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Ameryka?skie wied?minki 6


Jak wspomina?em, praca kata wampirów w ?wiecie Anity Blake ró?ni si? od
pracy zwyk?ego, wspó?czesnego kata ?rodkami technicznymi i procedurami.
Ale to nie ludzie nazywaj? Anit? Katem (The Executioner), a wampiry. Anita
nie tylko zdoby?a i utrzymuje rekord ?wiata i wszechczasów w liczbie
zabitych wampirów; Anita równie? uczestniczy w ?ledztwach i osobi?cie
aktywnie ?ciga skazane na ?mier? wampiry. Nale?y do w??szej, elitarnej
grupy w?ród katów, której cz?onków nazywaj? ?owcami wampirów. W St. Louis
dwóch kolegów Anity z firmy Animators Inc. jest licencjonowanymi katami
wampirów: jej ucze? Larry Kirkland i pot??ny kap?an voodoo John Burke; ale
tylko Anita jest ?owc? wampirów. Odpowiednikiem wied?mina.
Co ciekawe, Buffy Summers dowiaduje si? od samego Draculi, ?e jej
powo?anie (tak, w przypadku Anity to zawód, a w przypadku Buffy -
powo?anie: In every generation there is Chosen One; she alone will stand
against the vampires, the demons, and forces of Darkness. She is The
Slayer. ) powinno si? nazywa? ?owca, a jej czynno?? - ?owy (hunt).
Jak widzieli?my, policjanci miewaj? k?opoty z uczestniczeniem w egzekucji
prawa przez Anit?. Bardziej wymowna jest scena z akcji na gniazdo
wampirów-seryjnych morderców w tomie 12. Incubus Dreams. Anita
uczestniczy?a w policyjnym ?ledztwie, wi?c otrzymuje jako wsparcie oddzia?
ZOMO z St. Louis (lokalna nazwa: Mobile Reserve). Najpierw musi zd?awi?
powód? testosteronu, pokaza? pewnym swych kevlarowych kamizelek
(absolutnie nieskutecznych przeciw ciosom no?em, o mieczu i wampirzych
szponach nie wspominaj?c) i szybkostrzelnych kaemów kto tu jest kim: bez
licencjonowanego kata spec-policja nie ma prawa zastrzeli? ani jednego
wampira; je?li zaryzykuj? swoje kariery i wolno?? to ?aden z nicj nie
wyjdzie ?ywy. Ostatecznym argumentem jest Zabierajcie si? do domu ze
swoimi zabawkami, ja id? sama z moim sprz?tem, bo jeszcze jest szansa
uratowania zak?adnika . Rzeczywi?cie nie wyszed?by ?ywy ani jeden: Anita
wyczu?a i zastrzeli?a niewidzialnego mistrza-wampira, zmuszaj?cego reszt?
bandy do atakowania mimo p?on?cych krzy?y i ran. Straty wynios?y tylko
trzech zabitych spec-policjantów; mo?e by prze?yli, gdyby dowódca nie
pos?a? Anity aby sprawdzi?a zw?oki w kuchni. I w czasie akcji Anita musi
wyja?ni? ju? du?o mniej pewnemu siebie dowódcy policjantów: Hudson, dead
is at least half their brains spilled, and daylight through their chests.

Well, the one vamp that was still alive cringed. She pressed her bloody
face against the corner behind the bed, her small hands held out as if to
ward it off. At first it looked like she was wearing red gloves, then the
lights shone in the blood, and you knew it wasn't opera-length gloves, it
was blood all the way to her elbows. Even knowing that, even having
Melbourne motionless on the floor in front of her, still Mendez didn't
shoot her. Jung was leaning against the wall, like he'd fall down if he
didn't concentrate. His neck was torn up, but the blood wasn't gushing
out. She'd missed the jugular. Let's hear it for inexperience.
I said, Shoot her.
The vampire made mewling sounds, like a frightened child. Her voice came
high and piteous, Please, please, don't hurt me, don't hurt me. He made
me. He made me.
Shoot her, Mendez, I said into the mike.
She's begging for her life, he said, and his voice didn't sound good.
Shit, I said and started across the room. (...)
I peeled shotgun shells out of the stock holder and fed them into the gun,
as I walked toward Mendez and the vampire. She was still crying, still
begging, They made us do it, they made us do it. (...)
But the room had to be secured before we could see to the victim. Secured
in my line of work meant something different than for most officers of the
law. Secured meant that everything in the room that wasn't on my side was
dead.
Killian was moving up by the bed to check on our victim. I hoped he could
help her, because it seemed worse to lose people who were trying to save
someone that didn't get saved. Jung was trying to hold pressure on his own
neck wound. Melbourne's body lay on its side, one hand outstretched toward
the cringing vampire. Melbourne wasn't moving, but the vampire still was:
That seemed wrong to me. But I knew just how to fix it.
I had the shotgun reloaded, but I let it swing down at my side. At this
range the sawed-off was quicker, no wasted ammo.
Mendez had glanced away from the vamp to me, then farther back to his
sergeant. I can't shoot someone who's begging for her life.
It?s okay, Mendez, I can.
No, he said, and looked at me, his eyes showed too much white. No.
Step back, Mendez, Hudson said.
Sir...
Step back and let Marshal Blake do her job.
Sir... it's not right.
Are you refusing a direct order, Mendez?
No, sir, but ?
Then step back, and let the marshal do her job.
Mendez still hesitated.
Now, Mendez!
He moved back, but I didn't trust him at my back. He wasn't bespelled, she
hadn't tricked him with her eyes. It was much simpler than that. Police
are trained to save lives, not take them. If she'd attacked him, Mendez
would have fired. If she'd attacked someone else, he'd have fired. If
she'd looked like a raving monster, he'd have fired. But she didn't look
like a monster as she cringed in the corner, hands as small as my own held
up trying to stop what was coming. Her body pressed into the corner, like
a child's last refuge before the beating begins, when you run out of
places to hide and you are literally cornered, and there's nothing you can
do. No word, no action, no thing that will stop it.
Go stand by your sergeant, I said.
He stared at me, and his breathing was way too fast.
Mendez, Hudson said, I want you here, now.
Mendez obeyed that voice, as he?d been trained to, but he kept glancing
back at me and the vampire in the corner.
She glanced past her arm, and because I didn't have a holy item in sight,
she was able to give me her eyes. They were pale in the uncertain light,
pale and frightened. Please, she said, please don't hurt me. He made us
do such terrible things. I didn't want to, but the blood, I had to have
it. She raised her delicate oval face to me. I had to have it. The
lower half of her face was a crimson mask.
I nodded and braced the shotgun in my arms, using my hip and arm instead
of my shoulder for the brace point. I know, I said.
Don't, she said, and held out her hands.
I fired into her face from less than two feet away. Her face vanished in a
spray of blood and thicker things. Her body sat up very straight for long
enough that I pulled the trigger into the middle of her chest. She was
tiny, not much meat on her, I got daylight with just one shot.
Mendez's voice came over the mike, We're supposed to be the good guys.
Shut up, Mendez, Jung said in a voice that was choked and thicker than
it should have been. (...)
How could you look her in the eyes and do that?
I turned and found Mendez by me. He'd taken off his mask and helmet,
though I was betting that was against the rules until we left the
building. I covered my mike with my hand, because no one should learn
about someone's death by accident. She tore Melbourne's throat out.
She said the other vampire made her do it, is that true?
Maybe, I said.
Then how could you just shoot her?
Because she was guilty.
And who died and made you judge, jury, and ex? He stopped in
mid-sentence.
Executioner, I finished for him. The federal and state government
actually.

To o par? rz?dów wielko?ci wi?cej, ni? k?opoty Geralta z Dorregarayem.

W ?wiecie Anity Blake Graal to nie jest Co?, czego si? szuka ;
niekoniecznie Kielich, znaczy... Z jednego kawa?ka mlecznego opalu
wyr?ni?ty... O, taki wielki. Znalaz?em go na szczycie góry Montsalvat.
Brzeg mia? wysadzany jaspisami, a podstawa by?a ze z?ota. Istne cudo... ,
ale:

Do you believe in the Grail? he asked.
The Grail is a historical fact. It's been found and lost twice in
recorded history.

(tom 8. Blue Moon).
Nieoczekiwanie i dla Anity Blake Miecz przeznaczenia ma dwa ostrza...
Jednym jeste? ty. Przeznaczeniem Anity Blake by?o zosta? sukkubem. Nie
takim, co nocami m??ów nawiedza i dr?czy , póki nie odci?gn? go randki z
Regisem (BTW jeden z dowcipniejszych dialogów:
What do you do on dates with a vampire? It seemed to be a real question,
or maybe he was just trying to make up for being pissy.
Pretty much what you do on a date with any guy, except the hickeys are
really spectacular.
- tom 15. The Harlequin; je?li kto? potrzebuje s?ownika i nie ma pod r?k?
- hickey to malinka).
Otó? wskutek mistycznego po??czenia z mistrzem-wampirem Jean-Claude i
wilko?akiem Richarden Zeemanem Anita nabra?a mocy i uzyska?a pewne
wampirze cechy (za ka?dym po??czeniem inne). Jean-Claude jest wampirem
(?ywi si? krwi?) i inkubem (?ywi si? energi? po??dania i seksu). Anita
z?apa?a od niego ardeur - cech? niektórych wampirów z linii, z której
Jean-Claude pochodzi: co ile? tam godzin ogarnia j? po??danie, które
udziela si? przez dotyk i musi zosta? nasycone w?a?nie energi? seksualn?.
Jean-Claude prowadzi klub strip-tease o nazwie Guilty Pleasures i w
ostateczno?ci mo?e nie umrze? od niezaspokojonej ardeur spijaj?c po??danie
kobiet, ogl?daj?cych wampirzych i likantropich Chippendales. Anita musi
najpierw co 10-12 godzin, pó?niej cz??ciej, a tak?e po wydatkowaniu du?ych
ilo?ci mocy ?ywi? si? energi? seksualn?. Je?li b?dzie si? powstrzymywa?,
po pewnym czasie ardeur wybuchnie i Anita b?dzie musia?a po?ywi? si? ty,
kogo akurat spotka; przy w?a?ciwym planowaniu mo?e karmi? si? energi?
seksualn? tych, z którymi chce uprawia? seks. Sukkub nie mo?e ?ywi? si?
bez przerwy energi? seksualn? jednego partnera - partner prze?y?by
najwy?ej kilka dni. W tej konieczno?ci seksualnej autorka splot?a wiele
ró?nych rodzajów ironii. Anita Blake jest w du?ym stopniu odbiciem Laurell
K. Hamilton: niewysoka, czarnow?osa, z kr?go?ciami gdzie trzeba
(porównajcie opis Geralta widzianego oczyma Milvy z wygl?dem ASa w
pocz?tkach jego kariery...), pochodzi z ma?ego miasteczka z Pasa
Biblijnego; wcze?nie straci?a matk?, bardzo chrze?cija?skie wychowanie
(chrze?cija?skie w potocznym sensie: grzech=seks, z?o=seks, dobro=czysto??
p?ciowa) babki ze strony ojca (babka ze strony matki jest kap?ank?
voodoo), szko?a prowadzona przez zakonnice. Utrata ukochanej matki i
odrzucenie pó?meksykanki przez rodzin? superaryjskiej macochy w du?ym
stopniu okresli?y osobow?? Anity. Anita boi si? zwi?zków emocjonalnych, bo
traci osoby na któych jej zale?y (matka, narzeczony ze studiów, Philip do
którego co? poczu?a w pierwszym tomie Guilty Pleasures). Ostatecznie wi??e
si? z m??czyznami, którzy z ?atwo?ci? prze?ywaj? strza? w pier? czy
przejechanie ci??arówk?: wampirami, wilko?akami i lamparto?akami. Czego
wielu (m.in. by?y przyjaciel i prze?o?ony porucznik Rudolph 'Dolph' Storr)
nie mo?e jej wybaczy?. W ka?dym razie Anita nie potrafi (bez przymusu w
rodzaju zagro?enia ?ycia innych) przespa? si? z kim?, kogo nie kocha. I
musi mie? sze?ciu sta?ych kochanków, ?eby karmi? ardeur. Z m?odzie?czego
marzenia o tym jednym, jedynym zrezygnowa?a z powodu zawodowego
zagro?enia, ale musia?a dostosowa? si? do ca?kowicie jej obcego modelu
?ycia.
Anita Blake musi co kilka godzin budzi? magiczne po??danie w sobie i
wybranym partnerze, aby nasyci? si? energi? seksualn?. Orgazmy s?
mindblowing , wielu (zw?aszcza spo?ród wampirów) ulega uzale?nieniu, nie
posiadaj?c samemu tej mocy. Wspólny przodek linii wampirów z której
wywodzi? si? Jean-Claude, Belle Morte, wykorzystywa?a to uzale?nienie jako
narz?dzie sprawowania w?adzy. I to jest w?a?nie miecz o dwóch ostrzach.
Tom 10. Narcissus in Chains:

So many of the gifts from the vampire marks tended to be double-edged
swords, at best.

You can feed off his lust, but the price for that is that you will crave
his lust, his sex. It is the double-edged sword of being incubus. The
sword edge I have walked for centuries.

Tom 14. Danse Macabre:

You're right, Anita, I have a terrible power. At first it was just the
ability to make people like me, then love, but what I didn't realize, at
first, was that it was a two-edged blade. I could only cut my prey as deep
as I was willing to be cut.

If the ardeur made me into your perfect mate, then it made you into mine.
It's a double-edged sword, remember.

Na koniec wypada?oby wspomnie? o ró?nicach. Geralt nie ma dzieci?stwa poza
Kaer Morhen, gdzie mali wiedzmini usypiaj? ws?uchani w ból mi??ni; Anita
Blake ma dzieci?stwo, ale jej szcz??liwe wspomnienia ko?cz? si? na wieku
o?miu lat. Wied?min ma by? wyprany z emocji, ?eby nie przeszkadza?a mu
fala smrodu bij?ca z poruszonego ?mieciowiska; Anita Blake wr?cz
przeciwnie - dla ch?opców z ZOMO by?a bezwzgl?dnym... katem, strzelaj?cym
w twarz dziewczynie b?agaj?cej o lito??, ale gdy zosta?a sama... Anita
cierpi na fobie: po wypadku w czasie nurkowania ma klaustrofobi?, po tym
jak silniki samolotu zamilk?y i zacz??o si? spadnie ma fobi? lotnicz?,
obawia si? równie? igie? - zastrzyków i kroplówek (a systematycznie l?duje
w szpitalu - najcz??ciej nieprzytomna i budzi si? z ig?? kroplówki w lewym
?okciu). Geralt ma Jaskra, który jest wystarczaj?co samolubny, ?eby Geralt
nie musia? dodatkowo ryzykowa? chroni?c go; Anita jest drobn? dziewczyn?
(zawsze b?dzie wygl?da? na 24 lata) i ka?de m?skie towarzystwo (z
wyj?tkiem mo?e Edwarda, ale to oddzielna historia - Edward jest
wyszkolonym spec-opem i robi to, co robi? zdemobilizowani absolwenci
takiego szkolenia: jest jednym z najdro?szych killerów a uwielbia swoj?
prac?) oznacza, ?e towarzysz b?dzie próbowa? jej broni?, wi?c ona b?dzie
musia?a ryzykowac, aby jego ochroni?. ?eby wytrzyma? lot do Albuquerque
(tom 9. Obsidian Butterfly) Anita nie s?ucha barda graj?cego na lutni,
czyta ksi??k? Sharon Shinn. Sharon Shinn jest rzeczywist? postaci? w
naszym ?wiecie, pisark? (urodzon? w 1957 roku), ??cz?c? w swojej
twórczo?ci fantasy i SF z elementami romansu; nie jest full time writer ,
pracuje jako dziennikarka w... St Louis. Zatem jest starsz? kole?ank? i
rodaczk? Laurell K. Hamilton (urodzonej w 1963).


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Z powa?aniem
Marek Szyjewski
Ziemia = kula u nogi