上海梦想 精彩片段：
Chapter 59
The green and yellow taxi dropped them off at the top end of The Bund, Shanghai’s two kilometers of European brownstone buildings that harked back to the city’s colonial past. Zhongshan Lu, the road that was sandwiched between the neoclassical fa?ade of The Bund, the Huangpu River and the constantly changing metropolis of Pudong, was a maelstrom of neon, vehicle lights, myriad flyovers and the buzz of a city alive. The view was so breathtaking that Caldwell just stood on the pavement in front of one of the European-style buildings and stared at the Pudong skyline. They’d decided to come here first to test run Kenzo Yamamoto’s console before dealing with the problem of the AI. Mei Lin had also reasoned that following the PLA all the way to the hospital was too dangerous. It was much better to sneak in and catch them by surprise.
Gleaming towers of steel and concrete disappeared into a smog-filled sky, their neons screaming to be noticed. Giant robotic cranes moved slowly between the buildings giving the impression that they were going to crash through the shiny edifices. The logos of countless Chinese, Japanese and global conglomerates pulsated in the night, the horns of shiny cars blared and an ultra-modern version of humanity weaved its way among the buildings. Caldwell reckoned that if you pointed an augmented reality unit in any direction it would be overwhelmed with data. As he took in the views, the time capsule of The Bund, the crazy pedestrian and vehicular traffic of Zhongshan Lu, the nautical traffic on the Huangpu river, the fiery neon and light-refracting steel and glass of Pudong, and the numerous helicopters and other aircraft traversing the sky, he found it difficult not to be overwhelmed. And all the while haunted by that unmistakable feeling of déjà vu.
“I have been here before,” Caldwell said finally.
“Hardly surprising Cad.”
“But I have no memory of it at all, just this overwhelming feeling that I have been here before.”
“Let’s cross over to the banks of the Huangpu. There’s a nice elevated riverside promenade.”
“Yes, let’s see whether this Wang Lin character was just boasting idly or there really is something else out there.”
They crossed Zhongshan Lu via an underground tunnel and emerged on the other side. There was a small crowd of people admiring the night view of Pudong and from this side of the road, with the undulating black expanse of the river in full view, the vista really was breathtaking. They found a park bench in a more secluded spot close to the river tour ferry piers and Caldwell removed the console from his knapsack and placed it on the bench. Mei Lin looked on as he donned the goggles and switched the console on.
“What can you see?” Mei Lin asked with mounting excitement. Caldwell’s heart was beating fast too. This could be the most exciting thing he’d ever set his eyes on.
“Em, nothing, just the command line and the view of The Bund outside.” He turned his head towards Pudong. Nothing. The console was not picking up any networks.
“Maybe you are supposed to issue a command or something,” Mei Lin suggested. The night was a bit chilly and she had her arms folded across her chest and her head hunched into her shoulders.
“Maybe. Augmented Reality Mode,” Caldwell said into the microphone embedded in the goggles.
“What?”
“Nothing. Just issuing a command to the console. OK, we have an AR overlay.”