Origins

No one can say for certain what he once did. Asked what he did to end up in Lost Whisper, he says only that he offended small-minded simpletons with fragile egos. Abrams did not believe it, and reminded him that you don’t try to obliterate someone’s soul just because they offended you. Hearing this, Seven found the detective’s naivety simply refreshing.

Then came that night. Onlookers watched in horror as the head of the US Army’s strongest mentalist burst, and as Scotland Yard’s premier occult investigator, the man said to have captured him personally, crumbled to ash. To Baba he made light of it: they tried to eradicate his soul, and he merely destroyed their bodies; if anything, he was magnanimous. Baba answered with a scornful “Hmph,” unconvinced.

“Please. They tried to eradicate my soul and I merely destroyed their bodies. If anything I was magnanimous.”

“拜托。他们想抹杀我的灵魂，我只是毁了他们的肉身。要说的话，我已经够宽宏大量了。”TL

Why the wards failed to erase him, everyone wonders; he keeps his own counsel. When Dynamo pressed him on how he had stopped his soul from being obliterated, he answered only that some things may be beyond the Professor.

“I'm sure it's a touchy subject, but I simply must know how you stopped your soul from being obliterated”

“我敢肯定这是一个棘手的话题，但我只需要知道你是如何阻止你的灵魂被消灭的”

When Victor suggested that the two of them might have a lot in common, Seven shot back: so the state tried to obliterate your soul from existence? Victor thought it over and said only maybe, guessing that perhaps the soul that came with his torso had been removed by the state. As for how Seven himself had managed it, he never said a word.

“Oh, so the state tried obliterate your soul from existence?”

“哦，国家也曾试图把你的灵魂从世上抹去？”TL

One thing he will not forget: he did not escape the chair. When Billy needled him about it, he readily admitted as much, then added that when they came for him, it was because they feared him, not because they mocked him.

“It didn't. But when they came for me it was because they feared me… not because they mocked me.”

“没躲过。但他们来抓我，是因为他们怕我……不是因为他们嘲笑我。”TL

He has also said that he had to scurry like a rat ever since he was a child. Now it is the others’ turn to run.

“I've had to scurry like a rat since I was a child… now THEY will be the ones who run.”

“我从小就得像老鼠一样四处逃窜… 现在轮到他们逃跑了”

With his jailers, too, he has settled old scores. When Billy urged him to dismantle the system, he flatly refused: he had already “stuck it to them” when he butchered his captors in Lost Whisper; the government had taken enough from him, and they did not get to claim his wish as well.

When he speaks of killing, there is no bloodlust in it. When Infernus said that not everyone likes killing people, he corrected him: he doesn’t like murder; he is indifferent to it.

Lumped in with the traitors, he gives no ground. When Calico laughed that they made a splendid pair of Judases, he answered only: I was the one betrayed.

“I was the one betrayed.”

“被背叛的人是我。”TL

Of what came after his escape from Lost Whisper, he has left few traces. Infernus was surprised he had stayed in New York with the OSIC setting up shop in town; Mo & Krill asked him, too, whether they were still looking for him. His answer: if they weren’t, he wouldn’t have particular needs in regard to new tunnels.

Old Friends and Foes

Kelvin: The One Only I May Kill

When Kelvin asked why he hated him, he answered only that the Patron would reveal all. Then he added that he would let Kelvin stew on when he would come to kill him.

His hatred of Kelvin has something proprietary about it. He freely admits that he hates him, yet whatever happens, if anyone is going to kill Kelvin, it is going to be him.

“I do. But if anyone is going to kill you, it's going to be me.”

“是的。但如果有人要击倒你，那也会是我”

Before the ritual, Kelvin asked whether he had no barbed words to offer. Whatever Kelvin is now, Seven said, is a pale imitation of the man he was, and to mock someone in such a state of frailty is beneath him.

“Kelvin: whatever it is you are now is a pale imitation of the man you were. To mock someone in your state of frailty is beneath me.”

“开尔文：不管你现在是什么样子，都是模仿你自己曾经的样子。嘲笑一个处于虚弱状态的人简直是我的错”

Kelvin is forever his yardstick: Lash’s ego, he says, is almost as big as Kelvin’s.

Holliday: The Sheriff and the Fugitive

Holliday knew him at first sight as the one who escaped Lost Whisper, and he named her just as quickly: the sheriff from Macomb. When this is over, she said, she has to turn him in; he replied that if she is determined to throw her life away, he will be happy to take it.

“When this is over I have to turn you in.”

“等这一切结束后，我必须把你交出去”

“When this is over, if you are determined to throw your life away I will be happy to take it.”

“当这一切结束后，如果你决心放弃你的生命，我会很乐意接受”

He mocked her for being so consumed by revenge that she would even fight alongside him; she only told him not to talk to her. His contempt for her takes in even her cowboy hat and her grandfather: he was never going to be stopped by someone in a cowboy hat; her grandfather would be so disappointed. Holliday, for her part, has only one thing to say about him: he’s a monster, but he’s our monster.

“Seven's a monster, but he's our monster…”

“柒是怪物，但他是我们的怪物…”

Abrams: The Detective and the Book in His Hands

He has always addressed Abrams as “Detective.” At their very first meeting he said he was fascinated by what the detective held; later he warned that the tome was pulling the detective into deep waters. Abrams retorted that he didn’t know if he needed life advice from someone who was caught and executed.

“That tome is pulling you into deep waters Detective, be careful”

“宝书正在把你拉入深渊，侦探，小心点”

He calls Abrams a demon. Abrams’s answer to him is always a declaration of justice: you can’t escape justice; men like you deserve to rot in Lost Whisper.

“You can't escape justice, Seven…”

“你无法逃脱正义，柒…”

Vindicta: The One He Would Liken to Himself

“Both victims of the state,” he said to Vindicta, and Vindicta coldly told him not to draw parallels between them. Undeterred, he said instead that he was grateful to fight beside someone who has shed the albatross of morality; when Vindicta answered that some people deserve to die, he said: and die they shall.

“Don't draw parallels between us.”

“不要把我们相提并论”

When she offered to bind their enemies so that he could finish them off, he said it would be a pleasure. He has also said he is glad Vindicta is on his side. Vindicta, speaking of him, has only this to say: he was terrifying.

Paradox: Mocked, Then Sounded Out

He mocks the organization Paradox belongs to: for all the might it wields, it wastes it on publicity stunts. When Paradox said they didn’t need to explain themselves to him, he said he would settle for her explaining it to anyone.

“For all the might your organization wields, you waste it on publicity stunts.”

“你们的组织拥有如此强大的实力，却把它浪费在宣传噱头上”

Paradox is no innocent either: she held the location of his safehouse over him, asking what it was worth to him to keep it from being exposed. The price he named was “Your life.” She said she would not be threatened by him; and yet, he said, she just was. She gave him until the end of the ritual to consider his answer.

Another time, he asked whether Paradox takes commissions. No, said Paradox; their jobs are based on individual interest and challenge. But if he proposed something, he pressed, would she consider it? She admitted she would be lying if she said she wasn’t curious.

Haze: A Sixteen-Hour Truce

Haze asked him how long he wanted to wait, after they summoned the Patron, before they turned on each other. Forty-eight hours, he assumed, was a pipe dream; they haggled down to sixteen, and Haze called it acceptable.

She has said that she has had her eye on him for a while, and also that she has dreamed of this moment.

“I'll tell you a secret Seven… I've dreamed of this moment.”

“我将告诉你一个秘密，柒… 我梦寐以求的就是这一刻”

Drifter: The Old Hand and the New

Drifter said he used to be just like him: he used to play the game, wear the lace, say the pretty words; the pursuit of power is a trap. Seven answered that this was spoken like a man who never attained it. Drifter said only: “Sure.”

“I used to play the game, wear the lace, say the pretty words. Let me tell you, friend... the pursuit of power is a trap.”

“我曾经也玩过这套把戏，穿着华丽的服饰，说着动听的话语。告诉你吧，朋友……追逐权力就是一个陷阱”

Drifter has also told him that he is no boogie man, just a man; Seven answered that he is so much more. Drifter has sighed, too, that the boy still has too much humanity left in him, when he had been hoping to find an equal.

“That boy still has too much humanity left in him…”

“那个男孩身上还残留着太多的人性…”

Dynamo: The Professor and His Reader

He cannot understand why Dynamo is willing to throw away so great a gift. Dynamo said those were easy words to say when you have never loved someone. His answer: no, easy words to say when you have.

“No. Easy words to say when you have.”

“不。拥有的时候，说这话当然容易”

He makes no secret of his admiration for Dynamo: Professor, I’m a fan of your work; your research into the Astral Gates paved the way for my own. He has even said that in his rare moments of doubt, he sometimes wonders whether he would have become the man he is, were it not for the Professor. Dynamo was flattered, and then simply horrified: and now I’m just horrified.

“Your research into the Astral Gates paved the way for my own. In my rare moments of doubt, sometimes I even wonder if I would have became the man I am were it not for you.”

“你对异界之门的研究为我铺平了道路。在我极少数的怀疑时刻，我甚至会想，如果没有你，我是否还能成为今天的我”

Mo & Krill: The Tenant in the Tunnels

Seven makes his home in an abandoned subway tunnel in New York. Mo & Krill told him they never gave him permission; that, he answered, is because he didn’t ask. Later he told them that after the ritual he would have particular needs in regard to new tunnels. They agreed to help, though the rate would be higher, which was nothing less than he expected.

“I expected nothing less.”

“我对此毫不意外”

Rat King: A Deal

The other master of the underground is Rat King. Seven told him that his designs for Long Island were completely untenable: the government would not simply cede an island to a domestic enemy. Rat King answered that they would have to go through him, the Patron, and three million of his friends. Between the two there is also a deal: Rat King told him to live up to his end of it, and he said his word is good. What the deal is, neither of them has said.

“I ain't domesticated. And if they wanna do anything about it they gotta go through me, the Patron, and three million of my friends.”

“我可不是什么“国内”的。他们想动手，就得先过我这关，还有守护神，还有我的三百万个朋友。”TL

Solomon: The Man Who Urged Him to Turn Back

Solomon urged him: it’s not too late to change course; you think you’re about to cast off some kind of husk that’s holding you back, but you’re going to lose more than you think. Seven answered: nothing of import.

“It's not too late to change course. You think you're about to cast off some kind of husk that's holding you back - but you're going to lose more than you think.”

“现在回头还来得及。你以为自己即将脱掉某种束缚你的躯壳，但你失去的会比你想的更多。”TL

Solomon has also asked him: what do you think the Patron will do if I sacrifice my wish to cancel yours? You wouldn’t, said Seven. Solomon answered: who knows what will happen.

Venator and Silver: The Ones Watching Him

Venator is a demon hunter sent by the Vatican, and a friend of his died because of Seven. When Seven asked whether his masters at the Vatican had sent him, he answered that the fact there was no stake through Seven’s heart should be answer enough. Seven himself makes light of it: since Venator is still willing to work with him, he killed a work acquaintance at best.

“The fact that there's not a stake through your heart should be answer enough.”

“你心脏上没有被钉入木桩这一事实本身就足以说明问题了”

Silver, for her part, sees him as one hell of a bounty, and says he is going back to Lost Whisper sooner or later. She does her job, she says, to pay rent, not out of a sense of justice. To all this Seven has only one answer: I will never be bound again.

“Now that's one hell of a bounty.”

“这可真是一笔天大的赏金。”TL

“I will never be bound again!”

“我再也不会被束缚了！”

Grey Talon, Lady Geist and Rem

Grey Talon admitted that if he were still in the Baxter Society, they would probably ask him to hunt Seven down; Seven said only that, fortunately for him, that was not the case. Another time, Seven wished him good luck on his quest for revenge, and Grey Talon thanked him.

“If I was still in the Baxter Society they would probably ask me to hunt you down.”

“如果我还在拜克斯特协会，他们可能会让我去追捕你”

Lady Geist is another he has seen through. He reminded her that Faustian bargains rarely have happy endings, and told her that her pursuit of vanity is as pathetic as it is cliché.

“I know that Faustian bargains rarely have happy endings.”

“我知道浮士德式的讨价还价很少有圆满的结局”

Toward Rem he shows, of all things, a touch of gentleness. At first he called Rem “Creature”; once corrected, he used his name, and warned him: if the ritual fails, stay away from anyone who mentions the OSIC; they will not help you get home.

“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”

Deadman Danny: The Man Who Fronts for His Boss

Seven told Deadman Danny he was surprised Fairfax Industries wasn’t concerned about Danny being seen with him. Danny answered that there’s no such thing as bad publicity.

“I'm a surprised Fairfax isn't concerned about you being seen with me”

“我很意外，菲尔法克斯竟不介意你被人看到和我在一起。”TL

Another time Seven spelled it out: Danny was a fool to trust his boss. Danny would only say that the Fairfax vision was his vision, and parried with a single “Sir, I am employed.” The two have also weighed which of them is strapped to the worse death trap. Danny said that if Fairfax had made the execution device, Seven would not be standing here today. How fortunate for me, Seven replied. When Danny fell, Seven declared that he had killed the barker, and told the fallen man that his tools could not save him. When Danny was the one to bring Seven down, it was Lost Whisper he brought up: had his employer won that contract back then, Seven would not even be alive.

Violet: The Spark and the World

Seven looks at Violet as at a child clutching a spark. He urged her not to give her gift to a world that is not worth it, and told her that if she ever makes her art say anything of worth, they will care: consider how desperate they were to smother him. When she would not hide in the sewer, he answered only, “Fair enough.” When she asked him for advice for the ritual, he first held forth on willpower and intention, on fear and love as self-limitations that need to be excised if you wish to be great, and only at the very end came down to “Kill without mercy.”

“Willpower and intention are the truest form of expression. Things like fear and love are self-limitations that need to be excised if you wish be great.”

“意志与意图，才是最真实的表达。恐惧和爱这类东西都是自我设限，想成就伟大，就必须将它们剜除。”TL

As for why she had come, he assumed it was because her parents are disappointed in her; when she asked whether she was really that clichéd, he answered simply, “Yes.” Having struck her down, he lamented such a waste of potential, and dismissed her: stay out of my way, child.

Nurse Harrow: A Fellow Traveler Spared His Condolences

He asked Nurse Harrow whether she had been stationed in Lost Whisper. She had not, she said, but she knew someone who was: Edmund Volker, who had shared a mentor with her. Then it came to him (“The Belgian”), and he said he would not insult her by offering his condolences. She answered only, “How considerate.”

But that restraint was a one-time thing. Having struck her down, he told her that her air of authority was meaningless to him, that he had suffered her kind enough, and to stay down. When it was her turn to bring him down, she said only that he doesn’t get to play God; that’s her job.

Anecdotes

Nicknames. Lash gave him a nickname, “Glowstick,” and he warned that if Lash called him that again, he would pop his eyes like grapes. Mina, for her part, says she doesn’t get why people are so scared of the world’s tackiest lamp, and complains that he smelled like a dirty subway tunnel.

Wage Slaves. He looks down on McGinnis for toiling for Fairfax Industries, and asked her: so you’re content with being a wage slave? He finished with: “How depressing.”

“So you're content with being a wage slave?”

“所以你甘愿做个打工仔？”

A Weak Spot. Bebop says the woman in his charge gives him something to fight for. Seven answered that if he considered Bebop a threat, he would go through her to get to him. Bebop said only: stay away from her.

“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”

A Reason Not to Betray. He challenged Shiv not to pretend he hadn’t thought about betraying him. Of course he had, said Shiv, and that is why he isn’t doing it: the OSIC already has Seven’s number, and if the Society punched his ticket first, the feds would think it was done to make them look bad.

“Of course I thought about betraying you, that's why I'm not doing it. The OSIC already has your number. I punch your ticket first then the feds think the Society is doing it to make them look bad.”

“我当然想过出卖你，所以我才不干。OSIC早就盯上你了。我要是先送你上路，联邦那帮人就会以为是协会故意让他们难堪。”TL

A Name Spoken. Paige had barely mentioned that she has a brother when he said it outright: “Bryce.”

Toward Others. For Vyper he has nothing but disgust, and a single remark: “I loathe her.”

What He Calls Himself. He likes to call himself “the Omega.”

The End of the Road. He has his moments of weakness, too. He once muttered that he didn’t escape “the program” just to die here.

The Empire. He has, he says, a burgeoning empire to run.

Open Questions