Chapter 9 Chapter 9 A Silver Lining

A few minutes passed, and Julier's nervous laughter gradually disappeared, and Bailey's ears were filled with loud bangs.The igloo and its contents swayed in front of him, and Bailey's sense of time was getting closer and further away, becoming blurred in an instant. Finally, he came back to his senses and found himself sitting motionless on a chair.He finally realized clearly that some time had passed without knowing it.The video transmitter turned white, and no memory could be seen.Julier had disappeared. R. Daniel was sitting next to him, pinching his bare arm.Bailey saw a dark, tiny hypodermic implant implanted under his pinched skin.As he watched, the hypodermic injection faded, spread, seeped into the interstitial fluid, into the blood and adjacent cells, and finally into the cells of his body.

He gradually sobered up and returned to reality. "Are you feeling better, partner Elijah?" asked R. Daniel. Bailey felt better.He retracted his arms, and R. Daniel let go.He pulled down his sleeves and looked around. Dr. Fastolf was still sitting where he was, with a slight smile on his inconspicuous face. "Did I faint just now?" Bailey asked. "So to speak," said Dr. Fastoff. "I think you've been quite shaken." Bai Lai understood what happened just now.He quickly took R. Daniel's hand, and opened the cuff vigorously to check. The robot's muscles are soft to the touch, but there is something harder than bone under the muscles.

R. Daniel didn't struggle and let him hold on.Bailey pinched and searched along R. Daniel's arm.He looked carefully, is there a thin seam here? Of course, there are seams to make sense.This robot covered with artificial skin is deliberately made to be very human-like, and it cannot be repaired by ordinary methods.Its breastplate has no rivets to unscrew.Its head cannot be lifted outwards.That being the case, then its mechanical body must be stitched together along a micro magnetic field line. This is the case with the arms, with the head, with the whole body, which can be opened by the touch of some proper hand, and joined again by the touch of some opposite hand.

Bailey looked up. "Where's the chief?" He murmured, regretful in his heart. "He has urgent matters to attend to," Fastoff said. "I advised him to leave. I assured him we will take care of you." "You have taken good care of me, thank you very much." Bailey said solemnly: "I think our business is over." He stood stiffly on his weak joints.Suddenly, he felt like an old man.Too old to start over.He foresaw that future without even trying to think about it. Juliell would be both terrified and angry.He would look at his subordinates and friends with a pale face, and take off his glasses every fifteen seconds to wipe them.He would carefully explain in his soft voice (Juriel almost never yelled) that the outsiders were angry, mad!

"You can't speak to the Outworlders that way, Elijah. They won't accept it." (Bailey could hear Juliel's voice clearly, and the intonations were clear.) "I warn you Let’s not mention how much damage you have caused, anyway, you should discuss it with me first! I can see your thoughts, and I know what you are going to do. If they were earthlings, the situation would be different, and I would say yes, Take your chances and catch them. But they are aliens! You should have told me, Ilya, you should have consulted with me first. I know them. I know them all!" And he could What do you say?This matter just cannot be said, especially Julier.This plan has a great risky element, and Julier is a very cautious person.Whatever the success or failure of the plan, Julier would say, it was extremely dangerous.Even if it is successful, it will have bad consequences.How could he say it?How he told him that in order to avoid being stripped of his status, he had no choice but to prove wrong in Space City...Juriel would then say: "We must file a report on this matter, Elijah. Reactions will follow soon .I know these outsiders. They will ask to withdraw from the case, and I will have to agree to them. You understand this, Ilya? Don't worry, I will not make things difficult for you, and I will try to defend you." Bailey knew it was true.Julier will defend him, but only as much as possible.For example, he would never offend the mayor in order to defend him.

He also heard the voice of the mayor. "What the hell is going on, Enderby? Why don't you talk it over with me? Is New York City yours or mine? How can you let an unlicensed robot into the city? And, the goddamn baby Lai after all..." If Juliel had to choose between Bailey and his own future, Bailey could already see the outcome.This is human nature, and he has no reason to blame Julier. Don't expect him to be relegated, although the relegation is bad enough.Of course, he can't die either.As long as you live in a modern city, even if you are deprived of your status, it is still possible to maintain the minimum survival.It's just how low this possibility is, he is too clear.

Only when people have status and status can they add some small things beyond the minimum living conditions, for example: an extra comfortable chair, leaner meat, and shorter waiting times in certain places .To a rational and level-headed person, these things seem of little value, not worth the effort to get. However, no matter how calm and rational you are, once you have enjoyed these privileges, it is impossible to give them up without suffering.That's the problem. For Bailey, getting permission to activate the salt wash in the apartment after thirty years of private quarters was hardly an added convenience, since private quarters had become a habit.Even if it is a sign of status, it is not very useful, because showing off one's status to others is an act that everyone disdains.However, what embarrassment and humiliation would it be every time he went to his private room if the salt washing equipment in the apartment could no longer be used!How tempting it would be to shave in the bedroom, and what a pity to lose that luxury!

It is a popular saying among modern political writers that when they look back on the past, they express their dissatisfaction with the "fiscalism" of the Middle Ages.In the Middle Ages, the basis of the economy was money.The competition for life was brutal, they said.The tendency for everyone to "grab money" creates enormous pressure to maintain a truly complex social structure. On the contrary, modern "civic spirit" is highly regarded as efficient and enlightened. may be.In Romantic and maverick historical fiction, however, the Medievalists had another voice."Fiscalism," they argue, breeds individualism and innovation.

Bailey didn't express any opinion on this, but now he was thinking very uncomfortablely. He didn't know that people in the Middle Ages had a hard time fighting for the so-called "money" no matter what it was, and it was more uncomfortable to win it and lose it. Or is it harder and harder for urban residents to maintain their right to eat a chicken leg every Sunday night, a real chicken leg taken from a once-living chicken. Bailey thought: I don't care.Jessie and Bentley suffered. Fastolf's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Mr. Bailey, did you hear me?" Bailey blinked. "Huh?" How long had he stood there motionless?

"Would you please sit down, Mr. Bailey? Now that the tirade is over, you might be interested in some of the live footage we took in the immediate aftermath of the murder?" "No, thank you. I'm going back to the city on errands." "Isn't Dr. Sutton's case the most important?" "It's not for me anymore. I don't think I'm running the case anymore." At this point, he suddenly flew into a rage: "Damn it! If you can prove that R. Daniel is a robot, why don't you prove it right away? Why are you messing things up? "

"My dear Mr. Bailey, I am here because you are very interested in your reasoning. As for your qualifications to handle the case, I don't think you will be disqualified. Before the director left, I had specifically expressed to him that you should stay. Come down and get on with the case. I'm sure he'll cooperate." "Why?" asked Baley sharply, sitting down reluctantly. Fastov sighed and crossed his legs: "Mr. Bailey, generally speaking, there are two types of urban residents I have contacted, thugs and politicians. Although your chief is valuable to us, he is a politician, he said What we want to hear is what we want to hear. In fact, he is manipulating us, and you probably know what I mean. And you, you stand here with courage and accuse us of a great crime, and you are trying to prove your accusation. It does hold. I've enjoyed the process and I find it a promising development." "Develop what?" Bailey asked angrily. "You are a person I can face calmly. Mr. Bailey, last night R. Daniel reported some information about you to me through a hidden sub-ether communicator. I am very interested in some things about you. For example, I'm interested in the nature of those film books in your apartment." "What about those books?" "Many of them are about history and archaeology. It shows that you are interested in human society and you have some understanding of human evolution." "Even a policeman can read his favorite books after get off work." "Of course. I'm glad you chose to read these books for entertainment. This will help me a lot in what I'm about to say. First, I'll explain, or try to explain, the xenophobia of the Outer Worlds. We live here We don't enter the cities, we only come into contact with your city dwellers in certain strictly limited circumstances. We breathe natural air, but we breathe with filters. Now I'm sitting here with the filters in my nostrils and my hands Wearing gloves, insisting on keeping the current distance with you, for fear of getting any closer. What do you think this is for?" "There's no need to speculate," Bayley said.He thought, let him speak for himself. "If you think like your compatriots, then you must say that it is because we look down on Earthlings and disdain to be close to you. However, it is wrong. The real answer is actually obvious. The health checks and cleaning processes you have undergone , it was not a ritual, but out of necessity." "disease?" "Yes, diseases. My dear Mr. Bailey, those earthlings who colonized the outer worlds found that the planets they visited were completely free of the bacteria and viruses on the earth. But of course they brought the bacteria and viruses with them, but they They also brought with them the latest medical and microbiological technology. What they have to deal with is only a small group of microorganisms, and there is no intermediate host. There are no mosquitoes that transmit addiction, no snails that transmit schistosomiasis. There are no vectors for infectious diseases, only allowing The growth of symbiotic bacteria. Gradually, the outer world became a world free from infectious diseases. Naturally, after a period of time, the outer world became more and more strict in accepting the earth immigrants; because the earth people may bring diseases again, and the outer world The tolerance to disease is getting lower and lower.” "Have you never been ill, Dr. Fastoff?" "No contagious disease, Mr. Bailey. Of course we all get degenerative diseases like arteriosclerosis, but I've never had what you call a cold. If I had a cold, I'd probably So death. I have no defense against it. That's what we fear most in Space City. We're all here risking our lives to some extent. The planet is full of disease and we have no defense against it There is no natural resistance. Like you, you are almost a carrier of many diseases, and you don’t realize it yourself, because you have controlled them with the antibodies your body has produced over the past many years. But I, myself, Lack of these antibodies. Do you wonder why I don't come near you? Please believe me, Mr. Bailey, I only act arrogantly in order to protect myself." "In this case, why don't you tell the people on Earth the truth?" Bailey said: "I mean, why don't you admit that the reason why you keep a distance from the people on Earth is not because you hate people on Earth, but to protect your own safety. ?” The outsider shook his head: "You are the majority, we are the minority, Mr. Bailey, and we are still unwelcome outsiders. We put on a superior posture, even if it is not acceptable to you, at least we can maintain it." A safe distance. We cannot admit that our reluctance to approach Earthlings is based on fear, and that would be a shame. At least, we cannot tell the truth until there is better communication between Earthlings and Outworlders.” "So far, it's not possible. We and they hate you and the superiority." "It's a big problem. We know it." "Does the chief know?" "We've never explained it to him as frankly as we did to you. He might guess, though. He's pretty clever." "If he guesses, he should tell me," Bayley mused. Fastoff raised his eyebrows: "If he guessed it, you wouldn't consider that R. Daniel might be a human, would you?" Bailey shrugged slightly, not wanting to talk about the matter. Fastoff continued: "You know, it's true. The noise and the crowds in the city are a terrible psychological barrier for us. If we enter the city, we are like a death sentence. So Dr. Shatton Come up with this plan for anthropomorphic robots. They're designed to go into cities instead of us" "I know. R. Daniel told me." "You object?" "Wait," Bailey said, "since we're talking open and honest, let me ask you a quick question. Why do you aliens come to Earth? Why don't you stay away from us?" Fastoff was clearly surprised: "Are you satisfied with your life on Earth?" "We're having a good time." "Okay, but how long can this go on? Your population is still increasing, and the calories needed to feed these people are getting harder and harder to supply. The earth is in a dead end, man!" "We're doing well," Bayley repeated stubbornly. "Barely making ends meet. In a city like New York, you have to do everything you can to get water and get rid of waste. Nuclear power plants need uranium fuel, and even if uranium fuel is taken from other planets in the solar system, it is getting more and more difficult. On the other hand , your demand for uranium fuel is constantly increasing. The life of the whole city is in constant demand every minute. The yeast needs wood pulp, and the hydroponic plants need minerals. The air must be constantly circulated. This state of balance is fragile in every way, and becomes more fragile every year. If this great flow of import and export were interrupted, even for an hour, can you imagine what would happen to New York?" "This has never happened before." "But this is not guaranteed to never happen. In primitive times, each dense center of people was virtually self-sufficient, and they lived off the agricultural products of the neighbors. Unless it was due to floods, plagues, or bad harvests, nothing happened. It can cause harm to them. Later, densely populated centers gradually expanded, and technology gradually improved, and local disasters could be overcome with the assistance of another human center in the distance. But they also paid a price, that is, to expand mutual Scope of dependence. In the Middle Ages, the open cities, including the largest, which were not yet enclosed in steel caves, could last at least a week on the stocks in their own grain stores and emergency stores of all kinds. When New York first became When it was a city, it could last a day on its own food. But now, it cannot last even an hour. If some kind of disaster happened, it would only be uncomfortable when it happened ten thousand years ago. A thousand years ago would make people feel serious, a hundred years ago would make people feel painful, and today it would make people die!" Bailey moved his body on the chair uneasily: "I've heard these words before. The medievalists want to abolish the city, and they want us to return to the land to live a natural agricultural life. They are crazy! How is this possible? We The population of China is too large, and history cannot go back, you can only go forward. Of course, if immigration to the outside world is not restricted.” "You know why there are restrictions." "Well, then, what else is there to do now? You're simply playing a charade with no answer." "How about colonizing new worlds? There are trillions of planets in the Milky Way. It is estimated that 100 million planets can be inhabited or can be modified to be inhabited." "This is too ridiculous!" "How could it be?" Fastow said with a very enthusiastic look, "How could it be ridiculous? Earthlings have also colonized other planets before. Among the fifty outer worlds, the Earth has directly colonized more than thirty. And that includes my home world, Aurora. Is colonization no longer possible?" "Uh……" "No answer? In my opinion, if colonization is no longer a feasible thing, it is because of the development of civilization in Earth's cities. Before cities, human life on Earth was not specialized to such an extent that they Can't get rid of it, can't start over in a completely natural, untouched world. Earthlings are so spoiled right now, they lock themselves in steel holes and can't move. Mr. Bailey, you don't even trust a city dweller To cross the country into a space city. Likewise, it is impossible for you to travel through space to a new world. Civic spirit is destroying the planet, sir." Bailey got angry: "Even so, so what? It's none of your business? This is our problem, and we will solve it ourselves. Even if we can't solve it, this is our own destruction, and it has nothing to do with others." "You'd rather kill yourselves than find another way to go to heaven, don't you? I know how you feel. It's a nuisance to hear strangers lecture. But I wish you would preach to us, because, we ourselves There is also a problem, very similar to yours." Bailey sneered: "Overpopulation?" "Similar, but not the same. We have the opposite problem, underpopulation. How old do you think I am?" Bailey thought for a moment and deliberately overestimated. "I guess about sixty." "No. It should be added one hundred, one hundred and sixty years old." "what?" "To be more precise, my next birthday will be one hundred and sixty-three years old. I calculate it in units of earth standard years. If I'm lucky, if I take good care of myself, and most importantly, if I don't get infected Diseases on the earth, I may live another 163 years. Everyone knows that the life span of the Aurora people has a record of more than 350 years. Moreover, our average life expectancy is still increasing." Bailey turned to R. Daniel (who had been listening to their conversation with an impassive face the whole time), as if to confirm R. Daniel's statement. "How is that possible?" he said. "In a society with too few people, everyone will naturally concentrate on the study of gerontology and the aging process. For you people on earth, the average life expectancy is not only useless but harmful, you cannot face the consequences of population increase. But In the world of Aurora, even if people live to three hundred years old, there will be no adverse consequences, so it is of course better to live longer. If you die now, the life you lose may be forty years, or a little less .If I were to die now, I would lose a hundred and fifty years of life, maybe more. In our culture, individual life is the most important thing. Our birth rate is low and population growth is strictly controlled. In order for the individual To maintain the most comfortable state, we maintain a certain ratio between the number of humans and robots. In theory, growing children must be carefully screened, and only children who have no defects in body and mind will be allowed to grow up." Bailey interrupted him: "You mean, if they don't qualify, you kill them..." "If you don't qualify. I assure you, there's no pain at all. The idea must scare you as much as you earthlings' unlimited fertility scares us." "We are limited, Dr. Fastoff. There is a limit to the number of children we can have in each family." Fastoff smiled indulgently. "A certain amount, any kind of child repayment, but not a certain amount, healthy children. And even if there are regulations, there are still people who have more children without permission, and your population is still increasing." "Who decides which child should live?" "It's a very complicated matter, and I can't explain it in a few words. Maybe someday we'll talk about it in detail." "From your tone, you seem to be very satisfied with your own society. Where is your problem?" "It's stable, and that's the problem. It's too stable." "This isn't good, that's not good, you're a hard worker." Bailey said, "Our civilization is on the brink of chaos, that's what you said. Now you say your civilization is too stable, Is that a problem too?" "Too stable can become a problem. For two hundred and fifty years, the outer world has not colonized a new planet, and there will be no possibility of colonization in the future. Our life in the outer world is too long to take risks; the days are too long. It's comfortable, so it can't be broken." "I don't understand that, Dr. Fastoff. If that's the case, why did you come to Earth? Why did you risk contracting the disease?" "Mr. Bailey, some of us think that for the future of mankind, even losing the chance of immortality is worth it. Unfortunately, there are too few such people." "Okay, we're getting to the point. How does a space city help with something like this?" "In our efforts to introduce robots to Earth, we are doing our best to tip the economic balance of your cities." "You guys help like this?" Bailey was so angry that his lips were trembling. "You mean you're creating a group of displaced, disempowered people, and on purpose?" "Believe me, it's not out of cruelty or heartlessness. We need a population of what you call displaced people that can be used as a basis for colonization. Your ancient America was discovered by prisoners sailing to sea. You Can’t you see it? The womb of the city is no longer able to give birth to these replaced people. They have nothing left, and they have nothing to lose by leaving the earth, but they will have a great gain in a new planet, a new world.” "It won't work." "Yes, it won't work." Fastov said worriedly: "Things are stuck. Earth people's hatred of robots hinders everything. In fact, these robots are very helpful. When humans first arrive in a natural and undeveloped world , they can accompany humans and help them solve some adaptation difficulties.” "And then? Open up more outside worlds?" "No. The Outer Worlds were established long before cities existed, long before the civic spirit encompassed the Earth. The new colonies will be established by humans with an urban background and a foundation of C/Fe civilization. It will be a complex , a new world of interbreeding and reproduction. The current structure of the earth will surely disintegrate in the near future, while the outer world will gradually degenerate and finally become corrupt. But these new colonies will combine the advantages of the two cultures and become A new and healthy lineage. In due time, they must have an impact on the old world, including the earth, and we may be able to gain new life through it." "Er...perhaps, Dr. Fastoff, but it's all very vague." "Yes! This is a dream. But think about it!" The outsider suddenly stood up. "I expected to talk to you for so long. In fact, this is longer than our health care rules allow. Sorry, excuse me." Bailey and R. Daniel leave the dome.The sun shone from another angle, and the color was a little more yellow. There was a vague feeling of wonder in Bailey's heart. He thought, would the sunlight look different in another world?Maybe not so harsh, maybe, the color will be a little more yellow. another world?The ugly outsider with protruding ears stuffed many weird imaginations into his mind.I don't know if the doctor in the world of Aurora once looked at the little baby Fastov and wondered if he should be allowed to grow up?Isn't he so ugly?Their criteria include physical appearance?What is ugly?What constitutes a physical disability?And what kind of incomplete... The sunlight was gone, and they entered the first door leading to the private room. Bailey's mood sank again.He shook his head angrily.This is ridiculous.Forcing Earthlings to colonize and establish a new society?Just bullshit!What do these outsiders want to do? He thought, unable to find an answer. As the patrol car rolled slowly across the driveway, reality rushed towards Bailey.His blaster was warm and comfortable against his hip.The noise of the city and the pulsation of life are just as warm and comfortable. The city surrounded him from all directions, and in an instant, he smelled a faint pungent smell. He suddenly realized: it turns out that this city has a smell. He thought of the twenty million human beings crammed into this steel-walled cavern, and for the first time in his life, he smelled their scent through nostrils cleaned with outdoor air. Would things have been different in another world?he thinks.Are there fewer people, more air, and cleaner? The afternoon noise of the city came, and the smell gradually faded and faded away.Bailey felt a little ashamed. He slowly pushed the control of the car in, increasing the power of the beam.The patrol car accelerated sharply and slid into the empty driveway. "Daniel!" he said. "Well, Elijah." "Why is Dr. Fastoff telling me what he did?" "Ilya, I think he wants to deepen your impression and understand the importance of this investigation. We are not just investigating a murder case, but also to save the space city and the future of mankind." Bailey replied indifferently: "I think it might be better if he let me look at the crime scene and interrogate the person who first found the body." "I doubt very much what else you can find out, Elijah. We've looked very thoroughly." "Did you? But you found nothing. Not a clue, not even a suspect." "Yes, so the answer must be in the city. But, to be more precise, we did find a suspect once." "What? Why didn't you ever mention it?" "I don't think it's necessary to mention it, Ilya. From your experience, you must know that there will be suspects." "Who is it? Damn it, tell me!" "An Earthling right there, Director Julie Enderby."