序幕
PROLOGUE

韦伯斯特被死神紧紧抓住，
Webster was much possessed by death

他看见头皮下的头盖骨；
And saw the skull beneath the skin;

地底下的无胸生物
And breastless creatures under ground

没有嘴唇，龇牙一笑，向后退去。
Leaned backward with a lipless grin.

——T.S.艾略特《不朽的私语》
—T.S. Eliot, “Whispers of Immortality”