Chapter 14 Chapter Fourteen Hyderabad

Posted in International Politics Forum by [email protected] Subject: Where is Locke in our time of need? 【Am I the only one who wishes we had Locke to influence recent developments in India?With Indian troops crossing the Burmese border and Pakistan building up on the border of Palestine, threatening Iran and the Gulf, we need to look at South Asia with new eyes.The old model obviously doesn't work anymore. What I want to know is, did IntPolFor take down Locke's column when Peter Wiggin stepped forward to say he was the author, or did Wiggin resign?Because if that's the decision of the IPF, it's, let's face it, it's stupid.We never know who Locke is - we listen to him because he has a point, and time after time he's the only one who understands the chaos, or at least the first to see clearly how it's going to unfold.What does it matter if he's only a teenager, a baby or even a talking pig?

For that matter, as the Hegemony's team draws to a close, I'm increasingly uncomfortable with the current Hegemony designation.Whoever suggested that Locke had the right idea a year ago.Now let us send him to the officer's place in his own name.What Ender Wiggin did in War of the Ants, Peter Wiggin might be able to do the same thing when disaster strikes — bring it to an end. 】 Reply 14, posted by [email protected] [I'm not going to doubt, but how do we know you're not Peter Wiggin, try to put his name in the game again? 】 Reply 14.1, posted by [email protected]

[I don't mean to mention individuals, but a Turkish military online identity is not something that a teenage American who is doing consulting work in Haiti can afford.I realize that international politics can make the paranoid look normal, but if Peter Wiggin could write in this capacity, he must have ruled the world.But maybe who I am does matter.I'm in my twenties now, but I'm a Battle Academy graduate.That's probably why the idea of ​​letting a kid master things doesn't seem so crazy to me. 】 Flamy knew who Petra was when she showed up in Hyderabad - they had met before.Even though she's a lot older, so her time at Battle School only crosses with Petra's one year, when Flame pays attention to every girl in space.An easy task, thanks to Petra's arrival the total number of girls has increased to nine, five of whom graduated at the same time as Flamey.It looked as though getting girls into the Battle Academy was considered a failed experiment.

Back at Battle Academy, Petra is a tough-talking recruit who proudly rejects all advice offered.She was determined to be a girl among boys, to the same standard, and use their foul language without help.Flamy understood.She started with exactly the same attitude.She just hoped that Petra wouldn't have to go through the painful process that Flamy herself had to go through to finally realize that boys were actually mostly, uncontrollably hostile to girls, and that a girl needed all the friends she could get. Petra was memorable, which was why Flame remembered her name after Ender's team as soon as the story got around after the war.The only girl among them, an Armenian Joan of Arc.Flamy smiled as he read the article.Then Petra must be as tough as she thinks she should be.That's better for her.

Then Ender's group was kidnapped or murdered, and when those kidnapped returned from Russia, Flamy grieved to see that the only one whose fate remained unknown was Petra Akali. Only she hasn't been sad for a long time.Because the ranks of Indian Combat Academy graduates suddenly had a new commander, whom they immediately recognized as Achilles, accused by Locke of being a psychotic killer.Soon, they see in his shadow an often silent, weary-looking young girl whose name is never mentioned. But Flamy knew her.Petra Akali. Whatever Achilles' motives for keeping her name a secret by herself, Flamy didn't like it, so she let everyone in the strategic collective know that it was the missing person on Ender's team.They hadn't spoken to Achilles about Petra, of course—they'd only responded to his orders and reported to him as needed.Before long, Petra's silent presence seemed to be the norm.Others don't know him well.

But Flame knew that if Petra was silent, it meant something pretty dire.That meant Achilles was a threat to her.Family members of a kidnapped child as hostages?threaten?or what?Had Achilles somehow conquered Petra's will?That will sometimes seems so unyielding. Flamy took great pains to make sure that Achilles hadn't noticed her special attention to Petra.But she watched the young girl, and searched every avenue she could find.Petra used her little computer like everyone else, joining in to read the intelligence messages and everything else sent to them.But there was a problem, and it took Flame a while to realize what it was—when Petra logged into the system, she wasn't typing at all.There are many network passwords, such as required passwords, and basic registrations that need to be entered.But no more typing except in the morning after she types in a simple login password.

She was sealed off, Flamy understood.That's why she never emailed any of us.She's a prisoner here.She can't send the news outside.And she's banned, so she can't speak to any of us. When she wasn't logged in, though she must have been furious, because every now and then Achilles sent everyone a message detailing new directions their plans should take.The language used in these messages is not Achilles' - it's easy to spot a shift in style.He was gaining insight from these tactics—they were all very good—Petra's, hers, one of the nine chosen to save humanity from the ants.One of the best minds on the planet.And she's being enslaved by psychotic Belgians.

So, while others were talking about the clever offensive strategy they were doing against Burma and Thailand, Achilles' memo stirred them into a frenzy when he said "India will finally be admired in the world as much as she deserves" status," Flamy became increasingly skeptical of that.Achilles didn't care about India at all, no matter how nice his words sounded.And when she found herself being tempted by Achilles into believing him, she could only look at Petra to remember who he was. Since everyone else seemed to buy into Achilles' description of India's future, Flamy had to hold back, and she watched, waiting for Pee to check her out before she could give her a look or a smile.

That day has come.Pei looked over.Flamy smiled. Petra looked away, as if Flamy was a chair and no one was trying to make a connection. Flamy was not discouraged.She continued trying to make eye contact until finally one day when Petra slipped past her on the way to the spring and grabbed her chair for balance.Over Petra's chaotic footsteps, Flame heard her words clearly: "Stop. He's watching." That's it.That was Flame's proof of Achilles' suspicions, proof that Petra paid attention to her, and warned that her help was not needed. Ok, that's nothing new.Petra never needs help, does she?

Then there was another day, a month ago, when Achilles sent a memo and ordered that they needed to revise the old strategy—the general strategy of the group attack, attack Burma with heavy forces, and put the supply line in front of Burma.They all fainted.Achilles didn't explain, but he seemed unusually silent, and they all got the news.Brilliant strategies are put aside by adults.Some of the best military minds in the world come up with this strategy, and adults ignore them. Everyone was outraged, but they quickly returned to routine work, trying to carry the old plans into the coming war.Troops have moved, supplies have been sent to one area or a short distance from another.But they count logistical supplies.And when they received Achilles' - or Petra's, as Flamy assumed - a plan to move a large number of troops from the Pakistani border to face Burma, they praised its excellence, bringing the required troops out of existing The rail and air lines of communication worked so that, from the satellite, there was no visible movement until finally, suddenly, the army appeared at the border, complete in formation.Enemies can only notice it up to two days in advance; only one day before it becomes public if they are careless.

Achilles left for one of his usual trips, only this time Petra was gone too.Flamy worried about her.Has she achieved her purpose?And now that he's done using her, will he kill her? but.She and Achilles came back one night. And the next morning, there were orders to start moving the troops.Use Petra's deft plan to take them to the Burmese border.Then, ignoring Petra's equally deft plan, they unleashed a clumsy group attack. That's hard to understand, Flamy thought. Then she got an email from the Colonial Minister of the Hegemony - it was Colonel Graff, the old boss. I'm sure you know a graduate of the Battle Academy, Petra Akali didn't return like the others who were with Ender Wiggin in the final battle.I desperately want to find her and believe she may have been sent against her will near the Indian border.If you had information about her whereabouts or current situation, would you be able to let someone know?I'm sure you'll want others to do the same for you. Almost immediately, an e-mail from Achilles arrives. Because it is war time, so I am sure you will understand that any transmission of information to outside the Indian military will be considered an act of espionage and treason and you will be killed instantly. So Achilles was definitely going to keep Petra in solitary confinement, and was very careful to keep her hidden from outsiders. Flamy didn't even think about what he was going to do.Nothing can be done under Indian military security system.So, when she received serious death threats from him, she didn't believe there was any moral issue in trying to bypass the facility. She could not write directly to Colonel Graff.Nor can you send any information, even very cryptic, about Petra.Messages sent from Hyderabad are scrutinized.And now it occurred to Flammy that she and the rest of the Battle Academy graduates were hiding here, making plans and dividing doctrine, with only a little more freedom than Petra.She cannot leave the land.She has no way of communicating with anyone other than military personnel with high security clearance. Spies with radio gear and backwaters, Flammy thought.But how do you become a spy when you have no way of communicating with the outside world except by writing letters?And you have no one to deliver your letters to, and no way to say what you have to say without getting caught. She can think of a solution on her own.But Petra made it easier for her by coming up behind her at the drinking water.When Flami straightened up after drinking the water and Petra took her place, Petra said, "I'm Briseis." That's all there is to it. The reason is obvious - everyone at Battle Academy knows it.And Achilles was watching over them at the time, the mention of Briseis was obvious.But it is not yet.Briseis was captured by someone else, and Achilles - the original man - felt slighted for not being able to have her.So what was the point of her calling herself Briseis? That must have something to do with the warnings from Graff and Achilles' letter.So that must be the key, a way of telling what's going on with Petra.And sending information requires a network.So Briseis must mean something to an outsider somewhere on the network.Perhaps there was some kind of locked electronic code, and the key was Briseis.Maybe Petra has found out that someone is making contact, but can't because she's been quarantined from the network. Flammy didn't need to bother doing a usual search.If anyone is looking for Petra, the information must be found at a site where Petra can be found without departing from a legitimate military search.That meant Flamy might already know the site where the information awaited. The problem she's officially set to tackle now is to determine the most efficient way to minimize Fengxian's resupply planes without expending too much fuel.This is a very technical question, so there is no way for her to do a historical or theoretical search to explain it. But Seyaki, who had graduated from the Battle Academy five years before her, was working on the problem of placating the natives of an occupied country and winning their allegiance.So Flamy went to him. "I'm stuck in my calculations." "Do you want me to help you?" he asked. "No, no, I just need to leave it on for two hours and give me a chance to change my mind. Can I help you find something?" Of course Seyaki had received the same message as Flamy, and he was keen not to take Flamy's proposal at face value. "I don't know, what can you do?" "Any historical studies? Or theoretical studies? Or Internet information?" She told him what she needed.And he also understands. "Toguro. I hate that material. I need data on near-failed peace and appeasement. Something other than killing or evicting everyone and moving in new people." "What information do you have now?" "You're free to look for it, I've been avoiding it." "Thanks. Do you want a report, or just a list of links?" "Pasting together is enough. Don't link tables. That's not much different than letting me do it myself." A completely innocent exchange.Flamy now had cover. She returned to her small computer and began browsing historical and then theoretical sites.He didn't actually search for the name "Briseis" - that would be too obvious, the surveillance software would have fully recorded it, and Achilles, if he had seen it, would have made the connection.Instead, Flammy browses the entire site, watching the main headlines. Briseis showed up at the second site he attempted. It was posted by a guy calling himself Hector Victor.Hector isn't strictly an auspicious name - he's a hero, and the only one who can take on Achilles in any way, but in the end, Hector is killed and Achilles walks around The walls of Troy dragged his body. However, if you know to use Briseis as Petra's password name, the message is clear. Flamy had seen the other announcements in her own way, pretending to read but actually formulating her reply to Hector Victor.When she was ready, she went back there, and entered, knowing that in doing so, it might well provoke her own immediate execution. I support her as a slave who retains her resistance.Even when she is forced to remain silent, he is able to find a way to keep his soul.As for the person sending the message inside Troy, how do you know she wasn't?And is there any benefit in doing that?It didn't take long for everyone in Troy to die.Or have you never heard of Trojan horses?I know that Briseis should have warned the Trojans to beware of the gifts of the Greeks.Or find a friendly local to do it for her. She sent it with her name and email address.After all that was assumed to be a completely innocent announcement.Indeed, she wondered if that was too innocent.What if whoever was looking for Petra didn't realize that her talk of Briseis' resistance and forced silence were actual eyewitness reports?Or what if the "friendly local" was implying Flamy himself? But her address was within the Indian military's network, which might put anyone paying special attention on alert. Now, of course, the message has been sent, and Flamy must continue the useless search that Seyaki "asked" her to do for him.That would have been a tedious two hours—a waste of time if no one paid attention to the information. Petra pretended not to be visibly observing what Flammy was doing.After all, if Flamy was as smart as what she needed to figure out, she wouldn't be doing anything worth noting.But when Flame walked up to Seyaki and talked to him for a while, Pecha saw it.And Petra noticed that Flame was back at her computer, seemingly browsing, mousing over online pages instead of writing or calculating.Is she going to reply to those Hector Victor announcements? Whether she will or not.Petra couldn't even allow herself to think about that.Because in a way it might be better for everyone if Flamy didn't understand at all.Who knew how sensitive Achilles was?All Petra knew was that those announcements were probably a trap designed to catch anyone she could find to help her.Any approach would be fatal. But Achilles can't be everywhere.He's smart, he's suspicious, he's playing deep games.But he is alone and he cannot think of everything.Plus, how much does Petra actually mean to him?He didn't even use her action strategy.It was obvious that he had her around for vanity and nothing else. The reports from the front were as anyone could have expected—the resistance of the Burmese was only superficial, for their legions were too strong.Their main force kept pushing until the terrain got in the way.Those canyons, river crossings and stuff. Of course none of that worked.Wherever Myanmar resists, Indian troops will overwhelm them.There are not enough Burmese soldiers anywhere except a few places to create a tricky situation because there are so many Indians that they can fight their way anywhere, and they only leave enough strong targets in Burma to keep them When the main force of the Indian army has finished taking over Burma and marching towards the mountains into Thailand, no harm can be done. That's certainly where the challenge begins.Because at that time Indian supply lines would go through all of Burma, and Thailand's air power is very scary, especially after observing that they are experimenting with new temporary airfields that can be set up in various terrains while bombers or airlifts.Bombing airfields is worthless when they can be replaced in two or three hours. So, even though the intelligence reports from within Thailand were very good - believable, correct, timely - most of the points they were not important.Good to have meaningful goals, to give the strategy the Thais are using. Petra knew Sarivan, a graduate of the Battle Academy who practiced strategy and doctrine in Bangkok.He is excellent.But to Petra, Thailand's new strategy, which began suddenly a few weeks after Petra and Achilles arrived in India from Russia, was suspicious.Sarivan has been in that position for a year in Bangkok.Why the sudden change?Maybe someone had pointed out to them that Achilles was in Hyderabad, and that might have been the main reason.Or maybe someone else had joined Sullivan and influenced his thinking. Bean. Petra refuses to believe that he is dead.Those messages must have been sent by him.And even if Sarivan was perfectly capable of coming up with Thailand's new strategy on his own, it was such a sweeping change, without any hint of gradual development, that one obvious explanation loomed - and that was from a blind eye. .Who else but Bean? The trouble was, if it had been Bean, Achilles' source of intelligence in Thailand had likely been revealed by then.And if Achilles' earlier attempt to kill Bean had failed, he wouldn't have held himself back from giving up another chance. She can't imagine.If he had saved himself once, he could do it again.After all, maybe there are people in India who have very good sources of intelligence. And maybe not those Briseis messages that Bean left behind.Perhaps, for example, Ding Meek.It's just that it's really not Ding's style.Bean was always sneaky.Ding blatantly resisted.He will state online that he knows Petra is in Hyderabad and demand her immediate release.Bean, the guy who figured out that Battle Academy kept track of the students' locations through sensors in their clothes.Take off all your clothes and walk around naked, and the Battle Academy administrators won't be able to know you're there.Bean wasn't the only one who thought of it, he did too, crawling into the air system in the middle of the night.When he told her this while they were on Eros waiting for the Alliance war to calm down so they could go home, Petra couldn't believe it at first.Until he looked her in the eyes grimly and said, "I'm not joking, and if I were, it wasn't particularly funny." "I don't think you're joking," Petra said. "I think you're bragging." "Yes," Bean said. "But I never waste time bragging about things I'm not really doing." That's Bean -- he admits his faults as well as his own virtues.No false humility and no vanity.If he finds it a hassle to talk to you, he won't let his words show that he's no better or worse off than he really is. She didn't really get to know him at Battle Academy.How can she?She's older, and even though she's noticed him and talked to him a few times - she's always talking to a new kid who's being treated like a junior because she knows they need friends, even if it's just a girl - — she just doesn't have a lot of reason to talk to him. And there's a sad moment when Petra tries to give Ender a warning - it turns out to be false, and actually Ender's enemies are using Petra's attempt to warn Ender as a jump out. Chance to hit him.Bean was the one who saw that and broke.And, naturally, he had come to the conclusion that Petra was one of the conspirators against Ender.He maintained a long-standing suspicion of her.When he finally believed her innocent, Petra could hardly believe it.But on Eros, that was a long-standing barrier between them.So it wasn't until after the war that they had a chance to get to know each other. That's when Petra knew what Bean was like.It's hard to imagine through his small size that he has more knowledge than a preschooler or recruit or whatever.Even though everyone knew he was the one chosen to take Ender's place if he collapsed under the strain of battle.A lot of them resent that fact.Petra, however, was not.He knew Bean was the best of Ender's group, and that didn't bother her. What the hell is Bean?a dwarf.That's what she has to know.With adult dwarves, you can tell by their faces that they are all older than their size would suggest.But because Bean was still a child, and didn't have any of the short deformed limbs, he looked as old as his size suggested.But if you talk to him like a child, he'll tell you to fuck off.Petra never did that, except when he thought she had betrayed Ender, and Bean always showed her respect. Funny how it was all based on a misunderstanding.Bean thought Petra was talking to him like an adult because she was so mature and wise that he wouldn't treat him like a child.But the truth is, she sees him the way he sees children.It's just that she always treats children as adults.So she gets the credit of being forgiven, and that's really just because she's lucky. Although, that wasn't a problem until the war was over.They knew they were going home—all of them, this place was closing, but Ender—when they got back to Earth, they thought they'd never see each other again.So have a little liberty and be wary of being thrown around.You can say what you want.You don't have to worry about anything because there will be no trouble for a few months.That's when they first actually feel happy. And Petra's favorite person is Bean. Ding, who had been close to Petra for a while at Battle Academy, and was a little annoyed at how Petra treated Bean.He even charged her—suggestively, because he didn't want to be completely frozen—that there should be a legend about Bean.Well, of course he could think that way—puberty had taken its toll on Ding Meek, and like a boy his age, he saw everyone's psyche with more androgenous eyes. But there was something else between Bean and Petra.Not siblings, or mother and son, or any other odd relationship she could think of.She just... loves him.She's already had to spend far too much time proving to prickly, jealous, frightened boys that she's, in fact, smarter than them, better than them at everything.She was absolutely amazed when she worked with someone who was so arrogant and so convinced of his own superiority that he didn't think she was a threat at all.If she knew something he didn't, he would listen, see, and learn.The only other person she knew who did this was Ender. Ender, she misses him terribly sometimes.She had tutored him—and in doing so had hurt Pojan Malide, their commander at the time, a great deal.And when it became clear who Ender was, she was happy to join those who followed him, obeyed him, and gave themselves to him, but she kept a secret in her memory, and that was that when no one When he dared to do that, he was Ender's friend.She had changed his life, and even when others thought she had betrayed him, Ender never thought of it that way. She loved Ender with a helpless mixture of adoration and longing that could only produce some impossible, silly visions of the future, binding her life to his until death.She fantasized about them raising kids together, the smartest kids in the world.To be able to stand by the greatest man in the world - so that she would think he was, and make it clear to all that he had chosen her to be by his side forever. It's all a dream.After the war, Ender was broken and broke.The fact that he actually caused the extinction of the Ant Race was more than he could bear.And because she too, broke down in the fight, her shame kept her away from him until it was too late, until they separated Ender from the others. That's how she knew she felt completely differently from Bean.None of those dreams and fantasies.Just a feeling of total acceptance.She belonged to Bean, not in the way a wife belongs to a husband, or, God forbid, a girlfriend and a boyfriend, but only the left hand belongs to the right hand.They just fit.Nothing exciting, nothing exciting.But that can be counted on.He imagined that of all the children of Battle Academy, of all the members of Ender's group, only Bean was the one she could keep close to. Then they got off the space shuttle and were scattered all over the world.Even if Armenia and Greece are almost close together - what compares?Shen in Japan or Hot Soup in China - they never saw each other, they didn't even write letters.He knew that Bean was coming home to meet loved ones he never knew, and she was busy trying to get involved with her own family again.She doesn't really desire him, or he desires her.But besides, they don't need to meet or talk all the time for her to understand that left and right are together.When she needed help, Bean was the first person she would turn to. In a world without Ender Wiggin, that meant he was her favorite.If something happens to him, she will be the saddest person. That's why she was able to pretend she wasn't worried about Bean being controlled by Achilles, but that wasn't true.She has been worried.Of course, she was worried about herself too—maybe a little more about herself than about him.But she's lost one love in her life, and she doesn't want to lose another, even though she tells herself that these childhood friendships won't be a problem in twenty years. Her desk beeps. A message appears on the display. When did I allow naps now?come see me. Only Achilles used this rude manner of writing.She didn't nap.She is thinking.But that's not worth arguing with him. She logs out and stands up from the computer. It's night now and it's dark outside.Her mind had wandered too far.Most of those who were planning and directing the day shift had left, and the evening shift was approaching.But a few people on the day shift are still at their computers. She caught one of Flamy's last winks.The girl looks anxious.That meant she might have responded in some way to Briseis' announcement, and was now dreading it.Well, she should be bothered.Who knew what Achilles might say, write or do when he was about to kill someone?Petra's personal claim is that he's always planning to kill someone, so it doesn't make a difference whether his behavior warns of something.You, if you're next.Go home and get as much sleep as you can, Flamy.Even if Achilles catches you trying to help me and decides to kill you, you're powerless, so try to sleep like a child.Petra left the large computer room where they were working and seemed to be walking down the corridor in a daze.Was she asleep when Achilles wrote to her?Who cares. All Petra knew was that she was the only one of those planning and directing who knew where Achilles' office was.She's in there a lot, but doesn't come across as privileged.Her freedom is that of slaves and captives.Achilles asked her to share his secret because he didn't think of her as a person. One wall of his office is a 2D computer monitor that is now displaying a detailed map of the India-Myanmar border region.It was updated by the staff as reports came back from armies and satellites in the field so that Achilles could see the most useful information about the situation at any time.Other than that, the rooms are spartan.Two chairs - not comfortable - a desk, a bookshelf and a camp bed.Petra guessed there was a comfortable set of rooms somewhere on the base, with soft beds, but it was never used.Whatever else Achilles was, he wasn't a hedonist.He never cared about his personal comfort, and anyway, she didn't see it. He didn't take his eyes off the map when she came in - but she was used to it.When he appeared to be ignoring her, she took it as his way of paying her abnormal attention.Only when he looked directly at her and didn't look at her did she really feel unnoticed. "The campaign went very well," Achilles said. "That's a stupid plan, the Thais will cut it into strips." "They made a good run a few minutes ago," said Achilles. "The commander of the Thai army blew up young Sarivan. Terrible situation apparently caused by professional jealousy." Petra tried not to show her grief over Sullivan's death and her distaste for Achilles. "You don't really want me to believe that it has nothing to do with you at all." "Okay, of course they are blaming Indian spies. But no Indian spies are involved." "Not even Chuckley?" "Simply put, there was no scouting for India," Achilles said. "Who is that for?" Achilles smiled. "You are too unfaithful, my Briseis." She had to stay relaxed to be useful, not to betray anything when he called her that. "Oh, Pater, you are my Briseis, don't you understand?" "No," Petra said. "Briseis is in someone else's tent." “哦，我让你的身体和我在一起，我得到你头脑活动的产物。但是你的心还是属于别人的。” “它属于我，”佩查说。 “它属于赫克托尔，”阿契里斯说，“但是……我怎么能够向你说这些呢？在建筑被炸成碎片的时候，萨里文不是独自在办公室的。还有一个人在里面增加了一些骨头和肉的碎片以及一些血雾和正常的血块。不幸的是，那意味着我不能把他的尸身在特洛伊城的外面拖了。” 佩查感到难受。他听到她告诉弗拉密“我是布里塞伊斯”了吗？在他谈论赫克托尔的事情的时候，他谈论的是谁呢 “要么告诉我你要说什么，要么就别说，”佩查说。 “哦，不要告诉我你没有看到那些遍及论坛的小消息，”阿契里斯说。“关于布里塞伊斯，还有格温娜维尔，还有其他的每个悲惨的浪漫的女英雄被傲慢的恶棍困住的故事。” "What happened to them?" “你知道是谁写的，”阿契里斯说。 “就这样，” “我忘记了。你拒绝玩猜测游戏。好吧，你知道，那是比恩。” 佩查感到了不必要的情绪激动——她压制了她们。如果那些信息是比恩发布的，那么他就在早先的暗杀行动中生还了。但是那意味着比恩就是“赫克托尔·胜利者”而且阿契里斯的小寓言意味着比恩实际在曼谷，而且阿契里斯已经发现了他并且再次试图杀害他。他已经和萨里文一起死了。 “我很高兴你告诉我我已经知道的事情。那解决了我自己去回忆的麻烦了。” “我知道那让你伤心，我可怜的佩特。好笑的是，亲爱的布里塞伊斯，比恩不过是个彩头。我们开始的目标是萨里文。” “很好。祝贺你，你是个天才。无论你想我说什么你都会让我闭嘴的，让我去吃饭好了。” 无理地和阿契里斯交谈是佩查保留的唯一的自由的幻影。她知道那会让他愉快。而且她还没有笨到在其他人面前这样和他说话。 “你和你的心都等待比恩来拯救，不是吗？”阿契里斯说。“那就是为什么当老格拉夫发送哪个愚蠢的请求信息的时候，你提示弗拉密那个家伙试图去回应比恩的原因。” 佩查感到绝望。阿契里斯确实监视了所有的事情。 “接下来，水泉那里是设置了窃听器的最明显的地方，”阿契里斯说。 “我想你还有重要的事情要做。” “在我的生活中没有什么比你更重要，佩特，”阿契里斯说。“如果我只能够把你带到我的帐篷的话。” “你绑架了我两次。无论我去哪里你都在监视我。我不知道我该怎么跟在你的帐篷里了。” “在……我的……帐篷里，”阿契里斯说。“你仍然是我的敌人。” “哦，我忘记了，我以为我太热心要让我的捕捉者高兴，以至于我的意志已经对你投降了呢。” “如果我想要的话，我会拷问你的，佩特，”阿契里斯说。“但是我不想你那样。” "What do you want?" “不，如果我不能让你自在地和我在一起，象我的朋友和盟友一样的话，我就杀掉你。我不会去拷问的。” “在你得到我工作以后。” “但是我没有使用你的工作成果，”阿契里斯说。 “哦，没错。因为萨里文已经死了，所以你现在不需要担心任何真正的抵抗了。” 阿契里斯笑了。“没错，就是那样。” What does that mean?当然，她根本全不了解。 “很容易愚弄一个你关在盒子里的人。我只知道你告诉我的。” “但是我什么都告诉你了，”阿契里斯说，“不知道你是不是够聪明来理解而已。” 佩查闭上了眼睛。她回想可怜的萨里文。一直都是如此认真。他为他的国家竭尽全力，最后是他自己的总司令杀害了他。他知道吗？我希望他不知道。 如果她继续想可怜的萨里文的话，她就不需要想到比恩了。 “你没有听，”阿契里斯说。 “我，谢谢你告诉我，”佩查说。 "I think so." 阿契里斯正要再说些什么，但是他抬起了头。他戴着的耳机是他的电脑的一个电波接受器。有人开始对他说话了。 阿契里斯从她转到了他的电脑那里。他输入了什么，阅读了一点。他的面孔什么情绪也没有显露——但是那就是一种变化，他在声音发出的时候还在愉快地微笑。一定有什么变糟糕了。实际上，佩查现在对他已经足够了解，她想她可以辨认出愤怒的表现。或者也许——她怀疑是，她希望是——恐惧。 “他们没有死，”佩查说。 “我在忙，”他说。 她笑了，“那是个消息，不是吗？你的暗杀者再一次失手了。如果你希望一件事顺利进行，阿契里斯，你必须亲自动手。” 他离开了他的电脑的显示器，看着她的眼睛。“他从他在泰国训练的打击力量的兵营里发送出一个消息。查克利当然看到了。” “没有死，”佩查说。“他还是在让你为难。” “在我的计划从没有被干扰的时候，勉强地逃脱出他的生命……” “继续，你知道是他把你从俄罗斯踢出去的。” 阿契里斯抬了抬眉毛。“那么你承认发送过密码信息了。” “比恩不需要密码信息就可以难倒你。”她说。 阿契里斯从座位站起来走到她跟前。她抓牢自己等待一个耳光。但是阿契里斯伸手放到她胸口把椅子向后推倒。 她的头撞上了地板，那让她头晕眼花，满眼冒金星。然后是一波波的痛苦和反胃。 “他发出消息请亲爱的凯罗特老修女，”阿契里斯说。他的声音没有带出任何情绪。“她正在飞过世界来帮助他。她不是很好吗？” 佩查不能了解他说的是什么。她现在的唯一的想法是：不能造成任何持久的大脑的伤害。那是她自己的全部。她宁愿死亡也不愿意失去她只所以成为她的智力。 “但是那给我时间创造一些小惊喜，”阿契里斯说。“我想我能够让比恩非常后悔他还活着。” 佩查想要说点什么，但是她想不起来了。然后她记不住他说过什么了。 "what?" “哦，你的可怜的小脑袋进水了吗？我的佩特，你应该更注意你靠在椅子上的方式的。” 现在她想起他说的话了。一个惊喜。给凯罗特修女的。让比恩后悔他还活着。 “凯罗特修女是让你离开鹿特丹街道的人，”佩查说。“你的一切都多亏了她。你的腿的手术。进入战斗学院都是。” “我什么也不欠她，”阿契里斯说。“你看，她选择了比恩。她送走了他。我，她就撂在一边。我是给街道带来文明的。我是让她宝贝的小比恩活下来的那个。但是她把他送到太空，把我留在泥土中。” “可怜的孩子，”佩查说。 他踢了她，很厉害，在肋骨上。She gasped. “至于弗拉密，”他说，“我想我可以用她来给你一个关于对我的不忠实的教训。” “那就是你把我带到你帐篷里的方式了，”佩查说。 他又踢了她一次。她尽量不去呻吟，但是还是发出了声音。消极抵抗的策略没有发挥作用。 他好象没有做过一样。“继续，为什么你躺在那里？起来。” “杀了我然后就完了，”她说。“弗拉密只是要试着做一个正直的人。” “弗拉密已经被警告过会发生什么了。” “弗拉密对你来说除了伤害我什么也不是。” “你不重要。如果我想伤害你，我知道该怎么做。”他好象要再次踢她。她僵硬地，蜷缩，躲避打击。但是没有打过来。相反，他向下伸出一只手。“起来，我的佩特，地板不是打盹的地方。” 她伸手抓住了他的手。在她起身的时候她让他承受了她身体的大多数的重量，所以他非常用力。 傻瓜，她想。我接受过个人的格斗训练。你在战斗学院的时间还不够长，不能接受那样的训练。 一旦她的腿在她的身子下面了，她就猛地起身。由于那是他用力拉的方向，他失去了平衡向后倒过去，落到了她的椅子的腿上。 他的头没有撞击。他立刻试图用脚够什么。但是她知道该如何对付他的动作，用她沉重的军用战斗靴带上她的体重踢他没有保护的地方。每次踢击都伤害了他。他试图向后爬，但是她无情地跟进，而且因为他正在用双臂仓皇地通过地面，她能够踢他的头，持续地打击他，把他踢出去。 不会失去意识，但是有一点眩晕。很好，看看你怎么样。 他试图做一些街道式的反抗，眼睛到处张望双腿乱踢，但是那毫无用处。她很容易地跳过他的腿，就在他的两腿之间狠狠地踢过去。 他痛苦地大叫。 “来啊，起来啊，”她说。“你不是要杀弗拉密吗？那就先杀了我。来啊，你是凶手。拿上枪，快点。” 然后，她没有看到他是怎么做的，但是他的手里确实有一把枪。 “再来踢我啊，”他满嘴是沙子。“用比子弹更快的速度踢啊。” 她没有动。 “我想你是在找死，”他说。 她现在能够看到。他不会射杀她。至少在他在她面前射杀弗拉密之前不会。 她已经错过机会了。当他倒下，在他从他的腰带后面掏枪之前？在家具的下面？——她应该咬断他的脖子。这不是一个打斗比赛，那是她结果了他的一个机会。但是她的本能接管了她，她的本能不是杀戮而是让她的对手失去能力，因为那就是她在战斗学院接受的训练。 我应该从安德那里学到的所有的东西，是杀手的本能，开始就是最后的打击，为什么那个我忽略了呢？ 比恩已经解释了关于阿契里斯的事情。格拉夫已经告诉了他什么，在比恩上了他返回地球的飞船之后。阿契里斯肯定会杀掉那些曾经认为他无助的人。即使是校正他的扭曲的腿的医生，因为她曾经看到他被麻醉的情况，而且在他身上动刀。 佩查已经破坏了那种无论是什么的他会让她活下去的感觉了。无论他曾经想要从她那里得到什么，他现在也不想要了。他不能容忍她在附近，她已经是死人了。 虽然，无论发生什么情况，她仍然是一个战术家。虽然她的头被伤害，她的思维仍然可以跳舞。敌人是这样看待事情的；所以要改变他们，让他看到他们的另一面。 佩查笑了。“我从没有想到你会让我那么做的，”她说。 他慢慢地，痛苦地站起来，枪口对着他。 她还继续着，“你总是必须成为上级人物，就象是战斗学校的管理人。我从没有以为过你拥有和安德或者比恩一样的勇气，现在也一样。” 他还是什么也不说。但是他站在那里，他在听。 “很疯狂，不是吗？但是比恩还有安德，他们都是那么小。但是他们并不在乎。每个人都看轻他们，我比他们更杰出，他们是战斗学院里面仅有的不害怕看待一个女孩比他们更好，比他们更大的家伙。”继续干，继续搅和。“他们过早把安德安插进了波让的站队，他还没有接受训练。不知道如何去做任何事情。而且波让下了命令，没有人要和他一起工作。所以我得到了这个小孩子，无助的，什么也不知道。那是我喜欢的，阿契里斯。比我聪明，但是比我小。所以我教他。伤害了波让我并不在乎。他和你平常一样，总是告诉我谁是头。但是安德知道如何让我去工作。我什么都教给了他。我会为他去死。” “你病了，”阿契里斯说。 “哦，你要告诉我你不知道？你什么时候都有枪，为什么你要让我那么做呢，如果那不是——如果你不是试图要……” “试图什么？”他说。他在尽量让声音稳定，但是疯狂简单地就可以看到，而且他的声音有一点点颤抖。她已经把他推到心理承受的边界，深深地陷入疯狂了。她现在能够感到的是卡里古拉。但是他还在听。如果她能够找出让这情况发生的正确的故事的话，也许他可以安静成……别的什么。让他成为领袖。让佩查…… “你不试图去怂恿我了吗？”她说。 “你现在甚至还没有长出乳房呢，”他说。 “我不认为你在找乳房，”她说。“否则你都开始就不会把我拉到你身边。我们在讨论的是你想要我什么呢？在你的帐篷里？忠诚？你想要我属于你。而你在所有的时候都在分析我，摆布我——那只能让我一直都轻视你。你什么都不是，只是另一个雄性激素的包装品，另一只正在捶胸吼叫的大猩猩。但是然后你让我——你确实让我，不是吗？你没有期待我真的相信我确实可以那样做。” 一个微弱的微笑来到了他的唇边。 “如果你认为我是故意的，那就不要搞糟它。”他说。 她大步走向他，对着枪口，而且，让它顶到她的腹部，她伸出手，抓住了他的脖子，把他的头向下板到她可以吻他。 她除了在电影里看过的以外，不知道该如何去做。但是她显然做得很好。枪就留在她的腹部，但是他另一支胳膊搂住了她，把她抱紧。 她的思维的深处，她记得比恩告诉过她，他看到过阿契里斯在杀掉比恩的朋友颇克前做的最后的事情就是吻她。比恩曾经把那当作一个梦魇。阿契里斯吻了她，而且在吻的时候勒死了她。实际上比恩没有看到那部分。也许那根本不是那样发生的。 但是无论你是怎么放松，阿契里斯仍然是一个危险的接吻对象。而且，还有一把枪在她的腹部。也许那就是他渴望的时刻。也许他的梦想就是这样——吻着一个女孩，同时在她的身体中射出一个洞。 好，射击吧，佩查想。在我看到你为了对我的怜悯和有足够的勇气去做所犯的罪杀掉弗拉密之前，我宁愿我自己已经死了。我宁愿去吻你也不愿你杀掉她，世界上没有更让我厌恶的事情了，比起我必须装做你是……那种……我的爱。 亲吻结束了。但是她没有放开他。她不能后退，她不能结束这次拥抱。他必须相信她想要他。她在他的帐篷里。 他的呼吸又轻有快。他的心跳非常迅速。杀人的前奏吗？或者只是亲吻的结果。 “我说过我会杀掉任何尝试回应格拉夫的人，”他说。“我必须。” “她没有回应格拉夫，不是吗？”佩查说。“我知道你必须拥有对情况的控制力，但是你不必去大张旗鼓地去做。她不知道你知道她做了什么。” “她会想她逃脱了惩罚。” “但是我知道，”佩查说，“你并不怕给我我想要的。” “什么？你认为你有办法让我做你想要我做的事情吗？”他说。 现在她可以离开他了。“我想我找到了一个不必通过把人们推开来证明他的强大的人。我猜我错了。想做什么你就做什么吧。你那种人让我讨厌。”她尽可能在语气和表情上表现出轻蔑来。“这里，证明你是个男人。射我啊。射每个人。我了解真正的男人。我原想你是他们中的一个。” 他垂下了他的枪。她没有显示出她自己松了一口气。只是继续让她的眼睛看着他。 “别认为你已经摸透了我，”他说。 “我不关心我是不是算透你了，”她说。“我只关心，你是安德和比恩以来第一跟有勇气让我站在头上的男人。” “那就是你要说的吗？”他问。 “说？对谁说？我这里以外没有任何朋友。整个这里唯一有讲话价值的人就你一个。” 他站在那里，呼吸再次粗重起来，他的眼睛里又出现一点疯狂。 What did I say wrong? “你正在把那些都带走，”她说。“我不知道你要怎么做，但是我会知道的。你要演出整个戏剧。他们都会臣服在你之下阿契里斯。那些政府、大学、公司，所有人都热心于让你高兴。但是当我们孤独的时候，在没有别人能够看到的地方，我们都知道你足够强壮来保持一个强壮的女人在你身边。” “你？”阿契里斯说。“一个女人？” “如果我不是一个女人，你和我在这里做什么呢？” “把你的衣服脱掉，”他说。 疯狂仍然在这里。他正在测试她。等待她展现…… 展现出她正在装假。毕竟她是真的怕他。她的整个故事都是设计来戏弄他的谎言。 "No," she said. “你脱掉你的。” 疯狂渐渐消退。 he laughed. 他把枪插到裤子的后面。 “滚出去，”他说。“我还要进行战争。” “已经是晚上了，”她说。“没人活动了。” “战争除了军队以外还有很多事情，”阿契里斯说。 “我什么时候留在你的帐篷里呢？”她问。“我必须做什么呢？”她几乎不能相信在她只想离开的时候她在说这些话。 “你必须成为我要的东西，”他说。“而且现在，你还不是。” 他走到他的电脑旁，坐下。 “在出去的时候扶起你的椅子。” 他开始打字。命令吗？Why?杀谁呢？ 她没有问。她扶起椅子，走出去了。 而且继续走，经过走廊回到她独自休息的房间。她知道，她的每一步都被监控着。会有人录象。他会检查，看他是怎么表现的。去看她的说的和想的是不是一样。所以她不能停步，不能面墙哭泣。她必须……什么？在电影和录象里是怎么表现的呢？如果她是一个由于想要和她的男人在一起而不得的失望的女人。 I have no idea!她的心里在尖叫。我不是演员！ 然后，她头脑中一个清醒得多的声音回答。是的，你是的。而且是很好的演员。因为以后的几分钟，一小时，也许一夜里，你会是活着的。 也没有凯旋。她不能看上去满足，不能表现出放松。挫折、烦恼——他踢的地方的疼痛，她头撞到地板的地方——那就是她能够表现的。 即使独自躺在床上，熄灭了灯光，她也躺在那里，装假，说谎。希望她在睡着的时候做的事情不会激怒他。不会在他的眼睛里发现疯狂的恐惧的探索眼光。 那当然不会有任何保证。在俄罗斯，他射杀那些面包货车后面的男人的时候，没有任何疯狂的表现。他说，不要认为你已经摸透我了。 你赢了阿契里斯。我不认为我已经摸透你了。但是我已经学到如何玩恶心的游戏了。那就有用。 我也在地板上打击了你，在你身上打高尔夫，踢你的小兄弟。让你认为你喜欢那个。杀了我吧，明天，或者随你什么时候喜欢——我的鞋踢上了你的脸，你不可能把那个抹杀的。 早晨，佩查很高兴的发现她还活着，考虑昨晚做的事情。她头疼，肋骨一碰就疼，但是都没有坏掉。 而且她饿得要死。昨天晚上她就错过了晚餐了，而且也许因为打了她的看守而让她感觉特别饿。她通常不吃早餐，所以她没有觉得舒服的地方。在另一餐里，她独自坐着，而且其他人，都尊敬她的孤独或者是害怕阿契里斯不开心，不和她坐在一起。 但是今天，出于冲动，她把她的盘子带到一张只有两个空位置的桌子那里。当她开始坐下的时候，谈话变安静了，几个人向她致敬。她微笑回应，然后专注于她的食物。他们的交谈重新开始了。 “她没有办法离开基地。” “所以她还在这里。” “除非有人带她走。” “也许有特殊的任务什么的。” “塞亚基说他认为她已经死了。” 佩查感到一阵冷战。 "Who?" she asked. 其他人注视她，然后眼光移开了。最后他们重的一个说，“弗拉密。” 弗拉密走了。没有人知道她在哪里。 他杀掉了她。他说过他会，也做了。我昨天晚上做的事情得到的唯一的结果是他没有当我的面前那么做。 我不能理解。我做了。我的命不值得留着。做他的俘虏，让他杀掉试图以任何方式帮助我的人…… 没有人看她。他们也不说话。 他们知道弗拉密试图回应格拉夫，因为她昨天对塞亚基说话的时候，一定说了什么。现在她不在了。 佩查知道她必须吃，无论她心里感觉多么不舒服，无论她有多么想哭，多么想从房间尖叫地跑出去，扑倒在地上请求他们的原谅，为了……为了什么呢？在弗拉密死亡的时候自己还活着吗？ 她吃了她所有能够塞进去的东西，离开了餐厅。 但是当她穿过走廊前往他们工作的房间的时候，她意识到：阿契里斯不会那样杀掉她的。如果没有人看到她被拘捕和带走的话，是没有理由杀害她的。那不能达到他的需要，如果她只是在夜晚失踪的话。 同时，如果她逃脱了，他是不能宣布的。那就更糟糕。所以他只能保持沉默，给每个人留下她已经死亡的印象。 佩查想象弗拉密大胆地走出了建筑物，她这些天都是在虚张声势。或者，可能，她穿着清理地面或者窗户的女人的衣服，她没有人注意地溜出去了。或者她是爬墙出去的，或者跑过雷区？佩查甚至不知道这里是什么个环境或者附近的防护是什么样子的。她从没有被允许四处转。在她坐下，开始当天的工作的时候，她告诉自己所有这些都是痴心妄想。弗拉密已经死了，阿契里斯只是等待宣布而已，让我们都忍受不了解的痛苦。 但是那天过去了，阿契里斯没有出现，佩查开始相信她也许逃走了。也许阿契里斯留在外面，因为他不想任何人推测他身上可见的任何瘀伤。或者他的下阴有些麻烦，他必须让医生检查——如果阿契里斯决定让一个医生触摸他受伤的患处就足以处死的话，那就要上帝帮助了。 也许阿契里斯不来是因为知道弗拉密走了，他不希望他们看到他的失望和无助。当他抓到她，可以把她拖进来，当他们的面射杀她的时候，他才会面对他们。 只要那没有发生，弗拉密都有活着的可能。 我的朋友，那样做吧。远远逃开不要停留。越过边界，找避难所，游到斯里兰卡，飞到月亮上，弗拉密，活着啊！