MGS1英文官方小说

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　　Liquid laughed. “That was just a cover story by the Pentagon! First they tried to say it was post-traumatic stress disorder, then chemical or biologic weapons. The poison gas detection units and the antisarin injections-they were all just to cover up the secret genetic experiments.”

　　“So, then the so-called Gulf War babies that have been reported by Gulf War veterans are-”

　　“Yes. They, too, are our brothers and sisters.”

　　“Then the existence of the genome soldiers means that the experiments were a success?”

　　“Success? Don’t be a fool! They’re a complete failure! We’re on the verge of extinction!”

　　“What?”

　　“Have you ever heard of the asymmetry theory? Nature tends to favor asymmetry. Those species which have gone extinct all show signs of symmetry. The genome soldiers suffer from the same problem-sighs of symmetry. So do I, as do you. That’s right. We are all on the verge of death at the genetic level. We don’t know when or what type of disease will occur. That’s why we need the old man’s genetic information.”

　　Snake replied sarcastically, “You want Big Boss’s DNA so you can save your family? That’s very touching.”

　　“In nature, family members don’t mate with each other. And yet they help each other survive. Do you know why? It increases the chance that their genes will be passed on to a new generation. Altruism among blood relatives is a response to natural selection. It’s called the selfish gene theory.”

　　“You’re telling me that your genes are ordering you to save the genome soldiers?”

　　Liquid ignored the dig. “You can’t fight your genes. It’s fate. All living things are born for the sole purpose of passing on their parents’ genes. That’s why I’ll follow what my genes tell me. And then I’m going to go beyond. In order to break the curse of my heritage.” Liquid paused and then added quietly, “And to do that…first I will kill you. Look behind you, Snake.”

　　Warily, Snake turned to see a body lying on top of the Rail Gun. Red hair. Feminine body.

　　“Meryl! Is she alive?”

　　“I think so. She was alive a few hours ago. Poor girl kept calling your name. stupid woman. Falling in love with a man who doesn’t even have a name.”

　　“I have a name.”

　　“No! we have no past, no future. And even if we did, it wouldn’t be truly ours. You and I are just copies of our father, Big Boss.”

　　“Let Meryl go!”

　　“As soon as we’ve finished our business. We’re almost out of time.”

　　“You’re talking about FoxDie?”

　　“No. it seems now that the Pentagon knows Metal Gear was destroyed. They’ve arrived at a decision. They won’t even need a battle damage assessment. If you want the details, why don’t you ask your precious Colonel Campbell?”

　　Snake didn’t want to do it, but he punched the transmitter on the Codec. “Colonel, can you hear me?”

　　“Yes,” the man said. “I’m listening.”

　　“What is the Pentagon trying to do? Answer me, Colonel!”

　　“Secretary of Defense Houseman has taken over active control of this operation. He’s on his way here by AWACS.”

　　“What for?”

　　“To bomb the facility.”

　　“What?”

　　“Not only that. B-2 bombers just lifted off from Galena Air Force Base. They’re carrying B61-13 surface-piercing tactical nuclear bombs.”

　　“But Metal Gear is destroyed! Tell Houseman! Tell him!”

　　“Houseman heard that Naomi double-crossed us, and he’s worried about FoxDie. Now that there’s no more danger of a nuclear strike from Metal Gear, he’s going to do whatever’s necessary to cover up the truth of what really happened.”

　　“He’s going to drop a nuclear bomb to vaporize all the evidence, along with everyone who knows anything…?”

　　“Don’t worry, Snake! I’ll stop the nuclear strike.”

　　“How?”

　　“I may only be a figurehead here, but I’m still officially in command of this mission. If I issue an order to delay the strike, it’ll confuse the chain of command and at least buy you some time. It’ll give you a chance to escape!”

　　“But Colonel, if you do that-”

　　“It’s okay, Snake. The truth is that FOXHOUND was already the subject of an undercover investigation. Meryl was transferred to the base just before the terrorist attack as a way of manipulating me.”

　　“Those bastards!”

　　Campbell sighed. “I’m sorry. They forced me to cooperate in exchange for her life. You’d better get out of there, Snake.”

　　“Are you sure? It’ll be bad for you.”

　　“Don’t worry. It’s the least I can do for you after all the lies.”

　　“Colonel…”

　　“I’m ordering them to cancel the bombing run. After that there’s no turning back. And th-hey! What are you-”
The Codec’s monitor suddenly went offline. Snake shook it and cursed. After a moment, Mei Ling’s distressed face appeared on the screen.

　　“Snake!”

　　“Mei Ling! What happened to the colonel?”

　　“I don’t believe it!”

　　“What happened?”

　　“Snake, the colonel-”

　　The monitor went blank again from signal interference. Snake cursed a second time and tried to reestablish the frequency. But this time a new appeared on the Codec.

　　Secretary of Defense Jim Houseman.


　　“Roy Campbell has been relieved of duty,” the man announced. “This is Secretary of Def-”

　　“I know who you are! Put the colonel back on!”

　　“He’s been placed under arrest for leaking top-secret information and for the crime of high treason.”

　　“Ridiculous!”

　　“Yes, he’s a ridiculous man. He truly believed that he was in command of this operation.”

　　“You bastard!”

　　Houseman nearly smiled. Snake could sense that the guy was enjoying this. “There won’t be a speak of evidence left. I’m sure the president ordered this? Snake demanded.”

　　“The president is a busy man. I have complete authority here.”

　　“How do you plan on explaining a nuclear attack on Alaska to the media?”

　　“On, we’re prepared a very convincing cover story. We’ll simply say that the terrorists exploded a nuclear device by accident.”

　　“You’ll be murdering everyone here. The scientists, the genome army, everyone…”

　　“Donald Anderson, the DARPA chief, is already dead…”

　　“So you didn’t mean to kill him after all?”

　　“He was my friend.”

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　　“And you could care less about happens to everybody else, huh?”

　　“Well, if you give me the optic disk, I might consider saving them.”

　　“What are you talking about?”

　　“Metal Gear’s test data! Anderson was supposed to bring it back. Baker had it.”

　　“I don’t have it!”

　　Houseman squinted. He wasn’t sure if Snake was telling the truth. “Fine. Never mind. You and your brother are an embarrassment from the 1970s. Our country’s dirty little secret. You can’t be allowed to live. Alas. The bombs will be dropping soon, and I’m sure you two have a lot of catching up to do. Farewell.”

　　With that, the Codec went dead. Snake looked up at Liquid, whose expression indicated that he had expected everything that had been said.

　　“There’s no way out for us,” Liquid remarked. “Let’s finish this before the air strike.” He point a finger at Snake and shouted. “You stole everything from me! Only your death can satisfy me. Only your death can return to me what is rightly mine!” he indicated Meryl and continued, “She’ll make a beautiful sacrifice for our final battle. Do you see what’s next to her?”

　　Snake turned again. This time he noticed the black box with the wires leading from it and wrapped around her chest the device was obviously on a timer.

　　“That’s the time limit for our final battle!” Liquid announced. “If you win, you might be able to save her. You could enjoy one brief moment of love before the end.” He then gestured toward the edge of the platform on which they were standing. “And if you cross this line, you’ll fall. At this height, it’ll kill even you.”

　　Snake inched toward the edge and looked down. Metal Gear wasn’t on its feet, but the height was still considerable. He could easily break his back if he fell.

　　Liquid lifted his fists and assumed and antagonistic position. “Let’s go, brother. The bell has rung, and it’s time to enter the ring.”

　　Snake lifted his fists as well. So it was to be hand-to-hand combat. Snake was unaware of Liquid’s abilities in that regard, but Liquid also didn’t know that Snake had been Master Miller’s top pupil in the hand-to-hand class.

　　The two men circled with their eyes locked on each other’s. as they were both trained to blot out extraneous noises and distractions, they no longer were standing on top of the broken mech-they were in a boxing ring. The only differences were that there was no audience, and instead of rope barriers there was nothing-only a step off to certain doom.

　　Liquid took the offensive by moving in and rapidly striking Snake in the face. The man was so fast that Snake barely had time to attempt a block. He did that, but Liquid’s fist still connected with his jaw. Snake retreated a step and let Liquid advance, a ploy he used to turn defense into offense. As Liquid leaned in for the punch, Snake kicked out his right leg and slammed it into his sternum. The FOXHOUND renegade felt the blow and stumbled backward. Snake didn’t stop there. He continued to advance, utilizing his trademark one-two-three punch-punch-kick combination. But Liquid had a few moves of his own that surprised Snake. The man had a nasty underpunch that Snake couldn’t manage to block.

　　They continued to spar for several minutes, delivering and accepting punishment in what seemed to be an essentially even match. It wasn’t long before both opponents could anticipate what the other man would do. The fight was evidently a draw.

　　Snake knew he had to get Meryl and Otacon and get the hell out of there before the bombers arrived. There was no time to waste. He aggressively moved forward, spun his body, and attempted a roundhouse kick, but Liquid grabbed his ankle, twisted it, and threw Snake to the platform. Before Snake could roll out of the way. Liquid was on him, kicking him in the ribs. The pain was immense, particularly after everything else Snake had endured, but he forced himself to ignore it and grasp Liquid’s calf to stop the licking. Liquid pulled hard to free himself, but Snake held on tightly. Finally, Liquid lost his balance and fell, allowing Snake to jump on top of him. He pummeled his brother with a succession of right-left power punches that would knock out an ordinary man after the first blow. But Liquid lay there and took it. Only when Snake paused to determine the level of damage he was inflicting did Liquid expertly throw Snake off him. Snake tumbled to the edge of REX’s platform, tried to stop himself from sliding, and slipped off the edge.

　　He grabbed whatever he could, which was the lip of the platform that served as REX’s flat head. Snake hung there, holding on for dear life as he tried to swing his legs back up to safety.
Liquid stood and appeared over him. “Good-bye, brother,” he said as he lifted a foot and pressed it on Snake’s right hand. He began to grind the ball of his foot into Snake’s fingers, producing an excruciating wave of torment that escalated up the arm. Snake had to let go.

　　Snake hung by one hand, desperately searching for a handhold beneath the lip. Then Liquid shifted his foot to Snake’s left hand and began to press.

　　With his free right hand, Snake stretched and grabbed Liquid’s lower calf. He then pushed his thumb as hard as possible into the soft, sensitive area below Liquid’s bony ankle, the Achilles’ heel. The tissue there was aptly named, for Liquid screamed in pain and released his foot. Snake then was able to use both hands to pull himself up and back onto the top of the mech.

　　“Damn you!” Liquid shouted. He rushed at his opponent, but Snake sidestepped him, held both fists together, and smashed them into Liquid’s lower back. The oompf! That Liquid uttered informed Snake that the blow had been painful and might have damaged the man’s kidneys. Liquid staggered forward, trying to stabilize the agony, but Snake raised a knee hard into his throat. He then grabbed Liquid’s long golden hair and pulled up the man’s head.
Snake made a fist, drew it back, and drove it fiercely into his brother’s face.

　　Liquid staggered backward to the edge of the platform. His feet caught on the lip, and his eyes grew wide. He waved his arms in that awkward, ridiculous gesture of people who lose their balance and then opened his mouth to scream. His eyes found Snake’s and pleaded silently for help.

　　Snake had a sudden inclination inclination to reach out and save his brother but at the last second chose not to do so.
Liquid cried out as gravity took over and the FOXHOUND terrorist toppled over the side. The heavy thud from below indicated that no protruding ledge on REX had broken the fall. Snake approached the edge and looked down. Like a rag doll, Liquid’s body lay motionless on the lab floor.

　　Snake then turned his attention to Meryl. He ran to her side and examined the time bomb that was strapped to her body.

　　“Meryl?” he lightly touched her face and gave it a gentle slap.

　　“Meryl! Wake up!”

　　She moaned and moved. She was alive!

　　“Meryl!”

　　“Uhhhh…Snake…?” her voice was hoarse. Her eyes flicked open and tried to focus on him. “Snake?”

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我已经被远远甩开了...

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　　“Meryl!”

　　“Snake! You’re alive…! Thank God…!”

　　“Don’t move. I have to get this off you.”

　　She gasped when she felt the wires.

　　“Stay perfectly still.” Snake punched the Codec. “Nastasha? Are you there?”

　　Romanenko answered. “Yes, Snake.”

　　Snake held his wrist so that an image of the bomb could be transmitted over the Codec. “Do you see that?”

　　“Yes.”

　　“How do I get it off her?”

　　“It appears to be a timed explosive. Is there digital readout? How much time do you have?”

　　“I don’t know,” Snake said. “There’s no LED.”

　　“All right, I recognize the type of fuse. Listen closely. You see four colored wires, yes? The image on the Codec is not clear, so I can’t tell what colors they are.”

　　Snake pointed. “This one’s red, this one’s blue, these are green and yellow.”

　　“Okay. Don’t touch the blue one. I want you to gently remove the green wire from the connector on the box. Try not to let the end touch any of the other wires.”

　　Snake did so.

　　“Now you need to short out the box. Do you have a chaff grenade?”

　　“Yes.”

　　“You’ll need to explode it right there. Tell Meryl to cover her face. There’s no detonation, but some of the particles from the grenade could hurt her eyes.”

　　“Did you hear that?” he asked Meryl.

　　“Uh-huh.”

　　Snake looked around the platform and noticed for the first time that his sneaking suit had been discarded near her body. He grabbed it and wrapped it around her head.

　　He opened his pouch, removed a chaff grenade, and set it next to the bomb. “Are you sure this will do it, Nastasha?”

　　“Trust me, Snake. If you had left the green wire attached, it would have set off the bomb. But now the chaff grenade will disarm the bomb’s sensory system. Like it does on cameras.”

　　“If you say so.”

　　He pulled the pin and stepped back several feet. The thing went off noisily, and Meryl yelped. Snake quickly moved back to her and pulled the garment off her face.

　　“Hi,” she said.

　　“Thanks, Nastasha!” snake ended the transmission and then leaned in to kill Meryl, but he only gave her a peck on the lips. In response, she enveloped his head with her arms and held him there. Snake had to push himself off.

　　“Meryl, there’s no time for that. Let me get these wires off you.”

　　As he did so, he could hear the faint sound of airplanes. Since they were underground, there was no way to tell how close they were.

　　Then there was a distant explosion.

　　“Damn, the bombing’s started!” he helped Meryl to her feet. The gunshot wounds had been treated and bandaged expertly, but she was in no shape to fight or run. “Meryl, are you okay?”

　　“Are you okay? Is that all you can say?”

　　He pursed his lips and then said, “Meryl, it must have been terrible.”

　　“It wasn’t that bad. I didn’t give in to the torture.”

　　“You were tortured?”

　　“And things worse than that.” She put a hand to his mouth to keep him from speaking. “But I was fighting, too. Just like you.”
He shook his head. “You’re a strong woman.”

　　“Fighting them made me feel…closer to you. I felt like you were there with me. It gave me the strength to go on. But…I was scared.”

　　“I’m sorry, Meryl.”

　　“Don’t say that.”

　　“I tried to-”

　　“But it made me realize something. During all the pain and shame there was one thing I was sure of…a single hope that I held on to… and that hope…kept me alive.” Tears welled in her eyes as she continued, “Snake, I wanted to see you again.”

　　“Meryl…”

　　The Codec beeped. It was Otacon.

　　“Snake! It looks like you stopped REX!”

　　“Otacon, good news…Meryl’s okay!”

　　“All right!”

　　“But I got some bad news, too. We’re about to be bombed.”

　　“I can hear it. I guess we’re considered expendable.”

　　“Is there a way out of here?”

　　“A way out? Uh, yeah. You can take the loading tunnel to the surface. There’s a parking garage right next to you. The tunnel leads from there to the surface.”

　　Snake looked down from the mech and studied the wreckage around the lab. “You mean the door in front?”

　　“No. it’s a small entrance to the west of that door.”

　　“How about security?”

　　“I just unlocked it. Who do you think you’re talking to?”

　　“What are you going to do?”

　　“Me? I’ll…I’ll stay here.”

　　“Otacon, this is a hardened shelter. They’re going to use a surface-piercing nuclear bomb. It won’t hold.”

　　“I’m through regretting my past…Life isn’t all about loss, you know…!”

　　“Otacon, don’t be an idiot!”

　　There was a pause before Dr. Emmerich continued. “Okay, Snake, I’m a complete person now. I’ve found a reason to live. I’ll meet you at the underground bunker. It’s just next to the loading tunnel’s entrance on the surface. At least we can try to set the hostages free.”

　　“Can you make it there on your own?”

　　“I can’t sure try. Good luck!”

　　“Thanks.”

　　“Thanks? Wow, that sounds kinda nice!”

　　He signed off.

　　“What’s he doing?” Meryl asked.

　　“He’s fighting right now…with his old self…to be the man he wants to be.”

　　“He’s fighting for us, too?”

　　“Yeah. And I don’t want it to be in vain.”

　　There was another explosion, this time closer. “It looks like we don’t have time for a love scene,” he said.

　　“Too bad. We have to go, huh?”

　　He took Meryl’s hand and helped her down the pile of rubble once known as Metal Gear. Snake stopped momentarily to gaze upon the body of his brother. Liquid lay in a puddle of blood, showing no signs of life. The guy did resemble him. They shared distinctive physical characteristics., such as the cruel, snarling mouth that women found irresistible.

　　“Shouldn’t we go?” Meryl asked.

　　“Yeah,” Snake muttered.

　　They turned and left the terrible evidence of what Snake had suspected and feared his entire life. Even when as a child, he had acknowledged the fact that he was different from others his age. He was already sufficiently distinguished from his contemporaries in that he did not know his parents and had grown up with and been educated by a variety of foster “teachers.” And he’d been training to be a soldier since early childhood. But none of that had bothered Snake. It was something else.

　　He never felt normal.

　　It was as if he was some kind of alien in a world full of human beings.

　　Now he knew why.

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25

THEY WENT THROUGH the door that Otacon had remotely unlocked for them and entered an underground parking garage. The place appeared to have been the scene of a skirmish, for two civilian automobiles were overturned and burned. There were several military-issued Overland Jeep MBs parked in a row near the entrance, but otherwise the garage was hauntingly empty.

　　“Oh, yeah,” Meryl said. “See those overturned cars?”

　　“Uh-huh.”

　　“Some of the civilian workers tried to escape the day of the takeover. The guards stopped them.”

　　“What happened to the rest of the employees’ vehicles?”

　　“I don’t know. They could have been scrapped for metal. The terrorists use those jeeps, though. I’ll see if I can find one with the keys in it.”

　　She limped toward the row of jeeps before Snake could stop her-he had been the surveillance camera just before she stepped into its line of sight. Of course, an alarm rang. She froze like a deer in headlights.

　　“We’re gonna have company!” Snake shouted. “Take cover!”

　　 As she crawled inside a jeep, Snake moved quickly to the wall next to the door. A stack of petrol barrels provided sufficient cover, and so he crouched behind them and waited. Sure enough, three FAMAS-armed genome troopers entered the garage. One man barked orders at the other two and then pulled back to search the area where Snake was hiding. The other two separated and went for the vehicles.

　　It was perfect. The leader carefully walked back toward the barrels, giving Snake the opportunity to circle around the stack and sneak up behind the man. A decisive stranglehold dispatched the guard silently and efficiently. Snake laid the man down, picked up the FAMAS, and then stepped out from behind the barrels.

　　“Hey!” he called to the other two guards.

　　Two short bursts from the assault rifle was all it took.

　　“Meryl?” Snake called.

　　“Over here! There’re keys in this one!”

　　Before running to her, he stripped the fur coat off the dead trooper leader so that he could give it to the Meryl; She was dressed in skimpy clothes and would need it. She was in the driver’s seat and already had turned the ignition when he got to the jeep. “I picked one with a toy in it.” She indicated the belt-fed.30-caliber machine gun sitting in the back.

　　“Good work. You okay to drive?” he asked, throwing her the coat.

　　“Never better. And you’re a better shot, so get in!” she put the coat on and said. “Thanks! I’m not much of a fur person, but considering the circumstances, I’ll wear it just this once.”
Snake leaped over the side of the jeep and checked out the gun as Meryl backed out of the space. Then, right on cue, a dozen troopers poured out of the garage door, spotted them, and began to fire indiscriminately.

　　“Floor it!” Snake shouted.

　　She burned rubber and headed for the tunnel, a long underground road that reminded Snake of the Lincoln and Holland tunnels in New York.

　　Meanwhile, Snake made sure that the ammo belt was fed into the gun properly as the guards’ bullets flew over their heads. He grasped the holds and with both hands directed fire at the soldiers.
BOOM!!

　　The bombs were dropping closer. The entire structure shook as if a massive earthquake had struck. Many of the soldiers lost their balance and fell, and the others were mowed down by Snake’s gunfire. The tremor subsided, and Meryl guided the jeep straight into the tunnel.

　　“We’re not out of the woods yet!” Snake shouted over the noise of the jeep, which echoed loudly in the tunnel.

　　“I don’t see the end of the road!” Meryl called. “Do you know how far it is?”

　　“No! Just keep driving!” She pushed the speed up to eighty.
After a half minute, they could see a barricade blocking the road ahead. Movement around it indicated that there were at least a few guards on duty.

　　“Snake!”

　　“I see them. I want you to drive straight through the barricade. They’re just sawhorses.”

　　He turned the gun around, aimed for the obstacle, and let loose with a barrage. The guards ran for cover, and three of them fell. The jeep burst through the blockade with a crash. The vehicle skidded for a couple of seconds, and then Meryl regained control. She increased the speed, and they continued their escape.

　　Another bomb fell and rattled the tunnel. Snake saw small pieces of plaster fall from the ceiling. For a moment he was afraid they might not make it out before the tunnel collapsed. He looked at the Codec and tried to contact Otacon, but all frequencies were disrupted.

　　“Snake, there’s someone behind us!”

　　He looked back and saw two headlights rapidly gaining on them. It was another jeep. From that distance it was difficult to see how many men were inside, but it appeared that there was just a single driver. Could it be Otacon?

　　The flurry of machine-gun bullets striking the back of their jeep answered that question.

　　“Step on it, Meryl!”

　　“I’m on the floor as it is! Something’s wrong with the transmission. It won’t go into fourth gear!”

　　Damage from gunfire, most likely.

　　That meant the pursuing jeep eventually would reach them. Snake aimed the machine gun back toward the rear and fired. As the jeep gained ground, Snake recognized the long, flowing golden hair.

　　“Liquid! He’s alive!”

　　“It’s not ever yet, Snake!” his brother shouted. More bullets sprayed the back of the jeep, and Snake was forced to duck.

　　Liquid’s jeep swerved back and forth, since its driver was trying to shoot and drive at the same time. Snake grasped the machine gun again and then noticed that there wasn’t much ammunition left. The last of the belt was feeding into the weapon.
Make these count!

　　He fired and blew out the pursuing jeep’s headlights. The windshield broke away, but Liquid had ducked below the dash. He vehicle swerved dangerously close to the tunnel wall and then got back on track.

　　Snake was out of bullets. He drew his SOCOM, but Liquid rammed the back of their jeep hard. Meryl screamed, and Snake fumbled with the gun before he had a good grip on it. It dropped to the floor of the jeep, and he had to scramble down to retrieve it.

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　　“I see sunlight!” Meryl called.

　　The end of the tunnel was a quarter mile ahead.

　　Liquid rammed the jeep again, causing Meryl to skid next to the wall. The jeep struck it, but the vehicle’s speed worked in their favor as the jeep deflected off the surface and sped back to the center of the road.

　　The daylight was blinding.

　　The jeep practically flew out of the tunnel onto the icy, snow-covered road, hit it at a great speed, and began to skid and slide uncontrollably. Liquid’s jeep did exactly the same thing as it exited the tunnel. The two vehicles spun wildly and eventually collided with each other with tremendous force. Both Snake and Meryl were thrown, but they landed in a large snowdrift that cushioned the impact. Still, Meryl cried out in pain, mostly from the trauma to her previous wounds.

　　Time stopped for a couple of minutes. Then Snake opened his eyes and crawled toward his companion.

　　“Meryl, are you okay?”

　　“Yeah,” She winced when she tried to sit up. “Just a little shook up.”

　　“Can you move?”

　　“Give me a minute. Right now I can’t.”

　　Snake studied their surroundings. Both jeeps were totaled. One was upside down and stuck in a snowbank; the other was aflame and on its side in the middle of the road. Liquid was nowhere in sight.

　　“What happened to Liquid?” she asked.

　　“I don’t know. Wait…”

　　The bare-chested figure stood unsteadily on the other side of the road. Liquid looked as if he had just taken a shower in blood.

　　“Snaaake!” he shouted. He pointed a finger and stumbled forward.

　　Snake rose to his feet, prepared to have another go at hand-to-hand combat with his nemesis. From the looks of his opponent, though, he didn’t think it would last very long.
But then something happened. Liquid’s face suddenly registered surprise and shock. He clutched his chest and gasped.

　　Heart attack?

　　Liquid’s eye bulged, and he dropped to his knees.

　　No…it’s…

　　“Fox…” Liquid managed to say.

　　“…Die.” Snake finished for him.

　　Liquid fell forward onto the ice. Snake cautiously moved to him and knelt. He took the man’s wrist and felt for a pulse.

　　Snake looked at Meryl and shook his head.

　　“Where to now?” she asked.

　　“We have to find Otacon. He’s supposed to meet us.”

　　“Snake!”

　　The familiar voice came from around a large snowbank. They could see the tall, lanky young man in the lab coat waving at them.

　　“Over here!”

　　“Can you make it?” Snake asked Meryl.

　　“Yeah. As long as we don’t have to run.”

　　“I have a feeling the running is over. Hey, I just realized something. Where are the stealth bombers?”
She looked up. “You’re right. The bombing stopped. What happened?”

　　“I don’t know, but I’m gonna find out.”

　　Otacon ran to them through the snow. He was carrying a large bag over his shoulder.

　　“Man, am I glad to see you two!” he said, shivering. “And man, it’s cold out here!”

　　Snake wished he’d grabbed another coat, but he hadn’t thought of it at the time. He indicated the bag. “What have you got there?”

　　“A bunch of C4. We’ll need it to free the hostages.”

　　“Where are they?”

　　Dr. Emmerich pointed to a smokestack protruding from the snow. “That’s their ventilation. You see that snowbank a few yards from there, going down into that valley?”

　　“Yeah.”

　　“That’s the entrance. It’s covered in snow.”

　　“Okay. Let’s do it.”

　　Snake and Otacon spent the next several minutes digging through the snow until they felt the hard cold metal of the bunker entrance. Otacon banged hard on it until they heard voices behind the door.

　　“Stay back from the door!” Snake shouted. “We’re going to blow it!”

　　There was a muffled acknowledgment, and he nodded to Otacon. “Okay. Let’s set’ em.”

　　Otacon dug out three C4 explosives, and Snake placed them one at a time on the metal door. He set each one to detonate simultaneously by remote with his Codec. He banged on the door again and shouted, “We’re ready! Get back now!”

　　They ran back to where Meryl was standing and took cover behind another snowdrift. Snake  put his finger on the Codec button and said, “Here goes something.”

　　The blast was big and noisy, and it seemed that a ton of snow catapulted out of the target area. Thick black smoke billowed out of the hole for a couple of minutes until it finally dissipated.
Then, a few at a time, people appeared. They were men and women of various ages, all dressed in civilian clothes and wearing winter coats. Otacon jumped up and ran to them. He greeted one of the men warmly, and they embraced.

　　“Aww, that’ touching,” Meryl said.

　　“I hope they have an extra coat for him.”

　　Meryl stood and surveyed the barren white horizon. “Now the big question is, how do we get out of here?”

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26

THE CODEC BEEPED. Snake was surprised and overjoyed to see that it was Colonel Campbell calling.

　　“Snake, can you hear me?”
　　
　　“Colonel!”

　　“Are you okay?”

　　“Colonel, what happened? The bombing stopped. And …you’re back!”

　　Campbell laughed. “I’m pleased to se you’re happy about it. The secretary of defense has been arrested. Early retirement.”

　　“Arrested?”

　　“I was able to get into contact with the president. Metal Gear, the training exercise…all of it…it was all Houseman acting alone.”

　　“That figures. What happened to the air raid and nuclear strike?”

　　“The orders were rescinded. The F-117’s and B-2 Spirits have returned to base. Once again, I have complete authority over this operation.”

　　“I see. That’s…that’s great!”

　　“Washington isn’t stupid enough to use nukes to cover up a few secrets. In any case, the danger’s over. Thanks, Snake.”

　　“Oh, Colonel…you can rest easy. Meryl’s fine. She’s here with me.”

　　Snake had never seen Campbell so overcome with emotion.
　　“Really? My Lord. That’s…Snake, thank you. Thank you!”

　　“You’re welcome.”

　　“Snake…she’s my daughter.”

　　“What?”

　　“Meryl’s my daughter. I didn’t find out until recently. I got a letter from her mother…my dead brother’s wife. I was going to tell her after this operation was over. I guess that’s another secret I kept from you. And her.”

　　Snake looked at Meryl, and she mouthed “What?” He shook his head and replied to the colonel, “Colonel, that’s…” he had to laugh rather than finish his sentence.

　　“It’s okay, Snake.” Campbell laughed, too, and then said in all seriousness, “Snake, I’m sorry I kept a lot of things from you.”

　　“It’s okay, Colonel.”

　　“Snake, I’m not a colonel anymore, remember?”

　　“Oh, right.”

　　“I’ve got a present for you. Mei Ling just saw a snowmobile on the satellite photos. It’s real close to you. This time of year the glaciers are pretty calm. You should be able to ride right out of there. I’ll bet the boys at the DIA and the NSA never expected you to come home alive.”

　　“Me neither. I better not show my face around there for a while.”

　　“No danger of that. You officially died after your jeep sank into the ocean.”

　　Snake said wryly, “That’s not too far from the truth.”

　　“There’ll be a helicopter waiting for you on Fox Island.”

　　“Listen, Colonel- I mean Roy-I mean, hell, Colonel, you’ll always be the damned colonel to me! Anyway, we rescued all the civilian hostages. They’re at the bunker near the loading tunnel entrance. Dr. Emerich is with them.”

　　“That’s even better news, Snake. Mei Ling has already spotted them. We’ll send a transport to pick them up.”
Meryl limped over to where Otacon was standing. He had retrieved a coat, and the two conversed while Snake continued talking to Campbell.

　　“You gonna be okay, Colonel?” he asked.

　　“Don’t worry. I’ve got an insurance policy: a hard copy of all Mei Ling’s data. As long as I’ve got that, me, and Mei Ling will be fine.”

　　Snake checked the time on the Codec. “The battery on these nanomachines will run out soon. They won’t be able to follow us.”

　　“I guess we won’t meet again.”

　　“Don’t worry. I’ll pay you a visit sometime.”

　　“Really? I look forward to that.”

　　“Roy, just tell me one thing.”

　　“What?”

　　“About FoxDie.”

　　“Well, Meryl will be fine. She wasn’t included in its programming.”

　　“What about me? It killed Liquid.”

　　“Naomi said she wants to talk to you face-to-face about that.”

　　“Hmm. How is she?”

　　“Don’t worry. Mei Ling’s with her right now. I’ll switch you over. Hold on.”

　　Snake waited a few seconds, and then Naomi Hunter’s face
appeared on the monitor.

　　“Snake, it’s me.”

　　“Naomi…”

　　“I heard…about my brother…”

　　“I’m sorry. But he had one last message he wanted to give to you.” Snake said. He quickly realized he shouldn’t tell her the whole truth. It would make things worse for her. “He told me to tell you to forget about him and go on with your own life.”

　　Tears appeared in Dr. Hunter’s eyes. “Frankie said that?”

　　“Yeah. He also said he’ll always love you. Naomi, your brother saved you, me, and the whole world. He fought with every ounce of strength in his body.”

　　“Maybe…maybe now he’s found some peace. He wasn’t really my brother anymore…Ever since he fought you in Zanzibarland, he’s been like a ghost. A ghost looking for a place to die.” She sobbed and tuned away.

　　Snake knew he had to ask the question straight out. “Naomi, Liquid died from FoxDie. What about me? When am I gonna go?”
Naomi sniffed and wiped her eyes. “That’s up to you.”

　　“What do you mean?”

　　“Everybody dies when their time’s up.”

　　“Yeah, so when is mine up?”

　　“It’s up to you how you use the time left. Live, Snake. That’s all I can say to you. You’ll just have to trust me on this. You do have time, but even I can’t say how much. Snake, each person is born with their fate written into their own genetic code… It’s unchangeable, immutable…But that’s not all there is to life. I finally realized that. I told you before, the reason I was interested in genes and DNA was that I wanted to know who I was, where I came from. I thought that if I analyzed my DNA, I could find out who I was, who my parents were. And I thought that if I knew that, then I’d know what path I should take in life. But I was wrong. I didn’t find anything. I didn’t learn anything. Just like with the genome soldiers…you can input all the genetic information, but that doesn’t make them into the strongest soldiers. The most we can say about DNA is that it governs a person’s potential strengths…potential destiny. You mustn’t allow yourself to be chained to fate or be ruled by your genes. Humans can choose the type of life they want to live. Snake, whether or not you’re in the FoxDie program isn’t important. The important thing is that you choose life… and then live! It’s what I’m going to do. Until today, I’ve always looked for a reason to live. But from now on, I’m going to stop looking and just live. Genes exist to pass down our hopes and dreams for the future through our children. Living is a link to the future. That’s how all life works. Loving each other, teaching each other…that’s how all life works. Loving each other, teaching each other…that’s how we change the world. It’s the true meaning of life, and I just realized it. So thank you, Snake.”

　　“You’re welcome, Naomi.”

　　“Goodbye, Snake.”

　　The Codec transmission ended.

　　Meryl approached him and said: “Doctor Emmerich’s staying with the hostages. He says for us to go on and find the snowmobile.”

　　Snake looked up and saw the scientist waving. He waved back.

　　“Thanks, Snake!” Otacon called.

　　“Thank you!” Snake hollered back.

　　He then took Meryl’s arm and followed the map that showed up on the Codec. It was slow going down a hill and over an icy outcrop of large rocks, but after a half hour they made it to the bottom of a cliff. Inside a small cave there was a Zr2500 Arctic Fox snowmobile. The keys were in the ignition.

　　Snake pushed it out of the cave and sat at the controls. Meryl got on behind him. He turned it on to let it warm up a bit. She held out her palm and showed him a bandana.

　　“I found this in the snow,” she said.

　　“Let’s keep it. As a reminder.”

　　“Of what? A reminder of a successful mission or reminder of the first time we met?”

　　“A reminder of how to live. Until today, I’ve lived only for myself. Survival has been the only thing I cared about.”

　　“That’s not just you. That’s how everyone is.”

　　“I only felt truly alive when I was staring death in the face. I don’t know; maybe it’s written in my genes.”

　　“What about now? what do your genes say about your future now?”

　　“Maybe it’s time I lived for someone else.”

　　Meryl hesitated. “Someone else?”

　　“Yeah.” He turned back to look at her. She’d never looked more beautiful. “Someone like you. Maybe that’s the real way to live.”

　　She smiled. Not knowing what else to say, she ventured. “So…where to?”

　　“David. My name is David.”

　　Her eyes widened. “David? Really?” She laughed. “Okay, so where to, Dave?”

　　“Hmm. I think it’s time we look for a new path in life.”

　　“A new path?”

　　“A new purpose.”

　　“Will we find it?”

　　“We’ll find it. I know we’ll find it.”

　　“What are those?” she pointed at some four-legged animals in the distance. They had antlers and were as bog as a moose.

　　“Caribou. For the Aleutians, the caribou is a symbol of life. It’ll be spring here soon.”

　　She whispered in his ear, “For us, too!” She placed her hands on his shoulders. He reached back and set his left hand on her right.
“Yeah. Spring brings new life to everything. It’s a time for hope.” He looked up at the clear sky. “I’ve lived here a long time, but Alaska has never looked so beautiful. The sky…the see…the caribou…and most of all…you.”

　　She giggled like a schoolgirl. “I think I’m gonna like this new life.”

　　“Come on,” he said, revving the snowmobile’s engine. “Let’s enjoy it.”

　　With that, he accelerated and pulled out into the clean, virgin snow. The caribou ignored them as the snowmobile trekked across the whiteness toward new chapters in their destinies.

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EPILOGUE

REVOLVER OCELOT LISTENED to the other man on the line and then spoke.

　　“Yes, sir. The entire unit was wiped out. Yes…yes, sir. Thanks to the vaccine, I’m okay. Yes, those two are still alive. The vector? Yes, sir. FoxDie should become activated soon. Right on schedule. Yes, sir, I recovered it all. REX’s dummy warhead date is right there with everything else. No. there are no other records. They’ve all been deleted from the base’s computer. No, sir, my cover is intact. Nobody knows who I really am. Yes, the DARPA chief knew my identity, but he’s dead now. ye. Yes, Liquid is dead. The inferior one was the winner after all. That’s right. Yes, sir, until the very end. Liquid thought he was the inferior one. Of course, the other one thinks that, too. Yes, sir, I agree completely. It takes a well-balanced individual such as yourself to rule the world. Yes. Yes, sir. No, sir. No one knows that you were the third one…Solidus Snake. Right. So what should I do about the woman? All right. I’ll keep her under surveillance. Yes. Yes. Thank you. Goodbye…Mister President.”




ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Between 1996 and 2002, RAYMOND BENSON was commissioned by the James Bond literary copyright holders to take over writing the 007 novels. In total he penned and published worldwide six original 007 novels (including Zero Minus Ten, Never Dream of Dying, The Man with the Red Tattoo,) three film novelizations, and three short stories. His book The James Bond Beside Companion, and encyclopedic work on the 007 phenomenon, was first published in 1984 and was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award by Mystery Writers of America for Best Biographical/Critical Work. Benson has also written non-Bond novels: Face Blind (2003), Evil Hours (2004), and Sweetie’s Diamonds (2006). The pocket Essentials Guide to Jethro Tull was published in 2002. Using the pseudonym “David Michaels,” Benson is also the author of the New York Times bestselling books Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell (2004) and its sequel Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Operation Barracuda (2005). Benson’s latest original novel is A Hard Day’s Death, published in April 2008. Visit the author at his website, www.raymondbenson.com

fengmosn

终于完成
庆祝之