Chapter 5 Chapter Four: The Two and the Elder

The image of the elders in this area of ​​Luoshan World is completely different from what outsiders imagined.They are not older or older farmers, nor are they authoritative and less friendly. Not at all. When meeting them for the first time, they always come across as a rather dignified impression of how important their status is. They are now seated around the long oval table, like so many serious and slow-moving philosophers.Most appeared to be just entering middle age, with only a few sporting short, neatly trimmed beards; no one was clearly under forty.Therefore, the title "elder" is actually just a title of respect, not a complete description of age.

The two guests from outer space are now sitting in the upper seat having a meal with the elders.The atmosphere at this time is quite solemn, and the food is also very simple. It seems that this is just a ceremony, not a real banquet.As they ate, they observed a new and contrasting atmosphere. When they had finished eating, some of the elders who were apparently the most respected made a polite remark or two--too short and simple to be called "addresses."Then, the formal and formal atmosphere disappeared without a trace. The deliberate dignity of welcoming foreign visitors seems to have finally retired.The elders began to show kindness and curiosity to the guests, revealing the honesty and simplicity of the country people.

They gathered around the two strangers and asked one question after another. Their questions ranged from: Was it difficult to fly a spaceship or starship?How many people are needed in total?Is it possible to replace their vehicles with better engines?I heard that it rarely snows in Darcinde, is it the same in other worlds?How many people live in their world?Is it as big as Darcinde?Is it very far away?How were the fabrics of their clothes woven?Why is there a metallic luster?Why don't they wear fur? Do they shave every day?What kind of mineral is the ring on Pliji... and countless other strange questions.

Almost all the questions were posed to Pridget, as if, because of his older age, they automatically assumed him to be more authoritative.Pridji found himself having to answer more and more in detail, as if surrounded by a group of children.Those questions were born out of unscrupulous curiosity, and their eagerness to learn was simply irresistible. Therefore, Pliji patiently answered their questions one by one: it is not difficult to drive a ship, and the number of people required depends on the size of the ship, from one person to many people.I am not familiar with the engine used in this vehicle, but it must be improved.Every world has a different climate.Hundreds of millions of people lived on their world, but it was nothing compared to the great "empire" of Dascind: they did come from far away.Their clothes are made of silica gel, and the surface of the cloth is specially processed so that the molecules on the surface have a fixed arrangement direction, so it will produce a metallic luster.They don't have to wear furs because the clothes are heated.They did shave every day, and his ring was set in amethyst... Before he knew it, Pridji found himself mingling with these country folks, which was not his intention at all.

Whenever he answered a question, it would definitely cause a quick chat among the elders, as if they were discussing the latest information.It is difficult for outsiders to understand their discussions among themselves, because at this time they have resumed their unique accents.Although they still speak the common galactic standard language, it seems ancient and outdated because it has not communicated with modern languages ​​for a long time. Perhaps it can be said that their brief comments to each other can only let outsiders know what they are talking about, but can prevent outsiders from knowing the real content of their conversation.

Later, Chengnis couldn't bear it anymore, so he interrupted: "Good gentlemen, you must take some time to answer our questions. Don't forget that we are foreigners, and we are very interested in knowing everything about Darcinde. " As soon as these words were uttered, the audience immediately fell silent. The elders who had been chattering just now all shut their mouths tightly.Their hands were waving desperately, as if to strengthen the tone of their speech, but now they all drooped down suddenly.They looked at each other with a guilty conscience, obviously very much hoping that others could speak.

Priggi hurriedly said: "My companion has absolutely no malice in asking this question. Darcinde's reputation has already spread throughout the galaxy, so we came here because of it. After we meet the governor, of course we will report to him about Roseanne. The loyalty and love of the elders." Although no sound of relief was heard, at least the faces of the elders softened.An elder stroked his beard slowly with two fingers, gently flattened the curly part, and then said earnestly, "We are all loyal servants of the Lords of Dacind." It wasn't until then that Priggie finally forgave Chengnis for his reckless words.Although he feels that he has grown old recently, he obviously hasn't lost his ability to smooth things over.

So he continued: "We come from an extremely distant place, and we don't know much about the past history of Darcinde. I believe that for a long time, those lords have governed this place in an enlightened way." The elder who spoke just now seemed to have automatically become the spokesperson.He replied again: "The oldest old man here, his grandfather, does not remember a time when the lords did not exist." "Has it always been peaceful in the past?" "It has always been peaceful in the past." He hesitated for a while, and then said: "The governor is a shrewd and powerful lord, and he has absolutely no hesitation in punishing traitors. Of course, none of us are traitors."

"I think he must have punished some people with bad intentions in the past, and those traitors all deserve what they deserve." The elder hesitated again, and then replied: "There have never been any traitors here, neither have our fathers or grandparents. But they have appeared in other worlds, and of course those people were executed quickly. Things were of no interest because we were just lowly, poor farmers who didn't care about political issues at all." There was obvious anxiety in his voice, and the eyes of the other elders showed uneasy eyes. Priji asked in a steady tone: "Please tell us, how can we meet your governor?"

This question immediately surprised the elders again. After a while, the original elder said again: "Ah, don't you know? The governor will be here tomorrow, and he is waiting for you. It is our great honor. We...we sincerely Hopefully, you will report to him that we are absolutely loyal to him." The smile on Puli Ji's face almost froze, he exclaimed: "Waiting for us?" The elder stared blankly at the two strangers in front of him in turn, and said, "That's right...we've been waiting for you for a whole week." The room prepared by the Luoshan people for them is undoubtedly a very luxurious upper room by the standards of this world.Pliji had lived in worse places before, and Chengnis seemed indifferent to everything outside.

Between the two of them, however, there was an unprecedented tension.Pridji felt that the time to make a decision was getting closer, but he hoped to delay it for a while.If they go to see the governor first, they will push this gamble to the brink of danger, but if they can really win, the harvest will be countless times more than originally expected.Seeing Chengnis frowning slightly, biting his lower lip with his teeth, showing a somewhat disturbed expression, he felt an unknown anger in his heart.He was tired of this boring farce and hoped to end it as soon as possible. "Our actions seem to have been predicted," he told Chengnis. "That's right." Chengnis replied simply. "You just say 'that's right'? Can't you make some more useful suggestions? We came here impromptu, only to find that the Governor was waiting for us. It is likely that when we meet the Governor, he will say that Wait for our men on Darcinder. Then what's the use of our trip?" Chengnis raised his head: "They're just waiting for us, which doesn't necessarily mean they know who we are and why we're here." His tone didn't hide his impatience. "Do you think these things can be hidden from the Second Base?" "Maybe, isn't it possible? Are you ready to give up? Maybe it's just because they spotted our starship while we were in space. What's the big deal about a country setting up an outpost on the frontier?" Even if we are just ordinary foreigners, they will still be interested in us." "How can there be so much interest in making the Governor come and visit us in person, without waiting for us to have an audience with him?" Chengnis shrugged: "Let's not discuss this issue for now, let's see who the governor really is." Pridji's entire face collapsed, looking deflated.He felt that the whole situation had become ridiculous. Cheng Nisi continued to pretend to be relaxed and said: "At least we now know one thing - Darcinde is the second base, otherwise, millions of pieces of evidence, large and small, all pointed in the wrong direction. How do you explain that Sinde is terrified? I don't see any sign of political oppression at all, their elders are apparently free to assemble without interference of any kind. The taxes they mention, I think a little They are not harsh, and they are not fully implemented. Everyone here is crying poor, but everyone is strong and strong, and no one is hungry. Although their houses are bare and the village is quite simple, but Apparently it's all that's needed." "In fact, the world simply fascinates me. I have never seen a more incomprehensible place, but I can be sure that the people do not suffer, and their simple life just provides harmonious happiness. In those technologically advanced worlds In the world, such spiritual happiness cannot be found at all among those who are sophisticated and sophisticated." "So, you are full of yearning for rural life." "But I don't have that life," Chengnis seemed interested in the idea, "I'm just pointing out the importance of these phenomena. The Dacinds are obviously efficient managers-this efficiency is not the same as that of the Old Empire or The First Foundation is completely different, not even our Federation. While other systems impose mechanical efficiencies on their subjects, sacrificing some of the more valuable intangible values, the Dascinds bring them both To be happy and prosperous. Can't you see, they govern in a completely different way? It's not physical, it's psychological governance." "Really?" Pridji said in a deliberate sarcasm, "then the punishments for traitors that the elders mentioned, the punishments that terrified them, were actually carried out by benevolent psychologists? How can I justify myself?" "Have they ever been punished themselves? They only say that others have. Since the fear is so deeply rooted in them, real punishment has never been necessary. The spiritual tendency has taken root in their minds, so I am sure, There isn't a single Darcindian soldier on the planet. Don't you see the point?" "Perhaps after I meet the governor," Pridji replied in a nonchalant tone, "I'll be able to see it. By the way, is it possible that our minds have been controlled?" Chengnis replied in an annoying and contemptuous tone: "You should be used to this kind of thing." Priji's face immediately turned pale, and he turned around with all his strength.That day, the two of them never spoke a word again. It was a still and windless cold night. After hearing Chengnis' soft snoring, Priji quietly adjusted the transmitter on his wrist, tuning it to the ultrasonic frequency band that Chengnis could not receive.Then he lightly tapped the send button with his fingernails, and began to communicate with the starship in space. Not long after, he received an answer from the starship.It was a soundless vibration, which just exceeded the threshold of the human body's sense of touch. Pridji asked twice in a row: "Have you received any information?" And both times the answer was the same: "No, we're monitoring 24/7." Priji got up from the bed, the room was very cold, he grabbed a fur blanket and wrapped it around his body.Then he sat down in a chair and looked up at the sky full of stars.The starry sky here is bright and complex, very different from what he is familiar with.In his hometown, the outer rim of the Milky Way, the night sky is almost entirely shrouded in hazy galactic lenses. The answer to the question that has troubled him for years must lie somewhere among the stars.He sincerely hoped that the answer would come as soon as possible, and this annoying thing would be completely over. At this time, he suddenly doubted what the mule said—was it really the "return" that made him lose his strong confidence and determination?Or is it the growing age and the ups and downs of the past few years at work? But he didn't care much about the answer to that question. He is very tired. Governor Roseanne arrived lightly, with little pomp and circumstance.The only entourage around him was the soldier who drove the chariot for him. His car was cleverly designed, but in Priggi's opinion, it didn't perform well at all.It corners awkwardly, and there are a couple of times when the car suddenly falters, probably because of a quick gear change.In addition, from its appearance, Priggi can tell at a glance that it uses chemical fuel, and it is definitely not nuclear energy. The governor of Dassinde stepped out of his car, stepped on the thin snow, and walked forward between the two rows of elders who lined up to welcome him.He walked quickly into the house without looking either side at all, and the elders followed behind him. The two subordinates sent by the mule were peeking out from their room at this moment.They found that the governor was squat in appearance, and although his physique was still solid, he was inconspicuous in any case. But so what? Pridji secretly complained that his nerves were too tense.In fact, his expression was still frosty, and he was not ashamed in front of Chengnis.But he also clearly knew that his blood pressure had risen at this moment, and his throat felt abnormally dry. This is not a physical fear.He was not a dull-witted man, certainly not so stupid that he didn't know how to be afraid.He has enough courage to deal with physical fears, and there are many ways to suppress them. But today's situation is completely different, and he now faces a different kind of fear. He glanced at Chengnis quickly, only to find that he was looking at his nails nonchalantly, filing some irregularities leisurely. A strong anger suddenly burst into Priji's heart, how could Chengnis be afraid of being controlled? Puli Ji concentrated, trying to trace back his past history... What was his state of mind when he was a die-hard democrat before the mule turned him back?It's really hard to recall.He couldn't control his mind, couldn't break free from the invisible threads that bound his emotions to the mule.His mind still remembered that he had tried to assassinate the mule, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember the emotion at that time.However, this phenomenon may be a defensive act of his mind, because when he just wanted to relive those emotions, he just thought of the psychological tendency at that time, and he hadn't realized any substance at all. Nausea. Could it be the governor who was disturbing his mind? Could it be that the invisible tentacles protruding from the second base have entered into the crevice of his mind in a detour, tearing apart his inherent emotions and reassembling them... At that time, I felt nothing, no physical pain, no mental torture, and I couldn't even feel the process.He has always been full of respect and love for mules. If in the distant past—a period of time longer than just five years—there was no respect and love for mules in his heart, or even hatred for mules, it must be just hateful hallucinations.Just thinking about this vision was enough to make him feel ashamed. However, there has never been pain. Will it all be repeated after the meeting with the Governor?Will everything in the past—his days of loyalty to the mule, the direction of his life—will merge with that vague dream of democracy?Could it be that even the mule was a dream, and that his allegiance had been to Darcinde... He turned away abruptly. A strong nausea welled up. Then, Chengnis' voice rang in his ear: "I think this time is it, General." Priji turned around again, and saw an elder gently open the door, standing respectfully and solemnly on the threshold. He said: "Lord Darcinde's representative, His Excellency the Governor in Luoshan, is willing to allow your audience. Please come with me." "Of course," Cheng Nisi pulled the belt and adjusted the Rosanne-style turban on his head. Priji gritted his teeth, the real gamble was about to begin. Governor Roseanne didn't look like a ruthless character, mainly because he didn't wear a hat, and part of his thinning hair had faded from light brown to gray, adding a bit of amiability to him.His eyes are squinted, and his eyes are surrounded by fine wrinkles, and he looks quite shrewd.The contour of the chin that has just been shaved is gentle and unremarkable. According to the generally accepted view of the followers of the pseudoscience of physiognomy, it should belong to a weak person's chin. Pridji avoided those eyes and stared at his chin.He didn't know if it would work - if anything at all. The Governor's voice sounded thin and cold: "Welcome to Dasinde, we welcome you both with peace of mind, have you had your meal yet?" The two speakers passed each other on the road, and one stopped the other. "I have brought a message from the chief speaker." There was a knowing light in the other party's eyes, and he asked, "The rendezvous point?" "Yes! Hopefully we'll still see the sunrise tomorrow."