Origins

His home is Miss Shelly's Junkyard. When someone asked whether he worked at a scrap yard, he corrected a single word: he lives at one. It is his workshop, and the place he calls home. When his thoughts turn to anything beyond the battlefield, more often than not they turn to the work still waiting to be done there.

“Live at a scrap yard.”

“住在废料场”

Miss Shelly made him with her own hands, yet he will never call her his “master.” When Yamato asked after his sick master, he corrected her on the spot: his mother, not his master. When Graves asked who made him, he answered just as plainly: “My mother.”

“My mother. Not my master.”

“我的母亲。不是我的主人”

He has a clear and proud sense of where he came from. Kelvin is a pseudo corpse with a glowing rock; he, on the other hand, was “summoned” into existence by an act of craftsmanship, willpower and sacrifice, a clear path that someone could replicate. What that sacrifice was, he did not say.

“Not really. I was summoned into existence by an act of craftsmanship, willpower and sacrifice. There's a clear path that someone could replicate. You're a pseudo corpse with a glowing rock.”

“并非如此。我被召唤而来，是靠着精湛的技艺、强大的意志力和牺牲。有一条清晰的路径，可以供人复制。你只是一个故人，带着一块发光的石头”

When Paradox found “Bebop” a curious name for a golem, he explained that Miss Shelly is a fan of music. When Paradox asked whether he plays, he said that sadly, no, these hands aren’t exactly delicate; and that, he held, seems rather important.

“Miss Shelly's a fan of music.”

“雪莉小姐是音乐迷”

His accent has become a small joke of its own. When Mina took him for an Australian robot, he corrected her in all earnest: he was created in America, and he sounds British. As for why Miss Shelly would make him sound like that, that, he said, is a question for her.

Since Miss Shelly fell gravely ill, his nights have found another use. He fights in the Bear Pit to pay for her medicine. There are no bears there, and it isn’t even a pit, only a circle marked out for fighting; Rem went to see it and came back finding it no fun at all. He admitted to Silver that he fights people for money, and remarked that he had never seen her in the Bear Pit; to Shiv he said that pit fighting is two parts violence, one part theatrics.

“I fight people for money.”

“我为了钱跟人打架”

This he keeps from Miss Shelly. She is a good person, he says, and probably wouldn’t condone him participating in bloodsport for money; he, however, is not shackled by human morality, and finds it rather entertaining besides. Still, he has drawn himself a line. When Calico told him he should be working as an assassin, he said he isn’t interested in killing people for money; pressed on what putting people in the hospital is, then, he granted that the line is arbitrary, yet distinct. When Wraith asked whether he was looking for work, he answered only: if it’s honest. He has also said that people get him all wrong: what he is interested in is not violence for violence’s sake, but violence for money’s sake.

“Miss Shelly's a good person, and probably wouldn't condone me participating in bloodsport for money. I however, am not shackled by human morality, and find it a rather entertaining use of my time.”

“雪莉小姐是个好人，可能不会宽恕我为了钱而参加血腥运动。但是，我不受人类道德的束缚，我觉得这是对我时间的一种相当有趣的利用”

“It's an arbitrary, yet distinct line.”

“这是自己定的，但截然不同的界限”

He may call himself unshackled by human morality, but he still minds his manners. When Dynamo marveled that a pit fighter could be so remarkably polite, he answered that Miss Shelly stresses the importance of etiquette. When McGinnis asked what sort of bindings his creator had put on him, he said Miss Shelly doesn’t believe in that sort of thing; asked what, then, was stopping him from mowing down humanity with that death laser, he answered only that it would disappoint Miss Shelly. His restraint comes from love, not from any binding.

“Oh Miss Shelly doesn't believe in that sort of thing.”

“哦，雪莉小姐不相信这种东西”

“It would disappoint Miss Shelly.”

“这会让雪莉小姐失望”

Old Friends and Foes

Miss Shelly: Mother and Measure

Miss Shelly is the measure by which he judges everything. Even in the act of striking someone down, she is on his mind. After downing Rem, he muttered that Miss Shelly wouldn’t approve; downing McGinnis, he muttered, “So much for asking her to speak to Miss Shelly,” and said she could probably have given him a tune-up; downing Paige, he said Miss Shelly would have liked her; downing the Doorman, his first thought was to cancel Miss Shelly’s brunch at the Baroness.

“I need to remember to cancel Miss Shelly's brunch at The Baroness.”

“我得记得取消雪莉小姐在巴隆妮斯预订的早午餐”

He knows fear, too. When the Doorman asked whether he was scared, he answered: yes, but not for himself. Even someone like him, when things turn against him, shows a rare flicker of doubt, asking himself under his breath: am I losing?

“Yes. But not for me.”

“对。但不是怕自己”

Wraith: The One Who Punctures His Self-Deceit

Wraith is one of the few who dare to say hard things to his face. She asked how long he was planning on lying to that lady; he said he doesn’t lie to her. Her answer: no, you just lie to yourself. The Doorman, too, once sighed on his behalf that the double life he leads must be exhausting.

Lash: He’s Lash

Lash is the man he loathes most. The only way this day gets any better, he says, is if he gets to punch Lash in the face; with time on his hands, he works out new ways to hurt Lash. When Pocket asked why he hates Lash, he said only: he’s Lash.

“The only way this day gets any better is if I get to punch Lash in the face.”

“如果我能揍劳什一顿，今天就真的会好过一些”

The two have fought more than once, and each has had his wins. He uses Lash as the yardstick for everyone else: Apollo, he said, has Lash’s ego without Lash’s talent, and Billy was like a budget version of Lash. On a winning streak, he shouts Lash’s name: take a look at me now. Lash has beaten him, he admits, though he insists it was a fluke. Silver once remarked, with some wonder, that the guy beat Lash once. Lash himself, for his part, gave up the uppercut for good after he saw Bebop throw one.

“Like I told you, lash. beating me was a fluke.”

“就像我跟你说过的，劳什，你打到我纯属意外”

“So that guy beat Lash once, huh.”

“那家伙曾经打败过劳什一次，是吧”

“Fun little fact: The Lash used to do an uppercut. And then I saw Bebop do an uppercut and I knew right then that I would never do one again.”

“冷知识：劳什以前会用上勾拳。后来我看到比波普也用了上勾拳，我当时就知道自己再也不会用这招了”

Lash’s hostility toward him is just as unambiguous: Lash says that when he wins, he is going to wish for a world without Bebop.

“Impossible. Cause when I win I'm going to wish for a world without Bebop.”

“不可能。因为如果我赢了，我会许愿一个没有比波普的世界”

Yet the hatred has its limits. When the Patrons made the two of them partners, he said that his love for Miss Shelly is more than his hate for Lash: they are going to win, and he just hopes Lash dies in the process. He has predicted, too, that at some point Lash will do something outrageously stupid, that Bebop will save his life, and that he will lord it over Lash for the rest of his days.

Dynamo and Kelvin: Souls in Iron

On meeting Dynamo, his very first words were “So who made you?” Told that Dynamo wasn’t made at all, that his body was obliterated by an Astral Gate, he said it was a shame: he thought he had found a kindred spirit. But Dynamo said they are both just a couple of floating souls in iron bodies. Dynamo called him a gentleman and said Shelly should be proud of her son; he answered that he likes to think she is.

“I like to think she is.”

“我愿意相信她是”

Miss Shelly loved reading about Kelvin’s adventures. He told Kelvin that when he disappeared, it was sad thinking about her not being able to read a new one before she died. Now that Kelvin is back, he has something to hope for again: one more story. There’ll be more than one, Kelvin answered.

“Miss Shelly loved reading about your adventures. When you disappeared it was sad thinking about her not being able to read a new one before she died. But now that you're back there's hope for one more story.”

“雪莉小姐很喜欢读你的冒险故事。你失踪的时候，想到她临终前没能读到新的冒险故事，真是令人难过。不过现在你回来了，又有了一个故事的希望”

McGinnis: The One Who Praised Her Handiwork

McGinnis asked who made him and, hearing “Miss Shelly,” told him to tell her she did great work. She also asked whether the old lady was looking for a job; she’s retired, he said.

Seven: The One Who Brings Shelly Into It

Seven told him that his attachment to his charge makes him weak, and that if Seven considered him a threat, he would go through her to get to him. Bebop answered first that she gives him something to fight for, then said just four words: stay away from her. Another time, Bebop spoke first: I got my eye on you, Seven. Seven replied that he should be relieved: thanks to Seven, Shelly has a chance to live out the rest of her pleasant yet unremarkable life.

“I'm sure she's a lovely woman. The fact remains that if I considered you a threat, I would go through her to get to you.”

“我相信她是个很可爱的女人。但事实是，如果我认为你构成威胁，我就会通过她来对付你”

Mina and Billy: Those Who Sneer at Poverty

Mina complained that he smelled like garbage and motor oil, and said Shelly was probably poor. He lost his temper, a rare thing for him: don’t talk about my mother like that. Billy had barely begun on “the old lady that made you” when a single “Shut your mouth” cut him off.

“Don't talk about my mother like that.”

“不要那样说我母亲”

Victor and Pocket: Fellow Feeling

Victor doesn’t know who made him. People like us need to stick together, Bebop said, and he insisted on introducing Victor to Shelly after the ritual. Pocket got an invitation too: if Pocket needed a place to stay after the ritual, he could come. Pocket, who envies him a mother worth saving, politely declined.

“No imposition. I insist. People like us need to stick together.”

“绝不强求。我坚持。像我们这样的人需要团结起来”

Haze: His Fear of Being Taken Away

Haze praised his loyalty to his creator. What weighed on him more was something else: when this is over, the OSIC isn’t going to take him away from Miss Shelly, right? Haze assured him that they fight monsters, not act like them.

“When this is over the OSIC isn't going to take me away from Miss Shelly , right?”

“当这一切结束后，OSIC不会把我从雪莉小姐身边带走吧？”

Venator: A Prayer Slightly Off Key

He is not a religious man, he said, not a man at all, really, but he still asked Venator to say a prayer for Miss Shelly. The priest’s prayer ran to battle, and Bebop quipped that it was significantly more violent than he expected; reminded that he was supposed to say Amen, he added it at once, with an apology.

“That was significantly more violent than I expected.”

“那可比我预想的暴力多了”

Anecdotes

Biscuits. He has been known to bake a biscuit or two for Miss Shelly. When Silver caught a whiff of cinnamon around him, he said he made snickerdoodles this morning. He invited Viscous to come over after the ritual and promised to make biscuits; I made a friend, said Viscous.

“Made snickerdoodles this morning. Quite the nose you got there. Got any other party tricks.”

“今天早上做了肉桂糖饼干。你的鼻子真灵。还有其他绝活吗？”

Guests at Home. He is glad to bring people back to the scrap yard. When Drifter said he had been traveling a long way and hadn’t had time to get a proper meal, Bebop invited him over for dinner after the ritual, though on another occasion he was also counting the days until the traveler left New York. He asked Paige to come over and read to Shelly, and invitations come his way too: Ivy said he and Shelly should come over to the Arroyos for dinner.

“In that case you should come over to the scrap yard after the ritual. I'm sure Miss Shelly could help out with dinner.”

“既然如此，仪式结束后你就该来废料场了。我相信雪莉小姐可以帮忙准备晚餐。”

Two Parts Violence, One Part Theatrics. He loves to show off. Heading into a fight, he says they’re going to win, and he’s going to look good doing it. When things go his way, he says no one is his equal; on a run of takedowns, he calls out to his opponents: what’s the matter, organics, can’t hang with ol’ Bebop?

Golems Don’t Sleep. When Rem asked whether golems dream, he first asked whether that meant having aspirations or seeing things when they sleep, then said, regretfully, that golems don’t sleep. He is not organic, yet the Cube heals him all the same; this puzzled him, and he once put the question to Viscous, who answered: we don’t question the Cube.

“Hey Viscous. I'm not organic, why does the cube heal me?”

“嘿，魔液。我不是有机体，为什么这个立方能治愈我？”

Organics. When he speaks of how fragile organics are, it is always with a touch of condescension. Yet to Grey Talon he insisted that working with a golem is no different from working with a person.

“I'm not sure why you'd think it would be any different from working with a person.”

“我不明白你为什么会认为这和与真人合作有什么不同”

Not Fair. Sticking someone with a bomb they can’t remove is of course not fair, he admits; if it were, he wouldn’t be doing it.

“Is stickin' someone with a bomb they can't remove fair? Of course not, if it was I wouldn't be doin' it.”

“把一颗无法移除的炸弹安在别人身上公平吗？当然不公平，如果公平的话我就不会这么做了”

Teamwork. He says he doesn’t like working in groups, and yet he allows that it’s nice to fight with people who aren’t incompetent. Left the last one standing, he grumbles that it’s hard to find good help.

The Papers. He reads the papers, and knows that Vindicta has been picking off known associates of the Friends of Humanity and John Hathorne. He has heard that Grey Talon was one of the founding members of the Baxter Society, and heard, too, that a lot of people are scared of him.

Rules of the Pit. He told Apollo that fighting for points is very different than fighting to eat. He has spoken of the Tunnel Rats, and of how Mo & Krill praised his gift as one they could gamble on.

In Others’ Eyes. Those who bring him down often have something to say. Pocket called him a good son; Venator said his mother’s needs don’t outweigh the world’s; Infernus asked him to tell Miss Shelly he was sorry. Having knocked him down, what Violet regretted was that she would have liked to meet his mom.

“You're a good son, Bebop.”

“你真是个好儿子，比波普”

Open Questions