Empty Space: A Haunting

‘I can be anything I want,’ she said, ‘but I don’t want that. I want to be the one thing I am.’

Люди, в том числе мертвые, всегда слишком многого требуют.

At a certain age, she now understood, you owe the past nothing except to recognise it as the past.

‘Nothing is real. Do you understand? There are only contexts. And what do they context?’ He gave Anna an intent look; breathed heavily a few times through his mouth. ‘More contexts, of course!’

Она каждый день смотрела себе в глаза, но не обязательно что-нибудь в них видела.

History, the boys from Earth believed, is bunk. The Angel of History may look backwards, but that pose will make no difference to the storm that blows it into the future. No wonder it has such a surprised expression!

Inside, economics – as invisible as a poltergeist, a force without apparent  agency – was dividing the place up into single rooms.

Past every surface, he had taught her, at every level, things were so wrong and inhuman: get below any surface and instantly you saw how wrong things were for us. ‘Forget all the anthropic crap,’ he used to insist. ‘None of this made itself for us.’

‘Never do anything unless you’re lost or on fire, Doctor. Otherwise how will you remember it?’

Джеймс, если хочешь моего совета: никогда не совершай неудачного самоубийства. Тебя никто, блин, никогда не пожалеет, и ты сам меньше всего.