Проба пера. Отрывок из «Час быка» на английском

Выкладываем фрагмент перевода на английский язык романа «Час быка». Ссылка на страницу ЖЖ Екатерины, нашей единомышленницы из Индии, которая начала эту работу ещё до знакомства с коллективом НКК — для того, чтобы донести до наших существующих и возможных англоговорящих соратников идеи Ивана Ефремова. Комментарии и предложения приветствуются!

Inferno phenomenon (from «Bull’s hour» by Ivan Yefremov)

Picture 1. Botticelli drawing of Dante and Virgil entering the 8th circle of Hell

The theory of infernality is quite an old term. But actually it is not a theory, that’s the summary of statistical observations on natural laws of our life on Earth and especially of the life of human society. The term “inferno” comes from Latin word, which means hell, lower, underground. There is a beautiful poem by Dante, which came to us from old times. Although he wrote just a political satire by his imagination he created a dark picture of multistage inferno. Also he explained the frightening meaning of the name “inferno” which was understood only by occultists before, that was its despair. The inscription on the doors of the Hell “Lasciate ogni speranza voi ch’entrate”, which from Italian meant “Abandon hope, all ye who enter here” reflected the main quality of the abode of torments invented by humans. This intuitive premonition of the true underlying reason of historical development of the human society in whole evolution on the Earth as the dreadful way of grief and death was measured and taken into account after computers appeared. That’s the way to achieve the improvement blindly as in a game casting dies uncountable set of times. But behind every trial there are billions of lives dying in the suffering and despair. The perfection of the organism developed under the cruel selection only in the one most important direction – to make it as much free and independent from outer environment as possible. But inevitably it required the advance of senses acuity and even just acceleration of the neural system work; in turn it resulted in the decrease of suffering in life.

In other words this way led to the despair. Like sand in the desert the increasing of immatureness, hypotrophy of monotony and infraction of uniqueness through uncountable repetitions was happening through whole evolution of organic life on Earth. Animal life while going through billions of transformations from unknown marine creatures to the intelligent ones for billions years of geological history was in inferno.

Picture 2. Spiral of Evolution

The humans as intelligent creatures were trapped into double inferno: for the body and for the soul. First people thought that they’ll avoid all life troubles by escaping back to the nature. That’s how tales about pristine paradise were created. When the structure of human psyche became more evident scientists defined that instincts actually create inferno for the soul, those primordial instincts by which a human trapped himself thinking that he saves his individuality. Some philosophers talking about fateful insuperability of instincts stimulated their development and by doing this they hampered the coming out of inferno. Only creation of conditions for overbalance self-perfecting individuals over those who just follows their instincts could help to do a great step to the raising of public conscience.

Religious people started preaching that nature stimulating development of instincts is evil, for a long time these forces were called satanic. Scientists were opposing considering that the process of blind natural evolution focused on liberation from the outer environment and so that leads to the coming out of inferno.

As the powerful governmental apparatuses and oppression with increasing nationalism and tightly closed boarders developed, inferno started developing in human society also.<…>

Studying the fascist dictatorships of the EDW (Eon of Disjoint World) the philosopher and historian Erf Rom discovered main principles of infernality. Later they were developed by my teacher in greater details.

Erf Rom noticed that every imperfect social system tends to isolate its structure from the contact with other systems in order to save itself. It is reasonable that only privileged parts of this system or oppressors wanted to save imperfect. First of all they created segregation of their nation under any pretence: national or religious in order to convert life of people into the closed circle of inferno and divide from the rest of the world, so that communication will go only through the group in power. That’s why infernality was inevitably created by them. So <…> actually it was absolutely material fight for privileges in the world where everything was not in enough amounts.

Erf Rom warned the humanity not to allow the oligarchs to approach the governance of the world; it would have turned into fascism or state capitalism. If this happened the coffin lid of absolute despair of infernal existence would have closed above our planet under the oppression of absolute authority armed with all power of destructive weapons of those times and with the same deadly science.
In Kin Rukh’s opinion works of Erf Rom helped to build the new world during transition to the Eon of Worlds Union. Also Erf Rom was the first who noticed that whole natural evolution on the Earth is infernal. The same was brightly described by Kin Rukh later.

Rodis taped code habitually, and small square of a library window enlightened. The familiar image of Kin Rukh appeared from a yellow depth of the screen looking with his very acute piercing eyes of light color at the viewers. The scientist gestured with his hand and disappeared from the screen, he continued talking from the background.

Meanwhile on the screen appeared tired, sad but inspired face of an old man with square forehead and tightly combed thin grey hair. Kin Rukh explained that it was an ancient philosopher Aldis. It was considered before that he invented a sea signal lantern. It’s difficult to find out the pronunciation of names from languages of nations whose phonetic doesn’t match with spelling; in addition the pronunciation was forgotten in forthcoming ages. Especially it influenced English language which was quite popular at the Eon of Disjoint World.

Aldis being nervous noticeably and gasping with an evident heart disease was talking passionately: I’ll take an example of a young man whose wife just died of cancer. He couldn’t feel yet that he is a victim of a notorious injustice, of a common biological law, of this pitiless, monstrous and cynic law and of not less savage fascists “laws”. This unbearable law says that a human must suffer, loose youth, forces and die. It allowed these forces to take everything dearest from this man and to leave him without any protection, opened to all strikes of a fate from shadow of future! The human has always been dreaming to change this law refusing to be a biological looser in a game on rules which were set billions years ago. So why should we give up without any fight? Thousands of ensteins in biology will help to take us out of this game; we refuse to prostrate ourselves before the injustice of a nature and to come to an agreement with it.”

Picture 3. «Laokoon» Agesandr, Polidor, III BC

Kin Rukh said: «It’s difficult to phrase the term of inferno for a human more clearly. So can you see how long time ago people understood its principles? And now…»

A model of the Earth appeared on the screen, it looked like spheroid covered by many layers and enlightened from inside. Every region of its surface was a tiny diorama showing a stereoscopic picture just in front of the viewer as if from a very far distance. Firstly low layers enlightened leaving transparent and speechless upper layers. Gradually the projection was raising upper to the surface. That was a visual demonstration of the history of Earth printed in the layers of surface. This usual demonstration now was full of a new content for Chedi now. Kin Rukh declared that he created the scheme of the animal evolution on the basis of Erf Rom’s data.

Every species was adapted to definite conditions of life, to a definite ecological niche as it was called by biologists of the past. The adaptation closed the exit from the niche creating the separate areas of inferno until the species multiplied reaching the density that it couldn’t exist in overpopulated niche any more. The more perfect was adaptation and the more successful were the species the more dreadful was retribution.

Different spots of the sphere lightened and faded, the pictures of dreadful evolution of an animal world appeared and disappeared. Gatherings of thousands of crocodile-like amphibians were swarming in gummy sludge of swamps and little lakes; ponds overpopulated with salamanders, snakes and lizard-like creatures dying in millions, all in the meaningless fight for existence. Tortoises, gigantic dinosaurs, sea monsters were dying in poisoned by decaying of organic matter harbors or on devastated banks lack of any sources of food because of overpopulation.

Higher layers of the Earth surface in geological time were presented by billions of birds and vast herds of animals. With inevitable development of brains and senses the fear of death became stronger, the stronger became maternal instinct and the more and more prominent were sufferings of herbivores eaten by carnivorous. Perhaps from the point of herbivore animals these giant carnivorous could be associated with demons created later by imagination of humans. Their majestic power, perfect teeth and claws delighting by their pristine beauty had only one use: to tear and torment alive flesh, to crush the bones.

Nobody and nothing could help.It wasn’t possible to leave that closed circle of infernality; that swamp, steep or forest where the animal was born in the blind instinct of multiplication and preservation of the species…

Picture 4. Carnivore animals. «Their majestic power, perfect teeth and claws delighting by their pristine beauty had only one use: to tear and torment alive flesh, to crush the bones.»

Picture 5. Herbivore animals. «With inevitable development of brains and senses the fear of death became stronger, the stronger became maternal instinct and the more and more prominent were sufferings of herbivores eaten by carnivorous.»

The human with his strong feelings, memory and ability to understand future soon realized that as well as all Earth creatures he is doomed to the death since the birth. The only question is what is the time of execution and the amount of suffering for the particular individual. And the more higher, noble and pure spiritually the particular human being, the more suffering is prepared for him by the “generous” Nature and social existence until the wisdom of humanity united in titanic efforts will stop this game of blind natural forces continuing for billions of years in gigantic global inferno of the planet…

That’s why the first understanding of infernality in life before caused so many psychological traumas and suicides at the most beautiful age – at 18-20 years old.

– I connected two pieces of my teacher’s lectures, – said Fay Rodis, – and now you understand the notorious theory of infernality. «But for billions of years on the belief of our “yes” you are replying “no!”», – sang Rodis paraphrasing one of her favourite ancient Russian poets.

– Oh yes! – exclaimed Chedi. – But can I know about testing through which some historians go? – It seems you know about me more than I thought, – said Rodis reading her thoughts – so know more.

With these words she took out a small star-like crystal of the recording, which among people was called just a star and gave it to Chedi.

– Infernality enhanced inevitable sufferings of life a hundredfold, – she said, – it created people with weak nerve system whose life was even more difficult, – that was the first vicious circle. In periods of comparative peace suffering became less and created indifferent egoists. After transition of consciousness to the higher social level we stopped shrinking into individual suffering but suffering for others broadened infinitely, which means compassion, caring about everyone, about liquidation of grieves and disasters all over the world. That is what everybody of us concerns in every moment. And if to be in inferno realizing it and impossibility of exit from it for a definite human being due to durability of the process it has sense only in order to help destroying it, which means to help others, to do good, creating beauty and spreading the knowledge. Otherwise what is the meaning of life?

This simple truth surprisingly was not very soon understood.

That’s why real spiritual revolutionists were rare at those ancient times. To imagine the amount of individual suffering of the past we invented the system of tests conventionally called “the levels of infernality”. This is a series not only physical but also psychical torments aiming to help those who study the history of the EDW (Eon of Disjoint World) to understand ancestors better. The motivation of their deeds and superstitions would become clearer for remote descendants who have been living light, kind and pure life for ages.

Chedi Daan asked with full attention.

– And you think that here on Tormans they have inferno? That the lid of global oppression closed because they didn’t reach…

— Here global oligarchy came to power very fast because of homogeneity of population and culture, — explained Rodis.

Chedi Daan went out glancing back at motionless Fay Rodis flown in thoughts whether to the unknown planet under the spacecraft whether to the tremendously far Earth.

After two hours Chedi came back again with blushing cheeks and with her eyes bent ground. Without words she gave her the “star”, grabbed Rodis’s hand, touched her forehead with her hand and kissed unexpectedly. She whispered her “Forgive me for everything” and jumped out of a cabin, still moving clumsy in a spacesuit. Rodis followed her with her eyes and hardly anybody of a crew could imagine so much maternal kindness on the face of the commander of the expedition.

The impression after watching the film from the “star” excited Chedi by disturbing of some ancient instincts. In her memory all which she saw approached and protruded with acute sharpness although she wanted to forget sooner. Although she knew lots of such stories from ancient books and films about the past she imagined the cruelty of old times abstractedly.

The fighting of the heroes inspired and the description of their adventures left the vague pleasant feeling of safety and impossibility of such mercy of fate to happen neither with Chedi nor with anybody else from people living on the Earth. The teacher of psychology at school told that in the past when there were many poor and hungry people, prosperous people and rather rich people liked reading books and watching films about poor, desperate and oppressed people because it made them to feel their safe and prosperous life brighter. Most of all sentimental books about sick and unhappy people and as the antithesis to them about extremely lucky heroes and beautiful women were created in unsteady and troubled time of the EDW. When people had premonitions of the inevitable dreadful disasters in the life of humanity they were glad to get any artwork which could give precious feeling atleast of a temporary safety: «May it happen to others but not to me».

Same as everyone on Earth Chedi has gone through didfferent physical conditioning. She worked at hospitals of serious diseaces for people with recurrences of impaired heredity or for people with very serious traumas with not so rare cases of euthanasia, no matter on what level of development society is it still happened.

But all that was essential necessity of life which was understood and overcome by wisdom and physical conditioning, of life which every moment was feeling its unity with the common spiritual flow of the humanity going to the better and better future. The one didn’t have to believe in it as it was in the past; it was visible very real to those who were passing to the past. But that what Chedi saw in the “star” of Fay Rodis didn’t resemble the grief of the EUW (Eon of the United World).

Solitude and helplessness of a human forcibly taken away from all interesting light and dearest were so naked that the feeling of endless anguish importunately penetrated into Chedi’s soul despite her force of will. Humiliations and torments to which this lonely and offcast person was exposed brought back the human of EUW into savage rage mixed with the bitterness of feebleness, which seemed to be impossible for a human of the Earth.

Through the tests of Fay Rodis Chedi dived into the atmosphere of suffocating, senseless cruelty and hostility of the ages passed by long time ago. Proud, steel-like dignity of the woman from EUW didn’t brake under the pressure of psychological influence perhaps because it was Fay Rodis, the embodiment of everything to which Chedi aspired.

The young scientist of the humanity and society felt ashamed while remember how on Earth she doubted the necessity of complicated protective systems of the communistic society. People of the Earth from generation to generation spent on them great amount of energy and material resources. Now Chedi understood that despite inevitable increase of kindness, compassion and tenderness from the sum of infernal sufferings collected in the genetic memory always possible the origin of people with archaic understanding of valour, with savage urge towards the power to the exaltation of themselves through the humiliation of others. One dog with rabies can bite and subject to the danger hundreds of people. The same is a human with defected psyche. Such individual can cause awful troubles is kind, unsuspicious surrounding until the world which forgot about past social dangers will isolate and transform him.

That’s why the system of psychological inspection working together with the system of netlike transformation of the individual is so complicated and all the time is being modernized by the Soviet of Honest and Justice. The absolute analogy with the system of Protection of Electronic Connections of the spaceship, but more complicated.

For the first time understood correctly the role of protective systems calmed and cheered Chedi. As if mother’s vigilant care of the mankind of the Earth reached her with its powerful hand through the convolutions of Shakti and Tamas. Sighed deeply the girl stopped feeling the metallic armour and fell asleep so peacefully like she hasn’t slept after the approaching the Tormans.