GPS.

GPS。

They've used encrypted apps to coordinate tactics and to ask Russians to stand up to their government, who, in turn, have staged protests in Moscow and other cities.

他們使用加密應用程式來協調戰術，並呼籲俄羅斯人站出來反對政府，而莫斯科和其他城市也真的發生了示威抗議。

Though it may end up losing 'em the battlefield, Ukraine has been able to show the world the brutality and folly of the Russian attack,

儘管烏克蘭最終可能戰敗，但他們已經向世界展示了俄羅斯殘暴、愚昧的行為，

which is only possible because everyday citizens have maintained access to the internet.

能做到這些，都拜民眾能持續使用網際網路所賜。

But maybe not for long.

但這情況可能不會持續太久。

In areas with the heaviest fighting, internet outages are becoming common.

在戰爭交火最激烈的地區，斷網的情形愈趨普遍。

And since information is power in the battlefield, there's a danger that Russia will find a way to knock the country fully offline.

由於在戰場上資訊就是力量，俄羅斯很可能會找方法讓烏克蘭全面斷網。

Which is why Ukraine's Minister of Digital Transformation and Vice Prime Minister tweeted a plea to Elon Musk,

這就是為什麼烏克蘭的數字轉型部長兼副總理，在推特上向伊隆·馬斯克發出了請求。

"We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations and to address sane Russians to stand."

「我們請求您為烏克蘭提供 Starlink 網路，並讓理智的俄羅斯人有地方能發表立場。」

"Starlink service is now active in Ukraine," Musk tweeted back later that day, collapsing a regulatory process that can take months or years into under 280 characters.

而馬斯克當天稍晚也在推特上做了回覆：「 Starlink 服務已在烏克蘭啟動。」將一個可能需要數月或數年的監管過程壓縮到 280 個字符以下。

Starlink, up and running since 2021, is a global satellite internet provider owned by Musk's company SpaceX,

Starlink 自 2021 年開始運行，是馬斯克公司 SpaceX 旗下的全球衛星網際網路供應商，

which aims to provide low latency, high-speed internet to areas that are less densely populated and where fast, reliable internet may be lacking.    

旨在提供人口不太密集，可能缺乏網路的地區，低延遲、高速的網路。

The first obstacle is that Ukrainians can't just connect directly to Starlink's satellites.

第一個障礙是，烏克蘭人無法直接連接到 Starlink 衛星。

First, they need ground terminals⏤"... terminals en route," was how Musk finished his tweet.

首先，它們需要接地終端，「…地面終端設備已上路。」是馬斯克推文的結尾。

And less than 48 hours later, Fedorov replied with a picture showing a truckload of them in Ukraine, "Starlink — here. Thanks, Elon Musk.”

不到 48 小時，費多羅夫在烏克蘭上傳了一張滿載終端設備卡車的照片回應，「 Starlink 已抵達。謝謝你，伊隆·馬斯克。」

Those terminals will need to be brought into cities under siege and connected to wi-fi, in turn, allowing Ukrainians to connect their devices.

這些終端將會被帶入被圍困城市與 Wi-Fi 連接，並提供烏克蘭人連接到他們的設備。

And if terminals lose power, they'll need batteries or generators to stay online.

而如果終端失去電力，他們將需要電池或發電機來保持在線。

But if the terminals can be installed and maintained, Starlink could provide a digital lifeline to some Ukrainians.

但如果終端可以被安裝及維護，Starlink 可以提供烏克蘭人持續他們的網路生活。

Divorcing the online world from geography and placing it outside state control is in keeping with the internet's original promise.  

將網絡世界從地理環境中剝離並脫離國家掌控，正符合網際網路最初期待。

The dream of the internet was one of complete deterritorialization.

網際網路的藍圖是完成全面非領土化。

The internet was supposed to mean that it doesn't matter where you live, you are connected to all of humanity through this completely transparent network where geography is irrelevant.  

意思是，你住在哪裡並不重要，通過這個完全透明的網絡，你與全人類都能聯繫，不受地理環境影響。

We've seen how far short of that we have fallen.   

可以看到，目前我們離這個目標還很遙遠。

We've seen some governments censor the internet.

有些政府會對網路進行審查。

Eli Dourado is a senior research fellow at the Center for Growth and Opportunity.

Eli Dourado 是發展及機會機構的高級研究員。

I think a great outcome for the internet would have been for the US to be able to export the First Amendment to the entire planet.

我認為，網際網路的一大進步將會是美國帶領整個世界走向自由的機會。

To be able to say, "Well, if you're a company that is based in the US and you're serving the entire planet and you're subject to US law alone, then the First Amendment applies everywhere."

能夠達到，如果你公司總部設在美國，服務遍及全球，那麼你只受美國法律約束，美國憲法第一修正案 (自由權) 將適用於所有地方。

"And... and nobody can... can stop you from speaking freely."

「沒有人可以阻止你自由發言。」

In reality, it hasn't worked out that way, and the internet is still largely tied to the politics and geography of earth.

現實中並不是這樣運作的，網路在很大程度上與政治和地理位置相聯繫。

Can Starlink help make good on the internet's original promise to be a tool of liberation?  

Starlink 能否幫助兌現網際網路最初承諾，成為解放的工具？

Imagine if Putin had to answer to a populace with immutable Internet access, where they could see the unvarnished reality of war.

想象一下，如果普丁不得不對擁有網際網路自由使用權限的民眾負責，人民在網上可以看到戰爭不加修飾的現況。

How might that change the way a conflict plays out?

這將如何改變戰爭？

One of Starlink's key innovations is that the signal can be relayed laterally a number of times⏤across country borders, time zones, even oceans⏤before beaming back down to a ground station.  

Starlink 的關鍵創新之一是，信號可以多次橫向轉發，跨越國界、時區、甚至大洋，然後再傳送回地面站。

That could make it harder for any one country to censor or track what its citizens access online.

這使任何一個國家更難審查或追蹤人民使用網路。

But only if Starlink first turns on service in those places and then routes internet traffic through ground stations in neighboring countries.  

但前提是 Starlink 在這些地方開啟服務，然後通過鄰國的地面站來傳輸網際網路流量。

Starlink is, of course, a commercial offering from an American company that's launching frequently into space.

想當然爾，Starlink 是美國公司的商業產品，SpaceX 也頻繁向太空進行發射。

Under the Outer Space Treaty, the United States government is ultimately responsible for what SpaceX does when it's in space.    

根據外空條約，美國政府最終要對 SpaceX 在太空中的行為負責。

While the technology would allow for it, Starlink may not turn out to serve that grand purpose.

雖然技術允許，但 Starlink 可能無法達成這宏偉的目標。

So far, it's only available in countries that welcome its presence.

目前為止，它只在歡迎其存在的國家提供服務。

But the technology holds promise.

但這技術提供了我們希望。

Satellite internet might, one day, offer an uncensored alternative for people living in hermit kingdoms, behind great firewalls, or on information islands.  

衛星網際網路有朝一日可能提供生活在隱士王國、巨大防火牆，或資訊孤立島嶼上的人們一個不受審查影響的替代方案。

And every day, Ukrainians are putting truth to power.

而每天烏克蘭人都在把真理付諸行動。

Coordinating their defense, appealing directly to Russian kinship and common humanity, rallying people to their cause.

協調防禦作戰、透過與俄羅斯人民的血緣關係和共通人性展開呼籲，召集人們支持他們的行動。

Showing the devastating cost of war.

展示戰爭所要付出的慘烈代價。

Starlink could help them to prevail in that battle.

Starlink 可以幫助他們在這場戰役中獲勝。