Judy.Gordon.Judy, introduce you to my friend Pamela.Phillips. Judy's eyes widened, and for a moment she looked eighteen again.The film director? Producer.said Pamela, smiling kindly.She knew exactly who Judy was and how much this woman meant to Jeff in another rebirth. My goodness, isn't that such a coincidence?Sean, what are you talking about?Judy asked the tall, thin boy standing beside her.This is my old school friend, Jeff.Winston, this is his friend Pamela.Phillips, the filmmaker.Both of you, this is my son Sean. Nice to meet you, Miss Pamela.The boy said in a warm tone they didn't expect, I just want to say um, I just want to tell you how much "Xinghai" means to me.It changed my life. You know, the kid wasn't joking, Judy smiled, he was twelve when he first saw that movie, and I think he went back and watched it at least ten times.From then on, he only talked about dolphins and how to communicate with them all day long.It wasn't just a passing interest.Sean was going to college in the fall, and he was studying at the University of California, San Diego, where he was majoring in honey, and he told them himself. Marine Biology, double minor in Linguistics and Computer Science.I hope one day to be able to talk to Dr. Lilly shared patterns of conversation.) working together to study communication across species.If I do, it's all thanks to you, Miss Phillips.You have no idea how much this movie means to me, but well, maybe you do.I really hope so. A tall man with pale cheeks came out of the hotel, followed by a hotel waiter pushing a luggage cart.Judy introduced her husband to Jeff and Pamela. She explained to them that they had just finished their vacation in New York and wondered if Jeff and Pamela were planning to go south to Atlanta?If they come to Atlanta, be sure to stop by their house.Her last name is Kriskinson now, here is the address and phone number.What will the new movie be called?They will definitely see it and recommend it to all their friends. The taxi drove away, and Jeff and Pamela held each other's arms tightly, leaning against each other.As they walked north along Fifth Avenue to the Peel Hotel, both smiled, but their eyes revealed the sadness they had learned in each other, mourning the world they once knew but now no longer knew. Jeff poured another glass of Montegolo red wine, watching the setting sun color the jagged and steep coastline to the west.Below the villa's slope, beyond another hill of almond and olive trees, fishing boats can be seen heading back toward the red-roofed villages of Andhra Harbour.A sudden breeze on the still-warm October day brought in the scent of the Mediterranean through the open window and mingled with the tangy aroma of paella simmering in the kitchen behind him. How about some more wine?Jeff asked. Pamela appeared sideways at the kitchen door, a huge wooden spoon in her hand.She shook her head and said to stay awake while cooking.At least I can't get drunk until dinner is served. Are you sure you don't need help? Hmm shredded bell peppers if you want to help.Everything else is about the same. Jeff wanders into the kitchen and starts cutting red bell peppers into thin strips.Pamela spooned some fresh paella into the shallow iron pan and let Jeff taste it.He drank a sip of the rich red soup and chewed on a small piece of soft calamari. Is there too much saffron?she asked. Everything is perfect. She smiled contentedly and motioned for him to set the plate.Although it is really difficult to accommodate two people at the same time in this small kitchen, he still managed it.只有租屋仲介才會把這幢位在山丘邊的小房子稱為別墅，這房子比別墅這浮誇稱謂所意味的要狹小且樸實多了。不過潘蜜拉租下這幢臨時住所時，腦袋裡只有一個簡單目的。傑夫試著盡可能不去想，卻很難做到。 她看見他的眼神，於是用指尖在他的臉頰上輕觸一下。來吧，她說，吃飯時間到了。 她把冒著蒸汽的西班牙海鮮飯從鍋中舀起，然後在豐富的海鮮飯上撒上幾粒青豆和他切好的甜椒絲，在這其間他負責端穩盤子。他們把晚餐端到前頭房間窗邊的桌上。潘蜜拉點蠟燭，然後在傑夫為杯中倒上葡萄酒時，放入一捲羅林多．艾梅達的<阿蘭費茲協奏曲>（譯註：西班牙作曲家羅德利戈（Joaquin Rodrigo）為古典吉他與管弦樂團所作的著名曲目。）他們沉默地吃著晚餐，看著山腳下漁村人家的燈火一一點亮。 吃完飯後，傑夫洗盤子，潘蜜拉則端上盛著曼可哥起司和切片甜瓜的大盤子。他不帶勁地小口小口吃著甜點，從窄口酒杯中啜飲君主白蘭地．並再一次試著不去想他們現在待在馬略卡島的目的，但還是失敗了。 我會在早上走，他終於開口，不必開車送我。我可以搭船回帕馬，然後搭計程車到機場。 她伸手到對面握住他的手。你知道我希望你留下來。 我知道，我只是不想不想讓妳承受這一切。 潘蜜拉緊握住他的手。我應付得來。我可以在那裡陪你，和你一起不過，如果是我先的話，我也不會希望你目睹。所以我明白你的感覺，尊重你的決定。 他清清喉嚨，環視這間大地色調的房間。在昏暗的燭光底下，他不禁想著：這房間還真符合用途，一個等死之地。這正是潘蜜拉曾經死過一次的地方，那是二十五年前的事了，而不到兩個禮拜後、就在他再次心臟病發後不久，她就要再次死去。 你打算去哪？她柔聲問道。 蒙哥馬利溪吧。我想妳是對的，選個與世隔絕的地方來等它發生。一個特別的地方。 她微笑，溫暖、真誠笑容中帶著溫柔及回憶起的歡樂時光。還記得我第一次出現在你的小屋嗎？天哪，那時我好害怕。 Fear?傑夫說，現在微笑的人是他了。What are you afraid of? 怕你吧，我想。你會跟我說些什麼，會怎麼反應，我怕的是這些。我最後一次在洛杉磯見到你時，你那麼生我的氣，我以為你還是在生我的氣。 他將雙手覆蓋住她的手。我不是真的生妳的氣，我只是擔心妳當時在做的事可能產生的後果。 我現在知道了。但是那時候你第一次走進我製作《星海》的辦公室好像憑空冒出一樣，我根本不知道該如何反應。我想那時候的我並不完全了解自己有多麼孤獨、絕望。我假定我不會遇到和我一樣的人，就連相信我的遭遇的人也不會有，更不用說可以有分享經驗的人了。當你退隱到山林和農場裡時我則是在感情上築起一道圍牆，我把全副精力放在外面的世界，以公開的形式與世隔絕。嘗試拯救世界只是我逃避自己需求的方式。要承認這件事很困難對你或對自己承認都是。 我很高興妳有勇氣承認。這也讓我學會不需要逃避自己的情緒或恐懼。 潘蜜拉深深看了他好長一會兒，流露出溫柔的眼神與表情。我們真的翱翔天際了，不是嗎？我們做到了。 Yes.他以同樣地眼神回望她，低語道。而且我們很快就會再次展翅飛翔了。要保持信念，別忘了。 他站在船尾望著村莊及村子背後的山丘逐漸遠去，直到再也認不出站在木頭碼頭上潘蜜拉身影，然後抬眼看向代表潘蜜拉小別墅的紅白色塊，直到模糊得難以辨識。 海上吹來的風刺痛他的雙眼，於是他走進渡輪室內，買了瓶啤酒，找了個單獨的位置坐下，遠離非旺季來此渡假的零星法、德遊客。 這不是真正的結束，他不斷提醒自己，就像他叫潘蜜拉別忘了一樣。結束的只是這場重生，他們很快又可以在一起了，一切都可以有個全新開始。但天哪，他多痛恨要離開這特別的世界，他們認識並且相愛的這輩子。他們走了這麼遠，完成了這麼多事。他為潘蜜拉的電影成就感到驕傲，好像那是自己的成就一樣。但他們即將進入一個《星海》以及這些年來她製作的一系列動人、充滿人性喜劇與戲劇都不曾也將不會存在的世界，想到這點就讓人難過。 他牢記住幾年前他們在紐約時曾討論過的時間線概念，不讓它逃出腦海。他確信在某個地方將存在著一個現實的分支，在那裡，她的藝術成就將繼續流傳下去，為世世代代的觀眾帶來感動與啟發。也許茱蒂的兒子尚恩真的會發現一種能讓居住在地球的海洋及陸地上的智能生物彼此溝通的方式。如果他真的辦到了，人類與鯨豚將能共享這星球的智慧，正是潘蜜拉的先見之明直接催生了這份無上的禮物。 這曾是個值得守護的希望、值得珍惜的夢想。不過，現在他們得將精力專注在新的希望、新的夢想，以及全新的一生。 傑夫將手伸進夾克口袋，拿出她在他上船時交給他的一個扁平小包裹。他小心翼翼地打開包裝紙，當他看見她送他的東西時，不禁喉頭一緊，心中充滿了感動。 那是幅微型畫，畫上細膩描摹著在他土地那座山丘上看見的景色：夏斯塔山巍峨聳立在沉靜的天空下有兩個有閃亮羽毛翅膀的人影傑夫與潘蜜拉正翱翔天際，就像神話中的生物，一同在永恆狂喜中飛向真實或神話中從未實現過的命運。 他盯著這幅結合了愛與藝術的畫作看了好一會兒，然後重新包好放回口袋。他閉眼傾聽船隻在帕馬灣破浪而行的聲音，安靜地朝這趟返家死亡之旅邁出第一步。