Chapter 5 countdown

Today was sunny and cloudless, as the weather forecast said. Thousands of people drove to this small desert town.Countless people stood outside the high barbed wire, looking inside the barbed wire with expectant eyes.This is a spaceship launch site, and it won't be long before a spaceship launches to send a man to Mars—the highlight of the International Year of the Cosmos.Everyone patiently waited for the miracle to happen. Among the onlookers, there are stalls selling snacks on the left, and many souvenir stalls on the right. There are also many hawkers and merchants walking around, selling souvenirs, balloons and straw hats to tourists.Beside the barbed wire fence, tourists who arrived here a few days in advance have already set up tents, and they have chosen the best position to watch this once-in-a-lifetime spectacle.

Amidst the crowded crowd, uniformed state troopers were nervously patrolling.Their task is mainly to maintain order and ensure the smooth flow of traffic.The tourists are also very orderly, they are quietly waiting for that exciting moment.In the launch site surrounded by high barbed wire, there was also a calm atmosphere. The media reporters and celebrities who came to watch the launch sat in designated positions.In the center of the command hall is a huge wooden platform on which a TV and movie camera are mounted.On the bench on one side of the platform, a dozen newspaper writers from Europe and the United States are sitting there; on the other side of the platform, more than two hundred guests are sitting—most of them are scientists and politician.Not far from the console, there is a gazebo.Seated there were the most important guests, including three heads of state, a dozen ministers and several members of the royal family.All the people were sitting in their seats, and they watched silently as the scientists and technicians were making the final preparations before the launch.

At this time, a voice came from the loudspeaker towering high at the launch site: "There is still an hour!" The noisy crowd on both sides of the barbed wire quieted down immediately, and almost all of them turned their heads to the huge rocket on the launch pad.The midday sun shone down, and the towering rocket gave people the illusion of shaking slightly, as if it had been ignited and launched, and was about to soar into the sky. Everyone is looking forward to it, but there is only one person who seems to have a big rock hanging in his heart, and he is Fakul, the official in charge of the safety of the launch site.He was leaning against the wall at the moment, imagining countless possible accidents in his mind.Fakul is an experienced official who has held similar jobs many times before, but he has never been so nervous.On the one hand, this is because the launch is of great importance; on the other hand, this launch is a multinational joint operation. There are scientists from more than a dozen countries on the scene alone. They are of different nationalities and languages, and it is easy to make mistakes.In addition, if saboteurs sneak in here, the consequences will be disastrous.And this is precisely what Fakul is most worried about.

At this moment, Fakul frowned, trying to dispel the anxiety in his heart.Since taking over security at the launch site, he has taken various measures to guard against sabotage.All the staff at the launch site, from the launch commander to the waiters in the restaurant at the launch site, are under strict investigation and surveillance.Fakul has a file of each of them, a thick one, each person's identity, background, experience, and even various secret details are all under his control.There was nothing wrong with these files.Thinking of this, Fakul's mood gradually brightened.In any case, he has done his best, and it can be said that he has a clear conscience.

"Look, sir," said Fakul's jeep driver standing aside with a smile, "those women are already crying!" Fakul looked up and saw his driver pointing the antenna of the walkie-talkie to the north Twenty yards away—there sat the relatives and families of the staff, mainly the wives and children of the scientists and technicians, and some off-duty staff. Fakul looked in the direction pointed by the driver. Indeed, there were several women in the family seat secretly wiping the corners of their eyes with handkerchiefs.A look of understanding and tolerance appeared on Fakul's face, and then he smiled.Yeah, the nerves have been tense for months, and now it's finally over, why not let it out with a good cry?If men can cry, then Fakul would like to cry on the spot too!

At this time, he paid special attention to a woman in the family banquet.Fakul noticed her partly because of her beauty; partly because she was on her feet the whole time.The sun was so strong that Fakul squinted his eyes to see better.He clearly saw that the woman was not crying at all. Fakul was a little surprised.The woman was standing motionless like a statue.She clenched her hands into fists at her sides, staring intently at the rocket standing in the distance. "By the way, she is the wife of the physicist Whitby." Fakul thought to himself.Looking at the woman's focused demeanor, you'd think it was Waitby himself, not Randazzo, who was aboard the rocket.Thinking of this, Fakul couldn't help shrugging.

Under great pressure, people will have some physical discomfort reactions.Not Randazzo.At this moment, Randazzo is sitting in the main control room, calmly sipping a glass of milk and eating a chicken sandwich, as if everything that is about to happen around him has nothing to do with him.Occasionally, he would take pleasure in glancing at the scientists as they moved through the command hall, checking charts, making phone calls, and inspecting the rows of delicate instruments on the walls. If this casual attitude happened to anyone else, people would think that he was desperate to bluff; or that he was taking drugs.However, Randazzo, who was sitting in the main control room, was neither desperate nor taking drugs.There was a peaceful smile on his handsome face; his strong and slender hands held the sandwich and milk without trembling; his muscular thighs folded gracefully and casually under the table.All the body language seems to be telling you that he's just on a trip to New York, not flying to Mars.

At this time, there were still two people sitting beside Randazzo.They were two well-known doctors who were closely watching Randazzo's every move.If there was anything wrong with his physical condition, they would carefully record it.Standing beside him was a well-known psychologist who was also ready to record Randazzo's emotional changes at any time.But Randazzo was all right, and the three of them had nothing to remember at all.As a result, the three experts seemed rather uncomfortable. Yes, Randazzo is the protagonist of this flight.He was handpicked from fifty volunteers.Randazzo has extraordinary intelligence, and in just two months of training, he has mastered how to manipulate the complex equipment in the spaceship; Randazzo has a strong physique, although the tough physical test in the selection test eliminated many candidates People, but Randazzo stands out from it.His profile shows that he has competed in the Olympiad and even won four gold medals for his tiny country.Less well known, Randazzo's other hobbies included hunting bears with his bare hands, collecting rare orchids and writing plays in Latin.Plus, Randazzo was a suave guy.With the launch looming, he has been living a life of near isolation from the outside world in recent weeks, but he has been stalking people whenever he gets the chance.

"Fifty minutes!" announced the trumpet.The people at the scene became more nervous, but the astronaut Randazzo remained calm. As the Commander-in-Chief walked past him, Randazzo smiled faintly and joked in German: "Don't forget to put enough steak on the spaceship, eh?" The commander-in-chief just smiled and walked past him noncommittally.Since the sailing time is as long as three months, not to mention the steak, even the daily food is specially made.This space food is like a pill, a concentrate.Even so, the Commander-in-Chief felt that the food was taking up so much space that the space for the protective seal and cooling system was too tight.

However, the commander-in-chief has no time to worry about this now, he is thinking about another matter in his mind.According to the temperature regulation system of the spacecraft, its automatic control system seems to be insensitive.In recent months, although scientists have tried their best, they still haven't been able to solve this problem well.Of course, the Randazzo can be adjusted with a manual control system, but... Thinking of this, the commander-in-chief ordered his communications officer to say, "Get me through Whitby on the launch pad!" While waiting for the connection, the commander-in-chief's eyes were staring at the tourists and the rockets on the launch pad outside the window.

"Forty-five minutes!" While wiping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief, the commander-in-chief thought to himself: The entire rocket system is too complicated, with countless parts closely related, and fatal mistakes will be made if one is not careful... "I'm Whitby." A voice came from the phone. The commander-in-chief asked sternly, "How about the temperature regulation system?" "It seems normal now," Whitby replied. "It seems?" The commander-in-chief roared, "Have you ever thought about it, if..." The commander-in-chief didn't go on, he swallowed back half of the words on his lips.But Professor Whitby knew well that the rocket's automatic temperature adjustment system was not very sensitive. If the manual system also failed after the rocket took off, Randazzo would either be scorched or frozen. "Whiteby, don't hide it, even if there is something abnormal, you have to tell it now!" the commander-in-chief said. "As far as I can tell, there is nothing wrong with the thermoregulation system," said Whitby quietly. "Then I'm relieved." The commander-in-chief said, "Have all the daily necessities entered the cabin?" "It's all packed except the food, oh wait...Dr. Anders is here with the food. Make sure to pack everything in two minutes!" "Very good." After the commander-in-chief finished speaking, he handed the microphone to the communications officer.He turned around thoughtfully, looking at the entire main control room. "There are so many clues. If you are not careful, you may lose everything." He thought.When his eyes fell on Randazzo, he was filled with confidence again.In this huge operation, at least the astronauts have no problem.No wonder the news media called Randazzo "the perfect guy." Meanwhile, on the launch pad, Professor Whitby was checking off checklists with a pencil. "You're late, Anders," he said to Dr. Anders slightly reproachfully. Dr. Anders is tall, but haggard.The doctor of chemistry is working with two skilled workers to push several long iron boxes into the elevator. "Only eighteen seconds late," said Dr. Anders in a calm tone. Then, frowning, he looked at the iron boxes in thought.After a while, he showed a satisfied expression on his face, patted the one closest to him, and said to the elevator worker: "Okay, let's transport them up." Then he turned to Whitby and said, "I think all the materials have been loaded?" In fact, he was just asking casually, and the two of them were already familiar with this set of procedures. Whitby went over the checklist carefully again, then looked up. "Of course," he said.His eyes were darkened due to staying up late for days. "Everything is ready," he added. "Let's go." The two walked out of the launch pad quickly, got into the jeep waiting outside, and then turned back to wave to the technicians who stayed on the launch pad—those people had to stick to it until ten minutes before the launch before they could leave.Whitby and Anders then drove across the scorching desert toward the launch center building and crowds of onlookers. "Is everything okay with the perfect man?" Dr. Anders asked. Whitby glanced at him. "It's okay!" A disgusted expression appeared on his face, "That guy may be physically perfect, and his intelligence should not be bad, but it's just..." He hesitated to speak. Dr. Anders raised his eyebrows inquiringly, but Whitby said nothing more. "There are still thirty minutes!" The sound of the horn echoed over the launch center. In the main control room, Randazzo yawned and stretched after eating and drinking.At this time, the two Nobel Prize winners came to Randazzo with the space suits they designed, and said to him: "Sir, it's time to wear evening clothes." "Gentlemen, have you corrected the mistake?" he asked with a wink. The two scientists smiled at him, but the psychologist standing aside asked curiously, "What's wrong?" Landazo feigned surprise. "Ah, don't you know? They didn't give me enough space." "Not enough space?" wondered the psychologist. "Yeah, there's no room for another female astronaut," Randazzo said in accented English. "Three months is a lot, isn't it?" The two scientists laughed.But the psychologist took Randazzo's words seriously and commented: "I think you will miss women a lot along the way." Randazzo also replied in a serious tone: "You are right. , sir, besides, to be honest, women will miss me very much." "Twenty minutes left!" At this time, Fakul, the security officer of the launch site, was walking in the corridor of the command building.The sudden sound of the horn startled him.He was still walking forward steadily, but he was faintly worried about two things in his heart.These two events may or may not be intrinsically related—and even if they are, it may be meaningless. Fakul has two main concerns: First thing—the look on Professor Whitby's face as he left the main control room after giving his final report to the commander in chief.What a strange expression Fakul had just caught a glimpse of at that time!The facial muscles twisted, as if some special emotion was suppressed in his heart.Under normal circumstances, Fakul may think that Waitby's expression is just a kind of anxiety about whether the launch will be successful, and it is not worth paying attention to.But when it comes to linking one thing with another, it's probably not that simple. The second thing - the beautiful woman standing on the family table, she stood there like a statue, her face was full of tension and worry, she watched the rocket in the distance, her eyes were full of despair.She was none other than Whitby's wife. It was precisely because of these two things that Fakul felt extremely worried.At this moment, his heart moved, and he remembered the third thing.This so-called third thing, or rather, is a rumor.According to rumors, in the weeks leading up to the rocket's launch, Randazzo's flirtatious nature continued unabated, and he continued to have affairs.Fakul found it difficult to understand, because Randazzo's every move was under their surveillance, how could he have a chance?He was wondering if it was necessary for him to report the matter to the commander-in-chief. Just as Fakul was thinking about it, a noise outside interrupted his thinking.With a thrill in his heart, he hurriedly looked out the window, and the people around the launch site were shouting excitedly.He hurriedly looked at his watch, yes!It was time for Randa Zord to board the spacecraft. He should have left the main control room and was getting into the jeep and headed for the launch pad. Fakul felt he didn't know what to do.He felt very disturbed and wanted to report to the commander-in-chief immediately; but then he thought again, it would be inconceivable for a husband and a wife to go to the commander-in-chief just because of the abnormal expressions of a husband and a wife when the rocket was about to launch !Prior to this, Fakul had checked the files of the Waitbys in the reference room, and there was no doubt.In the "Best Friends" section of the file, the Whitbys had written "Olga Anders" and Fakul had copied their names.He decided to go to them first and get more information from them. So Fakul hurried to the staff seat to look for it, but neither Dr. Anders nor Mrs. Anders was found. Now Fakul came to the end of the corridor.There's an ajar door that says "Nutrition Lab."Fakul opened the door and walked into the laboratory, only to see huge sinks, tables and cabinets in the laboratory, but no one was there.Fakul did not give up, and still shouted the name of Dr. Anders loudly. "Who is it?" The door to the freezer at the other end of the nutrition lab opened, and Dr. Anders came out wiping his hands. "Fakul, it's you, are you looking for me?" He gently closed the door of the freezer. Seeing Fakul's eyes full of doubts, he explained: "Oh, I'm doing cleanup here, if it doesn't clean up in time..." Fakul interrupted him impatiently: "Dr. Anders, I want to ask you a personal question. I hope you can answer me truthfully, and I assure you that I have a reason for asking." Dr. Anders shrugged and made a noncommittal gesture. At this moment, a huge horn sounded from outside the house: "There are still ten minutes!" Only then did Fakul realize that his clothes were soaked in sweat at some point. Only ten minutes left!Fakul understood that at this moment Randazzo should have entered the cabin of the spacecraft, and the hatch was about to close.The launch pad crew is getting into a jeep and preparing to evacuate to a safe area.In a few minutes, the automatic control system will start.Therefore, Fakul must make a long story short and express all his doubts. "Then I will cut to the chase," said Fakure. "You and your wife are close friends of the Waitbys, and now I want you to tell me frankly that there is nothing wrong between Mrs. Waitby and Randazzo. Is it... the relationship is unusual?" Dr. Anders was taken aback by this question. He stroked his thin chin, pondered for a while, then walked to the window with his hands behind his back, and said slowly, "You're right." Fakul picked up the phone immediately. "Another question," he asked, dialing the number, "does Whitby know about this?" "He should know, I'm sure." Fakul cursed, grabbed the microphone and shouted: "I'm Fakul, bring Professor Whitby to me immediately, yes! It's in the nutrition laboratory, hurry up." After speaking, he threw the phone away, took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat on his forehead vigorously.Dr. Anders looked at him curiously. "But... I'm confused," Fakul said hoarsely. "We have been closely monitoring Randazzo for the past few weeks. He is within our sight almost every minute. How could he ..." Dr. Anders smiled and said: "Mr. Fakul, don't you understand? He is a 'perfect man', if he wants to do something, he has all kinds of ways to avoid your surveillance." Dr. Anders continued: "Also, he also took it as a pleasure, can you understand? He just wanted to seduce another man's wife under the nose of the security personnel. You know, he is good at hunting bears with his bare hands, but Seducing other people's wives is even more exciting for him!" "No, it's impossible!" Fakul murmured.But his voice was drowned out by a loud horn: "Five minutes!" At this moment, the rocket's automatic control system has been activated. Fakul understood that countless electronic computers were running, and millions of commands were being issued every second.However, Fakul also knows that even so, the launch activities can be stopped.Because, in the main control room, the commander-in-chief was staring intently at the electronic screen in front of him, while his hand was placed next to a button that said "Stop". A rocket launch is not impossible to abort, but the cost of pressing that button would be enormous.Because those sophisticated and cutting-edge instruments are running, if they are suddenly stopped forcibly, nearly half of the equipment will be burned.In this way, it will cause a loss of several million yuan. What's more troublesome is that the launch plan will be delayed for several months, which is unacceptable to anyone. Thinking of this, Fakul clenched his fists and forced himself to suppress the anger in his heart—no, he couldn't ruin everything because of one of his suspicions.Slowly his mind cleared from the anger, and he slowly realized that Dr. Anders was speaking. "No matter how faithful a wife is, she will cheat when she is strongly seduced. Don't you believe that?" Dr. Anders asked, showing a sarcastic expression that twisted his lips. "You are so naive, Fakul! Do you think Randazzo is an ordinary person? No, he is a 'perfect person'! Moreover, he wants to accomplish a feat of human beings and become a hero flying to Mars!" Ender Si folded his hands on his chest and tilted his head to one side, "What woman do you think can block the charm of such a man? This man secretly came to date her, and this man will definitely be recorded in history..." Before he finished speaking, the door of the laboratory was suddenly pushed open.Two security guards walked in with Whitby, his blond hair also tousled. Seeing Waitby coming in, Fakul stood up excitedly.He asked Whitby the question again.Whitby blushed suddenly, then paled again.He stole a glance at Anders, embarrassed.But Anders didn't meet his gaze, but turned his gaze out of the window. "Is it right?" Fakul yelled excitedly, trembling all over. Whitby knew that he could no longer hide it, and he spread his hands in despair: "Yes, it's true... She confessed it to me last night...but I don't know what it has to do with you..." Fakul grabbed his collar with both hands and shook his body violently: "Tell me, Whitby, what did you do?" - He was so nervous that he couldn't even speak coherently. Before Waitby could answer, Anders interjected, "Destroy the rocket?" "You said I sabotaged the rocket launch?" Whitby backed up abruptly, freeing himself from Fakul's hands grabbing his collar.Due to the excessive force, he almost lost his balance, and his back slammed into a metal cabinet behind him.He leaned weakly on the cabinet, panting heavily. "Is it you? Are you sabotaging the rocket?" Fakul shouted at him at the top of his lungs. Whitby simply closed his eyes, waved his hands weakly, and muttered in a low voice: "Are you crazy? Do you think I would do such a thing?" He straightened his back slowly, but his body still Lean against the cabinet.He laughed bitterly and said, "You doubt me? No...no...you don't understand! I know his bad reputation...and, I also doubted him...but I suspect that he is with other women , with other people's wives!" After that, he stopped, took a deep breath, and said, "I never thought about him and my wife!" Dr. Anders, who was standing by the side, also hurried over to persuade Fakul: "Hey, he didn't lie to you. He is directly responsible for the temperature regulation system, and besides..." Before he could finish speaking, there was a sudden sound outside the room. There was a huge horn sound, and his voice was completely drowned out immediately. It turned out that the countdown to the last minute had begun. "Fifty-nine, fifty-eight, fifty-seven..." The huge voice echoed over the empty desert. In order to cover the sound of the horn and let Fakul hear his voice, Dr. Anders had to shout: "There is an automatic monitoring system, Fakul! If there is any accident in the temperature control system, the commander-in-chief will know." of!" "...fifty, forty-nine, forty-eight..." The countdown sound hit everyone's heart like a bombshell. "The information on the surveillance system can prove Whitby's innocence!" Dr. Anders yelled, "Call the commander-in-chief to check the surveillance system!" As if waking up from a big dream, Fakul grabbed the phone and dialed the number with trembling fingers.Dr. Anders turned his head suddenly, staring calmly at the clear sky outside the window. "... Thirty-one, thirty, twenty-nine..." Time passed by second by second. Fakul covered his ears with one hand and held the phone receiver with the other.He cursed loudly over the loud horn blare.If Whitby is lying...if Anders is lying, then...they may be in collusion...for example, Dr. Anders has the same motive... "...Nineteen, eighteen..." Finally, the call was connected.But the communications officer refused to take the call because he didn't dare to disturb the commander-in-chief at a critical moment. Fakul begged him, ordered him, threatened him, said all the good and bad things on the phone... "Ten... Nine..." - Time waits for no one. Finally, the commander-in-chief's stern voice came from the receiver. Fakul seemed to have caught a life-saving straw, and shouted: "Is the temperature regulation system under surveillance?" "certainly!" "Is it working fine?" "...five, four..." The commander-in-chief shouted: "Of course!" Hearing these two words, Fakul seemed relieved.The microphone slipped from his hand, as if it was a heavy weight and he couldn't hold it anymore.The microphone fell to the table with a bang.At this moment, there was a huge roar faintly in the distance, the earth seemed to be shaking, and even the building where Fakul and the others were in was trembling.A thunderous cry came from the crowd outside, and it seemed to grow louder. "Launched! Launched!" The two security guards who had been standing in the room couldn't hold back their excitement, and rushed to the window together, watching the huge rocket in the distance spouting flames and rising slowly. But the other three remained standing as though nailed to the ground—Fakul at the table, Anders standing five feet behind him, Whitby still leaning against the tin cabinet . "Look!" Dr. Anders said slowly, breaking the silence, "everything is fine." Fakul also breathed a sigh of relief. Only Whitby's body remained tense and painful against the cabinet. "I thought about doing that, Fakul," he whispered. "To be honest, I did think about it, but I can't do it... I can't do that anyway." After saying this, his spirit seemed to relax all of a sudden.His body slid down the cabinet, faster and faster, and finally fell forward.The door of the cabinet that his body was leaning against was also taken away. As the cabinet door opened, countless small pills rolled out of the cabinet with a bang.The little pellets hit Whitby's head and shoulders like a hailstone, rolled to the ground, and scattered.Small white pills rolled all over the floor of the room, and more were leaning out of cupboards. Fakul was so curious that he bent down and picked up a pill.The pills are soft to pinch and have a yeasty smell. He glanced at Whitby in surprise. For some reason, Whitby's face suddenly turned pale.He stared wide-eyed and looked at Dr. Anders behind Fakul. "My God! Anders!" he cried. Fakul turned around, ready to ask Dr. Anders what was going on.At this time, the cheers of the crowd and the sound of excited trumpets came from the square outside: "The first stage is successful, the first stage is successful..." Fakul turned back again, looked at the white pill in his hand, and then at Dr. Anders. A strange smile appeared on Dr. Anders' thin face, and he remained silent. "These things..." Fakul pointed to the pills rolling all over the floor, and said to Anders, "These should be loaded on the spaceship, right?" Dr. Anders crossed his arms over his chest, and nodded his head imperceptibly. "You mean... you put empty food crates in the spaceship? You want him to starve to death in space?" "Ah, no," said Dr. Anders, "he might have something to eat." Fakul stared at him fiercely: "If the food box is empty..." "No, the food boxes are not empty," Waitby interrupted Fakul, "I weighed them myself! They are full!" Fakul's face became even more gloomy. He wiped his face with his hands and shook his head, as if shaking off a terrible thought. "It's full? It's... What is it?" However, Dr. Anders did not answer his question directly, but calmly repeated what he said just now: "He may have something to eat." Whitby seemed to understand something, he staggered forward a few steps, and didn't stop until he bumped into a counter.When he spoke, his voice was hoarse, but his words seemed to condense in the air like smoke. "Where's Olga, Anders? Where's she? Where's your wife, Olga?" Dr. Anders didn't answer, but his eyes were fixed on the blue sky outside the window.