Ambull
许多对人类展开追踪的掠食者都在寻找我们，这些穿越虚空前来猎杀我们的家伙不是执意要毁灭我们，就是想将我们生吞活剥。不过，至于某些威胁，我们就只能怪自己了。我曾数度直面蚁牛，而且每一次，我都会恼火地认为：这种生物之所以会在银河里到处出现，其罪魁祸首就是那些目光短浅的基因修士和帝国贵族。
Many of the predators that stalk mankind seek us out, hunting us through the void, either bent on our destruction or simply hungry for our flesh. There are some threats, however, for which we only have ourselves to blame. I have faced the ambull on several occasions and each time I do, it galls me to think that short-sighted genetors and Imperial nobles are responsible for the creatures' presence across the galaxy.
【资料图】
它们起源于风暴星域的卢瑟·麦金泰尔，这个沙漠世界并不适合居住，为了避开那令人难以置信的高温，蚁牛会躲在地下洞穴之中，如果不是那几次误入歧途的驯化尝试，它们依旧会留在那里。
They originated on the inhospitable desert world of Luther McIntyre in Segmentum Tempestus and would have remained there, hiding from the incredible heat in subterranean caverns, were it not for several misguided attempts to domesticate them.
蚁牛是一种巨大（高达十三英尺）的双足掠食动物，它驼着背，姿势就像猿猴一样，手臂长的足以够到地面，其野兽一般的面孔被那对可以张开的下颚占去了大半的空间。为了躲避家园世界的酷热，它们演化出了匪夷所思的上肢力量，从而使得蚁牛能够挖出隧道穿越岩石和土壤，其速度快得令人难以置信。它们几乎什么都吃，并且可以在给定的时间内突破绝大多数障碍，由于其遵循的思维模式是如此怪异，所以根本无法与它们讲道理或是讨价划价。
The ambull is a large (up to thirteen feet tall) bipedal predator, with a hunched, ape-like posture, arms long enough to reach the floor and a bestial face dominated by expandable mandibles. To escape the heat of their home world, they developed incredible upper body strength, enabling them tunnel through rock and soil at incredible speeds. They are able to eat almost anything, can break through most barriers, given time, and follow thought processes so alien that it is entirely impossible to reason or bargain with them.
当某些孤陋寡闻的家伙图谋捕捉一头蚁牛并将其带回绝壁星时，我已经在黑石要塞里遭遇过好几次这种生物了。其中，我设法阻止了数起错误的尝试，然而有一回，当我进行了一场历时更为漫长的冒险后，归来的我发现轨道平台陷入了一片混乱，因为有一头蚁牛撕穿了系泊中的虚空舰艇，并屠杀了它们的船员。
I had already encountered several of the creatures on the Blackstone Fortress, when certain ill-informed individuals concocted the idea of catching one and bringing it back to Precipice. I managed to stymie several of these misguided attempts, but once, after one of my more prolonged expeditions, I returned to find the orbital platform in chaos as an ambull ripped through the moored void ships and butchered their crews.
绝壁星的名字恰如其分，因为它在暴力的边缘摇摇欲坠。只需星星之火就能将这里变成一片燎原之野，而一头愤怒的蚁牛，它的到来足以引发一场全面的暴乱。由于长期以来的对立打破了脆弱的停战协议，所以在空间站的每一个角落里都发生了掠夺和战斗，（它们）继而演变为枪战与割喉暗杀。在绝壁星上，那个由自封领袖（全都是恶棍，无一例外）组成的阴谋集团并不会去维护什么法律，他们会用铁腕一般政策来执行自己的意志。
Precipice is well named, teetering as it does on the edge of violence. It only takes the smallest spark to kindle the place; the arrival of an enraged ambull was enough to provoke an all-out riot. There was looting and fighting in every corner of the space station as long-held rivalries broke through flimsy truces, exploding into gunfights and neck-slicing. What little law there is on Precipice is upheld by a cabal of self-appointed leaders (scoundrels, to a man) who enforce their will with an iron hand.
当我抵达蚁牛那里时，一群沃斯托尼亚雇佣兵正试图解决这个由他们捅出来的篓子，这帮肇事者想用两枚等离子炸弹消灭这个生物，他们真是傻到家了。我得说，这帮家伙的解决之道就跟他们当初捕捉这头野兽的想法一样愚蠢。蚁牛有一种特殊的能力，它们几乎可以吃掉任何东西，（其中就）包括等离子。我没能来得及阻止他们启动第一个装置。由此产生的爆炸只会让这种生物变得更加饥饿、更加凶残。随着能量火花在其甲壳上四散飞溅，沃斯托尼亚人被蚁牛宰掉了，我也差一点就它被大卸八块。我的保镖用一连串的子弹吸引了蚁牛的注意力，趁着这个当口，我设法拿到了第二枚尚未起爆的等离子炸弹，然后朝着最近的系泊立柱冲了过去。
I reached the ambull just as the group of utterly moronic Vostroyan mercenaries responsible were attempting to fix the problem they had created by destroying the creature with a pair of plasma charges. Their solution was , I'm afraid to say, as idiotic as their original idea of capturing the beast. Ambulls have a peculiar ability to feed on almost anything, including plasma. I was just too late to stop them triggering the first device. The resultant blast only fuelled the creature's hunger and ferocity. With energy sparking across its carapace, the ambull butchered the Vostroyans, and I barely managed to avoid being torn apart myself. While my guards distracted the ambull with a barrage of shots, I managed to grab the second , unexploded plasma charge, and head for the nearst mooring spar.
为了享受更多的美味，注意到炸弹的蚁牛撞穿了另一艘登陆艇，然后便跟在我的后面猪突猛进，其所经之处无不尸骸枕籍。
Noticing the charge to enjoy a further delicacy, the ambull crashed through another lander and barrelled after me, leaving a trial of corpses and wreckage in its wake.
我冲进了沃斯托尼亚人的船里，并设法启动了出航程序，然后赶在船只开始移动前从登陆舱口那里跳了出去。
I bolted into the Vostroyans' ship, managed to trigger the launch protocols and the leapt out through the landing hatch as the vessel began to move.
蚁牛剪出了一条进入沃斯托尼亚船的通路，当这家伙吸收了等离子爆能波、并意识到船舶已经启航时，它距绝壁星以经有半英里之遥了。
The ambull sheared its way into the Vostroyan ship, absorbed the plasma blast and was already half a mile from Precipice when it realised the ship was in flight.
关于那些我知道船上还有几个沃斯托尼亚人的暗示，我拒绝对此作出评论。
I shall decline to comment on the suggestions that I knew several Vostroyans were still on aboard.
蚁牛起源于卢瑟·麦金泰尔九号那危险炎热的极地岩漠。它们可以在极度高温下长期生存，这一因素导致了（人们）在几个沙漠星球上对其进行了驯化尝试。因此，在人类宙域的诸多星球上都能找到蚁牛。蚁牛的胸肌十分发达，它站起来的样子跟猿猴很像。它的双手几乎可以触及地面，然而，它的两条腿却又弯又短。其四肢末端长有钢铁一般的利爪，可以用来在遍布它们故乡的软石上挖掘地道。蚁牛会凿出隧道以作栖居之用，它们大部分的时间都会呆在地下，以躲避太阳的直热。这种地下生活方式为卢瑟·麦金泰尔的许多栖息动物所共享，其中就包括蚁牛最喜欢的食物，爬行者*。蚁牛会用挖掘隧道的方式在软岩中追捕爬行者和其它的猎物，其速度相当之快。然后，蚁牛会用那对能够张开的巨型下颌在松散的碎石间抓取食物。由于这些下颌得缘故，这种生物看上去极其凶猛，这也是其最显著的特征。蚁牛的眼睛可以感知热能，这使其拥有了全方位的红外夜视能力。这些生物过着群居生活，它们往往会长年累月地居住在同一个地道之中，然后慢慢挖出一个长达数英里的地下网络。虽然蚁牛专门进化出了栖居地下的生活方式，但它们可以很好地适应绝大多数环境，并且还会吃掉各种各样的生物。
Ambulls originate from the dangerously hot polar rock-deserts of Luther McIntyre IX. They can survive extremely hot temperatures for long periods, a factor which has led to attempts at domestication on several desert planets. As a consequence, Ambulls can be found on many planets throughout human space. Ambulls have huge barrel-chested bodies and an ape-like stance. Two arms reach almost to the ground whilst two legs are crooked and short. Both arms and legs end in iron-hard claws used for tunnelling through the soft stone that covers their native land. Ambulls will excavate tunnels in which to live, spending much of their time underground, sheltering from the direct heat of the sun. This subterranean lifestyle is shared with many of Luther McIntyre's inhabitants, including the Ambull's favourite food, the Crawler*. Ambulls will pursue Crawlers and other prey through the soft rock by tunnelling at considerable speed. The Ambull's huge expandable jaws are then used to grab and yank the food from the loose rubble. These jaws make the creature look extremely ferocious and are its most characteristic feature. The Ambull's eyes are adapted to sense heat, giving infra-vision at all ranges. The creatures live in family groups, often occupying the same tunnel system for years on end, slowly excavating a vast underground network many miles long. While specially evolved to live below the surface, they adapt well to most environments and will eat all manner of living creatures.
*爬行者/Crawler
爬行者是一种地下穴居生物，它们生活在软质的干沙以及其它的松土之中。它们是在卢瑟·麦金泰尔九号那广阔的极地沙漠中进化出来的，不过，为了试图将其驯化，它们后来被输往许多其它的沙漠世界。爬行者以土壤下的微型浮游生物为食，不过它们也会攻击并吃掉较大的动物，包括人类以及与之类似大小的生物。事实证明，饲养这些奇怪的生物是相当容易的，但是，对于其宿居世界的生态环境来说，其效果往往都是灾难性的，因此数十年后，所有的实验全都被叫停了。不幸的是，许多爬行者到处乱跑，并于此后在数百个世界上建立起了繁荣的聚居地。它们类似于乌贼或是鱿鱼，其身体的后半段已经形成了一个单独的推进螺壳。它会推着爬行者进入地下，或者令其沿着松散的地表行进。爬行者会用触手抓捕猎物，并将受害者拉入其张开的喙口之中。它们能够在相当远的距离上探测到地面振动，并会对异常或是过度的振动进行定位。
Crawlers are subterranean burrowing creatures that live in soft dry sand and other loose soil. They evolved in the extensive polar deserts of Luther McIntyre IX, but were subsequently transported to many other desert worlds in an attempt at domestication. Crawlers feed on sub-soil micro-plankton, but will also attack and eat larger animals, including humans and similarly sized creatures. Farming these strange animals proved fairly easy, however, the effect on the ecology of their host worlds was often disastrous, and all experiments ceased after a few decades. Unfortunately, many Crawlers ran wild, and have since developed thriving colonies on several hundred worlds. They resemble squids or cuttlefish, whose rear body section has been formed into a single driving screw. This propels the Crawler underground, or along the surface of loose soil. Crawlers feed by grasping their prey with their tentacles and drawing their victims into their gaping, beak-like, maw. They can detect vibrations on the surface from a considerable distance, and will home on to unusual or excessive vibration.
资料来源：
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader · First Edition · Rick Priestley
蚁牛的小贴士
I.蚁牛的学名叫：卢瑟潜地兽/Luther Sunteranis。
II.蚁牛已经殖民了数十个世界。
“这不是重点。据悉，蚁牛已经殖民了几十个世界，” 年轻的技术神甫似乎完全被弄糊涂了，“但它们全都生活在沙漠中，就像它们的原生种群一样。这种生物跟本就不应该出现在冰雪世界里。”
'That's not the point. Ambull colonies are already known on dozens of worlds,' The young tech-priest looked completely bewildered. 'But they're all desert-dwellers, like their native stock. This creature shouldn't be on an iceworld at all.'
III.蚁牛的味道尝起来跟格洛克斯兽差不多。
“它们吃起来是啥子味道哦？” 尤根如此问道。我总算可以跟洛加斯那有关蚁牛生命周期、社群结构和栖息地的个人独白说再见了，这个喋喋不休的家伙终于可以提供一些有用的信息了。很显然，为了把它变成沙漠世界的便利肉源，人们曾经多次尝试驯化这种生物。
'So what do they taste like?' Jurgen asked. I stopped tuning out Logash's prattling to gather that his monologue on the subject of the ambulls' life cycle, social structure, and habitat had finally yielded some useful information. Apparently there had been a number of attempts to domesticate the things as a handy source of meat on desert worlds.
“我听说很像格洛克斯兽。”洛加斯看上去有点不是很愉快，于是我拍了拍他的肩膀。
'Rather like grox, I'm told.' Logash looked a little uncomfortable, and I clapped him on the shoulder.
既然口感尝起来像几乎能够在任何环境下生存的格洛克斯兽，那费这么多事养蚁牛作甚？
资料来源：
Liber Xenologis · Darius Hinks
Ciaphas Cain series · Caves of Ice · Sandy Mitchell