Hi, Im Ada.

你好，我是艾达。

In this series, I tackle some of lifes pressing existential questions, like "whats the best way to survive the apocalypse?" Do you ever look around and think, how is everyone just going about their business when there are so many ways the world could end?

在这个系列中， 我探讨了一些生活中紧迫的生存问题，例如“末日生存的最佳方式是什么？ ” 你有没有环顾四周，思考过，既然世界末日有这么多可能， 为什么每个人都在忙着自己的事？

I want to shake them.

我想摇晃它们。

Not that theyd listen to me.

他们不会听我的。

Not yet at least.

至少现在还没有。

Oh!

哦！

Good morning.

早上好。

Oh, sorry.

噢，对不起。

You must be Ada, our new clerical assistant.

你一定是艾达（Ada），我们新来的文书助理。

Youre 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，这个图书馆太棒了。

Um, you know, I basically lived in a library when I was writing my philosophy thesis on— Youll sit at reception and help patrons with the Wi-Fi password or returning a book, things like that.

嗯，你知道，我在写哲学论文的时候基本上住在图书馆里——你会坐在接待处， 帮助顾客获取 Wi-Fi 密码或归还书籍，诸如此类的事情。

Anything more complicated, you come get me.

如果有什么更复杂的事情，你可以来找我。

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

当没有顾客时，还有很多事可以让你忙个不停。

Every minute that passes, you could spend doing something.

每过一分钟，你都可以做一些事情。

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

一些重要的事情，或者至少比这更重要的事情。

But you also have to work, and eat, and sleep, and pair socks, and make other tiny attempts to exert order on the chaos of the universe.

但是你也必须工作、吃饭、睡觉、穿袜子以及做出其他微小的尝试来使宇宙的混乱变得有序。

Excuse me, could you help me find these books?

打扰一下，你能帮我找到这些书吗？

Hmm.

唔。

Biochemistry, Saccharomyces cerevisiae life cycle.

生物化学，酿酒酵母的生命周期。

You must be a scientist.

你一定是位科学家。

A former scientist.

前科学家。

I was a nuclear physicist.

我曾是一名核物理学家。

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结合。

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

在实验室里呆了多年之后，我想做一些真实的、切实的事情。

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

我喜欢看到人们品尝我的啤酒时脸上露出的喜悦。

Ah, okay, Im just gonna say it.

啊，好吧，我就说说而已。

We— I mean we, humanity— always seem to be just around the corner from catastrophe, and you had the chance to actually do something about that and chose not to.

我们——我的意思是我们人类——似乎总是处于灾难的边缘，而我们有机会真正做些什么， 但却选择不去做。

Im... Im sorry?

我…我很抱歉？

How much joy do you think craft beer will bring when were trying to survive the apocalypse?

当我们试图在世界末日中生存时，您认为精酿啤酒会带来多少欢乐？

Um, well, Im not sure Id want to survive the apocalypse, as you put it.

嗯，好吧，正如你所说，我不确定我是否想在世界末日中生存下来。

I mean, think for a second what it would actually be like to lose almost everyone and everything you care about.

我的意思是，想一想，失去几乎所有你关心的人和事会是什么感觉。

But it wouldnt necessarily be like that.

但事实并不一定如此。

Yes, you would lose a lot.

是的，你会损失很多。

But even in a truly global catastrophe, there would almost certainly be places where most people and infrastructure survive.

但即使发生真正的全球性灾难，也几乎肯定会有大多数人民和基础设施能够幸存的地方。

And have what kind of life, though?

那么，过着什么样的生活呢？

So, say our town survives.

所以说我们的小镇幸存了下来。

We have a lot of luxuries— bars, and coffee shops, and souvenir stores selling magic crystals.

我们有很多奢侈品——酒吧、咖啡店和出售魔法水晶的纪念品商店。

Hey, sounds like Ill 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以免受负能量的侵害。

Mhm.

嗯。

Without the interconnected global systems we relied on, well have to find ways to produce food, medicines, electricity, fuel, and clean water locally.

如果没有我们所依赖的互联互通的全球系统，我们就必须想方设法在当地生产食品、药品、电力、燃料和清洁水。

Our best bet to survive in the long run is to collaborate— within our town, of course— but also with whatever other survivors we can contact.

从长远来看，我们要想生存下来，最好的选择就是合作——当然是在我们的城镇内——但也要与我们能够联系到的其他幸存者合作。

Hey!

嘿！

Everyone!

每个人！

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

我们需要定量供应食物，直到我们能够呼救——嘿！

She wants to invite outsiders in to take our food!

她要请外人来吃我们的饭！

No, thats not what I said— (Crowd booing) Look around.

不，我不是这么说的——（人群嘘声）看看周围。

People are desperate.

人们很绝望。

Even if other survivors dont raid us, I doubt theyll help.

即使其他幸存者不袭击我们，我怀疑他们也不会提供帮助。

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.

那么就是电力。

Lets work on that.

让我们努力做到这一点。

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任务。

Hey, people, listen to me!

嘿，大家听我说！

Everyone listen, I— (Crowd booing) Guys, electricity will make things so much better.

大家听着，我——（人群嘘声）伙计们，电会让事情变得更好。

Well do it for ourselves.

我们会自己做这件事。

Not to contact other people.

不准与其他人联络。

Right?

正确的？

Ugh, it runs on coal.

呃，它靠煤炭驱动。

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

事实上，化石燃料比更先进的技术更容易使用。

So youre proposing mining for coal?

所以你提议开采煤炭？

That doesnt sound easy.

这听起来并不容易。

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

不，但是我们可以在煤电厂燃烧其他东西。

Weve got lots of wood which we can use to make charcoal, which is more compact and burns way hotter than wood.

我们有很多木材可以用来制作木炭，木炭比木材更致密，燃烧温度更高。

Its not as efficient as coal, but its the best option we have.

它不像煤炭那么高效，但它是我们最好的选择。

To fuel the power plant and get the local grid back on, were going to need a lot of charcoal.

为了给发电厂提供燃料并恢复当地电网的供电，我们将需要大量的木炭。

No one will get any electricity unless everyone works together.

除非大家共同努力，否则就没有人能得到电力。

Okay, okay.

好的，好的。

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

有一些方法可以用更少的燃料来获取少量电力。

Theyll thank me later.

他们稍后会感谢我的。

The internet?

互联网？

Cellular data?

蜂窝数据？

Ugh.

啊。

Even landlines rely on physical infrastructure that seems like its all been disrupted.

甚至连固定电话所依赖的物理基础设施似乎都已被破坏。

Hmm.

唔。

Okay, so how can I get a message out?

好的，那么我怎样才能发出消息呢？

Well, radios pick up signals in the air.

嗯，无线电接收空中的信号。

You can make a simple radio that doesnt even need electricity pretty easily.

您可以轻松制作一台甚至不需要电力的简单收音机。

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

在第二次世界大战期间，战俘们搜寻材料来制作它们。

Any old wire will work as an aerial.

任何旧电线都可以用作天线。

Itll pick up the electromagnetic fields of passing radio waves.

它会接收通过的无线电波的电磁场。

Lots of common substances can complete the receiver and make messages intelligible, including... a number of crystals.

许多常见的物质可以完善接收器并使信息变得易于理解， 其中包括……许多晶体。

Its for the best.

这是最好的。

(Radio static) The Svalbard Seed Vault has hundreds of millions of seeds... on an island in the Arctic Circle.

（无线电静电）斯瓦尔巴种子库拥有数亿颗种子……位于北极圈的一个岛屿上。

Apparently, seaweed is a good food source, but were nowhere near the sea.

显然，海藻是一种很好的食物来源，但我们离大海却很远。

Whoa!

哇哦！

Paper mills can be retrofitted to process wood into food.

造纸厂可以进行改造，将木材加工成食品。

They break down wood in big vats.

他们在大桶里分解木材。

Then, instead of making the pulp into cardboard or paper, they use enzymes to convert the cellulose into edible sugar.

然后， 他们不再将纸浆制成纸板或纸张，而是使用酶将纤维素转化为可食用的糖。

Okay, focus.

好的，集中注意力。

We dont have a paper mill, but we have plenty of wood.

我们没有造纸厂，但我们有大量木材。

Hello?

你好？

Can you hear me?

你能听到我吗？

We can trade wood for— hey!

我们可以用木材来交换——嘿！

We dont want outsiders flocking to our town!

我们不希望外来者涌入我们的城镇！

Ill find out who stole my stolen generator and steal it back.

我会找出偷了我被盗的发电机的人并将其偷回来。

Were distilling alcohol to use for antiseptic and fuel.

我们正在蒸馏酒精以用作防腐剂和燃料。

A big vat for grinding things up.

一个用来研磨东西的大桶。

Its not a paper mill, but its similar.

这不是一个造纸厂，但很相似。

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

我们对城里每一家啤酒厂进行改造，以适应最热门的新潮流。

Converting wood and cardboard into lignocellulosic sugar for a sweet flavor with notes of avoiding death by starvation.

将木材和纸板转化为木质纤维素糖，以获得甜味并避免饿死。

You know, with some additional equipment, these breweries could produce electricity from their byproducts.

你知道， 有了些额外的设备，这些啤酒厂可以利用其副产品生产电力。

And who will manufacture that equipment?

那么谁来制造该设备？

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

我们需要比这个镇上的人们拥有的更广泛的技能。

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.

总得有人先走。

What was that about needing different skill sets?

为什么需要不同的技能组合？

Fine.

美好的。

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

是的，我承认——酿酒师可以在全球灾难发生后帮助人们。

But that doesnt mean its better to become a craft brewer than a nuclear physicist.

但这并不意味着成为一名精酿啤酒师比成为一名核物理学家更好。

Maybe not, but in this scenario youre imagining, it might be more useful to be a car mechanic or a library assistant than a nuclear physicist.

也许不是， 但在你想象的这种情况下，成为一名汽车修理工或图书馆助理可能比成为一名核物理学家更有用。

You dont really know, do you?

你真的不知道，是吗？

No, I dont.

不，我不知道。

But I do know that everything we talked about would be even more useful if we worked on it now, before a catastrophe.

但我确实知道，如果我们现在、在灾难发生之前就开始努力，我们所谈论的一切将会更加有用。

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 dont 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.

使电网更加强劲，并致力于开发养活人民的技术。

We could even make practical knowledge manuals and, I dont know, put them in libraries.

我们甚至可以制作实用的知识手册，然后把它们放在图书馆里。

Ada, isnt this something else you should be doing?

艾达，这不是你应该做的另一件事吗？

Yes, thats what Im saying!

是的，这就是我的意思！

The question is what, exactly?

问题到底是什么？

The books, Ada!

这些书，艾达！

Get him the books.

把书拿给他。

I apologize for the holdup.

我为造成的耽搁表示抱歉。

Oh, I dont mind.

哦，我不介意。

Ive learned to cherish every moment.

我学会了珍惜每一刻。

See you tomorrow.

明天见。

Something to aspire to.

有些事值得追求。