Chapter 52 Turtle with a wooden leg - 14

Around two o'clock in the morning on May 5, 1980, George Taras was sure he would never sleep.He turned on the light—it was the sixth time since he went to bed—and dug out the volume of Essays of Montaigne from among the piles of books that had been piled up in his room at the Plaza Hotel.Oh, dear old Montaigne!At the beginning, Taras lent his treasured old book to the young man who narrowly escaped from the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria. "In thirty-five years we've come full circle," he thought. He looked out of the window and saw that Central Park was only dark under the moonlight; at this moment, the bushes and avenues there were probably much more dangerous than the Amazonian jungle.He turned "Montaigne's Essays" to the second chapter of the third volume:

I advocate a life of simplicity and unpretentiousness.... The whole ethics applies to the common private life as well as to the richer life; every man has in himself all the conditions of being a man... He goes back to the previous few lines: The world itself is in perpetual motion.Everything in the world is in constant motion, including the earth, the rocks of the Caucasus Mountains, and the pyramids of Egypt, both in common motion and in their own individual motions.Steady state is nothing but relatively slow motion.I can't fix my target.It staggers and staggers like a drunkard... Taras Sifu: "In those years, he kept this book with him, and he read it countless times before he brought it back to me."

Strolling back to the center of the room, Taras noticed that the small red light on the phone was blinking, signaling that someone was calling and the operator thought he was sleeping.Taras then spoke to the operator, who told him that a Mr. David Setiniaz had called him a few minutes earlier, but that he was probably asleep and asked to be told that someone had called him. over the phone. "Go to him, please," Taras said to the operator. Setiniaz said on the phone: "I can't sleep, George. I'm walking around the room." "By some strange coincidence, Mr. Setniaz, I'm just as bored as you. It's spring, I guess. I've got glasses and ice here, if you could bring a bottle..."

"I'll be here in twenty minutes." In fact, it only took him fifteen minutes at most.They don't drink much.Being able to accompany each other in this quiet moment of the night, both of them felt more at ease in their hearts.Hour by hour passed, and the bottle of wine was still drunk, and they saw the morning light illuminating the leaves in the spring park.The two spoke little, and nothing else but what they already knew, about each other, or about Reber. Before, under the shadow of the king's secret, they kept each other secret and concealed from each other. Now That era is long gone.

They didn't even want to ask where the king might be, though they didn't know.A week earlier, with the assistance of the Madison Avenue team, Taras had given Leiber a detailed commentary on his own compilation of legal texts.There has been no news since.Setienaz knew even less, having not seen him since the parting at Aix-en-Provence. The two of them were not surprised by this, and their emotions were not affected.They added up all the time they had spent with Reb, and found that in thirty-five years (twelve hours to go, thirty-five years), they had only seen the king for a hundred years. to one hundred and twenty hours.If there is one thing about Klimrod that astonishes them today, it is this: despite so little contact, Reber had such an impact on the lives of both of them.Not only did it affect the lives of the two of them, but it also affected the lives of hundreds of men and women whose destinies were changed by him.On this point, the two of them agreed.

On another matter, too, they agreed: if after ten or twelve hours he vanished without a trace, the gigantic machine he had built would still be turning, producing useless wealth, Because he doesn't care about these wealth at all. In fact, it is entirely conceivable that if the machine continues to run like this, $17 billion this year (1980) will become $30 or 40 billion ten years from now, and even more by the end of the century.Such a situation is absurd, but possible, perhaps very probable.As long as the system that allows such a flourishing situation has not collapsed by then. "We discussed philosophy," said Taras. "Now is not the time. We should take a shower and get dressed, Mr. Setniaz. Otherwise, we will be distraught when the time comes..."

"We were really flustered," Taras said. "If you're only half as nervous as I am, I'm already going to pity you from the bottom of my heart." At least he had the courage and strength to laugh at himself.It was not the case with Setiniaz, who was already pale. Near nine o'clock the taxi took them to First Street.The entrance to the UN building was bustling as usual; cars with national flags parked in turn on the circular driveway to let the delegates get off. The first thing Setiniaz saw was Diego Haas. The little Argentine stood alone against the wall next to the Hammarskjöld (Note: Dag Hammarskjöld (1905-1981), Swedish politician, second Secretary-General of the United Nations) library, Looking at the crowd coming one after another with bright yellow eyes, his eyes were full of contempt and mockery.Setiniaz almost wanted to temporarily put aside his aversion to Haas, and walked over to him to find out what information he knew. "But he won't tell me anything," Setiniaz said later. "If he had anything to say to me or to George, he would have brought the message with him. He must have seen us arrive, but pretended he didn't."

May 5th might look like a hot and sunny summer day, despite the mist over the East River.Taras and Setignaz walked towards Le Corbusier (Note: Le Corbusier (1887-1965), formerly known as Charles Jeanneret, a famous French architect, participated in the design of the United Nations Building in 1946 Design Work) designed the entrance of the thirty-nine-story glass and steel framed building. But they didn't go in.They waited in front of the Liberty Bell. "When is this Arnold Bam coming?" "He'll be here in twenty minutes. My God, David, look!" Setiniaz looked in the direction Talas was pointing at, searching the increasingly dense crowd.Among several African representatives in brightly dressed clothes, he found the thin and handsome figure of Paul Subis.Soubis was smiling, but he could tell that he was not happy, but rather embarrassed, which was rare for him.

He didn't come alone.Nessim Shah appeared first with Brother Petridis.After a while, all the royal officials arrived.They gathered in a group, as if they were about to put on a battleground, and although they were all polite, they were actually very nervous, and they just pretended to be indifferent. With something stuck in his throat, Setiniaz said, "I didn't know you'd come..." Subis nodded. "We don't know ourselves, David." The light of intelligence that usually shone in his eyes was cast a thin cloud of timidity this time. "What the hell, is this the time to play haha?!"

Then the black dogs emerged from the crowd, first of all Lierna and Berkovich.They didn't know each other, but only knew Setiniaz. Their indifferent expressions and gloomy eyes were strangely similar to their fierceness in doing things and secretive whereabouts, as if they were hesitating at this moment: should they show their faces in broad daylight?With increasingly uncontrollable excitement, Setiniaz thought to himself: "He even informed these people and let them know the ending of a history of entrepreneurship. Maybe he called all the black dogs together for a meeting, or more likely I contacted them one by one." This latter explanation seems more reasonable, because not only Berkovitch and Lierna are like this, but the rest of the black dogs are now scattered in various parts of the square, looking around furtively. Gathered in groups, though there were nearly thirty of them in all, some of them from Europe, Asia, or Africa.Over the years, Setiniaz had seen all these thirty men and women in and out of his office on Fifty-eighth Street, where they met occasionally but did not know each other.

"Bam's here," Taras said, "very timely." At 9:20, representatives from about 160 countries began to enter the magnificent Dome Building, where the plenary session of the UN General Assembly was held. "I'm going to accompany Bamo, and I'll wait for you over there," Taras said. Setiniaz nodded, unable to utter a word, and managed to keep his hands from shaking with difficulty. Taras walked with Bam, the representative of the island country from the Caribbean, carrying a long black box like a salesman, which contained the turtle flag in pirate attire. Almost at the same moment, crowds gathered around the Hammarskjöld Library, and Setniaz was surprised to find that he should have expected them to come: this representative was led by Marny Oakes and Trajano Da Silva led, followed by Mackenzie, Colcesco, Escalante, Huang Sen, Sobieski, Hasa Shu, the Weizmanns, Everett and many others Some of them remember the name Setiniaz, and some don't remember it clearly.They undoubtedly came directly from Amazonia. There are more and more people in the square, and the time for the conference to start is getting closer.Setiniaz looked for Diego Haas, but the pudgy Hogan was gone, or at least not where he was.Setiniaz's nervousness and anxiety rose to a new height in an instant. "Now is the time to say it and come," he Sifu said.Soubis on his right was saying something in French, and it was a bit like an ant on a hot pot anyway, presumably it was purely the result of conditioned reflex. A sedan appears. Then came another one. Each vehicle bears a green flag and the United Nations clearance emblem in the color of the sky helmet. Four Yanomami got out of the first car, and two other Indians and Reber stepped out of the second car.Setiniaz recognized Yava.The small group began to come, Reber leading the way, alone in shoes, his companions still barefoot, though all in cloth trousers and shirts. At this time, an incredible thing happened: Leiber and the six Indians had no expressions on their faces. Where they passed, people spontaneously and silently made way to form a lane.They went straight to the door of the UNGA conference hall, showed the necessary credentials to the guards, and walked in. "Come on," said Soubis. He moved away, and the rest followed. Only Setiniaz remained there, motionless.Based on the old temper of knowing everything well, he was desperately asking himself what kind of feeling he was experiencing at this moment.In the end, he found that what prevailed in him now over all the rest was a sense of pride, an extraordinary pride. The people in the square were all gone at once. Setiniaz hesitated for a few more minutes.He wasn't sure if he wanted to see for himself what was coming, but he was sure the impression would be poignant and painful and would stay with him for the rest of his life.He didn't have the courage to witness this scene.Finally he made up his mind. Reber once said: "I can't speak Russian or Chinese, and Arabic is too bad. But the United Nations has three other official working languages. I will use English for a while, French for a while, and French for a while." Speak in Spanish. It may be childish, David; but if there is a language without a nationality, it is the language I will use." Setiniaz came upstairs where some of the rooms were reserved for simultaneous interpretation.Then the door of a small room opened, and it was Taras who opened it.He said: "I thought you weren't coming. It's about time. Arnold's opening speech is coming to an end, and it's his turn." "I'm not going to stay here," Setiniaz said. Taras watched him kindly through the lens with penetrating eyes. "I didn't expect you to be so emotionally vulnerable, David." "Neither did I think of it myself," Setienaz replied hoarsely. He is still standing at the door of the simultaneous interpretation room.There are two interpreters here, one male and one female, facing the conference hall bathed in pale yellow light through the glass window.Setiniaz was facing a podium illuminated by spotlights, and around the podium were electronically illuminated signs that indicated the vote or the name of the country the speaker represented. Next is the ending of this book. There are two endings. The English translation and the original French ending are different. Maybe the author has made changes during the period. I will post both endings. You can choose which one you like. But I think the two endings are not that different) This post has been posted for nearly two months, and it is finally completed. I did all the scanning and proofreading by myself. Although it is very hard, it still feels good to be able to recommend my favorite books to everyone. english version ending "Now," said Taras when... ... Arnold Bam concluded his brief speech in the hall below. Taras stretched his neck forward and leaned out his upper body. The whole posture showed that he had added a little tension, and his eyes were as fierce as Diego Haas. They waited in the hall outside.Setiniaz was so leaned against the wall that a guard came over and asked, "You're pale, what's wrong?" "nothing." He started walking again, and then went to the canteen downstairs to ask for a glass of water, which he barely drank because he felt sick.After a few minutes, he went outside.The sunshine in May is no longer blocked by the tall buildings with glass and steel frames, pouring down on the square. May 5th. Thirty-five years ago today, he arrived in Mauthausen.Exactly this day!Setiniaz couldn't help shivering.It was so coincidental that it was hard to say that it was purely accidental. He sat down on the steps, ignoring the questioning looks of those who passed by him. Suddenly, he felt someone standing beside him.It was Diego Haas. "What's going on?" Setiniaz asked. “They said he could not take time from the representative of the Cayman Islands. They said Bam’s request was denied. They said he was not an official representative and only members of the official delegation could speak.” Haas was smiling, a sneer, so to speak. "And what about him?" "He said to them, if they gave him half an hour to speak, he could give them half a billion dollars," Haas replied. "They never believed he could come up with that much. Will they let him speak?" Setiniaz said. Diego Haas shrugged and spread his hands.Live back to the conference hall. Setiniaz stood up and followed. They found Reb standing outside the gate waiting to be opened.When the two walked up to him, the door opened. A man who looked exactly like David Niven (Note: (1909-1983), a famous British film actor) floated out of the hall and came directly to Leiber; "Mr. Klimrod?" "yes." "The Security Council considered your request." "Did they let me speak?" "This is impossible." "why?" "It's just impossible." "why?" "You are not an official representative. You do not represent any country in the United Nations." "I represent Amazonia. That's what I'm here to talk about. If the General Assembly could hear me, maybe a solution to the nuclear threat could be found to prevent a worldwide massacre..." "terribly sorry." Klimrod stared at him. "You let Arafat speak! Why don't you let me speak?" These two sentences were spoken very slowly, and seemed to be getting more and more exhausted. "This is impossible. We have regulations. This is against the regulations." The well-dressed little official leaned forward slightly, pretending to be confiding: "To tell you the truth, Mr. Klimrod, It's not good for us. Borders, peoples, tribes—that's what we're in for, and if those disappear, we'll disappear too. What are we going to do then, don't you think?" He blinked. Klimrod was looking straight at him, but the man avoided his gaze and looked him up and down, from the headband to the sandals on his feet. "I'm sorry," said the little officer.He made eye contact with Reber for the first time, but only for a few seconds.Then, turning like a ballet dancer in a twist, he hurried back to the hall.After he entered, the guards closed the gate. Then everything stops.What broke the situation was a journalist who hurried over to Leiber and said, "Mr. Kleinrod, I heard you tried to buy time to speak at the General Assembly. Is that true? It is said that You're a billionaire. It's said—" Reber Michel Klimrod ignored him and started walking slowly towards the exit.The reporter followed a few steps, but then changed his mind. "Honestly, buddy," he said loudly behind Reber, "I see you don't even have the money to take the bus to the Bronx!" Georges Taras was weeping. Diego Haas stared, as if under some hypnotic spell. Then, he overtook Leiber and ran towards the underground parking lot. Before walking out of the hall, Reb stopped and turned away.He gazed at the high ceilings and the distant walls, then moved his eyes to the people he was familiar with. "Come with me, Reb. I'll get the car—" "No," he said. "I'm going with Diego." Setiniaz got up from behind, and when he and Leiber's eyes met, he froze suddenly and did not move.He heard Wang whisper a word: Mauthausen. Then, the slender figure disappeared. The following is an excerpt from a page in the diary of David Setiniaz: I never saw or heard from him again, and the black dogs disappeared from my life.No one brought me a letter.I can't get directions.Never again did Reber's messenger come to my office on Fifty-eighth Street. I did everything I had to do.I have planned my successor for the day I retire or die.All the princes did the same.The machine will continue to lubricate and run efficiently.It can even continue to function for centuries, if humans continue to exist for centuries. Amazonia still existed, a kingdom without a king.Without command, the development plan began to lose its stamina. More than three years have passed since May 5, 1980. I miss him often.I tried everything to find him.George Tarras and I went to Brooklyn to visit the painter who looked a lot like Aestivation Pegg.She also never saw Reber or received a call from him. Our people in Rio de Janeiro visited Diego's apartment on Ipanema beach.One of the families who lived there now had never heard of a Klimrod or Haas. Ubaldo Rocha was not easy to find.I made the trek to Kala Kalayi Umbu in person to meet him.Both he and Yava said they didn't know where Reber was.The grief of these two people is beyond words, and it is absolutely impossible to lie. I might venture to guess that he would go into hiding with Georges Taras.However, he chose Diego, the crazy Diego, and no one has seen the Argentine since that day. Taras thought Reb must be alive, but George always believed what he wanted to believe. Honestly, I'm not even sure if he's still alive, I hope he's alive.How could I face the fact that I might never see him again.I dare not even think about it: I have been with him for so many years, but I have never once looked at his lonely, lonely, hazy, and sad gray eyes, and never once said to him how much I admire him and how much I love him . French original ending "Now," said Taras when... ... Arnold Bam in the hall has finished his brief speech.Giorgio Taalas leaned forward, his whole posture showed that he had added a little tension, his eyes were almost as fierce as Diego Haas, and Bam left the stage with scattered applause. Then suddenly there was a silence that seemed to vibrate the air, almost palpable though it was coming from a loudspeaker, and in this silence Setiniaz saw Ray Bo's slender figure stepped onto the podium, and his whole body was illuminated by spotlights.He wore a green headband on his forehead, and for an infinitely long period of time, his extremely pale and dreamy eyes scanned the rows of delegates arranged in a circular arc.His tone seemed calmer and slower than ever: "My name is Reb Michel Klimrod..." Sephiniaz took a step back and closed the door of the small room.After walking a few steps in the corridor, he leaned his shoulders against the wall and stood still.Seeing his pale face, a guard asked with concern, "Is there anything wrong with it?" "nothing." He moved again and went all the way to the canteen downstairs to ask for a glass of water, but he barely touched his lips because of a feeling of nausea.After a while, he went outside.The sunshine of May breaks away from the blockage of the majestic buildings made of glass and steel, and pours down on the square.This day is the fifth of May. Exactly thirty-five years ago (just six hours short), he entered Mauthausen concentration camp.It was so coincidental that it was hard to say that it was purely accidental. He sat down on the steps, not caring what others thought of him seeing him like this. He felt someone watching him. He turned his head and saw Diego Haas with two yellow eyes wide open 30 meters away, with a mocking smile on his lips.At this time, there were almost only the two of them in the square. However, the Argentine had no intention of coming over.Setiniaz didn't move, but turned his head frequently to look at Haas who was always there with a half-smile. It will certainly not do any good to transcribe here what Reber-Michel Klimrod said that day.Some brilliant orgasms taste like ashes when chewed afterwards, and some words are so terse that they no longer belong to the speaker and end up being against him in the end. They will neither be repeated nor remembered in the future. It will disappear like a speaker in the thousands of years of eloquent speech, which is almost silent. This is just a brief interjection, and the king can only be the king who will never have a country. The simultaneous interpretation room was in a moment of panic. This person who spoke three languages ​​and kept changing languages ​​made the interpreters very uncomfortable.Yes, Wang's speech may first cause a little unpleasantness in the translation department, causing a panic, an indescribable awkwardness, a nervous convulsion, and all these contagion to all the delegates, causing the meeting hall to appear. There was an air of restlessness and impatience, but fortunately the concerns were too remote to seem real. After he finished speaking, he used his eyes to inspect for a few seconds, trying to find eyes that dared to meet him in the hall.Whether it's gray eyes like him, or black eyes or blue eyes, as long as you dare to face the questions he raises instead of talking about him.But everything is in vain. The speed of voting is unprecedented in the history of the General Assembly.Arnold Bam's bill for a new nation was met with one hundred and fifty-four votes against.In favour: zero votes.Abstaining: zero votes. Georges Taras was weeping. The silent standoff between Setiniaz and Diego Haas had lasted about ten minutes. Diego looked at his watch and moved his body first.He walked away from the wall he was leaning against and headed towards the underground parking lot until he was out of sight. Another five or six minutes passed. There was movement on Setiniaz's right.Yava and his fellow Indians stepped out and all boarded a car that appeared.As soon as the people were seated, the car immediately drove towards East Forty-eighth Street. Setiniaz was sure that they were going to Kennedy Airport. ... He was still watching the car going far away, when Leiber appeared, and there was no one else around.Setiniaz stood up, but did nothing else, let alone greet him.Leiber walked quite quickly in the square, and suddenly got into another car driven by Diego Haas, and the first among the photographers rushing out of the conference hall behind him did not catch up. Only the first few reporters had time to press their camera shutters, and the few shots were taken from behind or sideways.Diego had already started the car and dashed forward, the tires screeching from the sudden acceleration. Someone was talking next to Setiniaz, and he didn't even turn to see who it was.Grief was tearing at his heart, and the intensity was so intense that even he himself could not forgive him.But he managed to keep his eyes from getting wet. Setiniaz later recalled: "I never saw a black dog again. They disappeared completely overnight and never reappeared in my office on Fifty-eighth Street. "I have prepared myself for the day when I retire in one way or another. No doubt all the princes have also done so, taking the necessary precautions. The whole machine will continue to Running, maybe it will go on idling forever. "It's business as usual on the Amazonian end. Although the kingdom has no king, it still exists. "I don't know where Reber is. Nineteen months and twenty-five days have passed since May 5, 1980. He has never been in touch with me or with Georges Taras. I even visited the painter who looked exactly like Aestivation Pegg in an upscale Brooklyn area, but she knew even less than I did. She never saw Leiber again anyway. "I don't believe he's going back to somewhere in the Amazonian jungle between the Negro and Blanco rivers, or going further north to the homeland of the Guaribo people, where he stayed in his youth. Diego will not accompany him, and Diego himself is nowhere to be seen, and his apartment on Ipanema beach, outside Rio de Janeiro, is now occupied by other people who have never heard of it. Someone with the surname Klimrod or Haas. "Ubaldo Rocha is not easy to find. I just trekked as far as Karakalai Falls. He and Yava don't know anything. The grief of these two men is beyond words, and I don't believe they will lie to me. "Honestly, I'm not even sure he's alive. Taras thinks he's alive, but Jocha Taras always believed what he wanted to believe. I myself vary from day to day. The day before yesterday, Christmas Three days after the festival, I had to give an interview to give a public speech. I had nothing to talk about, or to talk about my unsure mood. I really didn't have the heart to play any romantic games. I got enough blame...  … "...I just said what I think. "When I speak in front of several cameras, I always feel that Wang, whom few people know what he looks like, is very likely to be listening to me somewhere in the world, with his dreamy gray eyes. Watch me, it's quite possible he's among us all."