幽灵也能读懂的幻造种科普 Imagenae 101: So Simple Even a Ghost Could Get It

适合青少年阅读的幻造种科普读物。 A popular science book about imagenae suitable for young readers.

经常接待外星游客的幻造种朋友一定常遇到这种问题，当一位充满了好奇的游客向你询问，「幻造种到底是什么？」你却只能脸红耳赤（如果你有耳朵的话）、用尽毕生所学，打着马虎眼过去。毕竟，不是每个幽灵都是绘世学院毕业的高材生，而根据博识学会的可靠统计，宇宙中有95%的智慧生命，对本种族生命科学的了解程度无限接近于0。

If you're an imagenae who often hosts off-world tourists, you've definitely been there. A curious visitor looks you in the eye and asks, "What exactly is an imagenae?" and you just turn bright red and try every trick in the book to dodge the question. Not every ghost is a star graduate from Graphia Academy, after all. According to the Intelligentsia Guild, 95% of intelligent life in the cosmos knows next to nothing about their own species' science.

尽管如此，既然我们仍在二相乐园的土地上呼吸，「认识你自己」就仍是一件值得去做的事情。

Even so, since we're still here breathing on the soil of Planarcadia, "understanding ourselves" remains a worthy pursuit.

幻造种，一种由内部的核心驱动，以幻月和人类提供的愿力为能量，以离散物质作为身体的智慧生命。而负责绘制形体的绘师以及时代风潮，则决定了其呈现出的形象与「设定」。除却愿力这一过于复杂的能源，我会向读者简要展示，幻月之下的幻造种，究竟是一种怎样的生物。

Imagenae are intelligent life forms driven by an internal core, fueled by the Wishpower of the Phantasmoon and human hearts, with bodies composed of discrete matter. Their appearance and "lore" are decided by the artist who drew them and the trends of the era. Putting aside the complexity of Wishpower as an energy source, I'll give you a brief look at what these creatures under the Phantasmoon are really like.

作为原动力的核心

The Core as Primary Drive

组成幻造种最重要的部分，某种程度上，对幻造种内部「核」的研究，比对愿力的研究更为艰难。仅有的共识是，它的确像大型机器的引擎核心一样，对幻造种的行动起着至关重要的影响，同时，它又兼具了骨骼的作用，一旦失去它，幻造种的身体就无法再维持现有的形态。

The core is the most vital part of an imagenae. In a way, researching the "core" is even more daunting than studying Wishpower. The consensus is that it functions like a massive engine, proving crucial for every action the imagenae takes. It also doubles as a skeleton. Without it, the imagenae's body simply cannot hold its shape.

从对于幻造种最古老的记载，以及异常（二相乐园本地用语，用于指代无法被控制的、恶化的幻造种和幻造现象）的记录来看，核心是能够在自然界中生成的。在高密度的能量或愿力的环境下，游离的物质中会自然聚合出类似「核」的物体，呈现出类似命途行者的特殊性质，并开始兼并、驱动周边的物质组成身体，开始行动。（当然，也有学者认为，这些物质并不足构成幻造种的身体，在其诞生中存在明显的质量不守恒现象。关于这一争论，将在下文进行简述。）

Looking at the oldest records of imagenae and observations of aberrations (the local term for uncontrollable, degenerated imagenae), it's clear that cores can form naturally. In environments rich with energy or Wishpower, stray matter can aggregate into core-like objects. These exhibit traits similar to a Pathstrider, incorporating surrounding matter to build a body and take action. (Some scholars argue this matter alone isn't enough to account for their mass, but we'll touch on that debate later.)

而在烬土纪元，绘世发明幻造技术，并将其广泛传播后，逐渐形成了我们如今熟知的幻造工艺。由于驱动幻造种需要大量的愿力，因此，想要制造出一颗「核」，创造新的幻造种，往往也需要官方组织的许可和参与。在画作完成时，为其注入充足的愿力，一颗核心便会在其诞生前的瞬间生成。

In the Cindearth Age, Graphia invented and shared the art of imagenesis, which eventually became the process we know today. Since it takes massive amounts of Wishpower to drive an imagenae, creating a core for a new one usually requires official permission. Once the artwork is done and injected with enough Wishpower, a core forms the very instant before the creature comes to life.

与幻造种的内部结构相同，「核」的本质是一团凝聚的物质，真正吸引它聚合并拥有驱动幻造种的能力的，是幻月带来的命途力量辐射为其提供的「原动力」。也即，幻造种从诞生的那一刻起，就是踏在命途上的生物。

The core itself is essentially a cluster of condensed matter, similar to the internal structure of imagenae. What draws it together and empowers it is its primary drive, fueled by the powers of the Path of the Phantasmoon. In other words, from the moment they are born, imagenae are creatures that walk the Paths.

至于星际和平公司近年开发的幻造种生产流水线，如何突破生成「核」的苛刻条件，作为涉及专利保密的事项，此处不便透露。

As for how the IPC's recent imagenae production lines manage to bypass the stringent requirements for core generation, that's a trade secret covered by patents. Therefore, they cannot be disclosed here.

躯体及内部结构

Body and Internal Structure

从生物学的角度讲，所有的幻造种都隶属于相同的物种，由内核所承载、愿力驱动的物质团块，不存在客观上的器官构造。但受绘制过程中绘师的意识状态、提供愿力的人类的认知差异影响，以欧克为例，在穿透性射线的观测下，其内部会出现类似骨骼的物体。新兴的机铠一族，更是与其制造图纸相同，拥有完整的内部构造。但值得注意的是，这些结构只是一种拟态，无论是欧克还是机铠，其内部的「骨骼」都不具备支撑其身体、完成复杂运动的物理功能，与幻造种身体的其它部分相比，并无本质区别。

Biologically, all imagenae are the same species, masses of matter held by a core and driven by Wishpower, with no real internal organs. However, depending on the artist's mindset or the public's perception, things can change. For example, under X-rays, orchs appear to have skeletons. The newer mechatrons even have internal systems that match their blueprints. But keep in mind, these are just mimicry. Whether it's orchs or mechatrons, those "bones" don't actually provide physical support or movement. They're no different from any other part of an imagenae's body.

虽然因欢愉之力诞生的造物，本身就难以界定其种类。但单纯从物理性质的角度类比，比起表面的人形轮廓，或许将他们和黏胶态的巴维鲁人、或者无形目看做相似的物种会更为贴切。

While it's hard to categorize any creation of the Elation, physically speaking, they're not really "humanoid." It's more accurate to think of them as cousins to the jelly-like Baviru or the Shapeless.

由于组成幻造种的质能会在其死亡后迅速逸散，对幻造种的构造研究向来是一门黑箱里的学问。不过，请不要产生对其进行活体解剖的想法。首先，这一行为严重违反了科学伦理与二相乐园人权法规。其次，曾做出过类似举动的罪犯已经得出了结论——那就是再普通不过的粒子团块，和一块碳单质或者一杯水没有任何区别，但当它们组合到一起，成为幻造种的一部分时，这些物质的性质就会发生改变，成为一种「幻造物质」。

Because an imagenae's matter dissipates so fast after death, studying their structure is a bit of a mystery. But don't go getting any ideas about vivisection! Aside from being a massive violation of ethics and Planarcadia's human rights laws, it's a waste of time. Criminals who've tried it found nothing but ordinary particles, no different from a lump of carbon or a glass of water. It's only when they're part of a whole that they become "imagenated matter."

说到「物质」，在绘师完成作品、幻造种诞生的瞬间，组成幻造种的物质来自哪里？这一问题困扰了学界多年，且至今仍未得到答案。目前最主流的两种假说是「命途狭间说」与「离散物质说」，前者认为，幻造种在诞生的瞬间，会从欢愉星神的命途狭间中获取一部分质量，构成身体，并在死亡时逸散，将这部分质量归还。而后者则认为，幻造种的核心会迅速吸纳周边环境的离散物质，将其作为身体的组成部分，甚至有激进观点认为，这一过程中，愿力的能量改变了粒子的组成形态，部分转化为了质量。

Speaking of "matter," after an artist completes their work, where does it all come from the moment an imagenae is born? This question has stumped experts for years. The two main theories are the "Path Space Theory" and the "Discrete Matter Theory." The first suggests imagenae pull mass from Aha's Path Space at birth and return it when they die. The second argues the core just sucks up stray matter from the surroundings. Some radical thinkers even claim Wishpower converts energy directly into mass.

自二相乐园回归现实世界以来，两派学者便争论不休，近来更是有新兴学派提出「两种假说都是对的」的暴论。如果你想知道它背后更深的秘密，那还是去问问那位捉摸不透的乐子神吧。

Ever since Planarcadia returned to the real world, scholars have been at each other's throats over this. Lately, some have even made the wild claim that both theories are right. If you want to know the real secret, you'll have to ask that enigmatic Laughter.

设定与描摹的外形

Lore and Design

许多二相乐园外的人，对于幻造种的创造过程存在误解，例如：为一个幻造种赋予强大的「设定」，或者将其绘制成庞然大物，就能获得一个强大的幻造种。且不说幻造种的身体能否负担起如此巨大的能量（以现有经验来看，为二相乐园提供电力的雷虬一族，无论是质量还是能量负载，都已经是一颗核心能承载的极限状态，到了现代，随着二相乐园逐渐丧失对宏大事物的想象，走向现实主义，大型幻造种的诞生也变得愈发困难），而赋予幻造种的「设定」，终究也需要足够且适配的愿力来支撑。

Folks outside Planarcadia often have the wrong idea. They think giving an imagenae a mighty "lore" or making it huge makes it powerful. But can their bodies even handle that much energy? The thundercoils powering Planarcadia are already at the absolute limit of what a core can sustain. As Planarcadia loses its imagination for grand things and moves toward realism, creating large imagenae has become even harder. Besides, any "lore" you give them needs the right amount of Wishpower to actually work.

举例说来，如果一个绘师用自己的愿力，打算为一个附加了刀枪不入、飞天遁地、火箭飞拳等设定的幻造种创造形体，最大的可能是核心根本无法生成。个别情况下，他能获得一个不完整的幻造种，在二维市第三医院的幻造种疗养院中，就有着大量因这些个人私欲而诞生的，具有缺陷的幻造种。目前，这种行为已经被列入《灵物保护法》附加条例，与制造人类幻造种一样，是严重的违法行为。

For example, if an artist tries to make an imagenae that's invincible and has rocket punches using only their own Wishpower, the core probably won't form at all. At best, you'd get an incomplete creature. The sanitarium in Duomension City is full of these "defective" beings born from selfish whims. It's now a serious crime under the Faekind Protection Act, right up there with trying to create a human imagenae.

在微观层面，独立创造的幻造种，其外形自然会与绘师描摹的形态保持一致。但从宏观层面来看，经过漫长的历史变迁，总会出现一些「更适宜承载愿力的外形」。绘师们更乐于创造受到人们喜爱的形象，受到人们喜爱的形象也更容易汲取愿力。在人们钟情肌肉猫咪的时代，愿力自然能更好地附着在他们身上，而在人们更喜爱小巧猫咪的时代，仍保持着浑身腱子肉的轻脚猫人，则往往会陷入愿力空虚的窘境。

On a small scale, a new imagenae looks just like what the artist drew. But on a larger scale, certain forms are just "better" at holding Wishpower. Artists draw what people love, and those popular designs soak up Wishpower more easily. When buff cats are in, the Wishpower follows. But now that everyone wants "tiny kittens," those muscular lightpaws are left out in the cold, starving for Wishpower.

关于月眠是如何从最初的兔形生物变成如今的人形生物的，至今仍有诸多争议。不过，对一般民众而言，「潮流更替」、「画风变迁」，这样的语句便足以描述幻造种们的形象变化。

There's a lot of debate on how the moonlulls evolved from rabbits into humanoids. But for most folks, "changing trends" or "shifting art styles" is all the explanation they need for how imagenae change over time.

小朋友们，你们学会了吗？

So, did you get all that?