Tag Archives: Eustace Turpentine

Apprendre le français XXIII: Appât Page 26

PAGE 26 (Four panels)

Panel 1: Professor Turpentine, sitting in a cramped academic office. Behind him are shelves stacked with books and papers. He’s wearing a rumpled tweed jacket and being interviewed behind his desk.

Turpentine (1): This creature, whatever it is, is highly intelligent. It can evade ordinary capture methods with ease. It also generates electromagnetic and subsonic fields that interfere with underwater communications. And it even cuts control cables.

Translation (1): Cette créature, quelle qu’elle soit, était très intelligente. Elle peut échapper facilement aux méthodes de capture classiques. Elle génère également des champs électromagnétiques et subsoniques qui interfèrent avec les communications sous-marines. Et elle parvient même à couper des câbles de commande.

SUBTITLE (2): Professor Eustace Turpentine, Innsmouth Institute for Marine Research.

Translation (2): Professeur Eustace Turpentine, Institut de recherche en vie marine d’Innsmouth.

Panel 2: CLAUDIA HONEYWOOD (“Claudia”) holds in her hands a submersible drone – and underwater swimming robot about the size of a toaster, in her hands, holding it forth for the camera to take a picture of. Claudia is a very attractive woman, but she downplays her attractiveness, being here in a set of coveralls, her long brown hear drawn back in a bun, and here wearing heavy safety glasses. (When Claudia is not wearing these glasses she wears other glasses that make her look a bit dorky, or at least as dorky as a beautiful person can be.)

CAPTION – TURPENTINE NARRATING (3): But recently, artificial intelligence has advanced to the point where we can make effective autonomous underwater drones.

Translation (3): Mais récemment, l’intelligence artificielle a progressé au point où nous pouvons concevoir des drones sous-marins autonomes.

Panel 3: Claudia on board ship in another cramped control room, this time also looking at a monitor. Claudia is now dressed in a white coat and is wearing glasses with heavy dark frames.

CAPTION – TURPENTINE NARRATING (4): The creature leaves the drones alone for some reason. These drones can also penetrate the deep trenches where the creature likes to lurk.

Translation (4): La créature laisse les drones tranquilles pour une raison quelconque. Ces drones peuvent également pénétrer dans les tranchées profondes où la créature aime se dissimuler.

Panel 4: A murky image of the creature, a sort of giant squidlike thing with one large siphon (big enough for someone to fit down) and a large number of tentacles of all sorts and shapes.

CAPTION – TURPENTINE NARRATING (5): Thanks to these clever little machines, we now have a good sense of the gross morphology of the creature.

Translation (5): Grâce à ces petites machines sophistiquées, nous connaissons désormais la morphologie générale de la créature.

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Apprendre le français II: Appât Page 1

PAGE 1 (Four panels)

Panel 1: CAPTAIN IVAN DRUMMINGDALE (“Drummingdale’) stands at the bow of his ship, the RV SEAGOON. Drummingdale is a gaunt, tall, naval-looking man. He wears a short-sleeved white shirt with captain’s epaulets and a seaman’s cap. It is dawn in the tropics. Drummingdale is staring out to sea and speaks without turning around.

Drummingdale (1): You’re up early today, Professor Turpentine.

Translation (1): Vous vous êtes levé tôt aujourd’hui, professeur Turpentine.

Panel 2: Drummingdale stands on the rail next to PROFESSOR EUSTACE TURPENTINE (“Turpentine”). Turpentine is a short, fat man with a white mustache and a white fringe of hair around a head which would otherwise be bald. However in this panel he is wearing a pith helmet and a twin-pocketed shirt. He looks relaxed. Drummingdale, still staring over the rail out to sea, looks anything but.

Turpentine (2): It’s a big day for us, Captain Drummingdale. Our first attempt.

Translation (2): C’est un grand jour pour nous, capitaine Drummingdale. Notre première tentative.

Drummingdale (3): Oh, aye.

Comment (3): “Aye” is “yes” with an archaic or maritime flavor. To to the extent possible, the translation should reflect this.

Translation (3): Oh, oui.

Panel 3: Close-up on Drummingdale’s face. His jaw is clenched.

Drummingdale (4): Can’t say I approve of what you’re going to put those girls through.

Comment (4): “Can’t say” here means “I can’t say.”

Translation (4): Je ne peux pas dire que j’approuve ce que vous allez faire subir à ces filles.

Panel 4: Close-up on Turpentine, though not quite as close up as on Drummingdale in the previous panel. Turpentine’s expression is one of jolly unconcern.

Turpentine (5): They both signed the release, Captain.

Comment (5): A “release” in this context is a legal document in which one person agrees not to sue another person for certain damages that might be incurred in an activity both are involved in.

Translation (5): Ils ont tous deux signé la décharge, capitaine.

Turpentine (6): They understand what they’re doing.

Translation (6): Ils comprennent ce qu’ils font.

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