Chapter 11 Chapter Eleven Maybe Impossible

After a while, he felt that such a thing might not be possible at all! Byron said, "How did you know it was an arsenal? How long did you live there? What did you see?" Gilbret grew impatient. "It's not exactly what I saw at all. They didn't take me on any tours or anything like that." He managed to calm himself down. "Well, listen, here's the thing: when they took me off the ship, I looked a little bit embarrassed. I couldn't eat much because I was so terrified--it's terrible to be alone in space--my Must have looked much worse than I should have. I sort of identified myself. So they took me underground, and of course the ship. I think they were more interested in the ship than in me. Offered them a chance to study Tyranid space engineering. They took me to what must have been a hospital."

"But, uncle, what did you see?" Artemisia asked. Byron interrupted her: "Didn't he even tell you before?" Artemisia said, "No." Gilbrecht continued: "So far, I have never spoken to anyone. As I said, I was taken to the hospital. I passed the research laboratories in the hospital, which must be better than our Rhodia. Any laboratory on the planet is stronger. On the way to the hospital, I also passed some factories where some kind of metal processing was going on. The spaceship that captured me must have been unknown to me. At the time, the matter was so unmistakable that I had no doubts about it for many years.I remember it as my rebel planet.I know that one day, hordes of spaceships will take off from there to attack the Tyranids.The affiliated planet will respond to the call of the leader of the rebel army and rise up.Year after year, I waited for the offense to start.Every time a new year rolls around, I say to myself: Maybe this year will be offensive.But every time, I secretly hope that it will never start.For I longed to escape first, to join their ranks.In this way, I can be a part of this big attack.I don't want to be on the sidelines when the offense starts. "

He laughed. "I was thinking that most people would find it interesting if they knew what was going on in my head—in my head. You know, no one takes me seriously." Byron said: "All this happened twenty years ago, why didn't they attack? And they didn't even have a trace? Never heard of any strange spaceships, and no accidents happened! You are still here Think there..." Gilbrecht turned on him. "Yes, I was thinking of that day. Twenty years is not a long time to organize a rebellion against a planet that rules fifty star systems. When I got there, the rebellion was only just beginning. I also knew, Since then, they must have gradually built underground facilities on the planet, developed newer spacecraft and weapons, trained more people, and organized attacks at the same time.

"It's only in thriller TV shows that people are called upon; when a new weapon is needed, it's invented the next day, mass-produced the third, and ready for the fourth. Use. These things take time. And, Byron, the people on the rebel planet must know that they must be fully prepared before the attack begins. They have no possibility of a second strike. "What do you mean by accidents? The Tyranid spaceships have disappeared and have not been found. You may say that space is vast, and they may just be lost. However, if they were captured by the rebels So what? There was the Indefatigable incident two years ago. Reports at the time said that something unknown was so close to it that it caused the ship's gravitational field rangefinder to fail. Then, 'No Tiredness' was never heard from again, and no more reports were received from it. I thought it might have been a meteor accident. But what if it wasn't a meteor?

"The search went on for months. They never found it. I think the insurgents took it. Indefatigable is a new experimental spaceship. They're trying to get one." Byron said, "Why don't you stay, now that you're there?" "Don't you think I didn't want to? I didn't have the chance. I heard them talking when they thought I was in shock, and I learned something about it later. They were sailing out from there at that time. So they They must not let outsiders know what they are doing. They know I am Gilbreth O. Hinriad. Even if I don't tell them myself, there is enough proof on the ship. I told them anyway. They know, if I don't If they go back to Star Rhodia, there will be endless large-scale searches.

"They couldn't risk a search like this. So, they had to watch me be sent back to Rhodia. And, right where they caught me, they let me go." "what!" Byron cried out. "But it must be more dangerous. How can they do it?" "I don't know." Gilbret ran his bony hands through his gray hair, and his eyes seemed to search in vain in the fields of his memory. "I thought, they must have given me anesthesia. That part of the memory was all hazy. After a certain amount of time, I couldn't remember anything. Just remember when I opened my eyes. It was back to' On board the Locust, I'm in space, heading for Rhodia."

"Are the two dead astronauts still held on board by the pull magnets? Didn't they stay on the Rebel Planet?" Byron asked. "They're still in the same place." "What evidence is there that you have been to the Rebel Planet?" "There is nothing but my memory." "How do you know that you are flying to Star Rhodia?" "I didn't know I was heading for Rhodia. I just knew it was near a planet. I could see that from the gravitational field rangefinder. I used the radio again and this time it was the Those Rhodian ships. I emphatically told Commissioner Tyranid what happened that day. Of course, I didn't say a word about Rebel Planet. And I said that the meteor hit the ship right after the last jump. I didn't want to let They think, I know Tyranid ships can do automatic jumps."

"Do you think that the rebel planet discovered this little fact? Didn't you tell them?" "I didn't tell them because I didn't have a chance. I wasn't there very long, and of course that meant sane. But I don't know how long I was unconscious and what they managed to figure out on their own." Byron stared at the vision board.Judging from the fixed image on the visual board, the spaceship they were on seemed to be stuck in space without moving.In fact, the "Relentless" is flying at a speed of 10,000 miles per hour, but what is this speed in the vast expanse of space?Indifferent and bright stars suspended in space, giving people a hypnotic effect.

He said, "It seems to me that you still don't know where the Rebel Planet is, do you?" "I don't know. But I'd like someone to know, and I'm almost sure I know who knows." Gilbret said this urgently. "Who?" "The monarch of Lingen Star." "Lin Genxing?" Byron frowned.Not long ago, he seemed to have heard of this name, but he couldn't remember it for a while. "Why does he know?" "Lingen Star is the last kingdom occupied by the Tyranids. It can be said that it is not as stable as other kingdoms. Doesn't this explain the problem?"

"Even so, how much can it explain?" "If you want to explain further, your father's matter is a good explanation." "My father?" For a moment Byron forgot that his father was no longer alive.He felt that his father seemed to be standing in front of him alive, tall and burly.But later, when he remembered again that his father was dead, he couldn't help feeling the same heart-wrenching pain in his heart. "How could my father have anything to do with this?" "He was at the palace six months ago. I know a thing or two what he wants to do. I listened to some of his conversations with my cousin Hinrique."

"Oh, uncle." Artemisia said impatiently. "What's the matter, dear?" "You have no right to eavesdrop on your father's secret conversations." Gilbret shrugged. "No right, of course. But it's interesting, and useful." Byron cut in and said, "Wait, then. You mean my father was on Rhodia six months ago?" He felt a little excited. "yes." "Tell me, did my father come into contact with those primitivist treasures of the Governor of Rhodia when he was there? You once told me that the Governor has a huge library about Earth." "I think he did. The library is famous, and usually, if the dignitaries are interested, they can enjoy it. Most of them are not, but your father is. Yes, I remember it well." .He was there almost all day." now it's right.It was half a year ago that my father asked him for help for the first time.Byron said, "I suppose you are familiar with this library personally." "certainly." "So, what's in the library that suggests the existence on Earth of a document of great military value?" Gilbret's face was blank, obviously, he must also be blank. Byron said: "A document like this must have existed somewhere on Earth in the last centuries of prehistory. I can only tell you that my father considered it the single most valuable and powerful document in the galaxy. I would have given He got it, but I left Earth too soon, and, anyway."—his voice trembling—"he left us too soon." However, Gilbret was still at a loss. "I don't know what you're talking about." "You won't understand. My father first mentioned it to me six months ago. He must have learned of its existence in the library on Rhodia. If you say, you really put the library's If you read all the books in the collection, don’t you yourself understand that he must have learned something?” However, Gilbret just shook his head vigorously. Byron said, "Okay, go on with your story." Gilbret said: "They—your father and my cousins—talked about the Lord of Lyngen. However careful your father's words were, Byron, the Lord of Lyngen was clearly the mastermind and leader of this plot. " "Later,"—he hesitated for a moment—"A mission came to Star Lin Gen, and the monarch himself served as the head of the mission. I——I told him about the rebellion against the planet." "You just said you didn't tell anyone," Byron said. "Except Lord Lingen, no one told. I must know the truth." "Did he tell you anything?" "Actually, nothing. But then again, he has to be cautious. Can he trust me? Maybe I'm a spy for the Tyranids. How can he find out? But he didn't lock the door Shut down. This is our only lead." "Is that so?" Byron said. "Let's go to Ringen, then. It's the same everywhere, I suppose." Mention of his father had brought him down, and at the moment, nothing seemed to matter to him.Just go to Lingen Star. Just go to Lingen Star!Easy to say.But how can the spacecraft be aimed at a small spot of light twenty-five light-years away?Two billion billion miles. 2 followed by fourteen zeros.At 10,000 miles per hour (the current cruising speed of the Relentless), it would take two million years to get there. Byron looked through the "Standard Ephemeris of the Milky Way" with a little despair.The ephemeris lists thousands of stars in detail.The position of each star is represented by three numbers.These numbers, denoted by the Greek letters ρ (Lo), θ (Theta), and φ (Phi), have hundreds of pages in the ephemeris. ρ represents the distance from the star to the center of the Milky Way, and the unit is parsec. θ represents the angular distance of the star from the standard baseline of the Milky Way on the galactic plane.The standard baseline of the Milky Way is a straight line connecting the galactic center and the earth's sun; φ represents the angular distance of a star from the standard baseline of the Milky Way in a plane heavy and perpendicular to the plane of the Milky Way.The values ​​of the latter two data are expressed in radians.With these three data, one can determine the precise position occupied by any star in the vastness of space.For a given date, the motion, speed and direction of the star itself must also be known.This correction is relatively small, but necessary.A million miles is indeed a small thing compared to the distance between stars, but it is a long, long way for a spaceship. Of course, there is also the question of the location of the spacecraft itself.One can read the distance to Rhodia's star from the gravitational field range finder.Or, more precisely, read off the distance to Rhodia's sun.Because, in distant space, the sun's gravitational field drowns out the gravitational fields of all its planets.Their direction of motion relative to the galactic baseline is more difficult to determine.In addition to Rhodia's sun, Byron had to determine the positions of two known stars.From their apparent positions and their known distances to Rhodia, he was able to plot their precise positions.The calculations were rough, but he felt sure they were accurate enough.After knowing his own position and the position of the sun of Lingen star.All he needed to do was adjust the controls to get the ship on the right course and increase the thrust of the superatomic engines. Byron felt alone and nervous.But there is no fear at all!He didn't say a word, just worked nervously and firmly.He meticulously calculated the various parameters required for the jump after six hours.He needs ample time to examine the data.There might also be a chance to take a nap.He had dragged the bedding from the cabin, and now his bed was made. The other two may have been sound asleep in the cabin.He thought to himself: This is very good, he doesn't want others to disturb him.However, when there was a slight sound of barefoot walking outside, he looked up with an eager look in his eyes. "Hey," he said, "why aren't you sleeping?" Artemisia stood at the cabin door, hesitating.She whispered, "Can I come in? Will it bother you?" "It depends on what you're here for." "I'll try not to trouble you." She seemed a little too condescending, and Byron wondered.Then, Artemisia explained the reason. "I'm terribly frightened," she said. "Aren't you frightened?" He wanted to say no, not at all.But when the words reached the edge of his mouth, he shrank back.He smiled shyly and said, "A little bit." Strange to say, this comforted her.She knelt on the floor beside him, looking at the large books and sheets of calculation papers spread out in front of him. "Did they take all these books with them?" "Of course, they couldn't fly the ship without the books." "You understand everything?" "Not all of it. I wish I knew all of it. I hope what I know now can be used. You know, we have to warp to Lyngen." "Is the jump difficult?" "No. If you know all those numbers, and you have all those controls in your hands, and you have experience that I don't have, then the jump won't be very difficult for you. Let's say, to Star Lingen should be divided into several transitions, but I plan to try it out and make a direct transition, because although doing so will inevitably consume more energy, the chance of accidents in one transition is relatively small." He shouldn't have told her, there was no need to tell her, it would be an act of cowardice to frighten her.If it really frightened her and frightened her into panic, it would be difficult.He kept telling himself not to do this, but it didn't work.He wants someone to share his worries.He wanted to take some of the weight off his mind. He said: "There are some things I should know but don't know. For example, the mass density between here and Lingen star will affect the transition route, because it is the mass density that controls the curvature of this part of the universe. Ephemeris—this is the book Thick book - mentions the curvature corrections that must be made in certain standard transitions. From this, you should be able to calculate your own specific corrections. However, if there happens to be a supergiant within ten light-years, then, It's all over. I'm not even sure if I'm using the computer correctly." "But what happens if you miscalculate?" "It's possible that we're going into space too close to Lyngen's sun." She thought about that for a moment, then said, "You wouldn't think how good I feel right now." "After what I said just now?" "Of course I did. Sleeping on the bed, with the emptiness around me, I just felt powerless and lost. Now, I know we're going somewhere, we've mastered the emptiness around us." Byron was delighted.She has become more. "I didn't know the emptiness around us was within our grasp." She wouldn't let him go on. "It's within our grasp. I know you can fly the ship." So Byron decided that maybe he could do that. Artemisia sat facing him with her long bare legs curled under her body.She was only wearing thin underwear, but she didn't seem to care about it, although Byron was certainly not that indifferent. She said: "You know, I have a really weird feeling in my bed, almost like I'm flying on a cloud. It scares me. Every time I turn over, I'm going to move strangely into the air. One jump, and then, slowly fall back to the bed, as if there was a spring in the air pulling me back." "You didn't sleep on the top bunk, did you?" "No, I sleep on the top bunk. I sleep on the bottom bunk with a mattress six inches above my head. It's almost like being in a cage. It's scary." Byron laughed. "That's right. Gravity on a ship is directed toward the bottom, and the farther you go from the bottom the less it gets. You're maybe twenty or thirty pounds lighter on the top bunk than you are on the floor. You've been on a Dinges passenger ship— A real giant passenger liner?" "I sat once, that was when my father and I went to Tyron Star last year." "You see, on a passenger liner, every part of the ship has gravity pointing towards the hull. That way, no matter where you are in the ship, its longitudinal axis is always 'up'. That's why every one of these big guys The engines are always lined up in cylinders that lie completely along the longitudinal axis. Because there's no gravity there." "It must consume an extremely large amount of power to maintain artificial gravity." "Enough power consumed for a small town." "Is there no danger of a fuel shortage?" "Don't worry. The spaceship gets its power through the total conversion of mass and energy. Therefore, the fuel is inexhaustible. The first thing to wear out will be the shell." She turned to him, and he noticed that the make-up had been wiped off her face.He wondered how she wiped it, probably with a handkerchief and a little bit of drinking water.The hard work paid off, and her skin against the black hair and black eyes appeared fairer and more charming.Her eyes were so tender, Byron thought. The cold time was too long.He said quickly, "You don't travel much, do you? I mean, you've only been on a passenger liner once, have you?" She nodded. "That's a lot of time. If we hadn't gone to Tyron, that wretched palace servant wouldn't have seen me, so -- let's not talk about it." Byron didn't ask in detail. He said, "Is it always like this? I mean, don't you always go out?" "That's pretty much it. Father flies here and there on state visits, cutting ribbons at agricultural shows, and inaugurations of high-rise buildings. He usually just gives speeches from a script that Aratap has given him. As for the rest of us Man, the less he stays out of the palace, the happier the Tyranids are. Poor Gilbret! He left Rhodia only once, to represent his father at the Khan's coronation. They never let him go again. Pass the spaceship." With her eyes on the ground, she played absently with the cuff on Byron's wrist.She called out, "Byron." "What's the matter—Ata?" She paused, but finally blurted out. "Do you think Uncle Jill's words are true?" "I have no idea." "Could it be that he imagined this, you say? He's been obsessed with the Tyranids for years. But in the end, he's done nothing but do some gadgets like monitor microwave beams. He may I have been daydreaming like this for many years, and I have really believed in it for a long time. You know. I know him very well." "It's possible, but we might as well dream with him for a while. Anyway, we can go to Lyngen." The distance between them is getting closer and closer.He could touch her as soon as he reached out, he could hug her, he could kiss her. He did exactly that. This is a completely unexpected ending.For Byron, it seems to have come to this point unconsciously.Just now they were talking about leap, gravity and Gilbret, and in a blink of an eye she was in his arms, sticking to his lips, so soft and smooth, so charming; His first impulse was to say sorry to her, and to make all sorts of clumsy confessions of apology.But when he pulled out and was about to speak, she didn't have the slightest intention to avoid it, but still buried her head in the crook of his left arm, her eyes still closed. Just like that, he didn't say anything, just kissed her again, slowly and deeply.He knew that at this moment, there was nothing more appropriate than this. Finally, she said, somewhat in a dream: "Are you hungry? I'll get you some concentrated food and warm it up. Then, if you want to sleep, I can watch over you for a while. And—and Yes, I'd better go and put on two more dresses." Just as she was about to go out, she turned around. "After getting used to concentrated food, it tastes really good! Thank you so much for buying concentrated food for us!" Anyway, apart from the passionate kiss, the main thing is that they are back together. When Gilbrecht walked into the control room hours later, he was not surprised to find Byron and Artemisia lost in absurd conversation.Seeing Byron put his arm around his niece's waist, he said nothing. He said, "When do we make the jump, Byron?" "Half an hour," said Byron. Half an hour passed, the controllers had been adjusted, and the voice of the conversation gradually became lighter and gradually disappeared. At zero moment, Byron took a deep breath, and suddenly pulled a joystick, drawing a long arc from left to right. This time the jump is different from the passenger liner. The "Relentless" is relatively small, so the turbulence of the transition is also relatively large.Byron shook, and in an instant, everything on the spaceship shook. Then, the ship regained its original balance, and they regained their footing. The astrology on the vision board changed.Byron turned the bow, so that the star field was raised, and each star drew a dignified arc.Finally, a star slightly larger than the tip of a needle appeared, emitting dazzling white light.It is a small sphere, like a burning grain of sand.Byron saw this star, and before it disappeared again, he immediately stabilized the spaceship, turned the telescope, and installed the spectrometer. He went back to the "Ephemeris" and looked at the "Spectral Features" column.Then, he stood up from the driver's seat and said: "It's still far away from here, we have to get closer to it. However, Lingen Star is ahead anyway." It was the first time in his life that he made the jump alone, and it worked.