in a part of future Africa

如果一個非洲女孩，

is accepted into the finest university in the galaxy,

來自未來非洲的一個傳統家庭，

planets away?

被銀河系裡遠處 數個最好的大學錄取，

What if she decides to go?

會如何？

This is an excerpt from my "Binti" novella trilogy:

如果她決定要去呢？

I powered up the transporter and said a silent prayer.

這段話引述自我的中篇小說 《賓娣》（Binti）三部曲：

I had no idea what I was going to do if it didn't work.

我啟動了運輸機，並默默禱告。

My transporter was cheap,

如果它無法運作， 我就不知道該怎麼辦了。

so even a droplet of moisture or, more likely, a grain of sand,

我的運輸機很廉價，

would cause it to short.

即使一滴水汽，或甚至一粒沙子，

It was faulty, and most of the time I had to restart it over and over

都可能會使它短路。

before it worked.

它很靠不住，大部份的時候， 我得要不斷重新啟動它，

"Please not now, please not now," I thought.

最後才會運作。

The transporter shivered in the sand and I held my breath.

我心想：「拜託現在別短路， 拜託現在別短路。」

Tiny, flat and black as a prayer stone,

運輸機在沙地中顫動，我屏息以待。

it buzzed softly and then slowly rose from the sand.

它很小、平平坦坦、 黑色的，就像是個禱告石，

Finally, it produced the baggage-lifting force.

它輕柔地發出噪音， 接著緩緩從沙地升起。

I grinned.

最終，它產生能抬起行李的力量。

Now I could make it to the shuttle on time.

我露齒而笑。

I swiped otjize from my forehead with my index finger and knelt down,

這樣我就能準時到達太空梭了。

then I touched the finger to the sand,

我用食指抹去額上的 赭色乳脂，跪了下來，

grounding the sweet-smelling red clay into it.

接著我用那隻手指去觸碰沙子，

"Thank you," I whispered.

讓汗味的紅土留在手指上。

It was a half-mile walk along the dark desert road.

我低語：「謝謝你。」

With the transporter working I would make it there on time.

我沿著黑暗的沙漠道路走了半哩。

Straightening up, I paused and shut my eyes.

因為運輸機成功啟動， 我能準時到達那裡。

Now, the weight of my entire life was pressing on my shoulders.

我直起身子，暫停一下，閉上眼睛。

I was defying the most traditional part of myself for the first time

現在，我整個人生 重重壓在我的肩膀上。

in my entire life.

這是我第一次公然反抗

I was leaving in the dead of night, and they had no clue.

自我生命中最傳統的那一部份。

My nine siblings, all older than me except for my younger sister and brother,

我在夜晚的死寂中離開， 而他們完全不知情。

would never see this coming.

除了一位妹妹和一位弟弟以外， 其他的九位手足都比我年長，

My parents would never imagine I'd do such a thing in a million years.

他們絕對料不到。

By the time they all realized what I'd done and where I was going,

我父母一百年也絕對 想像不到我會這樣做。

I'd have left the planet.

當他們發現我做了什麼 以及我要去哪裡時，

In my absence, my parents would growl to each other

我早已離開這星球了。

that I was never to set foot in their home again.

我不在的時候， 我父母將會彼此咆哮，

My four aunties and two uncles who lived down the road

說再也不許我踏進家門一步。

would shout and gossip amongst themselves

住在不遠的四個姑姑和兩個叔叔，

about how I had scandalized the entire bloodline.

將會彼此大叫和說八卦，

I was going to be a pariah.

述說我的醜聞如何震驚了整個家族。

"Go," I softly whispered to the transporter,

我將成為被放逐的賤民。

stamping my foot.

我輕聲對著運輸機說：「走吧。」

The thin metal rings I wore around each ankle jingled noisily,

我跺著腳。

but I stamped my foot again.

戴在我腳踝上的細金屬環 吵雜地發出叮噹聲，

Once on, the transporter worked best when I didn't touch it.

但我再次跺腳。

"Go," I said again, sweat forming on my brow.

運輸機一旦啟動了，我不再碰它 才能讓它處在最佳狀態。

When nothing moved,

我眉上冒出了汗水， 再次說：「走吧。」

I chanced giving the two large suitcases sitting atop the force field a shove.

當什麼都沒動時，

They moved smoothly, and I breathed another sigh of relief.

我冒險推了一下 位在力場上的兩個行李箱。

At least some luck was on my side.

它們順暢地移動，我又鬆了一口氣。

So, in a distant future part of Africa,

至少有點運氣是站在我這邊的。

Binti is a mathematical genius of the Himba ethnic group.

所以，在遙遠未來的非洲，

She's been accepted into a university on another planet,

賓娣是個辛巴種族的數學天才，

and she's decided to go.

她被另一個星球上的大學錄取，

Carrying the blood of her people in her veins,

她決定要去。

adorned with the teachings, ways, even the land on her very skin,

她身上流著族人的血液，

Binti leaves the earth.

她的皮膚上裝飾著 那些教誨、風俗、甚至土地，

As the story progresses, she becomes not other, but more.

她離開了地球。

This idea of leaving but bringing and then becoming more

隨著故事發展，她成長了更多，

is at one of the hearts of Afrofuturism,

離開，但帶來更多， 接著成長更多的這個想法，

or you can simply call it a different type of science fiction.

就是非洲未來主義的精神之一，

I can best explain the difference between classic science fiction and Afrofuturism

或是你也可以簡單稱它為 不同類型的科幻小說。

if I used the octopus analogy.

如果我使用章魚類比法， 能最清楚解釋古典科幻小說

Like humans,

和非洲未來主義的差別。

octopuses are some of the most intelligent creatures on earth.

和人類一樣，

However, octopus intelligence evolved from a different evolutionary line,

章魚是地球上最有智慧的生物之一。

separate from that of human beings,

然而，章魚智慧的演化， 走的是不同的演化路線，

so the foundation is different.

和人類的演化路線是分開的，

The same can be said about the foundations of various forms of science fiction.

所以基礎並不相同。

So much of science fiction speculates

各種不同形式之 科幻小說的基礎也是如此。

about technologies, societies, social issues,

所以，科幻小說大多臆測

what's beyond our planet, what's within our planet.

科技、社會、社會議題、

Science fiction is one of the greatest and most effective forms

我們的星球外有什麼、 我們的星球內有什麼。

of political writing.

科幻小說是最偉大且最有效的

It's all about the question, "What if?"

政治著作形式之一。

Still, not all science fiction has the same ancestral bloodline,

重點總是這個問題： 「如果……會如何？」

that line being Western-rooted science fiction,

但，並非所有的科幻小說 都有同樣的祖傳血脈，

which is mostly white and male.

那血脈扎根在西方的科幻小說，

We're talking Isaac Asimov, Jules Verne,

多半以白人男性為主。

H.G. Wells, George Orwell, Robert Heinlein, etc.

我們說的是以撒艾西莫夫、 朱爾凡恩、

So what if a Nigerian-American wrote science fiction?

H.G.威爾斯、喬治歐威爾、 羅伯特海萊因等人。

Growing up, I didn't read much science fiction.

如果奈及利亞裔美國人 來寫科幻小說會如何？

I couldn't relate to these stories

成長過程中，我沒有 讀過很多科幻小說。

preoccupied with xenophobia, colonization and seeing aliens as others.

我無法和這些故事有所連結，

And I saw no reflection of anyone who looked like me in those narratives.

它們充滿了仇外和殖民主義， 視外星人為異己。

In the "Binti" novella trilogy,

在那些故事中， 我沒看到任何像我的人。

Binti leaves the planet to seek education from extraterrestrials.

在中篇小說三部曲《賓娣》中，

She goes out as she is,

賓娣離開星球，去尋求外星教育。

looking the way she looks,

她以本來的面貌走出去，

carrying her cultures,

看起來是本來的樣子，

being who she is.

帶著她的文化，

I was inspired to write this story

做她自己。

not because I was following a line of classic space opera narratives,

我得到靈感寫下這個故事，

but because of blood that runs deep,

並不是因為我在追隨 古典太空劇故事的路線，

family, cultural conflict

而是因為深根的血脈、

and the need to see an African girl leave the planet on her own terms.

家庭、文化衝突，

My science fiction had different ancestors,

以及要看到非洲女孩 自願離開星球的需求。

African ones.

我的科幻小說有不同的祖先，

So I'm Nigerian-American.

是非洲的祖先。

I was born to two Nigerian immigrant parents

我是奈及利亞裔美國人，

and raised in the United States,

我父母是奈及利亞移民，

one of the birthplaces of classic science fiction.

他們在美國把我養大，

However, it was my Nigerian heritage that led me to write science fiction.

美國是古典科幻小說的出生地之一。

Specifically I cite those family trips to Nigeria in the late '90s.

然而，引導我寫科幻小說 是我的奈及利亞血脈。

I'd been taking trips back to Nigeria with my family since I was very young.

明確來說，我引用了 1990 年代末 和家人回到奈及利亞的旅行。

These early trips inspired me.

我從非常小的時候開始 就會和家人回奈及利亞。

Hence the first story that I ever even wrote took place in Nigeria.

這些早期的旅行是我的靈感。

I wrote mainly magical realism and fantasy

因此，我所寫的第一個故事 就發生在奈及利亞。

inspired by my love of Igbo

我寫的主要是魔幻寫實主義和奇幻，

and other West African traditional cosmologies and spiritualities.

靈感來自我對伊博族

However, in the late '90s,

以及其他西非傳統宇宙論 與靈性事物的熱愛。

I started noticing the role of technology in Nigeria:

然而，在 1990 年代末期，

cable TV and cell phones in the village,

我開始注意到科技 在奈及利亞所扮演的角色：

419 scammers occupying the cybercafes,

村裡的有線電視和手機，

the small generator connected to my cousin's desktop computer

419 名調情者佔據了網咖，

because the power was always going on and off.

小型發電機和我表哥的 桌上型電腦連接在一起，

And my Americanness othered me enough

因為供電總是時有時無。

to be intrigued by these things that most Nigerians saw as normal.

我的美國人特質讓我有所不同，

My intrigue eventually gave birth to stories.

足以讓我對這些被奈及利亞人 視為正常的事物感到好奇。

I started opening strange doors.

我的好奇最終讓我的故事誕生了。

What if aliens came to Lagos, Nigeria?

我開始打開奇怪的門。

This is an excerpt from my novel, "Lagoon."

如果外星人來到奈及利亞的 拉哥斯，會如何？

Everybody saw it,

這摘自我的小說 《礁湖》(Lagoon)。

all over the world.

每個人都看到了，

That was a real introduction to the great mess happening in Lagos,

全世界的人。

Nigeria, West Africa, Africa, here.

那是對於拉哥斯 所發生之大混亂的真實介紹，

Because so many people in Lagos had portable, chargeable,

奈及利亞、西非、非洲、這裡。

glowing, vibrating, chirping, tweeting, communicating, connected devices,

因為在拉哥斯有很多人 有可攜式、可充電、

practically everything was recorded and posted online in some way,

發光、震動、發出嘎吱聲、 推特用、溝通用、相連結的裝置，

somehow,

實際上，一切都出於 某種原因、以某種方式，

quickly.

被快速地記錄下來，

The modern human world is connected like a spider's web.

並張貼在網路上。

The world was watching.

現代的人類世界， 就像是蜘蛛網一樣連結。

It watched in fascinated horror

世界在看著。

for information,

它帶著入迷的恐怖在看著，

but mostly for entertainment.

為了資訊，

Footage of what was happening dominated every international news source,

但主要是為了娛樂。

video-sharing website, social network, circle, pyramid and trapezoid.

發生事件的影片， 主宰了所有國際新聞來源、

But the story goes deeper.

影片分享網站、社交網路、 圈、金字塔和梯形。

It is in the mud,

但故事會更深入。

the dirt,

它在爛泥中、

the earth,

在灰塵裡、

in the fond memory of the soily cosmos.

在地面下，

It is in the always mingling past, present and future.

深情紀念著土壤的宇宙。

It is in the water.

它在不斷混合的過去、 現在、未來當中。

It is in the powerful spirits and ancestors who dwelled in Lagos.

它在水中。

It is in the hearts and minds of the people of Lagos.

它在住在拉哥斯的 強大靈體及祖先中。

Change begets change.

它在拉哥斯人民的心靈與精神中。

The alien Ayodele knew it.

改變引起改變。

All her people know it.

外星人愛尤戴莉明白。

So, this is a voice of Udide, the supreme spider artist,

她所有的同胞明白。

who is older than dirt

這是至上蜘蛛藝術家烏狄迪的聲音，

and lives in the dirt beneath the city of Lagos,

他比泥土還老，

listening and commenting

住在拉哥斯城市下的泥土中，

and weaving the story of extraterrestrials coming to Lagos.

傾聽著，評論著，

In the end, the great spider who was the size of a house

編造著外星生物來到拉哥斯的故事。

and responsible for weaving the past, present and future

最終，和房子一樣大的大蜘蛛，

decides to come forth and be a part of the story.

負責編造過去、現在及未來的大蜘蛛，

Like Udide, the spider artist,

決定要站出來，成為故事的一部份。

African science fiction's blood runs deep

就像蜘蛛藝術家烏狄迪，

and it's old,

非洲科幻小說的血脈也深深扎根，

and it's ready to come forth,

它很古老，

and when it does,

準備好要站出來了，

imagine the new technologies, ideas and sociopolitical changes it'll inspire.

當它站出來時，

For Africans, homegrown science fiction can be a will to power.

想像它會激起的科技、 想法，和社會政治改變。

What if?

對非洲人來說，國產的科幻小說 可以是一個爭取權力的意志

It's a powerful question.

如果……會如何？

Thank you.

這是個強大的問題。

(Applause)

謝謝。