羊毛战记 Part 5 The Stranded 70

　　70,　　• Silo 18 •,　　The pot on the stove bubbled noisily, steam rising off the surface, tiny drops of water leaping to theirfreedom over the edge. Lukas shook a pinch of tea leaves out of the resealable tin and into the tinystrainer. His hands were shaking as he lowered the little basket into his mug. As he lifted the pot,some water spilled directly on the burner; the drops made spitting sounds and gave off a burned odor.,　　He watched Bernard out of the corner of his eye as he tilted ¹ the boiling water through the leaves.,　　“I just don’t understand,” he said, holding the mug with both hands, allowing the heat to penetratehis palms. “How could anybody—? How could you do something like this on purpose? ” He shookhis head and peered into his mug, where a few intrepid ² shreds ³ of leaf had already gotten free andswam outside the basket. He looked up at Bernard. “And you knew about this? How—? How couldyou know about this?”,　　Bernard frowned. He rubbed his mustache with one hand, the other resting in the belly ⁴ of hisoveralls. “I wish I didn’t know it,
” he told Lukas. “And now you see why some facts, some pieces ofknowledge, have to be snuffed out as soon as they form. Curiosity would blow across such embersand burn this silo to the ground.” He looked down at his boots. “I pieced it together much as you did,just knowing what we have to know to do this job. This is why I chose you, Lukas. You and a fewothers have some idea what’s stored on these servers. You’re already prepped for learning more. Canyou imagine if you told any of this to someone who wears red or green to work every day? ”,　　“It’s happened before, you know. Silo ten went down like that. I sat back there
”—he pointedtoward the small study with the books, the computer, the hissing ⁷ radio—“and I listened to it happen. Ilistened to a colleague’s shadow broadcast his insanity ⁸ to anyone who would listen.”,　　Lukas studied his steeping tea. A handful of leaves swam about on hot currents of darkeningwater; the rest remained in the grip of the imprisoning ⁹ basket. “That’s why the radio controls arelocked up, ” he said.,　　“And it’s why you are locked up.
”,　　Lukas nodded. He’d already suspected as much.,　　“How long were you kept in here?” He glanced up at Bernard, and an image flashed in his mind,one of Sheriff Billings inspecting his gun while his mother had visited him. Had they been listeningin? Would he have been shot, his mother too, if he’d said anything?,She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。,He is not really satisfied with his intrepid action.他没有真正满意他的无畏行动 。