Origins

Mirage is a human bodyguard. The Djinn possess great power, yet cannot hold corporeal form for longer than forty-eight minutes before they must rest within a vessel; people like him see to their transport, protection and companionship. One doesn’t send out a CV to work for the Djinn. As he told Abrams, the Djinn take no applications: they come to you themselves, and approach you with an offer. He has served Ambassador Nashala for a few years, and asked whether he regrets it, he answers with restraint and candor: some days are safer than others, but he is grateful to be of service.

“Some days are safer than others, but on the whole; no… I am grateful to be of service.”

“有些日子比其他日子更安全，但总的来说；没有……我很荣幸能为您服务”

When he speaks of the “many gifts” the Djinn have blessed him with, his tone is all but devout.

“The djinn blessed me with many gifts…”

“镇尼赐予了我许多礼物…”

He has left his footprints in more than one place. In England he learned to bowl, and calls it “the sport of kings”; when Nashala rests in her vessel he goes off to bowl a few frames, and when she is free of it again, he listens to her scintillating conversation.

“I do. When she's free of her vessel, she offers scintillating conversation. When she rests, I get to go bowling.”

“是的。她离开容器的时候，就会跟我聊得兴致勃勃。她休息的时候，我就去打保龄球”

His sense of honor comes, in part, from books. He knew the Arthurian collection in Paige’s hands at a glance, and asked who wouldn’t be enthralled with their tales of heroism.

“Of course. Who wouldn't be enthralled with their tales of heroism.”

“当然。谁不会被他们的英雄事迹所吸引呢？”

He corrected Paige: this was his first time in America. To Kelvin he allowed that his career had taken him to some fantastic locales, but would not go into them, for revealing those details would be a major break of Nashala’s trust.

“You won't be. Revealing those details would be a major break of Nashala's trust.”

“你不会的。泄露这些细节会严重辜负那沙拉的信任”

He has been to the Cologne Summit, too. A single remark from Calico, “You were at the summit in Cologne last year,” brought back to him on the spot who she was: the one said to have assassinated Sigfreid. His contempt for her is another matter: she used to save people, and now she kills them for money.

“You used to save people and now you kill them for money.”

“你过去救人，如今却为钱杀人。”TL

Old Friends and Foes

Nashala: His Employer, and All the Weight He Carries

He draws his line without the least ambiguity: he is willing to die for Nashala, and certainly willing to kill for her.

He binds his own safety to hers: he can’t help Nashala if he’s dead. He fights to live not from any fear of dying, but because there is someone behind him to protect.

“I can't help Nashala if I'm dead.”

“我倒下了就帮不了那沙拉了”

Protection does not run one way. When he needs help, he turns to Nashala; and as he crosses the city, it is Nashala who takes him where he needs to go.

“Nashala will take me where I need to go.”

“那沙拉会带我去我想去的地方”

Mirage carries that bottle wherever he goes; he told Infernus he wouldn’t be a particularly good bodyguard if he didn’t. When Bebop asked why he was taking her into a fight, he asked in return whether he should stick her in the dresser at their hotel. She is safer with him.

“I wouldn't be a particularly good bodyguard if I didn't.”

“我要是不带着，就不算个称职的保镖。”TL

He is no blind follower. He told Seven to his face that Nashala sometimes makes impulsive, short-sighted decisions, asking him to trust Seven being one of them. Doubt as he may, his duty stands. Seven calls him Nashala’s pawn, someone who understands his place; he answers only that he serves at her pleasure.

“Asking me to trust you”

“要我相信你”

There is humor between the two of them as well. He told Rem that if Nashala were out of her vessel, she would probably say he was her “property,” then added at once that hers is a dry wit, and slavery is not what she would mean.

“No. Well, yes it is, but that's not what she would mean if she said I was her property. Hers is a dry wit, oh what's the point you don't care.”

“不。嗯，确实不对，但她说我是她的财产时，可不是那个意思。她那是冷幽默，哎，说这些有什么意义，你又不在乎。”TL

When Paige asked whether he and Nashala were a couple, he got out an “Oh. Um.” before answering that theirs is a professional relationship.

Drifter: An Evil to Be Stamped Out

Drifter mocked him as hired muscle for dirty work; Mirage replied that Nashala is a woman of nobility and poise, and doesn’t ask him to do dirty work. Drifter then asked what would happen if he broke that fancy bottle, and Mirage answered only: “I kill you.” Nashala had warned him about this man long before; she knows his deeds, he said.

“I kill you.”

“我击倒你”

When Drifter fell to him, he said just one thing: the innocent of New York are safe.

Holliday: A Sheriff Driven by Rage

He gives Holliday no quarter: she is no servant of the law, just an instrument of rage. Yet when she lends him a hand, he thanks her plainly and says he’ll follow in the Sheriff’s footsteps.

“You are no servant of the law, just an instrument of rage.”

“你不是法律的仆人，只是愤怒的工具”

“I'll follow in the Sheriff's footsteps.”

“我会追随警长的脚步”

Lady Geist: A Woman He Does Not Trust

Lady Geist would love to have a chat with Nashala after the ritual, but won’t say what it is regarding; he asks that she be forthright first. Striking her down, he said he may be Nashala’s servant, but she is Oathkeeper’s slave.

“I may be Nashala's servant, but you are Oathkeeper's slave.”

“我或许是那沙拉的仆人，但你是守誓者的奴隶”

Paige and Rem: Those He Hates to Strike

Killing Paige, he lamented that she seemed like a kind soul: why would she align with them? To Rem he said only, softly, “Forgive me, child.” He had once seen the boy looking lost, and asked whether he had parents.

“She seemed like a kind soul, why would she align with them?”

“她看起来心地善良，为什么要和他们为伍呢？”

“Forgive me, child.”

“原谅我，孩子。”TL

Dynamo: The Man He Calls “Professor”

Dynamo is “the Professor” to him, and he asked the Professor to give Nashala and him a tour of Columbia. Nor does he idealize his own people: some Djinn are fascinating, and some are cruel as a child would be. Assholes.

“Professor, would you be willing to give Nashala and I a tour of Columbia?”

“教授，您能否带我和那沙拉参观一下哥伦比亚大学？”

Apollo and McGinnis: Familiar Faces in Diplomatic Circles

He recognized Apollo as the Dauphin the moment he saw him; Apollo, in turn, asked him to give Nashala his father’s regards. When they later fought, he worried that it did not bode well for Ixian and Djinn relations.

“This does not bode well for Ixian and Djinn relations.”

“这对伊克斯亚人和镇尼之间的关系可不是什么好兆头”

Fairfax R&D, where McGinnis works, is just what the Djinn hope to contract: he asked whether she would be open to developing something that’s not a weapon. She, for her part, invited him to get a beer and talk shop whenever he has some free time.

“The Djinn had interest in contracting your companies services, would you be open to developing something that's not a weapon.”

“灯神有意委托贵公司的服务，你们愿意开发一些不是武器的东西吗？”TL

Venator and Abrams: A Contest of Convictions

Venator calls him a man of duty and honor, and says plainly: “Only one of us can complete the ritual.” Having brought Abrams down, Mirage admits that the man had conviction that rivaled his own.

“He was a man of duty and honor.”

“他是一位尽职又恪守荣誉的人”

“Only one of us can complete the ritual, Mirage.”

“我们之中只有一人能够完成仪式，蜃景”

“He had conviction that rivaled my own.”

“他的信念可以与我媲美”

Yamato and Paradox: Those He Guards Against

He doesn’t like the idea of Nashala being associated with the 7th Moon. When Yamato said she was a good friend to have, he returned: and yet a terrible person to owe.

“And yet a terrible person to owe.”

“但欠你的人情，可就糟了。”TL

Paradox wants to put Nashala’s bottle in a museum. Nashala won’t end up in one of her museums, he says; the Djinn won’t rest until Paradox is dismantled.

“The Djinn won't rest until Paradox is dismantled.”

“镇尼不会罢休，直到悖论被彻底摧毁”

Haze: Outside Official Channels

To Haze, it is an outrage that the Djinn would dare try to circumvent official channels. After Mirage brought her down, he was still turning it over: was she acting alone, or under orders?

“How dare the djinn try to circumvent official channels!”

“镇尼竟敢试图绕过官方渠道！”

“The question remains: was she acting alone or under orders?”

“问题依然存在：她是单独行动还是奉命行事？”

Anecdotes

The Voice. Vyper says she’d do anything to stop that guy from yelling about the Djinn; Mina tells him he doesn’t have to yell everything; Celeste thinks he takes his job way too seriously.

“Anything to stop that guy from yelling about the Djinn.”

“想尽一切办法阻止那家伙大喊大叫关于镇尼的事”

“Mirage takes his job way to seriously.”

“蜃景太认真对待他的工作了”

The Polite Edge. His verdict on Vyper: cheap cigarettes, and cheaper morals.

“You smell of cheap cigarettes and cheaper morals.”

“你身上散发着廉价香烟和低劣道德的气息”

The Tourist. He treats the city as a place for sightseeing: the library was stunning, he says, and New York seems like a lovely place. When an invitation runs up against his schedule, his excuses come in every variety: a meeting at the embassy today, a tour of New Jersey he is supposed to take Nashala on, duty calling, or fate having arranged for him to try a hot dog.

“I have a meeting at the embassy today…”

“我今天要去大使馆开会……”TL

The Hotel. The Doorman treats him as a guest of honor; after bringing the Doorman down, he remarked that their stay at the Baroness Hotel had been rather pleasant, and regretted only that he hadn’t read the reviews first. The Doorman, though, urges him that Wyoming can wait: if his goal is to protect Nashala, there is no safer place in the world than The Baroness.

“Perhaps I should have read the reviews of The Baroness before checking in.”

“或许我应该在入住巴隆妮斯前先看看评论”

“Wyoming can wait, Mirage. If your goal is to protect Nashala, there is no safer place in the world than The Baroness.”

“怀俄明的事可以等等，蜃景。如果你的目标是保护那沙拉，那么世界上没有比巴隆妮斯更安全的地方了。”

Outside Voices. He dismisses Warden as blind: blind devotion isn’t loyalty, it’s ignorance. Solomon, for his part, charges that he can’t use the Patron to manipulate geopolitics.

“Blind devotion isn't loyalty, it's ignorance.”

“盲目的忠诚不是忠诚，而是无知”

“You can't use the patron to manipulate geopolitics Mirage”

“蜃景，你不能利用守护神来操纵地缘政治。”TL

Destiny. He likes to speak of destiny: we all have one, he says, and the only question is whether you have the courage to face it.

Open Questions