Origins

About where he comes from, he keeps his mouth firmly shut. Grey Talon once asked him point-blank whose dream he came from, and he answered that he didn’t think he was supposed to tell a stranger. He said it as though someone had warned him long ago — or perhaps it was only a child’s wariness of strangers.

“I don't think I'm supposed to tell you.”

“我想我不该告诉你。”TL

There is a gap in his origins: family. When Mirage asked whether he had parents, he thought it over and answered, “Kind of? It’s complicated.” To Kelvin he said that he wanted his “kinda-mom” to help him, but her “kinda-dad” was going to get mad about it. He is happy to share this “mom” with others, too: to Pocket he generously offered that if your mom isn’t nice, you can hang out with my mom.

“Kind of? It's complicated.”

“算是吧？有点复杂”

“If your mom isn't nice you can hang out with my mom.”

“如果你妈妈对你不好，你可以来跟我妈妈待着。”TL

Grey Talon and Silver, after crossing swords with him, each told him the same thing: you don’t belong here. The Doorman said that if he kept walking the streets, it was only a matter of time before he ended up vivisected on a government table.

“You don't belong here, Rem.”

“你不属于这里，雷姆。”TL

“You don't belong here, Rem.”

“你不属于这里，雷姆。”TL

His days are simple. Being awake is hard, and there are so many places he could nap, so he is forever helping out while turning over his next nap in his mind. He admits he is lazy; it’s not safe to travel alone, he says, so he and his little buddies go everywhere together.

“It's not safe to travel alone.”

“一个人旅行不安全。”TL

The pillow he carries is the only thing on him he can throw. It’s soft for him, he says, but not soft for them — comfy and dangerous. As for those who can’t stop him, he has the explanation ready: he brought his lucky pillow.

“I'm gonna throw my pillow at them because I'm carrying a pillow and that's really all I can throw.”

“我要用枕头扔他们，毕竟我身上带的东西里，能扔的也就只有这个枕头。”TL

“Of course they can't stop me I brought my lucky pillow.”

“他们当然拦不住我，我带了我的幸运枕头”

Sleep, as he sees it, is a gift. He says he brings sleep, and that people can’t be mean when they’re asleep. Yet he himself is not always so tough: pushed to the brink, he cries “I’m scared!” and “Don’t hurt me!”, and he doesn’t like being alone; and when someone crosses him, he shouts, “You’re not nice!”

“I bring sleep.”

“我带来睡眠。”TL

“I'm scared!”

“我好怕！”TL

Old Friends and Foes

Haze: The One He Calls “Mom”

Haze told him she was going to get him home, and he said, “I trust you. You’re my mom.” She answered, “I’m not.” He thought it over and corrected himself: I mean, you kinda are.

He has said that he likes her dreams, that he sees her when he sleeps, and also, “She’s me.” What that means, no one has explained. Later, when she had no choice but to turn on him, she said only that she was just following protocol, and wished there was another way. Another time, when Rem apologized for causing trouble, she paused, then said it was nice to see him, and that of course they were friends.

“She's me.”

“她就是我”

Kelvin: The Sleepy Friend

Kelvin told him to stay inside his dome, that it would protect him; Rem answered that the cold makes him sleepy. He asked Kelvin whether he sleeps, and on hearing “Not anymore,” told him flat out that that was stupid. It’s not a why so much as a how, said Kelvin. Later he told Rem that family can be complicated. When at last it came to blows, he said he was sorry, calling Rem his sleepy friend, and said he would find his way home eventually.

“Stay inside my dome, little one, it will protect you.”

“待在我的穹顶里，小家伙，它会保护你。”TL

“He'll find his way home eventually….”

“他迟早会找到回家的路的…”TL

Solomon: The One Who Saw His Sadness

Solomon is one of the few who could tell at a glance that he was sad. You look sad, little one, he said. Then he asked, “Do you have to?” — and, having heard him out, urged him not to do it, and promised to help him find a solution. He offered to teach Rem chess; Rem turned him down flat, saying no one thinks chess is fun.

“Well don't do that, we're about to get shot at. But I promise, I'll help you find a solution.”

“那可别这么做，我们马上就要挨枪子了。不过我保证，我会帮你找到办法。”TL

Seven: The One Who Warned Him Away from the OSIC

At first Seven called him only “Creature,” and switched to Rem only once he was corrected. He warned him gravely: if the ritual fails and he is on his own, he should stay away from anyone who mentions the OSIC, for they will not help him get home. Later he said it was better to die at his hands than end up with the OSIC.

“Fine. Rem. Listen to me. If the ritual fails and you are on your own, stay away from anyone who mentions the OSIC.”

“好吧。雷姆。听我说。如果仪式失败，而你孤身一人，那就远离任何提到OSIC的人”

“Better to die at my hands, then end up with the OSIC.”

“倒在我手上也好过落入OSIC的手上”

The Doorman: The Promise of a Comfortable Bed

What the Doorman offers him is safety and comfort: stay at the Baroness Hotel, or sooner or later end up vivisected on a government table. And, he added, a very comfortable bed is waiting for him.

“Rem, if you continue to walk the streets of Manhattan it is only a matter of time before you end up vivisected on a government table. But if you stay here at The Baroness, I can provide safety and comfort.”

“雷姆，你要是继续在曼哈顿的街头游荡，迟早会被摆上政府的解剖台。可如果你留在巴隆妮斯酒店，我能给你安全和舒适。”TL

Abrams and Holliday: The Protectors He Went Looking For

Anyone big, he has to ask whether they can protect him. Abrams answered, “I’ll try,” and Rem cheered, “Yay!” Holliday, too, answered, “I’m going to try,” and told him to stay close. Abrams has troubles of his own — he wants to get rid of that book; hearing it, Rem told him that was stupid, have better dreams. He remembers, too, that Holliday had a sister who died young.

“I'll try.”

“我试试”

“I'm going to try.”

“我打算试试”

“Sad Sheriff with dead sister.”

“悲伤的警长有个早逝的妹妹”

Infernus, Apollo, Grey Talon and Vyper: The “Family” He Has Taken In

Everyone he meets, he wants to claim as kin. To Infernus he said they were hat brothers, brothers for life; all he got back was a perfunctory “Sure.” To Apollo he said, you can be my big brother that stabs people; when Apollo said he was an only child, he shot back: not anymore! Grey Talon he calls “Grandpa” at every turn, and the two have become nap buddies. He wishes Baba were his grandma, wishes he had a sister as cool as Paige, and invited Vyper to be his cool aunt.

“Brothers for life.”

“一辈子的兄弟”

“I wish she was my grandma.”

“真希望她是我奶奶。”TL

Calico: The One Who Pressed Him About Dreams

Giggling, he said that Ava has silly dreams, and Calico pressed him at once: you can see her dreams? You can’t? he asked back. At that she told him that once the ritual was over he would tell her everything. Later he asked what she did for a job, and on hearing “I kill people for money,” said he didn’t think he should talk to her. And yet he keeps wanting to eat her cat, and has been warned that he would be the one eaten.

Violet: The Painter Whose Dreams He Invaded

He told Violet he had heard that college students sleep all the time, and so he wanted to go to college too; she answered that they kinda do. He asked, too, whether in art school you just have to make Christmas ornaments out of macaroni every day; told that she had never had to use pasta in class, he said he was sorry she couldn’t afford to go to a better school. Then he asked whether she usually dreams about pipe cleaner men chasing after her with pipe cleaner knives. No, she said, last night was the first time — and how did he know about that? He owned up: when he heard she was going to be in the ritual, he had decided to invade her dreams, and they seemed pretty fun. She asked whether he could maybe stop doing that; all she got back was a blown raspberry.

Speaking of her afterward, he said she was pretty, and that he likes painting too — but fun painting, not her scary painting. Maybe, he added, she’d have better luck with pottery.

Anecdotes

The Name. Celeste called him “Remy,” and he yelled right back: “REM!” His name is one of the few things on which he won’t give an inch.

“REM”

“雷姆”

A Place to Stay. Celeste confided to him that she is a unicorn, and invited him to stay with her for a while if he can’t find his way home: folks like us, she said, need to stick together. Rem thanked her.

A Hug. He wanted Silver’s help; she asked whether he could pay her, and he said he could hug. Then he started crying, and Silver could only say, “OK, OK, I’ll help.”

“<starts crying>”

“<开始哭>”

The Pillow. Vyper offered two cigarettes for his pillow. If he got rid of his pillow, he said, he couldn’t take a nap. When Vyper admitted that criminals are “a lotta fun,” his answer was: well, I like fun, so I guess I like criminals.

“2 cigarettes for the pillow”

“两根烟，换你的枕头。”TL

Allowance. To him, souls are “free money,” and he says he should spend his allowance: he wants candy, or a gun — probably candy, but maybe a gun; he dunno.

“I want candy. Or a gun. Probably candy. But maybe a gun, I dunno.”

“我想要糖果。或者枪。还是糖果吧。要不枪吧，我不知道”

Right and Wrong. He doesn’t understand grown-ups’ rules, yet he has a sense of right and wrong all his own. Hearing Mirage speak of the lady in the bottle, he first asked whether that was a grown-up word for criminal. When Mirage went on to say that she would probably say he was her property, Rem replied at once that slavery’s wrong; Mirage explained that hers is a dry wit. And yet he also asked Drifter what morality is, and wanted to follow him.

“Slavery's wrong.”

“奴役是不对的”

“What's morality?”

“什么是道德？”

The Dead and the Past. He asked Graves whether dead people dream, and complained that if he’s listening, he can’t ask them questions like what’s your favorite color. When Graves said life’s hard sometimes, he answered only: it is. He has also mentioned that Lady Geist misses her husband, and he has called Yamato Kaori and said that he likes her brother too.

“Do dead people dream?”

“故人会做梦吗？”

“She misses her husband.”

“她想念她的丈夫。”TL

The Professor. Dynamo said he had so many questions for him; Rem fired off a string of his own — is the sky made of peanut butter, can you make a desk out of pillows — and finally asked, are you god? He has also asked whether he could be the Professor’s class pet; in college, said the Professor, we don’t have class pets.

The Smell of Blood. Drifter admitted he had murdered someone before showing up for the ritual — “a musician’s gotta warm up before they perform”; Rem only asked him why.

“a musician's gotta warm up before they perform.”

“音乐家在演出前需要热身”

People in Books. He told Paige that he can’t read, yet in his sleep he will say, “Why yes, Mr. Darcy, I will marry you,” or contradict Mr. Poirot, saying he knows who killed Jay Gatsby.

“I can't read.”

“我不识字”

“Why yes, Mr. Darcy, I will marry you.”

“是的，达西先生，我愿意嫁给您”

Open Questions