Chapter 4 Chapter Four: A Family of Three in the Steel Cave

The first time Bailey really noticed Jessie was because of her name.He had met her over cocktails at the district Yule Ball. It was the 2002s, he had just graduated and had landed his first job in city government, not long after he had moved into the area.He lived in a small bachelor's room in the public house No. 122A, and the conditions were not bad. She was serving cocktails to guests at the time. "Hi, my name is Jessie," she said, "Jessie Naoni. I haven't met you before, have I?" "Yes, I just moved to this area." He said, "Hello, my name is Ilya. Ilya Bailey." He took a glass of wine and smiled formulaically.

He just moved here and doesn't know anyone.It can be quite lonely at a dance when you're looking at a bunch of people standing there chatting and you're not one of them.After a while, he thought, when he had had enough wine, things might get better.This girl named Jessie gave the impression of being kind and lively, so he stayed beside her all the time, guarding the big tank of cocktails, watching people coming and going, sipping thoughtfully . "I helped mix this cocktail." The girl said to him suddenly, "I promise it's of good quality. Do you want more?"

Only then did Bailey realize that his shot glass was empty.He smiled and handed over the cup: "Please." The girl has an oval face, which is not considered pretty, because her nose is a little too big.She was dressed modestly and had light brown hair with curly bangs on her forehead. They drank cocktails together, and he felt better. "Jessie," he felt the name carefully with his tongue, "well, it's a nice name. You don't mind if I call you Jessie?" "Of course," she said, "do you know what it's short for?" "Jessica?"

"You'll never guess." "I really can't think of any other name." She laughed and said mischievously, "My full name is Jezebel." At this moment he was really curious about her.He put down his glass and said with great interest, "Really?" "Really, I kid you not. Jezebel. That's my real name on all my personal records. My parents love how it sounds." There is probably no one in the world who is less Jezebel than her, but she is very proud of the name. Bailey said seriously, "You know, my name is Elijah. I mean my real name is Elijah." She didn't seem to understand the allusion to the name.

"Elia was Jezebel's worst enemy," he said. "yes?" "Yes, the Bible says." "Oh? I don't know. But isn't it interesting? I hope you don't become my enemy in real life." There is no doubt that from that moment on, they will never become enemies.At first, because of the coincidence of her name, she was more than just a friendly girl by the cocktail tank to him.After dating, he was gradually attracted by her lively and kind personality, and in the end, she even became quite beautiful in his eyes. He especially admired her frankness.His own somber, mocking outlook on life needs a little tempering.

And what about Jessie?She never seemed to care about his long, serious and sullen face. "Oh," she said, "what if you really looked like a horrible sour lemon? I know you weren't like that, and, come to think of it, if we were both smiling all the time , then we will be finished sooner or later, and we must be together soon. So, Ilya, you just keep your original appearance, hold me firmly, and don't let me float away." Not only did she not drift away, but she also brought a bright and happy atmosphere to Bailey. Later, he applied for a small two-person apartment, which came with a marriage license.He showed her the marriage license. "Can you do me a favor, Jessie?" he said, "Please get me out of the light house, I don't like it."

It might not be the most romantic proposal in the world, but Jessie loves it. With one exception, Bailey remembered, Jessie had maintained her habitual cheerfulness even after her marriage.And that incident was also related to her name. It was the first year of their marriage, before the baby was born.To be more precise, it was during Jessie's first month of pregnancy with Bentley. (Based on their IQ ratings, their genetic worth, and his stage in the police department, they were allowed to have two children, the first of whom could be conceived in the first year of marriage.) Bailey recalls how Jessie would Becoming restless, maybe it has something to do with pregnancy.

At that time, Bailey often worked overtime, and Jessie was unhappy about it. "Eating alone at a regional restaurant every night is a shame," she said. Bailey was tired and had a bad temper. "What's there to be ashamed of?" he said. "You'll meet some handsome bachelors there." When Jessie heard this, of course she was furious. "Do you think I can't attract them, Elijah Baley?" Perhaps, Bailey was too tired.Perhaps, it was because his senior, Juliel Enderby, had moved up one more level on the C-rank, while Bailey hadn't.It could also be that Bailey is getting a little tired of her trying to act like her name, which she's not and never will be.

Whatever the reason, in short, he said very rudely: "Of course you can attract them, but I don't think you will try. Forget your name! Act like yourself." "I love like Like who!" "It's no good for you to want to be the Jezebel of the Bible. Do you know what the truth is? Tell you, the name doesn't mean anything like what you think it does. The Jezebel of the Bible is, in her own eyes, A faithful and good wife, who, so far as we know, has no lovers, does not make a scene, and is not at all morally careless." Jessie glared at him angrily and said, "Who said that? That's not the case! I've heard the idiom 'heavy makeup and wiped Jezebel', and I know what it means!"

"Perhaps you think you know, but I will tell you the truth. After the death of King Ahab, Mr. Jezebel, his son Joram succeeded him. Jehu, the military commander of Joram, rebelled and killed Johoram. Then Jehu rode to Jezreel to find Jezebel. Jezebel heard him coming and knew he was coming to kill her. She was a proud and brave woman, so she melted in the face heavy makeup and best clothes so that she could meet him with arrogance and contempt. In the end Jezebel was thrown from the window of the palace by Jehu and fell to her death. In my opinion, Jezebel It made a good ending. Whether people know the story or not, that's how the allusion to 'makeup and smearing Jezebel' came about."

The next night, Jessie whispered to him, "I read the Bible, Elijah." "What?" For a moment, Bailey really didn't know what she was talking about. "The part about Jezebel." "Oh Jessie! I apologize if I hurt you. I was so naive." "No, no." She pushed his hands away from her waist.She sat on the sofa, far away from him, with a calm and stiff attitude. "It's good to know the truth. I don't want to be fooled by ignorance, and that's why I read the records about her. She was a very immoral woman, Ilya." "Uh, these chapters were written by her enemies. Whether she is good or not, we have no way of judging." "She killed every Jehovah's prophet she could get her hands on." "It is said to be so." Bailey reached into his pocket for chewing gum. (In recent years, he has given up the habit. Because Jessie says his face is long and sad, with brown eyes that make him chew gum like an old rooster with a ball of grass in his mouth , neither swallow nor spit out.) He said: "If you stand with her, I can think of something for you. She cherishes the religion of her ancestors, her ancestors were there before the Hebrews land. The Hebrews had their own god, and it was an exclusive god. They worshiped him not only themselves, but all the people around him." "Jezebel is very conservative, she clings to old beliefs and opposes new ones. After all, even though new religions have higher moral content, emotionally, old beliefs give people more Satisfied. She killed priests only because she was in that era. At that time, this was a common way of proselytizing people. If you read the content of the Bible's "1 Kings", you must still Remember that Elijah has something to do with my name this time. He competed with 850 prophets of Baal to see who could beg his god to send fire. In the end, Elijah won, and he immediately ordered the crowd to watch The crowd killed these eight hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, the crowd really killed them all." Jessie bit her lip. "But what about Naboth's vineyard, Elijah? That Naboth didn't offend anyone, he just refused to sell the vineyard to King Ahab. But Jezebel let everyone do it. Perjury, that Naboth committed blasphemy." "Should have said 'blasphemy against God and the King,'" Bailey said. "Yeah, so they put him to death and took his property." "That's wrong. Of course, in modern times, it's easy to deal with Naboth. If the city government wants his property, or, even a medieval country wants his property, the court just orders him to leave, and if necessary Force him to leave, and pay him what they think is a reasonable price. But King Ahab has no such method. Of course, Jezebel's method is wrong. The only reason she holds is that Ahab Things are gloomy. She feels that her love for her husband is far more important than Naboth's life. Alas! I have been telling you that she is a model of a faithful wife." Jessie moved her seat farther away, flushing. "You're so vicious!" she said angrily. He looked at her dejectedly. "What did I do wrong? What's the matter with you?" She left the apartment without saying a word, and hid in the sub-ether film screening room all night, watching one film after another in a fit of anger, using up her own quota for two months and her husband's quota . Baley was still awake when she came back, but she still didn't speak, didn't talk to him about it. It took a long time before Bailey realized that he had completely destroyed an important part of Jessie's life.Her name, for her, represents a very interesting kind of "bad," a whimsy of moral deviance.This playful "badness" is a lovely counterweight to her prim, conformist upbringing. It gave her a wild taste, and she liked it. But now, this thing is gone.She never mentioned her full name again, never to Bailey, never to her friends.And, Bailey thought, she might not even mention it to herself.Her name is Jessie, she is Jessie, and she signs Jessie when she signs. Days passed and she started talking to him again.A little over a week after the altercation, they got back together.Although they also quarreled later, it was never as fierce as that time. Only once did they mention it indirectly.At that time, she was eight months pregnant and had already left her job as an assistant nutritionist at the restaurant in No. 23 area A.After not doing anything, she suddenly has a lot of free time. She is not used to it, so she spends time preparing for the arrival of the newborn and contemplating. She said one night, "Do you think Bentleigh is all right?" "What? Excuse me, dear?" Bailey didn't understand what she meant for a moment, so he put down his work and looked up at her. (With the cost of an additional child coming up, and without Jessie's salary, and with no chance of his own promotion to an administrative job, he would have to work part-time or even take work home to do.) "I mean, if it's a boy, will you name him Bentleley?" The corners of Bailey's mouth collapsed: "Bantley Bailey? Don't you think the pronunciation of this name and surname are too close?" "I didn't notice it, I just thought there was a rhythm to the pronunciation of the name. Also, when the child grows up, he can have a middle name he likes." "Well, well, I have no objection." "Really? I mean... Maybe you wanted to call him Elijah?" "Call him little Ilya? I don't think so? If he wants, he can name his son Ilya in the future." "Also, one other thing." Jessie stopped talking. After a while, he raised his head: "What's the matter?" She avoided his gaze, but her voice was firm and forceful. "Bantley isn't a biblical name, is it?" "Yes," Bailey said, "I'm sure not." "That's fine, I don't want any names from the Bible." In the eighteen years of their marriage, and the sixteen years since Bentley (middle name hadn't been chosen), until the day Baley brought Daniel the robot home, that was the only time they had mentioned the old issue that had caused their quarrel. Bailey stopped before the double doors that read "Private Room Male" in large letters.There is a row of smaller fonts below the big characters on the door: "One A One E Division".There is a line of smaller words on the key seam: "If you lose the key, contact 2710151 immediately." A man brushed past them, slipped a long aluminum handle into the key slot, and walked in.After he entered, he closed the door without stopping for Bailey and the others.If he did, Bailey would be very upset.It is a social custom that men simply ignore each other whether they are inside or outside their private rooms.Everyone knows.But in the women's private rooms, Jessie told him, it was a different story. She always said, "I ran into Josephine in the private room today and she told me..." Because of this, Jessie's social life was hurt when Bailey was allowed to use the small bathroom in the bedroom.Probably this is one of the relative punishments received when the citizen's qualifications are promoted! Bailey said with a little embarrassment: "Please wait for me here, Daniel." "Are you going in to freshen up?" asked R. Daniel. Bailey was very disturbed and thought: Damn robot!Hadn't they briefed him about everything in the steel cave?Didn't they teach him manners?If he asked others like that, I would be ashamed. "I'm going to go in and shower," he said. "It's crowded every night, and I'm wasting my time. If I take a shower now, I can talk to you all night." R. Daniel still had that calm look: "Is it one of the social customs for me to wait outside?" Bailey was even more embarrassed: "Otherwise? What are you going in for?" "Oh, I see what you mean. Yes, of course. But, Ilya, my hands are dirty too, and I want to wash them." He spread out his palms and stretched them out in front of him.These are pink, plump hands with normal fine lines.These hands are exquisite works, fully displaying meticulous skills.And, in Bailey's opinion, the hands were clean enough. "You know, our apartment has bathroom facilities." Bailey said casually.Of course, the robot can't hear the meaning of showing off. "Thank you, but I think I'd better make use of this place. If I'm going to live among you Earthlings, then I'd better try to accept and participate in your customs and ideas." "Then come in!" The interior of the personal private room is spacious and bright, which makes people feel very comfortable.This is in sharp contrast to most of the buildings in New York City that only pay attention to practicality and do not pay attention to appearance and feel.But this time, Bailey couldn't feel the comfort. He whispered to Daniel, "I might have half an hour, wait for me." He turned away, then turned back and added, "Listen, don't talk to anyone, don't look at anyone. Say nothing, Don't look, it's a custom." He looked around quickly to make sure no one noticed him whispering, or looked at him in surprise.Fortunately, there is no one in the front hall, and, after all, this is just the front hall. He hurried down, feeling faintly uncomfortable all over.He passed the common area and walked towards the individual area divided into rooms. It had been five years since he had been entitled to the solo zone.Each cubicle in the one-person area is large enough to accommodate a shower, a small laundry, and other necessary fixtures.There's even a small projector inside that pushes the buttons to show new movies. "It's like a home away from home," Bailey joked when he first used his cubicle in the solitary area. But these days, he often thinks that if the eligibility to use the personal cubicle in the single area is revoked, he really doesn't know how to put up with the crude equipment in the shared area. He pressed the button that activated the laundry unit, and the sleek metal watch lit up. During the process when Bailey took a shower, put on clean clothes, and came out refreshed and comfortable, R. Daniel had been waiting patiently. "No problem?" Bailey asked when they were far enough out of the private room to talk. "No problem, Elijah," said R. Daniel. When they arrived at Bailey's apartment, Jessie waited for them at the door with a nervous smile.Bailey kissed her. "Jessie," he said vaguely, "this is my new partner, Daniel Oliva." Jessie held out a hand, and Daniel shook her hand, then let go.She turned to her husband and looked at R. Daniel suspiciously. "Please sit down, Mr. Oliva," she said. "I want to talk to my husband about some housework. Just a minute. I hope you don't mind." She grabbed Bale by the sleeve and pulled him into the next room. "Are you not injured?" She asked him in a low voice, very anxious: "I was really worried to death when I heard the radio." "What broadcast?" "It's been on the air for almost an hour, and the content is related to the riot in that shoe store. They said that two plainclothes criminals suppressed the riot scene. I know you and your work partner are going home, and the riot happened on our side Partition, plus it happened at exactly the time you were going home, so I thought they were downplaying the whole thing, when in fact you” "Don't worry, Jessie. Don't you think I'm fine?" Jessie tried to calm herself down, but her voice was still a little nervous: "Your partner is not from your unit, is he?" "Yes." Bailey said a little unhappy: "He is a person I don't know at all." "How should I greet him?" "It's like greeting someone. He's just my work partner." The tone of Bailey's words made people feel that there were overtones, and the sharp-eyed Jessie immediately narrowed his eyes to look at him. "Is there anything wrong?" "Nothing. Come on, let's go back to the living room. It'll be weird not to go back." Bailey looked at his apartment and suddenly felt guilty.He had never felt this way before. In fact, he has always been very proud of his apartment.They had three large rooms, the living room alone was 4.5 by 5.5 square meters.Every room has closets.A large air duct runs through the house, which means that there is an occasional little booming noise in the apartment, but on the other hand, it also means that the temperature control and air quality in the apartment are top-notch.The most convenient thing is that the house is not too far from the private rooms for men and women. However, when a monster from the outside world sits in the apartment, Bailey suddenly feels guilty.The originally proud apartment seemed to become cramped in an instant. Jessie said with a feigned pleasure, "Have you had dinner with Mr. Oliva, Elijah?" "Oh! Actually," answered Bailey quickly, "Daniel won't eat with us. I'm hungry." Jessie accepted the situation without hesitation.Because food supplies are strictly controlled and rations are tighter than ever, it is known good manners to decline hospitality. "Mr. Oliva, I hope you don't mind our meal," she said. "Ilya, Bentley and I usually eat at the regional restaurant. You know, it's more convenient, and there are more dishes to choose from, and You don't have to say go out and eat at the area restaurant, which is more generous. However, we are allowed to eat in the apartment three times a week. Ilya is doing very well in the bureau, and we have a good position. I think , in order to welcome you to the house, if you would like to eat with us, we can make a small celebration of our own. But, you know, I also think that the excessive exercise of privacy is a bit anti-social." R. Daniel listened politely. Bailey gave a secret "hush" and shook his finger at Jessie: "Honey, I'm starving to death." R. Daniel said, "Mrs. Bailey, would it be against custom if I called you by your first name?" "No, of course not." Jessie said, pulling out a folding table from the wall, and inserting the dish warmer into the depression in the center of the table. "Just call me Jessie, uh, Daniel." She chuckled. Bailey was furious.What followed was even more unbearable.Jessie thought R. Daniel was human.She would brag about it to the women in the women's private room.Although Daniel looked cold, he was very handsome, and Jessie liked his politeness, even a blind person could see it. Bailey didn't know what R. Daniel's impression of Jessie was.She hadn't changed much in eighteen years, at least in Bailey's eyes.Of course, she gained a little weight and lost a lot of her youthful body. Her lips were wrinkled and her cheeks were slightly saggy.Her hairstyle is very conservative, and her hair color is darker than it used to be. But what does all this matter?Bailey thought to himself.In the outer world, women are as tall, straight, and dignified as men.At least, that's what the film book says. The woman R. Daniel was used to must be that kind of woman. However, facing Jessie, R. Daniel seemed very calm, and he would not show any strange expression because of her conversation, appearance or calling him by his name without authorization.He said: "Are you sure this is okay? Jessie seems to be a title, maybe only your family can call you that. It might be better if I can call you by your full name." Jessie was opening the thermal paper covering the dinner ration, when she heard Daniel's words, she suddenly lowered her head and concentrated on doing her own thing. "My full name is Jessie," she said unnaturally. "Everyone calls me that. I don't have another name." "Okay, Jessie." The door of the apartment opened, and a boy walked in cautiously.He saw R. Daniel immediately. "Dad?" The boy looked at his father questioningly. "This is my son, Bentley." Bailey introduced in a low voice: "Ben, this is Mr. Oliva." "He's your mate, isn't he, Dad? Hello, Mr. Oliva." Bentley's eyes grew bright and big. "By the way, Dad, what happened to the shoe store down there? The news broadcast said" "Don't ask any questions now, Ben," Baley interrupted sharply. Bentleley looked sullenly at his mother.His mother motioned him to sit down. "Did you do what I told you to do, Bentleigh?" Jessie asked, running a hand through his hair as he sat down.His hair was as black as his father's, and he was growing to be as tall as his father.But other than that, he's like his mother.He has Jessie's oval face, hazel eyes, and an optimistic and cheerful outlook on life. "It's done, Ma," said Bentleigh, leaning forward to look at the steaming plate. "What do we eat? It's not artificial beef again, is it? Mom?" "What's wrong with artificial beef?" Jessie said, pursing her lips. "Now, concentrate on eating what's in front of you, don't talk too much." Obviously, it is artificial beef they are going to eat. Bailey also sat down in his seat.Like Bentleley, he would rather eat something else than this artificial beef with a strong smell and a strange taste in his mouth after eating.But Jessie had already explained her difficulty. "Oh, Ilya, I can't help it," she once said. "I live in this area all day, I can't make enemies, or life will be difficult. They know that I have worked as an assistant nutritionist, and, on this floor Few people in the apartment even had the privilege of eating at home on Sunday, and if I took away my steak or chicken every other week, people would say I had power and connections in the pantry. They It will be publicized and passed around, so that I can't go out at all, and I can't go to my private room with peace of mind. In fact, artificial beef and raw vegetables are very good things. They are very balanced in nutrition and not at all. No waste and full of vitamins and minerals and every nutrient anyone could ever need. Plus, we eat as much chicken as we want at the area restaurant every Tuesday." Bailey immediately caved in.Jessie is right that the number one problem in life is to reduce friction with those around you.But Bentley was not yet able to appreciate this deeply. Sure enough, this time he still had an opinion. "Mom!" he said, "Why can't I use Daddy's coupons to eat at the area restaurant? I'd rather eat there." Jessie was a little angry, shook her head and said, "Bantley, why are you still so ignorant? You think, if people see you eating there alone, it seems that you don't like your family, or are kicked out by them , what will people say?" "Oh, mother, what does it matter to anyone else!" Bailey said angrily. "Do as your mother tells you, Bentleley!" Bentley shrugged unhappily. R. Daniel, who was sitting at the other end of the room, suddenly said, "May I read these film books when we have dinner at home?" "Oh, of course!" Bentleley said, leaving the table with a look of great interest. "These books are mine. I borrowed them from the library with special permission from the school. I'll get my reading glasses and give them You use it. My reading glasses are great, my dad gave me them for my birthday last year." He handed the reading glasses to R. Daniel, "Are you interested in robots, Mr. Oliva?" Bailey's spoon fell to the ground with a "Dang!" and he bent to pick it up. R. Daniel replied, "Yes, Bentley, I'm very interested." "Then you will like these books. They are all related to robots. The school asked us to write a report on robots, so I am working on it. This is a very complicated problem." He said proudly: "My own The position is against robots." "Come and sit down, Bentleigh!" Bailey said in a panic. "Don't bother Mr. Oliva." "He's not bothering me, Elijah," said R. Daniel. "I'd be happy to talk to you about it another day, Bentleley. But your father and I will be very busy tonight." "Thank you, Mr. Oliva." Bentley went back to the table and sat down, made a face at his mother, then lowered his head, and cut off a piece of crispy pink artificial beef with a fork. Bailey thought to himself: Will it be busy tonight? Then he remembered his work, and his body couldn't help shaking.He thought of an outsider lying dead in the space city, and he remembered how he had been obsessed with his own problems for hours, and had forgotten about this cold murder.