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The Prisoners: Are Humans Imprisoned on Planet Earth by Cosmic Forces?[1]

囚徒：人類是否被宇宙力量給囚禁在地球上？

What if you were a prisoner in your own world and daily life? Imagine if, despite the seeming appearance of a normal, modern lifestyle around you, you were actually being held captive by certain powers that be; an inmate within invisible walls possessing no iron bars or chains, but which relied instead on surveillance and sentries to corral and confine its detainees?

如果說，你是一個被囚禁在你所屬的這個世界和日常生活之中的囚犯，你該怎麼辦？想像一下，儘管你周遭的生活看似尋常，但是實際上你是被某個當局給囚禁了；你就是一個囚犯，被關在無形的牆內，這裡沒有鐵欄杆或鐵鍊，而是靠著監視與警衛來圈禁押犯的話，又該怎麼辦？

Imagine now that you no longer wished to remain here. As you seek ways to escape, what if the powers in control effectively worked stifle your every attempt… perhaps even presenting a ruse when necessary to help you think you were closer to freedom than you actually were?

接著再想，你已經不想再待在這裡了。在你尋找逃脫的方法時，如果對方每一次都能有效地扼殺你的計畫......甚至在必要的時候還會設下詭計，讓你以為你快要自由了，結果卻不是呢？

In such a circumstance, one might surmise that the careful control of people’s actions—perhaps through things like punishment, or even deadly force—could serve as a far stronger form of imprisonment than an actual fortified location with thick walls and barred windows.

在這種情況下，有人可能就會想，比起有著厚牆、窗戶上裝著欄杆這種固若金湯的方式，謹慎地控制人類的行為(可能還伴隨使用像是懲罰，或甚至是強制力的方式)，反而更能作為一種強大的監禁形式。

It’s an interesting thought experiment: the idea that imprisonment can take many forms, or even that imprisonment could occur with or without one even knowing it. Here, of course, the question arises as to whether we today, living in a free society as we do, are nonetheless effectively “prisoners” in some fashion or another.

監禁的形式可以有許多種，或是監禁甚至可以是在一個人知曉或不知曉的情況下發生的這種想法，是一種有趣的思想實驗。當然，這裡出現的問題就是，現今我們是否確實像我們所想的一樣，活在一個自由的社會之中，還是，不管是以什麼樣的形式呈現，我們其實就是「囚犯」。

This was the premise of what is arguably among the most well-regarded science fiction series of classic television, The Prisoner, harkening back to the late-1960s era where, thanks largely to Ian Fleming’s immortal character, spy dramas were very much en vogue.

這就是備受推崇的經典科幻電視影集《密諜》中所假設的論點之一，這部片可以追溯至間諜片相當流行的1960年代後期，而這得多虧伊恩·弗萊明筆下不朽的角色。

The Prisoner starred Patrick McGoohan in the role of a stoic and at times tempestuous former secret agent who, upon angrily quitting his job, finds himself a captive within a small coastal community somewhere in Europe. In this new place, known colloquially as “The Village,” each person is known by a number rather than by a name; here, the lyrics of the 1948 American country music song by Jimmy Skinner, “Doin’ My Time,” come to mind, where Skinner sang, “Lord, they call me by a number, not a name.”

《密諜》的主演派屈克．麥古恩在劇中扮演一位堅忍，但時而暴躁的前秘密特工，他在盛怒之下辭去工作之後，卻發現自己被囚禁在歐洲某個小型沿海社區之中。在這個俗稱「村子」的新地方，所有的人都沒有名字，而是用編號來稱呼彼此；這時，吉米·斯金納在1948年所唱的美國鄉村歌曲「Doin’ My Time」的歌詞就浮現在腦海中，斯金納唱道：「主啊，他們不是用我的名字而是用個編號來叫我。」

Beginning in September 1967, this most unusual program appeared on televisions in Britain and Canada, combining elements of a James Bond-like spy thriller with science fiction by employing advanced surveillance technologies and balloon-like robotic sentries which helped enforce authority in the “Village.” Over the course of 17 episodes, the program saw McGoohan’s character—known to other Villagers as “Number Six”—engaged in repeated and increasingly elaborate attempts to escape from his strange prison with no walls. His primary antagonists are a variety of characters who take the role of “Number Two” over time, engaging in efforts to psychologically “break” Number Six with the intended goal of finding out why he resigned.

從1967年9月開始，這個最為與眾不同的節目出現在英國和加拿大的電視上，結合龐德式的間諜驚悚片與科幻元素，採用先進的監控技術和長得像氣球的機器人警衛，加強「村子」的威信。在整個17集的過程之中，這個節目就是在看麥古恩那個被其他村民稱為「六號」的角色，不斷進行著越來越精密的嘗試，想要逃離這座沒有圍牆的怪異監獄。他主要的敵人就是在各個時段中扮演「二號」這個角色的各種人物，他們希望能夠藉此在心理上「擊潰」六號，找出他要辭職的原因。

 

Number Six, in essence, represents the Individualist; he is a free-thinker that has been thrust into a collectivist world, where good behavior and complacency is rewarded. Add to that the obviously Orwellian elements of surveillance and control, and what we now find in The Prisoner is a sharp cultural commentary that is designed to make us think as much as it was intended to entertain.

六號，其實代表著個人主義者；他是一個自由思想家，卻被推入一個集體主義的世界，在這個世界裡，會鼓勵良好的表現與自滿的感覺。除了那些明顯為歐威爾式監視與控管的元素之外，在《密諜》之中我們更能發現的是一個尖銳的文化評論，讓我們在娛樂之餘，也能同樣地去思索這個問題。

Plenty of commentaries have been offered about the series and its influence, perhaps most notably in books like Chris Gregory’s Be Seeing You…: Decoding The Prisoner (University of Luton Press, 1997). Gregory analyzes the series on almost every level conceivable, from the mythological to the political and sociological, arguing fundamentally that like Orwell’s 1984, the inevitable encroachments of civil liberties that occur as government grows has, over time, made The Prisoner all the more relevant, and hence its lasting appeal.

有大量關於這個影集及其影響的評論，而或許，其中最知名的就是像克里斯．格雷戈里的《再會......：解讀「密諜」》（盧頓大學出版社，1997年）這樣的書。格雷戈里從各種你幾乎可以想像得到的層面分析了這部影集，從神話到政治與社會學都有，基本上，就像歐威爾1984年所發生的情形一樣，當政府強大後，無法避免地就會出現公民自由被逐步侵犯的情況，這樣的情形，隨著時間的推移，只會使《密諜》更加貼近現實，也因此使它有著一股永恆的魅力。

As human beings, we think of things in terms of matters relevant to us, and which are of existential importance to our wellbeing. However, if we were to expand on the themes incorporated in The Prisoner and carry them further into the realm of science fiction, we might entertain the notion that living on planet Earth is, in its own way a sort of benign “imprisonment.” What if, for instance, we were to eventually learn that alien beings existed that were well aware of humankind’s aspirations to colonize planets like Mars, and explore distant worlds not only with remote probes… but eventually in person as well?

身為人類，我們思考的東西都是與我們有關的事物，而這些東西對我們的幸福而言，都有其存在的必要。然而，如果我們要擴大《密諜》中所呈現出的主題，並將它們進一步地帶入科幻的領域，我們可能就得抱持著一個想法：生活在地球上本身就是一種良性的「監禁」。例如，如果說我們最後發現外星人的存在，還知道他們清楚地了解人類對火星等行星有殖民的企圖，而且他們不僅會通過遠程探測器來探索遠方的世界……甚至最終還會選擇親自到來呢？

The idea that there could be cosmic forces at work which make it difficult for us to get off-planet may not be entirely science fiction, nor does it have to include alien oppressors in order to make sense. Last year (2017), a video by Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell on YouTube called, “Why Earth Is A Prison and How To Escape It” makes some fascinating arguments for why humans are, essentially, imprisoned here.

可能有一股宇宙力量在運作，使我們難以離開地球的這種想法可能不完全是科幻小說的情節而已，也不一定得要有外來的統治者才能合理地解釋它。2017年，Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell在YouTube上的一部叫做「為什麼說地球是宇宙監獄呢?我們又該怎樣才能逃離它呢?[2]」的影片中給出一個有趣的論點，說明為什麼人類基本上就是被關在這裡的原因。

It’s because we owe the universe a debt… a 4.5 billion-year-old debt: 

這是因為我們在45億年前欠了宇宙一筆債： 

As the video explains, every atom in our being as individuals was once a part of some greater event in the formation of the cosmos. Planetary formation is no small task, and for humans to ever be able to leave this world, the energetic requirements for doing so are essentially the same as that which formed the Earth. Hence, we build machines which have energetic potential that is great enough, at very least, to overcome gravity (rockets, in other words), which aid us in escaping our world and exploring space.

正如影片中所解釋的那樣，將我們組成一個個體的每一顆原子曾經都是宇宙形成時某個大事件中的一部分。行星的形成可不是件小事，而人類若真的想要離開這個世界，其所需的能量基本上等同於形成地球時所需的能量。因此，我們建造了裝載(至少有)足夠勢能的機器（換言之，就是火箭），克服引力，幫助我們逃離這個世界，探索太空。

In The Prisoner, Number Six commits a great deal of energy (although perhaps not quite as much as a rocket produces) in an effort to escape his confinement at a coastal resort. It’s not a bad place to live, altogether, and while his captors are bent on interrogating him by various means in order to learn why he resigned from his previous work in espionage in the first place, his complacency is encouraged along the way, which would ensure that he would live well in The Village, so long as he cooperates.

在《密諜》中，六號投入了大量精力(能量)（雖然可能沒有辦法像火箭所產生的能量那麼多），努力逃離沿海度假勝地的囚禁。儘管，整體而言，這並不是一個糟糕的地方，而且綁架他的人雖然一心想要通過各種方式審問他，知道他到底為什麼要辭去先前從事的間諜工作，不過在這整個過程裡，都是助長他自滿的情緒，保證只要他合作，他就能在村子中過得很好。

The idea that humanity is similarly “imprisoned” here on Earth by cosmic forces like gravity is an interesting one, in the sense that we share a potential for having a good life here, which may not necessarily require getting off-world in order to ensure humanity’s survival. To the contrary, the late Stephen Hawking and others have argued that, in fact, space exploration might actually become requisite for human survival at some point, even if that’s not the case in the immediate sense. They argue this because of the finite nature of resources on a planet where, as science improves the quality of life for many, as well as the length of time humans spend here, there is an ever-increasing necessity for greater resources; at some point, population growth and lifespan could meet well exceed production levels, and beyond this “point of diminishing returns” one might speculate that inevitable problems would arise. Whether this would constitute war, famine, or other perils resulting from scarcity is anyone’s guess, although it’s beyond the scope of the present argument.

有關人類類似是被引力等宇宙力量給「監禁」在地球上的觀點相當有趣，它就是認為我們都有可能在地球上過著美好的生活，這樣美好的生活可能不一定得離開這個世界才能確保人類的生存。與此相反地，已故的史蒂芬·霍金和其他人則認為，即使不是說現在就得這樣做，但實際上，到了某個時刻人類為了生存可能真的得進入太空中探索。他們認為這是因為地球上的資源有限，雖然科學改善了許多人的生活品質以及人類活在地球上的時長，伴隨而來的是所需的資源也會越來越多；在某個時刻，人口增長與壽命可能會超越生產水平，超出這個「報酬遞減點」，有人就會推斷這樣一來就會出現無法避開的問題。儘管超出了目前爭論的範圍，不過這是否會導致戰爭、飢荒或其他因為資源稀缺而造成的危險是每個人都在猜測的。

On the other hand, some might see the above views as being alarmist to an extent, and while there are obvious untapped resources that outer space might afford us, this doesn’t necessarily mean that we are running completely out of resources here on Earth. In fact, pushes toward the implementation of renewable energy sources on Earth, and more resourceful ways of managing commodities (in addition to finding new, as-yet-untapped sources for them altogether) might prove very beneficial for future humans. Getting along with the other villagers and staying where we are, in other words, might actually require less energy than the trouble we can expect to meet while trying to escape.

另一方面，有些人可能會認為上述的觀點在某種程度上來說，就只是危言聳聽而已，雖然很明顯地外太空有尚未開發的資源能夠提供我們，但是這也不是說地球上的資源就要完全被我們用光了。事實上，推動地球上可再生能源的利用，以及採用更聰明的方式來管理有價值的東西（並為它們找到至今尚未開發的新來源）可能會對未來的人類更有利。換句話說，就是與其他村民相處，待在這裡就好，這樣實際上需要耗費的能量可能還比我們在逃離時會遇到的麻煩所需要的能量還要少。

Of course, the amount of energy it took for our ancestors to push outward from habitable regions in the ancient past, which led to the exploration and eventual settlement of distant lands also required tremendous energy and hardship. Maybe the acceptance of a stable environment (barring instances where natural disasters or other hardships might have forced ancient humans toward migrations) simply isn’t as appealing as the quest for adventure, and the fulfillment of indulging our curiosities.

當然，在很久以前，將我們的祖先從適居地向外推出來所需要的能量，也就是使他們進入探索並最終定居在遠方的行為，也得耗費大量的精力與艱辛才能做到。（自然災害或其他困難等可能迫使古代人遷徙的事件除外，）或許居住在一個穩定的環境中，本來就不像追求冒險、放縱我們的好奇心那樣具有吸引力。

It seems likely, then, that humans will follow in the footsteps of our ancestors, and eventually escape our earthly “prison.” And much like Number Six with his repeated failed attempts to liberate himself from The Village, we’ll probably do so at whatever cost is necessary, despite the hardships or the amount of energy required.
那麼，人類似乎就是會追隨我們祖先的腳步，最終逃離我們這個地球上的「監獄」。就像六號一再試著讓自己從村子中解放出來一樣，不管需要受多少苦或耗費多少精力，我們可能也會不計任何代價的這樣做。

 

And we do this because to face such hardships is the greatest expression of our freedom: our ability to act in accordance with our own will, and to proclaim loudly that we are not merely things or simple bundles of cosmic stardust, helplessly watching our fate play out before us. Or, to put it as McGoohan’s character famously retorted to his captors, I am not a number… I am a free man! 

會這樣做的原因是因為，面對這般的苦難是一種最能展現出自由的方式，也就是我們能夠依據自我意願來行事的這種能力，並大聲地說我們不是那種只能無助地看著我們的命運擺在我們面前的死物或單純的幾束宇宙星塵。也可以用六號反駁那些綁架他的人所說的名言：「我不是一個編號……我是一個自由的人！」

We are humans, after all, and going great lengths to achieve the seemingly impossible appears to be in our nature.

畢竟，我們是人類，這股明知不可為而為之的毅力似乎本就潛藏在我們之中。