1

Then at last she moved. She went towards the crossing – as the man had been signaling for her to do – taking slow steps at first, then hurrying. She had to stop again, to wait like everyone else at the lights, and the man stopped waving, but he was watching her so anxiously, I again thought he might step out in front of the taxis. But he calmed himself and walked towards his end of the crossing to wait for her. And as the taxis stopped, and the Coffee Cup Lady began to cross with the rest, I saw the man raise a fist to one of his eyes, in the way I’d seen some children do in the store when they got upset. Then the Coffee Cup Lady reached the RPO Building side, and she and the man were holding each other so tightly they were like one large person, and the Sun, noticing, was pouring his nourishment on them. I still couldn’t see the Coffee Cup Lady’s face, but the man had his eyes tightly shut, and I wasn’t sure if he was very happy or very upset.

‘Those people seem so pleased to see each other,’ Manager said. And I realized she’d been watching them as closely as I had.

‘Yes, they seem so happy,’ I said. ‘But it’s strange because they also seem upset.’

‘Oh, Klara,’ Manager said quietly. ‘You never miss a thing, do you?’

Then Manager was silent for a long time, holding her sign in her hand and staring across the street, even after the pair had gone out of sight. Finally she said:

‘Perhaps they hadn’t met for a long time. A long, long time. Perhaps when they last held each other like that, they were still young.’

‘Do you mean, Manager, that they lost each other?’

She was quiet for another moment. ‘Yes,’ she said, eventually. ‘That must be it. They lost each other. And perhaps just now, just by chance, they found each other again.’

Manager’s voice wasn’t like her usual one, and though her eyes were on the outside, I thought she was now looking at nothing in particular. I even started to wonder what passers-by would think to see Manager herself in the window with us for so long.

Then she turned from the window and came past us, and as she did so she touched my shoulder.

‘Sometimes,’ she said, ‘at special moments like that, people feel a pain alongside their happiness. I’m glad you watch everything so carefully, Klara.’

Then Manager was gone, and Rosa said, ‘How strange. What could she have meant?’

‘Never mind, Rosa,’ I said to her. ‘She was just talking about the outside.’
Rosa began to discuss something else then, but I went on thinking about the Coffee Cup Lady and her Raincoat Man, and about what Manager had said. And I tried to imagine how I would feel if Rosa and I, a long time from now, long after we’d found our different homes, saw each other again by chance on a street. Would I then feel, as Manager had put it, pain alongside my happiness?

2

‘Oh, you must mean Mr McBain’s barn.’

‘A barn?’

‘It’s maybe not really a barn because it’s open on two sides. More a shelter, I guess. Mr McBain keeps stuff in there. I went there once with Rick.’

‘I wonder why the Sun would go for his rest to a place like that.’

‘Yeah,’ Josie said. ‘You’d think the Sun would need a palace, minimum. Maybe Mr McBain’s done a big upgrade since I was last there.’

‘I wonder when it was Josie went there.’

‘Oh, a long time ago now. Rick and I were still quite little. Before I got sick.’
‘Was there anything unusual nearby? A gateway? Or perhaps steps going down into the earth?’

‘Uh uh. Nothing like that. Just the barn. And we were glad of it too because we were little and we’d got really tired walking all that way. Mind you, it was nowhere near sunset. If there’s an entrance to a palace, it might be hidden. Maybe the doors open just before the Sun gets there? I saw a movie like that once, where all these bad guys had their HQ inside a volcano, and what you thought was a lava lake on top slid open just before they came down in helicopters. Maybe the Sun’s palace works the same way.

3

‘So what if I sometimes want to act different? Who wants to be the same all the time? The trouble with Rick is he always gets accusing when I’m any way he doesn’t like. It’s because he wants me to stay the way I was when we were small kids.’

‘I don’t really think that’s what Rick wishes.’

‘Then what’s all this? All this no shape, hiding stuff? I don’t see what’s kind about it. That’s Rick’s problem. He doesn’t want to grow up. At least, his mother doesn’t want him to and he goes along with it. The idea is he lives with his mom for ever and ever. How’s that going to help our plan? Any time I show any sign of trying to grow up, he gets sulky.’

I said nothing to this, and Josie continued to lie there with her eyes closed. She did fall asleep then, but just before she did, she said quietly:

‘Maybe. Maybe he did mean it to be kind.’

4

‘I’m sorry. It’s just that I’m a little surprised.’

‘Oh? Why are you surprised, dear?’

‘Well, I…Frankly, I’m surprised because Miss Helen’s request concerning Rick appears very sincere. I’m surprised someone would desire so much a path that would leave her in loneliness.’

‘And that’s what surprises you?’

‘Yes. Until recently, I didn’t think that humans could choose loneliness. That there were sometimes forces more powerful than the wish to avoid loneliness.’

Miss Helen smiled. ‘You really are a sweet one. You don’t say as much, but I can tell what you’re thinking. A mother’s love for her son. Such a noble thing, to override the dread of loneliness. And you might not be wrong. But let me tell you, there are all kinds of other very good reasons why, in a life like mine, one might prefer loneliness. I’ve often made such a choice in the past. I did so, for instance, rather than stay with Rick’s father. Late father, very sadly, though Rick has no memory of him. Even so, he was for a while my husband, and not an entirely useless one at that. It’s thanks to him we’re able to get by this way, even if we don’t exactly live in splendor. Here’s Rick coming back again. Oh, he’s not. He wishes to stay out there and sulk further.’

5

‘Yes. I believe they told me everything.’

‘And what do you think? Do you suppose you can pull it off? Perform this role?’

‘It won’t be easy. But I believe if I continue to observe Josie carefully, it will be within my abilities.’

‘Then let me ask you something else. Let me ask you this. Do you believe in the human heart? I don’t mean simply the organ, obviously. I’m speaking in the poetic sense. The human heart. Do you think there is such a thing? Something that makes each of us special and individual? And if we just suppose that there is. Then don’t you think, in order to truly learn Josie, you’d have to learn not just her mannerisms but what’s deeply inside her? Wouldn’t you have to learn her heart?’

‘Yes, certainly.’

‘And that could be difficult, no? Something beyond even your wonderful capabilities. Because an impersonation wouldn’t do, however skillful. You’d have to learn her heart, and learn it fully, or you’ll never become Josie in any sense that matters.’

A public bus had stopped beside some abandoned fruit boxes. As the Father steered around it, the car behind us made angry horn noises. Then there were more angry horns, but these were further away and not aimed at us.

‘The heart you speak of,’ I said. ‘It might indeed be the hardest part of Josie to learn. It might be like a house with many rooms. Even so, a devoted AF, given time, could walk through each of those rooms, studying them carefully in turn, until they became like her own home.’

The Father sounded our own horn at a car trying to enter the traffic line from a side street.

‘But then suppose you stepped into one of those rooms,’ he said, ‘and discovered another room within it. And inside that room, another room still. Rooms within rooms within rooms. Isn’t that how it might be, trying to learn Josie’s heart? No matter how long you wandered through those rooms, wouldn’t there always be others you’d not yet entered?’

I considered this for a moment, then said: ‘Of course, a human heart is bound to be complex. But it must be limited. Even if Mr Paul is talking in the poetic sense, there’ll be an end to what there is to learn. Josie’s heart may well resemble a strange house with rooms inside rooms. But if this were the best way to save Josie, then I’d do my utmost. And I believe there’s a good chance I’d be able to succeed.’

‘Hmm.’

6

His switch of subject was highly unwelcome, but anxious not to lose his good will, I said nothing and waited.

‘I think I hate Capaldi because deep down I suspect he may be right. That what he claims is true. That science has now proved beyond doubt there’s nothing so unique about my daughter, nothing there our modern tools can’t excavate, copy, transfer. That people have been living with one another all this time, centuries, loving and hating each other, and all on a mistaken premise. A kind of superstition we kept going while we didn’t know better. That’s how Capaldi sees it, and there’s a part of me that fears he’s right. Chrissie, on the other hand, isn’t like me. She may not know it yet, but she’ll never let herself be persuaded. If the moment ever comes, never mind how well you play your part, Klara, never mind how much she wishes it to work, Chrissie just won’t be able to accept it. She’s too…old-fashioned. Even if she knows she’s going against the science and the math, she still won’t be able to do it. She just won’t stretch that far. But I’m different. I have…a kind of coldness inside me she lacks. Perhaps it’s because I’m an expert engineer, as you put it. This is why I find it so hard to be civil around people like Capaldi. When they do what they do, say what they say, it feels like they’re taking from me what I hold most precious in this life. Am I making sense?’

7

‘That’s very sweet of you, Paul. And I’m sorry if I was rude earlier. This might surprise you, but I’m not actually angry about the way we’ve become. If one child has more ability than another, then it’s only right the brighter one gets the opportunities. The responsibilities too. I accept that. But what I won’t accept is that Rick can’t have a decent life. I refuse to accept this world has become so cruel. Rick wasn’t lifted, but he can still go far, do very well.’
‘I wish him the very best. All I’m saying is that there are all kinds of ways to lead a successful life.’

8

‘Please don’t go away just yet,’ I said. ‘Please give me one more brief moment. I know I failed to perform the service I promised you in the city and I’ve no right to ask anything further of you. But I’m remembering how delighted you were that day Coffee Cup Lady and Raincoat Man found each other again. You were so delighted and couldn’t help showing it. So I know just how much it matters to you that people who love one another are brought together, even after many years. I know the Sun always wishes them well, perhaps even helps them to find each other. Please then consider Josie and Rick. They’re still very young. Should Josie pass away now, they’ll be parted forever. If only you could give her special nourishment, as I saw you do for Beggar Man and his dog, then Josie and Rick could go together into their adult lives just as they wished for in their kind picture. I can myself vouch that their love is strong and lasting, just like that of Coffee Cup Lady and Raincoat Man.’

9

‘I’m sure you’re right, Klara. But what do you mean, “continue Josie”? What’s that mean?’

‘Manager, I did all I could to learn Josie and had it become necessary, I would have done my utmost. But I don’t think it would have worked out so well. Not because I wouldn’t have achieved accuracy. But however hard I tried, I believe now there would have remained something beyond my reach. The Mother, Rick, Melania Housekeeper, the Father. I’d never have reached what they felt for Josie in their hearts. I’m now sure of this, Manager.’

‘Well, Klara, I’m glad you feel things worked out for the best.’

‘Mr Capaldi believed there was nothing special inside Josie that couldn’t be continued. He told the Mother he’d searched and searched and found nothing like that. But I believe now he was searching in the wrong place. There was something very special, but it wasn’t inside Josie. It was inside those who loved her. That’s why I think now Mr Capaldi was wrong and I wouldn’t have succeeded. So I’m glad I decided as I did.’

Thoughts after reading

The uniqueness of the human mind turns out to be all kinds of dark sides, selfishness, promise breaking, and self-deception. This is the answer given by Ishiguro that is fundamentally difference between the perfect artificial intelligence and human being. Sadly, I can't find a better answer than this. Klara and the Sun have both kept their promises. But even with "miracles", Josie and Rick were not able to stay together in the end. The emotion of Josie asking Klara to send the painting was extremely real, so did Rick's firm confirmation to Klara on his love to Josie, but in the end, why does everyone turn out to be self-deception?

1

终手，她动了。她朝人行横道走去——那个男人一直在示意她过来——起初步履缓慢，接着加快了脚步。她不得不再度停了下来，和其他人一样等红绿灯，男人不再挥手，但两眼一直焦灼地望着她。我又在担心他会跨出路沿，站到出租车流前面了。可他镇定了下来，走向他那一头的横道口，就在那儿等着她。等到出租车流终于停住，咖啡杯女士开始和其他人一起过马路的时候，我看到男人举起一只握成拳头的手按住一只眼睛，就像我在商店里看到的有些孩子在不安时会做的动作。接着咖啡杯女士来到了 RPO 大楼那一侧，她和那个男人紧紧地搂在了一起，两个人看上去仿佛融合成了一个更大的人形；太阳注意到了这一起，将他的滋养倾泻在他俩身上。我依然看不到咖啡杯女士的脸，但那个男人的眼睛紧紧地闭着，我不确定他究竟是非常开心还是非常不安。

“那两个人似乎非常高兴能见到彼此。”经理说。我随即意识到她和我一样在密切地关注他们。

“是的。他们似乎非常开心，”我答道，“可奇怪的是，他们似乎也非常不安。”

“噢，克拉拉，”经理轻轻地说，“什么都逃不过你的眼睛，是吧？”

说完这话经理沉默了良久，手里握着那块标牌，凝望着街对面，哪怕那对男女已经走出了视线。最后她说：

“也许他们很久没有见面了。很久，很久。也许上一次他们像那样夜此相拥的时候，两人都还年轻。”

“你是说，经理，他们失去了彼此？”

她又沉默了片刻。“是的，”她终于说道，“一定是那样的。他们失去了彼此。然后，也许就在刚才，纯粹是机缘巧合，他们又找到了彼此。”

经理的声音和她平时不太一样了；尽管她的眼睛还望着窗外，我认为她此刻并不真的在看什么东西。我不由得想，路人们看到经理自己和我们一起在橱窗里站了那么久，不知道会怎么想。

终于，她从窗前转过身来，从我们身边走过，这时她碰了碰我的肩膀。

“有时候，”她说，“在那样的特殊时刻，人们心中的快乐会夹杂着痛苦。我很高兴你能如此细致地观察一切，克拉拉。”

说完经理便走了，这时罗莎对我说：“好奇怪啊。她那话是什么意思？”

“没什么，罗莎，”我答道，“她只是在说外面的事。”

罗莎聊起了别的话题，可我还在想者咖啡杯女士和她的雨衣男人，想着经理刚才的话。我努力想象着很久以后，罗莎和我早己找到了各自的家，一天我们又在街上巧遇了。那时，我心中的快乐，就像经理所说的那样，会夹杂着痛苦吗？

2

“哦，你是说麦克贝恩先生的谷仓啊。”

“谷仓？”

“也许那其实并不是谷仓，因为它有两面是敞空的。更像是个棚子吧，我猜。麦克贝恩先生在那里面放些东西。我有回和里克去过那里。”

“不知道太阳为什么要去那样一个地方休息。”

“是啊，”乔西说，“你会以为太阳应该需要一座宫殿，最起码的。也许打我上次去过之后，麦克贝恩先生又对那里做过一场大升级呢。”

“不知道乔西是什么时候去的那里。”

“哦，很久以前了。里克和我那会儿还很小呢。那是在我得病之前了。”

“那附近有没有什么不同寻常的东西？一道大门？或者是通往地下的阶梯？”

“呵呵，没有。只有那座谷仓。而且我们很高兴找到它因为那会儿我们还小，又走了那么远的路，真的累坏了。提醒你一句，那会儿离日落还早着呐。如果那里真有通向宫殿的入口，肯定也是藏好了的。也许大门刚好会在太阳到来的前一刻打开？我看过一部那样的片子，里面的那些坏蛋把总部建在了一座火山里，山顶上的一片你以为是熔岩湖的东西会像滑门一样打开，下一秒他们就坐着直升机飞进去了。说不定太阳的宫殿也是这样的原理。”

3

“就算我有时候的表现和过去不一样，那又如何？谁想要永远保持不变呢？里克的问题在于：每当我表现出一点点他不喜欢的样子时，他就总是对我横加指责。那是因为，他想要我永远保持从前我俩还是小小孩时的样子。”

“我不认为那真的是里克的愿望。”

“那他写的这些又算是什么？什么没有形状啦，什么藏起来啦？我看不出这话有什么善意。里克的问题就在这里。他不想长大。最起码，他妈好不想要他长大，而他也默认了。这背后的想法是，他要跟他妈妈永远、永远地住在一起。这对我们的计划有帮助吗？ 每次我表现出任何想要长大的迹象来，他就开始生闷气。”

我没有回应她的话。乔西依旧躺在那里，眼睛闭着。过了一会儿，她真的睡着了，但就在她睡着前，她又轻声说了一句：

“也许吧。也许他确实想要表达善意。”

4

“抱歉。只是我感到有一点吃惊。”

“喔？你吃惊什么，亲爱的？”

“嗯，我……坦率地说，我吃惊，是因为海伦小姐的这个关系到里克的请求似乎是发自内心的。我惊讶于有人竟如此渴求一条会让她陷于孤独的道路。”

“你吃惊的就是这个吗？”

“是的。直到方才，我才认识到人类是可以选择孤独的。认识到有些力量有时会比逃避孤独的愿望更强大。”

海伦小姐微微一笑：“你真的很可爱。你的话不多，但看得出来你在思考。母亲对儿子的爱。一样如此崇高的事物，竟能压倒对于孤独的恐惧。你的想法也许不错。可让我告诉你一件事：除此之外，还有各种各样别的理由能让一个人，在面对我所面对的这般人生时，宁可选择孤独。我在过去就经常做出这样的选择。比方说，我选择了这条路，而非和里克的父亲在一起。己故的父亲，非常遗憾，虽说里克对他完全没有记忆。即便如此，他一度曾是我的丈夫，而且也不是个全无用处的丈夫。多亏了他，我和里克才能如此度日，尽管我们的生活并不十分光鲜。瞧，里克要回来了。哦，他不想回来。他想要待在外面，再生一会儿闷气。”

5

“是的。我相信他们告诉了我一切。”

“那你有什么想法呢？你觉得你能行吗？能演好这个角色吗？”

“这不是一件容易的事。但我相信，只要我继续用心观察乔西，我就有能力做到这一点。”

“那我就再换个问题问你吧。我问你：你相信有‘人心’这回事吗？我不仅仅是指那个器官，当然喽。我说的是这个词的文学意义。人心。你相信有这样东西吗？某种让我们每个人成为独特个体的东西？我们就先假定这样东西存在吧。那么，难道你不认为，要想真正地学习乔西，你要学习的就不仅仅是她的举手投足，还有深藏在她内里的那些东西吗？难道你不要学习她的那颗心吗？”

“是的，当然。”

“那可是一件难事啊，难道不是吗？一件就算是凭着你那神奇的能力也无法企及的事情。因为仅仅表演是不够的，无论那表演是多么精湛。你还得学习她的内心，完全彻底地学习，否则你永远无法在任何一种严肃的意义上成为乔西。一辆公交车在几只被遗弃的水果箱边上停了下来。就在父亲驾车绕开它的时候，跟在我们后面的一辆汽车愤怒地按响了喇叭。接着更多的喇叭发出负怒的鸣响，但这些声音来自远处，也并非指向我们。”

“你说到的那颗心，”我说，“那或许的确是乔西身上最难学习的一部分。它就像是一栋有着许多房间的房子。即便如此，一个全心全意的 AF，只要有时间，总能够走遍每一个房间，一个接一个地用心研究它们，直到它们就像是她自己的家一样。”

父亲冲着一辆钻出小巷、想要插队的汽车也按响了喇叭。

“那要是你走进其中一个房间，”他说道，“发现那里面还有一个房间呢。而在那个房间里面呢，还有一个房间。房间套着房间套着房间。这不就是你可能要面对的情形吗，如果你要学习的是乔西的内心？无论你在那些房间里游荡了多久，总会有别的房间是你从来没有走入过的，难道不是吗？”

他的话我思考了片刻，然后答道：“当然，一颗人类的心必然是复杂的。但它一定也是有限的。即便保罗先生说的是它的文学意义，对于它的学习也是终有尽头的。乔西的心很可能就像是一栋奇怪的房子，里面房间套着房间。但如果这是拯救乔西的最好办法，那我会尽我的全力。”

“唔。”

6

他在这时突然转换话题实在是让人失望，可我非常担心会失去他的好感，于是什么都没有说，只是等待着。

“我想，我之所以恨卡帕尔迪，是因为在内心深处，我怀疑他也许是对的。怀疑他的主张是正确的。怀疑如今科学已经无可置疑地证明了我女儿身上没有任何独一无二的东西，任何我们的现代工具无法发掘、复制、转移的东西。古往今来，一个世纪又一个世纪，人们彼此陪伴，共同生活，爱着彼此，恨着彼此，却全都是基于一个错误的假设。一种我们过去在懵懵懂懂之中一直固守的迷信。这就是卡帕尔迪的看法，而我的部分内心也在担优他是对的。克丽西，另一方面呢，和我不一样。她现在也许还不知道，可她是绝不会放任自己被说服的。如果那一刻真的到来了，无论你把自己的角色扮演得有多好，克拉拉，无论克丽西是多么地希望这办法能奏效，她终究是无法接受的。她太⋯⋯老派了。即便她知道自己是在同科学和数学对抗，她依然无法接受。她就是迈不出这一步。可我不一样。我的心里面有着⋯⋯某种她所缺乏的冷酷。也许这都是因为我是一名专业的工程师吧，借用你的话来说。这就是为什么我在碰见卡帕尔迪这类人的时候，这么难表现出礼貌来。每当他们做出他们要做的那些事，说出他们要说的那些话时，那感觉就好像是他们从我手中夺走了我此生最珍视的一样东西。我说清楚了吗？”

7

“你真是贴心啊，保罗。很抱歉我刚才对你无礼了。说来你也许会大吃一惊，但我其实并不对我们的现状感到愤怒。如果一个孩子比另一个孩子能力更强，那么机会理应留给那个聪明的孩子。还有责任。我接受这一点。但我不能接受的是，里克没法儿过上体面的生活。我拒绝接受这个世界已经变得如此残酷。里克没有接受过提升，但他依然可以拥有远大的前程，成就了不起的事业。”

“我也希望他前程似锦。我只是想说，通向成功人生的道路有千千万万条。”

8

“请您先不要走，”我说道，“请再多给我片刻时间。我知道我进城以后没能做到我答应过您的那件事，所以我无权再向您提更多的请求。但我想起了咖啡杯女士和雨衣男人重新找到彼此的那一日，您是多么的欣喜。您的欢喜之情溢于言表，真的是喜不自禁。所以我知道您有多么地看重彼此相爱的人能够重聚这件事，哪怕是在他们分别多年以后。我知道太阳总会祝福他们，甚至有可能会帮助他们找到彼此。那就请您考虑一下乔西和里克吧。他俩都还非常年轻。如果乔西现在离世，两人便将就此永别。要是您能够赐予她特殊的滋养，就像我那天见到您拯救乞丐人和他的狗那样，乔西和里克就能携手走进成年后的人生，正如他们在那幅善意的画中希冀的那般。我本人可以作证担保，他们的爱牢固而持久，一如咖啡杯女士和雨衣男人的爱。”

9

“我确信你是对的，克拉拉。可你刚才是什么意思——‘延续乔西’？这话是什么意思？”

“经理，我做了我所能做的一切来学习乔西；如果真的有那样做的必要，那我是会竭尽所能的。但我认为那样做的结果恐怕不会太好。不是因为我无法实现精准。但无论我多么努力地去尝试，如今我相信，总会有一样东西是我无法触及的。母亲、里克、梅拉尼娅管家、父亲——我永远都无法触及他们在内心中对于乔西的感情。如今我确信了这一点，经理。”

“好吧，克拉拉，只要你觉得事情最后有了最好的结果，我就高兴。”

“卡帕尔迪先生相信乔西的内心中没有什么特别的东西是无法延续的。他对母亲说，他找啊找，可就是找不到那样特别的东西。但如今我相信，他是找错了地方。那里真有一样非常特别的东西，但不是在乔西的心里面，而是在那些爱她的人的心里面。这就是为什么我如今认为，卡帕尔迪先生错了，我是不可能成功的。所以我很高兴我当初做出了那样的决定。”

译者记

当我们说到自我欺骗时，我们总是会将它与“逃避”“怯懦”“糊涂”等负面的词汇联想在一起。但事实上，自我欺骗是我们能够面对这个残酷的世界而不发疯的一个重要理由，对于人类的生存就像空气和水一样不可或缺。自我欺骗的根源并
非人心的虚妄，而是人心的脆弱，它是人心为自己筑起的一道简陋的缓冲，使我们不必迎头承受现实的全力一击，而是能够假以时间，渐渐地接受现实。克拉拉清楚这一点，因此她从不评判任何人。当她向她的神祇——太阳——默念出她的祷词时，她知道，仁慈的太阳也清楚这一点。太阳能够拨开那些虚幻的泡泡，那些善意的谎言，那些注定无法兑现的承诺，看到人心深处真正宝贵的东西。他会原谅我们的脆弱，成全那经受得住最终考验的东西。

那么，我们的克拉拉呢？说到底，她究竟有没有一颗人类的心呢？答案恐怕是否定的。的确，克拉拉拥有人类引以为豪的所有美好品质，她善良，体贴，无私，为了乔西献出了她所能献出的一切。克拉拉也并非没有情感，在与人类的一次次交流中，她能够准确地体会并且表达真实的喜悦、兴奋与哀伤。然而，有一样人类共有的特质却是克拉拉所缺失的，那便是自私——因为她是一个完全利他的存在。纵观全书，她的全部考量与出发点都是围绕着他人而展开的，从中我们看不出她对自己的境遇与命运表现出哪怕是一丁点的关切。这也就注定了克拉拉的一切品质与情感都是无法用人类的纬度去衡量的，因为，正是由于自私的欲望与升华的渴望并存，人类的心中才会充满了矛盾、彷徨与痛苦：没有了自私那下坠的重力，一切崇高、向上的人性也就虚无缥缈得失去了分量。自私是人类沉重的负担，但也许在并不遥远的未来，也会是人之所以为人的一个最重要的锚点吧。

读后记

人心的独特之处竟然是种种暗面，自私、毁诺、自我欺骗。这是石黑给出的人与完美人工智能根本区别的答案。可悲的是我暂时找不出比这个更好的答案。克拉拉与太阳都守诺了，就算有“神迹”又怎样呢？乔西与里克最终也还是没能在一起，乔西让克拉拉送画的情绪无比真实，里克向克拉拉确认自己对乔西的爱的时候也无比坚定，可怎么最后连爱都变成自我欺骗了呢？